Free Web NovelChapter 5: Chapter 5: You Are Right, But—
「Sunday morning.」
Su Zhi was lying on his bed, chatting with his deskmate. Yu Bao was sprawled on top of him, smacking his lips as he dozed.
It had rained all day Saturday, only stopping in the early hours of this morning.
The light rain had temporarily washed away the sweltering summer heat.
The bedroom window was half-open, allowing the fresh, earthy scent of the air to fill the room, for a moment soothing the frustrations of high school life.
However, Su Zhi and Yu Bao were far from frustrated. In fact, they were fulfilled and happy—
[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Dog)
Power: 1.01
Agility: 1.07
Intelligence: 1.09
Constitution: 1.01
Perception: 1.02
Assignable Attribute Points: 0.00]
[Real-time Energy Value: 210]
After discovering on Friday night that Skybound Strike could also grant points—and was even more efficient than Earth Force Field—Yu Bao had added the exercise to his daily routine.
Through a controlled experiment, Su Zhi found that the effect was much better when he participated in the Skybound Strike training. If Yu Bao trained alone, the points increased very slowly, or not at all.
Over the course of Saturday, between mini-quizzes, Earth Force Field, and Skybound Strike, Yu Bao had farmed a total of 0.07 points!
He was utterly exhausted now, so he was taking a short nap to recover.
Among these, the points gained from Earth Force Field had decreased, only farming 0.01.
This was in line with Su Zhi’s expectations.
He had to admit, Yu Bao was a prodigy of a pup. Although he struggled with the skills prescribed by the syllabus, he was surprisingly slick when it came to learning strange and unusual skills.
So far, Yu Bao’s Earth Force Field could already make simple changes to some terrain, like dirt, sand, and even loosely packed gravel roads.
Perhaps the slowing and reduction in point gains were due to his growing mastery over Earth Force Field.
It was possible that once Yu Bao completely mastered Earth Force Field, he would no longer grant any points at all.
But for now, the points from Skybound Strike were the main focus, so the gains from Earth Force Field were relatively less important.
Following Yu Bao’s wishes, Su Zhi allocated the newly acquired points: 0.06 to "Intelligence" and 0.01 to "Constitution."
Now, Yu Bao’s "Intelligence" had leaped to 1.09, surpassing "Agility" to become his most prominent Attribute.
His "Constitution" also became 1.01, exceeding the racial average.
The feedback from "Intelligence" wasn’t as immediately obvious as "Agility," but since there was numerical feedback, Su Zhi didn’t care about visible effects.
’Unseen progress is sometimes just a matter of deepening its roots.’
’As a Beast Tamer, I just have to trust my Pet Beast and leave the rest to time.’
’After all, Yu Bao discovered both methods for gaining points on his own. I, the Beast Tamer, feel more like a tool...’
It was worth noting that the "average level" mentioned by the system was calculated separately for each Attribute.
For any individual Pet Beast, it was common for Attributes to fluctuate; a "perfect individual" with no weaknesses was practically non-existent.
But Yu Bao, through adding points, had managed to raise every single one of his Attributes above average!
Of course, surpassing the average didn’t mean much. The Pet Beasts of many top-tier tamers had stats that far exceeded their racial averages.
Su Zhi was actually starting to look forward to the city league tournament.
’The participants will all be top students from various schools. If Yu Bao could squeeze in, couldn’t we farm a ton of points from just one match?’
[Shao Ya]: I’m done with my competition! I can come back to class on Monday!
[Shao Ya]: I heard you and Yu Bao got chewed out by Old Ban again?
[Su Zhi]: Yup, for the third time this week.
[Shao Ya]: You guys are True Punishment...
[Su Zhi]: You know it. We’ve got a very ’promising’ future ahead of us. /smirk
Shao Ya was Su Zhi’s deskmate. They had also been classmates in elementary and middle school, but they only became close in their third year of middle school.
Because... it wasn’t until their third year that they discovered they lived in the same residential complex. Later, they tested into the same high school and, coincidentally, ended up in the same class.
Unlike Su Zhi and his Envoy’s Pet, Shao Ya and her Huajing Cat, Xiaoyue, were the model of "top students." Just this week, she had represented No. 1 High School in the provincial theory competition and won the grand prize.
Even so, she never felt that being friends with Su Zhi was "beneath her" or anything of the sort.
[Shao Ya]: Don’t worry, Pet Beasts like the Yu Dian Dog have a lot of late-game potential.
[Shao Ya]: It’s normal for a Yu Dian Dog not to shine in the early stages.
[Shao Ya]: After all, dumb puppies at this age are kinda silly and clumsy-looking ｜д•´)
’You’re right, but "Agility" and "Intelligence" are actually Yu Bao’s two most outstanding Attributes right now...’
Su Zhi typed out a reply, thought for a moment, then deleted it and sent a sticker instead.
[Su Zhi]: [pat-your-butt.jpg]
[Shao Ya]: [grope-your-chest.jpg]
[Shao Ya]: The air is so nice this morning, bring Yu Bao out to play!
[Shao Ya]: I’ll bring my Xiaoyue out too!
