Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

...

"Next time... I’m definitely, definitely not going to agree to this..."

After some time, the girl’s delicate, pouty voice echoed in his ear.

Su Zhi raised an eyebrow, feeling utterly refreshed. He savored the warmth on one side and the ticklish sensation on the other.

An ear cleaning from a girl in white stockings... an experience he had long dreamed of!

’Still thinking about next time? The moment you thought of ’next time,’ you’d already lost!’

Then, after an unknown amount of time, she seemed to lean in closer, and Su Zhi felt something warm.

’Could there be some hidden bonus?’

’No... that’s a wet feeling on my face. SLURP, SLURP, SLURP...’

Su Zhi was stunned. "Are you a dog?!"

"Woof, woof!"

Su Zhi: "?"

Su Zhi’s jaw dropped as he watched the girl, her expression oddly intelligent as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Then, his vision spun.

His vision blurred, then sharpened. Yu Bao was sitting in front of him, tongue lolling out, panting at him.

Seeing that he was awake, it gave him a couple more licks, as if washing his face. SLURP.

"So it was you..." Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he lifted Yu Bao off the bed.

The memories of his dream and reality finally separated.

Shao Ya had been so stingy last night! She only let him lie there for a minute before the service was over. Su Zhi hadn’t even been allowed to turn over for the other ear.

How could she possibly have let him lie there for so long?

Afterward, the two of them went out for a stroll. Last night was the final night of the summer camp, and the curfew in all Alliance districts had been lifted. They wandered from the Flying Shadow Alliance’s district to the Huichun Alliance’s, and it was late by the time they returned to their respective dorms.

Su Zhi had crashed the moment his head hit the pillow, and the next time he woke up, it was to Shao Ya... no, Yu Bao, licking him awake.

"Seventeen years old..."

Remembering that bite of birthday cake and the girl’s blushing face, Su Zhi suddenly found himself looking forward to his eighteenth birthday.

’Time flies. My last birthday feels like it was just yesterday.jpg’

But for now, packing his bags was more important. Once the closing ceremony was over this morning, it would be time for them to leave the Alliance Headquarters.

"Woof! Woof!"

"We can talk about training when we get back. First, I need to pack... Huh? Yu Bao, what are you doing...?"

Unable to wait, Yu Bao grabbed Su Zhi’s pant leg and dragged him out of the dorm.

Su Zhi was completely bewildered as he was dragged into the empty space behind the dorms.

’What’s the big hurry?’

’It can’t be that he wants to add Points, can it? The number of Assignable Attribute Points is zero right now.’

Just as Su Zhi was wondering, he saw a crimson Flame slowly materialize beside Yu Bao.

Su Zhi’s eyes widened.

Compared to the Flame Yu Bao had shown right after evolving, this Fire was not only more stable, but its form was also much clearer.

What surprised Su Zhi even more was the degree of control over the details.

Back then, Yu Bao could only crudely gather the Fire into a fireball. Now, not only could he condense the Fire into various shapes, but he could even control its density and size!

Yu Bao lifted his paw, and the large fireball, nearly two meters in diameter, contracted inward, shrinking into a small ball of fire only a dozen or so centimeters across.

However, Su Zhi could clearly feel that the heat from this small fireball was just as intense as the large one, if not even more so.

"Incredible... Yu Bao, how did you do that?"

"Woof." Yu Bao put on his sunglasses, looking rather smug.

After pulling his own ’thing’ out of Lilith’s body yesterday, he felt his Fire Element Energy had become more complete, as if a long-lost part of his body had been fused back into him.

So, Yu Bao tried practicing a bit, and sure enough, controlling his Fire Element Energy had become much easier.

"Woof!"

Yu Bao extended a paw, took the small fireball floating in the air, and held it in his grasp.

This move is called the Spiral Ball!

’Don’t be fooled by its size, it’s super powerful! Let me show you~’

"Holy shit!"

Seeing Yu Bao aim at the dorms where official Alliance Members lived, Su Zhi let out a curse and quickly grabbed Yu Bao’s paw.

’Master Yu, that’s really not necessary.’

"No need for a demonstration, Yu Bao. I’m sure your Spiral Ball is incredibly powerful!"

