Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

Before long, Yu Bao’s Burning Sand Blade might not even be able to scratch Shan Bao.

”Just look at him. He bonded with me later than you did, and he’s already improving faster.”

Su Zhi glanced at Yu Bao. ”And you? You haven’t improved much lately, have you?”

”ARF!” Yu Bao protested. He leaped down from the cabin roof and pointed toward the nearby riverbank for Su Zhi.

’Watch closely. Don’t blink!’

Immediately, a huge yellow Light Array and a red one appeared separately near the riverbank. They then magically overlapped around Yu Bao, transforming into a brand-new, combined Light Array of interwoven red and yellow.

”BOOM!”

With a deafening roar, a giant meteorite nearly five meters in diameter, its surface etched with scorching fiery patterns, flew out from the Light Array and smashed violently onto the riverbank.

The once lushly-grassed riverbank was blasted into a crater of bare, yellow earth. Nearby trees were instantly obliterated, reduced to withered branches.

The Earth and Fire Element Middle Elite Skill, Star Meteor Burst!

Effect: Fuses the Energy of two Attributes to form a meteorite that descends from the sky to smash into the enemy, dealing immense damage.

Su Zhi looked at Yu Bao in pleasant surprise. ”So you’ve learned it already?”

”Arf~” Yu Bao lifted his head, looking smug.

’Learned it? I mastered it before we even set out!’

Su Zhi asked, surprised, ”But I haven’t seen you doing any extra practice lately. On top of that, you’ve been getting up later these past few days—sometimes even after I do.”

”Wait, don’t tell me...”

”Arf.” Yu Bao gave a crooked grin.

’That’s right. I’ve been sneaking out to practice in the dead of night.’

’In the morning, I could fake being too tired to wake up. That way, Wu Bao and Shan Bao would never discover my true identity as a super-grind.’

’They thought I’d lost my edge—little did they know, thanks to my Wise One’s intellect, I’ve already left them in the dust!’

”You little rascal...” Su Zhi flicked Yu Bao on the head. ”You should probably stop doing that. Messing up your internal clock isn’t good for your health.”

”Arf.” Yu Bao scratched his head, embarrassed.

’I guess I’m not *that* incredible.’

’Wait, I wasn’t praising you...’ Su Zhi, who had been a little worried, now didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

”Brother Shu!”

Liu Yuhang poked his head out of the cabin, his face flush with excitement. ”The reservation went through! We can enter the Storm Strait from 8 PM tonight until 8 PM tomorrow!”

”That’s great.” Su Zhi leaned over to look at his phone.

’Today and tomorrow are just check-in days, and the training camp officially starts the day after. This way, we won’t have to ask for time off.’

”Hey, wait a second. What’s this about an overbooked reservation?” Su Zhi’s sharp eyes had spotted a line of fine print at the bottom.

”The hell?”

Liu Yuhang froze for a moment. Only then did he notice the note, which was practically smaller than a grain of rice. His blood pressure instantly shot up.

A so-called ”overbooked reservation” meant that the number of reserved spots was greater than the number of available entries. As for who would actually get to go in, well, they were supposed to ”figure it out themselves.”

It was a way to collect more reservation fees, but it came at the expense of the people who’d booked the spots.

Arguing was pointless, however. The Beast Taming Realm was, at its core, a place where the strong devoured the weak. ’Everyone wants to evolve their Pet Beasts. If yours can’t beat theirs, then shouldn’t the opportunity go to them? The organizers gave you the chance; you’re the one who isn’t good enough to take it.’

But the most disgusting part, of course, was the fine print. The text was so tiny it was almost as if they were afraid someone might actually see it...

”Calm down, calm down.”

Seeing Liu Yuhang looking like he was about to curse, Su Zhi patted his shoulder. ”Don’t worry. For us, it’ll be fine. It’s a sure thing.”

He had just looked up the other reservation holder. ’A Tier Three Beast Tamer. Besides a Hao Waterfowl, they also have a Wood Element Iron Birch Mantis as their Main Pet.’

’That Iron Birch Mantis’s Real-time Energy Value is already over four thousand, but their Hao Waterfowl’s Energy Value is about the same as Xue Li’s.’

’Xue Li was trained by the ultimate grinder, Du Gang. She might not be able to beat Yu Bao, but against other Same Tier Pet Beasts, it’s usually a walk in the park.’

”You’re right. I overreacted a little.”

Liu Yuhang gave a bitter smile and suddenly looked at Su Zhi. ”Brother Shu, what was your first impression of me?”

”Dependable, strong, and optimistic,” Su Zhi blurted out.

’Even though the class rep had seemingly never won against him... his life-or-death fighting spirit was something that deeply shook Su Zhi.’

