Beast Taming: Starting From Zero Chapter 1: Not Her Fault

Hanggang City, Zhehai Province.

Wencheng Middle School, Class 3-7.

“The progress shown by everyone in this mock exam is clear. I want to highlight Qin Shou, who placed second in the whole grade, missing a perfect score by a mere 2 points. He is an example for you all.”

“While most students did well, a few lacked the drive to improve and ended up with a zero, dragging down our class average.”

“I won’t call out names, but I hope that student does some soul-searching. There are only 21 days remaining until the high school entrance exam. With marks like these, you won't get into a beastmaster high school, and even a standard vocational school will be out of reach.”

The homeroom teacher, Mr. Yu, directed his gaze toward the third row from the back, near the window. There sat a girl with a ponytail, posture perfect and looking every bit the model student.

His lip couldn't help but twitch. He was talking directly to her!

Qiao Sang was well aware that Mr. Yu’s words were aimed at her, but she was helpless—she wasn't the original Qiao Sang of this world.

Having arrived only a couple of days ago, she had been forced into a mock exam before she could even acclimate to her new reality.

However, the moment she saw the exam paper, she was paralyzed.

[What is created when the human brain region undergoes awakening?]

[Which extraordinary creatures are drawn to Heart Scales, and what is their purpose?]

[What does a stinky loach eventually evolve into?]

[List the planets that have already been colonized by humanity.]

Ultimately, she resorted to wild guessing: picking the shortest option for multiple-choice when stuck, choosing the longest otherwise, filling blanks at random, and leaving the essays completely empty.

Over the last two days, Qiao Sang had settled into her body as the original owner's memories began to surface. She now possessed a basic grasp of this world.

This society revolved entirely around beast taming. Since the moment humans first discovered the power to tame beasts, 32.05 million years had passed, resulting in a highly sophisticated beast-taming civilization.

Despite being called the Beast Taming Era, the ability was not universal.

By age 15, the human brain could be stimulated magnetically to awaken the Beast Taming Codex.

This codex served as both a contract and a specialized space that linked humans with extraordinary creatures in perfect harmony.

If a person’s brain failed to awaken the codex by 15, they were likely cut off from the path of beast taming forever.

Even with tens of millions of years of development, a 100% awakening rate remained impossible for humanity.

During last year’s unified high school entrance exam, only 73% of students nationwide successfully awakened their codex, leaving 27% behind.

Regardless of how brilliant those students might be academically, they were barred from entering beastmaster high schools.

Those unable to tame beasts were destined for a mediocre life at the bottom of the social ladder.

It was a brutal truth—without the ability to tame beasts, even manual labor was hard to find.

Why hire a human to move bricks when there are extraordinary creatures capable of hauling thousands of kilograms with ease? Human labor was simply too slow and inefficient.

The service industry was no different.

Even if the wages for a creature were higher, restaurants preferred them as servers because they drew in more business.

Living in a world where old social rules no longer applied, Qiao Sang, a middle schooler facing the entrance exam, felt the walls closing in!

In the past, knowledge was the key to changing one's fate; now, beast taming was the only way to transform a life.

To make matters worse, the original owner of this body had been a terrible student!

Her grades were consistently in the bottom third of the class. She had seen a tiny improvement in the previous month's mock exam, ranking fourth from the bottom.

That "achievement" only happened because the student who usually ranked there was sick and missed two exams.

With only 21 days left, Qiao Sang didn't dream of elite schools; she would be relieved just to get into any high school at all.

Qiao Sang focused intensely on the teacher's words, scribbling notes and pouring over her textbooks even during breaks, showing the same grit she had used for her previous life's college entrance exams.

“Qiao Sang, that zero Mr. Yu mentioned... that was you, right?” her deskmate, Fang Sisi, whispered as she leaned in.

It wasn't a real question. Though Mr. Yu hadn't used her name, everyone knew Qiao Sang had been the one holding a paper with a big zero on it.

Qiao Sang gave a small nod.

Based on her inherited memories, she and her deskmate were close friends who often ate and played together.

A major factor in their bond was that they were both academic failures.

Fang Sisi had taken Qiao Sang's spot as the fourth-from-bottom student after her illness during the last exam cycle.

“Honestly, filling in every multiple-choice question and still getting a zero is impressive. That’s almost as difficult as getting everything right,” Fang Sisi remarked, offering a thumb-up in mock respect.

Qiao Sang was speechless. Was it her fault? She blamed the 'choose the short option' rule for failing her during the three-long-one-short questions!

“What was your score?” Qiao Sang countered.

“263. I’m up by 98 points compared to last time,” Fang Sisi replied, looking quite pleased with herself.

Qiao Sang kept her mouth shut. Since they were both struggling students, there was no point in being petty.

“That's not bad,” Qiao Sang said sincerely. While the score was low by her standards, it was a massive jump from her deskmate's usual 200-point range.

