Chapter 7: Chapter 7: These Points Are Hot to Handle

After lunch, Su Zhi and Yu Bao spent some more time exploring their options.

Su Zhi now confirmed that the new Attribute Points came from Yu Bao using the Earth Force Field to draw.

The system’s judgment was consistent with his earlier line of thought.

The Earth Force Field was a Control Skill used by large Earth Element Pet Beasts to alter the terrain, and occasionally as an Enhancement Skill for other skills.

Therefore, when these Pet Beasts trained, they usually worked backward from its applications, practicing by altering the terrain.

But using the Earth Force Field to control the Earth Element and draw pictures represented that Yu Bao’s understanding of this skill had already surpassed "application" and reached the level of "principle"!

However, unlike the small, continuous point gains from daily practice of the Earth Force Field, the points gained from drawing were a large, one-time reward.

It was rather like unlocking an achievement in a game.

Even if Yu Bao were to draw repeatedly with the Earth Force Field, no new Points would appear.

After all, "understanding" and "mastery" were fundamentally different.

The latter was the result of long-term, accumulated practice, while the former was a moment of sudden enlightenment.

But regardless, having scored a whopping 0.05 points in one go, Yu Bao was thrilled!

Although he could only fleece this sheep once, Yu Bao wasn’t discouraged.

He hadn’t been drawing just to get points anyway. Getting them was awesome, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t.

"Woof! Woof!" (Put it all into Intelligence!)

Yu Bao was so excited he stood up, waving his front paws wildly in the air.

The memory of the first time he’d added points to agility was still fresh in Yu Bao’s mind. He had felt as light as a feather, able to run like the wind. Catching his own tail was no longer just a dream!

It was like having his butt pricked by Rock-Breaking Teeth—a real eye-opener.

The effect of adding points to Intelligence wasn’t as obvious, but as he added more and more, Yu Bao gradually got a feeling—

’I’m really taking on the air of a Great Emperor!’

’Now I have a whole 0.05 points. If I pump it all into Intelligence at once, won’t that be another huge leap forward?’

"No."

This time, however, the Beast Tamer refused his request.

Su Zhi spoke earnestly, "I talked with Shao Ya this morning. This whole thing isn’t that simple..."

Yu Bao, who was confused at first, had a sudden realization after hearing his Beast Tamer’s explanation.

’You can’t just add points randomly; there has to be a strategy.’

’My Beast Tamer is so smart, he came prepared!’

"Woof woof?" (So what’s the next skill we should learn?)

"Good question!"

Su Zhi gave him a thumbs-up. "I’d like to know that too!"

Yu Bao: "..."

So he was prepared, just not very much.

"Don’t panic, we can look it up online!"

Su Zhi turned on the computer, rubbing his hands together like an eager fly. "This is the internet age. All knowledge is public. We can look up how to train any skill we want."

"Woof!"

Yu Bao nodded excitedly and jumped onto Su Zhi’s lap.

...

...

"Woof woof." (How about Burrow? We could use it to sneak up behind enemies, or to escape.)

"I don’t think that’s feasible. That’s a skill Rock-Splitting Lizards don’t learn until the second semester of their sophomore year. Besides, it needs to be paired with Hardening to be most effective."

"Woof." (That’s true.)

"Another one ruled out." Su Zhi tapped the keyboard, marking it with an X.

"Dinner’s ready, dear!"

As the Envoy’s Pet duo was deep in discussion, a shout came from the kitchen, from the full-time slacker of a novelist.

Su Zhi froze for a second, his memory still stuck back at just after lunch.

He turned his head and saw that the world outside the window was now bathed in night.

The stars twinkled, like fine specks of light on a black curtain.

The evening breeze was a tide, the chirping of insects a song. Tiny glowing bugs swirled and danced above the shrubs, weaving faint, visible lines of light.

Yu Bao watched, mesmerized.

Su Zhi admired the scene for a moment before starting to organize the mountain of scratch paper on the desk.

From afternoon until evening, he and Yu Bao had discussed and eliminated a total of 142 skills.

For every single skill, they had analyzed its practical effects, drawbacks, necessity, feasibility, and more.

The Envoy’s Pet pair had been researching for hours on end. Though they were tired, they also felt a sense of clarity and comfort.

Although they hadn’t been able to finalize their next plan, Su Zhi wasn’t discouraged.

Experiences of failure were, after all, pieces of the puzzle of success.

