Brother Shui’s eyes bulged, spinning in opposite directions. He fainted on the spot, out like a light.
[Assignable Attribute Points... 0.32]
「Ten minutes later...」
"CHIRP!"
Shan Bao bowed very politely to Brother Shui in thanks.
’Thank you for practicing with me, Senior! I had a lot of fun!’
Brother Shui was huddled at the base of the wall with his head buried in the corner, sulking. He paid her no mind.
"Thank you, Hall Master Yan, for going easy on us and making it a good experience!" Su Zhi said, gratefully shaking Yan Dingyi’s hand.
"Haha, you’re welcome. The younger generation is certainly something to be reckoned with."
Yan Dingyi forced a smile, but he could barely maintain it.
’Go easy my ass! Brother Shui even busted out his Core Skill...’
’You guys got your good experience, but he got wrecked!’
After talking with Su Zhi, Yan Dingyi learned that Shan Bao had trained in Super Heavy Gold Fall and had awakened Hardening mid-battle.
’Thinking about it that way, it seems reasonable... like hell it does!’
’Making a glass cannon train the skills of a defensive Pet Beast, are you serious?’
’What’s even more ridiculous is... it was actually quite effective?!’
Brother Shui was just sulking because he lost the match, but Yan Dingyi was utterly bewildered. He felt as if he’d been a Beast Tamer for all these years for nothing; his very Dao had been shaken.
However, the Master Level Beast Tamer quickly came to terms with it.
Looking back at history, the Classical Era, where a hundred schools of thought contended, clearly had many Pet Beasts with vastly different abilities. Although the Beast Taming system back then was immature, it was an era every Beast Tamer yearned for.
In recent times, Beast Taming has trended towards uniformity and monotony. All Beast Tamers and their Pet Beasts have become machines chasing a single, standard answer.
Perhaps it wasn’t that Su Zhi’s style was unconventional... but that the Beast Taming Realm itself should be a place where a hundred flowers bloom.
"Keep it up."
Yan Dingyi patted Su Zhi’s shoulder, his tone a mix of relief and encouragement.
"I hope that in my lifetime, I’ll have the honor of seeing you reach the pinnacle of Beast Taming!"
Su Zhi chuckled. "You’ll probably have to get someone to burn the videotape as an offering for you by then!"
Yan Dingyi: "Damn."
The old man and the young man both broke into laughter. But Shan Bao, perched on Su Zhi’s shoulder, suddenly drifted weakly downwards, startling Su Zhi into instinctively catching her in his cupped hands.
"Shan Bao? Shan Bao, what’s wrong!"
Yan Shouzheng smiled faintly. "Don’t be alarmed. It’s most likely just Energy exhaustion. She’ll be fine after a good rest."
Su Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although her performance in the ring was brilliant, Shan Bao was ultimately the weaker combatant fighting up. Winning had been hard enough; exhaustion was only to be expected.
In truth, that last move had been a huge gamble. Luckily, Brother Shui had been bull-headed and insisted on countering with his Flowing Shield. If it had been Yu Bao, he would have just spammed clones and turtled to the end, giving no chance for a do-or-die attack.
Still, it had to be said that Shan Bao’s tactic of combining Flash Gold Teleportation, Hardening, and Super Heavy Gold Fall made Su Zhi’s eyes light up.
Flash Gold Teleportation allowed Shan Bao to move unpredictably; Hardening greatly increased her body’s durability; and Super Heavy Gold Fall massively increased her weight.
When these three Skills were combined, they turned Shan Bao into a Sword of Damocles hanging over her opponent’s head.
’A little bird that can move and defend, and occasionally transforms into an East Wind missile... it’s sure to make any opponent’s world go dark, right?’
Su Zhi couldn’t wait to see Shan Bao in a real competition. ’The university team tournament doesn’t seem to limit the number of Pet Beasts. I’ll ask Shao Ya about the specific rules when I get back...’ Thinking of this, he glanced at his watch. Shao Ya wasn’t back yet.
"Yu Bao, you stay here. Don’t go anywhere!"
"WOOF."
"When she gets back, if she asks, could you please tell her I went to the bathroom!"
Su Zhi jogged out of the Battle Hall.
Yan Dingyi chuckled softly and looked up at the ceiling, as if lost in a memory.
Sure enough, Shao Ya returned moments later, holding two bottles of a red sports drink. This particular drink was marketed to Beast Tamers, as it could effectively replenish spent Spiritual Power. Even a normal person would feel refreshed after drinking it.
"Where’s Su Zhi?" the girl asked, looking around curiously and seeing only Yu Bao.
"Hahh... Hahh..." Yu Bao pretended not to hear, nuzzling against Xiaoyue... though he didn’t have to pretend to do that part.
The girl then looked toward Yan Dingyi.
Yan Dingyi was ready and replied calmly, "He went to the bathroom."
Shao Ya pouted, twisted open one of the drinks, and took a sip.
’As if I don’t know how many times he goes to the bathroom in a day,’ she thought. ’That’s just his excuse. I wonder what mischief he’s up to behind my back this time.’