“Tell me about it. My mom has been hovering over me every single day...”

Before Fang Sisi could finish her thought, a student in the row ahead turned around and asked anxiously, “Did you guys hear about Dai Shushu from Class 9? Is she really getting early admission to Litan Beastmaster High School?”

Fang Sisi let out a sigh. “If people are talking about it, it’s probably a fact.”

Qiao Sang didn't stop flipping through her book.

Dai Shushu had been the top scorer of the mock exam. To Qiao Sang, the top student getting into a good school wasn't shocking—she was too busy trying to memorize key facts.

“I heard her admission is because she achieved self-awakening of her Beast Taming Codex,” another student chipped in.

This caught Qiao Sang’s attention, and she looked up.

Because beastmaster high schools train future professionals, the ability to awaken a codex is the most vital criteria.

Those who self-awaken are generally expected to reach much higher heights than those who require magnetic stimulation.

The very first beastmasters from 30 million years ago were all self-awakened, a group that makes up a tiny 0.01% of the population.

It was only 2,563 years ago that a researcher named Chen Leshen found that magnetic stimulation could trigger the brain's awakening, which truly launched the Beast Taming Era.

Still, those who manage to self-awaken are considered elite talents.

“Self-awakening?” Fang Sisi mused. “Do you think I have time to become her best friend?”

The student in front shook their head. “Don't bother. Once someone is admitted, they usually stop coming to class. If you knew you were already in high school, would you still be sitting here?”

Fang Sisi conceded the point.

“If someone self-awakens, can they still be admitted even if their grades are failing?” Qiao Sang asked with a straight face.

The other three stared at her.

“Stop joking. Even with a zero, any school would beg for you,” the student in front joked.

“Don't even think about it. Self-awakened students are always geniuses; there's no such thing as a self-awakened poor student.”

Fang Sisi patted Qiao Sang’s shoulder. “I had a dream like that a few days ago, too.”

Qiao Sang lowered her head and remained silent.

The others assumed she was just depressed and stopped talking about self-awakening.

They had no idea that Qiao Sang was actually trying her hardest not to laugh out loud.

She had self-awakened the very moment she arrived in this world!

At first, she hadn't understood what was happening, thinking it was just a stroke of luck. It wasn't until her memories settled that she realized she had manifested the Beast Taming Codex that usually appears at 15.

Since 15 was the standard age, she hadn't realized it was special. She never expected the prestige gap between self-awakening and forced stimulation to be so vast!

It was clear the original Qiao Sang had been a poor student—she hadn't even grasped the basic distinction between the two types of awakening.

Now that the weight of the entrance exam was lifted, Qiao Sang felt much lighter as she read.

The information no longer felt like boring memorization; it was actually interesting.

[The Deep-Moss Turtle is an Earth-type creature, typically found in arid or tropical zones. It has black rings around its eyes and is a poor swimmer.]

[The Steel-Yield Mouse must stay out of the rain as its body is prone to rusting. It thrives in the sun.]

Since it’s a Steel attribute, it makes sense that it rusts in the rain. But why does it like the sun so much?

She found herself critiquing the common knowledge. Because of this engagement, she found the study process enjoyable and managed to retain the info without any struggle.

Before long, the school day ended.

While Qiao Sang was packing her bag, a girl in black-rimmed glasses walked over. “Qiao Sang, the teacher wants to see you in the office.”

Qiao Sang blinked in surprise. “Got it.”

The girl was Ma Xiao, the class monitor. She was used to seeing Qiao Sang being summoned by teachers.

For the girl who was always third-from-the-bottom, office visits were a routine.

The old Qiao Sang might have been used to it, but the new one was not.

This was especially true when the teacher’s spit was practically landing on her face.

“What is wrong with you! The exam is right around the corner, and you produce this! How can you look your parents in the eye with these results!”

Qiao Sang quietly took a step back. “Teacher, please, try to stay calm.”

That was a close call; she almost addressed him as “Old Classmate.”

“Calm? How am I supposed to be calm? In all my years of teaching, I’ve never seen a performance this disastrous!” The teacher’s tirade showed no signs of stopping.

Having been a top student in her previous life, being scolded like this was a brand-new experience for Qiao Sang.

She retreated another step. “There is a legitimate reason for my score.”

The teacher gave her a frosty look. “And what might that be?”

“The truth is, I’ve self-awakened, and my brain is still trying to process the shift.”

In that moment, Qiao Sang felt quite proud of her quick thinking.

“Hmph.” The teacher let out a cold sneer. “It seems I’ve been far too easy on you.”

Qiao Sang was confused. What did his leniency have to do with anything?

The teacher pulled a contact directory from his desk, flipped it open, and punched in a number.

The call picked up almost immediately.

“Hello, am I speaking with Qiao Sang’s guardian? This is her homeroom teacher. I need you to come down to the school immediately.”

Qiao Sang: “…”