’Shan Bao, you’re a real beauty!’
"Woof." Then he pointed at Wu Bao and gave a thumbs-down.
’And you’re a big, fat troublemaker!’
"Hmph!" Wu Bao twitched his antennae, unconvinced.
’Shan Bao and I are both Elite Races, we’re a perfect match! You’re just an Extraordinary Race putting on airs. Who do you think you’re fooling?!’
"Woof," Yu Bao reminded him with a smile.
’I’ve evolved now. I’m an Elite Race, too.’
Wu Bao froze for a moment. ’Wait, that’s actually true.’
But he still thrust his horn in front of Shan Bao, looking proud.
’So what! See my Knight’s Sword?’
’A cute princess like Shan Bao and a knight like me are a match made in heaven!’
"Woof."
Yu Bao disdainfully smacked his horn away.
’You call yourself a knight, looking like that? Give me a break. It’s one thing to fool your bros, but don’t start fooling yourself.’
’And I wonder which knight is afraid of the dark~’
’And which one runs to Su Zhi for comfort in the middle of the night because he can’t win a fight~’
"Hmph, hmph!" Wu Bao stomped his foot.
Yu Bao pointed at Wu Bao and smiled at Shan Bao.
’See? He’s triggered!’
"Chirp chirp..." Shan Bao fluttered her wings, looking back and forth between Yu Bao and Wu Bao.
’Please don’t fight anymore...’
"Woof?" "Hmph?"
’Me or this worthless bug/mutt, who do you choose?’
Yu Bao and Wu Bao moved in at the same time, squishing each other’s faces.
’This question is too hard for a little bird...’ Shan Bao agonized for a while, looking at one, then the other, and blinked.
"...Chirp!"
’You... you are both my wings for flight!’
"*Pant*~" "Hmph~"
’See? Shan Bao definitely likes me more,’ they both thought.
"..." "..."
Realizing they were both having the same delusion, Yu Bao and Wu Bao pressed their faces together, glaring daggers at each other, their cheeks squished into a single line.
’Why do I feel like you two look more like a couple’s matching profile picture...’ Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he pulled the two of them apart.
So Yu Bao lay down to the left of Su Zhi’s legs and Wu Bao to the right, and they made faces at each other.
Shan Bao looked at Su Zhi, her eyes asking what she should do.
Su Zhi shrugged. ’No idea.’
His initial worry was what would happen if Wu Bao didn’t welcome Shan Bao to the team.
He never, ever would have imagined it would turn out like *this*...
"Alright, alright, stop fighting."
Su Zhi patted Yu Bao’s paw with his left hand and stroked Wu Bao’s horn with his right.
"I know you were contracted at different times, but you’re all my family. Family should help and support each other, don’t you think?"
"Woof-hine." "Hmph."
Seeing Yu Bao and Wu Bao shake paws and make up, a smile couldn’t help but appear in Su Zhi’s eyes.
And then...
"Woof woof."
Yu Bao indicated that it was all their Beast Tamer’s fault. If his Beast Taming Space didn’t level up so slowly, this kind of dispute wouldn’t have happened.
"Hmph hmph." Wu Bao gave a thumbs-up with its middle leg in wholehearted agreement.
Su Zhi: "?"
’Holy cow, how did this turn into my fault?’
"Woof woof." Yu Bao spread his paws.
’I mean, let’s be real. Isn’t the main conflict right now the contradiction between the high demand from many Pet Beasts to form a contract with you and the pathetic level of your Beast Taming Space?’
’One look is all it takes to see the truth. Verdict: Lame.’
Su Zhi’s face flushed red. "I... Am I not fast enough? I’m already Tier Two! How many people reach Tier Two before their second year of high school!"
"*Pant*." Yu Bao pointed at Su Zhi, giving Wu Bao a knowing smile.
’See? He’s triggered.’
"Hmph." Wu Bao laughed along with Yu Bao.
The kind-hearted Shan Bao hopped onto Su Zhi’s shoulder and chirped softly, "Chirp chirp~"
’It’s okay, being only Tier Two is still great~’
Su Zhi’s face darkened.
·
Lunch was a whole roasted bear.
It started when Yang Shuyue went to pick some wild fruit. A passing One-star Iron Birch Bear saw how short she was, mistook her for a lone human child, and decided to try its luck.
Yang Shuyue figured, since it came all this way, she might as well accept this gift from nature.
Peng Kai remarked while chewing on a bear paw, "Sister Yang is a real man, carrying that huge bear back all by herself."
Yang Shuyue gave him a solid punch. "I already told you Mars was the one who dragged it back!"
"Ow, that really hurt! You’ll never find a boyfriend if you’re this violent..."
"Say that again!"
Su Zhi asked curiously, "Didn’t you say you had a boyfriend before?"
Yang Shuyue snorted and went back to gnawing on her bear paw.
Peng Kai said, "People are always loudest about what they lack."
Yang Shuyue raised an eyebrow.
Peng Kai covered his head and dropped into a defensive crouch.
The other Alliance Members burst into laughter, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the air around the campfire.
