Villa.

Living room.

After using Spatial Shift to bring her beast master home, Little Treasure immediately concealed his figure.

"Dee dee."

Sitting on the sofa eating snacks, Adinishi called out, asking why he was going invisible, come out and watch TV with it!

Although Little Treasure was a little upset with Adinishi for eating all the emergency food he had stored in his ring, Adinishi, who had stayed safely inside the ring the entire trip and eaten plenty, had instead grown especially fond of Little Treasure.

Little Treasure neither appeared nor spoke, pretending he didn’t exist.

"Dee dee?"

Adinishi looked at Qiao Sang with a puzzled expression.

It remembered this human was Little Treasure’s beast master.

Qiao Sang looked at Yabao.

"Translate."

"Yap."

Yabao let out a call, saying this guy’s asking what’s up with Little Treasure.

After translating, he recalled the scene he had just seen back in the classroom and couldn’t help baring his teeth toward the direction where he sensed Little Treasure’s aura.

He couldn’t believe Little Treasure was actually eyeing his boss position!

"Lu Ai."

Lubao also remembered the earlier scene, a chill spreading from her body as her eyes darkened.

Though she no longer compared herself to Yabao, the fact that Little Treasure still instinctively saw Yabao as the boss made Lubao a bit uncomfortable.

"Xun xun…"

Hidden from sight, Little Treasure broke out in cold sweat upon seeing the expressions of Big Brother Yabao and Lubao.

He wished he could cover Adinishi’s mouth.

Why did it have to bring me up!

If it hadn’t mentioned me, maybe Yabao and Lubao would’ve forgotten all about him!

"Gang Slice?"

Sensing the tension in the room, Gangbao looked toward her beast master, confused about what was happening.

[Earlier when Little Treasure’s memory was being read, Yabao and Lubao saw the imagined scene where he becomes the boss.]

Qiao Sang explained mentally to Gangbao.

"Gang Slice…"

Gangbao suddenly understood.

She remembered how Little Treasure had once asked whether he could become the boss, seems like he still hadn’t given up.

Qiao Sang looked at Adinishi and said, "Little Treasure’s fine. He just really likes to stay invisible."

Invisible Little Treasure nodded quickly: Exactly! So stop bringing me up already!

But Adinishi wasn’t so easily convinced. Its eyes glowed blue.

In its vision, it saw clearly how Little Treasure was nodding.

"Dee dee."

The blue light faded, and Adinishi went back to eating snacks.

Seeing that Little Treasure wasn’t coming out, Yabao and Lubao didn’t waste time, they both headed to the training grounds to begin their session.

Qiao Sang soon heard intense explosion sounds from outside, noticeably louder than usual.

She glanced toward Little Treasure’s hidden direction with a good luck, buddy expression, and returned to her room.

"Xun xun!"

Just as she sat cross-legged on the bed to begin meditating, Little Treasure appeared, teary-eyed, staring at her with a desperate look for help.

Qiao Sang sighed and comforted him: "Wanting to be the boss is a good thing. You’ve been practicing your Aura of Intimidation lately, it’s natural to imagine yourself as the boss. I understand."

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure was moved to tears, nodding vigorously.

Exactly, it’s all for practicing the Aura of Intimidation! Otherwise, even with a hundred guts, I wouldn’t dare try to take Big Brother Yabao’s spot!

Qiao Sang paused, then suddenly said: "But this won’t do."

"Xun xun?"

Little Treasure was stunned. He even forgot to cry.

What won’t do?

"To truly develop a strong Aura of Intimidation, you must have a commanding kingly presence," Qiao Sang said seriously.

"Look at you now, do you have even a hint of that? If you want to train properly, you need the confidence and determination to be the boss, even if your opponents are Yabao and Lubao."

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure’s eyes lit up, as if Qiao Sang had struck the heart of the matter.

But then he deflated again.

"Xun xun…"

But I can’t beat Big Brother Yabao… I can’t even beat Lubao…

Suddenly, he remembered something and floated to Qiao Sang’s side. He lowered his voice like a sneaky thief and whispered: "Xun xun… xun xun…"

Actually, I already have a plan for becoming boss. That flute-blower has already agreed. When the time comes and the flute-blower predicts where Yabao’s next evolution spot is, Yabao will feel grateful for the help, and maybe willingly give up the boss role.

---

Qiao Sang went silent for a few seconds before asking: "So you imagined Yabao handing over the boss position because of that?"

"Xun xun~"

Little Treasure nodded, then gave a Aren’t I clever? expression.

Qiao Sang slowly exhaled, rubbed her temples, and said with heartfelt seriousness: "Believe me, that will never happen."

