Chapter 19: Chapter 19: But I Want to Protect You

...

"PHEW—"

The moment he sank into the school bus seat, Su Zhi’s entire body went limp with relief.

"Woof~"

Yu Bao lay belly-up in his arms, a look of pure bliss on his face.

The school bus lurched into motion, carrying the freshmen away from the area and heading for campus.

Su Zhi leaned his head against the window, watching the waves of green roll by, blur, and fade from view.

"Woof..." (We’re leaving...)

Yu Bao also stared out the window, smacking his lips, reluctant to leave.

The forest receded into the distance, and with it, the Black Fighting Emperor’s family.

’Though we only just met, the Little Black Fighting Emperor and I bonded over our "fencing," and a sense of mutual admiration has already begun to form.’

’Perhaps—this is what it means for one hero to recognize another.’

Xiaoyue shot the silly little dog a strange look before returning to the bliss of the girl’s embrace.

"What, can’t bear to leave?"

Su Zhi looked at Yu Bao and joked, "So, do you think home is better or here is better?"

"Woof!" (Home!)

’Sorry, Little Black Fighting Emperor. You were a good bug.’

"Arf?" (So... can we come back here again sometime?) 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Yu Bao’s tail immediately started wagging with eager hope.

"Of course. This is the only Exotic Beast Protection Area our school has a contract with. We’ll have plenty of chances to come back for field training."

Su Zhi stretched his neck. "Worst case, we’ll just buy tickets and come on our own. Don’t worry, once I break through to Tier Three, I’ll definitely form a contract with the Little Black Fighting Emperor."

"PANT, PANT!" (Awesome! I’ll train my heart out! I have to set a good example for my future little bro!)

’You’re just afraid of him showing you up...’

Su Zhi silently saw through the little guy’s true intentions but kept it to himself.

While Yu Bao was already lost in dreams of the future, Su Zhi was looking at the Attribute Panel with a grin—

[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Dog)

Power: 1.07

Agility: 1.10

Intelligence: 1.11

Constitution: 1.10

Perception: 1.16

Assignable Attribute Points: 0.00]

[Real-time Energy Value: 337]

From the battle with the sand wolf, Yu Bao had scored a whopping 0.08 points, breaking his record for point allocation since his panel awakened.

The stronger the enemy, the tougher Yu Bao’s battle, and the more he would be pushed to his limits—and beyond.

As planned, Su Zhi allocated the 0.08 points: 0.03 to Agility, 0.02 to Intelligence, and 0.03 to Perception.

These three attributes would be the pillars of Yu Bao’s unique skill progression path.

As for Constitution and Power, Su Zhi had no plans to add to them for the time being. He could think about it later, when he had points to spare.

But the joy of his gains didn’t last long.

His gaze fell on Yu Bao, and Su Zhi’s heart ached.

He had cleaned Yu Bao’s wounds before they returned, and the little guy was indeed fine. The cuts from the Wind Blades were thin, almost invisible unless you looked closely.

But Su Zhi was his Beast Tamer.

He knew the location of every single cut... and he knew just how much each one must have hurt.

"You can’t be so reckless from now on! If you know you can’t win, you’re supposed to run, not charge right at them!"

Su Zhi poked Yu Bao firmly on the nose.

"You silly little dog!"

"Woof." (But, I want to protect you.)

Yu Bao stuck out his tongue, his expression as goofy as ever.

But Su Zhi could see his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"...You cried on the way here, too. You said you couldn’t learn Sandstorm."

Su Zhi suddenly smiled.

"Actually, you were crying because you were worried you weren’t strong enough to protect me, right?"

Yu Bao froze, as if he’d been struck by something.

Then, he nodded frantically, and fat tears began to roll down his face.

"Huh? Why is Yu Bao crying again? There, there, don’t cry."

Shao Ya quickly took out a tissue and shot Su Zhi a fierce glare. "You’re bullying Yu Bao!"

"Meow..." (He’s a big dog now, but he still can’t give a cat a moment’s peace...)

Xiaoyue sighed and began to groom the silly little dog.

But Yu Bao only cried harder, impossible to console.

"Thank you."

Su Zhi smiled, pulling Yu Bao into a hug and patting him firmly on the back.

