Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 162 - 160: Learning the Theory of Foundation Establishment

The time after dinner was originally for military training. However, with Gu Ming’s intervention, the Black and White Long-Armed Ape was left waiting and waiting in the living room.

When the Black and White Long-Armed Ape could no longer sit still, it once again tried to nudge Gu Ming, urging him to stop.

But unexpectedly, Gu Ming just waved his hand in refusal and told it to go to the side.

At this point, the Black and White Long-Armed Ape was getting a little annoyed.

’We agreed to military training every day.’

’Why is the little master so stubborn?’

’This won’t do. I have to go find the big master and get him to talk some sense into him.’

It immediately returned to the bedroom to tattle on Gu Ming to Gu Daguo.

Soon, Mr. Gu came over from the room and asked Gu Ming, "What are you doing?"

How could Gu Ming admit that he and his Pet Beast were studying the Foundation Establishment Method?

After all, the paper he was reading didn’t contain the term "Foundation Establishment" at all.

So, Gu Ming could only fib, "We’re studying."

’Studying in the living room is too conspicuous, it even drew Dad over.’ Gu Ming now wanted to take Cyan Treasure back to his bedroom to study.

Mr. Gu reached out a hand to stop Gu Ming from leaving. "Let me see what you’re studying... Emotional Resonance Evolution?"

’This must be knowledge related to the next stage of Evolution,’ he thought.

He had heard of this kind of Evolution Method. It was quite high-end and difficult to learn, heavily reliant on luck. In their country, it was a very obscure and niche Evolution Method.

’Gu Ming studying this... isn’t that just messing around for nothing?’

However, the international competition was full of questions that went beyond the standard curriculum. Perhaps the examiners would slip in a difficult problem about Emotional Resonance Evolution. If Gu Ming didn’t know how to solve it, he wouldn’t be able to find the corresponding medicinal ingredients.

When Mr. Gu considered this, he felt it wasn’t right to forcibly interrupt his son’s studies.

But when all was said and done, the Gu Family’s military training absolutely could not stop.

Cyan Treasure was naturally weak. How could it manage without military training to improve its Physical Ability? The training from a Five-star Black and White Long-Armed Ape was considered a high-quality Cultivation Resource in many families.

He cleared his throat and said to Gu Ming, "Studying is fine, but you can’t fall behind on military training."

Gu Ming’s face showed hesitation, and Mr. Gu continued:

"How about this: have Cyan Treasure multitask. Let it study the paper while undergoing its military combat training. What do you think?"

Gu Ming’s eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "Is that even possible?"

Mr. Gu was also clearly aware that this method would be highly inefficient for learning.

But he still insisted:

"Most Pet Beasts’ ability to multitask is developed through training."

"Studying while doing military training is one way to practice it. Our family can’t afford a top-tier psychology teacher, but this kind of brute-force method isn’t bad."

Gu Ming wasn’t a stubborn mule; he agreed to Mr. Gu’s training plan.

And just like that, Cyan Treasure’s suffering began.

"Go, Cyan Treasure! Do your military training and practice multitasking at the same time!"

Cyan Treasure had already practiced multitasking while learning the Breathing Technique, so it had some foundation and didn’t overthink it.

However, the intensity of Mr. Gu’s hellish training regimen far exceeded any Cultivation it had done before. It endured immense physical strain while simultaneously looking at the paper on the phone.

For convenience, Gu Ming printed the paper into a booklet, letting Cyan Treasure turn the page each time it finished one.

This training went on for about ten minutes.

`Cyan Treasure’s Foundation Establishment Evolution Method Experience +1`

Gu Ming’s heart leaped with joy.

’It seems the system’s strict requirements aren’t *that* strict after all.’

"Let’s keep training like this from now on. We’ll try to finish learning this as soon as possible."

Hearing this, Cyan Treasure knew the hellish training would have to continue indefinitely.

Cyan Treasure could only pull a long face and carry on. After all, this was the path it had chosen, and it had to grit its teeth and persevere.

After a full night of Cultivation, Gu Ming glanced at the experience bar for the Foundation Establishment Method’s Cultivation:

`Foundation Establishment Evolution Method Theoretical Foundation Stage: 50/100`.

Clearly, it was still far from the Entry Level. This was just the prerequisite theoretical study phase.

For ordinary Skills and Cultivation Techniques, as soon as you started learning them, you would be at the Uninitiated state.

