...

Thursday noon.

"WHOOSH—"

Under Yu Bao’s control, sand and dust swirled beneath him, lifting him off the ground and into the air.

He did it!

Yu Bao’s eyes sparkled. He looked over at Xiaoyue, his gaze begging for praise.

"Meeow." From her spot in the middle of a nap, Xiaoyue nodded without opening her eyes.

Not bad, not bad. Very impressive.

But the moment the sound faded, Yu Bao, overjoyed, broke his concentration. SPLAT! He crashed back to the ground, headfirst into a bush.

"Woof woof..."

Yu Bao flailed his four short legs, asking for help. He was stuck.

Xiaoyue sighed, left the shade of the tree, and manipulated some vines to pull Yu Bao out of the bush.

Yu Bao spat out a mouthful of leaves—ptooey, ptooey—and looked at Su Zhi, who was standing to the side.

"Still needs some work," Su Zhi said, propping his chin on his hand.

Yu Bao was currently practicing the Sand Manipulation Technique, an Earth High Level Extraordinary Skill that would allow him to stay airborne.

Up until now, Yu Bao had fought many Pet Beasts, a fair number of which were Flying Pet Beasts.

When facing such opponents, Yu Bao’s tactics were relatively limited, forcing him into a more counter-attack-oriented style.

The reason his record was still decent... was mainly because the Flying Pet Beasts Yu Bao had faced so far were all pretty weak.

If an opponent was cautious and sneaky enough, sticking to a kiting tactic to the very end, Yu Bao would have a very hard time finding an opportunity.

That was the whole point of learning the Sand Manipulation Technique—’If you won’t come down, I’ll fly up and fight you!’

However, it turned out to be harder to learn than expected. After all, the Sand Manipulation Technique was a common skill for the Desert Swan, a species that learned it to conserve energy during migration.

Making a dog learn a bird’s skill was perhaps a little...

"Woof!"

Seeing Su Zhi’s troubled expression, Yu Bao went up and patted his shoulder.

’Don’t be afraid! No matter the difficulty, let’s face it with a smile!’

’Weren’t you the one who was just all depressed? How did you suddenly bounce back with full energy to comfort me?’ Su Zhi chuckled softly and ruffled Yu Bao’s head.

"Let’s stop here for today. We’re going out for field training later, so save some energy."

"Woof." Yu Bao nodded.

Just then, Xiaoyue, who had been dozing in the shade, suddenly got up and walked over.

Su Zhi followed Xiaoyue’s gaze and turned his head, his eyes meeting a cascade of bright white hair fluttering in the breeze.

A girl in a summer school uniform was staring at him with an unfriendly gaze, her nose slightly wrinkled and her hands behind her back.

"What’s up?" Su Zhi ducked his head slightly.

’She’s actually a little scary like this, like she wants to eat me alive.’

"Have you had lunch?" the girl asked curtly.

"Nope."

Su Zhi answered instantly. He was about to follow up with "Let’s go eat together," but then he glanced at his phone and froze: it was already one in the afternoon. The cafeteria had closed long ago.

Su Zhi hung his head as if admitting his guilt.

Shao Ya glared at him for a moment before sighing as if she couldn’t do anything about it. The hands behind her back slowly came forward—revealing two lunch boxes.

Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. He reached for a lunch box. "Dad!"

"This one’s mine! You wish you could have both, in your dreams."

Shao Ya swatted Su Zhi’s left hand away. Watching him take one of the boxes, she smiled helplessly. "Your body is your most important asset. No matter how hard you work, you still have to remember to eat, got it?"

Su Zhi buried his head in his food, wolfing it down. "I know, I know..."

"But you just can’t remember, can you?"

"Yeah."

"I ought to smack you."

The two sat under the shade of a willow tree, eating their lunch boxes and chatting. A gentle breeze swept by, making the girl’s long hair and the willow leaves dance in the wind.

Shao Ya: "How’s the progress on Yu Bao’s new skill?"

Su Zhi: "He’s learned a little, but not much."

Yu Bao was still practicing the Sand Manipulation Technique.

He wasn’t hungry, of course, since all he needed was the special feed from home.

Logically, with his foundation in the Earth Force Field and Sandstorm skills, learning the Sand Manipulation Technique should have been extremely easy for Yu Bao... but reality deviated from Su Zhi’s expectations.

Yu Bao could use the Sand Manipulation Technique to hover, but he was still a long way from being able to use it effectively in a real battle.

"Relax. He’s only been learning it for a few days. You have to take things one step at a time."

Shao Ya took the empty lunch box from Su Zhi’s hands and threw it into the trash can along with her own.

Yu Bao thoughtfully propped his chin on his paw for a moment.

Then, he wolfed down all his feed in one go.

* * *

At three o’clock, the students from Huai City First Middle School participating in the field training got off the bus on time at the Exotic Beast Activity Area.

Compared to last time, the weather was clearly not as good. Dark clouds rolled across the sky, looking as if a downpour could start at any moment.

Even so, the students’ enthusiasm was not affected in the slightest. The moment they got off the bus, they eagerly got to work.

After all, their resources for the next two weeks depended on them going all out today!

"You must be careful. Don’t be as reckless as last time."

At the entrance to the activity area, Zhou Shengfa patted Su Zhi’s shoulder seriously. "You just won the city league championship, so it’s normal for your spirits to be higher than usual."

"But the wild isn’t an arena, and wild Exotic Beasts are not the same as the Pet Beasts on a stage. Be careful and cautious. Protect yourself and your classmates."

Su Zhi nodded and said the two words: "I know."

Zhou Shengfa showed a gratified smile.

Su Zhi: "Sir, your toupee is crooked."

"..." Zhou Shengfa’s mouth twitched. He shot Su Zhi a harsh glare, clutched his toupee, and walked away.

Su Zhi pursed his lips in a slight smile, his gaze turning toward the activity area. The girl with white hair and blue eyes was standing quietly at the entrance. She had been waiting for him for a long time.

"Shall we?"

"Let’s go!"

Several weeks later, Su Zhi was once again embarking on field training.

This entrance was different from the last one, and the initial environment after entering was also new.

The Huai City Exotic Beast Activity Area was vast, with more than a dozen entrances.