“Do you really think that giving it a safe place to stay and occasionally letting it out to stretch its legs counts as some tremendous favor?”
Chen Guan didn’t nod, but his silence said everything.
“Wrong.”
White Tiger wagged one finger in front of Chen Guan’s face, his tone firm.
“Completely wrong.”
“For summoned beasts—especially ones with high intelligence and tremendous growth potential—material comfort is only the bare minimum.”
“What they need even more is an emotional connection, a meeting of minds, and the sense that they’re valued as partners!”
White Tiger spoke with such passion that spittle flew everywhere.
“You treat it like an item you can take out and put away whenever you want. Naturally, all it gives you in return is the mechanical obedience of an item.”
Chen Guan silently took another half step back. He was about to speak, but White Tiger’s next words cut him off.
“And don’t talk to me about teamwork. The little bit of rapport between you and it is, at best, a master’s familiarity with using a tool. Compared to a true bond, it doesn’t even qualify as the tip of the iceberg!”
At this point, White Tiger suddenly adopted a deeply pained expression and reached out to pat Baobao on the head.
Baobao was having the time of its life. The moment a stranger touched it, a wary growl rumbled in its throat, and its slit pupils filled with suspicion.
If its master hadn’t been standing right there, it would have bared its teeth and hissed.
“You see?”
White Tiger’s hand froze in midair as he turned to Chen Guan. The look in his eyes was that of someone gazing at an irresponsible parent.
“It shows extreme hostility toward creatures other than you. What does that tell us? It tells us its social circle is far too narrow and that it lacks a sense of security!”
The corner of Chen Guan’s eye twitched.
A cheetah needed a social circle?
If he remembered correctly, Baobao had originally joined them as a guide, only to lead all the other demonic beasts into a trap. Did a cheetah like this really need a social life?
“This is a classic case of misguided pet-rearing philosophy.”
White Tiger withdrew his hand, crossed his arms, and fully shifted into lecture mode.
“Let me ask you this. When it helped you put away that enormous coffin, did you even tell it, ‘Good job’?”
Chen Guan honestly thought back.
Apparently… he hadn’t. At the time, all his attention had been on Baobao’s new skill.
The only person he had thanked was Old Ba.
“See? I knew it.”
White Tiger wore an expression of absolute vindication.
“You have to praise it and encourage it. You have to let it know that what it did was meaningful and that it has your approval.”
“A sense of spiritual fulfillment is one of the core forces driving their evolution and growth. In fact, it may even be more important than all those demonic beast cores you feed it.”
Listening to this theory, Chen Guan couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. In truth, he hadn’t even fed Baobao any decent demonic beast cores. Most of what he gave it was low-grade bulk stock.
After all, high-grade cores weren’t cabbages growing in a field. Finding even a few was difficult.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Have you come around?”
When Chen Guan failed to respond for a while, White Tiger came over and patted him on the shoulder.
“Come on, don’t just stand there. I’ll give you a practical demonstration.”
“Lesson One: Relaxation and interaction after battle.”
He pointed at Baobao, which was still digging through the snow.
“Go play with it.”
Chen Guan’s expression froze.
“Play?”
“Yes, play.”
White Tiger nodded as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Throw snowballs. Or run and let it chase you. You could even roll around on the ground together.”
“Let it release the tension from earlier, and let the relationship between the two of you grow from a simple hierarchy into something more intimate.”
Chen Guan looked at White Tiger’s face, which clearly said, You’re not leaving until you play, then glanced at the perfectly happy cheetah on the ground.
In the end, he took a difficult first step.
He bent down and packed a snowball.
Baobao seemed to sense what its master intended. It stopped digging, tilted its head, and watched him, its tail swishing rhythmically behind it.
Chen Guan casually tossed the snowball to the side.
The snowball traced a limp arc through the air and landed in the snow with a soft puff, sending up a tiny cloud of powder.
Then nothing happened.
Baobao only glanced at where the snowball had landed before turning back to Chen Guan. Its clear eyes were filled with confusion.
Master, you’re acting out of character.
The scene grew awkward.
“Pfft.”
White Tiger couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Chen Guan, that was way too half-hearted.”
“You threw it so close. There wasn’t even any challenge. Of course it wasn’t interested.”
He stepped forward, quickly packed a solid snowball, and whipped his arm forward.
“Watch closely. This is how you do it!”
Whoosh!
The snowball shot through the air with a sharp crack, flying more than a hundred meters before smashing into a protruding rock and exploding on impact.
Baobao’s ears twitched. Its body instantly transformed into a streak of purple lightning and blasted away. In the blink of an eye, it appeared beside the rock a hundred meters away.
It lowered its head and sniffed the fragments of snow, then looked up at White Tiger. A satisfied purr rumbled in its throat.
“See that? You have to awaken its hunting instincts.”
White Tiger smugly raised his chin.
“You need to make it feel like a game, not like you’ve suddenly lost your mind.”
Watching this unfold, Chen Guan experienced a complicated mix of emotions. He felt that his position as Baobao’s master was coming under serious threat.
My cheetah is being stolen from me!
“Again.”
White Tiger urged him on. “Put some of the strength you use to throw your scythe into it.”
Chen Guan pursed his lips, packed another snowball, and hurled it with all his strength.
The snowball shot into the distance like a white cannonball, howling through the air.
Baobao’s eyes lit up instantly. It let out an excited growl, its muscles tensing as it gave chase, sprinting wildly through the snow and sending a trail of powder flying behind it.
Watching Baobao frolic in the distance, Chen Guan’s mood inexplicably relaxed a little.
“How does it feel?”
White Tiger’s voice came from beside him.
Chen Guan replied succinctly, “Not bad.”
“That’s more like it.”
White Tiger nodded in satisfaction.
“But that was only the first step. Now for Lesson Two.”
“One word: walk.”
“Like this. Let it explore freely up ahead while you follow behind. Give it enough space, while also letting it know you’re always there.”
As he spoke, White Tiger took the lead and headed toward the outskirts of the valley.
“This builds the most basic sense of trust and security. Later, if you run into danger in battle, it won’t hesitate to stand in front of you. In its heart, you’re family—someone it needs to protect, too.”
Chen Guan silently followed, watching the purple figure ahead leap through the snow one moment and roll around in it the next.
Family?
The word felt distant to him—strange, even.
All he knew was that seeing Baobao so happy felt… pretty good, actually.
White Tiger, who had been walking through the snow ahead of him, finally stopped his endless lecturing. He raised a hand and gestured for Chen Guan to step back.
“Stand farther away. Today, I’m going to open your eyes and give you a lesson in advanced practical combat.”
Chen Guan did as instructed and moved back half a step. White Tiger then clapped his hands together, and the air around him was forced outward by his powerful spiritual energy, forming wave after visible wave.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
