Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Understanding the Dao

"Don’t give it a chance to breathe! Follow up quickly! Maintain the offensive!"

"CAW!" (Got it!)

Zhang Wei’s tactic was working.

The Cyan Feathered Falcon circled near the ground, continuously releasing Wind Blades.

As a Pet Beast from the Elite class, Ah Qing had also figured out the pattern and strength of the Earth Force Field during the skirmish.

At first, Yu Bao could still harass it by changing the terrain and gathering the Earth Element, but that quickly became completely useless.

But Ah Qing didn’t really have the upper hand, either.

It kept up the pressure by releasing a constant stream of Wind Blades, appearing to hold the initiative with its aggressive assault.

In reality, however, Yu Bao was under no defensive pressure. The Earth Force Field could just as easily block and weaken the Wind Blades.

Yu Bao wasn’t afraid of Ah Qing’s Wind Blades, but Ah Qing was wary of Yu Bao’s Sandstorm.

Ah Qing’s offensive was more like a forced initiative, something it had to do out of necessity.

If it couldn’t maintain this offensive, the situation wouldn’t even return to a stalemate—it was more likely to fall directly into a disadvantageous position.

"Woof?" (What do we do now?)

"This is actually kind of interesting."

Su Zhi rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.

A weaker Flying Pet Beast versus a stronger ground-based Pet Beast could easily result in a battle of attrition.

One couldn’t go up, the other wouldn’t come down. Neither could do anything to the other.

At times like this, having a surprise move to secure victory was especially important.

"What a pity!"

Su Zhi gave a helpless smile. "If only you had mastered Desert Concealment."

It was an escape skill, but also a fairly powerful Positional Skill.

If he had mastered Desert Concealment, Yu Bao could just flash right into its face and end the fight.

’Huh? Wait a second...’

’Could this be why the senior created this stalemate? Does he want to test how Yu Bao will break it?’

’What a perfect coincidence!’

"Yu Bao! Try using Desert Concealment!"

"Woof!"

Yu Bao nodded in understanding while dealing with the feeble Wind Blades.

Xiaoyue was always calling him dumb, but he was actually pretty darn smart.

He had also thought of Desert Concealment right away.

The pressure of a real battle might just be the perfect opportunity for that final push, just like when he had his epiphany with Sandstorm.

’What’s the missing step?’ 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Yu Bao looked up at the sky blankly as he dodged the Wind Blades.

"(ꐦÒΔÓ) CAW!" (What’s with that look! Stop looking down on birds!)

Losing its cool, Ah Qing launched an even fiercer barrage of Wind Blades.

The clever Yu Bao guessed that this must also be part of the test.

He couldn’t let down his senior’s expectations.

So he remained unfazed and kept thinking with the same expression on his face.

The first thing Yu Bao thought of was Xiaoyue’s Forest Stand-In.

That move and Desert Concealment were different but achieved a similar effect—both were Positional Skills. That was what he had been thinking about earlier when he was staring blankly at Xiaoyue.

When Xiaoyue used that move, it was as if he himself became the vines.

’Forest Stand-In... vines...’

’Desert Concealment... sand...’

Yu Bao stared at the darting Ah Qing again, sinking into deep thought.

’This big bird fellow is constantly launching Wind Blades at me. Is this some kind of hint, too?’

’Cyan Feathered Falcon... Wind Blade... Wind...’

The Cyan Feathered Falcon releasing Wind Blades was just like the wind itself—wild, sharp, and unrestrained.

’That’s it.’

Yu Bao slapped its left paw with its right, its eyes lighting up.

A documentary he’d seen on TV about a Desert White Fox hunting flashed through his mind.

When it used Desert Concealment, it completely merged with the surrounding wind and sand, as if it were sand itself.

Yu Bao understood.

’The important thing isn’t imitation, but the intent and the spirit!’

’I am the sand, the sand is me!’

Ah Qing dove toward Yu Bao, and Yu Bao leaped toward Ah Qing.

However, just as Ah Qing was about to release a Wind Blade, Yu Bao’s body suddenly dissolved into a cloud of sand and wind, causing its attack to lose its target.

Ah Qing was dumbfounded.

’No way, what the hell was that??’

