Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

froze for a moment, then hurried after him.

·

The rain was still falling.

But Fang Yuan had an umbrella. Facing the raindrops slanting into the doorway, he opened a large, lacquer-black umbrella with a milky-white lining.

Every single raindrop falling on the man and his beast was blocked at that moment.

”Let’s go home.”

Fang Yuan held up the umbrella, turning to look at the White Flame Battle Spirit behind him and motioning for her to follow.

She stood frozen, her pale pink eyes blinking, filled with disbelief.

Fang Yuan then knelt in front of her. As if unaware that the umbrella wasn’t quite big enough, he tilted it over her. ”Are you hurt anywhere? Or...”

”CHIRP!”

The White Flame Battle Spirit suddenly threw herself at Fang Yuan, wrapping her short little claws tightly around his waist.

She no longer held back, sobbing her heart out in her Beast Tamer’s arms.

’I wasn’t released from the contract! I can still train with him! I won’t be left alone in the rain anymore...’

Fang Yuan didn’t move, standing still as he felt his shirt grow damp with her tears.

In that moment, he suddenly realized that the White Flame Battle Spirit who dominated the arena was actually this small—so small he could hold her with just one arm.

And so, Fang Yuan tentatively stroked the White Flame Battle Spirit’s head.

This was the first time he had ever petted his own Pet Beast like this since they formed their contract.

’Feels nice. The warmth is kind of cute.’

Then, he held the umbrella aloft and walked out into the vast, rainy night.

”You can keep hugging me if you like. The umbrella is a little small, so this actually makes it easier.”

The White Flame Battle Spirit had been about to let go, but after hearing him say that, she climbed up to his neck and hugged him tightly again.

The downpour blurred past her pale pink eyes. The White Flame Battle Spirit stopped looking at the rain, burying her head in the crook of Fang Yuan’s neck.

The warmth of her Beast Tamer radiated through her, clear and distinct.

Fang Yuan could also feel his Pet Beast’s temperature, a faint heat against the cold rain.

The corners of his mouth turned up subconsciously, but he quickly returned to his usual expressionless look.

”Let’s go home.”

”Chirp.”

”There should be a way to heal your Nether Flame Body. I’ve booked an appointment with a healer at the Huichun Alliance General Hospital. We’ll go together in a few days.”

”Chirp chirp.”

”By the way, 004 isn’t a very nice name. Let me give you a new one. How about... Lilith? Do you like it?”

”Chirp~”

Lilith replied softly.

The rain was still falling.

The rain would fall no more.

·

「Wudu New Village—」

”HAFF HAFF HAFF!”

”Yu Bao, stop playing and come back!”

Su Zhi stood at the entrance of their apartment building, watching Yu Bao happily practice his Sand Manipulation Technique in the rain, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Seeing that he had no intention of coming back, Su Zhi had no choice but to dash into the rain, grab Yu Bao by the scruff of his neck, and drag him back.

”Look at you, you’re covered in mud. How are you going to go inside like this?” Su Zhi asked, pretending to put on a stern face.

Yu ”The Wise One” Bao thought for a moment, then slapped his left paw against his right, a look of sudden realization on his face.

’The answer is centrifugal force!’

So, he gave his neck a violent shake, flinging all the mud off his body. For him, whose agility had already reached 2.00, it was a piece of cake!

Su Zhi, who was splattered with mud: ”...Nice.”

Looking at Yu Bao’s innocent, wise-looking eyes, Su Zhi chuckled in spite of himself and led him inside.

After his final exam that morning, this little guy Yu Bao had been cooped up and going stir-crazy. He’d been running wild all afternoon, and only calmed down when it started raining a short while ago—no, scratch that, he got even crazier.

For the past two days, Yu Bao had been pondering all sorts of weird and wonderful Skills, including but not limited to: using the Yellow Earth Wall to synthesize a Star Destroyer, and combining precipitation with his powers to create a Concrete Furious Sand Blade...

Su Zhi’s takeaway from this was that one should be cautious when allocating points to Intelligence...

Although Yu Bao hadn’t figured anything concrete out, he was at least having fun and blowing off steam, which made Su Zhi quite happy.

’A good balance of work and rest is the only way to go the distance.’

”You’re back, Xiaoshu?”

”Yeah! I was playing with Yu Bao in the complex. Accidentally got my clothes dirty.”

”Okay~ Well, you two go rest up. Just leave the clothes to soak in the washbasin~!”

Su Mao’s cheerful voice replied from the kitchen.

Based on Su Zhi’s experience, this usually meant his father’s writing had gone smoothly today, and he had already finished his four thousand words ahead of schedule.

