Although there were no classes today due to the weekend, I still could go to the school at noon to treat my Beast Taming pet to a free lunch.
The school cafeteria didn't close on weekends, and all students on campus could bring their Beast Taming pets every day for a free lunch.
Taotie had reached a body length of 52.8 centimeters, 5.6 centimeters longer than yesterday's 47.2 centimeters; after taking the potion, its growth rate was now equivalent to two days' growth in just one day.
It was now a standard half-meter category competitor, with a brain almost ten centimeters long. When it opened its mouth, the dense rows of small white teeth were quite lethal, and the ones near the back could easily bite through a chopstick.
But with this size there were also problems: compared to a few days ago, it was quite difficult to think about putting Taotie into a pocket to carry around.
It also had short legs that made it slow to walk, so leading it to school wasn't feasible. I had no choice but to carry it back and forth to school every day.
It was still manageable now, but in a few months, Chen Xing might not be able to carry it anymore; however, she could ride the crocodile to school.
"Hey, your crocodile seems to be growing pretty fast," Zou Minghan said, holding his crocodile. He was surprised to find that the crocodile in Chen Xing's arms seemed to be a whole size larger than his own.
It seemed just recently that his desk mate's Beast Taming pet was about the same size as his own.
But without paying attention for a few days, he suddenly noticed it had grown an entire size larger than his own Beast Taming pet.
Everyone's Beast Taming pets were of the same species, which was easy to tell at a glance.
"Have you secretly been supplementing it too?" Zou Minghan was somewhat shocked. He had thought that everyone was in the same boat, but it turned out Chen Xing had been secretly giving it extra nourishment.
"Kids need to eat more when they're growing," Chen Xing admitted without denial.
Wang Qiming, who was nearby, heard Zou Minghan's remarks and leaned over to take a look, letting out a silent sigh of relief after confirming that it was smaller than his own Beast Taming pet, then promptly laughed heartily, "Not bad, your Beast Taming pet looks very spirited."
A student who had a good information network and liked to play with classmates from other classes spoke up. "I heard that someone in Class 2 already has a Beast Taming pet at Energy Level 5 starting to practice Skills."
Wang Qiming was obviously just hearing the news and looked shocked. His family had spent nearly a hundred thousand on their Beast Taming pet this month, and it was only at Energy Level 4; there were actually people who had reached Level 5? What level of spending was that?
And if they could spend that much, why not go to a private high school instead of coming to a public high school and raising a free Beast Taming pet supplied by the country?
Although the Species gifted by the country also had decent innate talent—the Salty Bay Crocodile, for instance, could grow to Energy Level 38 when mature—but there were better choices.
However, Wang Qiming quickly adjusted his mindset. It wasn't his business that other people were wealthy, and envy wouldn't do him any good.
Although he couldn't compare with that freak, when compared with the vast majority of classmates, his Beast Taming pet was already far ahead.
"My Beast Taming pet should reach Energy Level 5 in a few days, and then I'll see if it can awaken a decent Awakening Skill. If it awakens a good Skill, I could save a lot of money, but if the Skill is too poor, I'll have to figure out a way to wash the Skill and re-imprint a new one," Wang Qiming sighed.
Envy filled Gao Jianqiang's eyes, "I've heard that Skills can be quite expensive."
Deng Hongtao added from the side, "Not all of them are expensive. There are also cheap Skills, but the cheap ones tend to be average."
After Taotie ate its lunch, Chen Xing took it for a visit to the school's Energy Level test room, where the results showed a 2.5 Energy Level. The school's test room could only detect up to one decimal point; it was said that some professional institutions could even detect up to two or three decimal points after the Energy Level.
Chen Xing took Chi Yu to the park for Skill practice, under his sister's supervision, upon returning home.
The deserted park was scarcely populated, perhaps because it was known people would often come here for Skill practice. Signs didn't help, so they simply left a bare area behind, near the lake, where wild flowers and grasses grew freely.
Chen Lingya said, "Just have it release the Frost Spike. It's a Skill I also plan for it to practice more lately to increase its Proficiency Level."
Chen Xing immediately commanded Chi Yu, "Chi Yu, release Frost Spike toward the open space in front of you."
Chi Yu glanced at its master and, after seeing Chen Lingya nod, released the Skill toward the open space ahead.
In less than half a second, a bunch of icy blue mist quickly condensed in the air in front of Chi Yu, taking shape.
An almost one-meter-long spear, resembling an ice crystal spear, floated in mid-air, its tip aimed forward. Under the sunlight, the Frost Spike glittered.
After a brief pause, as if propelled by an invisible hand, the Frost Spike flew forward with great speed.
Thud!
It buried a third of itself into the ground and then immediately exploded, sending tiny ice shards scattering in all directions.
Palm-sized ice shards littered the five-meter radius around the impact zone.
