Hua Renshan walked ahead, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "You’ve come at a bad time. The Clan Leader has been in a rather foul mood lately and might not agree to your evolution request. Several Beast Tamers have already been turned away."
Su Zhi asked in surprise, "Why is that? As the leader of a clan, shouldn’t he be more considerate of his people?"
"I’m not sure about the specifics. The way Exotic Beasts think is sometimes different from humans; you can’t just make assumptions. But don’t worry too much. As long as your luck isn’t terrible, he should still agree..."
As they talked, Hua Renshan turned and glanced at Yu Bao. "You two look quite young. Are you college students? Or did you just finish your college entrance exams?"
Su Zhi scratched his head. "Uh, we’ll be high school sophomores when school starts."
Hua Renshan tripped.
’Are you hearing yourself right now?’
’A Yu Dian Farm Dog with a Real-time Energy Value over three thousand before even starting sophomore year?!’
’Kids these days are so competitive...’
Shocked as he was, Hua Renshan wasn’t entirely surprised. After all, he had seen cases even more ridiculous than Su Zhi’s.
He remembered how much easier things were when he was in school. Back then, having a Two-star Pet Beast before college graduation made you a big shot in your classmates’ eyes.
But now, these kids were all fighting to see if they could get one, or even two, Two-star Pet Beasts before the college entrance exams, so they could join the Alliance seamlessly right after and attend a university directly under the Alliance Headquarters...
Sigh, the competition just keeps getting fiercer.
The group ascended the stairs on the tree roots, with Hua Renshan nodding to the Huajing Cats they passed.
Xiaoyue walked at the very front, glancing back from time to time.
Hua Renshan asked curiously, "Your Huajing Cat seems quite familiar with this place. Have you brought him here before?"
Shao Ya nodded. "Yep! I met Xiaoyue when I came here with my dad during the summer vacation of sixth grade, and I took him home with me. We formed an official contract after I awakened my Beast Taming Space in my first year of high school."
"Oh, that’s great! If you spend some time together before the contract, it saves a lot of trouble afterward. Your kitty must be pretty obedient, right?"
"Heehee, of course!"
"And your boyfriend? Was it the same for him?" Hua Renshan asked, turning his gaze to Yu Bao.
"Nope! He went through the school’s process and contracted his directly at the park!"
Shao Ya shook her head slightly, a smile on her face.
"Well, that’s good! It seems you’ve built a great relationship with your Pet Beast."
Hua Renshan looked at Su Zhi and gave him a thumbs-up. "Even though the upper limit for your future potential might not be as high, Beast Tamers with good relationships with their Pet Beasts are always so kind. Girls love your type."
Su Zhi shot Shao Ya a look, his face darkening, silently asking her why she didn’t correct the first half of that sentence.
The girl stuck out her tongue and quickly turned her head away.
It was a classic case of feigning cuteness to get away with it.
Ten minutes later, the group arrived at the trunk of the ancient tree.
The trunk and branches were much thicker than the roots below, and far more Huajing Cats dwelled here. It was clearly a more central area.
Each leaf on the branches was nearly a hundred meters long and wide. The Huajing Cats, taking advantage of their light bodies, leaped and played on the leaves, looking utterly joyful.
Seeing the visitors arrive, the little cats all sat down to greet them, their meows echoing through the treetops.
"WOOF!" Yu Bao waved a paw excitedly in greeting.
Xiaoyue shot him a glance. ’What is this silly dog so excited about?’
Su Zhi glanced out and realized they had already climbed several hundred meters high. Swirling clouds and mist lay beneath their feet, and in the distance, near the horizon, a golden half-moon was faintly visible.
"That’s the Clan Leader."
Hua Renshan pointed in a certain direction.
The two humans and their two Pet Beasts looked up to where he was pointing and saw a hollow high up in the tree.
A pair of pale green eyes glimmered from within the hollow, clearly sizing them up.
SWOOSH!
Shortly after they looked up, a blurry white shadow leaped from the hollow and landed steadily before the group.
It was a large cat shaped like a White Tiger, nearly three meters long and about as tall as Su Zhi.
Tufts of light green fur adorned the tip of its tail, its limbs, and its head. It had a long, narrow face with a leaf-shaped marking on its forehead, giving it a dignified and elegant air.
This was the Evolutionary Type of the Huajing Cat—the Jing Heng’s Shadow.
[Pet Beast: Jiuyou (Jing Heng’s Shadow)
Attribute: Wood Element
Race: High Level Elite
Real-time Energy Value: 16031]
The moment Su Zhi saw the scan results, he was stunned. This was an Exotic Beast whose Real-time Energy Value had reached the Three-star... or even Quasi-Four-star level!
