Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 49 - 48: Cyan Treasure: Huh?

Gu Ming was absorbed in his studies until nine o’clock, completely forgetting to eat.

After he finished replying to his messages, his stomach immediately started to rumble.

’Time to eat.’

He glanced at the cold dishes on his right, wondering when they had been brought in. The meal was unusually sumptuous, a balanced spread of meat, vegetables, and fruit. It was definitely not something he had cooked himself.

It wasn’t that he’d never had his parents’ cooking before.

But given his parents’ terrible money management, there was no way they could afford Spiritual Flesh that nourished the body and soul. These dishes were clearly a cut above.

’Something’s fishy!’

Even though the dishes were cold, they still emanated a faint, green Spiritual Qi, indicating they were packed with nutrients.

After receiving Old Deng’s enlightenment from the system, Gu Ming could now easily see both Earth Attribute and Grass Attribute Spiritual Qi.

Previously, he had to rely on Cyan Treasure’s vision, but that was no longer necessary.

He looked over at Cyan Treasure, who gestured with its tail toward his parents’ room next door.

Gu Ming hadn’t realized when he got home that his parents had gotten paid today, which explained the lavish meal.

It wasn’t just Gu Ming’s food that was lavish; Cyan Treasure’s meal was just as sumptuous, on par with the food served at school.

Cyan Treasure was touched, taking it as a sign that his parents had finally accepted it and were giving it a treat.

Gu Ming began to eat. The meat was savory and so tender it melted in his mouth. The rice grains were perfectly distinct, white with a hint of green, and a faint Grass Attribute Spiritual Qi swirled around them.

Savoring it carefully, he could even sense the faint aura of a Flying Dragon in the Sky.

It brought a poem to his mind: *Flying Dragon Valley’s spirit grains so bright, their green hue like pearls, a lingering, gentle light.*

He drew a sharp breath.

Gu Ming recognized the taste. This was Spirit Rice from Flying Dragon Valley.

This was only because he cooked often and had personally sampled the flavors of various types of Spirit Rice.

From what he recalled, the Spirit Rice from Flying Dragon Valley was quite expensive—at least a thousand yuan per catty.

A middle-class family might be able to afford it, but for a poor family, it was out of the question.

’Are they crazy? Eating rice this expensive.’

Gu Ming muttered to himself, strongly suspecting his parents hadn’t finished spending that ten-million-yuan check and still had some cash lying around.

Still, the fact that they were willing to buy high-quality Spirit Rice instead of gambling the money away was a good sign.

At least they were using the money for something worthwhile. The excessive spending was a separate issue.

As Gu Ming continued eating, he suddenly remembered Ah Kun in the Fish Tank. He hadn’t fed it all day and wondered if it had eaten dinner.

Mastering the Kunpeng Devouring Secret Technique required constant eating. A day without food meant no progress, and that was unacceptable.

Gu Ming looked to Cyan Treasure, who shook its head. His parents hadn’t cooked anything for Ah Kun.

However, Cyan Treasure had helped out by giving it some Fish Food at seven o’clock. But not knowing the right amount to feed it, Cyan Treasure had left Ah Kun only half-full.

Gu Ming walked up to the Fish Tank and asked, "Are you hungry? Want some of mine?"

Ah Kun’s murky eyes instantly lit up. It flapped its large fins, patting its belly to show that it was completely full, not just half-full.

Cyan Treasure suddenly popped its head up and stared at Ah Kun, muttering softly in its snake tongue, ’Didn’t you just say you were half-full? How are you full now?’

Ah Kun frantically patted its belly again. It was *really* full, it insisted; it wasn’t trying to get a share of its master’s meal.

...

Gu Ming started to understand. ’Ah, so Ah Kun is worried about my health.’

His family had gone to great lengths to prepare this lavish meal, so of course Ah Kun didn’t want to take any of its master’s food. It was just an old fish; Fish Food was good enough for it.

"That’s not right," Gu Ming said. "You’re a Kunpeng. You were born to eat. You won’t grow if you don’t."

Ah Kun swished its tail. *But I’m already old,* it seemed to say. *Eating too much would be a waste. Leftovers are fine; I don’t need my Beastmaster’s food.*

Gu Ming knew it was just being polite and scraped half of his rice into the Fish Tank.