[Su Zhi]: Approved.
"Let’s go, Yu Bao. We’re going downstairs to play."
"Suh-ha! Suh-ha!"
Su Zhi lived on the ground floor. He said "downstairs," but it was really just a few steps.
Just as he stepped out of his apartment building’s entrance, he bumped into a white-haired girl holding a cat.
The girl’s waterfall of white hair cascaded down her back, a silly ahoge sticking up from the top of her head. Her bright, azure eyes twinkled mischievously.
"BOO!"
Shao Ya had been crouching there just to scare him.
Su Zhi gave a token shiver before reaching out to pet the cat in her arms.
Pale white fur, light green-tipped tail and paws, and a leaf-like green patch on its forehead—it was unmistakably a Huajing Cat.
Although it was a Middle Extraordinary Race just like the Yu Dian Dog, the Wood Element Huajing Cat was elegant, agile, and very intelligent, making it a favorite among many girls.
And even more tough guys.
"Your Xiaoyue is so cute. Nothing like you."
"Mrow-wa-mew."
Xiaoyue didn’t let him pet it, batting his hand away with a paw.
"...Yeah, it’s just like you. Same personality."
"Kukuku," Shao Ya stifled a laugh.
The girl also bent down to pet the little mutt. Girls have no resistance to cute things, and even a dumb little puppy could be adorable.
Yu Bao lolled his tongue out in enjoyment, his eyes curving into happy crescents as he drooled.
’Why don’t you ever look this blissful when I’m the one petting you, Yu Bao...’
After greeting the pretty big sister, Yu Bao went to play with Brother Cultivation Cat. freёwebnovel.com
"Woof-woo! Woof-woo!" (Big Brother Xiaoyue! Let’s play!)
"Mrow." (Then bring it on.)
Xiaoyue chased his tail on the spot. His movements were elegant, silky smooth, and perfectly balanced.
After finishing his demonstration, he sat by Shao Ya’s leg, watching Yu Bao with an amused expression, as if waiting for a show.
Yu Bao loved to imitate him chasing his tail.
But the clumsy little puppy wasn’t agile enough. He could never catch it and would always trip himself.
Today, as usual, Xiaoyue wanted to bait Yu Bao into making a fool of himself...
And then, Xiaoyue was dumbfounded.
Yu Bao effortlessly completed the tail-chase, even spinning one more circle than he had.
"Suh-ha! Suh-ha!" (Big Brother, I can do it too!)
"...Mrow!" (It’s—it’s not over!)
To prove he was more agile, Xiaoyue spun three times on the spot.
But Yu Bao matched him and even added an extra spin.
Xiaoyue was getting frantic...
The cat and dog’s tail-chasing competition grew more and more intense, until it became a white-hot, all-out spinning showdown.
The two Pet Beasts spun for ten minutes without a clear winner, leaving Shao Ya a bit dumbfounded.
’Is this really Su Zhi’s clumsy little puppy?’
’How did his agility suddenly become on par with my cat?’
But Shao Ya reacted quickly: "Go, Xiaoyue!"
Su Zhi: "Uh, there’s no need to be so competitive over a game..."
"Go, Xiaoyue! Go, go, go!"
Su Zhi: "..."
Both Beast Tamers were now actively encouraging their Pet Beasts!
Receiving his master’s encouragement, Xiaoyue shot Yu Bao a disdainful look while continuing to spin.
’Although Yu Bao is just as fast, my movements are clearly more elegant and composed.’
’I’ll admit you’re a bit more agile than other clumsy puppies, but you’re still a far cry from me!’
But Yu Bao’s eyes darted around, as if he was thinking about something.
"Woof-woo! Woof-woo!" (Look! I can run while chasing my tail!)
Yu Bao started running, all while spinning in a circle.
"Mrow-wa-mew!" (What’s so great about that! I can do it too!)
Xiaoyue took off right after him, and it wasn’t long before he was running neck and neck with Yu Bao. Before they knew it, both Pet Beasts had run onto a patch of dirt.
Xiaoyue smirked smugly.
’What a dumb puppy, challenging me in an area where I excel!’
’My coordination during high-speed movement is much better than yours! All I have to do now is wait for you to make a mistake, and victory is mine!’
But Yu Bao revealed a mischievous grin...
SPLAT.
Xiaoyue’s body suddenly tilted, and he tumbled to the ground, landing on his back with all four paws in the air, a look of pure confusion on his feline face.
"Suh-ha! Suh-ha~" (I won! I won!)
Yu Bao circled his big brother Xiaoyue excitedly.
Shao Ya: "(ﾟ⊿ﾟ）"
Su Zhi: "..."
He had just seen the ground beneath Xiaoyue’s paws ripple for an instant. It was the effect of the Earth Force Field skill; that’s why Xiaoyue had lost his balance and fallen.
’Well, I’ll be. So that high Intelligence of 1.09 is all used for dirty tricks.’
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We’re in an Otherworld now, so isn’t it perfectly reasonable to have a Bai Mao girl? (Spoiler alert, a Beast Taming Talent has a red-eyed form!)
