That evening, a light rain fell over Zhonghai City. When Li Qian woke up in the morning, he went to check on the pond.
The two Golden Pearl Buds surfaced the moment he arrived.
Li Qian took out his Pet Beast Translation Device and said with a smile, "It seems you’ve made your choice."
Just as he said this, Jinfeng swam toward the bank, while Golden Rain remained motionless.
The result was already quite clear.
Through the Pet Beast Translation Device, Li Qian quickly confirmed this.
Jinfeng had received the chance to evolve into a Tidal Sea Spirit, while Golden Rain had chosen to offer up its Golden Pearl.
"Since you’ve made your choice, come with me." Without hesitation, Li Qian threw out two Beast Taming Balls again.
A moment later, he returned to his laboratory—a spacious room of a full 200 square meters.
This was Li Qian’s private laboratory, a testament to the sincerity of the Sky Realm Cultivation Base.
After entering the lab, Li Qian locked the door and once again released the Golden Pearl Buds.
This time, he didn’t release Jinfeng, the one who had gotten the chance to evolve. Instead, he released Golden Rain.
Although Golden Pearl Buds were shell-type Pet Beasts, their strength had already reached Commander Peak. They would have no problem even if they left the water and stayed on land for a year or two.
Inside the lab, Li Qian looked at the released Golden Rain and spoke in a serious tone, "My evolution method is different from that of your boss Ah Hai’s Beast Master."
"As long as you do as I say, I can guarantee that Jinfeng will evolve into a Tidal Sea Spirit one hundred percent of the time. Of course, if you don’t follow my instructions, the consequences will be just as severe."
"What are the consequences?" Golden Rain made a sound, and Li Qian understood its meaning through the Pet Beast Translation Device.
Li Qian looked at Golden Rain, his voice calm and measured. "Death! If you don’t do exactly as I say, there’s a high probability that Jinfeng will die!"
This was the trump card Li Qian had mentioned, his so-called secret weapon.
Of course, in the end, it was all just a deception. Even if the evolution failed, the worst that would happen was regression; it wasn’t life-threatening at all.
However, Golden Rain didn’t know that, which gave him room to maneuver. Besides, it wasn’t uncommon for a Pet Beast to perish during evolution. It happened from time to time.
He had said something so alarming simply to add weight to what would come next.
Although he couldn’t see a change in Golden Rain’s expression—it was, after all, just a shell—Li Qian could almost feel the panic and shock in its heart.
Compared to Li Qian’s talk of one hundred percent success, its mind was now completely filled with the word "death."
Ignoring Golden Rain, which seemed frozen in place, Li Qian began to casually fiddle with the various pieces of equipment in the lab.
He had to admit, a rich girl was a rich girl. The equipment in the lab was all the latest and greatest, mostly top-of-the-line Advanced models.
As he tinkered with the equipment, Li Qian spoke nonchalantly, "This afternoon, I’m going to Hongqiao Manor again. If you agree, tonight is when the evolution will happen. If you don’t agree, you can both go back tonight. In the future, even if another chance for evolution comes up, it won’t be for you or Jinfeng."
Li Qian’s meaning was crystal clear: you two rise and fall together.
"Zhu Zhu..." After several minutes of silence, Golden Rain suddenly opened its tulip-shaped shell and made a sound.
"What do you need me to do?" Wearing the Pet Beast Translation Device, Li Qian naturally understood Golden Rain’s voice.
For Golden Rain to say such a thing already showed its stance. Li Qian wasn’t the least bit surprised by its choice.
Without wasting time, Li Qian stated one of the essential conditions for the evolution: the Golden Pearl must be offered with one hundred percent willingness, without a single distracting thought or trace of reluctance. Then, ignoring Golden Rain’s shock, he recalled it into its Beast Taming Ball.
By the time he released it and Jinfeng again, it was already ten o’clock at night. The location was the northeast corner of Hongqiao Manor, right where the small cove was.
"Brother Qian, have you really completed the research on the evolution from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit?" Even now, Sun Ruirui found it hard to believe what Li Qian had told her when he arrived that afternoon.
Her third uncle had spent so much time, so many resources, and so much energy on this matter without success, and Li Qian had cracked it so easily?
Yes, if one only considered the time spent, "easily" was exactly the word for it.
Along with her disbelief, a hint of anticipation flickered in her eyes.
As the two arrived on the beach of the small cove, Ah Hai appeared again. She looked at Li Qian. "Are you ready?"
"We can start anytime." Li Qian smiled and also released Jinfeng and Golden Rain.
At this moment, the two Golden Pearl Buds were in a strange state. Golden Rain was motionless, waiting quietly, while Jinfeng was a bit... bewildered.
"Since you’re ready, let’s begin." Ah Hai didn’t waste any time. As soon as she finished speaking, her gaze fell upon the two Golden Pearl Buds.
Jinfeng slowly approached, temporarily shaking off its slight confusion.
Ah Hai didn’t say much upon seeing that the Pet Beast evolving was Jinfeng.
In its view, it made no difference whether it was Jinfeng or Golden Rain.
What it needed to confirm was that the evolution method Li Qian spoke of was feasible and effective.
It gave a slight nod. Seeing that Li Qian, Jinfeng, and Golden Rain were all ready, it directly cast its Perfection Level Life Dew Skill.
As the Skill was cast, a pale blue curtain of rain appeared once more, shrouding the top of Jinfeng’s shell.
As the rain fell, Jinfeng, who was extremely familiar with it, didn’t hesitate. It immediately used its Breakthrough Level Budding Skill to absorb the Energy within the rain.
As the Energy was absorbed by the Budding Skill, a faint Light of Evolution began to glow from Jinfeng’s body, like a flower about to bloom.
Of course, this alone was certainly not enough. This step had already been attempted by Sun Hongyi long ago.
It could indeed trigger the appearance of the Light of Evolution!
Before Li Qian made a new move, both Ah Hai and Jinfeng maintained their Skill releases.
Li Qian stared intently at the evolving Jinfeng. After a moment, feeling the time was right, he directly tossed out several resources.
In addition to Life Water Drops, a Spirit-Encompassing Crystal Stone, a Jade Dragon Fruit, and Jade Nether Grass, Li Qian also threw in a few extra materials.
Li Qian’s reason for adding the extra materials was none other than to muddy the waters.
After the infusion of knowledge he received upon submitting his task, Li Qian knew the evolution method from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit like the back of his hand, or close enough.
As long as it didn’t affect the outcome of the evolution, creating a little misdirection was a piece of cake.
But this might just significantly mislead Comrade Lao Sun.
Who asked him to be as wary of me as if I were a thief? Li Qian was not a magnanimous person.
After helping Sun Ruirui solve the problem of the Apocalypse, if Comrade Lao Sun still wanted to evolve another Tidal Sea Spirit, he would inevitably have to come and beg him.
Li Qian imagined, ’That scene will definitely be interesting.’
Of course, he could also be stubborn and not come begging. Li Qian figured that would be quite an interesting development as well...