Having sorted out the specific details of the evolution from Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, Li Qian was quite pleased. His mind was racing that night, and he didn't fall asleep until around midnight.
The next day was Saturday. Li Qian wasn't too worried about going out in broad daylight, but before his parents left for work in the morning, they still made a point of reminding him to be careful.
After eating the breakfast his mother left for him, Li Qian left home around nine o'clock and headed straight for the artificial waterfall at the West Suburb Hydroelectric Power Station.
It wasn't long before he arrived at the artificial waterfall.
After more than a month together, he was perfectly in sync with both Ah Fu and Qizai.
Even though Li Qian had arrived at the pool, there was no reaction on the water's surface. It was as if this was just an ordinary pool of water.
Only after Li Qian clapped his hands three times did two fish heads finally emerge from the water.
This was the signal he had arranged with Qizai and Ah Fu.
Although the two fish weren't unintelligent, they were still just a pair of Koi Carp. It had taken them the better part of a day of training to master even a signal as simple as this.
It was a bit of a hassle, but Li Qian felt it was all worth it.
Both Qizai and Ah Fu, despite having Potential that was outstanding among their kind, were ultimately just two Low-level Pet Beasts. They had only mastered two Skills, Climbing Waterfall and Fish Jump. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them completely useless in a fight.
If they were discovered, there was no telling what kind of accident might occur, so a certain degree of caution was indispensable.
Setting aside Ah Fu, who he'd lived with day in and day out for over a decade, he had even developed a solid bond with Qizai after more than a month of training.
If anything happened to them, he would be heartbroken.
"Ah Fu, your task for today is to continue training your Climbing Waterfall Skill. Try to raise it to the Perfection Level as soon as possible." Li Qian looked at Ah Fu first and gave his order.
That's right—just three days ago, Ah Fu's Climbing Waterfall Skill had reached the Master Level.
It was just one Level away from reaching the Perfection Level.
After more than a month of training, Ah Fu was conditioned to this command and quickly understood what Li Qian wanted.
It shot off toward the waterfall like a streak of silver in the water.
"You're next, Qizai."
Seeing Ah Fu carry out his command without hesitation, Li Qian nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze to Qizai. "Today, your training is going to be different."
"Today, you're going to learn how to use the Fish Leaping Skill to jump into the air and catch the Energy Fish Food I throw for you."
This was an essential part of the training before the evolution could officially begin.
The Wind Chime Fruit was extremely precious to Li Qian. A single one was worth five hundred thousand Federation Coins. If Qizai failed to catch it during the evolution, it would be a complete disaster.
Li Qian had practically bankrupted himself to acquire these resources; he couldn't afford to be the slightest bit careless.
Fortunately, this skill wasn't difficult to train. It took some time for Qizai to understand his command, but after that, the training began.
Just like that, half a day flew by. In only half a day, Qizai had basically mastered the skill. While not yet perfect, he was getting close.
By dinnertime, his performance could be considered foolproof.
That evening, Li Qian didn't conduct any more training. He also didn't leave Ah Fu and Qizai in the pool, instead recalling them into their Beast Taming Balls and taking them home.
Ah Fu returned to the fish tank he had been away from for over a month. He swam a few happy laps, looking a little excited.
As for Qizai, Li Qian was preparing to form a contract with him directly.
Qizai had already met all the requirements for evolution. Now was the most suitable time to form the contract.
Once Qizai evolved into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, his Level would certainly increase dramatically. When that happened, Li Qian's own Spiritual Power would also advance by leaps and bounds thanks to the feedback from the contract.
As for Ah Fu, Li Qian could only play it by ear. If he could wait long enough, Li Qian planned to use Achievement Points to instantly complete the quest for the Koi Carp's second evolutionary path once its progress reached 91%.
Then, he could have Ah Fu evolve directly into the Koi Carp's second Evolutionary Form. If he couldn't wait, then the only option was to let him evolve into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.
But it was impossible for Li Qian to form a contract with two Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons. In that case, he could only have his father or mother form a contract with Ah Fu.
There was another point. When Li Qian thought about Ah Fu 'not being able to wait,' it wasn't just about the time needed for research; it was also about Ah Fu's lifespan.
After all, if calculated in human years, Ah Fu might already be over seventy years old.
The next morning, Li Qian was up early.
It was Sunday, a rare day when neither of his parents had to work. After breakfast, Li Qian thought for a moment and decided to tell them his plans.
Putting down his chopsticks, he said, "Dad, Mom, I have something I need to do. I have to leave Lingshui City for a bit. I'll probably be back tomorrow afternoon."
To keep his parents from worrying, he added, "I'll arrange to take tomorrow off from school."
