Chapter 99: Spirit Patterns

Back in the room, Firetooth Dog, as usual, watched the Hanggang competition channel.

Qiao Sang, on the other hand, watched online courses about pet beast spirit engravers while using a spirit engraver's specialized brush to draw on Little Treasure Ghost's cheeks.

She wasn't just idly passing the time during her holiday to gain a new skill; she wanted to help Firetooth Dog with its Mars Rain skill.

After this period of training, she could more or less detect the problems Firetooth Dog faced while practicing Mars Rain.

Mars Rain is an advanced skill. Even if she added points to Firetooth Dog, the energy it currently has is far from enough to support its release.

Don't be fooled by the rapid progress in the first step of forming the energy ball.

But even if the internal structure of the energy ball stabilizes, the explosion that forms in the sky might be drizzle instead of Mars Rain.

And it would be the kind of drizzle with just a few drops.

There are three solutions.

The first is evolution.

Actually, practicing Mars Rain is just an attempt and not urgent. Even if Firetooth Dog evolves into Burnfire Dog after a month of practice, it would be fine.

The only concern is that even after evolving into Burnfire Dog, the energy might still be insufficient. After all, it's common for intermediate pet beasts to learn advanced skills, as stated in textbooks.

The second is using items.

The reason for rejecting this is simple.

No money, at least not currently.

The third is engraving energy patterns.

This is mainly a technical job. Although some materials are expensive, compared to items, it's like a drop in the bucket.

The materials and ratios needed for simple patterns can be bought online for a price, and with Qiao Sang's current financial situation, she can afford it.

Engraving patterns mainly tests technique, requiring a single, continuous stroke.

Besides, the spirit energy infused in each stroke must be the same.

Uneven spirit energy will cause the pattern's energy structure to become unbalanced, leading to failure.

In simple terms, using spirit energy means making the Beast Control Codex in the brain domain work.

When a beast master summons a pet beast, they don't feel much using the Beast Control Codex, but continuously using it to engrave patterns with spirit energy will definitely feel strenuous.

Qiao Sang has been learning to engrave energy patterns for three days and hasn't encountered this problem yet.

Pet beasts mainly rely on their own internal energy to release skills, and the energy patterns she is learning can absorb external energy when releasing skills.

Qiao Sang specifically bought a month's worth of online courses about these patterns, and the test subject was Little Treasure Ghost.

It's not that she didn't want to experiment directly on Firetooth Dog, but Firetooth Dog hates water and always drags its feet when bathing.

Given Firetooth Dog's aversion to water, it would take ages to successfully experiment with the pattern on it.

Little Treasure Ghost had no such issues.

On the contrary, it was quite enthusiastic about the pattern engraving over these three days, even actively bringing out the materials each time.

"Done, try it out," Qiao Sang said, putting down the brush.

"Seek~"

Little Treasure Ghost stretched out its short claws and opened them, indicating it wasn't in a hurry.

It picked up a small mirror it had prepared and started looking at itself, making all sorts of funny faces.

Qiao Sang watched helplessly from the side.

If someone who didn't know better saw this, they might think she drew a ghost face instead of a spirit pattern.

"Seek~"

Little Treasure Ghost put down the mirror and called out happily, seemingly very satisfied with the masterpiece on its face.

The next second, a faint purple light appeared on its body but quickly dissipated.

"Seek."

Little Treasure Ghost spread its hands and shook its head, indicating it didn't work.

Another failure.

Although Qiao Sang was prepared for this, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

"Knock knock."

Just as she was about to wash off the pattern on Little Treasure Ghost's face, there was a knock at the door.

"Seek~"

Little Treasure Ghost eagerly floated over to open the door.

"Ah Sang, why did you draw a ghost face on Treasure Ghost?" Ye Ranran was taken aback when she saw Little Treasure Ghost and asked in confusion.

"Seek~"

Little Treasure Ghost laughed and floated to the table, picking up the mirror to look at itself again.

Qiao Sang: "…!"

This is a spirit pattern!

Qiao Sang wanted to explain but felt a bit humiliated if she did so, given that Little Treasure Ghost wasn't making a ghost face.

"Is this Mingfrost Coral powder?" Qiao Sang looked at the bowl in Ye Ranran's hand, choosing to ignore her previous question.

"Yes, I just made some and brought you a bowl," Ye Ranran entered the room and placed the bowl on the table.

Qiao Sang picked it up and took a sip, finding it slightly sweet.

"What's the deal with Uncle San? Why can't he find two people to form a team for the competition?" Qiao Sang asked.

Actually, she had wanted to ask this earlier but didn't want to bring it up at the dinner table in front of Uncle San, fearing it might hurt his feelings.

"How can he not find people? Aren't you and I people?" Ye Ranran teased.

Qiao Sang: "…"

"I'm not joking. The main issue with Uncle San is that the people he originally found wanted overlapping prizes, and the positions of their pet beasts in the competition also overlapped."

"This marathon relay race is divided into three segments: sea, land, and air, with two pet beasts for each segment. Uncle San's friends who can be called upon don't have any flying-type pet beasts to relay in the air segment. Your Treasure Ghost can勉强算作空中赛道的。" Ye Ranran explained.

So it's not that he has bad relationships or is being ostracized...

"By the way, these few days, try to practice with Firetooth Dog. The land segment is the first track, and Firetooth Dog will likely be the second runner. Uncle San mainly wants to rely on Roaring Crocodile to win the individual first place."

"But the water segment is the second track. I'm worried that if your performance is too far behind, it might put psychological pressure on Roaring Crocodile. It's been acting jumpy lately, and its mental resilience doesn't seem as strong," Ye Ranran continued.

The pressure is on Firetooth Dog.

Qiao Sang turned to look at Firetooth Dog, who was intently watching the competition channel, feeling that it shouldn't be a problem.

"Is Little Treasure the last runner?" Qiao Sang asked.

Ye Ranran nodded. "Yes, the last runner. Don't worry; we don't expect to win the team competition. Your Little Treasure won't have to run if it doesn't want to."

Qiao Sang looked at Little Treasure Ghost, who was still making funny faces in the mirror.

Hmm, it's fine if it doesn't run. That's a relief...

...

In the following days, Firetooth Dog's schedule became even fuller.

In the morning, it practiced skill release, then drank half a bottle of F-grade energy recovery liquid to practice forming energy balls.

In the afternoon, it repeated the morning training.

However, after drinking the F-grade energy recovery liquid, it wouldn't practice energy balls to the point of exhaustion but would instead run a few laps around Liu Gan Creek.

In the evening, after drinking milk and recovering, it would practice forming energy balls again.

It was more intense than when Qiao Sang was trying to get into Holy Water Middle School.

Seeing her pet beast so dedicated, Qiao Sang was also influenced.

She spent her holiday reading to supplement her knowledge and practicing spirit patterns on Little Treasure Ghost.

...

July 24th.

Sunny.

The Qitang Town Marathon Relay Race day.