Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 44 - 43: The Flash of Lightning in the Ink Wash World

Chapter 44: Chapter 43: The Flash of Lightning in the Ink Wash World

Hm?

’Five tails?’

’Wait, it has a rare additional attribute.’

’Endurance must mean training endurance, right?’

Gu Ming glanced at the medicinal soup. Its color hadn’t changed, and it still smelled the same.

’Maybe I should put the lid on to cover it.’

He reached out and put the lid on the pot, signaling for Teacher Zhang to wait a moment as the man shot him a strange look.

He turned to look at the departing Fire Fox. It really only had three tails, not five.

That meant that thirty-two years from now, the three-tailed Fire Fox would evolve to have five tails.

’What Star Level is that? Five-star Level?’

"Teacher Zhang, do you know what breed that is?" Gu Ming asked.

"A Glazed Fire Fox. I saw an Ancient Seal on its forehead, so it must have undergone atavistic evolution. It can control the ancient Glazed Fire, which has special effects when refining medicines. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"But it’s only at the Three-star Level, so it probably can’t use its Talent Ability to the fullest yet. Once it reaches the Four-star Level, there’s a chance it can refine medicinal soups or Elixirs with special effects."

"Elixirs?"

"That’s right. It’s actually a Pill Pet. Refining medicinal soups is just a basic skill for it; Alchemy is its true calling. But that’s too mentally taxing. I couldn’t possibly trouble it to perform Alchemy."

Teacher Zhang shook his head and told Gu Ming a few things about the Glazed Fire Fox’s traits, both current and post-Evolution.

When the topic turned to the Five-star Level, he shook his head. He didn’t know how a Glazed Fire Fox would perform at that level; it was knowledge beyond his current reach.

He hadn’t read every piece of information about Pet Beasts on the national research database, either.

Besides, some core Evolution knowledge was kept secret by Beastmasters, passed down as family heirlooms, and never uploaded to the public database.

Hearing this, Gu Ming was now completely certain that Manager Ruan would advance to Five-star in the future.

’Considering Manager Ruan’s urgent need for a Cultivation Technique to reach Four-star, perhaps I can start with this fox.’

’I’ll have to find a chance to learn what Cultivation Technique it uses in the future.’

Manager Ruan had no Cultivation Technique to practice and was stuck at the Three-star Level because her Pet Beast was dead-ended by its path of atavistic evolution.

Although atavistic evolution could awaken the power of a Pet Beast’s ancestral bloodline, there was a reason that bloodline hadn’t been passed down through the generations.

On one hand, there were environmental factors that led to its extinction. On the other, the Cultivation Technique the Pet Beast practiced had innate flaws, only allowing Cultivation up to a certain Realm, with no High-star Level techniques available.

This essentially forced the Pet Beast down a known dead end, unless the Beastmaster possessed immense creativity, like Zhang Yunpeng, who created his own Snake Pet Breathing Technique and blazed a new trail no Pet Beast had ever walked.

’The future Glazed Fire Fox was able to evolve five tails, so it must have found a Cultivation Technique. I wonder if it took a known path or a new one.’

"All this chatting, I almost forgot to have Cyan Treasure take its medicinal bath. Cyan Treasure, don’t just stand there, hurry up and get in!" Teacher Zhang remembered their purpose and casually lifted the pot lid.

In an instant, a rich medicinal aroma rushed into their nostrils. As they breathed it in, they both felt their pores open and the qi and blood in their bodies begin to churn.

Cyan Treasure’s tail wagged frantically. Its forked tongue was already flicking at the edge of the pot, taking two quick sips.

Its eyes instantly bulged wide, and it impatiently dove into the pot of medicinal soup to soak.

The moment Cyan Treasure submerged itself in the medicinal soup, the entire surface of the blood-red liquid suddenly roiled, turning a brilliant cyan-gold.

Streams of Spiritual Qi, shaped like swimming dragons, spontaneously burrowed into the gaps between its scales.

Its young serpentine body twisted in the soup, creating layers of afterimages. The light of its Grass Attribute flowed over its skin, and faintly, the roar of a Flood Dragon could be heard.

The Cyan Snake’s expression changed drastically. It cried out silently in pain, feeling as if its muscles were being torn apart, stuffed with far more energy than it could handle.

"This..."

Teacher Zhang stared, stunned. ’What’s going on? This medicinal soup seems unexpectedly potent.’

However, the spectacle before them lasted only a second before vanishing.

[Your Time Dragon constitution is too aged. You have absorbed the maximum amount of Medicinal Power and can absorb no more.]

[Estimated medicinal properties remaining in this pot: 90%!]

Gu Ming snapped back to reality and quickly checked on Cyan Treasure through their Pet Beast Contract. He found that the snake was fine; its earlier cry was simply because it was a Snake Pet, while the medicinal soup had been prepared for a "Grass and Wood Flood Dragon."

The effects of the medicinal soup were naturally different for different species.

The soup was perfectly suited for a Grass and Wood Flood Dragon nearing the end of its life, capable of increasing its training endurance. For the Little Cyan Snake, however, it was far too potent, and it couldn’t absorb everything.

