Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

Heh, is that all?

·

「The next day.」

"Huh, Brother Shu, how’d you get a wound on the back of your neck?"

"...An old battle wound."

"Oh, I see. No worries! Scars are a man’s badge of honor! Keep it up, Brother Shu!" Liu Yuhang patted Su Zhi’s shoulder, then headed out for his morning workout, full of righteous zeal.

Su Zhi clutched the back of his neck, which was faintly aching, a pained expression on his face.

’What the hell was Liu Yuhang even talking about? Why do I get the feeling there was a hidden meaning...’

"Oh, Su Baby, you’re up?" a girl’s voice came from behind him.

Su Zhi executed a tactical freeze.

To be clear, his body went completely rigid.

Shao Ya, who was behind him, seemed to rise up on her tiptoes. Then she asked curiously, "Su Baby, how did you get a red mark here? Are you hurt?"

Su Zhi opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

’As if you don’t know perfectly well why there’s a red mark here!?’

"Looks like some little animal must have bitten you. Hee hee, you need to be more careful from now on, Su Baby. Protect yourself~"

The girl covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, acting as if the events of last night had nothing to do with her. With a quick turn, she ran off.

Su Zhi watched her leave, clutching his neck with a resigned look. Then, the corners of his mouth slowly curled into a smile.

’Why am I so pathetic... smiling even after she bit me.’

’Maybe it’s a double standard that only applies to her. If Yu Bao had done this, I’d be giving him a good spanking right now.’

"Woofle." Yu Bao shot him a sidelong glance.

These treacherous commoners are always out to get Us!

"It’s nothing, I was just saying how handsome you are," Su Zhi said, patting Yu Bao’s head before walking into the bedroom to check on Shan Bao.

Shan Bao was busy at work, taking items out of the Flash Gold Flash Space one by one, then putting them back one by one to arrange them more neatly and save space.

"Huh?"

Spotting a blue-colored object, Su Zhi curiously picked it up and toyed with it in his hand.

This was the Water and Earth Dual Element resource that Yu Bao had taken a fancy to in the past: a Blue Nodule. In essence, it was the shed body of a Siren Jellyfish.

"Woofle?" Yu Bao tilted its head.

’You’re really thirsting for that jellyfish’s body?’

"Hey, watch what you’re saying!" Recalling the scene from last night, Su Zhi subconsciously broke into a sweat.

"I was just wondering, could this resource be connected to the Siren Elf that appeared last night?" Su Zhi asked curiously.

Yu Bao nodded, looking pensive.

Good question!

He didn’t know either.

"Forget it. The odds are there’s no connection. There are so many Siren Jellyfish out there, what are the chances of running into the resource’s original owner..." Shaking his head, Su Zhi stuffed the Blue Nodule back into the Flash Gold Flash Space with a wry laugh.

Shan Bao continued to tidy up on the bed, while a suitcase rested against the door. The sky was a vibrant blue as the sun slowly ascended, framed by towering skyscrapers.

Su Zhi glanced around the room, feeling a wave of emotion.

In four hours, they would be on a plane back to Shanyou Province. This would be the last sunrise he’d witness in Pearl Harbor.

·

"Attention!"

"Align yourselves! Eyes front!"

At nine in the morning, the students in the team competition training camp assembled for the last time at the Battle Center. Ke Yan used his powerful, grating voice to call the squad to order one last time.

Looking at the perfectly formed ranks before him, Ke Yan let out a hearty laugh. "Congratulations, everyone, on escaping this hell and successfully graduating from my program. From now on, that fucking idiot named Ke Yan won’t be able to work you to the bone anymore!"

Someone in the ranks was wiping away tears. "Instructor, we’ll miss you..."

Ke Yan retorted with a jovial curse, "Give me a break! You’re the one who cursed me the most behind my back! Don’t think I didn’t know!"

The student wiping away tears froze. The other trainees burst out laughing, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the Battle Center.

"After the selection process, two teams have distinguished themselves. They will go on to represent Shanyou Province in the national team tournament. They are the ’Vast and Mighty’ team and the ’Su Zhi and His Friends’ team.

"You’ve all eaten, lived, and trained together for the past two weeks. I’m sure you’ve all seen what they can do, so there’s nothing more to say. Come on, let’s put some pressure on them! Give ’em a round of applause!"

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP... Applause erupted.

Ke Yan’s gaze swept over Su Zhi and Chen Xinghao, and he smiled faintly. "From now on, you’re representing Shanyou Province. Do your best out there, and don’t let the other provinces look down on us!"

