Chapter 338 - 235: The First Su Zhi Cup
Of course, it was because he had discovered Wu Bao’s secret: Wu Bao had actually long since neglected his training, his mind completely focused on playing video games!
"Wooo..." Wu Bao began to tremble, steam even rising from his body.
In reality, he was secretly sighing in relief.
’Thank goodness Yu Bao hadn’t discovered that I’m writing web novels. Otherwise, I’d have to move to another planet.’
But the mood was set. He had to act flustered and furious now that his little secret was out, or else he’d arouse suspicion.
And to be fair, he really was annoyed.
’What does he mean, "neglected his training?"’
’Even though I’ve poured my heart and soul into the great enterprise of writing these past few days, my training intensity hasn’t dropped at all, okay!’
’I even forced myself to master Doubling—a Skill only Two-star beings are supposed to grasp—just so I could steal an ID card to sign a contract!’
"Relax, relax." Su Mao laughed, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation. "It’s not like this is the first day you’ve known that Wu Bao likes to read web novels. It’s okay to relax and unwind after training."
"Wooo!" Wu Bao immediately nodded in agreement.
"Sssha~" Yu Bao grinned cheekily and pointed at Wu Bao for Shan Bao’s benefit.
See? He’s getting mad.
Wu Bao was indeed getting mad... Yu Bao’s choice of words would make anyone’s blood pressure spike.
"Sssha!" Yu Bao snatched Su Zhi’s phone with his mouth again, opened the photo album, found the famous painting "Wu Bao in the Garage," and slapped it down—WHAM WHAM—in front of Wu Bao.
Like it? If you do, I can draw one for you for free~
Wu Bao finally couldn’t take it anymore. He leaped back two steps, his long, slender horns pointing at Yu Bao. This was the Black Fighting Emperor’s stance for declaring war.
"Wooo!"
’That’s it! I’m gonna gore Yu Bao to death with my horn!’
"Arf-woo!"
Yu Bao also excitedly struck a battle-ready pose.
’I’ve been wanting this fight for a long time. All that painstaking setup—wasn’t it all just to kick off a sparring match so I could act cool and put him in his place?’
’Wu Bao is courting death. As Su Zhi’s number one Pet Beast, I have a duty to sort out the hierarchy and uphold the pecking order!’
Su Zhi sat between the two Pet Beasts with his hands tucked in his sleeves, glancing at Wu Bao and raising an eyebrow slightly.
[Pet Beast: Black Fighting Emperor (Editor: Wu Bao)
Attribute: Wood, Fighting Element
Race: Middle Elite
Real-time Energy Value: 4001]
Unexpectedly, Wu Bao’s Real-time Energy Value had also reached four thousand. He wasn’t even contracted to Su Zhi yet; this level of improvement could only be described as terrifying.
’No wonder Wu Bao has mostly mastered Doubling. His Energy Value was already absurdly high to begin with. I can only imagine how much he’s been grinding lately...’
This Energy Value was still a ways off from Yu Bao’s, but the gap wasn’t insurmountable. Plus, the two Pet Beasts had asymmetrical Skill Systems, so it was hard to say what the Effect would be once they started fighting.
Normally, he would have stopped the two little guys. But things were different today. Wu Bao and Yu Bao hadn’t seen each other in a while, and right now, they were at the peak of their excitement and bursting with energy.
On the other hand, they had both improved a lot recently, and each had the same thought: ’I can definitely wipe the floor with this guy now.’
’I might as well let them have an intra-squad battle. It’d be a chance for them to blow off some steam, and I can also see how much the two ’Baos’ have progressed recently.’
"Alright, then I declare the first-ever ’Su Zhi Cup’ intra-squad tournament officially open!"
Su Zhi casually placed the watermelon bowl between the two Baos—this was the Su Zhi Cup.
"Everyone, friendship first, competition second, okay? The winner gets to hoist the first Su Zhi Cup and will earn the title of ’Number One Pet Beast of Su Zhi’!"
"Arf-woo!" "Wooo!"
Seeing such a rich and meaningful prize, both Baos’ eyes lit up, their gazes burning as they stared at each other.
’I’m the only one who can be Su Zhi’s number one Pet Beast!’
Draw your sword! (x2)
Then, a cloud of sand and dust kicked up as Yu Bao launched the first attack. Dense sparks were mixed within it, adding a touch of shock and awe to the otherwise ordinary sand.
This was the Tier Two Sandstorm·Flying Flame Form.
’He used it right from the start. What a total lack of Martial Virtue!’
Su Zhi watched the swirling sandstorm while eating watermelon, silently thanking his lucky stars that he’d had them set up the fight farther away. Otherwise, this whole table of food would have been ruined.
"That move of Yu Bao’s is pretty cool! I can’t speak to its power, but at least the special effects are maxed out."
