After paying the adoption fee and putting the Sparrow-tailed Fish into a Beast Taming Ball he had prepared, Li Qian didn't linger.
After saying goodbye to Granny Miao, he left the rescue station.
Since he had only taken the morning off, Li Qian didn't go home after adopting the Sparrow-tailed Fish. Instead, he went straight to school.
He didn't want to miss Teacher Zhu Bingqing's Meditation class that afternoon.
The feedback from Qizai's evolution had greatly boosted Li Qian's Spiritual Power.
He could already faintly sense the threshold of the Elite Level.
If he worked a little harder and spent his time meditating, he might just be able to break through to the Elite Level before graduation.
Li Qian meditated with meticulous focus during his Meditation class that afternoon.
He felt his Spiritual Power slowly rising, but he wasn't in a hurry.
There was no point in rushing this kind of thing.
Building up Spiritual Power was a long, slow grind.
After class, just as Li Qian was about to leave right away as usual, Teacher Zhu Bingqing stopped him to ask a few questions.
Just as Li Qian had expected.
Teacher Zhu Bingqing asked about his recent visit to the Pet Beast Potion Store.
She had learned about Li Qian's visit to the potion store and, after speaking with Teacher Chu Xiran, found out he was studying to become a professional Breeder. Out of concern, she asked him a few more questions.
They were mostly questions like, "Have you run into any problems?", "What have you been researching recently?", and "Have you made any progress?"
He didn't want to lie to Teacher Zhu Bingqing, but he was also worried the truth would sound too outrageous.
Li Qian could only give vague answers like, "It's going okay," "No major issues," and "I've made a little progress."
He finally managed to wrap up his conversation with Teacher Zhu Bingqing.
Just as he reached the school gate, Li Qian was met with Fatty An's look of envy, jealousy, and hate.
Li Qian didn't waste any words, just opened the car door and got inside.
"Don't be like that. Teacher Zhu Bingqing was the one who approached me."
Li Qian rolled his eyes at Fatty An, exasperated.
"She was just asking about my studies."
"Speaking of which, Fatty An, we're about to graduate. If you don't confess, you're running out of time."
Li Qian started to egg him on. "Why not do something crazy before we graduate?"
"Um, well..."
For once, Li Qian's words made Fatty An flush beet-red.
He stammered, unsure of what to say.
Li Qian struck while the iron was hot. "You don't want to graduate with regrets, do you?"
"But what if Teacher Zhu Bingqing rejects me? What do I do then?"
Fatty An frowned, voicing his worry.
Li Qian scoffed and shot him down without mercy. "Dude, be brave. This isn't a 'what if' situation!"
"It's 100% certain that Teacher Zhu Bingqing will reject you!"
Hearing this, Fatty An's face turned as black as the bottom of a wok.
He couldn't help but curse inwardly: 'Damn it, do you have to be so blunt? Even if it's true!'
"Then what's the point of confessing? Just to get rejected and humiliate myself?"
Fatty An's face was full of resentment, his expression seeming to say, 'Dude, are you messing with me on purpose?'
Li Qian pursed his lips and explained patiently, "Your confession isn't about getting a response."
"Let's be blunt, there's no way Teacher Zhu Bingqing is going to say yes..."
"At the end of the day, this confession is for you."
"It's to put an end to your high school crush, to give yourself some closure."
Hearing this, a deeply suspicious look appeared on Fatty An's face.
"That... sounds reasonable..."
"But I have a feeling something's off... You're not just setting me up for a good laugh, are you...?"
"Of course not!"
Li Qian's words were confident, but inwardly he was thinking something else.
'This fatty is getting smarter. He's not so easy to trick anymore.'
With Fatty An acting as his personal chauffeur, the two of them arrived at the artificial waterfall in less than fifteen minutes.
As soon as they arrived, Li Qian immediately let out the Sparrow-tailed Fish and Qizai.
The Sparrow-tailed Fish and Qizai were put directly into the Lingshui River Reservoir.
