Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

"Arf!"

That was Yu Bao’s way of saying—nope!

Su Zhi: "..."

’Then what was the point of saying anything?’

"Arf..." Yu Bao lowered his head, dejected.

Logically, now that he had mastered both Earth and Fire Element Energy, awakening the Yanhuang Blessing should have been a natural next step. And yet, it just wasn’t happening.

It was like his EXP bar was full and he had all the materials, but the damn game developers were holding back the new content, leaving him to just stare at their empty promises.

"But that’s not right..."

Su Zhi asked curiously, "The Yanhuang Blessing is an Advanced Skill of the Thick Earth Blessing. Logically, as long as you have the ability, you should be able to grasp it directly. It should actually be easier than awakening Thick Earth Blessing for the first time. So what’s going on with you?"

"...Arf!" Yu Bao thought for a moment, then flashed a handsome grin.

’It must be because I have the bearing of a Great Emperor!’

"Chirp," Shan Bao piped up.

’Couldn’t it just be that you suck and haven’t awakened it yet?’

Yu Bao: "..."

’Forget it. A child’s words are spoken without malice.’

’What bad intentions could Shan Bao possibly have? It’s not like he’s that scoundrel Wu Bao.’

Su Zhi: ’Hilarious.’

"Arf!" Yu Bao suddenly wagged his tail impatiently, signaling for Shan Bao to hit Su Zhi with a Golden Feather Flying Blade.

Su Zhi: "???"

"Chirp!"

"Holy shit!"

Su Zhi’s mind went blank as he saw the feathers flying toward his face. He always joked that it was a "chip damage" skill, but that was relative to other Pet Beasts! For him, it wouldn’t be chip damage—it would be bone-scraping!

’You damned Yu Bao! You just became my number one pet this afternoon, and now you’re trying to kill your master tonight!’

SWOOSH!

As the feathers neared his eyes, Su Zhi instinctively squeezed them shut, goosebumps breaking out all over his skin.

But the expected pain never came.

Su Zhi tentatively opened his eyes. The feathers before him were suspended in mid-air, enveloped in a Golden Light, and were transforming into a pure, pale-gold energy.

And this Golden Light wasn’t coming from the owner of the feathers...

"Chirp!" Shan Bao stared at Yu Bao in shock.

Yu Bao was now shimmering with the same kind of Golden Light. To Su Zhi’s surprise, it didn’t look like the light of a Gold Element Pet Beast, but more like the light from Thick Earth Blessing!

Su Zhi was overjoyed, completely forgetting Yu Bao’s earlier act of treachery. "You can convert physical metal into energy now?"

"Arf!"

Yu Bao raised his eyebrows smugly. The Gold Element Energy in the air danced and fluttered under his control, then became as still as water. They were clearly Shan Bao’s feathers, yet he was effortlessly toying with them in the palm of his hand.

’Isn’t this a form of NTR... ahem.’

Regardless, Su Zhi was ecstatic.

Previously, Yu Bao could only control the movement of metal. Converting a physical object into energy was undoubtedly a huge step toward mastering the Gold Attribute.

Once he gained the ability to convert energy back into a physical object, it would mean he had completely mastered Gold Element Energy!

Even now, Yu Bao’s control over the Gold Element was starting to show promise. In a real battle, he could secretly move Shan Bao’s feathers to a place the opponent wasn’t watching, then coordinate with Flash Gold Teleportation to create a surprise attack.

If Yu Bao could fully awaken his Gold Attribute, his combat performance would improve qualitatively!

"Arf, arf," Yu Bao yapped, tugging anxiously at Su Zhi’s pant leg.

’Hurry up and add my points! More power makes miracles! Maybe if you add a few more points, I’ll awaken! Once I awaken, I’ll be able to soar!’

Su Zhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Adding points won’t necessarily trigger an awakening. I think you still need some kind of catalyst. Did you forget the dream you had during your evolution ritual? Your power hasn’t fully acknowledged you yet. This probably isn’t something that can be solved just by adding points."

Yu Bao’s face fell.

’Then what do I do?’

Su Zhi said patiently, "I don’t know either, but it’s not like we’re completely clueless. We’re going to Hundred Rivers in a couple of days specifically to find that kind of opportunity for you."

"Arf!" As soon as he heard that, Yu Bao immediately jumped into bed to sleep.

’If I go to sleep early enough, it’s like we’ll get to Hundred Rivers sooner!’

’Is this the wisdom of a great sage? It seems more appropriate for a forum for morons...’ Su Zhi, once again not knowing whether to laugh or cry, watched Yu Bao leave before his gaze fell on Shan Bao.

"You want some too?"

"Chirp!" Shan Bao immediately hopped into his palm.

’Rub me all you want!’

...

