"This Grass Seed has some serious potential."

"In such a short time, look at how many good things Cyan Treasure has eaten. It digests everything we give it. It’s terrifying."

In the school laboratory, Teacher Zhong and Teacher Zhang used their Divine Sense to closely observe the state of Cyan Treasure’s Dantian.

The Seed of Rootless Wood Grass, which Gu Ming had fabricated with a story, had somehow become reality.

No matter what, Teacher Zhang couldn’t just laugh this off.

On the morning the Grass Seed was refined, Teacher Zhang had taken Cyan Treasure to the lab for a thorough examination.

When Teacher Zhong found out, he also personally summoned his own Pet Beast to conduct several detailed tests.

He knew the Gu Family had limited funds, and the resources Gu Ming could provide for Cyan Treasure each day were rationed.

If he overspent now, he would have to take out loans to raise his pet by the time he reached university.

This would be a significant pressure on the Gu Family, and Gu Ming himself didn’t want to go down the path of taking out loans.

To test the upper limits of Cyan Treasure’s Grass Seed, Teacher Zhong gritted his teeth, paid out of his own pocket, and provided precious resources for Cyan Treasure to consume.

As a result, Cyan Treasure ate continuously from morning until noon.

The Grass Seed in its belly endlessly digested Life Energy, nourishing its body in return.

Cultivating a high-potential Grass Seed was quite troublesome.

It wasn’t enough to simply refine it into an innate Grass Seed within the body. One also had to constantly supply it with nutrients, allowing it to grow and develop the ability to replicate and produce more Grass Seeds.

From the moment of its refinement, it required all sorts of precious resources for sustenance.

This was an unavoidable, money-burning stage in the process of raising a Pet Beast.

For a Little Cyan Snake to consume so many resources, it could only be described as a world-shocking, wondrous serpent.

Teacher Zhong shook his head and sighed. The amount Cyan Treasure had eaten just by noon was enough to last an ordinary Little Cyan Snake a lifetime.

Gu Ming watched leisurely from the side, inwardly delighted to see the two teachers paying out of their own pockets to test the seed’s limits. ’It’s great that I can save some money and fleece Teacher Zhong a little.’

Nearby, Ah Kun was blowing bubbles, GLUG GLUG. It wanted to go practice its Wave-Swallowing Technique.

Although the lab was fully equipped with a vast array of combat testing tools, it lacked one thing: water. It couldn’t compare to the wide river outside.

’When is this test going to be over?’ Ah Kun wondered. It was eager to go out and practice, but it couldn’t train outside without its master, who was afraid it would be stolen.

This Grouper Fish was no longer an ordinary Grouper Fish.

If a passerby on the riverbank saw a Grouper Fish that could control water currents and create waves tens of meters high, they would exclaim in shock. They’d think they’d hit the jackpot.

An unguarded wild Spirit Pet? You’d have to be crazy not to try and catch it. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Granted, the city had an enforcement squad and a robust legal system.

But the regulation of Beastmasters had its limits. It was no match for the cunning methods of those operating in the black market. With their clever deceptions and covert operations, it wasn’t impossible for them to traffic a pet to another province.

Just then, Mouse Treasure stepped forward and thumped its chest at Ah Kun.

’Since you’re so bored, why not have a fight with me?’

The lab had a combat arena; they could activate the Array and battle to their hearts’ content.

The two Pet Beasts were only at the One-star and Two-star levels.

No matter how hard they fought, they wouldn’t destroy the arena.

Ah Kun was just lamenting its lack of a sparring partner. Seeing the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster eager for a fight, it invited the hamster to the arena in the corner for a battle.

Although Mouse Treasure wasn’t skilled in combat, its abilities were solid, and it was tough and thick-skinned.

Facing the onslaught of Ah Kun’s water waves, it gave a loud shout, shifted earth to form "steel" armor, and pushed forward against the current, bracing against the waves.

Gu Ming walked over to the edge of the arena to watch and noticed that Mouse Treasure had already deployed its Earth Dragon Armor.

Although it wasn’t yet at the Entry Level, the armor had a steel-like quality, and the waves crashing against it produced a metallic sound.

This was completely different from when it had previously used the Earth Shifting Technique to condense soil into armor.

A true Earth Dragon Armor could fully utilize Earth Power, channeling the force of external attacks into the ground to disperse the pressure on itself.

It was one of the popular Mimic Armor Skills in the domain of defensive Pet Beasts.

The Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s ability to use a Sub-dragon Bloodline skill was thanks to the Dragon Pattern Tripod Foundation Platform inside it.

Gu Ming speculated based on the training progress of the three Pet Beasts.

The draconic illusion from the Foundation Establishment Platform inside Ah Kun resembled an ichthyosaur from the age of dinosaurs;

Mouse Treasure’s was a typical Earth Dragon Illusion;

And Cyan Treasure’s was an orthodox Dragon Race illusion.

