In truth, Fatty An already knew whether Tan Tou had evolved.

The feedback from the evolution had already told him everything.

But without seeing the evolved Tan Tou with his own eyes, he couldn’t rest easy.

He was also dying to see Tan Tou’s majestic, post-evolution form.

That’s why he had burst in so frantically. Seeing this, Li Qian couldn’t help but massage his temples.

’It’s not like he’s never seen a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon before. Why is he so impatient?’

After rolling his eyes at Fatty An, Li Qian continued eating at his leisurely pace. "Don’t you know if it’s finished evolving?"

"Heh heh, I just haven’t seen Tan Tou yet, so I’m a little antsy... You get it, right...?"

Fatty An shamelessly sidled up, not caring whether Li Qian had showered or might reek of sweat.

Li Qian kept eating, a large meat bun still in hand. He walked into his room as he ate, and a moment later, came back out carrying a small bag.

Taking out all the Beast Taming Balls except for Qizai’s and Xiaoliu’s, Li Qian scratched his head and said, a bit sheepishly, "It’s in one of these. There are quite a few, so I’m not sure which Beast Taming Ball has Tan Tou."

"But they’ve had a night and half a day to recover, so their spirits should be much better."

Without pausing, Li Qian continued, "Go ahead and release all of them. As long as they don’t leave the Cultivation Base, you can let them run wild."

They had put in a lot of effort during the surprise attack on the Demon Dragon Rhinoceros in the Dimension Plane. Combined with their actions stopping the tidal waves before that, it’s fair to say they had performed great service.

Letting them out for a breath of fresh air and a chance to move around was a reward in itself.

In truth, if they hadn’t been so utterly exhausted and drained when they were recalled, and if they hadn’t submitted to Li Qian so wholeheartedly, a mere Beast Taming Ball could never have contained them. That went for uncontracted Pet Beasts like Jin Yi and Jin Er, let alone a contracted one like Tan Tou.

Any Pet Beast that can be contained in a Beast Taming Ball is either weak or does so willingly.

They had been in the Beast Taming Balls for so long that, even if Fatty An hadn’t mentioned it, Li Qian would have released them on his own before long.

Besides, he was confident that as long as his host of Pet Beasts stayed within the base, there wouldn’t be any trouble.

After all, Elder Tie was still here!

"Alrighty! I’ll leave you to it, then. Enjoy your meal." Grabbing all the Beast Taming Balls—for the four Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and seven Frostfire Salamanders—Fatty An waddled off gleefully.

Before long, Fatty An’s excited shouts echoed from within the Cultivation Base.

Li Qian even saw him riding on Tan Tou, flying through the skies above the Cultivation Base.

Fortunately, he had the sense to know it was daytime and he couldn’t be too conspicuous, so he wasn’t flying very high.

After a satisfying breakfast and a long, refreshing shower, Li Qian felt all his exhaustion wash away, leaving him feeling completely revitalized.

He left Building One and headed toward the Central Pond. Just then, his father, Li Chengyang, strode over.

Seeing him, Li Qian asked, "Just getting back?"

Li Chengyang nodded, falling into step beside Li Qian. "I did."

The father and son strolled and chatted casually. Li Qian continued, "What’s the situation like out there now?"

"The Public Security Bureau is maintaining stability. Lingshui City has already returned to order," Li Chengyang replied.

"Oh, right. Did you send out the Land Bear yet?" Li Qian changed the subject.

Helping his parents’ Pet Beasts evolve had been a crucial condition for Li Qian agreeing to attend Shazhou Beast Taming University in the first place.

Back then, Xue Huaiyu had unhesitatingly agreed to help his father’s Land Bear evolve into a Titan Giant Bear, a dual Gold- and Earth-type.

His father, Li Chengyang, had to ship the Land Bear off to complete the evolution, but neither father nor son was particularly worried about it.

Of course, if they were truly uneasy, they could have personally made the trip to Shazhou City.

But both Li Qian and Li Chengyang felt that was unnecessary.

Shazhou Beast Taming University’s reputation was trustworthy.

Most importantly, the Land Bear had limited market value; no one would scheme to get their hands on such an unremarkable Pet Beast.

Li Chengyang nodded, a happy expression spreading across his face. "I’ve already sent it out. According to the reply from Shazhou Beast Taming University, in about half a month, the Land Bear should complete its evolution and be shipped back."

"Then I should congratulate you in advance, Dad. You’re about to have a Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential."

Li Qian chuckled and nodded, continuing the conversation. "Besides the Land Bear, what about your second Pet Beast, the Clay Doll?"

At the mention of the Clay Doll, the delight on Li Chengyang’s face became even more apparent.

His voice was filled with emotion as he said, "I’ve received it and completed the contract. You know, to this day, it still feels a little unreal..."

"All those Pet Beasts your mother and I used to yearn for but could never hope to obtain... now, buying one is as easy as picking up a head of cabbage at the market."

Hearing this, Li Qian walked over and patted Li Chengyang on the shoulder. "You’ll get used to it soon enough."

"After all... you guys did raise a genius for a son!"

Seeing Li Qian shamelessly singing his own praises, Li Chengyang retorted irritably, "And where did you learn to be so shameless?"

At that, Li Qian fixed his gaze on Li Chengyang.

Li Chengyang caught his meaning at once and said, in a joking tone, "Don’t look at me. Your old man is an honest, upstanding man, nothing like a little brat like you."

Li Qian mercilessly exposed him. "You? Honest and upstanding... Mom’s told me plenty of stories. Back when you were courting her, you were relentlessly persistent... You even squatted outside Grandpa’s front door and brushed your teeth..."

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Seeing his past exposed, Li Chengyang immediately broke into a coughing fit to hide his embarrassment.

Chatting as they walked, it wasn’t long before the two of them reached the Central Pond.

There, besides Fatty An, who was having the time of his life with Tan Tou, stood another person, perfectly still.

"Elder Tie, what are you looking at?" Li Qian walked over and asked with a smile. "If any of the younger members of your family are in need of a Pet Beast, just say the word. I have plenty of Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and Frostfire Salamanders to go around."

"Don’t speak too soon. After this incident, so many Beast Masters will be coming here to cultivate or purchase Pet Beasts that they’ll wear a path to your door. The number you have now won’t be nearly enough." Elder Tie shook his head, not taking him up on the offer.

Of course, the most important reason was that he was an old bachelor with no descendants to speak of. As amazing as Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and Frostfire Salamanders were, they were of no use to him.

"I heard from Senior Peach Saint that you’re stuck at the Peak of Dominator Realm because your Pet Beast was injured and can’t break through its Racial Potential Limit?" Recalling the earlier squabble between Peach Saint and Elder Tie, Li Qian asked out of curiosity, "Why does it have to break through its Racial Potential Limit? Can’t it just evolve directly?"

Li Qian saw that the moment the words left his mouth, the corner of Elder Tie’s lips couldn’t help but twitch.

His question was the equivalent of asking, "If they have no bread, let them eat cake."