Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 106 - 105: Mouse Treasure’s Evolution

Ma Tianba had the Ice Heart Fox inject Cold Qi before striking the core with Spiritual Qi.

Of course, the strike was so powerful that a single blow would melt the Cold Qi on the surface of the Magic Power Inner Core.

But that’s what the Ice Heart Fox was for. As long as it was there, more Cold Qi could be injected as soon as it ran out.

HMPH—

The White Celestial Horse snorted, signaling for the Ice Heart Fox to continue.

The Ice Heart Fox didn’t dare show any hesitation. It could only brace itself and continue injecting the Cold Qi.

During this process, Mouse Treasure gritted its teeth and used its Earth Shifting Technique to channel the pressure it was enduring into the ground. This raised the pressure threshold for tempering the Inner Core.

This allowed it to endure much greater pressure from each blow than Cyan Treasure had, which in turn increased the efficiency of forging its Mana.

Even so, the deficiency of the Breathing Technique remained.

Ma Tianba wasn’t entirely satisfied, but it could only continue the tempering process, hour after hour.

Gu Ming and the others couldn’t leave yet. After all, Mouse Treasure was Lu You’s Pet Beast, and they couldn’t just abandon a classmate.

And so, Gu Ming and his family stayed to watch, sitting to one side and chatting softly.

This was the first time Lu You had ever encountered the concept of Mana Evolution. She’d never even known such a method existed.

She sat on the far left, apart from the group, her eyes glued to Mouse Treasure. She watched its condition change, her hands clasped tightly as she prayed in silence.

Meanwhile, the older couple looked over at Teacher Zhang. This was the plan Gu Ming had championed and Teacher Zhang had approved.

Now that the evolution had succeeded, didn’t that mean a new Beastmaster research paper was in the making?

At this thought, the couple grew very excited and quietly asked Teacher Zhang,

"If a paper on an evolutionary achievement like this was submitted to a Beast Taming journal, what Star Level do you think it could get into?"

Teacher Zhang pondered for a moment.

He had originally thought such a wildly unconventional evolution method would be nearly impossible to pull off.

But the facts were right in front of him: Gu Ming’s Cyan Treasure had successfully evolved into a One-star Beast.

This proved the path was viable. Furthermore, it was highly flexible, broadly applicable, and based on a simple principle.

All one had to do was freeze the evolution process, repeatedly push the Magic Power Inner Core to its limit, and then, after breaking through that limit, unfreeze the evolution.

Mouse Treasure had received a blessing in disguise. Given its aptitude, taking the normal Magic Power Inner Core route would have required painstaking effort over several months, or perhaps even a year, to complete the accumulation.

But with the help of a High-star Level Pet Beast like Ma Tianba, the months-long Cultivation process was shortened, essentially creating a shortcut to success.

The consequences of rolling out such a powerful Evolution Method nationwide were simply unimaginable.

If schools had High-star Pet Beasts—or even just Pet Beasts skilled in manipulating Spiritual Qi and Dantian Mana—to provide guidance, the entire evolutionary system of the Great Zhou Dynasty would be completely rewritten.

From that perspective, the significance of Gu Ming’s evolutionary breakthrough was immense.

One could predict that it would also be adaptable for High-star Pet Beasts. For instance, Ma Tianba itself was showing interest and actively experimenting with the method.

In other words, it was guaranteed to get into a Five-star Level journal and would very likely be accepted by a Six-star Level one.

As for the even higher Seven-star Level journals... Teacher Zhang couldn’t even fathom it. He’d never submitted to one before.

But considering Gu Ming’s achievement was earth-shattering enough to rewrite the entire system of Evolution, perhaps they could actually give it a shot.

However, it was a Seven-star Journal, after all. They placed great importance on reputation and prior accomplishments. It wasn’t as if any Tom, Dick, or Harry could submit a paper and catch an editor’s eye. The vast majority were rejected at the submission stage.

Gu Ming didn’t have much of a reputation yet, so even getting into a Six-star Level journal was far from guaranteed.

Even with Teacher Zhang’s personal endorsement, it wouldn’t necessarily be accepted.

To most people, the name "Zhang Yunpeng" meant nothing. And the Green Treasure Breathing Technique had only been published in journals like the *Flood Dragon Monthly Report*, so it hadn’t reached a wider audience.

Teacher Zhang relayed his reasoning honestly.

