Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 163 - 161: Skipping Class for Research

Late at night, Gu Ming had Cyan Treasure attempt Foundation Establishment.

Cyan Treasure had already cultivated Life Energy, but it didn’t know if this energy could be used for Foundation Establishment.

And for that reason, Cyan Treasure could attempt the second step of Foundation Establishment: Molding the Foundation.

Once a Pet Beast stored a certain amount of energy in its body, it could guide its Life Energy to flow along specific pathways, molding a solid foundation of Life Energy.

The problem was, the basic knowledge they had didn’t include any specific pathways.

Even the information from the future didn’t contain a Foundation Establishment Method for a Little Cyan Snake. This meant Cyan Treasure had to figure out the pathway on its own.

Cyan Treasure guided its Life Energy to circle around the center of its Dantian, forming a ring.

This technique was based on Old Deng’s Health Array Pattern. Having drawn it so many times, it could form the circle with ease.

It positioned its Magic Power Inner Core directly above the ring and continued to draw, attempting to replicate the Old Deng’s Health Array.

It didn’t know if an Array could serve as a foundation, but it was certain that Arrays contained principles of the Great Dao, making it worth a try.

A moment later, the effects were immediate.

Cyan Treasure’s Magic Power Inner Core immediately felt a faint pull forming in the very center of the ring, tugging it slightly downward.

Cyan Treasure relayed this sensation to Gu Ming, who acknowledged it and told the snake to add a few more circles to perfect the Array.

By continuing to guide the energy, Cyan Treasure managed to draw only a quarter of the Array before all the Life Energy it had previously cultivated was depleted.

Keep in mind, that was the same Life Energy used for its Laser Skill, which could only be used once per battle. Foundation Establishment required far more—nearly four times the amount.

After a few seconds, the rings of Life Energy it had drawn began to slowly dissipate, failing to solidify into a Great Dao Foundation.

’Could it be that the Life Energy produced by the Spiritual Root isn’t suitable for Foundation Establishment?’

Gu Ming fell into deep thought. He didn’t know how to find the right kind of Life Energy for Cyan Treasure’s Foundation Establishment.

From what he knew, Foundation Establishment was a task that required patience and steady effort. As long as the Life Energy could be solidified, you could build a little bit each day, slowly constructing a complete foundation.

But this attempt had failed. Cyan Treasure would have to find another pathway.

Just then, Gu Ming thought of Ma Tianba.

Ma Tianba had mastered the use of Life Energy.

Moreover, it possessed Healing Skills and Holy Light Skills, and had a profound understanding of life itself.

’I should seek its guidance.’

’But I still have school,’ Gu Ming thought as he looked over his schedule for the next few days. He saw that most of his upcoming classes were combat training.

There were only three theory courses related to nurturing Pet Beasts.

He definitely had to attend the nurturing classes, but skipping three of the other lessons wouldn’t be a big deal.

As for the combat classes, they weren’t strictly mandatory.

After all, he could train with his family’s Black and White Long-Armed Ape. The school had already taught most of the cultivation techniques anyway, and the remaining lessons were basically just practical combat training.

Gu Ming checked the progress bar for Foundation Establishment. Cyan Treasure’s Foundation Establishment Experience had just increased by ten points, but it was still a long way from the two thousand total points needed.

He sent a message to Teacher Zhang, asking to change his schedule for the next few days.

「On the other end.」

Teacher Zhang was still awake. After receiving Gu Ming’s message, he replied:

"You want to take three days off in a row?"

If he did that, the weekend would follow right after, meaning he’d miss the entire week of school.

"There’s something I need to ask Ma Tianba."

Teacher Zhang hesitated for a moment, then called Gu Ming to discuss it in detail.

A little later, the teacher called Gu Ming’s grandparents and convinced them to take him back to his hometown for special training.

His grandparents were only free on weekends. While they had some downtime on weekdays, they still had to go to work during the day.

Because of this, their only option was to drive Gu Ming to his hometown in the middle of the night and then rush back to the city before morning to get to their jobs.