Yu Bao took two bites, then stopped eating. He went over and clung to Su Zhi, eyes sparkling as he pawed at him.
’I should have a ton of Points by now, right? He didn’t have the heart to spend all those Points I got last time; he saved them all up.’
’I can’t hold it in anymore! Add some Points!’
"Oh ho, so now you remember me?"
Su Zhi turned his head away. "I’m no good, remember? I’m just a scrub. The verdict is in: I’m lame."
"Woof-hine, woof-hine~" Yu Bao whined, rubbing against Su Zhi affectionately.
Su Zhi pretended to be angry for a moment, but when he saw the sad look on Yu Bao’s face, he chuckled softly and hugged the little guy’s... no, the big guy’s head.
And then he proceeded to ruffle it vigorously—
"Hmph?" "Chirp?" Wu Bao and Shan Bao watched curiously from the side, tucking their appendages under them.
"Woof-hine," Yu Bao conveyed while getting his head ruffled. ’This is a ritual to get stronger! Only Pet Beasts contracted to Su Zhi get to do it!’
The other two looked on with a touch of envy.
"Don’t worry, you’ll all get your turn in the future!"
Su Zhi finished the ruffling and let go—
[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Farm Dog)
Power: 1.30
Agility: 2.10
Intelligence: 2.10 -> 2.22
Constitution: 1.42
Perception: 2.22 -> 2.42]
[Real-time Energy Value: 2900]
After Yu Bao’s evolution, the boosting Effect of adding Points on his Real-time Energy Value had also jumped. Now, 0.01 Points corresponded to 10-15 Energy Value, which was more than double the previous rate.
At this rate, it was highly likely that Yu Bao could reach Two-star before Su Zhi’s third year of high school. It wouldn’t even be a huge problem to aim for Three-star during the college entrance exams!
Su Zhi felt this was his biggest cheat. Other Pet Beasts would eventually hit bottlenecks where their growth slowed or even stopped, but for Yu Bao, all it took was adding more Points.
Of course, even adding Points for Yu Bao sometimes hit a bottleneck, but it was like lowering the difficulty from "hard" to "easy."
"So, Yu Bao? How do you feel?"
"Woof-hine..." Yu Bao’s eyes shot open.
’I’m really getting more and more of that Great Emperor...’
Su Zhi gave him a flick on the forehead. "You don’t have to say that every single time!"
"Woof-hine." Yu Bao waved his paw, then secretively pulled Su Zhi into a nearby bush.
’I know you’re excited, but hold your horses.’
’Look, what’s this?’
"...Metal from the soil?"
Su Zhi was pleasantly surprised to see the silver and black particles floating up from under Yu Bao’s paws.
Yu Bao nodded.
Then, he summoned wind-blown sand and scorching fire, mixing them in mid-air. They swirled, spiraled, and created patterns... he performed all sorts of fancy tricks with ease, dazzling Su Zhi.
Before, Yu Bao could only do a simple mix of Fire and sand, but now, he had made a qualitative leap.
Flame enveloped the raging sand, and the sand flowed with the Fire, like a living spirit, shimmering brightly in front of Su Zhi.
After the huge boost to his Perception, Yu Bao’s control over the Elements had become much more profound.
Yu Bao was already getting impatient to develop more fancy moves! He was going to learn new Skills as soon as they got back!
Su Zhi laughed, at a loss for words. "If you become the strongest Pet Beast in the future, you’ll probably lead the entire aesthetic of the Beast Taming Realm astray..."
Yu Bao indicated that this wasn’t leading it astray, it was setting it back on the right track!
Then, he sighed, a little dejected.
’It’s a shame I can’t control the Gold Element and Fire Element at the same time, or I could pull off even more fancy tricks.’
"You’re already very strong, and you’ll be even stronger in the future. As for the Gold Element, we can ask Luo Sen when we get back. He should have some ideas."
Su Zhi patted Yu Bao’s shoulder and stood up to leave the bush.
"Come on, let’s go back and eat!"
"Woof-hine..."
Yu Bao followed behind Su Zhi, muttering as he walked.
’I don’t want to eat.’
’I just finished allocating my Points, my Power has skyrocketed, and this is the perfect window to use my information advantage to show off and put some doubters in their place.’
’There should be a Pet Beast Battle right now for me to show what I can do. It would be best if there were a bunch of onlookers who doubt me, so I can enjoy the satisfying feeling of seeing their shocked faces after I win.’
’What’s so interesting about eating?’
’Like there are that many Pet Beast Battles for you to fight...’ Su Zhi glanced at Yu Bao. "Well, you can wait for someone to come along for you to show off to. I’ll eat your share for you."
Just as they were about to exit the bush, a short figure suddenly appeared, blocking Su Zhi’s path.
"Got a minute? Mars heard that Yu Bao evolved and wants to spar with him!"
"Ah, this..." Su Zhi looked back at Yu Bao, whose eyes were shining, and was momentarily speechless.
’He actually spoke it into existence... Could this be the chosen dog?’
·
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