Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

In both ability and mindset, he performed flawlessly at the most critical moment!

The time was right. All the sand rushed together in an instant, encasing Diya like the mud around a beggar’s chicken. The once-ethereal Purple Flame Demon Spirit was instantly transformed into a giant earthen ball.

"QAQ—Sa!" Under the immense weight, Diya lost its balance and plummeted.

It tried to break free, but the sand wrapped around its body flickered with a Golden Light—it was the enhancement from Yu Bao’s Thick Earth Blessing.

At the same time, all the rubble left over from the last Star Meteor Burst rose into the air and piled onto Diya one piece after another, like a human pyramid.

"Sa! Sa!"

Finally, the stones were stacked high, shaped by Yu Bao into a Five Finger Mountain with a touch of malicious humor.

Diya squirmed and struggled beneath the mountain, the expression on its fiery face looking just like a panicked emoji.

"⌓‿⌓​ Woof~" Yu Bao revealed a subtle smile and slowly approached.

’Still so full of life after all that. Its body is pretty sturdy.’

’Let me show you something cool!’

SWISH. Yu Bao pulled out a huge object, thick and long—

A special-issue, extra-large Furious Sand Blade!

"QAQ SA!!!!"

...

「One minute later.」

[Assignable Attribute Points (Yu Bao)... 0.25]

Finally, amidst Diya’s pig-like squeals for mercy, Yu Bao put away his big treasure and won the Pet Beast Battle.

"Good boy!" The moment victory was confirmed, Su Zhi clenched his fists, rushed out from the commander’s spot, and scooped Yu Bao up in a hug.

Yu Bao, however, let out a long sigh, half his tongue lolling out, his eyes devoid of their usual luster—the very picture of exhaustion.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Su. You’ve beaten me again!"

Peng Kai sighed with a smile and clapped Su Zhi on the shoulder. "I used to subconsciously chalk your wins up to luck, but now I’m completely convinced. Fellow Daoist Su, you are truly a young talent!"

"Not at all, there was definitely some luck involved..." Su Zhi replied, feeling a bit emotional himself.

This might not have been Yu Bao’s most uphill battle, but it was certainly one of the toughest. It was rare for Yu Bao to look half-dead after a victory.

In fact, for most of the match, Diya had the upper hand and controlled the tempo, while Yu Bao was limited to reacting passively.

If Diya hadn’t rushed at the end and had just played it steady, Yu Bao might not have found an opportunity for a comeback.

Even during the final reversal, Diya’s attack had been quite sharp. Yu Bao had basically just tanked the hit with his sheer toughness.

If Yu Bao had fewer points in his Constitution, if his Energy Value had been any lower, the outcome might have been completely different.

It wasn’t that Diya played poorly, but that Yu Bao was just too tough to crack. Even when the strategy was executed well, it was hard to achieve the desired effect.

From that perspective, it was a narrow victory for Yu Bao, and luck had certainly played a part.

Of course, what Peng Kai said wasn’t wrong either. After all, Yu Bao’s strength was built up through solid training and frequent combat experience. Fortune favors the prepared dog.

This also showed that Yu Bao was becoming more and more well-rounded, making him difficult for opponents to counter.

"Sa." Seeing his master talking with Su Zhi, Diya lowered his head in dejection and squatted in a corner to draw circles on the ground.

’Thrashed before evolving, thrashed after evolving. What kind of ultimate victim am I?’

’Sniffle... this is making me depressed...’

"Woof." Yu Bao poked his shoulder.

"Sa." Diya was busy sulking and didn’t want to be bothered.

"Woof!" Yu Bao poked him again.

Diya was about to lash out when he suddenly smelled a familiar, enticing aroma and whipped his head around with a SWISH.

He saw Yu Bao holding a pack of spicy strips in his mouth, raising an eyebrow at him.

And they were Weilong Big Latiao Strips, a snack befitting his noble status as a Purple Flame Demon Spirit!

"Sa..." Diya dazedly took the latiao, but his expression remained resolute.

’You think a single pack of latiao can corrupt my will? You underestimate the noble Purple Flame Demon...’

’Eh? Wait, how did the latiao get in my mouth?’

’Damn it, where does this leave the dignity of a Purple Flame Demon Spirit!’

’Then again, I have no memory of taking the latiao or eating it. No memory means I didn’t do it. The latiao must have jumped into my mouth on its own... Right. It had nothing to do with me.’

And so, Diya began to eat with a clear conscience, all while sizing up Yu Bao with a somewhat shaken gaze.

’He remembered Yu Bao hadn’t brought any latiao, but now he had produced some out of thin air. What kind of divine power was this?’

’Yu Bao’s power was becoming more and more unfathomable. No wonder he lost...’

"Sss-ha..."

Seeing Diya’s expression, Yu Bao took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Even though he was tired as a dog, he still flashed a smile that was three parts pride, three parts humility, and four parts disdain.

