Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Yu Bao vs. Xiaoyue

Saturday—

“Woof woof!” (Train hard! Defeat Big Bro!)

It was the crack of dawn, and before the alarm clock could even ring, Yu Bao was already up and training.

The little dog scrambled up to the top of the bookshelf with his stubby legs, locking onto the windowsill on the opposite side.

His little face turned serious in an instant.

’Air Force One pilot Yu Bao, ready for launch! Fire!’

SPLAT.

This time, Yu Bao once again failed to make it, his projectile motion landing him on the bed… right on Su Zhi’s face.

“What was that noise…”

Su Zhi was still a bit groggy, but the headbutt woke him up instantly. He clutched his nose and lifted Yu Bao away.

’Bao, please don’t do this. You’re scaring me.’

PATTER PATTER PATTER…

It sounded like Yu Bao had walked off, but judging by the noise… was he climbing up again?

SPLAT.

Round two.

“…” Su Zhi wore an expression of utter despair.

But since his Pet Beast wanted to train, he couldn’t very well object. He could only force a smile. “Nice work.”

“Woof!” (I think so too!)

As soon as Yu Bao’s back was turned, Su Zhi sighed.

’This is what a self-disciplined Pet Beast does to its Beast Tamer—drags them into the competitive grind.’

·

As usual, there was a quiz on Saturday morning. From now on, this would be a regular event.

What? A break?

What break? High school students don’t get breaks.

The students still had some novelty-fueled excitement the first week, but by the second, they were completely drained. They finally got a Saturday, but they still had to wake up and get to school before eight.

It was pure torture!

Many hadn’t even eaten breakfast, merely clutching scallion pancakes or fried dough sticks and soy milk they’d bought at the school gate, dozing off even as they ate.

Only the class academic representative and the duckling duo were as passionate and fired up as ever, already on the school’s track for a morning run.

Liu Yuhang ran ahead, wearing a fifty-pound weighted vest; Xue Li Bling Bling followed behind, scrambling to keep up on its two short legs.

Physical conditioning was a crucial part of raising a Pet Beast. You needed solid fundamentals before you could pull off any flashy Skills.

After their last battle with Yu Bao, Xue Li and Liu Yuhang had learned from their painful defeat and resolved to train harder.

If talent isn’t enough, sweat will make up for it!

“Get stronger! Work harder! Get stronger! Work harder!”

“Quack! Quack!” (Beat the dumb dog! Beat the dumb dog!)

Hearing what sounded like unfamiliar footsteps behind it, Xue Li turned back, puzzled.

And there was Yu Bao, trotting behind it, wagging his tail excitedly.

“Woof woof!” (Go go! I’m here to join!)

“QAQ—Quack!” (Don’t you come over here!)

Xue Li quickly picked up its pace…

Watching from a distance, Xiaoyue pitied Xue Li for a whole three seconds.

Shao Ya, munching on fries, curiously leaned over to Su Zhi’s phone. “Watching a match?”

Su Zhi nodded. “Yeah.”

While Yu Bao was grinding, he wasn’t slacking off either. As a Beast Tamer, his main focus was on analysis and command.

’How do I turn around a bad situation? How do I notice an opponent’s strategy? How do I develop targeted tactics?’

All of these required watching a massive number of matches to accumulate experience.

In fact, the reason he couldn’t get up this morning was because he’d stayed up all night watching matches…

“You’re pretty serious about this.”

Shao Ya chuckled with a fry halfway in her mouth. “I thought you were the laid-back type.”

“You do what you can, and then you do your best.”

Su Zhi swiped a couple of her fries and asked curiously, “What about you? What’s up?”

“I got matched with you for the quiz. We’re the first group.”

“Huh?” Su Zhi glanced at the battle hall. It wasn’t even open yet.

Shao Ya waved her phone at him.

“It’s displayed on the Joyful Beast Taming app. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

Su Zhi opened his mouth, but then hesitated.

’Whoops. He’d put the Joyful Beast Taming app on Do Not Disturb, too.’

