Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

The Earth Escape Technique is different from a conventional perspective. It is a Body Technique where the caster escapes into the earth to move quickly. It shares its origins with transformation-type Skills, and its core Daoist Skill Principle is transformation.

However, this transformation doesn’t involve making the body gigantic or demonic. Instead, it turns the body into earth—part energy, part physical substance.

To achieve this, one must consume a massive amount of Mana to permeate the muscles, blood, and bones, softening the body into mud before escaping into the earth.

Logically, this isn’t a Body Technique that a Grass Element Pet Beast should be able to practice.

However, Cyan Treasure possessed incredible Talent and an excellent foundation. Furthermore, Gu Ming’s ability to innovate Cultivation Techniques was far beyond ordinary, so it wasn’t entirely impossible.

"Your Life Energy is very similar to the energy used for the Earth Escape Technique. Since you can even practice the Earth Shifting Technique, it might be possible for you to master the Earth Escape Technique using a similar approach."

At this point, Teacher Zhang glanced at Gu Ming.

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"First, Mouse Treasure, you give a demonstration.

"Come now, follow my instructions. Use the Earth Shifting Technique to circulate the Mana throughout your body to specific meridians and acupoints. Then, recite the Daoist Skill Spell for the Earth Escape Technique to turn your body into earth."

As he spoke, Teacher Zhang reached out and lightly tapped eighteen of the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s acupoints.

The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster activated its Magic Power Inner Core and began circulating the Earth Shifting Technique. With rhythmic breathing, it transported Mana to various parts of its body, focusing its mind on the sensation of the Earth Escape Technique.

Having just seen the Visualization Image, the sensation was still fresh in its mind. In addition, Teacher Zhang was right beside it, reciting the Daoist Skill Spell for the Earth Escape Technique.

It subconsciously chanted the Spell. The Earth Element Mana that had reached the designated locations immediately resonated, transforming its body under the influence of the profound Daoist Skill.

At that moment, Teacher Zhang used his Divine Sense to observe the cultivation progress inside the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster.

The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster also had a Foundation Establishment Platform in its body, but its Foundation Establishment progress wasn’t as fast as Cyan Treasure’s; it was only about halfway complete.

The tripod it was forging was also the Dragon Race’s Bronze Tripod—the same Bronze Tripod that Cyan Treasure was cultivating.

Normally, a pet would choose a Bronze Tripod corresponding to its own race, which would aid its Cultivation.

However, Bronze Tripods weren’t easy to find, and asking old friends for one would mean calling in favors. Besides, Dragon Clan Daoist Skills were quite rare in themselves.

If the Dragon Pattern Tripod could truly be established within the Dantian and serve as the base for their Great Dao Foundation, it would be immensely beneficial for them when learning Sub-dragon Race Skills in the future.

For instance, if the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster wanted to achieve a Three-star Evolution later on, it could consider integrating a Sub-dragon bloodline. This would grant its body higher evolutionary potential, allowing it to learn Sub-dragon Race Skills. It wasn’t impossible for it to take this unconventional path to surpass its peers and evolve to Three-star.

As the thought crossed his mind, he saw the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s body begin to change. It slowly melted, taking on a sandy color before merging into the pile of sand.

Such incredible Speed!

The first time attempting the Earth Escape Technique shouldn’t be this fast.

Failure was the norm. An ordinary Earth Element Pet Beast would have to fail four or five times just to get a feel for its body turning into earth.

’Is Mouse Treasure just that talented?’

’No, that’s not it.’

Teacher Zhang’s Divine Sense entered Mouse Treasure’s Dantian Realm. He saw the incomplete Foundation Establishment Platform Bronze Tripod buzzing and trembling.

This, in turn, caused the Magic Power Inner Core itself to spin at high speed, controlling the circulation of Mana throughout the body and maintaining the earth-like state.

"This... this is..."

Teacher Zhang’s eyes widened. Foundation Establishment was, after all, a new concept. He felt like a disciple who had just opened the door to a new world, seeing the effect of the Foundation Establishment Platform on a Magic Power Inner Core for the first time.

He watched as the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster merged into the surface of the sand in the Dao Field. It moved swiftly, like a fish in a river—smooth and agile, without any awkwardness or hesitation.

"Why is it so smooth? Could it really be the effect of the Foundation Establishment Platform?" Teacher Zhang muttered to himself, his Divine Sense now inside Mouse Treasure, unwilling to leave.

Every soft dragon’s cry from the Foundation Establishment Platform and every fluctuation of Mana released by the spinning Inner Core captivated him, filling him with a rush of inspiration.

「One minute later.」

Mouse Treasure’s Mana was depleted, forcing it to emerge from the earth.

This was only the shallow-level Earth Escape Technique, moving just along the surface of the sand, yet the consumption was already so great.

A single run had used up over ninety percent of its Mana.

