"Cheep." The Flash Gold Sparrow nodded, a little dejected.
Then it quickly raised its head and flapped its wings.
’Th-that’s okay too! Once your Beast Taming Space is upgraded, I can be your second pet!’
"Second thing, my second pet slot has been reserved by someone... no, some*bug*."
Su Zhi opened his phone and pulled up photos of Wu Bao.
"Cheep." The Flash Gold Sparrow, feeling a little crestfallen, used its foot to scroll through them.
Some were solo pictures of Wu Bao, some were group photos of Wu Bao with them, and some were pictures of Wu Bao with its arm slung around Yu Bao.
They looked like they got along very well.
"Woof!"
Yu Bao stretched out a paw, pressed it on the photos, and shook its head repeatedly at the Flash Gold Sparrow.
’No, I don’t know this bug! Don’t listen to Su Zhi’s nonsense!’
Su Zhi watched from the side with his hands in his pockets, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. ’Confirmed! Best buds are for backstabbing!’
"Cheep..."
After looking through them all, the Flash Gold Sparrow returned the phone to Su Zhi with its foot, looking a bit disappointed.
Although she was sad, Wu Bao was indeed stronger than her in every way, and it had also come first.
By all logic and sentiment, Su Zhi shouldn’t form a contract with her.
Suddenly, a warm index finger gently stroked her head.
"So, how about we make a little deal?"
"Cheep?" The Flash Gold Sparrow looked up, stunned.
"If I can awaken a Tier Five Beast Taming Space, and you still haven’t found a more suitable Beast Tamer by then, how about you form a contract with me and become my third pet?"
The Flash Gold Sparrow was completely taken aback.
"Cheep!"
Then it dove into Su Zhi’s arms and nuzzled him with all its might.
’Don’t you worry! I’ll never, ever, ever form a contract with anyone else!’
Su Zhi chuckled and soothed the little one, "Don’t be so sure. What if you do end up meeting someone more suitable than me?"
The Flash Gold Sparrow shook its head like a stubborn little puppy.
’I only want Su Zhi! Su Zhi is the best in the world!’
Yu Bao, the *actual* stubborn little puppy, also ran in circles around Su Zhi.
’Promise her! Promise her! Promise her!’
Su Zhi had no choice but to gently hold the Flash Gold Sparrow in his hand and smile helplessly. "Alright then, you’re my contracted-in-waiting third pet."
"Cheep!"
"You want me to give you a name, too? But I’m terrible at naming things... How about Shan Bao?"
"Cheep~"
’I have a name~’ Shan Bao flapped its wings and squinted its eyes in bliss.
Su Zhi wanted to put Shan Bao down, but Shan Bao wanted to be a "hand-chicken" and clung to Su Zhi’s hand, refusing to leave.
Yu Bao sat down next to Su Zhi and stretched its head over to get close to Shan Bao.
Seeing the two little ones acting so close despite having just met, Su Zhi couldn’t help but let a smile touch his eyes.
In fact, ever since he was treating Shan Bao, he had already been thinking about contracting it in the future.
Shan Bao’s potential was actually very high.
Don’t be fooled by how weak she was now; the Flash Gold Sparrow’s Evolutionary Type was the Aurora Wings, a Middle Commander Race, with incredibly powerful abilities in all aspects.
If raised well, reaching Three-star would be a certainty, and it might even have a shot at Four-star.
One could say it had a very promising future!
But the main reason wasn’t Shan Bao’s high potential, but its rare Space Teleportation ability.
Unlike conventional high-mobility Pet Beasts like the Cyan Feathered Falcon or Leo, the Flash Gold Sparrow’s mobility was achieved directly through spatial shifts, making it more efficient and stable than the other two.
If he wanted to join the Flying Shadow Alliance, contracting a high-mobility Pet Beast like Shan Bao was an indispensable prerequisite.
Furthermore, Flash Gold Teleportation could be combined with many of Yu Bao’s Skills, creating endless variations in combat tactics and achieving an effect where the whole was far greater than the sum of its parts!
In summary, contracting Shan Bao was a step Su Zhi was bound to take sooner or later.
It was absolutely not because Su Zhi also had a soft spot for cute, cheeping Pet Beasts.
After playing with the two little ones for a while, Su Zhi glanced at his phone. There was only about half an hour left of the designated eight hours. The trip to the Secret Realm was about to end.
"Shan Bao, we have to go. Do you want to leave with us?"
Su Zhi suggested, "Even though we don’t have a contract yet, you can come home with us first. When my space levels up, we can form the contract directly."
"Cheep?"
Shan Bao blinked.
’Well, do you have this many Gold Element resources at your home?’
"Not at all." Su Zhi shook his head with a wry smile.
’Are you kidding me?’ The Land of Flash Gold was a Secret Realm with the Gold Element as its foundation. No place on Blue Star had such abundant Gold Element resources.
Shan Bao lowered its head and thought for a moment, conflicted, then raised it again.
