Chapter 7: Click-Clack, Click-Clack, Click-Clack, Click-Clack

If you ask Mu Huiyue what she was most excited about after crossing into this world, there’s no doubt it’s the chance to contract extraordinary creatures and battle other Beast Masters.

Having spent far too long as a cyber trainer on S○ch and 3○S, how could she not be excited by the prospect of experiencing real-life creature battles?

Extraordinary creatures had already become part of every corner of this world. People’s lives were intertwined with their contracted beasts, giving rise to a variety of new professions, and creature battles were undoubtedly the most captivating of them all.

Take Da Yan, where Mu Huiyue was, for example—every region in the country held colorful battle competitions. There were professional leagues where powerful players gathered, national tournaments among major universities, and commercial leagues with no restrictions held by provincial clubs and dojos.

Mastering battles meant that a Beast Master and their contracted creatures had formidable power, with perfect teamwork between them. Such a combination could shine in any field. Even if they didn’t aim to be professional Beast Masters, achieving success in the various leagues would boost their resumes, making the official competitions highly popular and encouraging all awakened Beast Masters to participate.

Universities even had specialized battle departments, often with the highest scores, and that had been Mu Huiyue’s long-standing goal.

But official leagues were a long way off. For now, what Mu Huiyue needed was a fair and balanced initial battle—a chance to train with Eren.

Though Eren was a lower-tier elite species, it had exceptional combat instincts, which had already been demonstrated in the mysterious realm. Despite facing far more powerful foes like corpses, vengeful spirits, and even the Devourer, it never once showed fear. It could execute Mu Huiyue’s commands with pinpoint precision, using an E-grade skill to target critical points and control its enemies—a feat many young beasts couldn’t even imagine, let alone pull off in a desperate situation.

Mu Huiyue believed Eren would shine in battle.

As for the opponent, her plan was simple: head downstairs to the dojo and ask a familiar coach to recommend someone.

After all, dojos were meant for practicing creature battles. Aside from the master-level coaches and professional sparring partners on staff, there were many new Beast Masters who had just contracted their creatures and were eager to experience real battles.

Mu Huiyue took Eren downstairs, and after explaining her purpose, the on-duty Beast Master, Li Hai, quickly found a suitable opponent for her.

“Your body’s fine, right, Huiyue?” Coach Li Hai was a senior Beast Master who had passed the professional Beast Master examination. He frequently guided the new members at the dojo, so he and Mu Huiyue were quite familiar with each other.

He was one of the few people at the dojo who had a good relationship with the owner’s daughter. In Coach Li’s eyes, Mu Huiyue was a bit proud, but her dedication to learning beast taming was clear for all to see. In contrast, Mu Tong, the legendary Beast Master and her father, seemed to pay little attention to his daughter’s development. Even though she had successfully awakened, he hadn’t even bothered to make a phone call to check on her. Coach Li thought, “He couldn’t even care enough to ask if she was alright. I, on the other hand, actually care more than her own father.”

If there was one thing Mu Huiyue had been looking forward to most after crossing into this world, it was contracting extraordinary creatures and battling other Beast Masters.

Having spent countless hours as a cyber trainer in S○ch and 3○S, how could she not be thrilled at the opportunity to experience real-world creature battles?

Extraordinary creatures had already integrated into every corner of society. People’s lives were now closely tied to their contracted beasts, spawning a host of new professions, and creature battles had become one of the most dazzling fields.

Take Da Yan, where Mu Huiyue lived: every region in the country held a variety of battle competitions. From professional leagues where the strongest gathered to national tournaments between universities, to commercial leagues with no restrictions organized by provincial clubs and dojos, there was no shortage of events for aspiring Beast Masters.

Mastering creature battles meant a Beast Master and their contracted creature could wield immense power, with perfect teamwork between them. This combo could excel in any field, and even if one didn’t pursue a professional career as a Beast Master, performing well in these leagues would greatly enhance one’s resume. That’s why official competitions were so popular, with the government encouraging all awakened Beast Masters to participate.

Universities even had dedicated battle departments, usually the top scorers in their programs, which had always been Mu Huiyue’s goal.

But official leagues were still far off. For now, Mu Huiyue just needed a fair and balanced initial battle—a chance to practice with Eren.

