Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

「Noon.」

Su Zhi: "...Senior Peng Kai, are you sure this is okay?"

"Trust me, it’s absolutely fine!"

Peng Kai swore, giving a confident thumbs-up. In front of them, the Earth-necked Dragon was buried in the dirt, with only a bit of its neck and head exposed.

Peng Kai’s Sub-Pet, the Blast Rock Rhinoceros Lie Gang, lay on top of the Earth-necked Dragon like Five Finger Mountain, pinning it down.

"Lie Gang is more than heavy enough. There’s no way the Earth-necked Dragon can escape!"

"MOO."

Lie Gang twitched its ears, giving Su Zhi a nod of handsome affirmation.

Su Zhi: "I meant, isn’t it going to get crushed to death..."

He tried to get closer for a look, but the Earth-necked Dragon suddenly lifted its head and bared its teeth at him, scaring Su Zhi so much that he quickly pulled back his feet.

The Earth-necked Dragon’s head lay back down on the ground, but it continued to stare at Su Zhi with blood-red eyes.

Su Zhi tentatively took another step forward.

The Earth-necked Dragon bared its teeth.

Su Zhi backed away.

The Earth-necked Dragon lay back down.

Forward.

Bared its teeth.

Back.

Lay back down.

"Ehehe!" Su Zhi had discovered a perpetual motion machine.

"Alright, that’s enough..." Peng Kai patted Su Zhi’s shoulder, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Look at how angry the Earth-necked Dragon was, snorting white puffs of air from its nostrils. When had it ever been so aggrieved? Good thing its vitals were pinned, preventing it from using Wind Blade, or else it would have fought Su Zhi to the death.

Su Zhi asked curiously, "By the way, Senior Peng Kai, has the reason why the Earth-necked Dragon attacked us been figured out yet?"

Peng Kai shook his head, then nodded.

"Not really, but we aren’t completely clueless either. Did it make you think of anything?"

Su Zhi replied without hesitation, "During our last outdoor training, we were also surrounded by a group of highly aggressive Leos."

"That’s right. And during that incident, you discovered and turned in an unknown resource—the Divine Strategy Alliance named it Black Jade."

Peng Kai pulled up a data file on his phone and showed it to Su Zhi.

"The Divine Strategy Alliance has found this substance in almost all anomalous Exotic Beasts. It contains powerful Abyssal Energy and can cause an Exotic Beast to lose control—or rather, to become a pawn of the Abyssal."

Su Zhi was suddenly stunned.

Even for a high school student, the word "Abyssal" was not unfamiliar.

The Abyssal was what the Blue Star People called a super-massive Secret Realm.

Before the Classical Era, passageways from the Abyssal opened up all over Blue Star. Countless ferocious Exotic Beasts invaded, devastating the planet and nearly wiping out civilization.

—This period was known to history as the "Dark Age."

Later, the Common Defense Alliance was formed. After paying a terrible price, they shattered the Abyssal, ending the Dark Age.

The shattered Abyssal transformed into countless Secret Realms, which, over the long course of time, developed various Attributes and variations. This is the origin of the Secret Realms we know today.

The core Secret Realm left after the Abyssal was shattered is sealed and guarded exclusively by the Purity Abyss Alliance, one of the Nine Great Alliances, which shows just how seriously Blue Star takes the matter.

Su Zhi raised an eyebrow. "So you’re saying... this Earth-necked Dragon probably has one of those... what’s-it-called... Black Eggs in it?"

"Yes, usually near the central nervous system or the heart. But that’s not something for us to worry about. We can leave it to the research and development folks."

Peng Kai patted Su Zhi’s shoulder and gave him a meaningful smile. "How does it feel? You haven’t even graduated from high school, yet you’re finding out your world might be about to change beyond recognition."

"Surprisingly... calm."

Su Zhi looked at his own palm.

"Whether it’s arena competitions or Fierce Beast disasters... whatever stands in our way, I believe we can overcome it.

"I don’t know why I’m so calm either. Maybe I was born ready to face an uncertain future."

Peng Kai: "No, that’s just your chuunibyou acting up."

Su Zhi: "Damn."

"But hey, a little chuunibyou is fine! What man hasn’t gone through that phase!"

Peng Kai laughed. "Relax. It’s not your turn to face these things yet. What you need to do is seize the time you have to improve yourself.

If possible, I hope you never have to."

Su Zhi tucked his hands into his sleeves. "You just raised a death flag. Senior, I think you’re gonna be toast."

"Damn. Are you asking for a beating?!"

By the time they defeated the Earth-necked Dragon, it was nearly noon. The Alliance Members built a campfire nearby to cook, adding a touch of civilization to the primeval jungle.

Some of the Pet Beasts were resting, while others played together in groups. Su Zhi’s three little ones were no exception.

Shan Bao stood with her little wings behind her back, one leg tucked up, curiously watching her two "big brothers" bustling about as if in an arms race.

"SSEHA!"

Yu Bao was the first to run back to Shan Bao. He opened his mouth and placed several glittering golden fruits in front of her.

These were a type of tree fruit with random Attributes. The golden ones were Gold Attribute, and Yu Bao had specifically collected them.

"WOOF-WOO!"

Yu Bao wagged his tail.

’Shan Bao, hurry and try them! See if they’re yummy!’

"CHIRP." Shan Bao nodded her thanks to big brother Yu Bao and pecked at a fruit.

The moment it entered her beak, the crispness and refreshing taste of the Gold Attribute spread through her mouth.

"CHIRP~"

It was so delicious that Shan Bao’s eyes narrowed in pleasure. Her feathers puffed up, making her look even rounder and cuter.

Yu Bao was overwhelmed by her cuteness and started drooling.

Then he was sent flying by a boar-like charge from Wu Bao.

"WOO!" Wu Bao held out a wide leaf to Shan Bao. The leaf was filled with fresh, crystal-clear, and inviting stream water.

Wu Bao rubbed his paws together eagerly.

’You must be thirsty, Shan Bao! Have some water!’

"CHIRP." Shan Bao thanked big brother Wu Bao as well and stretched out her neck to drink.

The cool stream water was perfect for washing away the summer heat, bringing a refreshing chill to her throat.

"CHIRP~" Shan Bao flapped her wings happily.

Wu Bao lay in front of Shan Bao, watching her drink with a doting expression. He rested his chin on his front paws, also melting from her cuteness.

Then he was sent flying by a kick from Yu Bao.

"WOOF-WOO!" Yu Bao was the first to stand beside Shan Bao, pointing at her.