Chapter 203 - 169: The First Bear Paw Cup
In a clearing in the woods, the two Yu Dian Farm Dogs, Yu Bao and Mars, stood facing each other.
Peng Kai stood between them, holding a roasted bear paw to his mouth like a microphone.
"The first annual Roasted Bear Paw Cup Pet Beast Sparring Match now begins!"
With that, he took a fierce bite.
"Owoo!" "Chirp!" Wu Bao and Shan Bao sat in a row with their paws tucked in, cheering for Yu Bao.
Seeing how excited the two little ones were, the other spectating Alliance Members also began to laugh, making the post-dinner leisure time even more relaxing.
"Say, has Sister Yang’s Mars broken through to Two-star?"
"Broke through a while ago. He was already close to Two-star during the team assessment. Now he’s well past it!"
"Tsk tsk, looks like young friend Su Zhi is in a tough spot. If Mars goes all out, Yu Bao doesn’t stand a chance, right?"
"Definitely no chance if he goes all out, but Sister Yue would never let her Pet Beast do that... She’ll probably have him use half his strength."
"Even at half strength, it’s dicey. Yu Bao just evolved not long ago. How can it compare to a seasoned veteran like Mars? Its Real-time Energy Value is also... Huh? Holy crap!"
"What’s with the fuss... Holy crap?!"
Seeing the Real-time Energy Value of 2900 displayed on their phone’s scan, the two chatting Alliance Members were dumbfounded.
From what they remembered, the last time they scanned it, it wasn’t this high, was it?
Did it increase after that one battle?
That would make sense... My ass! What kind of freakish Pet Beast gains several hundred Energy Value in a single day?!
"Oh? It’s that much higher."
Having scanned Yu Bao, Yang Shuyue looked at Su Zhi with great interest. "Your talent... Is it related to accelerated growth?"
"Something like that!" Su Zhi nodded honestly.
"No wonder."
Yang Shuyue smiled faintly and looked at Mars. "The little one’s no pushover now. Be careful you don’t get blindsided."
"Woof." Mars nodded calmly.
Pet Beasts were far more sensitive to Real-time Energy Values than humans. Standing before Yu Bao, Mars could feel an oppressive aura that was significantly stronger than before.
’A promising junior, I see. Accept this baptism by fire from your senior!’
SWISH!
Mars pushed off with all four paws, transforming into a swift shadow as he pounced toward Yu Bao.
BOOM!
A ring of dirt flew up from the ground. Mars slammed his front paw down, striking the earth hard enough to create a circle of crimson cracks.
An Earth and Fire Element Middle Elite Skill, Molten Rock Claw!
Mars was using the same strategy as last time, leading with his superior speed.
When the gap in power reached a certain point, even a weakness could be used as a trump card to crush an opponent’s strength.
However, Mars didn’t hit Yu Bao as expected. The moment he activated the Skill, Yu Bao instantly saw it coming, using Desert Concealment to dodge in the opposite direction and maximize the distance between them.
After its evolution, there was no longer a qualitative difference between Yu Bao and Mars.
Thanks to its assigned Attribute Points and the boost from Desert Concealment, Yu Bao had managed to become Mars’s equal in the single Attribute of agility.
Now, Yu Bao could calmly face the high-speed pressure from Mars!
WHOOSH!
Yu Bao didn’t hesitate for a second, unleashing Furious Sand Blade the instant Mars turned.
Dust and sand in the shape of a Battle Saber shot forward with a whistling gust, the vivid, flickering crimson Flame on its edge making the attack look incredibly sharp!
Having been burned by it once before, Mars didn’t choose to take it head-on this time, dodging to the side.
But just as the Furious Sand Blade flew past, a portion of the sand trailing behind it suddenly gathered, condensed, and transformed into an eager-looking Yu Bao.
This was Yu Bao’s usual trick!
But to Yu Bao’s astonishment, it discovered that Mars was already prepared, having already turned his head...