On the way to his hometown, his grandparents didn’t ask many questions. They just told him to train hard and not to disappoint his family’s expectations.

Since his grandparents were combat-oriented Beastmasters, their Black and White Long-Armed Ape couldn’t be left unattended at the old home. They had to entrust its training to Ma Tianba.

After arriving at his hometown late that night, Gu Ming’s grandfather took him directly to Ma Tianba without asking many questions.

...

Ma Tianba was not resting. At its Realm, it no longer needed to sleep; it could remain in a state of Cultivation at nearly all times.

It wasn’t annoyed by Gu Ming’s sudden arrival.

After all, it had previously sensed that the Power of Time emanating from Cyan Treasure was very beneficial to it. Thus, it was quite happy to have Gu Ming and Cyan Treasure come to cultivate.

While continuing its own Cultivation, it listened to Gu Ming explain his problem: how to stabilize Life Energy within the Dantian and form it into a specific shape.

"A shape?"

Gu Ming described what had just happened during Cyan Treasure’s Cultivation, explaining the concept of Foundation Establishment to Ma Tianba.

Ma Tianba didn’t answer right away. Instead, it furrowed its brow, pondering the procedure Gu Ming had described.

’This doesn’t sound like any kind of Mana Cultivation Technique.’

Gu Ming hadn’t mentioned Evolution, only asking how to stabilize Life Energy. Ma Tianba paced back and forth. It had certainly never tried to make Life Energy draw circles inside a Dantian.

’Cyan Treasure failed because it didn’t have enough Life Energy.’

"Alright, try it again in front of me. I’ll infuse you with my Life Energy," Ma Tianba offered.

As it spoke, a dense ray of Holy Light, brimming with Life Energy, poured into Cyan Treasure’s body.

Cyan Treasure felt reborn. Its Dantian was flooded with Life Energy, but it wasn’t energy it had cultivated itself—it was from Ma Tianba.

As a result, Cyan Treasure’s control over the energy was incredibly slow. Only when Gu Ming reminded it to use the Earth Shifting Technique did it snap out of its daze and switch methods.

Before long, clumps of Life Energy were moved into place, forming the complete Old Deng’s Health Array Pattern within its Dantian.

The moment the Array Pattern took perfect shape, Cyan Treasure felt a smooth, comfortable, and nourishing Dao Charm form within its Dantian Realm.

These were the principles of the Great Dao inherent in the Array. They clung to the Life Energy, shimmering brightly and causing a burning sensation in Cyan Treasure’s belly.

Immediately, a ball of Holy Light erupted from Cyan Treasure’s Dantian, pulling its Magic Power Inner Core down toward the Array’s center. A moment later, a membrane of light formed, enveloping the surface of the Magic Power Inner Core.

After a few seconds, Cyan Treasure watched as the Array constructed from Life Energy rapidly dissipated, failing to stabilize.

"That created a Skill, but its effect is unknown," Ma Tianba said from the side. "Try using your Magic Power Inner Core to attack."

It had observed the entire process with its Divine Sense and found it quite novel, though it hadn’t considered it in terms of Evolution.

Cyan Treasure tried to draw out a bit of Mana. The profound, searing sensation immediately vanished. It launched an ordinary Headbutt Skill, but there was nothing special about it.

"The duration is too short to see any effect." Ma Tianba shook its head. ’Rather than having Cyan Treasure try, I should just try it myself,’ it thought.

However, the Array Pattern wasn’t something one could learn with just a glance or two.

Arrays drew upon the very fabric of creation and contained the principles of the Great Dao. It required profound study to burn the Array Pattern into one’s memory.

Ma Tianba tried several more times, but each attempt ended in failure. It was incredibly reluctant to give up. It could sense that the Array Pattern built from Life Energy possessed a mysterious Power. Even a being like itself had never seen this form of energy, and the sight made it itch with curiosity to discover its true purpose.

Meanwhile, Gu Ming had come to a conclusion. ’Either the Array isn’t suitable for Foundation Establishment, or Cyan Treasure just isn’t strong enough. It looks like we’ll have to find a different cultivation pathway for it.’