CHAPTER 813: THE COORDINATION

Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Time passed bit by bit.

The audience seats gradually filled up.

Suddenly, the lights across the entire venue went dark. A single spotlight lit up the stage.

Hundreds of blue butterflies gathered toward the beam of light from all directions, slowly forming the outline of a person.

About three seconds later, the butterflies suddenly transformed into specks of light and vanished. A female host appeared in the spotlight, wearing a long blue gown, golden curly hair cascading down to her waist, and exquisite makeup. She held a microphone in hand.

Qiao Sang asked curiously, “What kind of skill is that?”

“It’s a fairy-type skill called Mimicry. It uses energy to replicate whatever form you desire.” Maral explained.

“There’s a lift below the stage. While the butterflies are gathering in mimicry form, the lift rises. Then the mimicry disperses, creating that illusion.”

Ah, I see now… Qiao Sang realized, mentally noting it as a new lesson learned.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the scene of the Coordination Tournament!” The host said passionately.

“A grand celebration of pet beasts and coordinators, the long-awaited Coordination Tournament is about to begin!”

Cheers erupted across the entire venue.

Small pet beasts, each about ten centimeters tall, with two pairs of translucent wings, light blue hair, and slender arms ending in oval palms forming a quarter note shape, flew in from the dome above, dancing gracefully in midair.

As they danced, they scattered sparkling powder like falling stars.

This opening is too beautiful… Qiao Sang felt her mood visibly lift.

Worries about whether Adenishi could play the flute before she left Chaosu Star, or the stress about her unlimited card nearing expiration, all of it seemed to vanish in an instant.

Maral smiled, noticeably more cheerful.

“Those are Joyful Butterflies. The powder they scatter can improve one’s mood. The Coordination Tournament wants the audience to be in a joyful state while watching, so the butterflies always perform at the start.”

Qiao Sang smiled.

“No wonder I feel so much better.”

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure, who had been sulking in invisibility, reappeared, gazing happily at the dancing Joyful Butterflies above.

One by one, the audience members smiled, some even stretching out their hands. The butterflies graciously landed on their palms.

“This year, a total of 220 contestants have gathered here to fight for the honor of being a top Coordinator. The ultimate winner will receive a ribbon trophy crafted from Outerworld Crystals, priceless in value! And one purebred Dream Dream Beast pet egg!” The host announced loudly. ŕάƝ𝘖ВΕș

“Now let me introduce our panel of judges. From 1st District’s Coordination Center, President Angelica Windsor!”

“Dean of Yulianton Coordination Department, Ms. Sri Hayek!”

“A top-tier pet beast coordination master…”

“220 participants, there’s no way this will finish in one day, right?” Qiao Sang leaned over and asked.

“Of course not. The tournament lasts five days. It’ll probably take two just to get through the first round of presentation performances.” Maral replied.

Qiao Sang paused.

“You’re not planning to make me watch for five days straight, are you?”

“Of course not.” Maral laughed.

“I know how busy your freshman classes are. Even if you wanted to watch, I doubt you could take leave. You're not from our Coordination Department, after all.”

Qiao Sang: …

While they chatted, the host had finished the introductions.

“Show off your pet beast! Let us welcome our first contestant, Polly Braga!”

“Yap yap!”

Yabao perked up, excitement lighting up his face as he sensed the competition was about to begin.

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure waved his paws in enthusiastic cheers.

“Lu ai.” Lubao leaped out of Qiao Sang’s backpack, hopped over her head, and landed beside Yabao.

Gangbao stood perched on her beast master’s shoulder.

Now a C-rank Beast Master, Qiao Sang had been reinforced multiple times, so she didn’t even feel the weight on her shoulder.

Soon, soft background music began to play.

The curtains slowly parted.

A human and a pet entered the stage in sync, twirling in elegant dance steps toward center stage.

Qiao Sang saw that the pet resembled a kangaroo, its body green and white, with a mushroom cap on its head resembling a conical hat.