「One minute later.」

[Pet Beast: Shan Bao (Flash Gold Sparrow)

Power: 1.00

Agility: 1.05

Intelligence: 1.04

Constitution: 3.43 -> 3.58

Perception: 1.02]

[Real-time Energy Value: 2700]

"Chirp." Shan Bao made a face like it was pulling up its pants, as if to say, "Is that all you’ve got?"

Su Zhi: "..."

’Yu Bao must have been a bad influence. This is all Yu Bao’s fault.’

’Speaking of which, Wu Bao has the OP skill Perfect Block, Shan Bao has an insanely high Constitution, and Yu Bao, the team’s top damage dealer, can’t seem to hurt any of them, including himself...’

’Can this skinny dog even do the job? Next, I should contract a Strong Attack Type beefcake.’

A smile touched Su Zhi’s eyes as he thought about it.

He wasn’t even close to reaching Tier Five, yet here he was already thinking about his fourth pet.

A Tier Seven Beast Taming Space was equivalent to the Vice Alliance Leader Level; a fourth pet was just a dream for now. Unless his Tier Five Space could contract two pets at once...

’Tsk, tsk, I’m already daydreaming...’

’It’s getting late. Time for bed!’

The bedroom light went out, and the night seemed to grow even quieter.

...

「Hu City, Qidian Chinese Website office building, editor’s office.」

Er Shang was hunched over his desk, typing on his keyboard, while a few young editors sat nearby, chatting.

"The morning meeting tomorrow is to decide on the release promotions and splash screens, right? A bunch of top authors have started new books recently. The last few rounds have been a battle of titans; I don’t even know how to schedule them..."

"Doesn’t have much to do with us, does it? Our group never gets any good recommendation spots."

"It might not have much to do with our group, but it has everything to do with the great Er Shang! Did you forget that Great God Gou Mao’s alt account is in his hands?"

"Hiss... Speaking of which, that book’s performance is kind of explosive, isn’t it? I checked yesterday, and it was fifth on the new book rankings."

"Fifth? It’s third! It’s got a guaranteed ten thousand followers now! And the top seven are all Platinum and Great God authors. For a level-one account to be surrounded for so long and not fall... it’s a badge of honor!"

"Uh, did you forget that it’s actually the great Gou Mao’s alt account?"

"Sigh, a Great God is a Great God... It’s just a shame. If it wasn’t an alt account, with the fan base from his main account, taking first place on the new book rankings would have been a sure thing."

"Maybe he doesn’t care? He can always merge the accounts later anyway. Being awesome after the book is officially released is what really matters. Anyway, it’s getting late. Great Er Shang, are you leaving? Or should we head out first?"

"Oh, oh, I’m done." Er Shang came back to his senses, quickly packed up, and left his desk.

"Sorry about that. I got caught up chatting with the author and made you all wait so long!"

"No problem, no problem! Everyone at Qi Point knows how dedicated you are, great Er Shang!" The young editors laughed.

But Er Shang was too emotional to laugh.

His recent chat with Wu Bao was still vivid in his mind.

It was as if Wu Bao’s figure had appeared right before his eyes:

A balding man going through a mid-life crisis, repeatedly beaten down by the burdens of reality, repeatedly tortured by failure.

His family didn’t understand his actions, his work could only be done in secret, and he fell time and time again despite his efforts...

And yet, even after all that, after the confusion had passed, he still chose to press forward in silence, through wind and rain.

At that moment, Er Shang recalled something his editor-in-chief had said when he first entered the industry:

"A Great God is a Great God not just because their results are explosive."

"A true Great God dares to face their own weaknesses, dares to face the mockery of fate, dares to face the siege of solitude."

"When they go all out, they can defeat anyone."

Yes.

In the past, Er Shang had joined the authors in complaining about how Gou Mao was just slacking off—but now, he felt this sincere emotion.

It was like a fire, burning behind Great God Gou Mao’s alt account, its warmth reaching him through the screen.

Doubt Gou Mao, understand Gou Mao, become Gou Mao.

And what he could do as an editor... was to give him the best recommendations!

Er Shang took a deep breath and hailed a passing taxi.

The result of the last meeting had been unsatisfactory. Because the competition had been so intense lately, Wu Bao had only been assigned a "small speaker" promotion in the end.

—It was a recommendation a newcomer writing their first book wouldn’t even dare to dream of, but it didn’t actually match his results.

Sitting in the car, Er Shang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze becoming exceptionally firm.

Tomorrow’s morning meeting was bound to be another bloodbath. And he wasn’t really the type to argue with people.

’But this time... I’m sorry, my brothers in the other editing groups.’

’Even if I have to use my privilege as a Gold Medal Editor, I will fight for a splash screen and a release promotion for my Wu Bao!’

...

...