Free Web NovelChapter 146: Chapter 131: Pinky Promise
This was the tenacity of the Black Fighting Emperor!
"Alright then."
Su Zhi smiled, his gaze softening. "Then let’s part ways for now. We both have to give it our all. By the time we meet again, I’ll aim to break through to a Tier Three Beast Taming Space.
"By then, we’ll both be on a whole new level! How about it?"
"Woo!" Wu Bao nodded emphatically.
’A pinky promise!’
But the wire mesh was in the way, and he couldn’t move his horns...
Watching the little guy’s valiant struggle against the wire mesh, Su Zhi’s eyes filled with more amusement, and he signaled for Wu Bao to back away.
Then, Su Zhi reached his hand through the wire mesh and hooked his finger around Wu Bao’s horn.
A pinky promise.
Good for a hundred years, no take-backs~
"Alright, we’re heading back now. Go get ’em, Wu Bao!" Su Zhi said, giving Wu Bao a fist pump before he left.
"Woo!" Wu Bao responded, his eyes full of determination.
’I’m going to train hard! I’ll grind Big Brother Yu Bao into the dust!’
"Arf?!" Yu Bao’s gaze toward Wu Bao instantly became wary.
’Oh-ho! We don’t even have a contract yet and he’s already plotting to usurp my position. This Bao cannot be allowed to stay!’
"Woof woof woof!" he yapped, tugging on Su Zhi’s pant leg.
’Give me Points! Hurry, give me Points!’
’The next time we meet, it’ll be time to establish the pecking order! I’ll teach this unruly little brother a thing or two!’
’Why is he suddenly acting like Xiaoyue? Is it because he’s about to get a little brother...?’ Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was about to be dragged off by Yu Bao before he could even process the absurdity.
"Yes, yes, Points! We’ll add them when we get back! Stop pulling on my pants!"
·
Back at school, the moment Class 10 stepped off the bus, a series of gasps erupted.
"Holy shit! The school’s Pet Beast Ranking just updated! Brother Shu shot up to second place in the entire first year!"
"What’s the big deal? God Su is the city league champion. Isn’t it normal for him to hit second place?"
The city league results were weighted heavily in this latest Pet Beast Ranking update. Leveraging the huge number of points from his victory, Su Zhi vaulted into second place!
Shao Ya, meanwhile, held the top spot, relying on the strength of her all-around performance.
In reality, the point difference between them was minuscule. If Su Zhi hadn’t missed two weeks of class, which affected his quiz scores, he could have overtaken Shao Ya.
"The class president is still number one, though. Guess there’s still a gap between the rising dark horse and the established powerhouse."
"Or maybe, just maybe, God Su doesn’t give a damn how far he is from the ’Great Emperor.’ The guy has already won at life..."
"Damn it! Curse you, Brother Shu!"
Caught off guard by this public display of affection, the classmates were about to call Su Zhi out on it, only to find he had already vanished.
"Did he get right off the bus and go back to grinding? Is there no downtime??"
"Jeez, God Su, give us schlubs a chance to live..."
"He doesn’t have a contract with a Space Element pet, right? How can he run that fast?"
"Tsk tsk, a man needs to be more devoted. Class President, you’d better get him in line!"
It’s unclear who started it, but someone’s joke made the whole class roar with laughter and turn to look at Shao Ya.
And then, everyone froze. Shao Ya was gone, too...
·
「On the athletic field.」
"ARF!"
"Let’s do this!" Su Zhi spat into his palms for effect, then grabbed Yu Bao’s head and gave it a vigorous noogie.
From the battle with King Leou, Yu Bao had gained 0.15 Points in one go. While a lot, it still didn’t compare to the haul from the final match against 004.
Su Zhi speculated that while King Leou was far stronger, defeating him had been a team effort between Yu Bao, Xiaoyue, and Wu Bao. Yu Bao himself hadn’t been under immense pressure.
The final against 004 had been different; Yu Bao had fought for his life that time! The Point gain was naturally much higher.
Regardless, 0.15 Points was still a considerable haul.
Since Perception was his highest stat at the moment, Su Zhi allocated the newly acquired Points to Agility and Intelligence.
Yu Bao’s suggestion was to dump everything into Intelligence. Su Zhi’s response was, ’In your dreams.’
Amidst the ruffling of fur, the Point allocation was complete—
[Pet Beast: Yu Dian Dog (Yu Bao)
Power: 1.22
Agility: 1.80 → 1.90
Intelligence: 1.95 → 2.00
Constitution: 1.30
Perception: 2.00]
[Real-time Energy Value: 1530]
Su Zhi noticed the stat panel now displayed the specific changes for each attribute, making it much more intuitive than before.
’Is my Beast Taming Talent evolving?’
