With a smile, Shi Yulian explained, "Rest assured. It’s not like you stole it; you just figured out the evolution method. Things like this happen every day in Dongxia."
She continued without pausing, "Besides, even if someone figures it out, that doesn’t mean the original owner’s method loses its value."
Listening to Shi Yulian, Li Qian gave a barely perceptible nod.
Her words touched upon some confidential matters—things he could never learn from the books he usually read—so he listened with exceptional focus.
"Under normal circumstances, even if other Breeders figure out an existing evolution method, they won’t publicize it."
Seeing that Li Qian was rather interested, Shi Yulian didn’t mind elaborating. "At the end of the day, it’s just one more person sharing the profits. It doesn’t affect the big picture. At most, it just means a bit more competition, a few price wars."
"Most importantly, the Gray Bean Dove to Storm Eagle path is just an evolution that reaches the early Dominator Level. Those two Beast Taming Clans in Kyoto won’t do anything foolish over it."
At this point, her tone shifted, and a peculiar expression appeared on her face. "So, you don’t need to worry at all about having figured out the evolution method. If anything, it’s the two of us, who witnessed the entire process, who now owe you a massive favor."
A single Pet Beast that had just reached the Dominator Level was nothing to Shi Yulian, but the evolution method for an Overlord-level Pet Beast was a different matter entirely.
This was especially true given that the Pet Beast in question was the Gray Bean Dove, an incredibly common and widespread species, which made the discovery even more valuable.
After saying this, Shi Yulian glanced at Li Qian before fixing her gaze on Shi Gui Fang.
While the evolution method from Gray Bean Dove to Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle was undoubtedly valuable, it held little significance for a Great Beast Master of Shi Yulian’s caliber.
Furthermore, Li Qian’s current role was that of a Breeder at the Sky Realm Cultivation Base. In theory, any research results were supposed to be shared with the Cultivation Base.
Of course, due to the unique circumstances of the Sky Realm Cultivation Base, Li Qian wasn’t actually bound by this rule.
However, for him to proactively offer up his discovery was another matter entirely.
Li Qian could choose to offer his discovery without asking for anything in return, but Shi Gui Fang could not simply accept it without any form of compensation.
Otherwise, it would discourage Li Qian and go against her very purpose of making a grand gesture to attract talent.
Shi Gui Fang was a rather astute woman. She understood the profound meaning behind her grand-aunt’s glance almost instantly.
Turning to Li Qian, she gathered her thoughts for a moment before speaking with a grateful expression, "Um, Cultivator Li, to be honest, this evolution method is simply too precious. We feel we are unworthy of it."
Li Qian listened in silence, his expression unreadable. ’Let’s see what kind of offer this woman will make.’
Shi Gui Fang didn’t keep Li Qian waiting long. She soon made her promise. "However, this evolution method is indeed very important to my Sky Realm Cultivation Base, so I’ll be bold and accept it. But rest assured, I will definitely give you compensation that you’ll find satisfactory."
"You’re too kind, Boss," Li Qian replied with equal politeness. "The reason I’m offering this evolution method is that I’ve had a very pleasant stay at the Cultivation Base. Thank you for providing me with such an excellent research environment."
The subtext of his words was obvious: he was offering it as a free gift.
Of course, these were just polite pleasantries. In reality, he was simply making a virtue of necessity.
After all, it was Elder Shi’s Golden Ancestor Bird that had helped initiate the evolution. Given the Golden Ancestor Bird’s intelligence, it would have been impossible to hide it anyway.
It was better to just go with the flow and present it as a favor.
Of course, the more important reason was that Li Qian knew the true core of this evolution lay in its second stage: the path from Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle to Extreme Fierce Sky Escape Eagle.
Compared to that, the evolution from Gray Bean Dove to Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle was merely an appetizer.
"No, our Cultivation Base cannot simply accept such a precious evolution method for free," Shi Gui Fang insisted.
She pondered for a moment before laying out a concrete offer. "How about this? You previously said that once the evolution was complete, you would help the Cultivation Base evolve one Pet Beast at cost."
"I accept that condition. So, you’ll need to find time to help the Cultivation Base evolve an Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle."
"As for the evolution method from Gray Bean Dove to Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle, since we’ve already witnessed the entire process, it’s too late to pretend we haven’t. So, we’ll just consider it officially purchased by the Cultivation Base."
"For the purchase price, what do you think of one billion Federation Coins, fifty thousand Contribution Points, two sets of Emperor Level Extraordinary Resources, and the title of Lifelong Honorary Breeder at our Cultivation Base?"
’Holy hell!’
Hearing this, Li Qian could only scream ’Holy hell!’ in his mind.
She started the offer with one billion Federation Coins. Even though Li Qian already considered himself to have a decent net worth, he couldn’t help but be shaken.
Fifty thousand Federal Contribution Points were no small sum either. If you were to put a price on them, ten thousand Federation Coins could, at best, be exchanged for a single Federal Contribution Point.
And even then, they were often available in name only, with no one actually selling.
Federal Contribution Points were excellent things to have. To purchase certain rare resources or Pet Beasts, Federation Coins alone were not enough; you also needed Federal Contribution Points.
Normally, there were two ways to acquire Federal Contribution Points. The first and most common—as well as the easiest—was to accept missions directly from the Beast Taming Center.
These missions were incredibly varied; some were posted by Dongxia’s major corporations, some by various clans, and quite a few by the Federation government itself.
Any mission issued by the Federation government would typically include Contribution Points in its reward. As for the major corporations and clans, they would sometimes offer Contribution Points to make their missions more attractive, but their rewards were still primarily in Federation Coins.
The second source of Federal Contribution Points—and the origin of the five thousand points Li Qian currently possessed—was making a direct contribution to the Federation.
Li Qian’s five thousand points had come from his multiple confrontations with Cult Organizations, specially requested for him by the Public Security Bureau.
Besides the Federation Coins and Contribution Points, the two sets of Emperor Level Extraordinary Resources and the title of Lifelong Honorary Breeder for Sky Realm were also substantial rewards.
The two sets of Emperor Level Extraordinary Resources were self-evidently valuable, but the title of Lifelong Honorary Breeder also carried significant weight.
With the status of Lifelong Honorary Breeder, Li Qian would be entitled to a monthly salary from the Cultivation Base. He could collect this salary even if he never set foot in the Cultivation Base and just lazed around at home all day. It was essentially no different from being given free money.
Of course, Li Qian wasn’t the type to be a freeloader. He had already decided that in the future, he would occasionally offer some guidance to the other Breeders at the Cultivation Base.