Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

The office.

With a trembling hand, Zhou Shengfa gripped the mouse, watching the video of Su Zhi’s quiz twice over.

The Gold Medal homeroom teacher, a veteran of over twenty years, was utterly stunned.

’That’s right. He’s judging his opponent’s attacks by perceiving changes in the Earth Element... That’s an Earth Force Field at Quasi Tier Two, at least.’

Skill Proficiency was divided into Tier One to Tier Four, and improving through each level required immense sweat and effort.

Raising a skill’s proficiency was incredibly difficult, which was why Beast Taming High Schools made skill training their primary teaching objective.

It had only been three weeks since the contract was formed.

It wasn’t unheard of for students to have trained their Pet Beast’s skills to Quasi Tier Two or even Tier Two, but such cases were exceedingly rare.

He had never, ever imagined that Su Zhi’s dumb little dog could achieve it.

Furthermore, the agility Yu Bao displayed was almost incomprehensible.

After all, aside from Pet Beasts specifically known for their speed, most of them had similar levels of dexterity in their infancy.

To completely overwhelm a Hao Waterfowl purely through positioning was simply absurd!

What was even more astonishing was that, according to the on-site energy monitoring device, Yu Bao’s Real-time Energy Value had likely surpassed the 180 mark!

Other than Shao Ya, the top student in class, Su Zhi was the first to get his Pet Beast to such a level!

PANT, PANT~

Yu Bao wagged his tail expectantly.

Zhou Shengfa maintained a stern expression. ”I wasn’t praising you.”

”Whimper.”

Yu Bao’s tail drooped.

The balding homeroom teacher then turned his gaze to Su Zhi.

”To make a long story short, I want you to strictly follow the training syllabus for Yu Bao from now on.”

”For Yu Bao to train an off-syllabus skill to Quasi Tier Two in such a short amount of time, he must have talent. Don’t waste his talent!”

”There’s a city-wide league at the end of the month, and our class has been given two spots in the school’s qualifying tournament. Shao Ya will undoubtedly take one, and you have a very good chance of competing for the other!”

”If you can secure a spot, or even place in the tournament, there’s not only a generous scholarship reward, but it will also be a huge help for future class placements and even the college entrance exams!”

Zhou Shengfa said it all in one breath.

’I was definitely a bit hot-headed yesterday, but now that I’ve been so complimentary, Su Zhi probably won’t hold it against me, right?’

And then...

Su Zhi, expressionless, pulled out a recording pen:

[”If you insist on being unconventional, then go ahead and do it your way. I’m washing my hands of you!”]

Zhou Shengfa: ”???”

”Teacher, are you a man of your word?”

”Wait, where did you pull that from!?”

”That’s not important,” Su Zhi said, his face a picture of innocence.

”...” Zhou Shengfa tugged at his hair, a headache coming on.

”Su Zhi, some things can’t be accomplished with just a little bit of talent. There’s only one ’Beast King’ Peng Kai, and it’s unlikely another one will appear in the next decade.”

Zhou Shengfa said earnestly, ”Having your own ideas is a good thing, but sticking to the conventional path is the safest bet.”

Su Zhi nodded slightly. ”Then I’m afraid we’re destined to take the unconventional path. Sorry to disappoint you.”

”...Sigh.”

Zhou Shengfa had no choice but to wave his hand. ”Just go home. It’s time for lunch.”

”Okay, goodbye, Teacher.”

”Even if you hit a dead end, don’t be afraid to ask me for extra tutoring! I’m your homeroom teacher!”

Zhou Shengfa shouted after him.

SLAM— The door swung shut.

’He really did ignore me... Kids this age are so rebellious... Just like I was.’

The balding homeroom teacher rubbed his head wistfully and went back to processing the quiz reports.

’This is so stressful. My hairline seems to have retreated even further.’

The truth was...

Su Zhi was preoccupied with adding points; he simply hadn’t heard him.

·

The ”great author” didn’t make an appearance at the dinner table today.

However, to reward his son and Pet Beast for their great victory on the quiz, Su Mao had made Yu Bao’s favorite: beef and potatoes!

He even added scallions and an egg!

”Slow down, there’s plenty more. This is all your reward!”

Upon hearing this, Yu Bao only got more excited and started eating even faster.

Seeing the little guy practically burying his head in the bowl, Su Mao smiled fondly.

He had seen the video of the quiz; it had been live-streamed in the parents’ group chat.

Su Mao had writer’s block that morning and, wanting to slack off for a bit, had clicked on the stream.

