Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

[Yang Jingyue]: Teacher Zhou already gave us a heads-up. I'll be starting your special group training this afternoon!

[Shao Ya]: Woohoo! I get to hang out with my favorite senior again!

[Yang Jingyue]: Aww, let's hang out~

[Liu Yuhang]: Alright, I'm fired up!

"So, why is everyone texting when we're all standing face-to-face?"

Su Zhi pointed at his phone, exasperated. "So, who's 'The Dashing, Heroic, and Unspeakably Handsome??'"

Cao Mingyu pushed up his glasses with a sorrowful expression. "My friend Su Zhi, we truly have no tacit understanding whatsoever."

"My ass! Just use your real name, will you?"

Shao Ya said, "Not necessarily? Since everyone else is using their real names, it's obvious that one is Cao Mingyu."

Liu Yuhang: "Gotta say, I think the name is pretty cool."

Katie: "Uh, you really think so?"

Fang Yuan: "..."

"No, my friend Su Zhi's words clearly hold a deeper meaning." Cao Mingyu's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Using one's real name is not merely for the sake of convenience. It signifies casting off the mask of the virtual world to embark on a journey in pursuit of one's true self. I am enlightened!"

With that, Cao Mingyu solemnly changed his display name back to his real name.

[Cao Mingyu]: My friend, Su Zhi! Thank you for showing me the way! Let us face the path ahead together!

[Shao Ya]: OTP

The others immediately spammed "+1."

'I really just meant it's more convenient to call people by their names...' Su Zhi thought, lines of exasperation on his face as he buried his face in his hand.

·

There was nothing scheduled for the morning, so the group was free to do as they pleased.

At 2:30 PM, the Hair Growth Group officially reconvened!

After producing a semi-finalist and the champion of the city league, the Hair Growth Group had now gathered for the national team competition.

Their goal: the national championship!

"You lot are really biting off more than you can chew. Shanda University Affiliated School has never even made the top four, and you're already gunning for the championship."

In his office, after listening to Zhou Shengfa's report, Yan Shouzheng took a sip of tea, half amused and half exasperated. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Even if Su Zhi is a powerhouse, a team competition isn't a one-man show. You can't just carry the whole team. Winning the championship isn't *completely* impossible, but it's *basically* impossible."

"Shoot for the moon, and you'll land among the stars," Zhou Shengfa replied. "Only by striving for the championship can we secure a placement that none of us will regret."

"Besides, Su Zhi has never been our only ace in the hole. Every one of my students is an ace. Su Zhi might shine a little brighter, but in my heart, they are all equally important."

"That, I can believe. After all, every one of your students is extraordinary."

Yan Shouzheng examined the list Zhou Shengfa had uploaded, raising an eyebrow.

"I remember this student, Liu Yuhang. He made it to the semi-finals in the city league. Not much innate talent, but his drive makes you see him in a whole new light... Hey, wait a minute, isn't he the Beast Tamer who brought back the Wave-Riding Duck?"

"The very same! Without Yuhang's persistence, he might never have rediscovered an Evolutionary Type like the Wave-Riding Duck. Now, Yuhang is one of the team's Stabilizing Needles. Not even Su Zhi could say for sure he'd win against him!"

An irrepressible pride filled Zhou Shengfa's face as he mentioned Liu Yuhang. He walked over to the window.

"Teacher Yan, please look!"

Yan Shouzheng followed Zhou Shengfa's finger and looked towards the artificial lake—

The surface of the lake was a vast, unbroken sheet of white. The dense fog had reduced visibility to absolute zero.

This was the Water Element High Level Elite Skill, Sea Mist—the Advanced Skill of White Mist.

Unlike White Mist, Sea Mist couldn't be easily dispersed by external forces. Its duration and stability were vastly superior, and it provided a much stronger buff to other Water Element Skills.

Non-Water Element Pet Beasts and Skills were weakened while inside it, which in turn boosted the Wave-Riding Duck's Defense Power!

Sea Mist also placed much stricter demands on the Pet Beast, requiring it not only to be able to command vast bodies of water but also to possess an incredible degree of precision in its Water Control.

"QUACK! QUACK!"

Within the dense fog, Xue Li trudged forward, one determined step at a time.

And atop Xue Li's head, Liu Yuhang was doing one-armed handstand push-ups, his legs bound by two thick, weighted vests.

With every rep, his muscles wrung out sweat like a drenched towel!

"Three hundred and eleven, three hundred and twelve..."

Liu Yuhang counted under his breath.

Compared to just a few months ago, the boy was no longer weak. Only the determined light glinting in his eyes remained unchanged.

"That's it! Push through! Forward! Forward! And again, forward!"

Du Gang roared with encouragement. "Your goal is the team championship! March to the finish line like the champions you are! Crush every obstacle in your path!"

"QUACK! QUACK!"

"Three hundred and thirteen! Three hundred and fourteen!"

The boy and the Wave-Riding Duck, voices raised in a triumphant chorus, burned with fighting spirit as they marched toward the championship.

Not far behind them, another Beast Tamer and Pet Beast pair presented a completely different scene.

"Quack... QAQ..." Bilang watched Xue Li, who had now broken into a light jog, and its eyes welled with tears of existential dread.

'How is she carrying a guy with hundreds of pounds of weights strapped to him and still moving like the wind?'

'Are all the Pet Beasts from Huai City monsters??'

Bilang suddenly came to terms with its previous loss to Xue Li.

In a daze, it came to a realization: an opponent like that was simply invincible.

"Bilang, Bilang, don't wobble!" Up on its head, Katie was starting to panic, her clothes already soaked with sweat.

As a Tier Three Beast Tamer, Katie's physical condition was naturally far superior to that of an ordinary person; a one-armed handstand was well within her capabilities.

But to do a one-armed handstand *on Bilang's head*, and then add *push-ups* to that? That was just asking too much...

Even without weights like Liu Yuhang, Katie's strength began to fail her after a short while. Her core wasn't strong enough, and she started to wobble.