Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Wool Delivers Itself to the Door

The Envoy’s Pet made its way to the practice field.

For Su Zhi, something was more important than getting food: he needed to see Yu Bao’s newly mastered Sandstorm right away.

The midday sun was intense, making the air near the ground shimmer and distort.

"Are you sure this is a good spot?" Su Zhi asked, looking around.

"Woof!"

Yu Bao nodded excitedly.

He was saying it was no problem at all!

Although Sandstorm’s effect was to strike opponents with wind and sand, it didn’t require any to be present. As long as there was Earth or stone—physical objects made of the Earth Element—it would work!

Su Zhi: "..."

’I just hope he doesn’t accidentally hit someone...’ he thought.

But it was lunchtime, and the field was mostly empty. Even if they unleashed Sandstorm here, they wouldn’t have to worry about collateral damage.

Su Zhi picked a relatively shady spot and sat down on the ground.

Yu Bao held his breath, focused his mind, and began to channel his power.

’Still not skilled enough, I see. His facial muscles are overcompensating like crazy...’ Su Zhi silently roasted, watching Yu Bao’s strained expression.

But in the next moment, his eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

Under Yu Bao’s control, sand and wind swirled into existence.

Unlike his previous practice attempts, which always felt soft and powerless, this time Su Zhi truly felt the sharp impact an offensive Skill should have.

With Yu Bao at the helm, the wind and sand spiraled into a tornado, enclosing him in its very center!

"BOOM!"

Yu Bao’s gaze swept forward.

The storm of sand and stone shot out like a furious sand dragon, crashing violently onto the lawn ahead.

"Woof woof!"

After unleashing his ultimate move, Yu Bao wagged his tail excitedly.

Su Zhi stared in astonishment at the brutally beaten lawn.

A moderately sized crater had been blasted into the grass. The surface inside was incredibly rough—the result of the sand’s high-speed cutting effect.

"That was amazing... How did you do it?"

"Woof! Woof!"

After hearing Yu Bao’s explanation, Su Zhi slapped one hand against the other. It all clicked.

’Of course. Sandstorm is a Skill usually mastered by Pet Beasts from desert regions.’

’Although the Skill itself is a pure Earth Element Skill, deserts are windy environments.’

’Those Pet Beasts are born and raised in that kind of environment. In the process of understanding the Skill, they consciously or unconsciously imitate the style of the raging Wind.’

’Simply put, they have an innate "impression" of the Wind.’

’Yu Bao’s previous attempts to cast Sandstorm using only his control over the Earth Element were fundamentally off-track.’

’But now that he understood the intrinsic connection between Wind and sand, it suddenly clicked for him.’

’Even without any Wind in the future, he could now conjure a Sandstorm.’

"Nice!"

Su Zhi gave him an approving thumbs-up.

Yu Bao had figured this out all by himself. If it had been up to Su Zhi, he probably could have thought about it for days without getting anywhere.

"Who says Yu Bao is a dumb little puppy? He’s a smart cookie!"

"Arf~" Yu Bao scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

Su Zhi opened his phone and put a checkmark next to "Sandstorm" in his notes app.

They had just taken the second step down the path of Yu Bao’s unique Skills!

Sandstorm had been a major hurdle.

Now that they’d cleared it, learning the next few related Skills would be much smoother.

By the time the City League started, Yu Bao should be able to learn his first small combo system and become a real competitor!

Plus, he had the assistance of adding Points.

In the near future, they could challenge more experts and farm even more Points!

’Ah, the championship, you ask?’

’What’s the point of that thing anyway?’

Ever since awakening this talent, Su Zhi and Yu Bao had become completely absorbed in the joy of adding Points and mastering new Skills.

Rankings and wins, which used to seem so important, didn’t matter much to them anymore.

*Human Beast Taming: How Adding Points Cured My Burnout*

Su Zhi decided to go get lunch and glanced at his watch—1:00 PM.

’Tragic. The cafeteria’s closed...’

Su Zhi sighed.

Yu Bao, on the other hand, was casting Sandstorm over and over again.

