Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

’You’re too kind...’ Su Zhi chuckled in spite of himself.

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After the spar, Tuoba Jing led Su Zhi back to his house to rest, where they played a few rounds of chess.

Compared to the Beast Tamers produced by modern education, the Beastmasters of the Classical Era were a different breed. They were true members of the gentry; besides Beast Taming, they were also masters of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

This time, Su Zhi suffered a crushing defeat. Deceived by a whirlwind of feints and true attacks, he was played so badly he almost lost his shorts, unable to win even a single game.

"The masters of the Classical Era are really on another level! I’m truly no match for you," Su Zhi said with a wry smile, tossing aside his chess piece.

"You flatter me."

Tuoba Jing cupped his hands with a light smile, then asked curiously, "By the way, I’ve noticed you always refer to us as ’Beastmasters,’ but you call yourself a ’Beast Tamer.’ Why is that? If we were to be pedantic, doesn’t ’Tamer’ sound a bit like a step down from ’Master’?"

Su Zhi cupped his fist in return and answered, "It’s the standard term in the Current World. In the eras that followed yours, Senior, we began to refer to ourselves as Beast Tamers.

"A senior Alliance Member once told me that while we possess superior technology and greater overall strength compared to the masters of the Classical Era, we have regressed in other areas.

"Although the Current World has more advanced technology and a more ’rational’ Beast Taming Dao, we can no longer reach the heights of the Classical Era. The landscape where a hundred flowers of Beast Taming bloomed is gone, never to return.

"’Beast Tamer’ is a title of humility we’ve given ourselves. It’s also a constant warning, a reminder that we must reforge the glory of Beast Taming."

"I see..." Tuoba Jing murmured, a touch of melancholy in his voice.

Through his conversation with Su Zhi, he had come to understand the prevailing Beast Taming Dao of later generations: a system of instruction based on a unified curriculum, designed to cultivate standardized Pet Beasts.

While such Pet Beasts were certainly "rational" and, in theory, the strongest, this approach erased the variety and spiritual vitality that Beast Taming was meant to have. It was, without a doubt, a great shame.

In fact, this trend had already begun to emerge in his own time. Ever since the Boya Alliance’s Core Skill-based system came to dominate the world, the Beast Taming Realm had been moving more and more toward a unified standard.

Tuoba Jing had also felt this was unjust, but he was just an ordinary Alliance Member, powerless to change the course of his era. He could only go along with it.

At this thought, his gaze fell upon Yu Bao.

"Your Pet Beasts seem... different, young friend. It’s clearly a Yu Dian Dog, yet it has mastered so many Skills that Yu Dian Dogs don’t normally possess. And that Flash Gold Sparrow—the strength of its Constitution surprised me... I wonder, what method do you usually follow when raising your Pet Beasts?"

"I believe that I should cultivate a Pet Beast based on its own unique strengths, rather than forcing it into a preconceived mold. For example, Yu Bao excels at Energy Control, and Shan Bao’s strength lies in its Constitution. So I focus on developing their prominent abilities, rather than following existing templates or formulas," Su Zhi said seriously.

"To tailor the training to the individual, centering it on the Pet Beast, rather than submitting to a supposed orthodoxy. That is my Beast Taming Dao."

"You’ve taught me a valuable lesson... I’m ashamed to admit it, but I am no different from the conventional people you described. In that case, perhaps it’s time I set aside the title of ’Beastmaster’ for a while," Tuoba Jing said with a deep, respectful bow, his fist cupped.

Suddenly, he threw off the beige Beastmaster’s robe he was wearing, revealing a simple, plain-colored tunic underneath.

Su Zhi asked in surprise, "Senior, what is this?"

"From now on, I am also a Beast Tamer. When the day comes that I have rediscovered the true Beast Taming Dao, it will not be too late to wear this robe again."

Tuoba Jing folded the robe neatly and set it aside. Picking up his teacup, he smiled at Su Zhi. "Thank you, young friend. You’ve given me clarity."

Su Zhi raised his own cup in a respectful toast. "Not at all. I’m the one who admires your magnanimity, Senior!"

"Haha, let us encourage one another, young friend!"

The two of them drank the fragrant tea together.

"The Beast Taming Dao is something we must put into practice in the days to come. For now, shall we discuss the matter of the Earthquake Beast? During my years stranded in this Secret Realm, I have indeed found some clues that might relate to how we can leave."

Su Zhi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately sat up straight.

’Tell me everything!’

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