Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

But Yu Bao simply closed his eyes instead.

At the same time, he focused his concentration to its absolute limit, earnestly trying to establish a connection with the nearby Fire Element Energy.

That’s right... an attempt.

Although his incredibly calm demeanor made him look supremely impressive, Yu Bao wasn’t actually sure if this maneuver would work.

’Please, it has to work,’ he prayed. ’Otherwise, I’ve really gone and overdone it this time...’

In an instant, Yu Bao and the Flame Battle Armor were only a hair’s breadth apart. He could feel the rhythm of every wisp of flame that made up that thin, fiery membrane.

Just as he would normally activate or deactivate one of his own Skills, Yu Bao imagined the Flame Battle Armor as a Skill he himself had cast, and then mentally shut it down.

Then, something happened that astonished them both.

The Flame Battle Armor on Lala suddenly fizzled out, as if a circuit had been cut. THWACK! Lala crashed right into Yu Bao.

”...La?” Lala took two steps back, looking up in a daze.

”⌓‿⌓​” Yu Bao took off his sunglasses, revealing a smile loaded with meaning.

’Not bad. You’ve got a pretty sturdy body.’

’Weren’t you acting all tough just a moment ago? What’s with the shyness?’

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Yellow Earth Walls surged up from all four sides, sealing shut at the top and trapping Yu Bao and Lala inside Brother Yu’s exclusive little dark room.

”QAQ La!!!!”

Lala’s miserable shriek echoed throughout the Hundred Rivers Battle Hall.

「Five minutes later—」

[Assignable Attribute Points (Yu Bao)... 0.20]

The little dark room slowly opened. Lala was lying on the ground, face down and butt up, completely unable to get back on his feet.

”Woof,” Yu Bao said as he slowly walked off the stage, a casual expression on his face.

’So that’s a Round Pepper. Nothing special.’

The victorious Yu Bao swaggered back to Su Zhi’s side.

The defeated and humiliated Lala weakly lifted his head, apparently having a few choice words for Yu Bao. But upon meeting the gazes of Mimi and his master, he hastily pressed his face back to the floor.

’It’s over. It’s all over.’

’Not only did I lose even after using my Beast Taming Talent, but I was toyed with in such a humiliating way right in front of my master and my little sister.’

’My life as a Pet Beast... is probably over now...’

Hearing Shen Chuqing’s footsteps approach, Lala grew even more frightened and remained plastered to the ground, refusing to get up.

But then he heard another set of footsteps draw near. Su Zhi chuckled softly. ”Thanks for the match. Yu Bao says you were the winners.”

”La?” Lala lifted his head in disbelief.

Shen Chuqing raised an eyebrow, a questioning look in her beautiful eyes. ”Why would you say that? Anyone can see that you won.”

”Woof.”

”Yu Bao told me that a spar is about knowing when to stop. If Lala hadn’t voluntarily deactivated that fiery cloak, Yu Bao would have lost long ago. So, in reality, Lala won this match.”

Shen Chuqing didn’t say anything. She stared at Yu Bao for a moment, then back at Su Zhi.

Then, she let out a soft chuckle.

”Well, you two fought very well, too. Thanks for the match.”

”Mi!” Mimi hopped onto the stage and circled Lala twice, her eyes shining with delight.

’Brother Lala won!’

”La...” Lala blinked, looking at Yu Bao with a complicated expression.

’Yu Bao was clearly the winner. He could have humiliated me to his heart’s content... but he didn’t. Instead, he willingly handed over the victory, saving me from embarrassment.’

’And most importantly, he even gave me the opportunity to be the one to look cool.’

’What magnanimity!’

Lala couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed. He had lost this battle, utterly and completely... in every sense of the word.

Yu Bao noticed his gaze and gave a slight nod, as if to say it was no big deal.

Lala nodded gratefully.

’This favor—no, this canine-favor—I, the Hundred Rivers Round Pepper King, will remember it.’

”La!” With that, Lala composed his expression and shot Mimi a crooked smirk—the kind befitting a Dragon King, an Asura, a Tiger General, and the Medicine God.

’See, Mimi? Even someone as strong as Yu Bao was ultimately defeated by my hand!’

”Mi...” Mimi gazed at Lala, her eyes sparkling.

Basking in his little sister’s adoring gaze, Lala squinted, a wave of pure satisfaction washing over him.

’Ah, nothing beats looking cool after a big fight~’

’My butt is a little sore, though... Hmm.’

On the other side of the stage, Shan Bao watched Lala and Mimi from a distance, then turned to look at Yu Bao.

