After a short break, Luo Sen snapped his fingers.
In the center of the research lab, a circular platform with a surface etched with complex patterns slowly rose. At Luo Sen’s signal, Yu Bao leaped onto the center of the platform and sat down properly.
Su Zhi frowned, pulling Yu Bao protectively in front of him. "There aren’t any weird trials or tests this time, are there?"
Luo Sen: "Relax, not this time~"
Su Zhi: "..."
’He has the nerve to emphasize "this time".’
"After that ’suppressive’ release just now, Yu Bao’s current control rate over its secondary attribute is 85%, far exceeding the minimum requirement of 60% for evolution. This might be because it has already gone through an ’induced’ release before."
"The Evolution Array and evolution resources are all prepared. We can basically guarantee a successful evolution on the first try. But just to be cautious, I want to add one more layer of insurance."
With that, Luo Sen looked at Qiu Yulian, who was accompanying them. "My Pet Beast is rather special, so I’ll have to trouble Alliance Leader Qiu to stand guard."
"It’s my duty." Qiu Yulian gave a charming smile and a nod.
Then, a dazzling golden Beast Taming Light Array lit up beside the pink-robed beauty. A young girl in a short skirt slowly walked out from within the Light Array.
When the Golden Light faded, Su Zhi finally saw the girl’s true appearance. Her short skirt was actually made of vibrant, delicate petals. Her slender legs seemed to be wrapped in thin silk, but a closer look revealed the distinct grain of wood.
Ice-blue hair was draped neatly over her shoulders, and her headdress, made of plum blossoms and branches, blended in harmoniously, not looking out of place at all.
[Pet Beast: Hua Shangyue (Ice Fairy Wind)
Attribute: Wood Element, Mental Element
Race: Middle Commander
Real-time Energy Value: 17806]
"It’s actually an Ice-Posture Immortal Phoenix..." Su Zhi was dumbfounded, staring at the scan information displayed on his phone.
The Ice-Posture Immortal Phoenix, the strongest Support Type Pet Beast on Blue Star. Bar none. All its Skills are related to healing, purification, and enhancement.
This is an extremely rare Pet Beast. It’s not native to Blue Star; one would need to travel to the specific Secret Realm, "Luomei Snow Mountain," to have a chance of encountering one.
Even if you meet one, successfully forming a contract is far from guaranteed. The Ice-Posture Immortal Phoenix is a remarkably proud and aloof Pet Beast. It won’t easily agree to a contract unless it meets a Beast Tamer with high affinity.
Qiu Yulian chuckled lightly. "One time I went to a Secret Realm to gather herbs, and Hua Shangyue took a liking to my clothes. She agreed to a contract with me so she could have pretty clothes to wear."
"Mmm." The Ice-Posture Immortal Phoenix looked at Su Zhi and nodded in greeting.
Su Zhi: "..."
’So much for "The Proud and Aloof Pet Beast."’
"Hua Shangyue, please use Natural Face Wash on Yu Bao."
"Mmm." Hua Shangyue nodded gracefully, walked over to Yu Bao, and gently raised her left arm.
From the petals that resembled loose sleeves, specks of light blue pollen were released. The moment they touched Yu Bao, each grain of pollen twinkled like a firework for an instant before vanishing.
"Sss-hah~" Yu Bao puffed out its chest, letting the pollen fall all over its belly, and squinted its eyes in enjoyment.
"Natural Face Wash. It’s a High Level Commander Skill of the Wood and Mental Elements. It can remove all negative statuses and, at the same time, grant the Pet Beast a short-term boost to all attributes."
Seeing Su Zhi’s wide-eyed look, Luo Sen calmly explained, his tone a bit wistful, "Having Blue Star’s number one healer stand guard for you... Your pet is really getting the full VIP treatment."
Yu Bao grinned.
"If you’re ready, I’m starting!"
Luo Sen grinned and slammed the button.
The Light Array suddenly erupted with an upward burst of interwoven yellow and red light, completely enveloping Yu Bao.
Ancient Evolution Arrays had to be personally drawn by Beastmasters, and they also required supplementary resources—in fact, the profession of Evolutionist still exists even in modern times.
Luo Sen, however, used technology to directly save specific Arrays and embed the resources right into the platform that held them.
More stable, and much faster!
"Energy compatibility 99.5%... Fluctuation rate 95%... Energy differential 132... Okay, everything’s stable."
After quickly scanning the data on the display, Luo Sen gave the worried-looking Su Zhi a grin.
"Don’t worry. You’ll get to see your Pet Beast’s new skin soon enough."
SHHH—
At a certain moment, the Light Array, which had been violently emitting energy, suddenly fell still. All the energy contracted, like fireworks playing in reverse.
The interwoven yellow and red brilliance dissipated. Yu Bao, sitting atop the runic array, had been completely transformed. Its true form was now revealed—
It didn’t seem much different from before its evolution, only larger, now the size of a typical adult house dog.
However, upon closer inspection, a faint, red, flame-shaped marking had appeared on Yu Bao’s forehead. A bright red crescent also now ringed its dark brown irises, adding a touch of mystery and majesty it didn’t have before.
[Pet Beast: Yu Bao (Yu Dian Farm Dog)
Attribute: Earth Element, Fire Element
Race: Middle Elite Race
Real-time Energy Value: 2313]
"Hah! Hah!"
Yu Bao leaped onto Su Zhi’s shoulder with a WHOOSH, its tail wagging back and forth.
Su Zhi didn’t react in time and was nearly knocked over. He quickly wrapped both arms around Yu Bao to steady himself.
"I’m afraid you won’t be able to perch on my shoulder anymore."
Looking at the big doggo that now nearly filled his arms, Su Zhi gave a slightly helpless smile. Feeling Yu Bao start to slip, he hoisted it up again.