This Skill inflicted two stages of damage: the first when it impaled, and the second upon explosion with a small area of dispersal.
This is still just a Primary Skill that has only reached Proficiency Level "Mastery"; one can only imagine how powerful the other Skills are.
Chen Lingya explained from the side, "Actually, Chi Yu isn't very good at casting spells. It's not the kind of Beast Taming creature that specializes in spellcasting. The same Skill would cause greater damage if cast by a spellcasting Beast Taming creature."
Since his younger brother wanted to practice, no matter what the motive was, but since it was practice, he had to learn something; otherwise, it would just be a waste of time.
Chen Lingya then said to Chi Yu, "The speed at which you release your Skills is still a bit slow. It looks like you've been slacking off recently. When you get back, practice the energy loop structure for an extra hour and strive to increase the speed of Skill condensation to within 0.3 seconds."
"Ao." As soon as Chi Yu heard this, its expression fell, looking as pitiful as a giant cat.
Chen Lingya completely ignored Chi Yu's attempt at looking pathetic and said without sympathy, "Hmph, acting cute won't work."
The Taotie standing by the side watched with great interest, especially when Chi Yu released its Skill, which seemed to stir the warlike blood in its veins. Its eyes even brightened a bit, and it was eager to try as well.
The Taotie's cries of "Auo Auo Auo" were non-stop, as if it were saying, coach, I want to learn this too.
Chen Xing seemed to feel the enthusiasm of the Taotie as well, and he squatted down to comfort it, "No need to be anxious, we'll learn it later too; how about we study for an extra two hours every day, given how eager you are to learn?"
The Taotie didn't understand the implications behind this, but it nodded excitedly.
Chi Yu looked at the naïve little Taotie with pity. This poor child didn't yet know what that represented.
After half an hour of training, the energy inside Chi Yu had almost been depleted, and only then did the training stop.
While training Chi Yu, Chen Lingya also continuously corrected Chen Xing's training techniques on the side.
"Training a Beast Tamer isn't simply about making it use Skills. Although this also improves Proficiency Level, that method is too clumsy and inefficient."
"You need to observe what is still lacking when it releases Skills. For example, the release speed is too slow, or the accuracy is too low; these issues need targeted remediation."
"Training a Beast Tamer to release Skills is also training for yourself. You need to know the upper limit of the energy inside your Beast Tamer, how many times it can release Skills, and you should be crystal clear about every Skill's release speed, damage radius, skill characteristics, and power."
"In battle, due to environmental factors, its judgment of the situation definitely won't be as careful as an observer from outside. At that time, you are its second brain, and it is an extension of your body."
"You're a person; in battle, you must employ human intelligence, craftiness, treachery, and stratagems to their utmost. If it's a battle, you must spare no effort and aim for nothing but victory."
In fact, much of what his sister was saying was also found in books, but knowledge from books always feels superficial.
Many things must be personally experienced before one can have a deeper understanding.
Today, Chen Xing thoroughly indulged in commanding Beast Tamers, but the Taotie was still too small, had not yet awakened its Skills, and was small in size; it was only slightly bigger than a grilled fish on a platter.
It could bully the plants in the park, but at the current stage, it had less fighting power than even his own fist.
However, this was also a necessary experience. Basically, this is how most novice Beast Tamers started, including Chi Yu, which once was a milky little cat with its eyes not even open. In just two years, it had grown into a big cat capable of fitting its own head in its mouth.
Having obtained the six Skill Point Fragments from Chi Yu and Taotie today, the number of Skill Point Fragments had reached 21.
On the way home, Chen Xing silently activated them.
The professional skill tree diagram lit up instantly; the grey skill icon representing the "Primary Carnivorous Pet Meal Preparation" shone brightly!
[Primary Carnivorous Pet Meal Preparation] You have learned to make scientifically nutritious pet meals which can help your pets grow quickly and healthily. (Activated)
At the same moment, some knowledge about pet meal preparation popped into his head.
Pausing in his steps, Chen Xing carefully discerned and confirmed that it really was just the process of making ordinary pet meals, without any magic spells, nor adding fancy technology or harsh tasks. The raw materials were simple too, no need for expensive Beast Tamer meat, ordinary beast meat would do. Just needed to add some carrots, broccoli, seaweed… at least it sounded quite scientific, the only requirement being that he had to complete all steps personally, not delegating to anyone else.
"Sis, I'm going to the supermarket to buy some stuff."
"What are you buying?"
"Taotie's appetite has been bigger lately, I'm going to add a little something to its meals."
"Don't just feed it anything on your own; more isn't necessarily better, there's skill in this," Chen Lingya warned.
"Why are you more bothersome than mom, are you hitting menopause early?"
There's no girl who can take the words "menopause" kindly, "Chi Yu, bite him!"