Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

Two streaks of Furious Sand Blade converged toward the center under the guidance of its claws, finally colliding and neutralizing each other’s momentum.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

At the same time, purplish-red flames erupted across the arena like endlessly blooming fireworks, a spectacular sight to behold.

Seizing the window of opportunity while Diya was busy parrying the Furious Sand Blades and couldn’t pay attention to the rest of the arena, Yu Bao activated Yellow Earth Walls over a large area, triggering all of Diya’s Dark Flames.

Yu Bao had long since activated its Earth Force Field, so it was well aware of the "landmines" scattered about. It also knew Diya couldn’t take it out with just two Furious Sand Blades—that would be far too pathetic.

The attack was a feint. The real plan was to use offense as defense, seizing the opportunity to clear out the Dark Flames Diya had set up.

"Saaa..." Having just endured the two Furious Sand Blades, Diya watched this scene unfold, its heart bleeding.

It had gone to great lengths to set up those Dark Flames at the start of the match. It had even used Star Fire initially to disrupt Yu Bao’s Earth Force Field and prevent it from using Perception on its methods...

And now, it was all back to square one!

"This is a bit tricky. Fellow Daoist Su saw right through it." Peng Kai frowned, but his eyes still glinted with excitement.

’Switch to Plan B! Don’t get bogged down in a fight. Watch out for Yu Bao’s counterattacks and traps!’

"Saaa!" Diya quickly adjusted its mentality and began circling the arena, facing off against Yu Bao.

Dense fireballs were released without pause, showering over Yu Bao like water from a Shower Head. Some of the fireballs hit the ground, but instead of exploding or extinguishing, they flowed like liquid and continued to burn.

—Fire and Telekinesis Element Low Level Elite Skill, Bone Flame.

Leveraging the shaping effect of its internal Telekinesis Field, the Purple Flame Demon Spirit’s Flame gained a glue-like property, allowing it to burn continuously to deal damage while also disrupting the opponent’s setup.

In truth, this was a rather basic combination of abilities; any Fire Telekinesis Element Pet Beast could create a similar effect.

However, releasing such a dense cluster of flames like a Shower Head was not something that could be done so casually.

At the same time, Giant Fire Pillars were released ceaselessly around Yu Bao, harassing it.

The rhythm of the two Skills perfectly complemented each other, producing an offensive density where 1+1 was far greater than 2, causing Yu Bao a great deal of trouble.

For an opponent of Diya’s caliber, any ordinary Skill could produce extraordinary effects; it all depended on how it was used.

"Yu Bao, maintain the stalemate and observe the opponent!"

"Woof!" Receiving Su Zhi’s instruction, Yu Bao released a Quicksand Shield to defend while using its Earth Force Field to clean up the flames stuck to the ground.

Having done this, the Giant Fire Pillars were not actually a major concern. Yu Bao’s agility was also very high; it could rely on its reflexes to dodge the moment the attack’s Light Array appeared.

Meanwhile, Yu Bao was also looking for an opportunity to counterattack, using a combination of Furious Sand Blade and Yellow Earth Wall to harass Diya in return.

But it had to be said, Diya’s defense was also excellent. It gave Yu Bao no openings and even set up more Dark Flames in the surroundings to guard against Yu Bao’s classic dirty trick of using a Skill to smuggle in a clone.

Neither side could get the upper hand, and the arena fell into a temporary stalemate.

"Peng Kai’s Purple Flame Demon Spirit is pretty good, to be able to drag things out with Yu Bao to this extent."

Zhou Shengfa nodded thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, Peng Kai must have put Diya through training for Control Field and endurance battles, right?"

Yan Shouzheng scowled. "Yeah. He even called me about it back then. I told him that’s not how you do Beast Taming, I tried my best to talk some sense into him..."

"And in the end, that bastard tells me, ’I wasn’t asking for your opinion, I just wanted to see your Dao heart get shaken.’ Goddammit, he pisses me off so much."

Zhou Shengfa couldn’t help but laugh. "And what’s more infuriating is that he actually managed to pull something off with it?"

"Yeah."

Yan Shouzheng’s gaze was complicated as he looked at the figure in the blood-red classical robe on the stage.

"At the very least, I have to admit that if he hadn’t enhanced Diya’s ability to maintain a stalemate, there’s no way it could fight Yu Bao to a standstill like this."

Shao Ya asked, puzzled, "But what good does this do for Diya? Even if Diya’s stalemate ability is stronger than an ordinary Purple Flame Demon Spirit’s, it still can’t gain an advantage against Yu Bao, can it?"

Yan Shouzheng glanced at Zhou Shengfa.

Zhou Shengfa cleared his throat. "Good question. You’ll find out soon enough."

Shao Ya: "..."

’File this under: My Old Ban Is a Riddler.jpg.’

On the stage, the stalemate between the two sides continued.