Su Zhi patted Yu Bao’s shoulder solemnly. "As a Wise One who aspires to become the Dog Shadow, you have my recognition!"

"Woof~" Yu Bao waved his paw bashfully.

’I think I’m super amazing too!’

Yu Bao retracted his Divine Abilities and immediately released another one of his Skills.

The dust that had been floating randomly around him suddenly began to move in an orderly rhythm. This was the sign of the Earth Force Field activating.

The current Yu Bao was already capable of changing the terrain within a certain range.

And to Su Zhi’s surprise, the ground beneath Yu Bao’s feet cracked open, revealing scorching, crimson fissures.

Earth Force Field·Purgatory Form!

Yu Bao had injected Fire Element Energy beneath the ground. Now, any opponent who stepped into his domain of influence would suffer the pain of being burned.

Furthermore, with Flame spread throughout the underground, it would be much faster and easier for Yu Bao to activate Giant Fire Pillar!

"SHHHH"

The earth immediately used Mimicry to form a giant hand as tall as Su Zhi—with all of Yu Bao’s hard practice, his Mimicry had become more and more proficient.

Under Yu Bao’s control, a crimson ring of light suddenly appeared in the center of the giant hand—this was the effect of the Fire Element Energy being conducted within the Earth Force Field!

[Assignable Attribute Points... 0.07... 0.13]

"You little... you’re a damn genius..."

Seeing the change in Attribute Points on the panel, a smile touched Su Zhi’s eyes.

Yu Bao’s understanding and insight into Fire Element Energy had reached a new level, which in turn spurred the accumulation of Points!

Yu Bao showing off two improved Skills was already a pleasant surprise for Su Zhi, but he didn’t expect there would be more.

As Yu Bao channeled his power, sand and dust swirled, and—WHOOSH—three Yu Baos suddenly appeared.

"Pant!" "Pant!" "Pant!"

The three Yu Baos circled Su Zhi once.

"Is this Sand Shadow Guard?" Su Zhi asked curiously. "But it doesn’t look any different."

The three Yu Baos stopped in unison and waved their paws with profound gravity.

’Not quite, not quite.’

Then, one of the Yu Baos shot forward and plunged headfirst into the ground.

"BOOM!"

The sound of a deflagration erupted, and even from over five meters away, Su Zhi felt a wave of heat wash over his face.

The Yu Bao Stand-In created by the Sand Shadow Guard had actually just exploded under Yu Bao’s control!

"Woof~"

Yu Bao smugly explained that he had compressed Fire Element Energy and injected it into the Stand-In.

If an opponent destroyed the Stand-In with an attack, the Fire Element Energy inside would lose control, exploding and deflagrating outward, dealing a heavy blow to the opponent!

At the same time, since he controlled all this Fire Element Energy, he didn’t have to worry about an accidental explosion from the Stand-In hurting him!

Su Zhi’s eyelid twitched. "You mean this thing can just... blow up??"

"Woof." Yu Bao made a "just a little" gesture with his paw.

He indicated that there was no need to panic; the probability of it exploding was very small.

Besides, he was a Fire Element himself, so it wouldn’t be a big deal even if it exploded and burned him. He wasn’t scared at all.

’You’re not scared, but I am...’ Seeing the little guy’s confident look, Su Zhi chuckled in exasperation.

Yu Bao told him not to panic. His Sand Shadow Guard was very stable; as long as his luck was good, it wouldn’t explode.

If his luck was bad, well, then his luck was just really bad.

Su Zhi: "..."

’Looks like I’ll have to command from a bit farther away from Yu Bao from now on.’

[Assignable Attribute Points: 0.13... 0.20]

Seeing the Points shoot up, Yu Bao’s mouth curled into a thoughtful smirk.

’Sure enough, burying my head in the rat race is a dead end. Wisdom and innovation are the keys to breaking through to new realms!’

"We’ve got a lot more Points..." Su Zhi smiled at Yu Bao. "Where do you want to add them?"

Yu Bao rested his chin on his paw, thinking for a moment, then scrawled a couple of formulas on the ground.

Finally, he looked at Su Zhi.

"Woof!"

...

Flying Shadow Alliance district, activities plaza.

Two hundred and twelve summer camp members stood in neat formations in the plaza. They already showed a nascent sense of discipline, almost like true Flying Shadow Alliance Member Warriors.

