Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

「Ten days later, at the Pearl Harbor Training Center.」

Late at night, the weary people of the city were returning home, and some were already fast asleep.

The training center, however, was a completely different scene. Pet Beasts sprinted for their lives around the battle arena, while their Beast Tamers ran alongside them, huffing and puffing.

The students at the rear of the pack looked like they were about to drop dead, their heads lolling from side to side.

The ”elite group” at the front wasn’t much better off. Chen Xinghao was already panting, and Wang Haokun was in even worse shape, having to constantly wipe his face to keep sweat from blurring his glasses.

Normally, he wasn’t like this; it was rare to find a training regimen that could reduce him to such a pathetic state.

But since arriving at the Pearl Harbor Training Center, this had become the norm.

’He never would have imagined that the Beast Tamers would have to train alongside their Pet Beasts. He had come here completely unprepared for this...’

The core journal of Jinghua University had once published a paper suggesting that the enhancement between a Beast Tamer and their Pet Beast was actually mutual. A Beast Tamer’s own grueling training could make their Pet Beast even stronger.

Although the paper was well-reasoned, very few Beast Tamers actually trained according to its methods. The results just weren’t proportional to the effort required; it simply wasn’t worth it.

Who would have thought that not long after summer break, the Divine Strategy Alliance would officially publish several papers supporting that view, even getting an endorsement from the Central Imperial Alliance. And so, the students here at the Pearl Harbor Training Center became the logical guinea pigs...

’I heard it has something to do with some maverick from a summer camp... I just don’t know who.’

’Wang Haokun had no idea which bastard had inspired the lunatics at the Divine Strategy Alliance. If he found out, he swore he’d tear them a new one.’

”Hurry up! Faster!”

A quacking voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ke Yan was running in the outer lane, his eyes as wide as saucers and his voice booming with energy.

”You can’t even keep up with your own Pet Beasts, and you call yourselves Beast Tamers? Pick up the pace! The last one back runs an extra lap!”

”Huh?!”

”Anyone who says ’huh’ runs two extra laps! If you don’t want the extra laps, then speed up!”

The students had no choice but to desperately push forward, but how could they possibly speed up any more? At this point, it was an accomplishment just to keep putting one foot in front of the other, running on momentum alone.

This was the twenty-fifth lap of the indoor run. Every student, regardless of their level, was utterly exhausted. Power had become almost meaningless; the run had devolved into a pure battle of wills.

Chen Xinghao and Su Zhi ran side by side at the very front of the pack.

Yu Bao and Shan Bao followed alongside, running and cheering for Su Zhi.

Chen Xinghao’s Thunder Qilin Beast, on the other hand, was left far behind in the second group.

It’s true that Pet Beasts possess Extraordinary Power, but many of them actually have worse stamina than humans—even the ones that look big and mighty. In contrast, an inconspicuous, low-level Pet Beast like a common mutt would have better endurance.

Chen Xinghao understood that having his Pet Beast run alongside him wouldn’t change anything.

Yet Su Zhi seemed to have an endless supply of energy, able to keep accelerating even at this stage.

The last half lap!

Su Zhi started to sprint, and Chen Xinghao sprinted with him.

A quarter of a lap later, Chen Xinghao was exhausted and had to stop to catch his breath. Su Zhi, in one final burst, crossed the finish line and immediately collapsed onto his back.

”Woof!”

Yu Bao flopped onto Su Zhi’s stomach.

”Chirp!”

Shan Bao tried to flop down next to Yu Bao, but its body was too small and it tumbled right off.

Su Zhi smiled. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he gathered his two little treasures in his arms and ruffled their heads.

Only then did Chen Xinghao cross the finish line, panting heavily as he stared at Su Zhi.

Over the next few minutes, the other students staggered across the finish line, each one collapsing to the ground as if dead.

”So-so. A far cry from me back in my day.” Ke Yan clicked his stopwatch and slipped it into his pocket.

Though they had nearly run themselves to death only to receive such a lukewarm assessment, none of the students complained. After all, Ke Yan had run the whole way with them, and he’d even had the energy to yell at them while doing it...

Just then, Ke Yan clapped his hands. ”Consider yourselves lucky. No training tomorrow or the day after, because the selection tournament is the day after that. You can be lazy for two whole days.”

The students: ”Yeah!”

Ke Yan gave a sinister smile. ”And to reward you all, I’ve prepared a generous gift package of homework. Remember to finish it and turn it in before the selection tournament.”

The students: ”Aww...”

Ke Yan shrugged again. ”Of course, it’s not mandatory. It doesn’t matter if you don’t do it.”

The students: ”Yeah!!”

Ke Yan flashed a kind and friendly smile. ”Mm-hmm. You can try not doing it.”

The students: ”...”

’Never mind, we’d better do it. Survival comes first.’

This kind of intense training had been the norm for the past ten days—so much so that many hadn’t even realized ten days had passed and the selection tournament was already upon them.

Of course, the resulting improvements were also huge. Many students could clearly feel their Pet Beasts’ progress.

Ten days of training here was more effective than an entire semester at school. ’Too bad they couldn’t train like this regularly. They’d end up dead.’

”Dismissed!”

With another clap from Ke Yan, the students began to leave in their respective teams.

The students from Shanda University Affiliated School left side by side, but their faces showed little of the relief that came with finishing the training.

Chen Xinghao turned his head to ask Wang Haokun, ”Have the matchups been released?”

”Yeah.” Wang Haokun’s expression was a bit grim. ”If things go as expected, we’ll meet Su Zhi’s team in the finals.”

Someone said casually, ”Then it doesn’t really matter, right? Two teams get to advance, after all.”

Wang Haokun glared at him. ”So what? We’re supposed to represent Shanda University Affiliated School and be perfectly fine with losing to a team from some no-name town in the finals?”