Yu Bao’s head drooped in disappointment, but it quickly grinned again and gave Su Zhi’s chin a big SLURP.
’It’s fine! Being bigger has its advantages. It’ll be more convenient for doing certain things!’
"You’d better be talking about training!"
Su Zhi gave a mischievous smile, put the little guy—no, the big guy—back on the ground, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yu Bao, what new tricks did you learn after evolving?"
Yu Bao gave a crooked grin.
’What a coincidence. I was just about to show off!’
The great Emperor Yu ordered everyone to take a few steps back and gently lifted its right paw.
A wisp of crimson flame slowly rose from beneath Yu Bao’s paw. An instant later, the wisp flared into a raging fire, forming a blazing fireball in the air.
"Hit it over there." Luo Sen pointed at the Turbulent Duck resting in a cubicle nearby.
Yu Bao nodded, then slapped its paw on the ground.
The fireball shot out, swiftly grazing the Turbulent Duck’s butt before slamming into the Energy Barrier around the platform, causing the barrier to flicker.
This was Yu Bao’s current level of control over the Fire Element—even without having learned any formal Skills, the simple act of gathering and releasing it had tyrannical power!
"Quack?" The Turbulent Duck scratched its head.
’Why do I smell roasted duck?’
Su Zhi asked curiously, "Yu Bao, what was that?"
"Woof!" Yu Bao lowered its body slightly.
In an instant, sand and wind swirled around it—Tier Two Sandstorm, activated!
Su Zhi was surprised to see wisps of crimson flame faintly mixed in with the swirling grit, dancing with the sand. The already formidable Sandstorm now possessed an extra hint of ferocity.
BOOM!
The Sandstorm slammed onto the platform, wind, sand, and flames raging together. Just looking at it was suffocating.
Sandstorm·Flying Flame Form!
Before Su Zhi could even register his shock, another cloud of sand rose around Yu Bao, coalescing into the shape of a Battle Saber and thrusting forward. Flames danced on the blade, carving a brilliant streak of light through the air.
"BANG!"
The Furious Sand Blade struck the Energy Barrier violently, its impact even greater than the Sandstorm’s.
Furious Sand Blade·Burning Sand Blade!
"Woof woof!" Yu Bao indicated there was more.
Su Zhi was already used to being shocked. He picked his jaw up off the floor and sat on a small stool that had appeared from nowhere to watch.
This time, Yu Bao demonstrated Quicksand Shield. Sand and fire intertwined, spinning at high speed to create a gorgeous, faint orange-yellow hue. When used for defense and counter-attack, the flame-infused Quicksand Shield could inflict even greater damage.
Compared to the first two Skills, this move was a little less impressive; it felt somewhat expected.
You couldn’t blame Yu Bao. Even though he was a Wise One, the creativity of a Wise One had its limits.
Finally, Yu Bao activated its Sand Manipulation Technique, letting the swirling sand and flames lift it high into the air.
And then, Sand Manipulation Skill: Wind-Fire Wheel.
Su Zhi asked curiously, "What’s the use of adding flames to the Sand Manipulation Technique?"
"Woof."
’It looks cooler this way.’
Su Zhi: "..."
"Incredible. To think it can integrate Fire Element Energy into so many Earth Element Skills!" Qiu Yulian raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"It’s not entirely incomprehensible. Although the Earth and Fire Elements are theoretically conflicting Attributes, the Beast Taming World always has its miraculous exceptions—the Yu Dian Dog species is one of them."
Luo Sen chuckled, then propped his chin on his hand thoughtfully.
"Have you noticed? Yu Bao has a very flexible approach to learning all its Skills. Thick Earth Blessing was originally a skill to boost its own strength and resistance, but it used it to enhance the effectiveness of its other Skills. After awakening the Fire Element, Yu Bao directly infused it into its original Skills, and with great success..."
"This isn’t just a matter of simple comprehension. You see, every type of Pet Beast has an overall tendency in its abilities. For example, Hao Waterfowl excel at offense, Stone Armor Rhinoceros excel at defense, and so on. The Yu Dian Dog is generally positioned as a balanced type, leaning towards offense and defense..."
"But Yu Bao’s Skill System is predominantly for non-contact combat—which is a complete subversion of the traditional Yu Dian Dog Skill System."
"And a Skill System like this requires a disposition of abilities different from the average person... or the average dog, to be effective."
Luo Sen looked at Su Zhi, a thoughtful smile on his face.
"If I’m not mistaken, your Beast Taming Talent probably allows you to adjust a Pet Beast’s ability disposition, doesn’t it?"
’Holy shit!’
Su Zhi froze on the spot.
’My Beast Taming Talent, the one I’ve kept hidden from everyone... Luo Sen just deduced it?’
’What kind of monster is he!?’
"Don’t be nervous. I won’t let a third person know," Luo Sen said with a light chuckle, patting Su Zhi’s shoulder.
"..." Su Zhi glanced at the pink-robed beauty beside them.
"I didn’t hear anything~" Qiu Yulian tilted her head, beaming.
"You don’t have to worry. While Alliance Leader Luo is worrying in other aspects, you can trust his research and his ability to keep a secret!"
"Was the first half of that sentence really necessary?" Luo Sen grumbled, rolling his eyes.
’I hope so...’ Su Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and bowed. "Then I’ll be counting on you two Alliance Leaders."
After that, Su Zhi called for Yu Bao to come down from the platform. Now that the evolution was complete, if there was nothing else, he planned to head back to the Flying Shadow Alliance.
Yu Bao bounded towards Su Zhi, but as it got close to his backpack, it shuddered as if electrocuted and collapsed to the ground.
Su Zhi stood frozen.
"Yu Bao?"
"Yu Bao!"
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Daily 10k words (20/20) +4 days!