Beast Taming: I'm Really Not a Cultivation Master

Chapter 199: Chapter 179: Molten Rock Worm

Sun Hongyi was a little surprised by Li Qian’s words. He hadn’t expected the young man to be so bold as to openly negotiate terms with him.

But on second thought, it was to be expected. After all, this was the same person who had dared to poke fun at Sun Hongyi’s appearance.

Sun Hongyi started to pick holes in his proposal. ”As far as I know, you’ve already traded the evolution method for the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon to Professor Yan of Shazhou Beast Taming University.”

”You could just trade the Tidal Sea Spirit’s evolution method again. It doesn’t matter how many times you trade it,” Li Qian said, waving his hand.

His expression seemed to say that no matter how many people tried, none of them could possibly figure it out before he did.

A strange look flickered in Sun Hongyi’s eyes as he stared at Li Qian’s confident face.

After a moment, he responded, ”It’s not impossible to up the ante. I have two bargaining chips. The question is, which one will you choose?”

”What are they?” Li Qian’s interest was immediately piqued.

Li Qian didn’t know what Sun Hongyi was going to offer, but he was certain it would be something extraordinary.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken with such a tone.

As it turned out, his guess was correct.

Sun Hongyi quickly laid out his terms. ”Two bargaining chips. First, the evolution method for a Pet Beast. It’s a Tier One Commander before evolution and a Tier Three Dominator after.”

Hearing this, Li Qian nodded. He didn’t comment directly, but instead asked, ”Is it a First-stage Evolution or a Second-stage Evolution?”

Sun Hongyi couldn’t help but give a wry smile at Li Qian’s question.

’This kid really is sharp.’

He looked at Li Qian, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Still, he ultimately gave a resigned reply. ”It’s a Second-stage Evolution.”

The moment Sun Hongyi finished speaking, Li Qian couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance.

’This Uncle Pi Qiu isn’t being honest.’

’He’s always trying to set a trap for me.’

A Second-stage Evolution with a Potential of only Tier Three Dominator... For an ordinary person, a Pet Beast like that might be a great choice.

But for Li Qian, it wasn’t particularly valuable.

That was true even in terms of its cultivation value.

After all, every time a Pet Beast evolved, its Extraordinary Gene became more complete.

For cultivation, that wasn’t a good thing.

The more complete a Pet Beast’s Extraordinary Gene, the lower its chances of subsequent evolution.

Seeing Li Qian’s reaction, Sun Hongyi gave a sheepish smile.

He cleared his throat and offered an explanation. ”This Pet Beast is rather special, not quite like an ordinary one.”

When Li Qian remained silent, he continued, ”Alright, I’ll just tell you.”

”The Pet Beast is the Molten Rock Worm. Its First-stage Evolution is the Gray Mist Moth, and its Second-stage Evolution is the Flowing Fire Butterfly!”

”When it evolves from Molten Rock Worm to Gray Mist Moth, it follows the path of a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly.”

At this point, Sun Hongyi’s voice suddenly rose. ”But during its Second-stage Evolution, it formed a cocoon again.”

”Admittedly, the further along a Pet Beast’s evolution, the higher the difficulty. However, we suspect the Flowing Fire Butterfly has a cyclical, multi-stage evolutionary path.”

”If we can crack this evolutionary cycle, it means... before long, we’ll be able to evolve the Flowing Fire Butterfly into a new form.”

Sun Hongyi’s words piqued Li Qian’s interest.

’A cyclical evolutionary path.’

’That’s definitely an interesting line of research.’

”Tell me about your second bargaining chip,” Li Qian said, his expression unreadable.

”The second one... well, it’s a bit outlandish. You might even think it sounds unbelievable...”

After that lengthy preamble, Sun Hongyi finally continued, ”But I can guarantee you, it’s the absolute truth!”

”Once, by a stroke of luck, I obtained a collection of ancient relics.”

So-called ”relics” generally referred to treasures unearthed from ruins.

Anything could be found within them.

”This collection of relics contained several books, one of which mentioned the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and... its subsequent Evolutionary Form.”

”The Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon’s subsequent Evolutionary Form?!” Sun Hongyi’s words sent waves crashing through Li Qian’s mind.

Based on the man’s status as a professor at a Beast Taming University’s Cultivation College, Li Qian believed he was unlikely to be lying.

This meant that he truly knew what the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon’s next Evolutionary Form was.

It was hard for Li Qian not to be stunned by such shocking news.

After all, if one had established a Pet Beast research quest, knowing the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon’s subsequent Evolutionary Form would likely mean... an increase of at least five Inspiration Value points.

This was an evolution quest for a Holy Spirit-level Pet Beast!

Forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Li Qian quickly calmed down.

After calming down and thinking it through, he realized that even if it were true, it wasn’t necessarily a good thing for him.

Seeing the astonishment on Li Qian’s face, Sun Hongyi smiled. ”Yes, the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon’s Evolutionary Form. On top of that, I also have a piece of information related to its evolution.”

After laying out both bargaining chips, he looked at Li Qian expectantly. ”With one of these two added to the pot, would you say that’s enough?”

Li Qian fell into thought. After a moment, he nodded. ”It’s a deal.”

Sun Hongyi pressed on, ”So, which bargaining chip do you choose?”

Li Qian let out a breath and made his choice. ”I choose the first option: the Flowing Fire Butterfly’s evolution method.”

”Huh...”

Sun Hongyi was slightly taken aback by Li Qian’s choice. ”Why?”

Li Qian answered frankly, ”I’m certainly curious about the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon’s Evolutionary Form, but I’m also well aware that, at my current stage, knowing it would be meaningless. There’s no way I could complete that research.”

”A very smart and rational choice. A bit unexpected, I must admit,” Sun Hongyi said with a sigh of admiration.

Li Qian added, ”Most importantly, just knowing that you have this information is enough for me.”

”In the future, when I feel I’ve gotten strong enough, I can just come back and trade for it then.”

”By then, I might even have more bargaining chips to offer.”

Sun Hongyi looked at Li Qian with renewed appreciation.

”You’re very confident. But I like your confidence. It’s a good thing,” he praised, while simultaneously grumbling to himself.

’Compared to Li Qian, my own students are complete and utter trash!’

”I think so too,” Li Qian agreed with a smile.

Once they had settled the terms of their exchange, Sun Hongyi suddenly extended a hand in an inviting gesture. ”Since we’ve reached an agreement, why don’t you stay for the evening? Tonight, I’ll show you something... special.”

Hearing this, the interest on Li Qian’s face deepened. ”In that case, it would be rude to refuse.”