Pet Care Mini Classroom (2)

Howling gales swept up the snow blanketing the ground. Then, as a blinding light erupted from the center of the summoning array, an enormous white figure strode boldly out of the void, so vast it seemed to blot out the sky.

It was a massive white-furred tiger. The moment it appeared, Chen Guan fixed his gaze on the beast, which radiated an unmistakably dangerous aura.

“Big White, come over and say hello to the newcomer. You’ve met before.”

White Tiger grinned and raised an arm in greeting.

The giant tiger, saddled with such a childish name, threw back its head and let out a roar that shot into the heavens, sending layer upon layer of alarm ripples flashing across the defensive barrier in the distance.

Then, its head—several times larger than an SUV—lowered obediently, and its hot, damp nose, lined with barbs, nudged White Tiger’s palm with practiced familiarity.

White Tiger casually scratched beneath its fluffy chin, all while answering a phone call. He spent quite a while assuring Old Wang over the phone before finally hanging up.

This tiger, which could swat ten Baobaos to death with a single paw, now narrowed its golden vertical pupils in contentment. Deep, rumbling purrs rolled from its throat without the slightest concern for dignity.

The striking contrast was so visually jarring that Chen Guan had no idea what to say for a moment.

White Tiger said they had met before, which meant there was only one place it could have happened: Jiangcheng.

Still, Chen Guan remembered it being nowhere near this large back then. He had no idea how White Tiger had managed to feed it into such a size.

Baobao, off in the distance amusing itself, keenly sensed the powerful presence of this unexpected visitor.

It immediately abandoned its play, arched its back, and had every strand of purple fur stand on end. A continuous warning growl rumbled from its throat, declaring its territorial claim.

Big White, lying in the snow, barely lifted an eyelid to glance at Baobao. In its eyes, the mutated cheetah was not even worthy of being called an appetizer. It merely yawned, bored and heavy.

The air casually exhaled by a tenth-rank beast instantly became a miniature storm steeped in a foul, bloody wind. It sent the snarling Baobao tumbling backward more than ten meters, carving two ragged claw marks across the smooth snow.

Even without any intent to attack, the sheer disparity in size was there. Poor Baobao was blown away like a little toy.

Without hesitation, Chen Guan stepped forward and stood in front of Baobao, completely blocking the high-level pressure Big White was unconsciously releasing.

Caught between them, White Tiger hurriedly waved both arms, forcibly dispersing the tension that was on the verge of erupting. “Hurry up and put that rotten temper away. I called you out this time so we could have some fun. Shrink down already—Old Wang has been calling me.”

Big White obediently snorted, swiftly reined in its outwardly released aura, and lowered its huge head back between its forepaws, lying in the snow.

Its thick tail, like a steel whip, lazily swept through the snow, stirring up clouds of white powder.

A moment later, the snow mist dispersed. Big White had shrunk to the same size as Baobao—a small little thing.

Once the crushing pressure of a lethal threat was gone, Baobao finally regained its sense of security. Its tail swishing, it trotted over to Chen Guan’s legs and rubbed its head against him ingratiatingly.

He was the only thigh it could cling to. Baobao was terrified that the arrogant White Tiger might decide to eat it later.

Chen Guan gave Baobao’s fluffy head a couple of reassuring rubs and put his newly acquired knowledge to use.

“Good job.”

At the praise, Baobao’s tail immediately began spinning like a propeller. It even gathered the courage to lick the back of Chen Guan’s hand with its rough tongue.

The White Tiger, who had watched the entire exchange, nodded approvingly.

“That’s more like it. Unreasonable favoritism is the most basic quality of a competent owner. You have to let it know that even if the sky comes crashing down, you’ll stand tall and hold it up. Only then will it feel safe.”

The White Tiger walked over to Big White and casually sat down cross-legged beside it.

“The direction of your little cheetah’s mutation is extremely unusual. Even I couldn’t figure out how it opened its mouth and swallowed that huge thing just now. But... doesn’t it have some kind of flaw?”

Following the White Tiger’s gaze, Chen Guan looked toward the purple figure wagging its tail in the snow. He truly couldn’t see what flaw this carefree mutant cheetah possessed.

“Spatial movement, a pocket dimension, plus mutated void attributes—it would be a monster-tier beast anywhere in the demon beast world.”

The White Tiger paused there and turned to look at the small white beast beside it, which was yawning. Big White slowly opened its golden, slit-pupiled eyes and licked the snow foam from the corner of its mouth with a barbed tongue.

“A monster, sure. But an uneducated monster.”

A deep, rugged male voice rang out through the wind-swept, snow-filled valley.

Who was speaking?

Chen Guan’s breath caught for an instant as he turned his head, searching for the source of the voice. Apart from himself and the White Tiger, there were no other humans here.

That rich, resonant voice, with the polished cadence of a radio announcer, had actually come from the shrunken tiger.

Big White propped its enormous chin on one forepaw, its expression radiating distinctly human disdain.

“Any demon beast above the sixth rank that cannot master human language—or even refine the hyoid bone in its throat—is an idiot with nothing but brute strength,” Big White continued in flawless Mandarin.

At that, Baobao immediately stopped pawing at the chunks of snow. It ran back to Chen Guan’s side and let out a low, warning growl at Big White.

You’re the idiot! Your whole family is idiotic!

It simply couldn’t speak human language. It could still understand anything that wasn’t too complicated.

The White Tiger patted Big White’s broad back, then turned to Chen Guan.

“Big White is right. Chen Guan, you have to admit that this cheetah is severely unbalanced right now. Its combat instincts and innate gifts are maxed out, but its intellectual development and physical evolution have completely stagnated.”

“If I’m not mistaken, it can’t assume human form either, can it?”

Chen Guan did not deny it. He nodded.

White Tiger fell into thought. “Just as I suspected. This little guy’s original form is a lightning cheetah, a demonic beast species with an extremely low potential ceiling. A high-grade demon core opened up a path for its advancement, but because of the limitations of its species, it left behind this kind of aftereffect.”

“For naturally gifted species like Little White, speaking and taking human form are abilities written into their DNA. But for this little leopard, those are things its genes simply don’t provide. It has to learn them on its own.”

“This silly cat has to master communication skills.” Looking at Baobao before him, Big White could not help but feel a little sympathetic.

“Big White is right.” White Tiger sat cross-legged in the snow and pointed at Baobao, who was wagging its tail. “It really does need to learn.”

Chen Guan looked down at the mutated cheetah by his feet. He did not think Baobao necessarily needed to speak human language, but there was no harm in learning another language.

“How do we teach it?” Chen Guan asked.

“Have it learn from me.” Big White lifted his chin and lowered his enormous head over Baobao, determined to properly display the authority of a senior.