"Come on, Yu Bao, time to grub!"

Su Zhi got up and walked toward the dining room, with Yu Bao trailing, Bling Bling, behind him.

"Woof woof woof..." (I think the new skill should combo well with the ones I already have, and it has to be feasible to learn, not too hard...)

On the way to eat, the little guy was still chattering away, sharing his insights.

Su Zhi smiled and nodded along.

He had never seen Yu Bao so motivated to learn before.

’If Old Ban knew about this,’ Su Zhi mused, ’he’d probably say something like, "If your Yu Bao put just one percent of this energy into it, he could have learned Rock-Breaking Teeth..."’

Su Zhi habitually glanced at the Attribute Panel, only to find that his unassigned Free Attribute Points had increased from 0.05 to 0.06.

He was a little surprised.

’Could the afternoon’s discussion have also awarded points?’

But then again, the old Yu Bao really wasn’t very smart, and his reactions were always a beat slower than other Pet Beasts.

Just as Shao Ya had said, Yu Dian Dogs of this age were all adorably goofy.

But today, Yu Bao had actually spent the entire afternoon thinking intensely about tactics.

There were even times when Su Zhi hadn’t seen any issues, only to realize a flaw somewhere after Yu Bao pointed it out.

Su Zhi didn’t believe that adding just a few points to Intelligence could be so miraculous.

’Perhaps Yu Bao was always capable of this, but he just didn’t adapt well to the standard curriculum, which is why he was seen as a dumb little dog.’

·

At the dinner table, Yu Bao was chowing down, SMACK SMACK, eating with even more gusto than he had after the quiz yesterday.

Su Mao petted the dog while clicking his tongue and nodding. "So hungry? Yu Bao must have worn himself out this afternoon, huh?"

Su Zhi, who was also wolfing down his food, nodded emphatically. "He used his brain all afternoon. Of course he’s tired."

"Used his brain?"

"Thinking about what new skill Yu Bao should learn. We came up with a lot of plans, but we rejected them all in the end."

Su Mao scratched his head, puzzled. "Don’t you guys have some kind of syllabus? Why not just follow that..."

"What do you know? Xiaoshu must have his reasons for doing this!"

Wang Sujuan jabbed him with her elbow. "We’re laymen, we shouldn’t be telling an expert what to do. Just trust Xiaoshu."

"Right, right. I always flame the freeloading readers who try to tell me how to write my story."

Su Mao laughed heartily.

"You stick to your guns and do things your way. Your old man here is the official culinary specialist for you and Yu Bao. Just let me know if you have any requests!"

"Thanks, Dad!"

Su Zhi and Su Mao clinked their rice bowls together, using them in place of wine for a toast.

Yu Bao wanted to join the toast, but he couldn’t hold a bowl of rice, so he bumped his head against the rim of a bowl instead.

...

「After dinner.」

Wang Sujuan worked on her lesson plans for the next day’s class.

Su Mao, caught slacking off and playing games by his readers, tearfully went back to writing.

Su Zhi and Yu Bao were busy in the bedroom—this time, Yu Bao was trying to train his Skybound Strike while keeping his Earth Force Field active.

Keeping two skills active at once was very difficult, even though Skybound Strike was essentially just one of the Body Techniques.

But Yu Bao learned quickly, becoming quite smooth with it in no time.

The unassigned Attribute Points increased from 0.06 to 0.09.

—Training two skills at the same time meant you earned points for both simultaneously. This was a time management trick Su Zhi had discovered.

This was, however, only possible when it was feasible; for example, it was obviously impossible to practice burrowing and flying at the same time.

Su Zhi thought for a moment, then added 0.01 to both "Power" and "Constitution," bringing them level with "Perception."

His Real-time Energy Value reached 219.

Yu Bao’s eyes widened in surprise.

He felt as if he had gotten a tiny bit stronger, and the fatigue in his body had completely vanished. He was as refreshed and full of spirit as if he had just woken up.

’Long live adding points!’

Su Zhi, however, was worried. How should he allocate the remaining 0.07?

’For the first time, he felt like these points were almost too hot to handle...’

Just as Yu Bao finished a set, Su Zhi, still without a clue, decided to hit up Shao Ya for a game to clear his head.

He had just opened his Q-messenger when an @everyone message popped up in "The Underground Class Group (No Old Ban)"—

[Admin] [Liu Yuhang]: Bros, emergency! Class Nine wants to challenge us to see who’s top dog! @everyone

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