Chapter 447: Adding Points to Wu Bao... Eh? Wait a Minute??

Chapter 447: Chapter 289: Adding Points to Wu Bao… Eh? Wait a Minute??

“⌓‿⌓ Clara…”

The Earthquake Beast cracked a smile.

“Holy crap!”

Su Zhi was scared out of his wits. Forgetting all about “youthful bravado,” he ran back inside and slammed the door shut.

Tuoba Jing pointed at him and roared with laughter.

Su Zhi’s face flushed red as he leaned against the door, panting for breath.

‘Okay, I admit my voice might have been a little loud just now…’

‘Wait, didn’t Yu Bao already deal with the Earthquake Beast? Why is it out here! Who wouldn’t be scared of that thing!’

‘Huh? Wait a second, that smile… it looks kind of familiar, doesn’t it?’

Su Zhi tentatively pulled the door open a crack and peeked his head out.

The Earthquake Beast stood motionless, still wearing that signature smile. When it saw Su Zhi emerge, its grin became even more insufferably smug.

Su Zhi: “…”

‘I’d recognize that smile even if it were reduced to ashes.’

“Yu Bao? Is that you?”

“WOOF!” A small head popped up from on top of the Earthquake Beast. Perched high above, Yu Bao flicked its tail downward, looking incredibly pleased with itself.

As for the one that had stayed inside to steal Su Zhi’s phone, that must have been one of Yu Bao’s clones. Its real body had been waiting outside the entire time, planning this jump scare.

‘What a scummy dog…’

Still, seeing the Earthquake Beast underneath Yu Bao, Su Zhi couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed. “You took control of this Earthquake Beast?”

“WOOF WOOF!” Yu Bao nodded its head vigorously.

“There’s something you don’t know, young friend. After you fainted, it was Yu Bao who controlled this Earthquake Beast to carry you back here.”

Tuoba Jing also walked outside. “As I see it, the Earthquake Beast is like a vehicle. Before, it was driven to destroy life; now that it is driven by Yu Bao, it has become docile.”

Su Zhi was suddenly struck by a thought. ‘Power is the same way.’

‘Power itself isn’t a sin. The sin lies with the person who wields it.’

‘And this Earthquake Beast is essentially power given physical form…’

“Lost in thought, young friend?”

Tuoba Jing patted his shoulder with a light chuckle. “The people of Jinshi Village are all very worried about you. That boy, Wang Baichuan, is still waiting for you at the entrance to town. You should hurry back.”

“Ah, right!” Su Zhi snapped out of it and cupped his fists toward Tuoba Jing in farewell. “Goodbye, Senior!”

“Until we meet again, young friend.”

…

Watching Su Zhi’s figure gradually recede and merge with the silhouettes of the villagers at the town entrance, Tuoba Jing smiled and let out a soft sigh.

The clouds parted in the sky above, and the liquid moonlight illuminated his simple robes, making him seem so bright he looked as though he wasn’t of this world.

Zi Lu gently rested its head against him.

Tuoba Jing gently stroked his Pet Beast’s forehead, his complex gaze rippling with emotion.

“Until we meet again… until we meet again.”

* * *

“Are you guys really not going to come up?”

“No… thanks.”

Staring up at the Earthquake Beast, which was a good deal taller than the highest building in the village, almost none of the Jinshi Village villagers who had come to welcome him dared to get close. Wang Baichuan was a little better—at least he wasn’t hiding—but he was still so scared his body wouldn’t stop shaking, and he kept glancing back every few steps.

Although the Beastmaster had assured them this Earthquake Beast was under his control, nobody dared to ride the thing.

‘What if it loses control?’

Perhaps for this very reason, the villagers’ gazes toward Su Zhi held an extra measure of awe and admiration.

‘To think he could defeat and conquer such a massive Earthquake Beast… He truly is a great Beastmaster!’

Su Zhi scratched his head. Seeing that no one was actually going to climb up, he didn’t press them further.

‘To be honest, I was scared as hell at first too… but once you get up here, it’s amazing. I mean, come on, having an indescribable monster for a mount is super cool, right?’

“Master Yu, let’s roll!”

“WOOF!” Yu Bao gave Su Zhi the knowing look of a seasoned pro.

The mountain-sized Earthquake Beast began to move slowly toward Jinshi Village. Only this time, it did not advance with the intent to kill and destroy.

The villagers followed cautiously behind, like a swarm of black ants trailing a colossal elephant.

Gradually, seeing that the Earthquake Beast seemed to be truly obedient, Wang Baichuan turned and called for everyone to stop hiding. A few of the younger men grew bold and actually did venture a little closer.

Some of the older parents shouted at them to get back, but when nothing happened, their scolding eventually died down.

Little by little, more and more villagers dared to approach the Earthquake Beast. Eventually, even the parents who had initially forbidden their children from getting near started to follow along. After all, everyone else was doing it; not following would make them stand out.

Some took that step out of courage; others took it simply because they saw everyone else do it.

But regardless of the reason, in the end, everyone took that first step forward.

Standing atop the Earthquake Beast, Su Zhi looked down at the moving crowd, feeling rather emotional. ‘It’s a little lonely up here by myself, but a bit of peace and quiet is nice now and then.’

Of course, besides peace and quiet, there was something more important to attend to—

“Wooo!”

Wu Bao excitedly tugged at Su Zhi’s pant leg, hopping up and down in place.

“Alright, alright, I’m getting to it… Stop pulling! Are you possessed by Shan Bao or something?” Su Zhi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he tried to calm Wu Bao down. At the same time, he was rubbing his own hands together in excitement.

‘Finally, I can assign Wu Bao’s points!’

‘As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new. Even though petting Yu Bao and Shan Bao feels great, you’re bound to get a little bored after a while.’

‘Starting today, I have another Pet Beast to dote on! Of course, this one’s a real heavyweight. I wonder if I’ll break my hand trying to pet it…’

Yu Bao shot its fickle, scummy Beast Tamer a sidelong glare.

The Attribute Panel lit up, and all his Pet Beasts craned their necks to look. Other than Su Zhi himself, only those contracted to him could see it—

[Pet Beast: Wu Bao (Black Fighting Emperor)

Power: 1.37

Agility: 0.99

Intelligence: 1.05

Constitution: 1.56

Perception: 1.23

…]

Su Zhi examined Wu Bao’s stats one by one.

Its Power and Perception were 1.37 and 1.23, respectively, slightly above average. The 1.56 Constitution was particularly outstanding. He remembered that Shan Bao had been incredibly durable at this stage. Since the Black Fighting Emperor Race was known for its extreme offense and defense, it was truly hard to say whether Shan Bao or Wu Bao was tougher.