Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

Chapter 528: Chapter 310: This Is a True Su Zhi Fan (2)

[Butterfly Fan Bone]: Even Alliance Members are flocking to this? My god...

[The Days to Come are Long]: Win just once and you’re set for life. I’d be tempted too if I were him.

[The Days Past were Hard]: Wake up, guy above me. You don’t even have a Pet Beast. Tempted my ass.

For once, the live comments weren’t all about Su Zhi. Instead, many were focused on his opponent.

After stepping onto the arena platform, Su Zhi finally saw his opponent: Wei Yuanming from Pearl Harbor.

However... the first impression he made was somewhat different from what Su Zhi had imagined.

Unlike overtly sharp-edged experts such as Chen Xinghao, the young man before him had a gentle, graceful air. His face possessed an androgynous beauty that transcended gender, and his slightly curled brown hair gave him a very pleasant appearance.

But upon closer inspection, a hardness was hidden within those gentle eyes, like a reef concealed beneath a lake’s surface. It gave the initial impression that while he seemed good-natured, he was not someone to be trifled with.

"You must be Su Zhi. A pleasure to meet you." The young man across the platform offered a polite smile.

Su Zhi waved in response. "Yes, it’s an honor to compete against you, too."

"I’ve watched many of your matches. I started following you back at summer camp... It’s just that I wasn’t as prominent back then, so you probably didn’t notice me."

Wei Yuanming narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Before the match begins, I have a question for you... Why do you do things the way you do?

"You weren’t born into a Beast-Taming Family, nor do you have the resources to support exploration and trial-and-error. One could even say that luck has played a huge part in you getting this far.

"Deviating from the established Beast Taming system is incredibly dangerous; every step is an arduous struggle. You’re obviously aware of this. And yet, you still chose to persist on your own path...

Can you tell me why?"

Su Zhi fell silent for a moment.

’Without the help of my point-adding ability, it would probably be just as Wei Yuanming said—I’d be completely stuck.’

’But why did I do it this way?’

’Su Zhi had always subconsciously felt that because he had his point-adding ability, this was the way for him to grow stronger.’

’But now that he thought about it, since he had this ability, weren’t there safer ways to become stronger?’

’He could have just followed the standard templates, making Yu Bao excel in Power, Wu Bao in Constitution, and Shan Bao in agility...’

’Their potential might not have been any higher, but it would have been a much safer path... and one more easily accepted by the world.’

Su Zhi had never thought about it this way before.

But now, prompted by Wei Yuanming’s question, Su Zhi suddenly realized a truth:

’Perhaps the reason he chose this path was never about his point-adding ability at all.’

"Because in my eyes, a person is the sum of all their actions, and the same goes for a Pet Beast."

Su Zhi looked into his opponent’s eyes.

"Modern society, through its established systems of discipline and inspection, has alienated Beast Tamers and Pet Beasts, turning them into standardized, uniform tools. But I believe a Beast Tamer’s job has always been the opposite—to let a single Pet Beast flourish in more than just one way."

Wei Yuanming stared into his eyes. "That’s a dangerously unorthodox path."

"No."

Su Zhi replied calmly, "Who’s to say it isn’t a return to the proper path?"

"But surely you understand that the path you’ve chosen is difficult for others to replicate. And it is precisely that ’discipline and inspection’ you mentioned that has given so many people a chance."

Wei Yuanming’s eyelids drooped slightly.

"My parents were both fishers. When I was very young, I went out to sea with them to fish. If things hadn’t changed, I would have likely spent the rest of my life doing the same... until one day, a medical examination revealed I had a Beast Taming Space.

"My parents were always very frugal. They wouldn’t buy me snacks, nor would they buy new clothes for themselves. Even the tarp on our boat was just patched up again and again. But when it came to this, they paid my tuition without a moment’s hesitation.

"I was stunned. I couldn’t understand what I had possibly done to make my parents sacrifice so much for me. I had never learned about Beast Taming and had no idea how to even begin...

"And what changed my destiny were the very textbooks that my classmates avoided like the plague.

"I gained knowledge from those books. I learned the various theories of Beast Taming and how to raise my own Pet Beasts...

"In a single year, I went from a complete novice who knew nothing about Beast Taming to a qualified Beast Tamer who’s learned enough to stand here and compete with you. And my parents finally no longer have to set foot on that leaky fishing boat."

Having said his piece, Wei Yuanming slowly raised his head.

"There are many people like me, aren’t there? We are all the lucky ones who have benefited from modern education. So why criticize it?"

Su Zhi replied without hesitation, "You’re right, it has changed many lives. Without widespread education, our civilization would be nowhere near as brilliant as it is today.

"We should be grateful for it, but we shouldn’t blindly worship it.

"Progress is the only eternal principle. Once anything becomes rigid, it betrays its original purpose. The Beast Taming Dao must not be allowed to stagnate, either; that would only be counterproductive.

"A Beast Tamer’s mission is to innovate, building upon the past to forge the future."

Wei Yuanming’s gaze flickered. "But what gives you the right to speak of a Beast Tamer’s mission? What is the basis for your confidence?"

’For a moment, it felt as if the one standing across from him, questioning him, was not the opponent for this match, but the entire world itself.’

’At almost the same instant, the image of a figure in a beige Beastmaster robe flashed through his mind, stained with blood amidst a collapsing cavern.’

This time, Su Zhi offered no verbal response. Instead, he activated his Divine Thought.