Seeing the confusion on Li Qian’s face, Sun Ruirui knew he didn’t understand what an Apocalypse was. She was just about to explain when, at that moment, Sun Hongyi popped out of nowhere, a complete third wheel.
He took over the explanation for Li Qian. "As everyone knows, in this world, almost all Beast Masters awaken their Beast Taming Talent after birth. Some don’t even awaken until after they turn ten. The more mediocre ones awaken even later, around the age of seventeen or eighteen when they become adults..."
Li Qian was speechless. ’He can’t possibly be unaware of my situation,’ he thought. ’"Mediocre ones who awaken at seventeen or eighteen?" Isn’t the implication a bit too obvious?’
"Ahem..." Sun Ruirui had obviously caught the hidden meaning in Comrade Lao Sun’s words. She coughed lightly, trying to smooth things over. "Actually, whether someone awakens early or late doesn’t have a major impact on a Beast Master’s final accomplishments."
"Many great Beast Masters, ones famous throughout Dongxia and even the entire Ancestral Star, didn’t awaken early either."
Hearing this, the corner of Li Qian’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
’It would have been better if she hadn’t tried to explain. Her excuses just make it seem like I’m dwelling on it.’ In reality, Li Qian hadn’t taken it to heart at all.
With the Golden Finger Pet Beast Research System in his possession, he was full of confidence about his future.
"Mm." After his soft reply, Li Qian said no more, assuming a posture of respectful attention.
Comrade Lao Sun, who had just popped up to interrupt, continued his role as lecturer. "What we call an Apocalypse is actually someone born with their Beast Taming Talent already awakened."
"Born with their Beast Taming Talent already awakened?!" When Li Qian heard this, he couldn’t quite hide the astonishment on his face.
"Yes, born with their Beast Taming Talent already awakened!" Sun Hongyi continued, his tone quite complex.
Connecting this to the girl’s behavior last night, Li Qian asked, "Then... was Ruirui’s strange reaction because she’s an Apocalypse?"
Hearing this, Sun Hongyi no longer seemed to mind Li Qian’s forwardness. He nodded, his expression bitter. "The number of Apocalypses is extremely small, one in ten thousand, you could say. Because of their unique constitution, almost every Apocalypse is an embodiment of both fortune and misfortune."
"As far as I know, the path of an Apocalypse is never a smooth one."
Li Qian understood the gist of it, but much of it still left him confused. He didn’t press with more questions. He knew that since Sun Hongyi had already started explaining, he wouldn’t hide the rest of the story.
And he was right. After a brief pause, Comrade Lao Sun continued, "However, being an Apocalypse is both a blessing and a curse. Their Beast Taming Talent is simply too overpowered, to the point that a normal human body can’t withstand it."
"Take Ruirui, for example. Her Beast Taming Talent is ’Ocean Calamity.’ It’s a top-tier Water Element affinity and amplification-type Beast Taming Talent."
"This Talent makes Water-type Pet Beasts subconsciously drawn to her. If developed to its full potential, it can even allow her to control Water-type Pet Beasts like puppets."
"Unless a Pet Beast has reached an incredibly high Power Level, it’s completely unable to break free from this control."
Sun Hongyi’s words made Li Qian subconsciously recall the scene from last night.
Everything that happened last night perfectly confirmed Sun Hongyi’s claims. There were hundreds of Pet Beasts scattered throughout the small bay, yet the number that remained conscious under the influence of Sun Ruirui’s blue light could be counted on two hands.
This alone showed how terrifying the Beast Taming Talent of an Apocalypse like Sun Ruirui truly was. However, for such a frightening Talent to manifest in a girl around his age—perhaps even a year or two younger—was not necessarily a good thing.
And Li Qian’s guess proved to be correct, as Sun Hongyi’s next words confirmed it. "The Ocean Calamity Talent is very rare and very terrifying. In addition to its unparalleled attraction and affinity for Water-type Pet Beasts, the boost it provides to their combat power is all-encompassing."
"As long as she contracts a Water-type Pet Beast, she can directly boost its combat power, Life Energy, and even its growth speed. Moreover, the amplification at least doubles its stats."
"In other words, as long as a Water-type Pet Beast completes a contract with Ruirui, its combat power will instantly double."
"On top of that, a Beast Master who possesses the Ocean Calamity Talent can also perform cross-level contracts. Normally, you can only contract a Pet Beast of a corresponding Level when your Spiritual Power is high enough. Otherwise, the contract will fail."
Li Qian nodded slightly upon hearing this. It was common knowledge, something he was naturally aware of. He remained silent and continued to listen attentively.
Sun Hongyi spoke again, his voice tinged with helplessness and regret. "But Ruirui is different. As of right now, her Spiritual Power Level is Commander Level. If she were able to contract a Pet Beast, she could directly contract a Dominator-Level one. And theoretically, there would be no limit to how many."
"Wait a minute." Li Qian couldn’t quite process what he’d just heard. That one sentence contained a little too much information.
"What do you mean by ’theoretically, no limit to the number’?" Not wanting to guess, the confused Li Qian simply asked the question directly.
"’It means exactly what it sounds like. As long as it’s a Water-type Pet Beast, Ruirui can theoretically contract an unlimited number of them," Sun Hongyi explained, then added, "Of course, that’s just in theory. In reality, even if there were no limit on the number of Pet Beasts, her Spiritual Power wouldn’t be able to handle it. Being able to contract double the number of Pet Beasts as an ordinary person would be about the limit."
A look of dawning comprehension appeared on Li Qian’s face. That part he could understand. After all, the Beast Taming World was immense, including not just the Ancestral Star, but also the regions within Dimensional Rifts and the Outer Heaven Battlefield. There were countless prodigies, and among them were many Beast Masters whose Talents granted them innate dual Contract Positions.
For every Power Level they advanced, these people with innate dual Contract Positions could contract two Pet Beasts, twice the number of an ordinary Beast Master.
So, the idea that the Ocean Calamity Talent allowed for contracting roughly double the number of Pet Beasts—albeit limited to the Water Element—was something Li Qian could still comprehend.
But if the concept of theoretically contracting double the number of Pet Beasts was still within his realm of understanding, then the part about the young girl Sun Ruirui’s Power Level, combined with the phrase "if she were able to contract a Pet Beast," made his brain short-circuit.
’A girl about my own age whose Spiritual Power had already reached the Commander Level? That was already ridiculous enough. But what was even more absurd was that, according to what Old Sun said, even though Sun Ruirui’s Spiritual Power was at the Commander Level, she apparently couldn’t even contract a Pet Beast...’
’What was that all about?’