After a frantic and difficult explanation, Li Qian wiped the nervous sweat from his brow and thought to himself.
’I can’t be so careless with how I address people anymore.’
’If I run into someone who takes things too literally, I could really get myself into trouble.’
Once the explanation was over, Li Qian quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Professor Sun, you said the evolution method from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit isn’t perfected yet, so what’s the story with the Tidal Sea Spirit here in the water?"
Of course, this was also a question he genuinely had.
"Hmph!" Hearing Li Qian’s awkward attempt to change the subject, Sun Hongyi just snorted, clearly having no intention of answering.
Sun Ruirui, who had been standing nearby enjoying the show, was now quite satisfied. She spoke up to explain, "Elder Hai’s evolution was an accident. It’s completely impossible to replicate."
"I see." A look of realization dawned on Li Qian’s face.
Seeing the two of them about to start another lively conversation, Sun Hongyi felt increasingly displeased. He immediately called out, "Ah Hai, come out and get some air."
SPLASH!
As Sun Hongyi’s voice faded, a huge wave suddenly erupted from the calm bay.
And, whether it was intentional or not, the wave just so happened to leap over the railing and splash down onto Li Qian.
He was drenched from head to toe.
But Sun Ruirui, standing not far from him, didn’t get a single drop on her.
Such a coincidence, so bizarre. Li Qian didn’t need to think to know what was going on.
He glanced at Sun Hongyi and couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
’So petty and small-minded. And you call yourself a professor at Zhonghai Beast Taming University.’
Nearby, Sun Ruirui was stunned for a moment when she saw this, then she couldn’t help but cover her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Wiping the seawater from his face, Li Qian stepped closer and began to carefully observe the Pet Beast before him.
This was the first time he had ever seen a Tidal Sea Spirit in person.
For a Pet Beast with Emperor Level Potential, it didn’t look particularly majestic or domineering at first glance.
And because it was a Humanoid Pet Beast, it actually looked rather "graceful."
Of course, this "gracefulness" was all relative.
In reality, the Tidal Sea Spirit was over two meters tall. Its skin was azure, and its entire body was covered in fine scales. It had a fish-like tail and four arms that looked sinewy and powerful.
Its facial features were no different from a human’s, except for its eyes, which were a deep, profound blue. Its ears were also different—sharper and more pointed—and its eyelids had a faint, silvery sheen.
The Tidal Sea Spirit had no hair. Instead, strange coral grew from its head, twisted into the shape of a crown.
It also had a fin on its back, which looked quite strange. But if you looked closely, you would find that with all these bizarre features combined, the Tidal Sea Spirit wasn’t ugly at all. In fact, it possessed a strange and unique kind of beauty.
It held a trident made of some unknown material, looking like a sea god and exuding an air of solemn majesty.
"So this is the Tidal Sea Spirit!" Li Qian’s heart stirred as he watched the Humanoid Pet Beast levitate effortlessly above the water without using any Skills.
He nodded and continued to remark with feeling, "It looks truly extraordinary."
He said this rather loudly, half of it intentionally for Sun Hongyi to hear.
After all, Li Qian understood the old saying: flattery will get you everywhere.
Just as expected, Sun Hongyi’s expression truly did soften at his words. He spoke with a hint of smug pride, "My Ah Hai is indeed different. Even when the research is complete and the evolution method is perfected, no other Tidal Sea Spirit will be able to compare to him."
"This Tidal Sea Spirit of mine evolved after accidentally consuming an extremely precious Life Element resource. After its evolution, its Potential became far higher than that of other Pet Beasts."
"Other Tidal Sea Spirits only have a Racial Potential of Emperor Tier One, but mine reached Emperor Fourth Rank. And breaking its limits won’t be that difficult. In the future, it’s not impossible for it to reach the Emperor High Rank."
Hearing this, Li Qian couldn’t help but nod.
No wonder Sun Ruirui said it couldn’t be replicated. So it was because it had accidentally consumed an extremely precious Life Element resource.
"I didn’t bring you to Red Bridge this time just for him," Sun Hongyi continued, gesturing to the Tidal Sea Spirit on the water’s surface.
With that, he once again gave a command to the Tidal Sea Spirit, Ah Hai, "Ah Hai, go bring out that little one from last time."
"Oooo... oooo..." Upon hearing this, the Tidal Sea Spirit let out a strange, whimpering sound.
The very next instant, the sound of splashing water rang out again.
A wave splashed down, and a Pet Beast shaped like a cross between a seashell and a tulip appeared in Li Qian’s line of sight.
"It’s a Golden Pearl Bud!" Li Qian recognized the Pet Beast the instant it appeared.
Yes, this Pet Beast was the very reason for his trip. It was the Golden Pearl Bud he was here to help Elder Tie evolve.
"Zhu Zhu..." Called to the surface by the Tidal Sea Spirit, the Golden Pearl Bud looked at it and made an excited sound.
The Golden Pearl Bud surfaced, clearly very happy. It spun and played on the water’s surface for a while.
You could tell it was a rather extroverted Golden Pearl Bud.
After the Golden Pearl Bud had played for a bit, Sun Hongyi waved his hand and gave an order, "That’s enough, little one. Let’s try one more time!"
As his voice fell, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He looked at the Tidal Sea Spirit, Ah Hai. "Begin, Ah Hai!"
The Tidal Sea Spirit, Ah Hai, understood him instantly and used one of its Skills without hesitation.
As the Skill was released, a large wave of pale blue Energy scattered outwards. Watching this outpouring of Energy, Li Qian let out a surprised gasp. "Life Dew... this evolution method seems like a bit of a trap!"
Indeed, at this very moment, the Tidal Sea Spirit was using the Life Dew Skill.
This was a very high-Level Skill, and quite difficult to master.
As far as Li Qian knew, only Pet Beasts that had reached the Dominator Level, or even higher, could master this Skill.
If the Golden Pearl Bud’s evolution needed to be triggered by this Skill.
Future evolutions would probably be a bit troublesome.
Seeing the vast curtain of pale blue Energy envelop the Golden Pearl Bud, Li Qian stared for a moment before noticing something unusual. "This... this is at least a Perfection Level Budding Skill, right?"
Indeed, the Golden Pearl Bud was also using a Skill, doing its best to absorb the Energy from the Life Dew.
Li Qian recognized this Skill as well. It was one of the Golden Pearl Bud’s core abilities—Budding.
As far as Li Qian knew, using this Skill allowed it to rapidly gather all surrounding Energy to absorb it.
Sun Hongyi heard Li Qian’s guess and shook his head, then calmly added, "No. It’s Breakthrough Level!"
"These evolution requirements are a bit harsh..."
Li Qian knew that for a Golden Pearl Bud to evolve into a Tidal Sea Spirit, there had to be more requirements than just these.
But just these two conditions alone—a Life Dew of at least Perfection Level and a Budding Skill at Breakthrough Level—were already enough to make him furrow his brow.