Normally, a Fish Pet wouldn’t be able to eat food prepared for humans, but Ah Kun, with its Devouring Secret Technique, was an exception.

With the rice already in the water, it was impossible to take it back. Touched, Ah Kun could only open its mouth and devour the Flying Dragon Valley Spirit Rice its master had given it.

As the rice grains entered its mouth, they were instantly devoured and dissolved, immediately converting into pure Grass Attribute Magical Power that flowed into its body.

[Ah Kun’s Devouring Secret Technique experience +1]

[Ah Kun’s Mana +1]

’Just as I thought. Eating high-quality Spirit Rice can increase its base Attributes.’

’What about the bones, then?’

Among the dishes on Gu Ming’s table was a meat dish shimmering with Spiritual Qi. It wasn’t emitting Grass Attribute Spiritual Qi; instead, eating it made his mind feel refreshed, as if it had some kind of mind-clearing, soul-nourishing effect.

The bones were leftovers from that meat dish. ’They’re just going to be thrown out anyway,’ he thought. ’Might as well let Ah Kun digest them.’

Gu Ming picked up a few hard bones with his chopsticks and tossed them into the Fish Tank.

"Ah Kun, just focus on eating. Don’t worry about it. Just grow up fast," Gu Ming said.

Ah Kun closed its eyes, feeling the Mana from the Spirit Rice flowing through its body.

It had never tasted such delicious Spiritual Food in its entire life. It was so much better than hard, bland Spirit Stones, and its appetite surged.

It turned to the remaining hard bones and opened its mouth to devour them with the same Secret Technique.

However, it ran into the same problem as before: the bones were bigger than its mouth. It couldn’t swallow them, which meant it couldn’t use Refinement on them.

They needed to be broken up first. Gu Ming understood instantly. He picked the bones back out and had Cyan Treasure use its Master Level Head Hammer to smash them into fragments before feeding them to Ah Kun again.

After some effort, Ah Kun finally managed to eat the bones its master had given it.

[Ah Kun’s Devouring Secret Technique experience +1]

[Ah Kun’s Spiritual Power +1]

’Holy cow. Even the bones I’ve already chewed on are treasures. They actually increase Ah Kun’s Spiritual Power.’

Suddenly, Gu Ming thought back to past class reunions. He remembered countless leftovers being left on the table—all of them precious dishes brimming with Spiritual Qi.

Gu Ming winced with regret at the thought of how many base Attribute points all those grand meals could have given Ah Kun.

’Next time there’s a feast like that, I can’t let it go to waste. I’ll have to get it to go and bring it home for Ah Kun.’

’Yeah, everyone in class knows about my family’s situation anyway. As long as I’m shameless enough, it won’t be embarrassing.’

The habit of pinching pennies was ingrained in his very bones; Gu Ming wouldn’t pass up any chance to improve his Pet Beast’s potential.

Gu Ming continued feeding it, and Ah Kun gained another three experience points for its Devouring Secret Technique, but its other Attributes didn’t increase.

Aside from the bones from the high-quality meat and the Spirit Rice, none of the other dishes increased its Attributes.

Gu Ming summed it up: ’Devouring Evolution, to put it bluntly, is all about eating.’

The better the food, the better its base Attributes, and the more evolutionary paths will become available.

However, this kind of diet was clearly not something a poor family could afford. No matter how much ordinary Fish Food it ate, its Attributes wouldn’t increase.

And once it got used to this high-quality food, it would probably hit a ceiling, requiring even more expensive food to continue growing.

Gu Ming gradually realized that Ah Kun could only be raised on a lavish diet.

Gu Ming mulled over this problem in the shower for a good ten minutes. At the same time, he scrolled through his system’s message history, reviewing any notifications he might have missed.

Suddenly, his eyes landed on the notification about Teacher Zhang selling the Sea of Consciousness Expansion Medicine for cash.

’I almost forgot about the Spirit Medicine Teacher Zhang bought! That stuff’s a future treasure, specifically purchased for a Grass and Wood Flood Dragon.’

’The food for a Flood Dragon has to be a higher grade than the Spirit Medicine for a regular Snake Pet.’

’Looks like I’ve found a new food source for Ah Kun.’

After his shower, Gu Ming returned to his room and excitedly announced, "I’ve found a solution!"

Ah Kun: Huh? 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Cyan Treasure: ???