The two of them continued down the stairs, moving slowly and chatting as they walked.
Li Qian had already made up his mind. Tonight, he would call his parents and tell them to be careful and to avoid leaving Lingshui City unless absolutely necessary.
Since this matter would likely affect the entire Ancestral Star, Lingshui City wouldn’t be spared. If a crisis were to erupt there, the devastation would be even more terrifying. After all, Lingshui City was just a Tier Three Small City. Its defensive capabilities were nothing compared to a Special Level City like Central Sea.
"Thank you!" After hearing Shi Gui Fang’s explanation, Li Qian thanked her sincerely.
That day, he had happened to be there when the four beasts attacked the city. Even then, Li Qian had felt something was off, that there were things he just couldn’t wrap his head around.
But he had figured that if the sky were falling, taller people would be there to hold it up. It wasn’t his place to worry about the fate of the world, so he hadn’t given it much thought.
Now, after hearing what the "little boss" had to say, he immediately grasped the gravity of the situation.
And for that reason, he was truly grateful for Shi Gui Fang’s warning.
Gratitude aside, he also silently made a decision.
He didn’t voice his decision. Instead, he looked back at Shi Gui Fang, who went on to the second matter.
"I hope you can help our Sky Realm cultivate a few Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and Frostfire Salamanders. As for the price, we can acquire them at a 10% premium over the market price."
Hearing Shi Gui Fang’s second point, Li Qian smiled, a playful look on his face.
’For a scion of a powerful family like Shi Gui Fang, investigating my identity would be effortless.’
’The only reason she didn’t know before is that she probably had no expectations about my background and simply never bothered to look into it.’
Li Qian guessed she must have investigated him after seeing him evolve the Extreme Fierce Storm Eagle, and that she now knew his circumstances.
He wasn’t particularly bothered by this. As his accomplishments came to light and his fame grew, some things would be impossible to hide even if he wanted to.
Li Qian figured that by bringing this up now, Shi Gui Fang was, in a way, proactively coming clean.
He smiled and responded directly, "Sure. You can take that up with the Celestial Pride Cultivation Base in Lingshui City, Jiangnan Province."
Shi Gui Fang hadn’t mentioned investigating him, instead broaching the subject through her request. Li Qian, in a tacit understanding, didn’t bring it up either.
’After all, I’m working in her Cultivation Base and enjoying all sorts of perks. It’s only normal for her to run a background check.’
"As for the third matter, it’s about the Xunfeng Bamboo..." As she spoke of the third item, a rare, embarrassed expression appeared on Shi Gui Fang’s face.
Seeing this, Li Qian was puzzled. ’It’s about Xunfeng Bamboo... why does she look so awkward?’
His confusion didn’t last long, as the petite woman quickly offered an explanation—or more accurately, a perk. "If you need Xunfeng Bamboo, you can talk to me. Our Cultivation Base bought up a large quantity from the market. The supply is much lower now, and the price has gone up quite a bit."
Hearing this, Li Qian’s lip twitched. ’Holy cow,’ he thought.
’Buying up enough of an Extraordinary Material to create a shortage and drive up the price... She’s rich on a whole other level.’
’No wonder she’s a little embarrassed. After all, the evolution method came from me. By doing this, she was basically putting the master out of business after learning his trade.’
Li Qian chuckled, not taking it to heart. He simply replied, "Alright."
’In reality, he probably wouldn’t be cultivating many Extreme Fierce Storm Eagles in the near future, at least not until he started at Shazhou Beast Taming University.’
’If he needed to evolve an Extreme Fierce Sky Escape Eagle, he could just buy the Xunfeng Bamboo directly from the ’little boss.’ He was sure she’d give him a decent price.’
Chatting as they walked, the two soon arrived at the first-floor cafeteria of the White Castle. As the number of employees at the Cultivation Base grew, the cafeteria had become increasingly lively.
Since it was the middle of dinner time, the place was quite crowded. Many people saw Li Qian and Shi Gui Fang walking side-by-side, but no one seemed surprised. In fact, it was a fairly common sight at the Cultivation Base.
Because of Shi Gui Fang’s attitude toward Li Qian, many employees at the base also treated him with exceptional respect. Of course, along with that respect, their gazes were also unavoidably strange.
Their gazes held both respect and envy, as if they were looking at a toyboy who had successfully latched onto a wealthy woman.
After dinner, Li Qian returned to his room—though "room" wasn’t quite accurate. The living quarters Shi Gui Fang had prepared for him was actually a suite of about 150 square meters.
The living conditions were no worse than at his own Cultivation Base—in fact, they were even better.
Once back in his suite, Li Qian immediately used his VR glasses to call his parents.
The call connected quickly. Seeing both his parents were present, Li Qian exchanged a few pleasantries before getting to the point. "Mom, Dad, for the time being, unless it’s something critically important, I suggest you don’t leave Lingshui City. Don’t even leave the Cultivation Base."
"And definitely stay away from any remote or sparsely populated areas."
Li Qian’s warning immediately confused Mr. and Mrs. Li.
Seeing their questioning looks, he began to explain. "The Pet Beast attack that happened in Zhonghai City a while back—you know about that, right?"
"Is this related to that Pet Beast attack?" his father, Li Chengyang, asked, immediately making the connection.
Li Qian nodded, confirming his father’s suspicion. "I have a friend from one of the great families in Zhonghai City. According to her intel, these Pet Beast attacks might happen again, and the locations are unpredictable."
After explaining, Li Qian added another reminder, "In any case, you just need to be extra careful."
The three of them chatted for a while longer before hanging up around nine o’clock. Afterward, instead of reading as he usually did, Li Qian lay down on his bed early and began to think.
’From the first attack by the Ancient Divine Teachings, to the one by the Black Divine Teachings, then the Mechanical Desecration Association’s assault, the Flying Ship incident, and now this recent city siege... Something big is about to happen on Ancestral Star...’
’It’s a shame he still hasn’t been to a Dimension Plane. If he had, he might have been able to get more information.’