An individual with a job would not necessarily be financially stable.
The clinic's salary was only enough to maintain Ziyue's training expenses. It was difficult for Jiang He to buy other resources.
Since there was prize money in the Youth Tournament, Jiang He had to give it his all.
If he was extremely lucky, he could get into the top sixteen and earn an additional income.
After resting for a while, the Moonlight Elf and the Snow Wolf sparred a couple more times. The results were never fixed.
Once again, the progress bar for pleasure points reached a hundred percent. Jiang He did not hesitate and immediately claimed his rewards.
[ Turbulence Fragment *1 (2/4) ]
[ Shadow Claw Fragment *1 (4/4) -Can be synthesized) ]
[ Miniature moonlight energy pack (Could be used on Moonlight Elves) ]
"I've finally collected all the Shadow Claw Fragments."
Jiang He was surprised to obtain another Shadow Claw Fragment. He was really lucky.
After choosing to synthesize, the four Shadow Claw Fragments disappeared and turned into an accessible skill.
"Ziyue, close your eyes. I'm going to use magic."
Jiang He said seriously.
"Meow?"
Ziyue closed its eyes, waiting for the moonlight energy in its body to increase.
Shadow Claw was endowed on it.
"Meow!"
The Moonlight Elf widened its eyes. This time, the moonlight energy in its body did not increase. However, there was an inexplicable amount of knowledge in its mind.
It quickly digested the knowledge.
"Let's give it a try!"
"Meow!"
The moon pattern on the Moonlight Elf's forehead slightly lit up. Then, flashy dark purple shadow energy appeared on its claws.
It seemed like Ziyue was finally able to make use of shadow energy.
"Boom!"
After activating Shadow Claw, the Moonlight Cat slammed its claws onto the ground. The dark purple shadow energy instantly exploded, creating a cloud of dust.
"So powerful!"
It seemed to be faster and stronger than Wrong Light Claw!
To be fair, Wrong Light Claw's gimmick was distracting opponents, making it difficult for them to dodge.
Jiang He glanced at the book of contracts. The little fellow's interface had changed quite a bit.
[ Subdued beast ] : Moonlight Elf
[ Race ] : Cat Beast
[ Age ] : One year and four months old
[ Spirit affinity ] : 87
[ Spirit ] : Moonlight energy (706) - Shadow energy (36)
[ Physique ] : 212
[ Rank ] : Tier 7 servant
[ Evolution path ] : Moonlight Elf - Three-tailed Civet - Nine-tailed Cat Emperor
[ Moonlight Elf - ??? - Shadow Path ]
[ Skill ] : Moonblade (proficient), Moonlight (proficient), Moon Prayer (proficient), Shadow Claw (proficient), Wrong Light Claw (master), Godly Speed (proficient), Instant Flash (proficient)
"Shadow Claw is already considered proficient."
Jiang He was a little surprised. Learning skills through fragments was even faster than the Jade Gouyu!
Meanwhile, Ding Lei was in doubt again after witnessing Ziyue's new skill.
'What Jiang He has achieved… Was it all really through hard work?
'Learning a new skill at the drop of a hat?
'Has the Moonlight Elf been secretly practicing non-stop and is currently just showing off?'
He could not stop speculating.
'Wait! Isn't the Shadow Claw a shadow-type move? If I remember correctly, the Moonlight Elf should be a light-type, right?'
Ding Lei suddenly thought of something.
'Is this beastmaster not from the original world?'
At this moment, a skinny boy wearing a blue baseball cap walked over and asked, "Hello, I've noticed that your subdued beast is very strong. Can we spar?"
"No problem."
Jiang He wanted to test the Shadow Claw in actual combat, so he nodded in agreement without any hesitation.
"My name is Liu Fan. I'm from Haiping No.1 School. The Youth Tournament will be held soon, so I came here to scout for opponents. You guys are also from Haiping, right?"
Liu Fan asked with a smile.
There were only four high schools in Haiping City that catered to beastmasters. Haiping City High School and Haiping No.1 School were more well-known.
Both schools had won first and second places in the previous Youth Tournaments.
However, last year, none of the students from Haiping City High School made it into the top sixteen.
On the other hand, only one student made it into the top sixteen from Haiping No.1 School.
The two schools were basically inseparable.
"Yes, my name is Jiang He. This is Ding Lei."
Jiang He knew that Ding Lei was a little shy, so he helped him with his introduction.
"Let's go over there! I have already called for a referee."
Li Fan seemed to come from a rich family. He even requested full medical services!
"My subdued beast is a Hedgehog. It's currently a level 8 servant."
Hedgehogs were earth-type beasts. They had thick, hard, and long quills. Since they were similar to regular hedgehogs, they were named… Hedgehogs.
"Mine is a Moonlight Elf. Level 7 servant."
"Three, two, one, begin!"