The information popped into her mind instantly, Fightshroom, a high-tier grass- and fighting-type dual-attribute pet.

Fightshroom wore a lightweight miniaturization bracelet on its paw to reduce its size, currently about a head shorter than its beast master.

Human and pet spun and leaped in sync, eventually locking hands and paws in a firm grip.

The music swelled.

At the same time, their dance style shifted abruptly from swan-like elegance to passionate Latin.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure's eyes sparkled with admiration and longing.

Suddenly, Fightshroom thrust its paw upward, tossing its beast master into the dim ceiling above.

Then, a green vine shot from its paw, wrapping around its beast master’s legs and feet, swinging her rhythmically.

Its own feet kept dancing, tapping in time as if continuing the performance.

Polly, the contestant, danced freely mid-air, unaffected by the swinging vines, as if she were born to move in the sky.

After a fiery ten-second sequence, Fightshroom swung the vine in a wide arc before pulling it back, disappearing the vine entirely.

The crowd gasped.

But the expected accident never happened. Polly flipped perfectly in the air and landed gracefully.

Just as she was about to touch down, dozens of vines burst from the ground, weaving into a flower beneath her feet.

She landed steadily atop the floral structure, raised her arms, and struck a final pose.

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

The five judges each wore different expressions.

Maral gave a few symbolic claps and asked, “What did you think of the performance?”

Clapping along, Qiao Sang replied, “It was pretty good. But toward the end, I felt like she stole the spotlight from the pet. The first stage should be about the pet, right?”

“You noticed that too? Then it’s likely this contestant won’t score too high.” Maral said.

Qiao Sang: ???

Hey hey hey, what do you mean, even I noticed?

Maral evaluated, “That Fightshroom was clearly well-trained. Polly has also won five coordination championships before this, so she’s definitely strong. But this is likely her first time entering the main Coordination Tournament. She probably wanted to stand out a little too much.”

Soon, the five judges gave their scores.

The first stage was worth 50 points in total.

Each judge had 10 points. Polly received a total of 37 points.

This was the first contestant, and it was also Qiao Sang’s first time watching a Coordination Tournament live with five judges. She wasn’t quite sure whether the score was considered high or low.

But half an hour later, she understood, that score wasn’t high.

Because the contestants who followed all scored above 40.

An ice mole that hatched from an ice orb.

A Scalefoot Soldier that leaped into the air with a hundred clones and used a chain kick to eliminate all the clones in one move.

A Bloom King who sang a song that made flowers blossom across the entire stage.

A Rainbow Aeol who placed itself inside a tornado and then broke out forcefully, a rainbow blooming behind it as a backdrop.

Each performance was dazzling and left a strong impression.

“So? Isn’t watching the Coordination Tournament in person way better than on TV?” Maral asked.

“It is.” Qiao Sang nodded.

She had to admit, watching a coordination contest was a visual delight.

“Then are you interested in entering the coordination field?” Maral asked, not forgetting her mission.

Putting aside interest, she definitely didn’t have time. But if Gangbao wanted to participate, she could consider signing up for an upcoming coordination-type contest…

Qiao Sang didn’t answer directly and instead asked: “I noticed that in the Coordination Tournament, the levels of the pet beasts used by the coordinators vary a lot. Some sent out general-tier or even king-tier beasts, while others used mid-tier ones. Are there no level requirements in coordination tournaments?”

Maral looked at her with an odd expression.

“Seems like you don’t know much about coordination contests at all.”

Qiao Sang humbly asked, “Please enlighten me.”

“Coordination competitions aren’t like your professional beast masters' matches, where you enter tournaments based on your badge level.” Maral explained.

“As long as you’re a beast master, you can go to the coordination center and have your pet evaluated by professional breeders and coordinators. As long as things like fur condition pass inspection, and your pet can perform a signature skill well, you can be certified as the lowest rank, an F-rank coordinator.”

“This level is easy to pass as long as your pet has been raised well.”

