Beast Taming: I'm Really Not a Cultivation Master

Chapter 252: Chapter 228: Perfectly Willing, Task Feedback 2

On the surface, Li Qian was still happily chatting and laughing with Sun Ruirui.

In reality, his mind was a complete mess, filled with questions.

Utterly baffled. That was the only thing on his mind.

’What on earth just happened?’

’Why did my Inspiration Value suddenly increase out of nowhere?’

’And how did I complete Mission Two, just like that?’

The confusion slowly faded, and soon, Li Qian began to form a theory.

Connecting it to what the girl had just said, a single word suddenly popped into his mind—willingness!

’Yes, that’s it! Willingness!’

If there was any information from his chat with Sun Ruirui that could have triggered the Inspiration Value, the most likely candidate had to be... willingness!

With that thought, Li Qian forced himself to suppress his excitement and continued chatting with the girl, careful not to let any unusual expression show on his face.

’This isn’t the right time to submit the mission.’

Time flew by. By four in the afternoon, the two had finished touring most of the Pet Beast habitats in Hongqiao Manor and returned to the manor’s research building, which was also where Sun Ruirui lived.

The steward, Elder Liao, appeared at the perfect moment and intentionally reminded Li Qian, ”Cultivator Li, it’s getting late. It might be inconvenient for you to travel after dark.”

Li Qian glanced at Elder Liao.

’Could you be any more obvious about wanting me to leave...’

Just as Li Qian was thinking he should probably leave Hongqiao Manor for now, go back and submit the mission, and come back another time, the girl’s voice suddenly cut in. ”No, Brother Qian and I have already agreed. He’s not leaving tonight; he’s staying at the manor.”

Hearing this, the corner of Elder Liao’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

Li Qian’s mouth twitched as well, his expression mirroring Elder Liao’s.

’What’s going on?’

’When did I ever say I was staying here tonight?’

He looked at Sun Ruirui in confusion. She was blinking at him frantically, her hints anything but subtle.

Feeling a little helpless, Li Qian glanced to the side. Sure enough, Elder Liao’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He shot Li Qian a cold glare without saying a word, but the unspoken message was crystal clear.

’If you dare agree to this, you punk, just you watch how I’ll deal with you!’

Li Qian was 100% certain that was the message behind Elder Liao’s gaze.

After confirming the threat hidden in Elder Liao’s eyes, Li Qian gave a meaningful smile and, without the slightest hesitation, said, ”That’s right. Ruirui and I have already agreed. I’m staying tonight to keep her company!”

He even said the last part, ”to keep her company,” extra loudly, as if deliberately stressing the point.

As he finished speaking, Elder Liao’s expression, just as expected, grew even uglier.

Seeing this, Li Qian actually found it amusing.

After another dinner at Hongqiao Manor, Li Qian found an excuse to be alone for a few minutes and took the opportunity to submit the mission.

After the mission was submitted, a flood of information rushed into his mind. Fortunately, most of it was already within his grasp, so it didn’t take long to process and absorb.

After absorbing all the information that poured in from submitting the mission, Li Qian wore a strange expression.

The evolution method from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit—both the steps and the resources required—was identical to the one Sun Hongyi had attempted before.

In fact, Li Qian had already suspected this back when his Inspiration Value increased, even before he had submitted the mission.

As it turned out, his suspicion was correct. The problem really did lie with the Golden Pearl that Jin Shiba had offered.

According to the information he received, the Golden Pearl was the very essence of a Golden Pearl Bud, containing an immense amount of Life Energy from the same origin. It could help another Golden Pearl Bud break through its life’s constraints and evolve into a Tidal Sea Spirit.

This part was actually a bit unexpected for Li Qian. The evolution from Golden Pearl Bud to Tidal Sea Spirit did indeed require a member of the same species that had reached its Racial Potential Limit to offer up its own Golden Pearl.

But there was a crucial detail here: the offering had to be voluntary, made willingly. Otherwise, the evolution would inevitably fail.

The reason for the failure was simple. A Golden Pearl was the very essence of a Golden Pearl Bud, and it contained the original owner’s extremely strong spiritual will.

This powerful spiritual will was a double-edged sword. It could help the evolving Pet Beast transcend its limits, but it could also interfere with its mind, causing the evolution to end in failure.

Without a doubt, Sun Hongyi’s previous evolution experiment had fallen into the latter category.

This also explained why Ah Hai was able to complete the evolution, while other Golden Pearl Buds could not replicate its success.

”Even the wisest are not immune to error.” Li Qian couldn’t help but mutter to himself after absorbing the knowledge from his Golden Finger.

Li Qian found it hard to believe that neither Sun Hongyi nor Sun Ruirui had considered this oversight. But just like that, they had missed what was right under their noses.

And he was the one who ended up benefiting from their oversight.

As he pondered this, Li Qian felt completely refreshed, a sense of sharpened clarity washing over him.

At first, he just thought it was because the problem that had been bothering him for so long was finally solved, putting him in a much better mood.

But he soon realized something was off. Without hesitation, he immediately contacted Sun Ruirui. ”Ruirui, does Hongqiao Manor have any equipment for testing Spiritual Power?”

Although Li Qian asked, he was already fairly certain that they did.

After all, Sun Ruirui’s Spiritual Power was a ticking time bomb, and Li Qian couldn’t believe Sun Hongyi wouldn’t be monitoring it constantly.

As it turned out, his guess was correct. The girl’s clear, pleasant voice soon gave an affirmative reply, ”Of course we do, Brother Qian. Do you need to use it?”

”Yeah, I feel like I might have made some gains. I want to see if my Spiritual Power has improved,” Li Qian replied.

A few moments later, the two arrived at a research lab, where the young lady handed Li Qian a helmet for testing Spiritual Power.

Li Qian didn’t hesitate and put it on immediately.

As a button on the helmet was pressed, a row of small red indicator lights began to flicker one after another.

The small lights blinked, brightening and dimming, before finally settling on a specific value.

”Wow, Brother Qian, you’re incredible! Your Spiritual Power actually reached Tier Seven Elite!” The young lady couldn’t help but cry out in surprise and delight when she saw the value displayed on the helmet.

Sun Ruirui remembered Li Qian saying that he had only awakened a few months before the college entrance exams.

That meant not even half a year had passed, and in such a short time, his Spiritual Power had already risen to the level of Tier Seven Elite.

At this thought, waves of shock stirred in Sun Ruirui’s heart. ’Brother Qian’s Talent is truly terrifying.’