’If it weren’t for a class rep like him, Su Zhi felt he wouldn’t have been able to maintain his own constant, high level of effort.’

”I think I’m the exact opposite.”

Liu Yuhang gave a bitter smile, sitting on the deck and gazing up at the sky.

”I’m not dependable. I’m always deluding myself into thinking that sheer effort can help me reach the level of a genius.”

”I’m not strong, either. Every time I lose a match, I blame myself for a long time, thinking it was my own shortcomings that held Xue Li back. I can’t be as clear-headed as you, facing every battle so calmly.”

”And I’m not optimistic. To be honest, every time I see you and the class president, I feel this nagging jealousy. I know it’s wrong, but I can’t stop the feeling from surfacing. I can only do my best not to let it show...”

Shao Ya poked her head out. ”The angst of a man who’s never been in a relationship?”

Liu Yuhang: ”Damn it!”

Both Shao Ya and Su Zhi laughed. Liu Yuhang squatted down, his face beet red for a moment, before he started laughing along with them. The tense atmosphere on the deck immediately lightened.

”Quack?”

Xue Li also sensed the shift in Liu Yuhang’s mood. Bling Bling climbed back onto the boat, shaking the water from its body.

’Don’t be sad, quack. I’m back to keep you company!’

”CHIRP CHIRP.” Shan Bao followed behind Xue Li, waddling just like her. He even copied the way she shook off the water, looking quite the part.

When Xue Li hopped onto Liu Yuhang’s shoulder, Shan Bao almost followed suit out of habit. Glancing at Su Zhi beside him, he hopped onto Su Zhi’s shoulder instead.

”Honestly, I don’t think you need to overthink it so much.”

Su Zhi crouched down beside Liu Yuhang, joining the class rep in gazing out at the vast expanse of the sea.

”Wanting to surpass those who are more naturally gifted than you is just a sign that you’re not content with where you are. It shows you’re always trying to break through your limits.”

”Taking every win and loss seriously just means you hold yourself accountable and always give it your all.”

”As for jealousy, what’s the big deal? Envy is a basic human instinct. You choose to transform it into the motivation to keep moving forward, rather than doing something that hurts others for no personal gain. That in itself is a kind of excellence.”

”You’ve always been strong. You always have been. Don’t you agree?”

”...Yeah!”

Liu Yuhang grabbed Su Zhi’s hand, his eyes tearing up. ”Thanks, Brother Shu. I get it now. Your pep talks... they’re on another level, like something out of a main character’s playbook!”

Su Zhi nodded. ”And I hope you find a girlfriend soon.”

”Damn it! You’re never gonna let that go, are you!”

With the ”the class rep must suffer” outcome successfully achieved, the air on deck filled with cheer.

”SPLASH...”

”Quack?”

Hearing a sound from the water that was out of the ordinary, Xue Li looked at the surface with curiosity.

But the water there was perfectly calm.

·

「2 PM. Pearl Harbor, International Beast Tamer Training Center, Sector Three.」

”This place is pretty huge...”

After dropping off their luggage in their dorm rooms, the trio from Class 10 headed to the assembly point together.

Not unlike the city league, the Pearl Harbor training camp was also located inside a Battle Hall.

Compared to Huai City’s, the Pearl Harbor Battle Hall was on a much grander scale. It had a whopping 200 battle arenas—exactly ten times the number in the Huai City Battle Hall!

The floor of the Battle Hall was made of multi-layered reinforced glass, offering a clear view of the ocean below. You could even see Ocean Exotic Beasts swimming by sometimes; it could have easily passed for an aquarium.

”My friend, Su Zhi. We meet again.”

”*Hiss...*”

Hearing that familiar voice, Su Zhi’s asshole clenched. He whipped his head around and, sure enough, was met with the sight of Cao Mingyu’s prim face.

”It has been some time. I trust you have been as eager for our reunion as I have?”

”My life’s been pretty great, actually...”

Su Zhi muttered under his breath. At the same time, his eyes were drawn to the large dog at Cao Mingyu’s side. It had snow-white fur, four golden paws, and a golden sun-wheel pattern on its forehead.

[Pet Beast: Cotton (Sunmark Wave White)

Attribute: Water Element, Light Element

Race: Low Level Commander Race

Real-time Energy Value: 3591]

’Right,’ he thought, ’Cao Mingyu was the one who had a head start from the very beginning. Cotton was already a Middle Elite Race before it evolved. Its evolution was a quantum leap, taking it directly to the Commander Tier.’

It had been a while, and everyone had progressed at an incredible pace. ’I’ll have to push myself even harder in the coming training camp!’ Yu Bao thought to himself.

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