"Cheep cheep." "Woof."
She indicated that she would rather stay here and work hard to get stronger.
’That way, when it’s time to form a contract with Su Zhi, I won’t be a weakling anymore!’
’Are you Wu Bao’s long-lost sister...?’ Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he nodded in agreement.
In reality, staying in the Land of Flash Gold was indeed the best choice for Shan Bao.
This was a Death Secret Realm, rich in resources but without powerful Exotic Beasts, allowing Shan Bao to grow quickly and without a care in the world.
Perhaps by the time they formed the contract, Shan Bao might even be stronger than Yu Bao and Wu Bao.
"Then let’s part ways for now and meet at the summit. We both have to get stronger by then!"
"Cheep!"
Su Zhi crouched in front of Shan Bao, extended his index finger, and shook its little foot.
Then, with a little *PLUCK*, Shan Bao pulled out a feather and placed it in Su Zhi’s hand.
"Cheep cheep." Shan Bao flapped its wings.
A Flash Gold Sparrow can accurately sense the location of every one of its feathers. This way, she could find Su Zhi anytime, anywhere, through the feather.
Shan Bao solemnly nuzzled Su Zhi’s finger.
’You have to keep it safe. Don’t you dare lose my feather.’
"I will!" Su Zhi smiled gently and carefully put the feather away.
Shan Bao nodded, hopped over to Yu Bao’s side, and with another *PLUCK*, pulled out a second feather.
’One for big brother Yu Bao, too!’
"S-huff~" Yu Bao accepted the feather, its eyes narrowing slightly, drool starting to leak out.
The thought of having such a well-behaved little sister in the future made Yu Bao bubble with joy.
’Wu Bao? Who’s that? Never heard of ’em.’
"Look at you..." Su Zhi, exasperated, gave Yu Bao a light flick on the head, got up from the ground, and waved at Shan Bao.
"Goodbye, Shan Bao! See you later!"
"Woof!"
"Cheep cheep cheep~"
Shan Bao flapped its wings at them in return.
Both sides watched each other’s figures recede into the distance until they were out of sight. Yu Bao reluctantly turned its head back and refocused its gaze on the path ahead.
The time they had spent getting to know each other was joyful but brief—until they met again, it was time to work hard and get stronger!
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"Woof woof."
"Oh?"
Back in the dorm, Su Zhi was about to add points for Yu Bao, but Yu Bao raised a paw, refusing his head-patting services.
’It’s only a few points right now. Adding them one by one is boring.’
’Better to save them up. It’s more satisfying to add a whole bunch at once.’
"Becoming a master planner, are we?" Su Zhi, exasperated, ruffled Yu Bao’s head and agreed with the little guy’s idea.
For the current Yu Bao, 0.08 points really didn’t make a significant difference. Saving them up to add later would indeed feel more rewarding.
"Alright, we’ll put off adding points for now. Let’s absorb some resources first!"
"Woof!"
That was exactly what Yu Bao had been waiting for. It eagerly pawed open Su Zhi’s backpack, pulled out a small brown sphere, and cradled it in its paws.
The last Brown Relic had been a gift from Zhou Shengfa, and it had taken a long time to absorb. Ever since finishing it two days before the city tournament, Yu Bao had been thinking about this thing.
To an Earth Element Pet Beast, Brown Relics were like catnip to a cat—an irresistible attraction!
Su Zhi handed another intricately patterned stone to Yu Bao. "Remember to absorb this Thick Earth Core too. It’ll be a great help for your comprehension and advancement of the Thick Earth Blessing."
"Woof~" Yu Bao nodded happily.
’Sometimes, having too many resources to absorb is its own kind of trouble.’
Meanwhile, Su Zhi logged into the Flying Shadow Alliance forums on his phone and searched for posts in the [Resources] section.
He currently had two pieces of Tier Two Gold Element resources, Flash Gold Radiance, which he wanted to trade for a Tier Two Fire Element resource for Yu Bao.
Yu Bao’s Evolutionary Type was the dual Earth and Fire Element Yu Dian Farm Dog. Absorbing high-quality Fire Element resources in advance would help Yu Bao transition more smoothly to its Evolutionary Type.
Just then, his phone rang.
"Hello? Captain Sai? Yes, I’m alone..."
Su Zhi went outside to take the call.
Yu Bao absorbed the Brown Relic by itself for a while. Seeing that Su Zhi hadn’t returned, it went *BLING* and jumped onto the bed, sticking its head into Su Zhi’s backpack.
Two fist-sized, golden, amber-like spheres in the backpack were emitting a dazzling glow—these were the two pieces of Flash Gold Radiance Su Zhi planned to trade.
Yu Bao tilted its head and poked at them playfully with its paw.
Even though it was an Earth Element Dog, it seemed to have developed a special fondness for Gold Element things recently. ’What’s that all about?’
Yu Bao didn’t notice that every time it poked the Flash Gold Radiance, a barely visible wisp of Golden Light would separate from it and merge into its...
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