Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 60 - 59: System’s On-Site Guidance
"What, money for training supplies? No!
"You’re already a senior in high school. Once you graduate, go find a job. Stop thinking about going to college.
"Your little brother needs to go to college and get married someday. Things are different now. Our family doesn’t have that kind of money to support you.
"If you go out and start earning money sooner, you can help support the family."
A hazy memory surfaced in Lu You’s mind.
Her father sat on the edge of a worn-out sofa, wreathed in smoke. Brow furrowed, he impatiently refused her request to buy two to three hundred’s worth of Spirit Melon Seeds.
"Exactly. What’s the point of a girl studying so much? Do you even have the Talent for it? You’ll have to get married sooner or later anyway. If you can’t get into an advanced class, then don’t even think about college.
"Look at our neighbor’s kid. They went to work right after high school and now they send a good amount of money home every month."
Her mother’s words also surfaced in her mind. Unlike her father’s impatience, her mother was very enthusiastic, gripping Lu You’s hand as if holding the future itself, eagerly anticipating the day she would start earning money to give back to the family.
In the distance, her younger brother was happily buried in a pile of toys. She, too, had once been that carefree.
She knew her family’s situation. She’d gone over it in her head many times, but each time, she was beaten down by reality, and she had gradually come to accept it.
「Until one day, in a dim corner on the rooftop.」
"Lu You, don’t give up."
Gu Ming’s voice pierced through the thick walls around her heart, making her lift her head to look at him.
’He can tell?’
’But how could he tell?’
"I... I haven’t given up."
She lowered her head and shoveled rice into her mouth in silence. For some reason, her heart ached.
’So this is what it’s like to interact with the outside world. You can hear words of encouragement, not just criticism and rejection.’
But she couldn’t agree with Gu Ming. To him, the words "give up" were just a small hurdle in life, easily overcome.
For her, however, it was a wall, so high and so thick that she could never cross it.
"Since you haven’t given up, let’s practice the Earth Element Technique now. I’ll give you some pointers."
"Huh?"
Lu You was caught off guard. She reluctantly agreed, "O...kay."
The severe social introvert has been temporarily persuaded by you and has decided to have her mouse practice the Earth Element Technique in front of you.
The Earth Element Technique is a Cultivation Technique from an older era, having been superseded ten years ago by another Cultivation Technique, the Earth Shifting Technique.
The Earth Element Technique practiced by the Earth Attribute mouse is an outdated version of a Cultivation Method for this era. Relying on decades of training experience, you immediately pinpoint its problems—
The system’s text updated to this point, then abruptly stopped.
Gu Ming’s eyes lit up when he saw this line of text.
He was just taking a shot in the dark.
He didn’t want to see Lu become more and more withdrawn because of his influence.
He was trying to save her, or at the very least, make her less dejected.
’How can she talk about giving up when she hasn’t even fought to the very end?’
Not enough aptitude, not enough resources—he was aware of all these shortcomings.
He had also come from a poor family. He knew all too well how difficult Lu You’s situation was. But as the system’s plot updated, he saw a ray of hope.
’If the system can give her Pet Beast some pointers...’
Even just a little bit of guidance could set the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster on a new path in life.
As for the fact that he and she had just met and there was no need to go this far... honestly, he hadn’t thought about it.
Gu Ming didn’t want to see Lu You walk down the same predictable path of taking out loans, a path the fifty-year-old Gu Ming had already weathered.
He couldn’t worry about others for now, but at the very least, he would help the person right in front of him if he could.
While Gu Ming was looking at the system, she spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz:
"Mouse Treasure, practice the Earth Element Technique."
Her voice wasn’t trembling as much as before, but she was still timid, and her face was full of uncertainty.
Fortunately, Gu Ming couldn’t see any of this, as she was looking down.
The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster nodded. It had just finished eating some fruit and its stomach was full.