"Xun xun?"

Hearing this, Little Treasure's eyes welled up with tears again, he looked utterly crushed.

Qiao Sang said dryly, "Don’t tell me you didn’t consider that possibility?"

"Xun xun…"

Little Treasure wiped his tears away and sighed.

He had considered it, but… he wanted to think positively.

Qiao Sang said, "If you really want to build an Aura of Intimidation, you need to strengthen your momentum. First of all, you have to believe you’re strong."

"You keep thinking Yabao and Lubao are stronger, and that the boss spot will be gifted to you from some fantasy."

"That mindset is already weakening your aura. How can you train Aura of Intimidation like that?"

"Xun xun…"

Little Treasure drooped.

Qiao Sang asked: "Do you dare fight Yabao and Lubao?"

"XUN XUN!"

Little Treasure jumped in fright, shaking his head rapidly.

"Then that’s your first step: You must dare challenge them."

Qiao Sang explained: "To develop strong momentum, you can’t be a coward. You don’t have to win, but you must have the courage to challenge them."

"Xun xun…"

Little Treasure froze for a moment,mthen suddenly had a revelation.

He suddenly felt filled with bravery.

"XUN XUN!"

Little Treasure clenched his little fists and let out a determined cry, he was going now!

"Wait-"

Qiao Sang started to speak, but Little Treasure had already vanished via Spatial Shift.

"…."

---

"XUN XUN!"

"XUN XUN!"

Ten minutes later, Little Treasure returned scorched black, bruised and battered, crying his eyes out as he flew into Qiao Sang’s arms.

Big Brother Yabao hit me so hard!

Didn’t even go easy!

And Lubao didn’t even heal me! 😭

Qiao Sang stopped meditating and opened her eyes.

At the sight of Little Treasure’s miserable state, her mouth twitched.

But then she suddenly thought of something.

She closed her eyes and entered the Beast Codex, quickly flipping to Little Treasure’s page.

---

[Fifth Trait: Aura of Intimidation]

[Level: C (210/1000), Status: Available

[Description: Creates pressure on the opponent, making them feel a king’s presence.]

---

The stats had increased..

. Qiao Sang was overjoyed.

Since Little Treasure had returned from the 30th District, the Aura of Intimidation trait had been stagnant.

Her earlier suggestion had been a spontaneous idea, thinking that true boss-level pets with strong Aura of Intimidation wouldn’t be timid like Little Treasure.

Even if facing stronger foes, they wouldn’t back down.

So she told Little Treasure to give it a try, to challenge Yabao and Lubao, maybe that’d boost his aura.

And it actually worked.

Qiao Sang exited the Codex and looked at Little Treasure with bright eyes: "Do you feel any different now?"

"XUN XUN!"

Little Treasure wailed loudly.

What I feel is PAIN. My whole body HURTS!

Qiao Sang: …

"...Lubao!"

Qiao Sang had to raise her voice to call out.

About ten seconds later, Lubao walked into the room.

"Help Little Treasure heal first." Qiao Sang said.

"Lu Ai."

Lubao glanced at Little Treasure, clearly reluctant, but still gathered energy and lit up the gem on her forehead.

During the healing, Qiao Sang said: "Actually, it was me who told Little Treasure to challenge you earlier."

The blue light faded, healing complete.

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure nodded repeatedly, signaling that yes, it was indeed their beast master who told him to do so.

Qiao Sang: ...

"Lu Ai?"

Lubao looked over with a confused expression.

"Yap?"

At that moment, Yabao also walked in, wearing the same confused look.

Clearly, with his hearing, he had already caught the earlier conversation.

Qiao Sang cleared her throat and explained: "Little Treasure has been practicing Aura of Intimidation lately. Generally, pets with strong Aura of Intimidation are the boss, so that’s why he imagined himself as one."

"Xun xun!"

Little Treasure nodded vigorously with tears still flowing.

Qiao Sang continued: "But with his strength, he obviously can’t be a boss."

That sentence pierced Little Treasure’s heart in just 0.01 seconds.

"But for the sake of practicing Aura of Intimidation, he has to strive in that direction. So I thought if he challenged you two, it might raise his aura a bit." Qiao Sang said.

"Lu Ai."

Lubao showed an Ah, I see expression.

"Yap…"

Yabao looked thoughtful and turned toward his beast master with a slightly confused expression.

If pets with Aura of Intimidation are usually the boss, then… why doesn’t he have Aura of Intimidation?

Lubao shot a silent glance at Yabao. (T/n: Hahaha Lubao's side eye.)

This… Qiao Sang was momentarily stumped.

To be honest, she’d always thought the Aura of Intimidation trait suited Yabao more.