’Wait, why do I smell him...?’
The girl whipped her head around with a BLING.
The boy, who had been tiptoeing up to her, froze in place.
Seeing the two sports drinks in her arms, the boy’s expression turned to one of astonishment. He stared down in a daze at the two identical drinks he was holding.
The girl’s lips curved into a slight smile, as if she’d figured something out.
Su Zhi sounded bewildered. "But you said you were going to buy water..."
"I never said I was buying mineral water~ ’Water’ can refer to all kinds of beverages, you know~"
Shao Ya looked at Su Zhi, suppressing a laugh. "So, you thought I was just buying plain water, and you snuck off to get sports drinks?"
"Um... because these can replenish Spiritual Power, and your Beast Taming Talent is pretty draining on your Spirit, so..."
Su Zhi mumbled, his voice trailing off.
’I wanted to give her a nice surprise, but she completely read me again.’
’Why is getting along with girls harder than Beast Taming...?’
"Thank you. I love it."
Just when Su Zhi thought all was lost, the girl suddenly stepped forward and took one of the drinks from his hands.
She twisted it open, took a long swig, and let out a comfortable sigh.
Su Zhi watched her. "How is it?"
The girl gave a little wink. "Tastes better than mine!"
Su Zhi opened his own drink and took a sip, a smile spreading across his face.
’Her compliment is a bit of a stretch,’ he thought. ’They’re the exact same drink. How can one bottle possibly taste better than another?’
"Don’t believe me? Here, try mine."
Looking competitive, the girl crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and handed her own bottle to Su Zhi.
So, Su Zhi took it and had a sip.
The sweet, refreshing liquid flowed over his tongue and down his throat, settling in his stomach and washing away the day’s sweltering heat. It felt wonderful.
"How is it?" There was a sparkle in the girl’s azure eyes.
Su Zhi looked at her and mimicked her wink. "Yours is definitely the one that tastes better."
They looked at each other and smiled, then sat on a bench in the rest area, sipping their drinks and petting their Pet Beasts.
Shao Ya petted Xiaoyue, Su Zhi petted Yu Bao, and Yu Bao also petted Xiaoyue.
Halfway through his drink, Su Zhi froze.
’This bottle... I think it’s the one she drank from???’
Su Zhi smacked his lips.
Seeing that Shao Ya apparently hadn’t noticed, Su Zhi cleared his throat, decided not to make a big deal out of it, and kept drinking.
Little did he know, the girl’s azure eyes were watching him the entire time, filled with amusement.
"Youth is a beautiful thing."
Yan Dingyi remarked wistfully from the front desk. "Wouldn’t you agree, Xiaoliu?"
"..." said the sparring partner.
"Oh, right. You haven’t found anyone yet, have you..." Yan Dingyi chuckled awkwardly.
"..." The sparring partner was grinding his back teeth into dust.
’Su Zhi! Damn you to hell!!’
·
「Downstairs at the apartment complex.」
"Alright, bye-bye then. Don’t forget to report to Teacher Zhou as soon as school starts to sort out the team selections and training schedule."
After delivering her routine, motherly instructions, Shao Ya and Xiaoyue walked into the apartment building across from them.
"CHIRP!" "WOOF!"
Shan Bao and Wu Bao waved goodbye with a mixture of excitement and reverence, showing even more enthusiasm than Su Zhi himself.
They had already committed it to memory: seeing the pretty lady off every day would make them stronger!
’Yu Bao, you’re such a bad influence...’ Su Zhi thought, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he watched the three little critters.
"Oh, right, Wu Bao. Has the Doubling Skill had any Effect?"
"WOO!" Wu Bao nodded excitedly and stood before Su Zhi.
’Master Wu, unleash your power!’
...
"ARF?" Yu Bao scratched his head.
’It doesn’t look any different?’
"WOO! WOO!" Wu Bao frantically pointed at himself.
’I obviously got smaller, you know! My horns used to be as wide as Shan Bao, but now they’re narrower!’
"CHIRP CHIRP?" Shan Bao flew up curiously to compare and found it was true.
Yu Bao waved a paw dismissively.
’You call that progress? You’re pathetic, string bean.’
Su Zhi tucked his hands in his pockets. "That’s not necessarily because of Doubling. It could just be that Shan Bao got fat."
Shan Bao shot Su Zhi a look.
’This isn’t fat! It’s fluff!’
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Su Zhi ruffled Shan Bao’s head, then used a measurement app on his phone to check Wu Bao.
What do you know... he really was thinner by a few centimeters. It seemed Wu Bao’s training with Doubling was paying off after all.
Having been praised, Wu Bao smugly wiggled his butt at Yu Bao.
Yu Bao pouted and secretly resolved to step up the internal competition.
’Shan Bao doesn’t know what’s going on. But I’ll do my best to get stronger!’
"Everyone’s got to keep up the hard work!"
Seeing the spirit of his three little companions, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile.
At the same time, his fists clenched a little tighter.
’Everyone’s doing their best...’
’I can’t afford to fall behind!’
·
·