·

“No. 13 Su Zhi – Yu Bao (Yu Dian Dog) vs. No. 1 Shao Ya – Xiaoyue (Huajing Cat)”

The text scrolled across the large screen in the battle hall.

“Woof!”

Yu Bao wagged his tail excitedly. He could finally compete on the same stage as his big bro Xiaoyue.

Although Su Zhi looked calm, he was just as excited on the inside.

This was his first time facing off against an expert from his own grade, and he was eager to see just how far he and Yu Bao could go.

Xiaoyue looked at Shao Ya with a hint of resignation and twitched its ears.

’My opponent is the dumb little dog. Should I go easy on him?’

—Treat this like a real match! Go all out!

Hearing its master’s response from the Beast Taming Space, Xiaoyue nodded. The look it gave Yu Bao turned serious.

’My foolish little brother, prepare to be enlightened.’

’Big Bro is going to teach you what it means to be a grown-up today!’

The referee walked to the observation post and confirmed both sides were ready.

DING!

The bell rang. The duel began!

Both Pet Beasts reacted quickly, starting to move almost in perfect sync.

The Huajing Cat was superior to the Yu Dian Dog in terms of agility, but they were both still babies, so the gap wasn’t too ridiculous yet.

Furthermore, Yu Bao’s agility had been boosted, equivalent to a 1.07x multiplier.

While he wasn’t exactly keeping up with ease, he could barely match Xiaoyue’s rhythm, unlike the Ice Armor Scorpion from Class 9 that had been taken out instantly.

“Start with Sandstorm! Full power!”

Objectively, there was a power gap between Yu Bao and Xiaoyue.

Su Zhi wasn’t giving Xiaoyue any chances, unleashing an ultimate move right from the start!

“Woof!”

Yu Bao and Su Zhi’s minds were linked. He was already prepared, unleashing the skill the instant he received the command.

An overwhelming sandstorm swept across the arena like an unstoppable beast, surging toward the other side.

Yu Bao’s Sandstorm was only Tier One, but it was an Output Skill by nature, so its power was not to be underestimated.

In an instant, more than half the arena was shrouded in the churning sand and wind.

And at almost the same moment he finished unleashing it, Yu Bao rolled to dodge.

SWISH! SWISH!

Several vines shot out from the sandstorm, striking the spot where Yu Bao had just been and leaving several deep gouges in the ground.

As the sandstorm subsided, Xiaoyue saw that its attack had missed Yu Bao and pouted slightly.

’Besides attacking, the dumb dog’s Sandstorm also increases the density of the Earth Element in the air, enhancing the Perception of his Earth Force Field.’

…

’In that case, I’ll make it so you’re powerless even if you can perceive it!’

SWOOSH—

More green Light Arrays appeared, and a dense barrage of vines surged out without pause, blanketing the area as they closed in on Yu Bao.

WHOOSH!

The sand churned as Yu Bao, timing his move with the rhythm of the approaching vines, unleashed another Sandstorm.

At close range, the Sandstorm had enough power to blast an opening in the airtight encirclement.

Just before the vines could completely seal him in, Yu Bao executed a slide tackle, breaking out with silky-smooth precision.

’Heh, I was just waiting for you to break out!’

Xiaoyue, who had been ready all along, pounced on Yu Bao like an arrow loosed from a bow.

’At such a close distance, there’s no way the dumb dog can dodge effectively!’

But just then, something unexpected happened: the ground beneath Xiaoyue’s paws suddenly sank, causing him to lose his footing.

The surrounding earth also converged rapidly, quickly enveloping Xiaoyue in the pit he had fallen into.

A flash of surprise crossed Xiaoyue’s eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

He knew the dumb dog had the Earth Force Field Skill, and he also knew its Skill Level had already reached Tier Two.

The dumb dog’s decisiveness was a little surprising, but it still wasn’t enough to turn the tide of battle!

SWISH!

A green light flashed. Vines sprouted from under Xiaoyue’s paws, lifting him high into the air just before the earth could bury him alive.

Then, Xiaoyue froze once more.

Yu Bao had his mouth open, aimed at the sky, as if he had been waiting for this very moment.

WHOOSH!

A furious blast of sand shot out—

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