Noon. The Divine Strategy Alliance cafeteria.
A girl with white hair and blue eyes walked with a light spring in her step, a bookbag slung over one shoulder.
As she passed by the long windows, sunlight glanced off her bright white hair, causing more than a few of the STEM students—who claimed to be devoted solely to their research—to steal a look.
"Xiaoya~ What’re you having for lunch today?"
A few of the girls she had befriended during the summer camp gathered around, encircling Shao Ya.
"How about the crab cakes? They’re twenty percent off today."
"Let’s get the ’Flying Shadow Hot Pot’! It seems pretty unique, and we haven’t tried it yet."
"Pfft, isn’t that just a fancy name for a random stew made of leftovers? What’s so good about that?"
"Let’s just get something simple. We still have homework to do this afternoon..."
"Sigh." At the mention of homework, all the girls sighed in unison.
After a morning lecture on the "relatively simple" High Level Beast Taming Introduction, Master Samika had dismissed the class and assigned the summer camp members some "slightly difficult" exercises.
There were generally only two types of people at the Divine Strategy Alliance summer camp: those who cried and moaned and questioned their life choices, and those who got incredibly excited, much like Luo Sen.
And without a doubt, Shao Ya’s silly friends belonged to the former group...
"Waaah! Didn’t we just do homework yesterday? Why do we have to do it again today?!"
"Damn it! I’m going to make sure I find a partner who can do my homework for me in the future!"
One quick-witted girl buried her face somewhere on Shao Ya’s person and whined in a cutesy voice, "Xiaooo~yaaa~"
Shao Ya affectionately patted her somewhere and said, "I know, I know. I’ll let you copy my homework."
"Thanks, Xiaoya~~!"
The other girls all buried their faces into Shao Ya as well. Used to this, Shao Ya just smiled and patted them all, from the one on her left to the one on her right, making sure everyone got their share.
Because she was gentle, considerate, and let them copy her homework, Shao Ya had already become the group’s surrogate mother. Someone even called her "Nanny Shao" directly.
"If I were a guy, I’d definitely marry a girl like Xiaoya."
"Have some confidence! A girl can, too!"
"No way! Xiaoya would probably take the lead in the relationship... though, that might not be so bad... Hehe~"
"I wonder which lucky guy will snatch Xiaoya up in the future..."
"Speaking of which, does Xiaoya have a boyfriend?"
At someone’s question, all the girls turned to look at Shao Ya, their eyes filled with gossip.
Shao Ya glanced at the girl who asked and lifted her chin. "Not yet. And for the record, you were picked out of a trash can by your dad."
"If you don’t, then give your big sis a chance!"
"Ah! Xiaoya is mine! En garde!"
"Alright, stop fooling around."
Not sure whether to laugh or cry, Shao Ya pulled the two childish girls apart. She glanced at her watch. "You guys go ahead and eat. I’m not eating in the cafeteria today."
As she spoke, Shao Ya walked up to a service window and scanned a code. "Two takeout orders, please. Tomato and egg with kung pao chicken, and rice as the main staple. Thank you~!"
The cafeteria worker efficiently packed the meals.
One of her friends came closer and pushed up her glasses. "Tsk tsk, who are you getting food for, Xiaoya?"
"It’s for a friend. He’s here at the Divine Strategy Alliance to take care of something today."
The girls: "A guy or a girl?"
"A guy."
The girls: "!!!"
"Pass it on! Xiaoya’s getting food for her boyfriend!"
"Pass it on! Xiaoya’s prepared a surprise for her boyfriend!"
"Pass it on! Xiaoya’s getting married tomorrow!"
"Hey, I’ll beat you up if you keep talking nonsense!" Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Shao Ya waved a pink-knuckled fist as her friends scattered with a whoop.
Her gaze fell to the two boxed lunches in her hands, and her expression softened. She carefully adjusted the chopsticks in one of the bags to keep them from accidentally poking a hole in the plastic.
Shao Ya then headed out of the cafeteria, glancing at her watch as she left.
’Twelve-thirty... If I run, I should have no problem getting to the research center before one.’
With that thought, the girl held the boxed lunches securely and broke into a jog. When she reached the cafeteria entrance, she paused, noticing the gloomy sky.
She reached into the side pocket of her bag and confirmed her umbrella was there. The girl breathed a sigh of relief and picked up her pace, jogging even faster toward the research center.
...
...
The Dream—
Yu Bao turned his head to look at Su Zhi, whom he was holding aloft. "Woof?"
"I’m fine!"
As a Beast Tamer who had been through his fair share of battles, Su Zhi, though still shaken, quickly composed himself and looked down—
The earth, which had been shimmering with Golden Light, had already shattered, revealing the brownish soil beneath. Each fissure was dozens of meters deep, and the central chasm was a hundred meters deep, exposing the reddish-brown subsoil.
A faint yellow glow flowed at the bottom of the fissures—it was magma that had welled up near the surface through the deep cracks.
"How terrifying..."
Su Zhi sucked in a sharp breath.
Just what kind of Pet Beast could cause such a massive earthquake?
And even after creating such enormous fissures, the Pet Beast still hadn’t revealed its full body!
"SWISH—SWISH—"
Immediately after, the soil and metal on the ground began to squirm and merge.
The glittering golden metal mixed with the earth, morphing into massive tentacles that shot toward Yu Bao and Su Zhi in midair.
Yu Bao immediately took off with Su Zhi, weaving between the tentacles in one terrifying pass after another.
Thankfully, he had been practicing his Sand Manipulation Technique diligently lately, so flying while carrying a person was no problem.
