Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

"That’s wonderful! We can save the tribute for next time..."

"Sigh, it’s a shame the Beastmaster is usually so busy. It’s rare for him to stay in town."

"I heard a young man from Jinshi Village say that under the Beastmaster’s guidance, they set an ambush and killed a lot of Earthquake Beasts... If the Earthquake Beasts come again, should we give it a try?"

"Are you out of your mind?! How can a person possibly fight an Earthquake Beast?"

"Yeah, yeah, the Earthquake Beasts are terrifying... Let’s just forget it... We should just rely on the Beastmaster..."

In stark contrast to the already celebrating commoners, Su Zhi and Tuoba Jing, far out in the countryside, had not relaxed. Instead, they watched thoughtfully as the Earthquake Beast herd gradually retreated into the distance.

"Young friend, what is your opinion?"

"My opinion is, let’s do it. An opportunity this good is hard to come by."

"Ha, I was thinking the exact same thing. Hold on tight, young friend!"

Tuoba Jing mounted Zi Lu, then reached out and hoisted Su Zhi onto its back as well. A faint, feathery scent wafted into his nostrils, and Su Zhi instinctively ducked his head.

’After reaching Tier Four in my Beast Taming Space, it’s been a long time since I’ve been lifted up by someone like this... It’s strangely nostalgic.’

Then, with a light pat from Tuoba Jing, Zi Lu flapped its great wings and soared gracefully into the sky.

On the ground, Yu Bao activated Thick Earth Golden Might and swaggered after the Earthquake Beast herd, mixing right in.

The Earthquake Beasts didn’t react aggressively. They even shifted aside, making a space for Yu Bao.

Seeing it was being shown such respect, Yu Bao didn’t stand on ceremony and swaggered right into the spot. Its posture grew even cockier, its goose-steps nearly kicking up to the heavens.

Watching from the air, Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Seriously, how did you blend in so fast...’

"Woof."

Yu Bao jauntily walked up to an Earthquake Beast and tapped it with its paw.

’Hey, big bro, where are we heading?’

The Earthquake Beast turned its head toward it suspiciously, but having no eyes, it couldn’t tell it was a dog, so it turned its head back.

"Grrr...ara..." A muffled, low growl came from the Earthquake Beast’s mouth.

[Audience, See]

Yu Bao nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that, just as Su Zhi had speculated, these Earthquake Beasts had some kind of leader.

"Woof?" Yu Bao patted the Earthquake Beast again.

’Then why do we make those humans pay tribute every day? What’s so tasty about Earth?’

"Grrr...arara..." The Earthquake Beast’s roar grew deeper, yet it was exceptionally piercing.

[Pro...vide] [Awa...ken] [Break...through]

Unlike ordinary Pet Beasts, which could directly convey a complete event or piece of information, the Earthquake Beasts’ expressions were unsystematic. Even other Pet Beasts could only glean a few fragmented concepts from their sounds.

Hearing Yu Bao’s translation, Su Zhi frowned thoughtfully. "I’m afraid our previous speculation was correct. The Earthquake Beasts are most likely preparing for some entity to break through the Secret Realm and descend upon the Current World."

Tuoba Jing added, "No... rather than putting it that way, it’s more like the Earthquake Beasts are an extension of that entity’s will and power. Instead of calling them Exotic Beasts, it’s more accurate to say they are mass-produced creations designed to achieve a specific goal. They don’t have the characteristics a normal Pet Beast should have, only the ’necessary’ functions."

"You’re absolutely right, Senior. It looks like we have a tough fight ahead of us."

Su Zhi’s gaze returned to the ground below.

"The Earthquake Beasts seem to be going inside!"

After trailing them for some time, Yu Bao and the Earthquake Beast herd arrived near a cavern.

This type of landform was common around Jinshi Village; the place where Su Zhi had rescued Fu Yue had plenty of these sinkholes.

"Grrr...ara..."

The Earthquake Beasts entered the cave opening one by one in an orderly fashion.

"Woof woof..."

Yu Bao convincingly bluffed its way through and followed them into the cave. Not only did it imitate the Earthquake Beasts’ cries, but its walking posture even surpassed the original, to the point that the few Earthquake Beasts behind it were a bit dazed, wondering if they were the ones walking incorrectly.

Once inside the cave, Yu Bao’s eyes widened in surprise.

