Three days passed in a flash. It had been nearly half a month since Li Qian joined the Sky Realm Cultivation Base.
For the first ten days or so, Li Qian could tell that while Shi Gui Fang respected him, it was ultimately just a formal, polite kind of respect.
An invisible barrier existed between them, keeping them at a certain distance.
However, after he presented the evolution method for the Gray Bean Dove into the Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle, that invisible barrier seemed to vanish in an instant.
Li Qian could clearly feel that Shi Gui Fang was much warmer toward him now, no longer just superficially polite.
Although Li Qian noticed the change, he didn’t say much about it.
It was only human nature.
Especially for someone from a prominent family like Shi Gui Fang, a person’s value was often the most important factor in deciding whether they were worth befriending.
Although Li Qian didn’t particularly like such utilitarian relationships, he wasn’t against them either.
After all, in a relationship like this, he was bound to be the beneficiary.
For instance, his new position at the Sky Realm Cultivation Base had already brought him quite a handsome reward.
The scions of prominent families, especially the major ones, still acted with a certain code of conduct.
At least, Shi Gui Fang did.
After she made her promise, the Federation Coins and Contribution Points arrived in his account the very next day.
As for the two Emperor Level Extraordinary Resources, they were delivered to Li Qian on the third day.
Li Qian didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted them readily.
Aside from this matter, which took up a bit of his attention, he threw himself into two other things for the remainder of his time.
The Second-stage Evolution of Xiaohui, his Gray Bean Dove, and re-establishing Task One.
That’s right. The day after Xiaohui completed his First-stage Evolution, Li Qian had established this new task.
[Task One: Evolution method for Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit. Current task progress: 98%!]
When the task was established and he saw the progress, a look of sudden understanding appeared on Li Qian’s face.
’Just as I thought. The result is as high as I expected.’
In fact, Li Qian had suspected as much when he first witnessed the attempted evolution from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit.
Although Sun Hongyi’s evolution method still had flaws, one could tell just from the process that it was significantly more complete than Professor Yan’s unreliable research.
The reason it still failed was likely some issue with the details, which caused the Evolutionary Form to be unable to sustain itself for long before quickly regressing.
For submitting the evolution task for the Gray Bean Dove into the Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle, Li Qian had earned five Achievement Points. Combined with the one he already had, his Achievement Points now totaled six.
Six Achievement Points wasn’t a huge amount, but for Li Qian, it was enough to complete Task One instantly.
He just didn’t make that choice right away.
Achievement Points were hard to come by, a fact Li Qian had long been well aware of. So, he had no intention of casually spending the two points needed.
’I can save them for a critical moment.’
Besides, the task was already at 98% progress. It only needed the last two points of Inspiration Value to be completed, and Li Qian was prepared to give it a try himself.
After all, the Tidal Sea Spirit was a Pet Beast with Emperor Level Potential. Even if it was only a Tier One Emperor, it was still far beyond what an ordinary Pet Beast could compare to.
If he completed it naturally, he would likely earn five Achievement Points. But if he used Achievement Points to force the progress, not only would he fail to earn any, he’d actually be down two.
That was a seven-point difference in total. Li Qian wasn’t a fool; he knew how to do the math.
Of course, the most important thing was that he hadn’t reached a dead end yet.
Sun Hongyi and Sun Ruirui had been studying the Golden Pearl Bud for so many years; they must have accumulated a wealth of knowledge. If he could just talk with them, or even just read through the data they’d collected, he was sure to make some progress.
He might even be able to complete the task.
With this in mind, Li Qian decided not to rush to complete the task.
’It’s been delayed for so many years anyway; a little more waiting won’t hurt.’
...
After three days, Xiaohui still hadn’t learned the Instant Movement Skill. Li Qian wasn’t worried, but Xiaohui, now a much larger creature, was growing quite impatient—perhaps because he sensed how important this skill was.
"Xiaohui, don’t worry. Take your time," Li Qian said, comforting him. "You’ve been through a much more difficult evolution. Learning one Instant Movement Skill is nothing compared to that."
"CHIRP CHIRP..." Xiaohui cried out twice. He understood Li Qian’s meaning, and his anxiety slowly subsided.
Li Qian had shown him many videos of other Pet Beasts using Instant Movement, and right now, Xiaohui was recalling those images.
Seeing Xiaohui recalling the images while slowly making his own attempts, Li Qian looked away.
’My watching might just be putting extra pressure on him.’
As for whether Xiaohui would slack off without his supervision, Li Qian wasn’t worried in the slightest.
Xiaohui’s personality was actually a bit like Qizai’s; they were both the type of Pet Beast to be extremely strict with themselves.
Back at the White Castle, Li Qian reviewed some data for a while. After some thought, he gave Sun Ruirui a call.
The next morning, Li Qian drove to Hongqiao Manor.
As soon as he entered the manor, he saw Sun Ruirui, looking as beautiful as a princess in her red dress, and behind her, Elder Liao.
Elder Liao’s expression was as cold as ever, no different from the last time they had met.
’It seems that man only ever smiles when he’s facing Sun Ruirui.’
Li Qian saw his cold face but paid it no mind.
’He’s just a butler. Why should I care about his attitude? Sun Ruirui hasn’t said anything, so he certainly has no right to interfere.’
The two chatted and laughed as they walked deeper into the manor. Once Li Qian and Sun Ruirui were some distance away, Elder Liao immediately took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Ruirui, I actually came here today because there’s something I wanted to ask you."
After they had chatted for a while, Li Qian stated the purpose of his visit. "Last time, Professor Sun and I exchanged evolution data. You’re aware of this."
Hearing this, Sun Ruirui nodded in agreement.
There was nothing about this manor or her uncle that Sun Ruirui didn’t know.
"It’s like this," Li Qian began. "After exchanging the research data with Professor Sun, I went back and focused on studying it for a while."
"I was lucky enough to make some progress, but there are also a few questions that have been bothering me. I believe that when it comes to the research on the Golden Pearl Bud’s evolution into the Tidal Sea Spirit, your understanding is second only to Professor Sun’s. So, I was hoping to consult with you on a few things."
"I’m hoping to gain some inspiration and help you solve your problem sooner," Li Qian said, and he meant it.