’The first two times were ridiculous enough and I didn’t say anything, but how did it just disappear this time?’

’Huh? Wait, why did it suddenly get dark...’ Ah Qing looked up, bewildered.

And saw an excited-looking Yu Bao.

"WOOF!" (I did it!)

Before Ah Qing’s stunned eyes, Yu Bao shifted its center of gravity in mid-air and aimed both feet at the Cyan Feathered Falcon.

This move was called... the Nine Heavens Thunderbolt Double Kick!

"CAAW—"

*SPLAT.*

Amidst a wretched cry, Ah Qing fell to the ground like a ragdoll.

Yu Bao followed close behind, making a successful soft landing on top of Ah Qing.

"That was amazing! Thank you so much for your guidance!"

Su Zhi grabbed Zhang Wei’s hand, too excited for words.

In his field of vision, the remaining Assignable Attribute Points on his panel had already changed to 0.11.

In other words, from this one battle with the "Bully," Yu Bao had gained 0.06 Points in one go!

These Points probably didn’t come from the battle itself. After all, that Cyan Feathered Falcon was way too weak, and Yu Bao hadn’t even gone all out.

Most of these Points came from mastering Desert Concealment.

Learning a new Skill and raking in Points—it was a total win-win.

’As expected of a sparring partner, a top-tier expert who’s already graduated. To think he’d use such an ingenious method to help Yu Bao achieve a breakthrough.’

What warmed Su Zhi’s heart even more was that the Cyan Feathered Falcon had even cushioned Yu Bao’s fall, as if afraid it would get hurt!

He took back his previous prejudice.

’He might be a little weak, but a senior is still a senior. He’s on a completely different level!’

"Wait here, I’ll go buy you a bottle of water!"

Su Zhi patted Zhang Wei’s shoulder and ran toward the tuck shop.

Zhang Wei stood petrified, his mind buzzing.

’I got wrecked by a kid from the regular class...’

’And now he wants to buy me water to humiliate me...’

’He even said I was ugly...’

Zhang Wei couldn’t take it anymore. Tears started rolling down his face.

·

"Huh? Where’d the senior go?"

Su Zhi scratched his head in confusion when he returned with the water and found the guy gone.

"Woof! Woof!"

Yu Bao also missed the big bird classmate who helped him grasp a new Skill.

As Su Zhi was wondering about it, his WeChat chimed—

[Old Ban]: I already sent your sparring partner to find you. His name is Liu Junpo. You can just call him Piao.

[Old Ban]: His appearance should be pretty obvious. He’s unkempt, but kinda handsome if you look closely, just like me.

Su Zhi: "...?"

[Su Zhi]: My sparring partner... wasn’t he the senior in an Elite class uniform, with dyed yellow hair, dressed like a Bully, who just had a story-mode-style spar with me?

[Old Ban]: No, that Huang Mao was a real Bully.

[Su Zhi]: .

Far away in his sixth-floor office, Zhou Shengfa, who had witnessed the entire event, typed on his phone with a smile.

[When Your Hair Reaches Your Waist]: Given your current situation, it’s probably impossible to go back and follow the outline.

[When Your Hair Reaches Your Waist]: Just follow your own ideas and keep training that way.

[When Your Hair Reaches Your Waist]: But I have to remind you, training a Pet Beast with a custom style that deviates from the outline is extremely difficult. It requires you to have a complete understanding of the Skill System, which is something only a Master Level Beast Tamer or higher possesses.

[When Your Hair Reaches Your Waist]: You might run into problems during this process, you might hit a wall, and then you’ll start to doubt yourself.

[When Your Hair Reaches Your Waist]: If you feel that starting to happen, report to Piao immediately. He’ll help you. If worse comes to worst, just find me! 24/7, anytime, anywhere!

...

...No response?

[When Your Hair Reaches Your Waist]: /poke

[Su Zhi]: Got it.

’As long as he got it...’ Zhou Shengfa let out a breath of relief and leaned back in his chair. Then, a herd of alpacas galloped through his mind.

Seeing Su Zhi’s "Got it," he suddenly felt like he was back in high school, chasing after the prettiest girl in school.

That was a story full of one-sided, solicitous questions and one-word replies of "Mm."

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