Though Eren was a lower-tier elite species, it had remarkable combat instincts, demonstrated back in the mysterious realm. Even when faced with far stronger opponents—like corpses, vengeful spirits, or even the Devourer—it never once showed fear. It executed Mu Huiyue’s commands with precision, using an E-grade skill to strike critical points and control its enemies—a feat many young creatures couldn’t even imagine, let alone pull off in desperate situations.

Mu Huiyue was certain Eren would shine in combat.

As for the opponent, her plan was simple: she’d head downstairs to the dojo and ask a familiar coach for a recommendation.

After all, dojos were meant for practicing creature battles. Besides the master-level coaches and professional sparring partners, there were many new Beast Masters who had just contracted their creatures and were eager to try their first real battle.

Mu Huiyue and Eren headed downstairs, and after explaining her intention, the coach on duty, Li Hai, quickly found a suitable opponent.

“Your body’s all good, right, Huiyue?” Coach Li Hai, a senior Beast Master who had passed the professional Beast Master certification, frequently guided new members in the dojo. He and Mu Huiyue were quite familiar.

Li Hai was one of the few people at the dojo with a good relationship with the owner’s daughter. In his eyes, Mu Huiyue had a bit of a prideful streak, but her dedication to beast taming was clear for all to see. Meanwhile, Mu Tong, the legendary Beast Master and her father, didn’t seem to care much about his daughter’s growth. Even though she had just awakened, he hadn’t even bothered to check in on her. Li Hai thought, I care more than her own father.

Coach Li gestured toward a young man walking toward them, accompanied by a fluffy white puppy.

“Meet Ah Yue, a first-year student from Xingzhou University. He awakened a year before you and just contracted a Little Cloud Dog. Perfect timing for a sparring match.”

Mu Huiyue eyed the approaching boy and the fluffy white pup at his side.

[Name]: Little Cloud Dog
[Attribute]: Random
[Species Level]: Mid-Level Battle General
[Unique Trait]: Cloud Flow

The information about the Little Cloud Dog flashed in her mind. This was one of the most familiar extraordinary creatures to her. Over ninety percent of the Little Cloud Dogs in Changning City, and even Xingzhou, came from her family’s breeding facility.

Most extraordinary creatures’ attributes were innate and closely tied to their species’ environment, but the Little Cloud Dog was an exception. Its “Cloud Flow” trait meant they didn’t have a fixed attribute. Every Little Cloud Dog’s attributes depended on its “Core Skill” at birth.

For instance, based on Ah Yue’s special training just now, his Little Cloud Dog’s core skill was “Mud Bomb,” which meant it was an Earth-type Little Cloud Dog.

Currently, the breeding facility had successfully bred Little Cloud Dogs with attributes across eleven types: Ice, Water, Fire, Steel, Wind, Thunder, Earth, Wood, Mental, Light, and Dark. Excluding the undead and insect attributes—those affecting life forms—the Little Cloud Dog could be born with any attribute depending on its core skill.

This incredible trait gave the Little Cloud Dog immense potential and limitless possibilities. As its core skill developed, it could even evolve into different monarch-level species or even higher-tier creatures.

Mu Huiyue’s father, Mu Tong, had become a legendary Beast Master by successfully breeding Little Cloud Dogs that evolved into high-tier emperor species. This brought him national fame.

She recalled that the evolution she had seen was a three-stage evolution of the Little Cloud Dog into the “Daylight Flame Wolf,” an emperor species with both Light and Fire attributes.

This world categorized extraordinary creatures by their species potential, from common elite species to battle generals, monarchs, emperors, fantasy species, and finally the mythical ones. Each species was further divided into high, medium, and low tiers, with fantasy species divided into legendary fantasy and miracle fantasy. The mythical species, due to their rarity, weren’t subdivided.

Typically, Beast Masters contracted elite or battle-general species, while monarch species possessed strength on par with realm lords. Emperor species stood at the top of the extraordinary creature hierarchy.

There were fewer than a hundred known evolution paths for emperor species, and high-tier emperor species were even rarer. Beast Masters capable of contracting emperor species in their complete form had the potential to challenge for legendary titles. Out of over 200 million professional Beast Masters in Da Yan, only around 200 had earned the legendary title.