Yu Bao hastily activated Desert Concealment to dodge, only to have Mars predict its escape route and pin its tail with casual ease.
"Nice!"
The Alliance Members all applauded in unison.
"Experience wins out in the end! Mars’s awareness is clearly a tier above Yu Bao’s!"
"Are you saying Sister Yang is old?"
"Damn it, don’t get me killed!"
"Yu Bao’s already incredible. A Pet Beast that just recently reached One-star going back and forth with a Two-star Pet Beast, how many can do that...?"
"Wait, why is that Yu Bao puffing up?"
"?"
Seeing the Yu Bao under his paw suddenly swell up, a small question mark appeared above Mars’s head...
BANG!
Then, before everyone’s astonished eyes, the Yu Bao clone exploded on the spot.
Mars wasn’t really hurt, just a bit dazed from the explosion.
’What the hell did Yu Bao evolve into?’
’Why can’t I understand what’s happening?’
But shock was shock. As a veteran Two-star Pet Beast, he instantly locked onto the real Yu Bao, who was not far off, preparing to unleash a second Furious Sand Blade.
This time, Mars didn’t rush in to apply pressure. Instead, he lowered his body where he stood.
Immediately after, a red Light Array lit up beneath Yu Bao’s body, and with the speed of a lightning clap, a fire pillar over two meters high shot up, completely engulfing Yu Bao!
The spectating Alliance Members cried out in alarm.
"Holy crap, what a ferocious Giant Fire Pillar!"
"He cast it that fast? That Giant Fire Pillar must be close to Tier Three, right?"
"It might already be Tier Three. He’s just not going all out against Yu Bao."
"Even so, it’s still so fierce. A veteran is a veteran, after all..."
"Huh? Wait, where’s Yu Bao?"
When the pillar of fire dissipated, Yu Bao was nowhere to be seen. Mars immediately became alert, scanning his surroundings.
A red light suddenly flashed in the corner of his eye.
He looked down and saw a faint red Light Array shimmering beneath his own paws...
Mars’s eyes flew wide open.
"Yu Bao! Use Giant Fire Pillar!"
FWOOSH!
The next second, a Giant Fire Pillar erupted from the Light Array, and it, too, was nearly two meters high!
Even Mars hadn’t expected this move. He hurriedly leaped aside to dodge, his heart filled with shock.
All told, Yu Bao had only evolved a little over a week ago, and had only been exposed to the Fire Element for that same amount of time.
’In such a short time, it learned Fire Element Skills that are completely different from its original Element? And it can use them this proficiently?’
’What kind of freakish Elemental Perception Power is this?!’
’Wait...’
’If both of those were clones, then where is the real one?’
Mars quickly ran through the sequence of events, then remembered something and whipped his head around to look at the large tree that had been struck by the Furious Sand Blade.
The instant he turned his head, a cloud of sand shot out from the treetop, flying toward him.
Yu Bao’s Furious Sand Blade attack hadn’t just carried a clone—it had carried the real body as well!
The one that had "bailed out" midway was the clone, while the real Yu Bao had leaped into the branches after the Furious Sand Blade hit the tree, hiding and waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
Now was the time to counterattack!
In mid-air, the sand reconverged into Yu Bao.
Immediately after, a Furious Sand Blade shot forth!
At such a close distance, and in the air with no leverage, even Mars was powerless to turn the situation around. After a desperate dodge, he completely lost his balance.
At the same time, Yu Bao closed in on Mars. Flames swirled in its paws, forming a fireball that it raised high above its head.
Yu Bao looked at Mars, its eyes shining with a resolute light, just like the protagonist of some Japanese Anime.
’Don’t underestimate the bond between me and Su Zhi, senior!’
BAM!
...
[Assignable Attribute Points... 0.10]
Ten minutes later, Yu Bao was taken down by Mars. After all, the gap between a Two-star and a One-star was an objective reality.
Even so, being able to last so long against a Two-star Pet Beast was an honorable feat.
