Clearly, the Paperman was extremely sensitive to being perceived by spiritual power. Otherwise, it would not have lashed out the first time it sensed Su Ping’s attention. Pet Beasts that grew up in the wild or within a Secret Realm were the same; after all, one small oversight in the wild could lead to death. Being as cautious as possible wasn’t an exaggeration.
However, it also sensed that its human master, Su, indeed seemed to have no ill intentions. After a slight, slightly uncomfortable shake of its body, the Paperman made no other movements.
At this moment, Su Ping’s sight was greeted with the detailed attribute abilities of this little Paperman:
[Mutated Paperman (Wild)]
[Attributes: Gold, Undead]
[Current Level: Ordinary Eighth Rank]
[Racial Potential: Elite First Rank]
[Skills: Paper Body Folding (Beginner), Jinge Technique (Perfection), Sword Soul Mark (Special)]
Originally, Su Ping was slightly taken aback when he saw the little Paperman’s level. Given its terrifying attack power, he had thought the Paperman’s Realm must have reached the race’s theorized maximum potential: Common Tenth Level.
Yet, Su Ping had not expected that this little Paperman was only at Ordinary Eighth Rank. Moreover, it had even broken through its race limit!
Upon seeing the last skill, Su Ping understood. Then he became even more dumbfounded and astonished.
I won’t comment on that Sword Soul Mark, he thought, as it’s beyond my cognition.
But what is this Jinge Technique? A Perfection Level Jinge Technique?
Keep in mind that even Old Sha, who had broken through his race limit, only had one skill, Sunlight Absorption, at this level. After all, Old Sha had lived for over forty years and been through numerous battles, both large and small. Yet, he still only had one skill that reached Perfection. One can imagine just how difficult it is to upgrade a skill to the Perfection Level.
But how could a mere little Paperman possess a Perfection Level skill? And what’s more, it’s the freaking Jinge Technique? Is this skill even compatible with a Paperman?
As Su Ping pondered, the Eye of Truth presented the skill before him:
[Jinge Technique (Perfection): Allows the user to make any touched object extremely sharp while also igniting the Qi of Jinge, significantly enhancing sharpness! Highly powerful!]
Indeed, this was why the little Paperman had such formidable and terrifying attacking power.
Su Ping pondered for a moment, then with a mental command, he examined the Paperman’s other skill. Sure enough:
[Sword Soul Mark (Special): A special skill that cannot be upgraded, with unknown effects.]
Su Ping figured it was probably this skill that enabled the little Paperman to freely enter and exit that so-called Secret Realm.
From this, it’s clear that I really can’t just wash my hands of the matter, he mused. The little Paperman could probably leave whenever it wants to. What method can I use to thoroughly fool it?
On the way back, Su Ping continued pondering this question.
Then, he led Old Sha and Xiao Qing, along with the little Paperman that had been following them looking somewhat dazed, into the side chamber. He turned on the large light in the sitting room of the side chamber.
And unexpectedly, under the light, the little Paperman, without the eerie feel of the night, had a kind of indescribably naive charm with its tiny paper body. Though it was peculiar to describe an Undead Pet Beast as ’naively charming,’ it truly felt apt at this moment.
"Little fellow, first get familiar with the environment here. From now on, this will be your dwelling. Of course, you can also return to your original place. However, if you want to become a true swordsman, you must wait for me here every evening at this time. Got it?"
Looking at the Paperman’s serious demeanor, Su Ping nodded contentedly. However, once he stepped out of the room, he felt a bit helpless.
How should I train it after this? Could it truly be with the nonsensical swordsmanship found in TV dramas?
Clearly, Su Ping believed that there must be skills similar to swordsmanship in this world, but learning from TV shows definitely wouldn’t be reliable. And the significance and importance of this Paperman were beyond imagination. From Qin Xiaoxue’s words, he knew the value of a Secret Realm. If he wanted to firmly grasp that yet-to-appear Secret Realm through the Paperman, he had to convince it completely!
Apart from some deceptive training methods, Su Ping sighed. There’s only one option left, he thought. Accelerated Casting!
Accelerated Casting was Sun Chaoju’s exclusive Forest Wolf training method. However, with the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas, Su Ping could definitely adapt it into a universal ability for all Pet Beasts. The Paperman was obviously no exception.
Previously, Su Ping hadn’t scheduled the perfection of Accelerated Casting. This was simply because he wasn’t eager to use this training method on his own Forest Wolves yet; their current training progress was sufficient. Of course, the most important factor was the shortage of Experience Points. While the evolution method for the Wanmu Wolf was nearing completion, Su Ping was also contemplating upgrading his Forest Wolves to Level 3 in addition to focusing on the Wanmu Wolf.
Accelerated Casting required a total of five hundred Experience Points—a significant amount. Clearly, the Paperman’s appearance had caused some changes to Su Ping’s plans.
However, there was no need to worry in the short term. The evolution and perfection of the Wanmu Wolf remained the top priority. After all, even if he were to teach the Paperman the Accelerated Casting skill, it wouldn’t happen overnight. If the Paperman didn’t appreciate it and its intimacy level wasn’t high enough, it wouldn’t be able to illuminate its page in the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas. Worse, it might even run away. That would mean Su Ping’s exploration of the Secret Realm would fail, resulting in a huge loss.
Training and taming a Pet Beast is like courting a girl, Su Ping mused. It isn’t about constant appeasement; one also has to learn the art of creating some distance, a bit of push and pull. My Experience Points should first be used to complete the evolution method for the Wanmu Wolf.
With that in mind, Su Ping went through his routine, checking the training and combat of his Forest Wolves. No matter what, the Forest Wolves were his foundation, and their combat power was most crucial. Through linked and shared training, constant practice and battles were the quickest way to improve skill levels. And raising skill levels was the fastest way to enhance strength.
Su Ping saw Xiao Qing also go off to train with the wolf pack. Only Old Sha remained close by, clearly worried the Paperman might harbor some cunning scheme and thus stayed to protect his young master.
Su Ping smiled and patted Old Sha’s large head, telling him to stay put. He then returned to his room, turned on his computer, and started searching for:
’Sword Artifact Pet Beast’
’Weakest Undead Pet Beast: Paperman Analysis’
And finally, he began to watch some martial arts TV dramas he had never seen before. He needed to see what the elegance of swordsmen was like. Or to put it more directly, he wanted to see how swordsmen "showed off."