"...So that’s why you sent a clone out to buy latiao, just to pretend you conjured them out of nowhere?" Su Zhi started to say, but trailed off.

Yu Bao responded with a slight curve of his lips.

’You wouldn’t understand. Being strong is a matter of the current patch, but being cool is for life.’

"Alright, alright..." Su Zhi nodded and chuckled. "So what are we doing with the Points this time? Spend them or save them?"

Yu Bao waved his paw.

’You’ll regret not having enough when it’s time to show off—save them!’

"That’s so you."

·

「Wudu New Village.」

"Hng hng woooo woooo..."

The sounds of Master Wu practicing his skills echoed in front of the garage.

Even though it was summer, the surrounding insects were all scared into silence by this unusual chirping.

Wu Bao lay prostrate in front of the garage, eyes tightly shut, his body covered in a faint white light.

As he made that indescribable sound, his entire body began to shrink—to one-fifth its size, then one-tenth... finally shrinking to about one-thirtieth of his original volume.

"Woo!" Wu Bao hopped on the spot excitedly.

’A new milestone!’

’Hmm, the only flaw is the severe oral compensation. I’ll try to do it without making a sound next time...’

’Alright, that’s enough training for today. Time to log on.’

Writer’s Assistant—activate!

Wu Bao turned and went back into the garage, using his hind leg to pull down the rolling shutter door. A moment later, the clatter of furious typing rang out.

"...." The small insects in the surrounding bushes stared blankly in the direction of the garage.

For the past few weeks, Wu Bao had been appearing at the garage entrance every day at a set time, making indescribable noises, and then growing larger and smaller.

’Is this what a top-tier predator, a member of the fierce and combative Fighting Element Race, a Black Fighting Emperor, is like?’

’Truly, a bit... unnamable...’

’We should consider migrating when we have the time.’

The morning hours were always quiet and peaceful. In stark contrast, Su Mao’s study was also quiet... with not a single sound of typing to be heard.

"Damn, I really can’t write a thing."

After a long while, a sigh broke the silence of the study. The middle-aged man leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, feeling a headache coming on, drained of all energy.

Writer’s block, oversleeping, just not feeling it... Su Mao had recently been suffering an unprecedented mid-life crisis, as if he had hit a creative wall.

’Forget it, I’m not writing. I’ll go kill some time in the chat groups to clear my head.’

’Man, I’ve really tired myself out doing nothing.’

So, with a clear conscience, Su Mao switched screens.

As luck would have it, that "Newcomer King" named Wu Bao had just started a 20,000-word writing sprint in the group chat.

Although they had exchanged a few words in the group, and he was even following the guy’s book, Su Mao wasn’t actually familiar with Wu Bao. He only knew that the guy was a super tryhard whose daily word count was almost as much as the rest of the group combined.

And at that moment, the weary Su Mao felt a flicker of curiosity toward this newcomer who shared the same name as his own Pet Beast.

’The guy is probably young, but looking at his QQ number, it’s a ridiculously new account. Even his profile picture is the default penguin.’

’Seems like a person with a story.’

Since he wasn’t going to write today anyway, Su Mao sent a friend request on a whim—

["Gou of Gou Mao" has sent you a friend request via the "Qi Point Contracted Security Group"]

[Accept] [Decline]

"Woo?" Wu Bao, who was in the middle of writing, froze on the spot.

His first reaction was pure panic.

’Did Dad find out I’ve been secretly writing a novel?!’

Afraid of arousing suspicion, Wu Bao gritted his teeth and clicked accept.

["You are now friends."]

[Gou of Gou Mao]: *bows and offers tea to the master*

[Wu Bao]: Hello, Dad

[Gou of Gou Mao]: ?

["Wu Bao" retracted a message]

[Wu Bao]: QAQ I’M SO SORRY, MASTER!! GOOD MORNING, MASTER GOU MAO!!!

Wu Bao huddled in front of his tablet, as frantic as a Black Fighting Emperor on a hot pan. He had been so nervous that he’d typed it subconsciously... He was so screwed! So, so screwed!

[Gou of Gou Mao]: It’s fine, I don’t mind you calling me that /smirk

[Gou of Gou Mao]: No need for the ’master’ stuff, just call me Gou Mao!

[Wu Bao]: Okay

[Wu Bao]: So, Big Shot Gou Mao, is there something you need...?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Ah, isn’t getting to know the new master the standard procedure for us flops in this group?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Gotta latch onto a big shot early so I can get a Chapter shout-out when I start my next book /smirk

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Speaking of which, what a coincidence, right? I have a Pet Beast with the exact same name as your pen name. We must be fated to meet!

[Wu Bao]: ...

In front of the screen, Wu Bao breathed a sigh of relief.

’As long as he didn’t recognize me. That scared this bug to death.’

·

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