If he had writer’s block, Su Mao would probably have a gloomy look on his face and say something like, ”Xiaoshu, go play by yourself. Dad is very busy today.”

His mom was wrapped in a blanket, taking a beauty nap.

Su Zhi grabbed a bottle of happy water from the fridge, returned to his bedroom with Yu Bao, and switched on the warm-colored lamp.

Outside, there was wind and rain.

Inside, there was a pet and warmth.

Before long, Yu Bao started practicing his Sand Manipulation Technique in the bedroom again, using dust to lift himself up and fly around.

Although this move was very difficult for a dog, after practicing for so long, he was starting to get the hang of it, making it look effortless.

He believed that in the near future, his Sand Manipulation Technique would reach Tier Two!

By then, no Desert Swan would know more about the Sand Manipulation Technique than he did—

”SPLAT.”

Lost in his dreams of the future, Yu Bao got distracted and flew right into a pile of folded blankets. His two hind legs and tail stuck out, wiggling frantically. It took him a long time before he managed to pull himself out with a ”POP”.

Seeing the little guy’s antics, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile, but his hands didn’t stop moving as he packed his luggage for tomorrow’s trip.

Unlike the city league, this was a real long-distance trip, so he had to prepare toiletries and other daily necessities.

He planned to pack twice: once today, and then check everything again tomorrow to make sure he didn’t forget anything.

’Absolutely cannot give that evil woman any opportunities!’

By this time, Yu Bao had extracted himself from the blankets. Seeing Su Zhi so focused on packing, he didn’t disturb him and went out to the balcony to play by himself.

On a chair in the corner of the balcony sat the Burning Sand Forging he had brought back from the park.

Seeing the small cube, Yu Bao grinned and trotted over to give it a lick.

After returning from his wilderness training, absorbing the Burning Sand Forging had become one of Yu Bao’s daily activities.

Unlike some pure Earth Element or pure Fire Element resources, the Burning Sand Forging had Gold Attribute Energy as its base, which made the Earth Element and Fire Element Energy within it relatively active and easier to absorb.

By absorbing the Burning Sand Forging, Yu Bao felt his control over the Earth Element had improved significantly, and the Effects of his Skills had become sharper and more pronounced.

And as Yu Bao absorbed it, the yellow and red glowing patterns on the surface of the Burning Sand Forging gradually faded, while the silver area, symbolizing the Gold Element, grew larger.

’In other words, after I completely absorb it, will this little cube turn silver?’

Yu Bao rested his chin on his paw, lost in thought.

’What if I absorb the Gold Element too? Will it fade even more, or just disappear?’

This was not a question Yu Bao was supposed to be thinking about.

But, as a Wise One, Yu Bao of course understood the importance of contemplation!

Yu Bao was suddenly quite impressed with himself.

’Only a Wise One as graceful, cultured, and intelligent as myself could possibly conceive of such a wondrous and profound question, right?’

He was reminded of Wanzi’s Hardening—a Wind Element Pet Beast that had somehow learned a Gold Element Skill.

His genius intuition told him that if he could figure out the principle behind absorbing cross-Attribute resources, he might be able to unlock the secret of learning cross-Attribute Skills!

And so, Yu Bao stared at the Burning Sand Forging in front of him, sat down obediently, and began to investigate the nature of things.

...

...

...

”Treasures, time for dinner.”

”Okay.”

After confirming he hadn’t forgotten anything for the day after tomorrow, Su Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, snapped his suitcase shut, and shouted toward the balcony, ”Yu Bao, dinner’s ready!”

”Woof.”

The Wise One Yu Bao responded absentmindedly, sprawled on the floor, staring at the Burning Sand Forging with an expression of utter frustration.

He had been ”investigating” all afternoon without getting anywhere, and it was about to make his head explode.

The rules of this world were truly wondrous and profound. Even for someone as intelligent as him, they were sometimes impossible to grasp.

”Yu Bao! If you don’t come now, I’m eating your sweet and sour pork!”

”Woof!” Yu Bao made a ”hold on” gesture, shot to his feet, and cast a minor Thick Earth Blessing on himself.

As a Skill that essentially invigorated the Earth Element, Thick Earth Blessing not only increased physical resistance but also had a refreshing and mind-clearing effect!

Yu Bao tore out of the room.

’To hell with knowledge and wisdom.’

’Sweet and sour pork, here I come!’

Yu Bao ran Bling Bling into the dining room, leaving the bedroom dog-less.

He didn’t notice that the instant he used Thick Earth Blessing, the bright silver glow on the surface of the Burning Sand Forging had shrunk by an imperceptible amount.

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Daily 10k words update, day (17/20)!