It had expected it to be cramped, but it was surprisingly spacious. Although the entrance could barely fit a larger Earthquake Beast, the space suddenly opened up after just a few dozen steps.

The cave walls suddenly became exceptionally high, like a palace. Ores emitting a golden glow were embedded in the walls, providing a faint light source—they were Radiant Gold Vein Opening Stones, though much dimmer than the ones seen on the surface.

’Is it because there are so many Earthquake Beasts here? But why haven’t they gone out completely...’

Yu Bao continued forward while pondering, until it reached a large, hall-like area where all the Earthquake Beasts came to a simultaneous halt.

A massive Earthquake Beast patrolled the hall. It clearly had more feet than the others, and its body was branded with golden stripes, making it particularly distinct.

’Is this some kind of Hundred Rivers Secret Realm Golden Gradient...?’

Yu Bao snarked to itself as it watched all the Earthquake Beasts line up neatly, pass one by one in front of the "Golden Gradient," and then continue into the other tunnels ahead.

’The "Golden Gradient" also seems to inspect each Earthquake Beast in turn. Though I have no idea how it inspects anything with just a mouth...’

’Whatever, I don’t give a damn. The important thing is to just bluff my way through this part of the story so we can unlock the next area!’

So, Yu Bao imitated the other Earthquake Beasts, swaggered up to the Golden Gradient, and bared its teeth in a grin.

’Me, a very good citizen!’

The Golden Gradient seemed not to respond, remaining motionless.

Yu Bao blinked.

’No reaction? Guess I’ll be going, then?’

Then, the instant Yu Bao lifted its paw, the Golden Gradient Earthquake Beast lunged forward with a WHOOSH, opening its cavernous mouth toward Yu Bao.

"CRUNCH—"

The clone’s vision went black.

·

「Noon.」

At Tuoba Jing’s enthusiastic invitation, Su Zhi stayed for a bowl of noodles.

"Woof woof woof!" Yu Bao circled Su Zhi, a look of indignation on its face.

It had worked so hard to infiltrate the Earthquake Beasts, and that scummy Golden Gradient had destroyed its clone without a second thought!

If it didn’t get revenge for this, it swore it wasn’t a real dog!

Su Zhi quickly stuffed a piece of meat into its mouth. "Stop whining, you’ve been going on about it all morning."

Only then did Yu Bao begin to eat the meat, its mouth now too full to be indignant.

Su Zhi’s bowl had only a few pieces of meat to begin with, and now a large chunk was gone. He sighed, his heart bleeding.

But seeing Yu Bao eat so happily, a slight smile appeared on Su Zhi’s face.

Tuoba Jing put down his bowl. "Based on the intelligence Yu Bao gathered, the Earthquake Beast swarm is more complex than we imagined. It seems they even have some kind of division of labor."

"Indeed. Their structure feels somewhat like an ant colony."

Su Zhi was pensive. "Yu Bao was able to fool the regular Earthquake Beasts but not that ’Golden Gradient.’ This means it must have some special method of identification... That makes things difficult. It won’t be easy to continue the infiltration."

"I, however, don’t think that’s the case."

Tuoba Jing stroked his beard. "Based on your retelling of what Yu Bao saw and heard, young friend, that beast’s reaction wasn’t hostility from ’identifying’ a difference. On the contrary, it should be like the other Earthquake Beasts and know exactly what Yu Bao is."

Su Zhi had a sudden realization. "I think I understand what you mean! They all know Yu Bao isn’t an Earthquake Beast, but the Golden Gradient’s reaction was different from the regular ones!"

"Exactly. Otherwise, why would the other Earthquake Beasts show submission to Yu Bao?"

Tuoba Jing looked at Yu Bao. "If my speculation is correct, that beast’s function is more like a military officer. This type of Earthquake Beast should only exist within the caverns and has never appeared in the outside world. Its duty is to act as a link between the Earthquake Beasts and the Upper Rank entity."

Su Zhi picked up the train of thought. "And Yu Bao’s appearance made it feel that the Upper Rank entity’s position might be challenged or even threatened, so it chose a hostile attack as its countermeasure!"

"Precisely. The counterattack was born from fear."

Listening to the two of them talk, Yu Bao’s eyes darted back and forth, a thoughtful expression on its face.

·

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