The thought made Su Zhi’s heart race with excitement.
Just as Pet Beasts could evolve, some Beast Taming Talents were also capable of growth, advancing once certain conditions were met!
’Then again, a simple display upgrade seems pretty useless. It’s really just more convenient for the readers...’ Su Zhi thought, then chuckled at the absurdity.
’But it’s not like I care,’ he mused. ’This Point-Adding Talent is already ridiculously overpowered. Got to leave a path for others to survive, right?’
"Yu Bao, how do you feel now?"
Su Zhi pushed aside thoughts of his ’lousy’ talent and turned his attention to Yu Bao.
Yu Bao stood with his mouth slightly agape, staring at the sky in sheer awe.
’So this is what it feels like to have 2.00 Intelligence?’
’Though... it doesn’t really feel like anything special. But I’m sure of it—I’m developing the bearing of a Great Emperor!’
Su Zhi mercilessly shot him down. "You’re just trying to trick me into giving you more Intelligence later."
"Arf..." Yu Bao whined, scratching his head in embarrassment.
’Ahem, can the actions of a Pet Beast be called a ’trick’? Of course not. That was... guidance.’
Then, Yu Bao’s eyes lit up again as he eagerly demonstrated his latest development to Su Zhi—
He stood on an open patch of the field and used Desert Concealment to launch himself about half a meter forward and up into the air.
Then, before Su Zhi’s astonished eyes, a swirl of Suspended Sand gathered around Yu Bao, lifting him right into the air!
"ARF!" Yu Bao did a little spin in the air, wagging his tail at Su Zhi.
’I have achieved liftoff. Feeling good!’
This, Yu Bao declared, was one small step for a dog, but one giant leap for Yu Dian Dog-kind!
"That’s amazing! How did you do that?" Su Zhi was both shocked and overjoyed. He hadn’t expected Yu Bao to achieve such a high Skill Level with his Sand Manipulation Technique in such a short time.
Su Zhi even had a hunch that, following Desert Concealment, the Sand Manipulation Technique would likely become Yu Bao’s second Skill to reach Tier Two in a single day!
*PANT, PANT~* Yu Bao rode his Suspended Sand over to Su Zhi and began explaining the principle he’d just grasped regarding the timing of the Sand Manipulation Technique.
He called it—Yu Bao’s First Law!
"So, it seems mastering a Skill not only requires understanding the principles behind it, but the timing of its activation must also align with the Skill’s core essence."
After listening to Professor Yu’s mini-lecture, Su Zhi nodded thoughtfully.
Yu Bao, looking extremely gratified, nodded with an air of grace and sophistication, as if to say, ’The boy is teachable.’
Su Zhi shot him a deadpan glance. "I was going to treat you to some skewers to celebrate, but seeing as Professor Yu is so terribly busy with his important work, I suppose we’ll just skip it."
"ARF!"
Yu Bao whined playfully, diving into Su Zhi’s arms with his tail wagging like a propeller.
’I, Yu Bao, absolutely love skewers!’
’So much for grace and sophistication...’ Seeing the little guy’s reaction, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Su Zhi didn’t turn right away, waiting until she was closer before suddenly spinning around.
The girl stopped with a soft "oof," the single errant strand of hair on her head wobbling gently.
"Thanks~" Su Zhi said, taking the lunchbox from her right hand.
"Getting pretty comfortable taking things for granted, are we?" Shao Ya said, giving him a playful punch.
Yu Bao had run off to find Xiaoyue. Using his Sand Manipulation Technique to float, he began circling her from every possible angle.
’Look, Big Bro Xiaoyue! I’ve mastered the Sand Manipulation Technique!’
Watching Yu Bao zipping all over the place, Xiaoyue sighed, the light in his eyes dying.
’From now on, the dumb little dog has evolved from being annoying on a 2D plane to being annoying in 3D.’
The rain from the day before had only just stopped, and the midday sun was already growing intense. Still, it wasn’t hard to find a shady spot.
Su Zhi sat at the edge of the awning-covered bleachers, eating his lunch while watching the two Pet Beasts frolicking on the grass.
The girl sat upwind from him, leaving a single person’s space between them. Each time the breeze drifted by, it carried a hint of her scent.
"Time flies, doesn’t it? Final exams are the week after next," Shao Ya mumbled around her chopsticks, her eyes on Su Zhi.
Su Zhi happened to look up at the same time. The moment their eyes met, a smile blossomed in hers.
"Good luck on finals! Let’s aim not to fail!"
’I won the city championship, why would I be worried about final exams...?’ Su Zhi wanted to say, but looking into those brilliant blue eyes, he simply smiled faintly.
"Yeah. Let’s do our best together."
·
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Day sixteen of writing 10,000 words a day!