The two team captains nodded vigorously.

Ke Yan’s gaze then swept over the others.

"Tryouts and competitions are always brutal. There are only so many spots, and medals are fated to be beyond the grasp of most. Geniuses always shine, while the fate of the average person is often to be overlooked.

"But I want to make one thing clear. Although your abilities and rankings may vary, in my heart, none of you are better or worse than anyone else.

"For... certain reasons, during these two weeks of training, I’ve actually been holding you to the Cui Feng Alliance’s emergency combat readiness standards. You could... well, you could see it as me deliberately making things tough for you. But you all stuck with it. Not a single person dropped out.

"It doesn’t matter how many rounds you cleared in the tryouts, whether you placed or not, or how your schools will treat you when you get back. In my eyes, you are all qualified Warriors, true and upstanding Beast Tamers.

"This last round of applause is for you! Give it up for yourselves! You’re all amazing!"

"CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!"

The applause was thunderous and seemed to go on forever.

·

"CLICK!"

At the entrance of the training center, Su Zhi and the others stood in a neat row. The towering Ke Yan stood behind them with his arms folded. As Wang Haokun pressed the shutter button, the camera froze the moment in time.

"Got it."

"Thanks, Brother Kun!"

"Photo’s taken, so I’m off. You guys carry on," Ke Yan said, patting Su Zhi’s shoulder.

Su Zhi waved, feeling a bit emotional. "Take care, Instructor..."

Ke Yan grinned. "Your old man here is about to become the first resident Beast Tamer for the Fish Dragon Race. My work will be like a permanent vacation. You, on the other hand, still have to suffer through the miserable life of a high school student. You’re the pitiful one here, not me."

Su Zhi: "Fuck."

Ke Yan added, "Oh, right. If I remember correctly, your Yu Bao is already a Two-star Pet Beast?"

"Yeah."

"That was fast... In that case, make sure you pay attention to the yearly applications to join the Alliance. You’re an Alliance Youth Team Member, so you can apply directly to become a full Alliance Member. You already meet the hard-power requirements.

"If you can become an Alliance Member while still in high school, you can skip the college entrance exams and enroll directly in a university run by your Alliance."

Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. "Awesome!"

The universities affiliated with the Nine Great Alliances are all world-class institutions, collectively known as the "Gong Jiu." Even top-tier regional universities like Jinghua Yan University in the Yu Dian District have to take a backseat. It’s incredibly rare for a high school student to get direct admission into a Gong Jiu university; most people become Alliance Members after they start working and then go to a Gong Jiu for advanced studies.

’The main point is, I can get out of more than a year of high school...’

"Of course, don’t get your hopes too high. The experience might be even worse than high school. With great power comes great responsibility."

Ke Yan smiled with a hint of emotion.

"By the way, I hear you’re heading to Hundred Rivers next?"

"Yeah. Alliance Leader Luo Sen said there might be an evolutionary opportunity for Yu Bao there. He’s been helping me with the arrangements."

"That place is no tourist destination, so you’d better be careful. But it’s in a period of seismic stability right now, so it shouldn’t be a major issue."

Ke Yan snapped his fingers. "Vice Alliance Leader Gou from the Dark Alliance happens to be there on a business trip. He’s heard about this, and coincidentally, he’s very eager to meet you."

Su Zhi was bewildered. "Am I supposed to know this Boss Gou?"

Ke Yan gave him a cryptic smile. "You may not know him... but he’s practically dying to know you."

Su Zhi: "???"

"Alright, that’s all I’m going to say. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself when you get there."

Su Zhi reached out a hand. "Hey!"

Ke Yan turned and walked away, as if afraid Su Zhi would question him further.

Su Zhi was left speechless.

Shao Ya covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Su Baby, you’re so popular. You haven’t even met the man, and you’re already on a big shot’s radar."

"What did I do to deserve this..." Su Zhi shook his head and chuckled.

Just then, their taxi arrived. The group, having waited for some time, cheered and rushed forward. They were so excited that even the simple task of loading luggage into the trunk became a flurry of happy activity.

Su Zhi glanced back at the towering Battle Hall and the training center, bidding a final farewell to the city.

"Su Zhi."

A voice called out from the side. Su Zhi followed the sound and saw Chen Xinghao and his team getting into another taxi.

"Something else you want to say?"

"Don’t fall behind. Next time, we’ll see who really comes out on top." With that, Chen Xinghao got into the car.

Su Zhi smiled faintly and gave him a thumbs-up in return.

The two taxis started their engines at the same time and drove off toward the same destination.

·

·