But now, Cyan Treasure hadn’t even reached the "Uninitiated" stage. Only after finishing this prerequisite theory would it reach "Uninitiated," which showed just how complex this method was.

「One day later.」

After being tormented by the hellish military training, a completely exhausted Cyan Treasure finally finished the last sentence, gaining a preliminary understanding of Emotional Resonance Evolution.

’This Evolution Method seems really hard to use.’

Emotional Resonance required a Pet Beast to have endless trust in its master, unearthing the power of that resonance to form an "energy of emotion."

This was a mysterious, profound energy—unseen and intangible. Only when this energy built up past a certain threshold could it trigger a physical Evolution.

To reach this step, the time required for Evolution was uncontrollable. The fast ones might take a few months; the slow ones could take years. No one could say for sure how long it would take.

With the pressure of the competition looming, Cyan Treasure couldn’t possibly choose this Technique.

Cyan Treasure shook its head at its master. It refused to learn the Emotional Resonance Method; the Technique took far too much time.

However, what Gu Ming saw was the Experience Points for the Foundation Establishment Evolution Method increasing and jumping to the next stage.

`Cyan Treasure’s Foundation Establishment Evolution Method Current Skill Level: Uninitiated`

`Skill Level needed for next stage: 1/2000`

’Two thousand Skill Level points... that seems manageable. It doesn’t look too difficult.’

Gu Ming had been studying alongside Cyan Treasure, also learning the Pet Beast’s Foundation Establishment Evolution Method.

He knew this method could only be used on a Pet Beast’s body structure and not on a human’s, but he could in turn use the knowledge to guide his Pet Beast’s understanding of Foundation Establishment.

"We’re not learning the Emotional Resonance Method. We’re learning Foundation Establishment."

After returning to his room, Gu Ming whispered this to Cyan Treasure.

Cyan Treasure was stunned for a moment. ’Founda-what? Foundation Establishment?’

Perhaps because Gu Ming had broached the subject, a section of indescribable evolutionary knowledge suddenly appeared in Cyan Treasure’s mind. It was like a sudden spark of inspiration that popped up while it was studying the Emotional Resonance Method.

It was like daydreaming while studying, all sorts of wild fantasies racing through its mind. It wasn’t professional knowledge at first, but after Gu Ming mentioned it, this spark of insight began to grow brighter and more abundant.

As for Gu Ming, after grasping the theoretical foundation, he fell into deep thought.

This Foundation Establishment Method, advertised by the system as being extremely dangerous, was actually only relatively so, he realized after mastering the basic theory.

As long as the entire process was planned out meticulously, the risks could be eliminated beforehand.

At this thought, Gu Ming became even more determined to use the Foundation Establishment Evolution Method.

Now, to discuss the three major stages of Foundation Establishment—Energy Storage, Molded Foundation, and Solid Foundation.

In the Energy Storage step, a Pet Beast needed to be in a specific environment, like an Array rich with Spiritual Qi or a Natural Spiritual Land, to absorb external Life Energy and store it in the Life Energy channels within its body.

This energy was not Spiritual Qi, nor was it the Mana converted from Spiritual Qi, but rather "Life Energy" in quotation marks.

The Foundation Establishment Method was about building a Great Dao Foundation to support the Pet Beast’s two Magic Power Inner Cores, allowing its Daoist Skills to operate with greater power and stability.

In short, for a Pet Beast that successfully completed Foundation Establishment, the power of its Daoist Skills would be amplified by 20-30%. A better Pet Beast could achieve an amplification of 50-60%.

After understanding this point, Gu Ming became even more certain that this was the Evolution Method his Pet Beast must master for its future.

The Mana Evolution Method from the earlier Zero-star Period was relatively gentle and didn’t have high requirements for aptitude.

The Foundation Establishment Method, however, introduced a Talent threshold. It required a Pet Beast to possess a powerful life source or the ability to generate Life Energy.

Without such an ability, it would be absolutely necessary to have the assistance of a natural environment brimming with life to absorb it from the outside world.

Coincidentally, Cyan Treasure had a Light Grass Spiritual Root and could use the Earth Shifting Technique to move "soil," allowing it to plant itself in that soil and generate Life Energy.

With this method, even if Cyan Treasure couldn’t find a place rich in Life Energy, it could generate its own and slowly work on its Foundation Establishment.