The Beast Tome remained completely motionless.
Li Miao: "Sweetie, can you add a bit more?"
The Beast Tome was as steady as an old dog.
Li Miao: "Alright then, let's see how we can earn these training points..."
[Training Points: 1]
Huh?
There's… no footnote here?
Li Miao immediately felt stumped. She thought to herself, Well, this thing obviously isn't a system—so much for being smart.
At this point, her only option was to slowly figure out how these training points worked.
With that in mind, she couldn't help but glance at Husky.
Husky: Hm? Why do I suddenly feel a chill?
"Only three kilometers left!"
Li Miao couldn't resist reminding the husky, who had slowed from running to walking: "Victory is just around the corner! It's just three kilometers—you got this, Husky!"
Husky: Nope.
I don't.
The husky was utterly drained of life.
"Two kilometers to go!"
"Wow, Husky! You're amazing! Keep going! Just one more kilometer to go! Come on, run!"
Listening to his enthusiastic master, Husky began questioning his life choices.
Why did I choose Li Miao as my master in the first place?
Oh, right.
It was to laze around without a care.
Li Miao had dressed so innocently and adorably when picking out her beast that the husky completely misjudged her—thinking she was an easy, soft-hearted master.
If given a second chance, the husky swore he'd never contract with Li Miao again.
"Final 500 meters!"
Li Miao crouched in front of the treadmill, watching the husky intently. "Husky, I believe in you."
Husky: "Awooo!"
I can't go on!
"You can!"
No, I can't!
"A real man never says he can't!" Li Miao said sternly. "Husky, this is about your dignity. It's just 500 meters—are you telling me you can't conquer that?"
Husky slumped, resigned.
Dignity? What's that? I don't have any!
Li Miao had no choice but to pull out her trump card: "Little dress warning."
Husky nearly face-planted at the words but managed to steady himself at the last second, gritting his teeth with renewed determination.
No!
He had to do it!
Anything but the little dress—even if his feet wobbled like jelly, he'd push through, one step at a time.
Huh. His endurance was stronger than she expected.
Li Miao mused to herself.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Even though in her parallel-world memories, that husky mostly seemed like a dim-witted goofball who only cared about food and goofing off, he did step up when it really counted.
…Even if he sometimes acted like a little gremlin.
Just recalling it made her temple throb with annoyance. If she dwelled on it any longer, she'd probably spiral into rage.
And I'm supposed to be a lady!
Li Miao casually picked up the exhausted, 20-pound husky and plopped him onto the kitchen cutting board...
Husky: ?
"Oh, whoops! Force of habit—thought I was just holding a slab of meat."
She hastily scooped the dog off the board. "Alright, alright! We're having a feast today! What do you want, Husky? I'll make it for you."
At the mention of food, Husky immediately forgot all about his master nearly turning him into dinner, wagging his tail excitedly and circling around her like a happy puppy.
He had already mastered the ultimate art of being a shamelessly devoted dog.
Li Miao pulled out some beast-specific ingredients from the fridge and got to cooking.
As a long-time single dog owner (and honorary empty-nester), her cooking skills were decent. Watching Husky scarf down his food with gusto, she decided not to leave out the other beast staying at home—Sakura.
Sakura held out for a moment, but upon seeing Husky eat so enthusiastically, she couldn't resist joining in.
"Tasty, huh~"
Li Miao grinned, scratching the cat's head.
"Meow~"
Sakura nuzzled her palm sweetly, then let out another soft mew: "Meow~"
Critical hit.
Li Miao's heart instantly melted.
"Eat up! As much as you want today!"
Satisfied, Sakura rubbed against her ankle before finally diving into her meal.
While food could heal a beast's soul, it did nothing for a master's empty wallet.
Li Miao checked the prices on a delivery app and nearly choked—the most basic beast formula milk alone cost over a thousand yuan.
And for regular vegetables and meat, if they contained the nutrients beasts required, the price instantly gained a zero at the end—
So poor.
I'm actually broke.
For the first time, Li Miao truly grasped just how poor she was.
She needed to get familiar with her abilities fast—and start leveraging them to make money.
With that in mind, she picked up her phone again and began researching "Spirit Sense."
The original owner's memories had some theoretical knowledge, but nothing beat firsthand experience.
Most masters, after awakening their Contract Tomes and bonding with beasts, gained a basic level of Spirit Sense.
And Spirit Sense strength determined a master's rank.
For example:
10-500 Spirit Sense: Junior Beast Master500-1000 Spirit Sense: Intermediate Beast Master1000-5000 Spirit Sense: Advanced Beast Master5000-20,000 Spirit Sense: Super Beast Master20,000-100,000 Spirit Sense: Saint Beast Master100,000+ Spirit Sense: Deified Beast Master
Currently, the strongest recorded Spirit Sense belonged to the top Beast Master in the country, Xu Lifei, at 280,000 points.
And where do I stand?
Li Miao wasn't sure.
Once Husky and Sakura finished eating, she leashed Husky and made an appointment at a nearby testing center to evaluate her Spirit Sense stats.
This was crucial—she needed to ensure nothing went wrong when testing her beast's evolutionary simulations.
Being cautious never hurt anyone.
After waiting in line forever, it was already evening by the time she finished.
As soon as she got home, she received a text from the testing center.
[Dear Customer, your Spirit Sense evaluation results are ready. See link below for your report.]
She tapped it open.
[Name: Li Miao
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Beast Master Rank: Junior Beast Master
Awakening Duration: 2 days
Spirit Sense: 30 points
Note: Spirit Sense is slightly above-average for your age group. Most awaken with 10 points within the first three days. Keep up the good work, stay humble, and keep improving!]
"That's… actually pretty considerate."
Li Miao decided this testing center was legit—she'd come back here for future evaluations.
Unbeknownst to her, the testing center had already tagged her file with "Recommended for Tutoring."
"Sleepy, why's the fridge out of meat?"
Li Miao's mom called out, "Did you feed them extra snacks again?"
"Yeah."
Her mom sighed. "Li Miao, don't spoil them like that! If they need snacks, tell me, and I'll prepare them!"
"But they wanted it!"
Li Miao shamelessly passed the blame to Husky and Sakura.
Sakura: ?
Husky: ?
Wait—wasn't it YOU who fed us?!
Husky was dumbfounded.
Seeing Mom Li emerge wielding a kitchen knife, both beasts quietly took a step back.
"Alright, just don't let it happen again."
Mom Li shot a glance at the two cowering beasts, then handed Li Miao a few bills. "Go buy some beast food from the supermarket. Now."
Li Miao pouted.
"Fine."
She had just gotten back, and now she had to go out again.
Li Miao turned to the husky.
"Husky.
"You're a grown dog now, so you're in charge of grocery shopping!"
Husky: ???
In the end, Li Miao dragged Husky along anyway.
Just as they were leaving, Tinyfang dug a few crumpled bills from his pouch. "Squeak-squeak."
Sign language: Buy me two cigarettes. Don't tell your dad.
Li Miao peeked at her clueless father.
"I'll do it—for extra money."
Tinyfang glared, baring his teeth. "Squeak-squeak!"
Sign language: You ungrateful brat! You fed them without me, and now you're extorting me?!
You don't love me anymore!
Li Miao rolled her eyes lazily. "Tinyfang, does your master know you're secretly buying smokes from his daughter?"
"Beasts aren't supposed to smoke. You know the rules."
Tinyfang: "...Squeak."
Sign language: Fine. If you get them, I'll give you 10 bucks. That's it!
Bargain struck, Li Miao gave him a high-five.
"Deal."