The Daylight Flame Wolf had not only boosted Mu Huiyue’s father’s career but also influenced the development of Xingzhou, where their breeding facility had become one of the region’s defining industries. Even with its high price, Beast Masters flocked to contract Little Cloud Dogs.

If things went as expected, Mu Huiyue and Mu Yixia would both contract Little Cloud Dogs after awakening, as they were the signature extraordinary creatures of Mu Tong, and ones they had been familiar with since childhood.

Coach Li Hai must have had the same thought, which is why he had invited Ah Yue—who had just contracted a Little Cloud Dog—to spar with Mu Huiyue, who had also contracted one.

As the match began, Mu Huiyue crouched down to pat Eren’s skull, smiling confidently. “Eren, let’s show them what we’ve got.”

“Click-clack!” Eren raised its tiny bony fist, striking a battle-ready pose.

Coach Li Hai blinked in disbelief. Mu Tong’s daughter’s first creature is actually a low-tier elite species, a little skeleton? And she’s using it to battle a mid-tier battle general species?

“Alright then,” he muttered, snapping out of his stupor. “Let’s get this 1v1 battle started. When one creature loses the ability to fight, the match is over. Is that clear?”

“Understood,” Mu Huiyue and Ah Yue both replied.

The fluffy white Little Cloud Dog stepped onto the battlefield, exuding confidence. At this stage of its evolution, its attributes weren’t obvious. It wouldn’t be until its second evolution that it would develop distinct appearance traits.

Clearly, the Little Cloud Dog didn’t take the skeletal figure across from it seriously. After all, this bony creature looked like a chew toy for its usual dental bones—weak and no match for it.

Eren, however, felt a shiver of unease—not because the dog was strong, but because of some primal instinct. He was absolutely certain he hated the thought of being licked by that little white dog.

“Go for it, Eren!” Mu Huiyue whispered, cheering.

Eren turned, giving her a thumbs-up. “Click-clack—!” (I’ll bring you victory, Master!)

Mu Huiyue couldn’t help but smile, turning her gaze back to the confident Little Cloud Dog.

Species level determined potential, while growth tier reflected a creature’s current level. Creatures evolved through stages, from juvenile, to growing, mature, complete, and ultimate forms.

The higher the species level, the higher the potential growth stages a creature can reach. For instance, a Little Skeleton from an elite species can only advance to the growth stage at most. Even if it evolves into a Fanged Soldier, it will only reach the mature stage at best.

On the other hand, a Little Cloud Dog, born as a battle general species, can reach the mature stage in its first evolution. When it advances into the monarch species, it can achieve the complete form—a significant turning point for most extraordinary creatures. Achieving the complete form means the creature can dominate an entire area in the wild or in secret realms.

However, that was still far in the future. At this stage, everyone was still in the juvenile phase, and the advantages of species level weren’t as apparent.

“Alright, let the battle begin!” Coach Li Hai crossed his arms and waved his hand toward the fighters.

Ah Yue was the first to make a move. “Little Cloud Dog, Earthquake Wave!“

The Earthquake Wave, a C-grade Earth-type skill, was one of the additional skills this Little Cloud Dog had—aside from its core skill, Mud Bomb. It seemed the creature had been raised well.

The Little Cloud Dog leapt gracefully into the air, landing with a heavy stomp that sent massive cracks spiraling from its feet. The ground shuddered as the shockwave rippled toward Eren, shattering him into a pile of scattered bones.

“This weak creature is no match for my Little Cloud Dog,” Ah Yue sneered, a smug smile spreading across his face. It seemed Mu Huiyue’s reputation wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

But Mu Huiyue wasn’t fazed. “Reconstruct,” she calmly instructed.

The scattered bones on the ground swiftly reassembled, and Eren bounced back up, charging toward the Little Cloud Dog.

“Close the distance, and strike with the bone club!”

Black mist enveloped Eren’s hands as long leg bones took shape. Though it was a powerful weapon, moving on just two leg bones slowed Eren down considerably. Before it could reach the Little Cloud Dog, the canine had already nimbly dodged.

“Use Mud Bomb!” Mu Huiyue commanded.