Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

”...Caw.” (Senior is as strong as ever.)

”Moo.” (You have a lot of potential, too. A pity.)

Lie Gang twitched its ears. A giant hand formed by the Earth Force Field Mimicry gently placed Fei Yu on the ground before carefully letting go.

Fei Yu nodded in thanks, then walked back to Liu Junpo’s side with its head lowered, preening its ruffled feathers.

Peng Kai walked past Lie Gang and approached Liu Junpo.

Liu Junpo let out a breath and lowered his head. ”I lost. A senior like you is not someone I can compare to at my current level.”

”Just as Lie Gang said, you’re a real pity.”

Peng Kai shook his head. ”If you hadn’t done that foolish thing back then, you wouldn’t have been stuck at the Tier Four Beast Taming Space for so long. Your Main Pet had a very good chance of winning against my second pet.”

”Du Gang and Yang Jingyue were your classmates, and they’ve both already broken through to the Tier Five Beast Taming Space. It’s foreseeable that they’ll soon be promoted to Master Level Beast Tamers.”

”Liu Junpo, you threw away your own future...”

”And what kind of future is that? Winning more competitions? Earning more money?”

Liu Junpo gave a wry smile. ”Senior, that’s your future, not mine.”

”I don’t have such grand ambitions. I just want to be a decent-enough Beast Tamer, earn a decent-enough living, and I don’t even mind going back to a small place like Huai City.”

”I just want to be with my Pet Beasts. We support each other through hard times, comfort each other when we’re sad, and share a good meal when we’re happy.”

”Senior, ’Genius’ was just an empty title others gave me. I’ve always been Liu Junpo, and that has never changed.”

Peng Kai didn’t answer this time. He was silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Liu Junpo’s two Pet Beasts.

Wanzi was grooming Fei Yu’s messy feathers, and Fei Yu was affectionately rubbing its forehead against Wanzi.

’They really don’t look like ”colleagues,” more like ”family.”’

”Alright, alright, I can’t win an argument with you. Let’s talk about Brother Su over there instead.”

”Huh?”

Only when Peng Kai clapped him on the shoulder did Liu Junpo turn around in a daze, seeing Su Zhi, who had been waiting outside the ring for who knows how long.

”Senior Brother Piao! Are you guys done fighting?”

”Fuck.”

Liu Junpo looked at Peng Kai in a panic. ”How much of what I just said did he hear?”

”It’s more than likely he heard all of it.”

”Damn it!” Liu Junpo buried his face in his hands.

”What? You dare say it to me but not let Fellow Daoist Su hear it? This Liu Junpiao really is lame.”

Peng Kai laughed and waved to Su Zhi. ”Go get ready in Ring 1. I’ll send Diya over.”

”Okay!”

Su Zhi left.

Yu Bao crouched where it was, propping its chin on its hand thoughtfully as it stared at Lie Gang.

Seeing the cute little fellow, the tough-guy Lie Gang also gave a friendly twitch of its ears.

It wasn’t until Su Zhi patted Yu Bao that it snapped out of it, following him away with a BLING BLING.

”Fellow Daoist Su is a genius.”

Peng Kai said bluntly, watching Su Zhi’s departing figure.

Liu Junpo also nodded with emotion. ”He’s a true genius, unlike me.”

”That’s why you were willing to become his sparring partner, right? You’re even as meticulous as a nanny.”

Peng Kai smiled. ”If someone else were his sparring partner, I’d actually be worried they couldn’t squeeze out every last drop of his talent.”

”Actually, that’s not it... At first, I didn’t even know who I was supposed to be tutoring. Teacher Zhou just said it was a kid with a lot of personality, so I took the job.”

Liu Junpo tilted his head back. ”But I later discovered he’s truly the one I’ve been waiting for. This job is totally worth it!”

”Mhm. Don’t worry. Su Zhi is my fellow Daoist; I’ll help him too.”

Peng Kai rubbed his hands together, a fanatical gleam in his eyes. ”Fellow Daoist Su is the most interesting Daoist I’ve ever met... Damn, it’s so exciting.”

”Yeah.”

Watching the young man walk onto the distant ring, Liu Junpo’s eyes also gleamed.

”The most damn exciting thing... is to walk your own path!”