"Woof." Mars raised a paw and patted Yu Bao, showing his approval for the young junior.
’Not bad, little bro.’ [jpg]
"S-ha," Yu Bao nodded in thanks, then with a "bling," it ran back into Su Zhi’s arms, wagging its tail.
’We won!’
"Great job!" Su Zhi picked out the choicest piece of roasted bear meat and offered it to Yu Bao, rewarding it with a bite.
Yu Bao sniffed it, licked the entire piece of meat all over, and only then took a leisurely bite.
Veins bulged on Su Zhi’s forehead.
Yu Bao blinked, squinted its eyes, and tried to get away with it by being cute.
’A doggo can’t have any bad intentions, can it?’
...
...
「Two days later.」
Yang Shuyue stuck her head out of the bus window. "Su Zhi, what are you doing? Get on the bus, it’s time to go back!"
"Oh, oh! Just a second!"
In a patch of grass somewhere, a certain Beast Tamer was holding the head of a Yu Dian Farm Dog, rubbing it vigorously—
[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Farm Dog)
Power: 1.30
Agility: 2.10 -> 2.15
Intelligence: 2.22
Constitution: 1.42
Perception: 2.42 -> 2.47
Real-time Energy Value: 3001]
’Yes! It broke three thousand!’
Seeing the data on the panel, Yu Bao got so excited it started chasing its own tail on the spot.
For the past two and a half days, Yu Bao had spent its time eating, sleeping, and looking for fights. It was a very fulfilling life.
To make it easier to play the pig to eat the tiger, it deliberately hid inside Su Zhi’s Energy Shield Cloak, waiting for villainous Exotic Beasts to come knocking so it could jump out and show off by slapping them down.
It had to be said, it was effective.
In two and a half days, Yu Bao had beaten up three One-star wild Exotic Beasts!
Later, most of the Exotic Beasts wised up and stopped provoking these humans wearing strange cloaks.
When Yu Bao couldn’t find any Exotic Beasts to fight, it would occasionally pick a fight with Wu Bao.
"Owoo..." Wu Bao, who was following behind Su Zhi, lowered its head.
He had fought Yu Bao several times in the last two days and hadn’t won a single match.
After evolving into a Yu Dian Farm Dog, Yu Bao’s progress had become more and more rapid. The current Wu Bao could no longer keep up.
’You can’t compare your progress to a cheater...’ Su Zhi thought with a smile as he stroked Wu Bao’s head. "Don’t lose heart! Once I form a contract with you, you’ll slowly catch up to Yu Bao!"
"Owoo." The light returned to Wu Bao’s eyes.
"Woof?" Yu Bao was on alert.
’Damn it! I’ll train hard as soon as we get back. I absolutely won’t give this backstabbing traitor a chance to overtake me on the curve!’
The two "Baos" began to compete secretly once more.
"Chirp..." Shan Bao made an envious sound.
’Big Brother Yu Bao and Big Brother Wu Bao have such a great relationship.’
"Chirp chirp!" Shan Bao flapped her wings, full of motivation.
’Later, I’ll go back to the Land of Flash Gold and absorb, absorb, absorb!’
"Alright then, see you later!"
"Owooo~" "Chiiirp~"
Su Zhi waved goodbye to Wu Bao and Shan Bao, then trotted onto the bus.
"Fellow Daoist Su, what took you so long? What were you doing, skulking around in the bushes?"
"N-nothing, I wasn’t doing anything."
"Could it be~ you were doing... that kind of thing?"
"Haha, Sister Yang’s such an old pro!"
"He’s a young man, full of vigor. It’s understandable~"
"No, what are you guys even talking about?!"
Su Zhi’s face turned beet red, and the bus filled with cheerful laughter.
Yu Bao pressed its face against the bus window and looked at Wu Bao and Shan Bao, when suddenly its eyes widened.
’In that case, doesn’t that mean Wu Bao gets a chance to be alone with Shan Bao?!’
’Damn it!!!’
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