But ironically, it was Little Treasure who awakened it…

"Dee dee."

Suddenly, Adinishi’s voice rang out nearby.

Qiao Sang looked toward the sound, only to see the blank wall warp slightly, revealing Adinishi’s figure.

"You’ve been eavesdropping this whole time?" Qiao Sang asked in surprise.

"Dee dee."

Adinishi replied casually while stuffing chips into its mouth.

"Xun xun…"

Little Treasure, out of habit, translated: It says it was listening openly and honestly.

Qiao Sang: ...

Before she could speak, Adinishi called out again.

"Dee dee."

The moment that sound came out, Yabao immediately locked his gaze onto Adinishi.

Qiao Sang sensed this wasn’t an ordinary remark and asked, "What did it say?"

"Xun xun…"

While using psychic power to float a tissue from the desk to his paw, Little Treasure blew his nose and translated: It said it knows why Big Brother Yabao doesn’t have Aura of Intimidation.

Qiao Sang turned to Adinishi, now very alert.

Of course, Adinishi had lived so long;

it must know a lot.

"Dee dee."

"Dee dee."

Adinishi swallowed his chip and took on a more serious posture, like a teacher in a classroom.

"Yap…"

Yabao, after hearing it, fell into deep thought.

"Xun xun…"

The more Little Treasure listened, the brighter his eyes became, he even stopped crying.

"Lu Ai."

Lubao also looked thoughtful.

Gangbao was at the door, wings holding a cleaning cloth, no one even noticed when she appeared.

"What did Adinishi say?" Qiao Sang asked for a translation.

"Xun xun~"

Little Treasure straightened his chest, proudly translating: It said that pets capable of awakening Aura of Intimidation usually have a natural king’s presence in their bloodline. Only a rare few awaken it through sheer effort.

Upon realizing that he had natural boss DNA, Little Treasure’s confidence skyrocketed. He now desperately wanted to battle Yab- no, Lubao!

So that’s it!

No wonder Little Treasure had shown no signs of being boss material before and still awakened Aura of Intimidation. Qiao Sang’s doubts were finally cleared.

She looked at Gangbao: "Is something wrong?"

Gangbao hadn’t said a word, but Qiao Sang keenly sensed she wasn’t just there to watch.

"Gang Slice."

Gangbao nodded, calling out: The human named Pirite is here.

Qiao Sang froze for a moment before rushing out the door.

Sure enough, she found Teacher Pirite and Nyudikaka standing in the living room.

Not a sound had been made, it must’ve been Spatial Shift…

Qiao Sang subconsciously analyzed why she hadn’t heard them arrive, then greeted them happily: "Teacher, you’re here!"

Pirite immediately looked at her with eager eyes: "Where’s Adinishi?"

"In my room." Qiao Sang pointed to the room behind her.

Pirite’s face instantly lit up.

Before arriving, he had been rather nervous.

Although no one could retrieve items or exit the Ghost Ring King’s ring except the beast itself, Adinishi was a phantom beast rumored to see through space.

The Ghost Ring King was only a General-level pet, whereas from Adinishi’s earlier battle performance, it likely had already reached the King-level.

With such a power gap, it wouldn’t be impossible for Adinishi to destroy the space inside the ring and escape on its own.

Pirite had even prepared himself for the possibility that Adinishi might be missing.

He hadn’t expected Adinishi to still be here.

And based on Qiao Sang’s words, it wasn’t even in the ring.

As his thoughts raced, Pirite spotted a beast resembling Adinishi walking out from the room, holding a bag of chips.

That’s…

Pirite stared at the red flute in the beast’s hand, recalling the first time he saw Adinishi, and turned to Qiao Sang with a stunned expression.

Qiao Sang nodded: "That’s it."

"Dee dee."

Adinishi recognized the human and called out in greeting.

Pirite was in disbelief.

"How did it get that fat?"

It ate all the emergency food in the ring, how could it not get like that…

Qiao Sang silently complained, but politely said: "Adinishi probably just woke up from a hundred-year slumber, so it’s really hungry."

Even so, it couldn’t have ballooned like this in just a day or two…

Pirite wanted to comment, but held back.

Then Qiao Sang remembered the important matter and said: "Adinishi did a prediction for Little Treasure earlier, so it needs a while before it can do another. During this time, it agreed to stay here."

Pirite was stunned and frowned: "Beast skills rely on energy, don’t they? Even if Adinishi used all its energy for the prediction, it shouldn’t need such a long cooldown. Besides…"

Looking at Adinishi, it didn’t seem low on energy at all…

Pirite stared at it but didn’t say the rest aloud.

"Dee dee…"