He was thrilled.

He had finally gotten his paws on the Skill he’d been eyeing for days. The feeling of it being just out of reach, separated by a thin veil, had been driving him crazy.

’This little Skill that played so hard to get... I’m going to use it until it begs for mercy! I’m going to master it inside and out!’

Hearing Yu Bao’s inner voice, Su Zhi was at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, then closed it, and finally just settled for a smile.

’As long as Yu Bao’s happy.’

·

Just off the field, a young man and woman wearing student council armbands were strolling along.

The girl had short pink hair and was holding a video camera; the boy had a center-parted hairstyle—though, of course, no suspenders.

Zhang Xueying and Lu Dongjie were the head and deputy head of the student council’s New Media Department. As second-year high school students, they were currently looking for someone to interview.

Because the school administration believed:

[With the inter-school exchange competition and the City League just around the corner, the students must be fired up and training hard.]

[Interview a few students and their Pet Beasts who are training diligently during their lunch break, and properly showcase the Spirit of our Number One High School students!]

The two of them accepted the assignment and spent the middle of the day searching and searching.

Only to discover that the whole "training diligently" thing was a load of crap.

The training regimen required by the curriculum was so tedious and demanding that even the Pet Beasts wanted nothing to do with it.

But they couldn’t just not find anyone to interview. They couldn’t go back empty-handed...

This whole situation had them stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Finally, Lu Dongjie tugged on the sleeve of his department head. "Chief, let’s take a break! I’m about to get baked into jerky out here."

"You’re pathetic, twig."

Zhang Xueying retorted casually, wiping the hot sweat from her face before letting out a sigh of her own.

"Let’s go rest in the stands for a bit. At least it’s cooler there."

"Ugh, what kind of crappy job is this..."

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Lu Dongjie spotted Su Zhi’s Envoy’s Pet and froze.

His new-media instincts screamed—*Content!*

"Let’s go! Let’s get him!"

"Huh? Hey!"

Before Zhang Xueying could react, Lu Dongjie had grabbed her and started running.

·

"Excuse me! Sorry to bother you, but we’d like to interview you!"

"Huh? Interview me?"

Su Zhi blinked, looking at the two upperclassmen who had come over from a distance.

The two of them were minor celebrities of a sort, but Su Zhi had only ever seen them on the school’s official social media account.

"Yes, yes! It’s an interview to showcase the spirit of our school’s students. No need to be nervous... just a few simple questions!"

"Ah, sure, why not." Su Zhi nodded.

He didn’t have anything better to do anyway.

Lu Dongjie nodded excitedly.

"Okay, I’ll start then. Let’s pretend this is a chance encounter, ahem... Excuse me! May I interview you?"

Su Zhi: "Uh..."

The two of them started by asking him about basic information, then moved on to training and competitions.

"I noticed your Envoy’s Pet is training hard even during the lunch hour. I assume you’re preparing for the exchange competition and the City League?"

Lu Dongjie blinked eagerly, signaling for Su Zhi to give a spirited response:

"Do you have a goal? Top eight? Top four?"

"Uh, not really."

Su Zhi replied, "The result isn’t what’s important. I think the most crucial thing is to enjoy the competitive process itself, learn from your experiences, and keep getting stronger... Something like that."

—In a way, it was the absolute truth.

"Well said!"

Lu Dongjie couldn’t stop grinning.

Look at this underclassman! He spoke so well—humble, yet with a hint of arrogance. The interview effect was maxed out.

Now *that’s* what you call having a grand perspective! This is it!

"Great! On behalf of the New Media Department, we wish you, Su Zhi, and your Pet Beast the best of luck! May you achieve a great ranking!"

"Thanks. Well, see ya—"

"Don’t go just yet! There’s one last segment: a Pet Beast sparring match!"

Lu Dongjie gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, this part is required by the school, so we... huh?"

It really wasn’t right to use up someone’s training time for a spar. He was just thinking of how to apologize.

But why did it feel like the underclassman was looking at him...

...like a sheep ripe for the shearing?