"Did I just mishear things? I thought I heard the roar of a Flood Dragon," he murmured.

"You must have misheard, sir. I only heard Cyan Treasure’s painful cries," Gu Ming said, shaking his head in denial.

"Mm, well, this soup was refined by a Cultivation Element Pill Pet, after all. The medicinal effects are a bit potent."

After a short wait, Cyan Treasure was able to get back on the ground and continue its training.

The medicinal soup’s effects were excellent. Teacher Zhang chalked it up to Cyan Treasure’s youth and quick recovery, and immediately began teaching the Z-shaped Shaking Body Technique.

"For a Poison Attack build, speed is everything. If you aren’t fast enough, you won’t be able to bite the enemy, and you won’t be able to dodge their attacks.

"Cyan Treasure’s body isn’t tough, so it can’t develop a Vajra Body. That’s why the Z-shaped Shaking Body Technique is perfect for it. It relies on core Power from the waist and abdomen to constantly change direction while moving."

Then, Teacher Zhang bent down. His palm moved like a nimble carving knife, quickly sketching a winding, twisting track in the fine sand.

The lines of the track seemed to hold a mysterious rhythm, every bend hiding some profound secret.

"Cyan Treasure, run along this path in the sand. Remember, don’t touch the sides," said Teacher Zhang.

Cyan Treasure nodded. ’This looks simple enough, right?’

It wasn’t.

Standing behind them, the taller Gu Ming looked down at the entire track laid out in the sand. It twisted and turned, forming a symbol imbued with Dao Charm.

"Is this an Array Rune? Or something else?" Gu Ming asked quietly.

"It’s one of the Little Maze Array Talismans. Running the course inside it will make Cyan Treasure feel like it’s running endlessly, which is perfect for training," Teacher Zhang whispered back, making sure Cyan Treasure couldn’t hear.

Unaware of the maze it was about to face, Cyan Treasure plunged in and began to sprint.

One lap, two laps, three laps.

Lap after lap, Cyan Treasure felt as if the path ahead was endless.

Its master and Teacher Zhang always seemed to be standing just ahead, waiting for it, their figures still and seemingly unreachable.

It felt trapped in an endless loop, constantly turning but never reaching the finish line.

’Is there even an end to this?’

Meanwhile, Teacher Zhang had passed on the training insights to Gu Ming, all the while marveling at Cyan Treasure’s stamina. It still had the energy to keep running.

Gu Ming then secretly transmitted the insights into Cyan Treasure’s mind through their Pet Beast Contract.

"As you run, feel the rhythm of your body’s movements. Feel the Mist Trail Dao Charm of this path."

Cyan Treasure didn’t understand, so it just kept running mindlessly.

It ran until it was completely exhausted, much to Teacher Zhang’s amazement. Only then did Gu Ming walk over and lift it out.

Suspended in the air, Cyan Treasure looked down at the track below and finally realized that the "endless" route was actually a series of symbols imbued with Dao Charm.

’Mist Trail Dao Charm. No wonder Master told me to try and feel that stuff.’

"This is a Visualization Image. Watch carefully..."

Teacher Zhang took out the Visualization Image. The previous training had all been a warm-up, intended to give Cyan Treasure a vague sense of the Z-shaped Shaking Body Technique and make it easier to learn from the image.

The Visualization Image was done in an ink-wash style, but it radiated a majestic and mysterious aura.

Ink-dark clouds, like a surging tide, pressed heavily upon the horizon, seeming to threaten the Devouring of all creation.

Below a city wall, signal fires raged. Roaring flames shot into the sky, filling the entire scene with a sense of imminent crisis.

Thousands of archers, their postures as straight as pines, drew their powerful bows taut like full moons. A deluge of sharp arrows poured down like a torrential rainstorm, carrying world-shattering momentum.

And amidst this rain of arrows, a streak of lightning flashed through the ink-wash landscape.

It was a golden flash, a stark contrast to the ink-wash style. The moment it appeared, it captured the attention of every person and beast watching.

Its form was agile, like a living bolt of lightning, weaving through the endless rain of arrows.

The path it traced was a sharp, twisting Z. Every turn was executed to perfection, sublimely avoiding the impact point of every single arrow.

Like a visitor in an unguarded land, the long snake passed through the dense arrow-fall and charged straight into the enemy ranks, fighting its way in and out with impunity.

Wherever it went, the enemy forces scattered in defeat, displaying the absolute bearing of a king.

This scene depicted the heroic deed of the founding ancestor who first awakened the Z-shaped Shaking Body Technique. It had been recorded and passed down through the ages as this very Visualization Image.

After watching, Cyan Treasure couldn’t get the image out of its mind. That streak of golden lightning carving a Z-shaped path through the ink-wash world with unstoppable momentum left it in awe. ’So, snakes can move like that!’

When it looked back at the track in the sand, feeling that Mist Trail-like Dao Charm and seeing the individual grains of sand sparkling with light, it had a realization. ’Aren’t these grains of sand the "enemy army" surrounding me?’