As for Ah Fu, he was placed back in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.
Li Qian had it continue to practice the Climbing Waterfall Skill.
Its Climbing Waterfall Skill had already reached the Master Level. If it kept training at this intensity, Li Qian estimated its Skill Level could reach the Perfection Level in a month at most.
If everything went smoothly, Ah Fu should also be able to evolve into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon before graduation.
At that point, he could either let it roam free in his own Cultivation Base or have his mother, Han Yuqing, form a Soul Contract with it. Both were good options.
As for the Koi Carp's other evolutionary form, Li Qian had a rather zen attitude.
It was too late for Ah Fu to pursue it, in any case.
The slow progress of his research was only one reason.
The other major reason was that all of Ah Fu's recent training had been focused on evolving into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.
Li Qian wasn't too concerned about it, though.
Given his future prospects, finding another Koi Carp with high Potential wouldn't be difficult at all.
Having sorted out his thoughts, he calmly found a large rock by the pool and sat down.
He took a book from his backpack and began to dig in.
As for Fatty An, Li Qian had sent him on his way after they arrived.
Before he left, Li Qian had made sure to tell him, "Fatty An, you should start keeping an eye out for Koi Carp with high Potential."
"Remember, the higher the Potential, the higher the probability of evolution!"
This time, Li Qian wasn't pulling his leg.
The higher the Potential, the greater the chance of a Koi Carp's Fish Leaping Skill breaking its limit.
The probability of it learning the Climbing Waterfall Skill and training it to Perfection was also higher.
Which also meant it had a higher chance of evolving into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.
Likewise, the time required for evolution would also be shorter.
Fatty An heard this and readily agreed, full of confidence.
With the An Family's wealth, finding Koi Carp with high Potential would be a piece of cake.
After all, on the Ancestral Star, Koi Carp were one of the most numerous types of Pet Beasts in existence.
While you couldn't say they were a plague, it wasn't far from the truth.
Li Qian read quietly. The book was one that his Breeding teacher, Chu Xiran, had specially checked out for him during class break that afternoon.
It was a book about Arrays, which was proving to be a great help to Li Qian.
He had to admit, Teacher Chu Xiran was truly dedicated when it came to nurturing her students.
Li Qian felt lucky to have a Breeding teacher like her.
Even luckier, it wasn't just Teacher Chu Xiran. His Meditation teacher, Zhu Bingqing; his combat teacher, Hu Minghua; his Pet Beast knowledge teacher, Lv Xinmin; and his culture teacher, Guo Sheng, were all just as dedicated.
He would read until his eyes grew tired, then take a short break.
Occasionally, he would pull out his phone to check the Waste Pet Research Institute group chat, bantering and shooting the breeze with Tun Tun and the others.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was just past ten o'clock at night.
Ever since his parents learned that Li Qian had formed a Soul Contract with Qizai, the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, they had been much less worried about his safety.
For once, they hadn't called to check on him all evening.
After recalling Ah Fu, Li Qian walked to the edge of the dam and notified Qizai through their Soul Contract.
A moment later, Qizai burst from the water. The Sparrow-tailed Fish returned with it.
After recalling Qizai into his Beast Taming Space, Li Qian took out a Beast Taming Ball, preparing to recall the Sparrow-tailed Fish as well.
But just then, the Sparrow-tailed Fish began to spin around strangely in the water.
BLUB BLUB BLUB...
Not only was the Sparrow-tailed Fish spinning, but it was also blowing bubbles, as if it was trying to tell Li Qian something.
However, being unable to speak, it couldn't make itself understood.
Li Qian felt rather helpless watching this. 'My Beast Taming Talent is the Eye of True Sight,' he thought. 'If it were Telepathy, we wouldn't be having this complete communication breakdown. Unfortunately, as far as I know, most Beast Masters have a single, fixed Beast Taming Talent. I think I've heard that some legendary treasures can add to or even change a Beast Master's Beast Taming Talent, but even if such things really exist, they're far beyond what I can hope to obtain right now.'