“But after that, you’ll need to keep joining coordination competitions and earn honors to rise in rank.”

“To become an E-rank coordinator, your pet’s level isn’t restricted, but you’ll need to place in the top three in three coordination events, or win one championship. The coordination center keeps official records of all coordination events, so you just register directly once you meet the requirement.”

She paused, then added, “If the event is high-level, placing in the top three, or even top ten, can qualify you for E-rank.”

Qiao Sang tried to summarize: “So that means… if it’s a county-level competition, I need to place top three three times or win once. For city-level, just one top-three finish. For provincial-level, top ten is enough?”

Maral was momentarily stunned.

There were no county, city, province

 divisions on Chaosu Star, so it took her a second to process.

As a student of Yulianton, she’d studied planetary systems, so after digesting the analogy, she nodded: “Exactly.”

She continued, “So for high-level events like the Coordination Tournament, we don’t look at a beast master’s badge level or coordinator rank. What matters is whether they’ve won five coordination contests.”

“As long as someone has won five coordination-type contests, they can register.”

“For a coordinator, the honors you’ve earned are what matter most.”

“Honor increases a coordinator’s rank and grants access to higher-tier competitions.”

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said, “But stronger pets bring more honors, right? After all, coordination contests end in a battle.”

“Of course.” Maral laughed.

“A pet’s strength is part of its charm. The stronger it is, the more dazzling the opening showcase and final battle will be. That captures the audience and stirs their emotions.”

“But coordination tournaments are divided into two phases. The initial showcase values the pet’s charm. A low-level pet doesn’t necessarily mean low charm. Usually, coordinators use different pets for the performance phase and the battle phase.”

“Sometimes, higher-ranking coordinators actually prefer using lower-level pets in the performance stage. If they still qualify with those, it highlights their strength even more.”

“So there’s that much nuance to coordination contests.” Qiao Sang felt she had gained a whole new level of understanding.

“Actually.”

Maral added, “There’s another reason.”

“What is it?” Qiao Sang prompted.

Maral replied: “A coordinator can’t rely on the same performance style forever. Once a coordinator becomes known, their signature performance becomes familiar to audiences. If they keep using it at big events, people will say they’re resting on their laurels, that it’s stale. Scores won’t be high either. That’s why coordinators often raise new pet beasts to craft different performances.”

Qiao Sang considered this and asked: “Do they have to raise new pets? Can’t the same pet just learn different performance routines?”

Maral looked at her seriously.

“If you want to be an outstanding coordinator, every pet of yours must be trained to perform with flair.”

That’s true… Qiao Sang nodded in agreement.

The contest continued in an orderly fashion.

“Let’s welcome the last contestant for this morning, Sheng Jiao!” The host announced.

As soon as the words fell, all lights in the main hall turned off.

A brilliant golden light suddenly burst forth, soaring into the air above the audience, reflecting and bouncing unpredictably.

It was so fast that wherever it passed, it left behind streaks of golden light, like stars forming constellations in the night sky.

Then, the golden light shot toward the stage.

“Bong!” A magnetic female voice echoed out.

Immediately after, all remaining golden traces exploded into sparkling fragments, falling like stardust and casting a beautiful glow across the audience.

The lights came back on.

Everyone saw a black-haired woman on stage, knees slightly bent, hands holding the sides of a black dress, head slightly bowed, and beside her, a black-colored pet in the same posture: Bent legs, paws angled outward, head bowed.

The audience was dead silent.

A few seconds later, cheers erupted, and the entire venue boiled over.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure looked at the black pet, once again showing a look of longing.

“Yap yap!”

Yabao clapped excitedly.

“Lu ai.” Lubao flicked her tail, looking at the black pet onstage with admiration in her eyes.

“Gang Slice.” Gangbao observed the crowd’s reaction with thoughtful eyes.

Clap clap clap…

Qiao Sang applauded sincerely.

To be honest, this was by far the most impressive performance of the morning.