For a wild Exotic Beast, this level was as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin’s horn.
"Mrow."
Xiaoyue lowered his head slightly, performing the kowtow of the Huajing Cat clan for Jiuyou.
Jiuyou did not respond. His tail swayed slightly, and his eyes held a complex expression.
"Lord Clan Leader, these two young friends wish to bring their Pet Beast here to evolve. We hope you might choose a day to hold the evolution ceremony for him!"
Hua Renshan said with a slight bow.
Although a few unlucky souls had recently had their evolution requests denied, he was still optimistic about Xiaoyue’s chances.
This was an exceptionally outstanding Huajing Cat, impeccable in every way. There was no reason not to let him evolve.
However, the Clan Leader’s reaction was not what he had expected...
Jiuyou looked toward Su Zhi and Shao Ya.
At the same time, a deep voice echoed in their minds:
I have no intention of letting him evolve. Please take him back.
—Pet Beasts at the Quasi-Four-star Level had the ability to directly transmit their thoughts to other living beings.
Shao Ya froze for a moment, then quickly asked, "Why? Did we do something wrong?"
Hua Renshan also hurriedly pleaded their case. "Lord Clan Leader, these two young friends awakened a Tier Two Beast Taming Space at a young age. They are promising top students among Beast Tamers."
You have done nothing wrong, and this has nothing to do with whether you are top students. I have simply decided this on my own.
Jiuyou closed his eyes slightly.
So what if you are top students?
You merely accomplish the same things in a more pleasing manner. In my eyes, that is not superiority; it just makes you more compliant servants.
Pet Beasts are born of the world’s spiritual essence, yet under the control of you human Beast Tamers, they have become formulaic and rigid.
What is the point of such a Pet Beast evolving?
Su Zhi said, hands in his pockets, "First you say it has nothing to do with us, then you start criticizing. To put it bluntly, you’re just not satisfied, are you?"
Jiuyou’s mouth twitched, and he shot Su Zhi a harsh glare.
"Show some respect for your elders!"
Seeing this, Shao Ya gave Su Zhi a solid punch.
"I’m so sorry! He’s young and doesn’t know any better. I apologize for the trouble he’s caused."
Shao Ya pressed her palms together and blinked pleadingly. "We also believe that Beast Taming shouldn’t become formulaic and rigid. That’s why I still hope you’ll agree to our evolution request. That way, we’ll have the ability to go further, to seek and explore. Don’t you think?"
Saying is one thing, doing is another.
Jiuyou glanced down at Xiaoyue condescendingly.
Do you truly wish to evolve? You absolutely must evolve?
This time, his thoughts were transmitted only to Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue looked at Jiuyou and nodded.
Yes. I must evolve.
Jiuyou stared into his eyes. For what purpose?
To protect the one I want to protect.
Xiaoyue’s pupils shifted imperceptibly toward Shao Ya.
Jiuyou was silent for a moment, as if in thought.
Finally, he raised his head and looked at the two humans and two Pet Beasts before him.
I am still unwilling to grant the opportunity for evolution to this Pet Beast.
But since you believe you are worthy, I will give you a chance to prove yourselves.
Then, Jiuyou raised his head and let out a low cry.
The branches overhead trembled, and two Jing Heng’s Shadows appeared in response, landing steadily beside Jiuyou.
One was slightly stockier, the other a bit leaner and longer. The difference in their forms was quite distinct, making them easy to tell apart. Unlike the imposing Jiuyou, they seemed much gentler, more like oversized house cats.
The ever-sociable Yu Bao proactively wagged his tail in greeting and even tried to go nuzzle them, only to be dragged back by Xiaoyue, who wore a helpless expression.
’We’re out in public, be more dignified! Don’t embarrass your big bro.’
Su Zhi checked the scan data: The Real-time Energy Values of these two Shadows of Ancient Jing were both around 2,500-3,000, a notch lower than Yu Bao’s but a notch higher than Xiaoyue’s.
Jiuyou then spoke slowly.
You will fight them, two-on-two, with all my clansmen as witnesses. If you can defeat these two clansmen I have chosen, then I will grant you the opportunity to evolve.
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Author’s Note: Daily 10k-word updates: (20/20) + 9 days!
I had to make an emergency adjustment to the outline to fix the pacing. These next few Chapters might seem a bit rushed, but it’s better to rip the band-aid off... Sigh, I’m still too inexperienced.