’As expected of my Beast Tamer, so farsighted!’
"Save the flattery for later... I’m telling you, Yu Bao, what in the world did you wake up?!"
"Woof woof woof!" Yu Bao shook his head, looking completely clueless.
’I dunno!’
"Stay calm. Don’t just keep dodging; look for a chance to counterattack."
Luo Sen’s voice came through the earpiece in Su Zhi’s right ear. "I haven’t figured out what that Pet Beast is, but it’s undoubtedly a manifestation of Gold Element Energy. Only by demonstrating your Power here can you make that Energy submit to you!"
"Easy for you to say! How are we supposed to fight it?"
Luo Sen: "That, I do not know."
Su Zhi: "???"
Luo Sen: "You guys handle it for now. Alliance Leader Qiu and I are going out for a meal."
Su Zhi: "Hello? Hello?!"
’Go eat crap...’ Su Zhi’s gaze returned to the tentacles, and he gritted his teeth.
’Time to go all out!’
"Yu Bao! Hit them with a Furious Sand Blade! Let’s show these tentacles what we’re made of!"
"Woof!"
Yu Bao nodded, and a massive cloud of sand and dust instantly billowed around him, forming into an unstoppable Battle Saber that flew toward the tentacles.
Empowered by the Thick Earth Blessing, the already razor-sharp Furious Sand Blade became even more deadly!
SLASH—SLASH—
A few muffled thuds echoed through the air. The tentacles, formed from a mixture of metal and earth, were no match for the Furious Sand Blade and were severed on impact.
However, after the Furious Sand Blade flew past, the severed ends of the tentacles simply melted back together, good as new!
Yu Bao: "?"
Su Zhi: "??"
’Damn it! Are you cheating or what?’
"RUMBLE—RUMBLE—"
An even more violent tremor came from below. Even in midair, they could feel the earth-shaking vibrations.
The beautiful, golden landscape of the Land of Flash Gold was now completely ruined. More and more metal fragments were being absorbed by the exposed soil, forming even larger tentacles than before, which then attacked the boy and his Pet Beast in the air.
"How are we supposed to fight this? It just grows back when you cut it. It’s more broken than a hacker..."
Su Zhi complained, but he was also thinking hard.
If those tentacles symbolized the untamed Gold Element Energy inside Yu Bao, how could they gain its acknowledgment?
Among all of Yu Bao’s Skills, the only one that seemed effective against these tentacles was Furious Sand Blade, but a normal Furious Sand Blade clearly wasn’t working...
Wait, Yu Bao was a Yu Dian Farm Dog now—an Earth And Fire Dual Attribute.
The Fire Element is strong against the Gold Element!
Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. "Yu Bao, use that new type of Furious Sand Blade you invented!"
"Woof."
Yu Bao corrected him—it was Fierce Sand Blade·Burning Sand Blade.
Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he nodded along. "Alright, Yu Bao, use Burning Sand Blade on it!"
"Woof!"
Yu Bao nodded, and crimson Fire and surging sand gathered around him at the same time.
The Golden Light of the Thick Earth Blessing made the grains of sand shine brilliantly. Flame flowed between the rapidly vibrating particles of dust, giving the attack an even more terrifying aura.
With a fierce look in Yu Bao’s eyes, several Furious Sand Blades carrying scorching flames flew toward the tentacles in unison!
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
This time was indeed different from the last.
Besides the muffled sound of a clean slice, Su Zhi also heard the roar of burning Flame.
The moment they touched the tentacles, the Flame on the Furious Sand Blades spread rapidly, incinerating all the Gold Element in an entire tentacle.
In less than a second, a tentacle over ten meters long and nearly half a meter thick was burned away, leaving only scattered clumps of earth!
"It’s working!" "Woof!"
Su Zhi’s and Yu Bao’s eyes lit up, and they high-fived with a paw.
Perhaps because they were in a dream, the suppressive effect of the Fire Element on the Gold Element was far more exaggerated than in reality!
"Yu Bao, stick to this strategy! Use... Sandstorm·Flying Flame Form!"
"Woof!"
Perhaps because Su Zhi had gotten the skill name right, Yu Bao was extremely excited and put extra effort into releasing the Skill.
A storm of Fire and sand swept up, exploding in midair like a magnificent firework.
The sandstorm raged and Flowing Fire danced, like fragments entering the atmosphere to form a meteor shower.
"WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"
In that instant, all the tentacles disintegrated. The metal was burned away, and the loosened earth fell to the ground.
But despite the impressive display, Yu Bao hadn’t fundamentally changed the situation. The earth was still trembling, and he didn’t dare land. Brand-new tentacles were rapidly forming, attacking the two in the sky one after another.
’Looks like this isn’t the way to break the stalemate...’
Yu Bao held them off for the moment with Flame while Su Zhi stared at the tentacles made of metal and earth, then looked at Yu Bao and suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, Yu Bao, why don’t you try controlling the Gold Element and incorporating it into your own Skills?"
"Woof?" Yu Bao opened his mouth.
He didn’t know how.
"This is your dream. This Gold Element Power is originally a part of you. You’re so sensitive to the Gold Element, you can definitely do it!"
Su Zhi gave him a thumbs-up. "Believe in yourself!"
"...Woof!"
So Yu Bao nodded vigorously. While holding off the attacks with Furious Sand Blade, he tried to channel the Gold Element Energy.
Su Zhi was right. He could indeed perceive the faintly stirring Gold Element Energy within his body, like vaguely hearing his parents talking through a wall.
But he couldn’t use this Gold Element Energy. He couldn’t channel it, as if something were suppressing it...
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