Even though its Magic Power Inner Core was profound, containing more than three times the Mana of an ordinary hamster, it could only maintain the technique for one minute.

This showed just how terrifying the Mana consumption of the Earth Escape Technique was.

It hadn’t even escaped one or two meters deep into the sand, let alone the advanced ten-meter depth or the Skill Level required for several tens of meters. A One-star Pet Beast could not sustain that level of consumption.

Nevertheless, this was more than enough to shock Teacher Zhang.

"A minute. You lasted for a minute."

"Good heavens, and on your first try."

Teacher Zhang shook his head. He had originally planned to praise it and encourage it to keep up the good work.

But its very first attempt had reached the duration expected of a Graduation Level One-star Pet Beast. Teacher Zhang was at a loss for words.

He stood at the edge of the Dao Field, and after speaking those two sentences, he fell into deep thought, replaying the differences in Mouse Treasure’s physical state as it executed the Earth Escape Technique.

As a teacher, he had taken on many clients’ Earth Element Pet Beasts and had seen them perform the Earth Escape Technique.

An ordinary One-star Pet that could maintain it for thirty seconds was already considered a highly skilled veteran, with a Skill Level around the Mastery level.

To last for a minute, one needed at least a Master Level Skill Level, and their Mana reserves had to meet the standard. This was a hard requirement; one couldn’t just ignore Mana reserves once their Skill Level was high enough.

He knew Mouse Treasure was on the Mana Evolution System path, so having a large amount of Mana was expected. He just didn’t anticipate it would meet the Skill Level threshold as well.

It shouldn’t have been so smooth.

’Could it be the effect of the Earth Shifting Technique?’

He knew the Earth Shifting Technique was a New Technique jointly developed by Gu Ming and Mouse Treasure. It was a newly introduced Earth Element Technique with an extremely low Cultivation threshold and had been certified by the Hall of the Great Dao to have the Daoist Skill potential of a Monochromatic Holy Light.

Because it was a New Technique, its full potential had yet to be uncovered by the world.

Perhaps the Earth Shifting Technique was highly compatible with the Earth Escape Technique, allowing Mouse Treasure to grasp all the key operational points in a single step, without any prior practice, and reach a Master Level of skill.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain Mouse Treasure’s long-lasting endurance.

No matter how outrageous a Mana Evolution Inner Core was, it couldn’t be more outrageous than a Two-star Pet Beast. At the end of the day, it was just a Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster, not a Pet Beast with High-star Potential. Its racial foundation was what it was; he wasn’t intentionally looking down on Mouse Treasure.

Meanwhile, Cyan Treasure had been observing the entire time and had gained some insights.

After watching, Gu Ming also emphasized the combination of the Earth Shifting Technique and the Breathing Technique.

Before long, it began to imitate Mouse Treasure, using the Earth Shifting Technique to circulate its own Life Energy.

It’s worth noting that the Earth Escape Technique is an Earth Element Body Technique that consumes Earth Element Mana.

Cyan Treasure used Life Energy, which was a fusion of its Grass Element Mana and Light Mana.

Under the circulation of the Earth Shifting Technique, this energy was cleverly distributed throughout its body. Cyan Treasure recited the Mental Mantra, and under the effect of the Green Treasure Breathing Technique, a resonance was produced.

In less than a minute, Cyan Treasure’s body also successfully turned into earth.

The speed of its transformation was not fast, much slower than Mouse Treasure’s.

However, once it merged into the sand, its movement speed was twenty to thirty percent faster. It zipped across the sand’s surface like a snake’s shadow hidden beneath.

At this, Teacher Zhang had to stop his pondering and send his Divine Sense into Cyan Treasure’s body to check its Cultivating Technique status.

"Huh!"

Teacher Zhang’s eyes widened slightly. Compared to Mouse Treasure, the Foundation Establishment Platform inside Cyan Treasure’s body erupted with a vast white light. A clear Ancient Dragon Illusion opened its mouth within the tripod and took the floating Magic Power Inner Core into its maw.

The resulting Mana resonance was clearer and more profound than Mouse Treasure’s.

This also caused Cyan Treasure’s Life Energy consumption to slow down. One circuit of movement lasted a full two minutes before its energy was depleted.

Just then, Cyan Treasure was forced out of the earth. It flicked its forked tongue and wagged its small snake-like tail, as if asking everyone how it did.

"Not bad, not bad," Gu Ming said with a smile.

Teacher Zhang, however, was silent. Cyan Treasure still had a lot of Light Mana and Grass Element Mana left in its body; what it had just consumed was only the Life Energy it had previously accumulated.

In other words, it still had half its fighting strength left. It just couldn’t fire its ultimate laser move.

’Two minutes... how is that possible?’

A hundred thoughts raced through Teacher Zhang’s mind, the image of the Dragon Elephant holding the Pill lingering, impossible to dismiss.