Compared to Diya, however, Yu Bao was clearly having a much easier time. On one hand, its Skills were superior; on the other, it had to do with Yu Bao’s autonomy in choosing which specific Skills to use.

Compared to a certain master of abstract micromanagement, Su Zhi’s command style with Yu Bao was different: he wouldn’t specify which Skill to release, usually just providing a general strategy for Yu Bao to execute.

For one, Master Yu was highly intelligent and could achieve the best results by taking the initiative. For another, this allowed Su Zhi to focus his concentration on strategic-level problems.

For instance, right now, Su Zhi’s heart was pounding with uncertainty.

’The Purple Flame Demon Spirit, similar to the White Flame Battle Spirit, is an assault-type Pet Beast. Logically, the proper way to fight would be to use its speed advantage to quickly break through defenses.’

’Fighting a stalemate against Yu Bao, which excels at Control Field? What is Peng Kai up to?’

Then, Su Zhi’s brow furrowed sharply as he noticed something was wrong:

Yu Bao was indeed clearing the flames near its body in a timely manner, but the flames near Diya were accumulating, threatening to grow into a wildfire!

"Yu Bao, watch out! He has another goal!"

"Saaa!" The moment the words fell, Diya spread its claws, and the surrounding flames instantly converged on its body, forming three ethereal purple rings.

Purple Flame Demon Spirit Racial Skill, Multiple Rings of Nether Flame.

Ring of Nether Flame was a Racial Skill of the Nether Flame Spirit, capable of greatly increasing attack speed and Energy activity, allowing it to unleash a burst of combat power far exceeding its current level for a short period.

During their first encounter, Diya had used this Skill to cause Yu Bao a great deal of trouble.

Multiple Rings of Nether Flame was the Advanced Skill version of Ring of Nether Flame. It could extend the duration of this buff to several times the original, and one ring was stronger than six!

The drawback, however, was that Ring of Nether Flame had a wind-up period, making the timing of its release crucial. If released directly, Yu Bao would definitely see it coming and use a Skill to interrupt it.

In their first battle, Diya had used a feint to throw off Yu Bao’s balance, seizing the opportunity to complete the cast of Ring of Nether Flame.

But today, Yu Bao’s strength and composure were on a completely different level, so Diya had adopted a much more clever tactic.

The Bone Flame, which seemed like an attack on Yu Bao, was actually Diya’s way of externalizing the Energy needed for the Ring of Nether Flame ahead of time. When it was time to truly unleash the Skill, the scattered flames in the surroundings could instantly transform into Energy Gathering Rings, eliminating the need for a warm-up from scratch.

You could say it was incredibly useful.

Peng Kai grinned. "Fellow Daoist Su, I’ve won this round."

"This is bad!"

Su Zhi’s eyes widened. "Yu Bao, move! You have to stall until the Ring of Nether Flame ends!"

"That’s the right idea, but it’s not so easy to stall just because you want to!"

Amidst a wild laugh, Peng Kai waved his hand.

"Diya! Attack freely! Suppress the opponent!"

"Saaa!"

Diya no longer held back, charging toward Yu Bao in an explosive burst.

It had been holding back for so long, just waiting for this moment when offense and defense would be reversed.

’That’s for not bringing me spicy sticks today!’

’No, wait, it’s not about the spicy sticks...’

’Ahem, for the noble glory of the Purple Flame Demon Spirit!’

After activating Ring of Nether Flame, Diya’s assault capabilities received an overwhelming boost. Its attack speed, Energy recovery, and physical flexibility all reached a jaw-dropping level.

Furthermore, it now had four claws after evolving, making the frequency and density of its attacks several times greater than before!

ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!

Diya closed in on Yu Bao, delivering punches with phantom-like speed. The moment Yu Bao’s Yellow Earth Wall was summoned, it was instantly shattered into dust.

Other Yellow Earth Walls also appeared at the same moment, clearing away the Dark Flames that Diya had just set up.

To still be thinking about clearing the distant Dark Flames at such a critical moment, it was hard to say whether Yu Bao was just cool under pressure or simply audacious.

However, no matter what obstacles Yu Bao threw up, nothing could stop Diya’s unstoppable assault.

"Woof woof!" Yu Bao let out a rare, frantic cry.

’Bro, are you really this terrifying?’

"Saaa-saaa-saaa!" Diya couldn’t understand a word it was saying, already lost in the thrill of throwing punches.

In its desperation, Yu Bao used Desert Concealment to create distance, then immediately followed up with the Sand Manipulation Technique in an attempt to rise into the air and evade.

However, Diya wasn’t some clumsy Stone Armor Rhinoceros, to be rendered helpless by such a petty trick. Especially under the enhancement of the Ring of Nether Flame, Diya’s reactions were much faster than normal.

The instant Yu Bao rose into the air, Diya’s Nether Flame Body shot out from its chest, taking aim at the airborne Yu Bao!

·

·