Li Qian’s guess was correct. He watched as Sun Hongyi tossed several more materials toward the Golden Pearl Bud.
Fortunately, while most of them were Life Element materials, they weren’t particularly valuable—still within what he could afford.
Just when Li Qian thought all the conditions for evolution had been met, Sun Hongyi made another move. He looked toward the Tidal Sea Spirit, Ah Hai, and beckoned.
At his signal, the Emperor Level Tidal Sea Spirit, Ah Hai, once again let out a sorrowful, plaintive cry.
Amid its whimpering cries, with a SPLASH, a second Golden Pearl Bud suddenly surfaced.
Li Qian didn’t say a word. He just watched intently, wanting to see what other conditions were required for the evolution to succeed.
He soon witnessed a peculiar sight.
The newly appeared Golden Pearl Bud suddenly opened its shell. Then, to Li Qian’s astonishment, it offered up the Golden Pearl it had been nurturing inside.
The first Golden Pearl Bud, already shimmering with the Light of Evolution, didn’t hesitate. It immediately swallowed the Golden Pearl offered by the second one.
After swallowing the second Golden Pearl, the Bud’s transformation intensified abruptly. Li Qian could see the Light of Evolution enveloping it suddenly grow richer and more intense.
Watching the Golden Pearl Bud begin to evolve, Li Qian now fully understood why Sun Hongyi had summoned him tonight.
But this very understanding also brought a flicker of confusion to his eyes.
’In his view, there was no need for Sun Hongyi to go through with such a demonstration. He could have just given me the evolution data.
’This demonstration was a costly affair, after all. Especially for the second Golden Pearl Bud. While losing its Golden Pearl wasn’t life-threatening, a significant drop in power was inevitable.
’And it would likely take a very long time for it to recover.’
Unable to make sense of it, Li Qian decided to put it out of his mind and continued to watch intently.
Before his eyes, the Light of Evolution around the Golden Pearl Bud grew increasingly dense until it almost completely enveloped the creature.
The dense Light of Evolution expanded rapidly, ultimately forming a humanoid cocoon of light over two meters tall.
The humanoid cocoon didn’t last long before it disintegrated. When the Light of Evolution had completely faded, a second Tidal Sea Spirit was floating on the surface of the small bay.
Li Qian’s eyes widened slightly. He had expected this, but seeing it happen with his own eyes was still incredible.
He continued to watch closely and, upon careful observation, noticed a slight anomaly. The new Tidal Sea Spirit’s appearance was subtly different from Sun Hongyi’s contracted Pet Beast, Ah Hai, though the distinction was minor.
Of course, Li Qian had anticipated this difference as well. After all, Sun Hongyi’s Tidal Sea Spirit wasn’t an ordinary one; it was a slightly mutated variant.
"As you can see, this is how a Tidal Sea Spirit evolves." Once the evolution was complete, Sun Hongyi turned to Li Qian, his voice tinged with a complex mix of emotions.
Li Qian nodded and followed up, "How long can it maintain this evolved form?"
Based on his prior knowledge, Li Qian knew that this was merely a temporary evolution. In truth, the form was unstable and wouldn’t last long.
"It’s not certain. At most, about half an hour. At least, maybe only ten minutes or so," Sun Hongyi said with a helpless sigh.
Li Qian nodded without saying anything more, his gaze fixed on the scene before him.
On the water of the small bay, neither of the two Tidal Sea Spirits made any unnecessary movements. Their expressions were calm; clearly, they had been through this many times before.
Time trickled by. After about twenty minutes, the newly evolved Tidal Sea Spirit began to change again.
A faint light began to emanate from its body, growing brighter and brighter until it looked as if it might form a cocoon once more.
When the light faded, the Tidal Sea Spirit could no longer maintain its evolved form. It instantly dissolved, reverting to its Golden Pearl Bud state.
The original Golden Pearl Bud reappeared. Li Qian raised an eyebrow, quickly noticing its poor condition. The Pet Beast was visibly exhausted.
Li Qian guessed that its internal Energy was probably completely depleted, leaving it as little more than an empty shell.
’What a shame. Still, from the looks of it, the Golden Pearl Bud can’t be far from a true, complete evolution into a Tidal Sea Spirit.’
Having witnessed the evolution from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit, Li Qian fell into deep thought. After a moment of contemplation, he voiced his hypothesis. "I think the evolution failed because of some minor issue with the details."
Such minor issues are easy to talk about, but not so easy to fix. After all, this evolutionary process involved a great many details.