”Chirp?” Shan Bao tilted her head, a little curious.

’Brother Yu Bao, did we get something wrong? It feels like you’re the one who won.’

Yu Bao wiped the dust from his sunglasses, put them back on, and then flashed the very same crooked smirk—the kind befitting a Dragon King, an Asura, a Tiger General, and the Medicine God.

’That’s right, I did win.’

’But Lala had it tough, too. He was fighting on his home turf, went all out with his Beast Taming Talent... you could say he gave it everything he had.’

’It wasn’t that Lala didn’t fight well enough; it was that I, Yu Bao, fought *too* well.’

’So, to show my respect for Lala, and to save him from an awkward position, I handed the victory over to him, giving everyone a win-win happy ending.’

”Chirp...” Shan Bao gazed at Yu Bao, her eyes sparkling.

’That’s my Brother Yu Bao, so full of wisdom and vision! His dog-plomacy is truly flawless!’

Basking in his little sister’s adoring gaze, Yu Bao squinted, a wave of pure satisfaction washing over him.

He glanced at the little Round Pepper, who was also basking in the thrill of looking cool, and a hint of smugness touched his features.

’On the surface, it looks like I lost without being beaten, while Lala won without a real victory and even got to look cool. It seems like Lala came out on top.’

’In reality, however, I was operating on a higher plane of coolness. Not only did I earn the adoration of my little fangirl, but even my opponent, Lala, was won over without even realizing it.’

’I won twice this round!’

’Besides, those few minutes alone in the little dark room had already given me the pleasure of a victor humiliating the vanquished.’

The corners of Yu Bao’s mouth curved up slightly.

’No Pet Beast is better at looking cool than me~’

Wu Bao: ”...”

’Seriously, what in the world goes on in that head of Yu Bao’s all day long?’

·

”Bubble! Use Wind Blade!”

In the Huai City Municipal Battle Hall, on one of the stages, a girl with her hair in buns mustered her courage and issued an attack command from her Beast Taming Space.

”SQUAWK!” The Cyan Feathered Falcon named Bubble answered, trying to harden his gaze.

Cyan Wind Energy gathered around him, and his wings condensed into blade-like white currents of air that shot menacingly toward Lilith on the ground!

”Chirp,” Lilith chirped. She dodged with a deceptively slow and leisurely movement, then raised a hand and fired two shots of White Flame·Blade Form.

”QAQ SQUAWK!” Bubble was so scared he flapped his wings in a terrified frenzy, forgetting to even try to dodge as the two blade-shaped white flames arrived right in front of him.

Then, the White Flame came to an abrupt halt, dissipating suddenly under Lilith’s control from the ground.

”It still feels like something’s missing,” Fang Yuan said, cupping his chin thoughtfully.

”I’m sorry! I still don’t get it...” Xu Ruo bowed in apology, her lips pressing into a wavy line.

”SQUAWK!” The trembling Bubble stood beside her, also bowing in apology. Despite being an aerial predator, he gave off the strange impression of a goofy Cyan Cloud Group.

Lilith giggled, finding the pair more and more adorable the longer she looked.

Fang Yuan patiently explained, ”Wind Blade is an area-of-effect offensive Skill, meant to restrict and suppress the opponent to create opportunities for your other Skills. So, when you use it, you need to pay attention to the combination of attack trajectories, doing your best to cover the opponent’s likely evasion and counter-attack routes. You can’t just focus on the Wind Blade itself. That’s putting the cart before the horse...”

Xu Ruo tried her hardest to commit it to memory, but the harder she tried, the less she could retain.

Her instructor had never taught any of this in class. He had only told her what constituted a ”passing” use of a Skill. She’d always had Bubble practice according to her instructor’s standards, but Bubble just couldn’t win against anyone...

’And all this stuff Fang Yuan is talking about sounds so new... attack trajectories, counter-attack routes... I don’t understand any of it... Is this the intimidating presence of a team tournament champion...?’

”Got it?” Fang Yuan asked.

”Ah!” Her mind a jumble, the girl snapped back to attention. She nodded nervously, then shook her head.

’Actually, I don’t even need to ask...’ Seeing her bewildered expression, Fang Yuan pretty much knew the answer.

The girl clutched at the hem of her shirt, blaming herself. Her voice was barely a whisper. ”I’m sorry, I’m so stupid...”

”It’s okay. The first step is always the hardest.” Fang Yuan glanced at his watch and started walking toward the front desk nearby. ”Wait here, I’ll go buy some water.”

”Ah!”

The girl sat bolt upright, her eyes following him as he walked away, already anticipating his return.

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