Selena, dressed in a beige trench coat, stood opposite them. Her ice-blue hair had clearly been specially styled, draped neatly over her shoulders, looking smooth, serene, and beautiful.

Today, her aura was much softer than on any previous day. She looked less like a Cold and Refined Beauty and more like a friendly girl-next-door.

Selena held a binder and read the farewell speech for the closing ceremony according to procedure.

"...The second item on the agenda for the closing ceremony: the outstanding camper awards."

A faint smile touched the corners of her lips.

A dozen or so uniformed Alliance Members marched over from a short distance away, each holding a small, red velvet tray.

They stopped behind Selena, their footsteps echoing in unison across the plaza.

"Through everyone’s votes, a total of fifty-six outstanding campers have been selected. Now, will the campers whose names are called please step forward to receive their outstanding camper certificates."

"Su Zhi, Yang Liangjin, Zeng Jinxing, Xu Jianzhi..."

Led by Su Zhi, twenty outstanding campers stepped out of the formation, received their certificates, and then returned to their places.

The Alliance Members in charge of presenting the awards marched away.

Selena looked at the youths before her.

Her gaze lingered on Su Zhi for a moment longer, but ultimately, it swept across every face.

The campers who had received the awards all looked delighted, but there was also a touch of reluctance to leave on everyone’s face.

Selena smiled faintly.

"The eight-day Flying Shadow Alliance summer camp is over. You’ve all worked hard. To be honest, I’m not a particularly good-tempered senior, and there were times when I wasn’t thorough enough."

"But over these eight days, you’ve all learned a lot and grown a lot, and I’ve seen it all. As your guide, I’m very happy."

"You may not choose to join the Flying Shadow Alliance in the future, but our meeting was fate. I’m grateful to have met all of you at this summer camp. If fate allows, I hope we will meet again."

"And now, the Flying Shadow Alliance summer camp is officially over!"

SHHHF—

All the campers raised their right arms in a military salute, many of them with red-rimmed eyes.

A look of gratification appeared in Selena’s eyes, and she returned the gesture with a perfect military salute of her own.

...

"CLICK—"

After taking a photo with yet another camper, Lina gave a small smile and waved goodbye to them.

Once the camper was a good distance away, she clenched her fists and bounced on the spot.

After the closing ceremony, everyone was coming to her for photos. Selena had originally thought she wasn’t a very likable type.

’I guess I’m not that bad after all, hehe.’

Hearing a familiar footstep, Selena immediately stopped bouncing and turned her head—it was Su Zhi.

Su Zhi waved his phone. "Care for a picture, Captain Sai?"

"Sure."

Selena stood next to Su Zhi with her arms crossed, only to realize she wasn’t as tall as him... So she tried to lift her chin and tense her expression to make herself seem taller in presence.

Su Zhi secretly held back a laugh, pretending not to notice her subtle movements as he pressed the shutter button.

"CLICK—"

Of course, the most eye-catching thing in the entire photo was the dog’s head peeking out from the bottom left corner.

"We should get going."

Su Zhi looked at this senior who was like an older sister to him and bowed his head slightly.

"Take care, Captain Sai!"

"Mm, you take care too."

Selena smiled lightly. "Our fateful connection has a long way to go; we’ll see each other again in the future. Do you have any plans for the summer vacation?"

Su Zhi thought for a moment. "No special plans. Oh, I’m planning to accompany Shao Ya to the Ancient Jing Forest. Her Pet Beast is about to evolve."

"It’s indeed better to have a partner with you when evolving a Pet Beast."

Selena nodded. "It should be fine as long as your trip avoids Hundred Rivers. The earthquake disasters in Hundred Rivers have always been severe, and they’ve become extremely frequent in the last two years. Avoid going there unless it’s absolutely necessary."

"Mhm!" Su Zhi agreed, but after Selena mentioned Hundred Rivers, the doubt in his heart only grew stronger.

·

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Seeing that many people’s comments have... dangerous ideas... I must emphasize this again!

Yu Bao is a male dog! A MALE DOG!! A MALE DOG!!!

I advise you all to not have any dangerous ideas, and don’t write any dangerous things. If you do... please be sure to send them to me first!