Beast Taming: I'm Really Not a Cultivation Master

"Just say that I need its help with an evolutionary experiment. The experiment might succeed, or it might fail."

Li Qian used his Soul Contract’s Telepathy to convey the gist of his thoughts to Qizai.

He then repeated the message out loud, just to be perfectly clear.

He held nothing back and told it the truth.

"If it fails, it will lose all hope of evolution forever. But if it succeeds, it can use this chance to leap the Dragon Gate and become a Pet Beast with Tier Nine Dominator Potential."

After explaining the situation, Li Qian looked at the Koi Carp in the water, quietly awaiting its response.

It would be for the best if it chose to undergo the evolutionary experiment.

If it was afraid, he wouldn’t force it.

The choice was entirely its own.

At worst, it would be like he’d spent over a hundred thousand Federation Coins just to buy an ornamental fish.

For Li Qian, while it would be a bit of a shame, it wasn’t enough to make him feel the sting.

Besides, he was confident that it would most likely choose the former option.

Because Li Qian had seen reluctance to resign to its fate and ambition in its fishy eyes.

That look of envy when it gazed at Qizai’s body was unmistakable.

"GLUG GLUG GLUG..."

Sure enough, things went just as Li Qian had guessed.

Just as Li Qian’s voice faded, the new Koi Carp shot up, leaping straight out of the water and tracing a semicircle in the air.

It had clearly demonstrated its determination and resolve with its actions.

Seeing this, Li Qian broke into a brilliant smile. "Very good. It seems you have a lot of confidence in yourself."

"GLUG GLUG GLUG..." The Koi Carp fell back into the water, blowing bubbles.

It swam back and forth anxiously, its eagerness and impatience practically bursting from the water’s surface.

At this, Li Qian’s smile widened. He looked at the Koi Carp in the water and said in a gentle voice, "No need to rush. Before the evolution, I have to help you get into peak condition."

Of course, in reality, adjusting the Koi Carp’s condition was only one of the reasons.

There was another: the Frostfire Array at the base wasn’t set up yet.

The conditions for evolution were not yet fully prepared.

For that, he would have to rely on Niu Fenjin’s skills.

Li Qian was still quite confident about this.

After all, this was someone Teacher Chu Xiran had recommended.

Although he seemed a bit unreliable, after their last conversation, Li Qian felt the man was actually quite capable.

His research into Arrays was far more profound than his own.

"Oh, right, I should give you a name first." Having made up his mind, Li Qian looked at the Koi Carp in the water again when something suddenly occurred to him.

He sized it up for a moment, scratched his head, and finally said, as if to himself, "Your body... you look to be about sixty centimeters long. How about I call you ’Xiaoliu’?"

After saying this, Li Qian couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

’My first Pet Beast is named Qizai, and my second is Xiaoliu. If I keep this up, I’ll just be counting down: five, four, three, two, one...’

’My naming logic is simple, sure, but it sounds a bit... odd.’

’In any case, the names have nothing to do with the majestic and imposing Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon or Frostfire Salamander.’

’They sound more like names for puppies and kittens.’

’There’s nothing I can do about it.’

’That’s just all my brain can come up with.’

’I also wanted to pick some majestic, imposing names, but unfortunately, I’m terrible at naming things.’

After comforting Xiaoliu for a while longer, Li Qian returned to Building One.

...

As the days passed and Niu Fenjin gradually imparted his knowledge of Arrays, Li Qian’s own understanding of them grew increasingly profound and comprehensive.

In addition, the layout of the Frostfire Array at the base was slowly beginning to take shape.

Li Qian was quite satisfied with this progress.

If all restrictions were lifted and Niu Fenjin was allowed to work at full capacity, the entire Array could probably be set up in about a week.

But that held little meaning for Li Qian.

What he wanted was to understand the underlying logic of the Frostfire Array.

And ultimately, to completely master the Array.

He couldn’t just hire someone to set up the Array for every future Frostfire Salamander evolution, could he?

The cost was a minor issue. More importantly, failing to learn the Frostfire Array meant he hadn’t truly mastered the evolution method from Koi Carp to Frostfire Salamander.

Of course, the best-case scenario this time would be... if the Frostfire Array was reusable.

But all that would only be known after the evolutionary experiment was complete.

During this period, Li Qian basically stayed at the base, rarely going out and barely even attending school.

He was either studying on his own or learning how to set up the Frostfire Array with Niu Fenjin.

Perhaps it was because of Teachers Chu Xiran and Zhu Bingqing, but Niu Fenjin was quite serious in his teachings.

He didn’t hold anything back.

For this, Li Qian was quite grateful.

Regardless of the reason, Niu Fenjin had truly and genuinely helped him this time.

As for his school attendance, after learning that Li Qian had independently researched the evolution method from Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, all his teachers—from Chu Xiran for Cultivation class and Zhu Bingqing for Meditation class, to the three teachers for Pet Beast knowledge, combat, and culture classes—chose to turn a blind eye.

After all, there wasn’t much the school could teach him now.

He just needed to show up for the college entrance exams on schedule.

In their eyes, even the college entrance exams didn’t hold much significance.

With Li Qian’s achievements, the Eight Great universities, including those in Kyoto and Central Sea, might even proactively offer him special admission.

And things turned out just as they had guessed.

On the Sunday of the last week in May, someone with a rather special status arrived at Lingshui City Beast Taming High School.

He was a middle-aged man, around forty or so, with a round, pancake-like face that made him look quite simple and honest.

"Teacher Zhou Chubin, what brings you here?" Chu Xiran asked, looking with some surprise at the middle-aged man who had appeared before her.

Don’t be fooled by the middle-aged man’s unconventional attire of a duck-bill cap and overalls; his identity was anything but simple.

Not only was he a recruiter for Jiangnan Beast Taming University, but he was also one of the vice deans of its Cultivation College.

Although his position was more administrative, his cultivation skills were by no means poor.

Chu Xiran’s surprise wasn’t just because of his status, but also because she knew this "Teacher Zhou Chubin."

That’s right—Chu Xiran was also a graduate of Jiangnan Beast Taming University.

"As for why I’m here, you’ve probably already guessed the reason,"

Zhou Chubin chuckled and continued, "I heard that an incredible cultivation genius has appeared here in Lingshui City!"

"So young, yet he’s already researched the evolutionary path from Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon."

"If I didn’t come soon, a genius like this might get snatched up by some unscrupulous characters."

Chu Xiran wasn’t at all surprised that Teacher Zhou Chubin knew of Li Qian’s existence and had heard about him.

Once news like this got out, it was bound to reach their ears quickly.

"Don’t worry, Teacher Zhou. I’ve been keeping an eye on him for our alma mater."

Chu Xiran smiled sweetly. "Though, he hasn’t yet explicitly stated his intention of where he’ll enroll."

"However, from what I know, he’s leaning toward staying here in our Jiangnan Province."

Chu Xiran stated her speculation.

This was, in fact, close to Li Qian’s true thoughts.

Hearing this, the smile on Zhou Chubin’s face grew even wider. "That’s good to hear..."