...

...

”Ssa!” (Take this!)

”Woof!” (I’m screwed!)

In a flash, a blade hand condensed from raging flames by Diya was resting on Yu Bao’s neck.

”Ssa!”

’Damn it! I finally beat this country dog!’ Diya spun around twice on the spot in excitement.

Yu Bao scratched its head in defeat but wasn’t discouraged, running back to Su Zhi’s side with its tail wagging.

Peng Kai approached with a smile. ”How does it feel?”

”The national team is the national team, after all,” Su Zhi lamented after his twentieth defeat.

Over the entire morning, Yu Bao and Diya had sparred a total of twenty times.

That’s right, they hadn’t won a single one...

In yesterday’s sparring session, Yu Bao had managed to interrupt Diya’s attacks several times by leveraging a lack of information on Diya’s part.

But today, Diya, who now knew Yu Bao inside and out, gave it no such opportunities, sticking to a strategy of relentless pursuit and close-quarters combat.

’Without that information gap, a national team member taking care of a high school student was as easy as child’s play...’

However, it wasn’t as if they had no chance of winning at all.

In the last few matches, Diya’s victories over Yu Bao had become more difficult, requiring time to maneuver and set up.

Because of this, every time Diya managed to beat Yu Bao, it would get excited like a fool.

So much for a noble Nether Flame Spirit.jpg

Fengyun Arena wasn’t very crowded in the morning; the rings weren’t even all occupied. The din of the crowd was faint, reminiscent of the lazy morning light.

Su Zhi and Peng Kai returned to the bar, momentarily struggling to adjust to the bright sunlight.

Only then did he realize it was already noon.

”What do you want to drink? I’ll mix something for you.” Peng Kai usurped the bartender’s spot, walking behind the counter and nudging the young lady at the front desk out of the way.

Su Zhi shook his head. ”Thanks... but I don’t drink.”

”Oh? Your girlfriend won’t let you?”

’Why are you like this too...’ Su Zhi simply nodded, not bothering to explain further.

’Yep, that’s totally it.’

Watching Peng Kai mix a drink, Su Zhi suddenly remembered his little pink lunchbox. ”Oh, by the way, Senior, want a bun? They’re beef and pickled bamboo shoot.”

”Ooh! I’ll have one, I’ll have one!”

Peng Kai unceremoniously pinched one and let out a grunt of satisfaction as he ate.

”Delicious... It reminds me of the buns my mom used to make! Your mother must be a beautiful woman~”

’No, my mom didn’t make these...’

The image of a burly figure in a small pink apron surfaced in his mind, and Su Zhi pressed his lips together almost imperceptibly.

”Alright, it’s getting late. Piao has been waiting outside for you for a while.”

Peng Kai mumbled, his mouth full of bun.

”Piao and I have discussed it. From now on, come here every day from eight to twelve in the morning, and three to eight in the afternoon. I’ll train you both according to national team standards.”

”And don’t forget the Alliance Youth Team entrance assessment tomorrow, Saturday!”

”Okay, Peng... Fellow Daoist, goodbye!”

Peng Kai nodded in satisfaction, watching Su Zhi leave the bar. Then, he suddenly smacked his lips with a hint of regret.

’Damn it... I should have squeezed another couple of buns out of him!’

·

”Please stop here, driver. Let him get out first.”

”SCREECH—”

The taxi stopped at the entrance to Wudu New Village, but Su Zhi didn’t get out right away.

”Senior Brother Piao, what are your plans for lunch?”

”Hmm? Oh, I’ll just find a random place to eat...”

”My dad made them. You can have them.” Su Zhi handed the small pink lunchbox to Liu Junpo.

Liu Junpo hesitated for a moment, then took it with a smile. ”Then please thank your uncle for me.”

”Also, Senior, you didn’t do anything wrong. If I were in the same situation, I would have made the same decision as you. Goodbye, Senior!”

Su Zhi trotted off with Yu Bao.

’Actually, I would have preferred it if you were a bit more ruthless...’ Liu Junpo chuckled in spite of himself and opened the insulated lunchbox.

’Oh well, I’ll just have one first.’

Mmm~♡

Su Zhi’s dad’s flavor is amazing~!

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