"You're leaving Lingshui City for a while? Is everything okay?" his mother, Han Yuqing, asked immediately, her voice full of concern. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the city next door, Yunlan City." Li Qian didn't overthink it and told them the truth. "Remember how I told you I was studying hard to become a great Breeder? Well, I recently had an idea that I need to test out, but the place I need to do it isn't in Lingshui City. I have to go to Yunlan City."
"Is that so..." His father, Li Chengyang, mulled over his words for a moment before looking at Li Qian. "Do you need me to go with you?"
"You don't have to, Dad, Mom. I'm an adult now; I'll be fine on my own." Li Qian shook his head. "Besides, it's not that far. It's only about a two-hour trip by high-speed train."
To further ease their worries, Li Qian added, "And Yunlan City is much bigger than Lingshui City, so public safety there is bound to be just as good, if not better."
Seeing how determined Li Qian was, his parents didn't try to stop him.
Of course, the main reason was likely their thinking: 'Our son is grown up now. It's inevitable that he'll have to go out on his own.'
Not to mention, with his life at Beast Taming University just around the corner, he would have to live on his own away from home anyway.
'This is a good chance for him to get some practice in advance.'
Having brought the matter up with his parents and received their consent, Li Qian returned to his room and packed the things he had prepared into a backpack.
"Dad, Mom, I'm off!" Li Qian said, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. After saying goodbye to his parents, he left the house.
He had just reached the entrance of his apartment building when his phone suddenly started ringing.
Li Qian pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen, muttering to himself, 'It's Fatty An. Why would he be calling me now?'
Without hesitating, he answered the call. He kept walking toward the entrance of the complex. "Hey, Fatty An, what's up? I'm just on my way out!"
"What? You're right outside my complex? Okay, hold on, I'm coming out now!"
Three minutes later, Li Qian arrived at the gate of the complex and immediately spotted Fatty An. It was hard not to—his red sports car was so flashy and eye-catching that it was impossible to miss.
"Fatty An, it's the weekend. No Meditation for you today? So, what's up? What brings you here?" Li Qian walked straight over to the parked red sports car. As he got closer and saw Fatty An practically swallowed by the driver's seat, he asked with a grin.
Fatty An pointed to the passenger seat, his voice brimming with excitement. "Get in! I'm on top of the world today, bro! I'm taking you out for some fun!"
Li Qian was a bit confused at first, but it quickly dawned on him what was going on. "You awakened?"
"You've got a sharp eye, my friend." Fatty An laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. It was framed as a compliment to Li Qian, but he was clearly tooting his own horn.
"Can't today." Li Qian shook his head, flatly refusing Fatty An's offer. He gestured to the backpack on his shoulders. "I have to go to Yunlan City."
"You're going to Yunlan City?" Fatty An looked at Li Qian skeptically. "What for?"
Li Qian patted his chest and said with a mysterious smile, "To witness the birth of my very own Dominator Level Potential Pet Beast."
"What?" Fatty An dug a finger in his ear. "Bro, you're kidding me, right?"
He felt that what Li Qian just said was even more outrageous than the news of his own awakening.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his bro.
It was just that barely a month had passed since Li Qian had first mentioned it.
'Figuring out the evolutionary path for a Dominator Level Potential Pet Beast in such a short time?'
'If something this absurd is actually true...' Fatty An knew exactly what that would mean.
'It means my bro is probably a monster of a prodigy with world-shaking Talent for breeding.'
'With that kind of Talent, as long as nothing happens to him, his future accomplishments will be limitless. Becoming a Cultivation Master would be practically within his grasp, and even Cultivation Grandmaster wouldn't be out of the question.'
'Nope. Whether this turns out to be a miracle or a joke, I have to go see it for myself.'
Having made up his mind, Fatty An pointed to the passenger seat again. "Get in. I'm going with you!"
Li Qian didn't waste any more time. He opened the car door and got in. "What, not afraid I'm just pulling your leg?"
"If you dare pull my leg, I'll go right to Tu Jiaojiao and tell her you were so devastated after she rejected you that you wanted to kill yourself..."
"Damn, that's harsh! You're just making that up!"
"Making it up? For a few days there, you were definitely acting like you were on your period..."
"You're the one on your period!"
"..."
Laughing and joking, the two of them sped off in the car toward the high-speed rail station.
As for driving all the way to Yunlan City... they weren't that reckless.
The wilderness wasn't necessarily safe.
If a terrifyingly powerful wild Pet Beast were to jump out at them, it would be a hopeless situation.
But there were no such worries when taking the high-speed rail.
Because every high-speed train was itself a Mechanical Pet Beast of at least the Commander Level.
Its safety was guaranteed.