He hadn’t expected Yu Bao to steal the show. That tornado kick combo was so silky smooth it made his heart pound, and inspiration came flooding in!

Though he still hadn’t managed to write a single word.

But he was sure he wouldn’t flake in the afternoon!

And if he did... he’d just post a slacker notice and shift the blame to Du Gong.

”I told you long ago that Xiaoshu and Yu Bao would be fine.”

Wang Sujuan raised an eyebrow. ”He’s my son’s Pet Beast. How could he possibly be subpar?”

Su Zhi blinked. ”What if we had lost?”

Wang Sujuan’s expression didn’t change. ”If you’d lost, it would have been an honorable defeat, a strategic retreat to build up your strength. Don’t let a small win stop you from being numb to it all.”

”You’re amazing, dear.”

Su Zhi was amused.

Perhaps he’d inherited his personality from his parents—doing his best while also being a bit Zen about things, not worrying too much about winning or losing.

’Life is tiring enough already. Why not be a little kinder to yourself?’

Just then, Su Mao scrolled to a news article on his phone.

”The competition for Beast Tamers is insane these days. I heard there are 1.46 million Advanced Beast Tamers taking the graduate entrance exams this year. That’s a full 60,000 more than last year! It’s getting harder and harder to advance your studies.”

Su Mao sighed, picking up an egg and taking a large bite.

The world of Beast Tamers was strictly hierarchical. Those at the very top enjoyed endless glory and were respectfully called ”Trainers.”

The vast majority, however, were merely background players. Many struggled to make a living solely through Beast Taming, forced to work part-time jobs on the side. They were affectionately known as the ”Ever-Thinner People.”

The joke was: ”Ever since I started taming beasts, I can’t afford to eat my fill, so I never have to worry about getting fat.”

”Honey, do you think we should sign Yu Bao up for a skill tutoring class or something? I don’t want him to lose out at the starting line.”

”Those classes are so expensive! A good one costs tens of thousands!”

Wang Sujuan shot her husband a glare.

But seeing Yu Bao happily munching away and Su Zhi wolfing down his food, she relented.

”Son, if you think it’s necessary... our family can afford to sign Yu Bao up for a class or two.”

”If we have to, I’ll start writing ten thousand words a day next month!” Su Mao declared, puffing out his chest.

”That’s not necessary for now. We only just formed the contract.”

Su Zhi smiled at his parents. ”Let’s try on our own first. We can’t rely on tutoring right from the start.”

”See? Xiaoshu is so mature.”

”That’s my boy! In that case, I’ll just keep slacking off with my four thousand words a day.”

While his parents continued to chat at the table, Su Zhi and Yu Bao finished their meal and returned to the bedroom.

The joy of their victory in the quiz was short-lived. The master and pet duo quickly dove back into training.

Su Zhi sat down and focused his mind—this was the Meditation Technique used by Beast Tamers to enhance their Beast Taming Space.

When the space reached Tier Two, its stability would increase slightly, and the level of the Pet Beast it could contain would rise from below One-star to One-star.

At Tier Three, its volume would increase slightly, and the number of Pet Beasts it could accommodate would increase from one to two.

The Beast Taming Space had a total of nine tiers, and so on.

He currently had a Tier One Beast Taming Space, and he could slowly break through to Tier Two and even Tier Three through Meditation.

Advancing from Tier Four onward required the aid of specific resources.

This was one hurdle, with countless more to follow.

It was these hurdles, one after another, that stratified the massive population of Beast Tamers into clearly defined classes.

Su Zhi wasn’t anxious, however.

Just do your best, and be Zen about the rest.

Worst case, it would be just as his dad had said from the beginning: ”If we can’t make it in the big cities, then staying here in this small mountain town is perfectly fine.”

After meditating for a while, Su Zhi opened his eyes.

Yu Bao was practicing his Earth Force Field on his own. Under his control, the dust in the room was pulled into the air before being allowed to settle back onto the floor.

Yu Bao tilted his head as he watched the dust, pulling it up one moment and letting it fall the next.

He seemed to be pondering a very philosophical question.

Su Zhi smiled softly, not wanting to disturb the little guy. After relaxing for a moment, he resumed his Meditation.

Yu Bao had his point-adding system to help him, but Su Zhi had nothing of the sort.

’It would be a huge joke if I ended up getting left in the dust by my own Pet Beast.’

’Grind! We can both grind!’

Master and pet trained on their own.

Outside the window, the branches of the large pagoda tree swayed. Mottled sunlight spilled across the floor, seeming to drift slowly with the breeze.

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