Cultivation was very difficult right now; it usually waited until it had finished digesting before it started.
But with Daddy Gu here, it didn’t refuse. In fact, it was quite excited.
The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster was seen pulling its front paws toward its belly, raising them level, and then slowly pressing them down.
Its two short legs spread to the sides, settling into a horse stance that was neither standard nor particularly stable.
As its paws moved up and down.
Gu Ming saw earthy-yellow Spiritual Qi slowly move and flow toward the hamster’s mouth.
This was the Earth Element Technique, the most basic Cultivation Method for an Earth Attribute Pet Beast. It could only be used for Breathing Spiritual Qi and lacked any means of Refining Mana.
The Cultivation Technique for Refining Mana was a separate one—the sleep method it used to digest food.
Hamsters love to sleep. By Refining Mana through sleep, the Speed is slow, but it allows them to bulk up, and their Mana can accumulate more and more.
If it refined itself to the One-star Realm and became plump and strong, its final Mana Points would be much higher than that of an ordinary Little Cyan Snake.
Earth Element Technique Cultivation proficiency: 68 points, barely passing.
Based on your experience, you discover that the muscles near its Lingshu Acupoint and Minquan Acupoint are loose, the Yongtu Acupoint on the sole of its foot is blocked, and its Chengshan Muscle in the shoulder is slack.
If you were to apply a few touches, you could immediately correct its posture.
Relying on his insight, Gu Ming vaguely sensed that the Lingshu Acupoint was related to the cerebellum, while the Minquan Acupoint was related to athletic agility and the limbs. The positions of the remaining acupoints were clear and required no guesswork.
Combining this with the information from the Mana fluctuations on its body...
The experience of the fifty-year-old Old Deng combined with Gu Ming’s own perception, and inspiration crossed time and space to arrive in the present.
Gu Ming subconsciously pressed several acupoints.
The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s eyes widened. Its muscles twitched and tightened.
Its meditative posture instantly became more standard.
One of Gu Ming’s fingers happened to press a spot near its heart and trachea, causing its breathing to quicken and thus altering its respiratory rhythm.
Although it was just a small adjustment, it increased the speed at which it absorbed Spiritual Qi by twenty to thirty percent.
Don’t underestimate a twenty to thirty percent increase. For students in the advanced classes, this was the most basic effect the Earth Element Technique was supposed to have.
But for the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster, it was a heaven-defying boost.
Earth Element Technique Cultivation proficiency: 95 points! Excellent. Real-time cultivation efficiency: 95%!
’There’s still five more points of improvement?’
Gu Ming wanted to know how to improve it further, but the system said nothing.
Gu Ming had the insight, but he couldn’t grasp the finer details.
He could only say that this was his limit.
Meanwhile, Lu You, through her Pet Beast Contract, sensed that Mouse Treasure’s Cultivation speed had increased by thirty percent and was secretly shocked.
It was as if Gu Ming had torn a crack in her gray sky, letting the light from outside shine in.
’It’s so dazzling.’
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she was hallucinating. But the synchronized Perception from the Pet Beast Contract wasn’t mistaken; the cultivation efficiency had indeed risen by a lot.
"How is this possible?" she murmured.
"Did you notice? After changing its breathing frequency, its efficiency increased."
In truth, it wasn’t just the breathing, but also the change in posture. However, Gu Ming intentionally wanted to guide her, so he emphasized the importance of the Breathing Technique.
Cyan Treasure demonstrated on the side, taking deep breaths and wriggling its whole body, showcasing a three-in-one training effect.
In contrast, the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s Earth Element Technique only involved the Breathing Technique; it still had to rely on sleeping to Refine Mana.
Anyone who wasn’t a fool could see that Cyan Treasure’s Breathing Technique was exceptionally good.
"Can it learn a Breathing Technique too?" Lu You raised her head to look at him, her own breathing quickening.
Gu Ming glanced at the system’s updated text feed and nodded.