"So you think Wu Bao can handle it?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"’Cause of the ’All Smoke, No Harm’ rule."
"Tch..."
The two parents were also holding watermelon slices, watching with great interest as they ate.
Their son would soon be leaving on a long journey, one that wasn’t without a high degree of danger. They, too, hoped to see both of their son’s Pet Beasts display formidable strength.
Yu Bao retreated two steps and vigilantly activated his Earth Force Field.
Sure enough, Su Mao’s "All Smoke, No Harm" law went into effect. A swift black shadow tore through the sand screen. Wu Bao shot up from the ground, his body having already returned to the normal size of a Black Fighting Emperor.
The few sparks on his carapace quickly died out, revealing the gleaming surface beneath, as shiny as ever.
As a byword for Extreme Attack and Defense, Wu Bao possessed a staggering defense.
Yu Bao’s Sandstorm might be a significant threat to a squishy target, but for him, it was barely enough to give him a polish. Even though Yu Bao had specifically used the Fire Element to counter him, it was a drop in the ocean.
"Wooo!"
The moment he landed, Wu Bao lowered his nearly two-meter-long horn, like a knight leveling his Riding Lance, and charged straight for Yu Bao!
But Yu Bao just revealed a wicked grin.
Wu Bao instantly sensed something was wrong. He subconsciously turned his head and found that the Sandstorm that had just scraped past him had transformed directly into a Quicksand Shield, which was now slamming into him from the flank.
Such a silky-smooth Continuous Combo was clearly beyond Wu Bao’s expectations. He didn’t even have time to dodge before he was brutally smacked.
While the Quicksand Shield wasn’t a powerful killing move, it was heavy and forceful. Coming from the side, it was more than enough to make the fast-moving Wu Bao lose his balance.
At the same time, Yu Bao activated his Earth Force Field again. The ground beneath one side of Wu Bao suddenly sank, creating a pincer attack with the Quicksand Shield’s strike.
Wu Bao didn’t even have time to readjust his center of gravity before he was completely knocked over by Yu Bao, tumbling into the pit created by the Earth Force Field.
SWOOSH!
Having completed its mission, the Quicksand Shield switched directly into a Burning Sand Blade, transitioning almost instantly with no recovery lag, and shot toward Wu Bao in the pit!
Xiaoyue was watching from the side, completely stunned.
Logically speaking, after a Pet Beast uses a Skill, it should need a certain buffer and interval to gather Energy again before launching the next attack.
As for special skills that can be used in combination, they are essentially equivalent to one "big skill" and follow the same principle.
Some Pet Beasts with extremely high attack speeds, like the White Flame Battle Spirit, might seem to have an unending barrage of attacks, but in reality, they’ve just minimized the interval to the extreme. It’s not a true Continuous Combo.
However, Yu Bao’s situation was completely different.
His absolute speed might not be as fast as Lilith’s, but there was an incredibly clear sense of "fluidity." It was hard for Xiaoyue to see any distinct pauses or transitions in his moves.
There was only one explanation for this... Yu Bao had choreographed all of his Skills into a state similar to a Combined Skill!
This way, no matter what Skill he used for one move, he could immediately flow into other Skills, making it seem at first glance as if his attacks had no start-up or recovery lag.
Of course, not all Skills could probably be linked, like that Star Meteor Burst, which couldn’t be combined with other Skills...
But any Skills that had even a slight connection had indeed been choreographed into a Combined Skill by Yu Bao.
Before he knew it, a shocked expression had taken over Xiaoyue’s face.
’Damn it, that stupid puppy has learned such a buggy ability. He’s probably about to take off again.’
’No, I have to work harder too. It would be terrible if I, the big brother, got pushed down by that stupid puppy!’
BOOM!
While he was lost in thought, several Burning Sand Blades had already viciously chiseled into the pit. This was Yu Bao’s strongest killing move at his current stage. To better counter Wu Bao, he had specifically increased the proportion of Flame, which, while slightly reducing its toughness, drastically increased its Armor Piercing Ability against Wood Element Pet Beasts.
’Come on, my good brother. When you’re out in the world, you’re bound to get stabbed a few times, right?’
Yu Bao’s mouth was stretched in a grin almost to the roots of his ears. If he weren’t a dog, he would probably be letting out a villainous "Jie Jie Jie" laugh right now.
As he laughed, he felt a soft impact feedback from the Burning Sand Blade, and Yu Bao’s smile froze.
’They all stabbed into the dirt? Not a single one hit? How is that possible??’
’Could it be... Oh no!’
"Wooo!"
Just as Yu Bao realized something was wrong, Wu Bao—now slightly smaller than him—shot out of the pit and charged straight at him in a wild rush.
Immediately after, a faint white light enveloped Wu Bao’s body—
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