"Woof woof!" (I’ll get stronger! I’ll beat more opponents! I’ll win more matches!)

"Yeah, but none of that is important."

Su Zhi gently pressed his forehead against the silly little dog’s.

"Having a Pet Beast like you is enough. I, Su Zhi, must be the happiest Beast Tamer in the whole world."

"Woof!" (...Me too!)

’I want to say something to make my Beast Tamer cry with emotion, too! But I’m just a dog... I don’t have the vocabulary.’

"Oh right, did you master Sandstorm?"

Yu Bao was instantly alert. "Woof!" (I’ll whip one up for you right now!)

"Holy shit!"

Seeing sand start to swirl inside the bus, Su Zhi let out a curse and quickly clamped his hand over Yu Bao’s mouth.

The other students cast curious glances their way.

Shao Ya punched him and deliberately said in a loud voice, "You lost a game, stop being such a sore loser!"

"Tch..."

"Brother Shu, are you even any good..."

"Yeah, Brother Shu, you’re so lame..."

The students’ attention was diverted, and Su Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ahem, I’m sure you’ve mastered it. How else could you have beaten that sand wolf? But our path is a special one. We need to keep a low profile. Lay low and build up our power, you know?"

Yu Bao had a sudden realization. "Woof..." (I see...)

"Holy shit!"

A second "Holy shit!" suddenly rang out on the bus, making both Su Zhi and Yu Bao jump. Then a third, and a fourth.

"Brother Shu, you’re awesome!"

"Whoa! Brother Shu, you made it!"

Su Zhi was completely confused. "I, I made what?"

"The Pet Beast Ranking."

Only then did Su Zhi remember that the Pet Beast Ranking refreshes at twelve o’clock on Fridays.

It was considered the most authoritative ranking, comprehensively evaluating registered Pet Beasts based on multiple metrics like Energy Value, combat records, and contributions.

The Pet Beast Ranking wasn’t just a crucial part of a Professional Beast Tamer’s resume; it was also a core measure of achievement for students.

In the past, Yu Bao had always been at the bottom.

’He had improved a lot this week, so his updated rank must be pretty high. That must be why everyone is so shocked, right?’

’I wonder just how much higher it is.’

With a bit of anticipation, Su Zhi logged onto the school’s official website...

And then his eyes widened.

[Yu Bao (Yu Dian Dog)]

[Class Rank: 2/37] (↑34)

[Grade Rank: 56/1205] (↑1149)

[Overall Rank: 2139/4005] (↑1861)

Su Zhi and Yu Bao stared at each other in stunned silence.

They had expected some improvement... but never this much.

Su Zhi gave a wry smile.

’Looks like keeping a low profile is going to be impossible now...’

·

Before they even had a chance to eat after returning to school, Su Zhi and his deskmate were summoned to the office.

Old Ban’s bald head was so shiny it looked like a mirror.

The two of them stood with heads bowed and hands clasped, like a pair of criminals being interrogated.

"Aren’t you going to say something?"

Su Zhi closed his eyes. "I’m sorry, sir. We shouldn’t have..."

"Who the hell is talking about that?"

Zhou Shengfa shut the door and windows, then lowered his voice. "Yours! The Wood Magnet Crystals!"

"Ah, right!" Su Zhi took out the Wood Magnet Crystals, instinctively lowering his own voice as well.

Zhou Shengfa picked one up and observed it carefully for a moment.

"They’re the small-particle type, so they’re worth a good bit less, but they’re still genuine Tier Three resources."

He quickly found a couple of Energy Sealing Bags and packed the crystals up for them.

"You got these outside the Exotic Beast Protection Area, so they don’t count as part of the official haul from this trip. They haven’t been reported or registered."

"Keep them, quietly. Don’t go making a scene. The only way to get rich is to keep your mouth shut! You understand?"

"...Understood!"

Coming out of the office, the two deskmates looked at each other and smiled.

’We thought we were going to be punished on the spot, but he ended up helping us split the loot... As expected of our school’s most protective teacher.’

A glance at the clock showed it was twelve-fifteen.

"Wanna go grab a bite?"

"Nah, Yu Bao and I have something to do. We’re going to head to the field first."

"Alright, I’m heading off then. Later!"

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