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Once Yabao donned the yellow relay band, he shot out like an arrow.

"Xun!"

"Xun!"

Little Treasure was shouting encouragement with all his might, even floating along after Yabao.

Qiao Sang, with quick reflexes, pulled it back.

"Xun?"

Little treasure looked up innocently.

"Don\'t waste your energy. We still need you for the sixth leg. Let\'s just head to the Liuyang River and wait for Yabao." Qiao Sang said.

Her words were half-truths: The first half was false, and the second half true. She hadn’t been relying on Little Treasure for the sixth leg at all.

Running alongside was out of the question. The third leg alone was 10 kilometers away at the Liuyang River, and with his tiny arms and legs, he would be exhausted before making it halfway.

Moreover, marathon rules forbid having anyone run alongside the competitors. They had a professional medical team and technical support throughout the race, with robust logistical security.

Running alongside would just cause unnecessary complications and chaos, making it harder to maintain order.

Qiao Sang watched as Yabao disappeared into the distance.

"Yabao, all we can do is support you mentally! Go for it!"

---

Yabao ran as fast as he could.

He remembered his beastmaster’s instructions to follow the leading pack, but there wasn’t even a shadow of another competitor ahead, let alone a group.

He then recalled the Six-Tentacled Snail, which had started before it.

"Yap!"

Yabao sped up.

All he could do now was catch up with that snail!

Who knew how long it had been running?

Yabai was now dragging his legs, struggling just to move forward. At this point, he could barely walk, let alone run.

Even though a pet beast marathon is different from a traditional human marathon, it’s still a high-intensity endurance sport over long distances.

Although pet beasts can use their abilities and skills to speed up the race and make it more exciting, it’s not practical to rely solely on abilities for the entire competition.

Excessive energy consumption might leave a pet beast too exhausted to finish.

Those with marathon experience alternate between running normally and occasionally using skills to speed up.

As they near the finish line, they use their abilities to sprint the final stretch, like Ye Ranyan\'s Ink-tailed Fox.

But Yabao didn’t know this. He had been giving his all since the start.

At first, it was fine, but once he slowed down, dozens of competing pet beasts passed him one after another.

Yabao wasn’t stupid, though. He had seen several of the others use their skills, so he tried to do the same to catch up.

It used Flame Charge, Charge—everything it could think of.

But he quickly ran out of steam.

Yabao hadn’t undergone any professional training, focusing recently more on skill-based practice.

Running a few laps around Liu Gan Creek wasn’t nearly enough to prepare him for a marathon.

While his stamina was decent compared to other pet beasts at his level, it still wasn’t up to marathon standards.

The scorching sun beat down on the earth.

Even the normally heat-resistant Yabao was beginning to suffer.

He stuck his tongue out, panting heavily. He felt like he could barely catch his breath.

His legs were so heavy that it was harder to move them than when he had been wearing the weighted bands.

"Yap."

Yabao let out a weak whine, his throat dry as if it were about to catch fire.

He suddenly remembered his beastmaster’s mention of water.

Looking around, he saw no table or water anywhere nearby.

Is it not here yet?

Stars danced before Yabao’s eyes as he gazed dazedly ahead. For the first time, he thought about giving up.

So tired...

So very tired...

"Ball."

A Bouncing Pig happened to hop by.

Its tail, which resembled a spring, had a gray ball at the end, and its body bore the competition number A099.

It bounced rapidly toward the third relay point, using its springy tail to hop forward, overtaking the Yabao with ease.

"Ball."

The Bouncing Pig didn’t leave immediately; it turned back and sneered at Yabao, smugly raising its smallest toe in a mocking gesture.

"Yap."

Yabao was instantly enraged.

He wanted to bark angrily at the Bouncing Pig, but the roar that came out was so weak that only he could hear it.

As he watched the Bouncing Pig hop away, Yabao’s heart blazed with frustration.

He desperately wanted to give chase, but he didn’t have the strength. His exhausted legs gave out after a couple of steps, and he collapsed to the ground.

In a daze, he could almost hear his beastmaster calling his name.

Yabao.

He never really liked that name, it didn’t sound imposing at all, but his beastmaster loved it, so he had no choice.

Would his beastmaster be disappointed if he gave up here?

And what about his little brother, still waiting for the relay band?

A sense of failure swept through Yabao.

His beastmaster had trusted him, told him they would be waiting at the Liuyang River. What would happen if he never arrived?

He really wanted to get back up and keep going...

The small ember inside Yabao gradually flared into a flame. In the next moment, the flame surged, and crimson fire engulfed his body, burning brightly from within.

"There\'s a Fire fang Dog here, it looks like it’s exhausted! Send—wait, what the heck!" The logistics staff jumped in surprise.

"What happened? What’s going on?" Came the concerned voice from the other end of the line.

"No big deal, just that the Fire fang Dog collapsed, then suddenly burst into flames... It must’ve triggered its Blaze ability and shot off like a rocket. I’ve never seen a fire-type beast burn itself out running a marathon before." The staffer explained, still shaken.

It was like seeing a collapsed patient suddenly leap up and perform a backflip, it was pretty startling...

---

At the Liuyang River.

Qiao Sang watched in awe as a Bouncing Pig, using its spring-like tail, quickly reached the third relay point.

"That tail is perfect for this race!" She exclaimed.

"I still think the Icesnow Lynx\'s skill is more suited." Ye Ranyan commented.

"It slid on ice balls attached to its paw pads. No idea how they thought of that."

"In this heat, though, the ice won’t last long. It’s just to make it a bit easier in the middle. But you can tell they put in the effort. The balance is impeccable." Qiao Sang analyzed.

"A well-planned strategy that conserves energy with occasional relief is key in a pet beast marathon. The main focus is still on stamina and endurance." Ye Ranyan added with a smile.

Qiao Sang paused before asking, "What if there’s no energy-saving plan?"

Ye Ranyan thought for a moment.

"Relying purely on stamina and endurance? That would be exhausting. I’ve never seen anyone enter a pet beast marathon without some kind of strategy."

Qiao Sang: ...Haha, that fool’s right here.

"Xun!"

"Xun!"

Suddenly, Little Treasure cried out excitedly.

Qiao Sang looked toward the track.

In the distance, a figure enveloped in blazing flames sped toward them like a bolt of red lightning, zooming past her in a flash and overtaking the Bouncing Pig just before reaching the relay point.

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T/N: Next week is the start of my third-year college life. Because of that, after this chapter, I will begin to update two instead of five chapters to adjust. I hope you understand, guys