As soon as the match started, the Hedgehog tapped into the energy in its body. It was about to release Poison Needles.
However, in a blink of an eye, the Moonlight Elf on the opposite side suddenly disappeared from sight.
After a month of gravity training, the Moonlight Elf's physique had improved a lot.
Now that it was no longer restrained by gravity, it could unleash its full speed!
Liu Fan had watched Jiang He and Ding Lei's battle earlier, but participating in the actual fight felt completely different!
This cat was ridiculously fast!
"Flying Sand!"
Nonetheless, Liu Fan had been a beastmaster for nearly two years. So, he was quite experienced.
The Hedgehog reacted immediately.
It waved its claws and fine sand flew up into the air. This was done to interfere with the Moonlight Elf's vision.
Ziyue was not too far away from the Hedgehog. It subconsciously closed its eyes and swung its claws!
The shadow energy it had gathered earlier was accidentally released.
A striking dark purple lightning flashed through the dusty air!
"Boom!"
The Hedgehog did not dodge.
If Ziyue's attack had connected, specifically to the Hedgehog's body, the former would be severely injured due to the sharp spikes.
In a way, close combat was the Hedgehog's specialty.
Fortunately, Shadow Claw missed and landed next to the Hedgehog.
The explosion sent the Hedgehog flying.
"Exploding Bullets and Flying Needles!"
Liu Fan hurriedly gave an order. If he did not counterattack now, he would lose his chance.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Strands of hardened quills shot out from the Hedgehog's body. The Moonlight Elf promptly retreated.
It was not safe to be close to the Hedgehog.
The spikes were rapidly approaching the Moonlight Elf.
However, the little fellow stayed calm. Its eyes were full of confidence.
'This is… Simple?'
The Moonlight Elf dodged all the spikes gracefully.
In fact, it looked like it was dancing.
Not a single spike managed to scratch it!
The barrage of Explosive Spikes only lasted for a very short time. In less than thirty seconds, all of the Hedgehog's "ammunition" had already been used up.
Its entire body was naked. For some reason, it looked rather pitiful.
Now was the chance for Ziyue to strike. It used Godly Speed and subsequently, another Shadow Claw. The attack landed next to the Hedgehog again but this time, it was on purpose. Again, the Hedgehog was sent flying.
"Stop. I admit defeat."
The match was already over.
"Meow."
The Moonlight Elf tilted its head.
'Huh? I've won already?'
The little fellow did not know its own strength.
After all, it had only ever sparred with the Snow Wolf.
This outcome took it by complete surprise.
The Hedgehog, which was only one level lower than the Snow Wolf, should be very difficult to deal with, right? Why did it go down so easily?
"Brother, if your Hedgehog keeps using Exploding Spikes... Will it go bald?"
Jiang He asked.
Even though it was a skill, the spikes were part of the Hedgehog's quills.
"It's fine. I'll use a special potion to grow them back. It only takes an hour for my Hedgehog to return to normal."
"Are you going to continue sparring?"
Jiang He pointed at the Snow Wolf.
"No."
Liu Fan shook his head. It was an overwhelming victory for the Moonlight Elf. If the little fellow was evenly matched with Snow Wolf, then his Hedgehog did not stand a chance.
Moreover, the Hedgehog had yet to recover its quills.
"Are all the seniors in your high school this strong?"
Liu Fan asked in a somewhat sentimental manner.
"Oh, we're sophomores. We just entered the tournament to gain some experience."
"You're sophomores?!"
Liu Fan suddenly felt he had no hope for this year's Youth Tournament.
It was the night of October third.
The street lights in the distance flickered, forming a charming night scene.
The Moonlight Elf was practicing Shadow Claw on the balcony.
As for Jiang He, he was swiping through his phone, looking for information about leveling up.
He wanted to know why his subdued beast was growing so rapidly.
A month ago, it was only a level five servant. Now, it was already level seven.
Jiang He still had an unused miniature energy pack.
'I should save it for the tournament.'
By that time, Ziyue may have reached level nine.
This situation really felt over the top.
The pleasure points system was essentially a cheat tool.
[ The first method is very simple. Just spend money. As long as you are willing to spend money, your subdued beast will definitely level quickly! ]
[ The second method is through battling. It works best for low-level beasts. ]
...
[ The fifth method depends on the subdued beasts. If it is mutated, it could suddenly gain a large amount of spiritual energy. ]
Upon seeing the fifth method, Jiang He's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Ziyue should be a mutated beast, right?"
He thought about the strange moon mark on the little fellow's forehead. It could absorb shadow energy.
If he wanted to be in the top sixteen of the tournament, Ziyue would have to fight with all its strength. There was no way to keep Shadow Claw a secret.
An idea suddenly popped up in Jiang He's head
"I'm going to invest everything into shadow energy. This should set the stage for shadow form."