Although the three Pet Beasts had all referred to the same Ancient Bronze Dragon Pattern Tripod, the illusions within it were vastly different.

Gu Ming hadn’t delved into it before, but thinking about it now, he realized this Dragon Pattern Tripod must have an extraordinary origin.

’What was its name in ancient times?’

’Its current function seems to be tracing a Pet Beast’s bloodline back to its roots, manifesting a powerful bloodline phantom of its most primordial ancestor.’

Following this line of reasoning, the three Pet Beasts could be considered to have undergone a form of atavistic evolution.

Although their bodies hadn’t regressed and no ancient Pet Beast bloodline components could be detected in their veins, the effect of the Dragon Pattern Tripod was highly similar to atavistic evolution.

The advantage of atavistically evolved Pet Beasts was their ability to use ancient Daoist Skills that were only recorded in historical documents and pet beast ruins.

Currently, archaeology in this field was still a niche discipline with limited discoveries.

Very few Pet Beasts could learn ancient Daoist Skills, giving these three a significant advantage in this regard.

A loud BOOM interrupted Gu Ming’s thoughts.

On the stage, the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster had been defeated. Its Earth Dragon Armor was shattered by the Water Wave Blade from Ah Kun’s Wave-Swallowing Technique, and even the Array of the arena beneath its feet trembled violently.

It was stunned. ’How did that water wave suddenly get so much stronger? Even the Array underground couldn’t handle it and started to crack.’

’This is an Array that can withstand the full-force attack of a Two-star Pet Beast!’

Lu You shook her head without a word and went onto the stage to comfort her Pet Beast.

Ah Kun was a little smug. Its Wave-Swallowing Technique grew stronger the more it used it. During the battle with Mouse Treasure, it had gained a lot of new insights into the skill.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Teacher Zhong exclaimed in amazement from a distance.

"Gu Ming, this Mastery of Wood Escape your Pet Beast is cultivating—has it been documented yet?"

Teacher Zhong walked over to discuss serious matters with Gu Ming.

He didn’t plan to keep feeding it resources.

Based on the resources consumed so far, this Grass Seed had a guaranteed potential of at least the Five-star Level, and might even reach Six-star.

This was definitely not something that could be easily nurtured at the One-star stage.

He made a bold prediction: as long as Cyan Treasure nurtured the Seed of Rootless Wood Grass to a usable level, its body would erupt with Power far beyond the limits of the One-star Level, allowing it to touch the threshold of Super Evolution.

At that time, the Celestial Dao will bestow a boon from the Great Dao, rectifying the flaws in Cyan Treasure’s body and abilities and saving it a great deal of cultivation time.

But the most crucial part was the Mastery of Wood Escape.

In Teacher Zhong’s view, this Cultivation Technique was linked to the application of several other techniques within the Pet Beast’s body. It was like the "software" in a precision machine, integrating them all.

Each technique was an indispensable part; it wouldn’t work if even one was missing.

Ultimate Skills vary in strength, and the one Cyan Treasure had demonstrated already far exceeded the limits of a One-star Pet Beast.

If this technique were documented, it would undoubtedly be noticed and archived by the Hall of the Great Dao.

But since there had been no reaction from the Hall of the Great Dao, Teacher Zhong knew the Cultivation Technique was not yet complete and existed in name only.

Gu Ming nodded. "You’re right, it hasn’t been fully mastered yet."

Although Cyan Treasure had reached the Entry Level, there were still many aspects of the Cultivation Technique itself that he hadn’t fully figured out. The upper-limit scenarios described by the system hadn’t been fully realized either.

Teacher Zhong shook his head. "It’s still best to organize it into a formal document as soon as possible.

"If you want your Pet Beast to achieve Super Evolution, you need to let it absorb more of the Dao Qi bestowed by the Hall of the Great Dao.

"The more it accumulates, the greater the benefits from Super Evolution. The returns are multiplied."

He had taught many students and knew full well that some of them, trying to save money, had missed the opportunity for their Pet Beasts to make a great leap forward.

Hearing this, Gu Ming quickly asked for more details. Only then did he learn that there were even tricks to "leeching off the Celestial Dao" for Super Evolution.

The more frequently a pet bathed in the Holy Light of the Hall of the Great Dao, the more Dao Qi it would accumulate.

Dao Qi was as metaphysical as fate. Unless one was a master of divination or a Pet Beast that could observe destiny at the cost of its own lifespan, it was nearly impossible to perceive.

Although many mysteries still surrounded Super Evolution, the idea of "getting stronger by leeching Dao Qi" was a clear consensus within the industry, and there were even research papers on the topic.

This was one of the reasons why people would take any opportunity to let their Pet Beasts bask in the Holy Light of the Hall of the Great Dao.