Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

In less than a minute, Fang Yuan returned with two bottles of a red sports drink.

Lilith twisted open one of the bottles, took a happy sip, and then held it to Fang Yuan’s lips.

Fang Yuan opened his mouth and had a taste, then handed the other, unopened bottle to Xu Ruo.

"Th-thank you!" Xu Ruo accepted the drink, a little overwhelmed by the gesture.

Looking at the obviously expensive packaging, she didn’t dare open it. "How much was this?" she asked in a small voice. "I’ll transfer you the money later..."

"Don’t worry about it. It’s on me," Fang Yuan said softly.

He remembered running into Su Zhi and Shao Ya at the airport once. When they bought water, they got a bottle for him, too. By that logic, it was only natural for him to buy a bottle for Xu Ruo when he was getting one for himself.

"Thank you..."

Xu Ruo nodded, still clutching the drink to her chest. Only under Fang Yuan’s watchful gaze did she quickly twist it open and timidly take a sip.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed Fang Yuan look away.

Seeing Fang Yuan and Lilith sharing their drink, Xu Ruo blinked a few times, then slowly brought the bottle to Bubble’s mouth to let it have a sip, too.

She turned her head... and Fang Yuan was watching her again!

Xu Ruo flinched like a startled squirrel, her hand trembling.

Bubble didn’t have time to react before the drink went up its nose, and it let out a sneeze. PFFT!

"I-I’m sorry!" The girl was so nervous she was on the verge of tears.

"It’s fine." Fang Yuan held back a laugh and looked at Bubble. "Is this your first Pet Beast?"

Bubble froze, a little nervous.

"M-My first. When I saw Bubble at the Breeding Base, her parents and siblings had all been contracted. She was the only one left, so I..."

Xu Ruo answered in a voice so quiet it was barely audible, bowing her head low.

Not having replaced one’s Pet Beast was often seen as a sign of incompetence and a lack of ambition.

Aside from the "Emperor O" types and master Beast Tamers whose first Pet Beasts were exceptional, most Beast Tamers—especially students—contracted more than one to find their "optimal" partner.

And those like her, who chose not to replace a Pet Beast for personal, emotional reasons, were often treated as cautionary tales, ostracized and shunned by mainstream Beast Tamers.

’I heard Fang Yuan has replaced many Pet Beasts. He must look down on me...’

"That’s great," Fang Yuan said with a nod instead.

Xu Ruo blinked, stunned. "But... isn’t that wrong? Everyone thinks I’m an idiot... um... although I guess I am..."

"I don’t think so." Fang Yuan glanced at Lilith beside him, the corner of his mouth twitching into an almost imperceptible smile.

"Meeting a Pet Beast that can become your family is a very lucky thing in itself."

Sensing the girl’s gaze on him, Fang Yuan’s smile froze, and he quickly reverted to his usual deadpan expression.

’Careless. She saw me sneak a smile again.’

Fang Yuan didn’t understand why he couldn’t let Xu Ruo see him smile like that... but whatever the reason, he just couldn’t.

"Thank you for saying that."

A small light sparked in the girl’s eyes as she reached out to gently stroke Bubble’s head. But when she saw Bubble’s dejected look, the light in her eyes dimmed again.

"But... we really are no good. No matter how hard we train, it’s hard to catch up to everyone else. Maybe it’s because we don’t have any talent."

"I don’t think so." Fang Yuan propped his chin on his hand, studying Bubble as he steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Bubble’s Real-time Energy Value is over a thousand, which is about average for a second-year high school student. But according to Lilith’s feedback, Bubble feels like a One-star Pet Beast to her."

"In other words, Bubble does have talent. At the very least, its potential isn’t low."

"But..." Xu Ruo hugged Bubble and blinked. "Bubble can’t even master Wind Blade. My teacher is always calling it an idiot..."

"I don’t think so."

Xu Ruo raised her hand. "But I think—"

Fang Yuan repeated, "I don’t care what you think. I care what *I* think."

Xu Ruo retracted her hand and didn’t dare say another word.

"...It’s also possible that it’s just not suited for practicing Wind Blade."

Fang Yuan paused. "Have you heard of Yu Bao?"

Xu Ruo’s eyes lit up instantly. "Su Zhi’s number one Pet Beast!"

’Has Su Zhi gotten that famous already...?’ Fang Yuan nodded. "That’s right. And Su Zhi told me that in the beginning, Yu Bao couldn’t master Rock-Breaking Teeth either."

"R-Really?"

Xu Ruo’s eyes widened in disbelief. "But Rock-Breaking Teeth is one of the easiest Earth Element Skills, isn’t it? And Yu Bao can master so many other complex Skills!"

"Exactly. Yu Bao wasn’t suited for Rock-Breaking Teeth, but he could train other Skills to a very high level."

Fang Yuan looked her in the eye. "By the same logic, it’s not that Bubble has no talent. Maybe it’s just not suited for Wind Blade and hasn’t found the right Skills for it yet."

"B-But what kind of Skills would be right for Bubble?" Xu Ruo asked curiously.

’Good question. I have no idea either...’

Fang Yuan kept a straight face, putting on an expression that said, "Let’s see what you think."

"I-I’ll think about it!" Xu Ruo immediately held up Bubble, her face taking on the serious expression of deep contemplation.

A moment later, she lowered her head in frustration.

"I-I can’t think of anything..."

Fang Yuan: "..."

’Obviously. This isn’t the kind of thing you can figure out off the top of your head. Why do you think Su Zhi is so strong?’

Looking at the girl’s crestfallen expression, Fang Yuan felt a strange impulse to pat her on the head.

"It’s okay. If you calm down and keep at it, you’ll eventually have a moment of insight."

Fang Yuan glanced at his watch and stood up. "For now, let’s train its basic Attribute abilities again. Those are fundamental and will be useful no matter what Skills it learns."

"Mhm! Okay!"

Xu Ruo nodded eagerly, hoisting Bubble onto her shoulder and bouncing her way up to the ring. Only after she was up there did she remember Bubble could fly, and she stuck her tongue out, a little embarrassed.