"There’s a small chance for a Seven-star Journal, a high chance for a Six-star one. The safest bet would be to submit to a Four or Five-stars journal."

The older couple gasped when they heard this.

Even a small chance at a Seven-star Level journal!

’This can’t be a dream, can it?’

The two of them pinched each other’s thighs hard.

However, Elder Gu tapped a stone at an inopportune moment and poured cold water on their excitement, saying:

"Don’t you two get ahead of yourselves.

"You have to understand, this kind of evolutionary system isn’t a Skill, nor is it a Cultivation Technique. You can’t look it up in the Hall of the Great Dao.

"Even if the journal editors get the paper on this Evolution Method, they’ll have to verify the system for themselves, and that will take a very long time.

"Otherwise, who would recklessly publish an unverified Beast Taming paper? Especially when our Gu Ming’s Star Level is still so low."

Elder Gu’s words were a real killjoy, completely extinguishing their fervent hopes.

"Teacher Zhang, is this true?" Mrs. Gu asked anxiously.

Teacher Zhang was taken aback. He lowered his head in thought, and a worrying idea crossed his mind: ’What if Gu Ming’s paper gets rejected?’

An evolution process so simple yet so unconventional... he had to admit, it was entirely possible a senior editor would reject it.

When it came down to it, Gu Ming’s Star Level was just too low.

If his Star Level were higher and he had a powerful High-star Pet Beast, his paper would have more credibility.

The success of a single paper, the *Green Treasure Breathing Technique*, wasn’t enough to sway the editors of a High-star Level journal.

If they let the Three-star Level Zhang Yunpeng submit the paper, the Gu Family would never agree.

After all, Gu Ming was the one who had proposed the Evolution Method. Teacher Zhang was merely the one who carried it out, and the final Evolution was accelerated by Ma Tianba, a High-star Level Spirit Beast.

In other words, the title of primary author had to go to Gu Ming. When it came to matters of credit and benefit, the Gu Family drew a very clear line.

Therefore, the paper had to be submitted under Gu Ming’s name. But submitting to a High-star journal was too risky; the chance of rejection was too great. They couldn’t aim for a Six or Seven-stars journal.

Gu Ming, however, was quite relaxed about the whole thing. "Actually, the *Flood Dragon Monthly Report* isn’t bad," he said. "It has a wider readership."

Gu Ming wasn’t counting on a single Beast Taming paper to get him an exam-free admission to a university and a "genius contract" anyway.

Besides, those "genius contracts" weren’t necessarily what he wanted.

Only a lucrative contract that didn’t sign his life away would be enough to tempt him.

One or two papers alone weren’t enough to achieve his true goal.

With his system, he planned to build his reputation, paper by paper, and shatter worldly conventions. His goal was to attract an investment offer that came without strings and wasn’t an indenture contract.

The night passed as the group continued to chat.

Mouse Treasure endured repeated cycles of being frozen and hammered. Whenever the Ice Heart Fox’s Mana ran low, Ma Tianba would give it some Holy Water. It seemed to have an inexhaustible supply, an enviably extravagant display.

Fortunately, this was just pure Cold Qi and not some kind of Skill.

Otherwise, the Ice Heart Fox truly wouldn’t have been able to last the night.

Early the next morning, the sun began to rise.

A brilliant, earthen-yellow pillar of light shot into the sky. Mouse Treasure had finally completed its Mana Evolution, becoming a One-star Beast.

With a POOF, Mouse Treasure burst into a warm, earthen-yellow ball of light. It looked like a glowing potato as it rolled over twice.

Tendrils of light, like noodles, spun around it, wrapping its plump body until it resembled a glistening, golden ball of sticky rice.

Its little claws suddenly grew longer, and its soft paws swatted adorably at the air. Its eyes grew brighter, and its front teeth became even sturdier.

When the light subsided, Mouse Treasure crouched in place, dazed, its eyes wide and perfectly round.

It glanced down at its claws, which had doubled in size, and gave the ground an experimental dig. POP! POP! Mounds of earth erupted, and the stones around it formed two sturdy, two-meter-high earthen walls at its sides.

After entering the One-star Realm, its Earth Shifting Technique was much stronger, allowing it to raise two earthen walls at once.

When Cyan Treasure struck it with a Master Level Head Hammer, it only managed to create a series of cracks without breaking through, a testament to the wall’s defensive power.