After chatting with Elder Tie for a while longer, the old man made an excuse and went to rest.

At his age, he really needed a good, long rest after participating in such a fierce battle.

Watching Elder Tie’s slowly receding figure, Li Qian’s gaze gradually grew determined.

He had to help Elder Tie break through to the Emperor Level as soon as possible.

Given Elder Tie’s age and the hidden injuries accumulated over years of battle, if he couldn’t break through to the Emperor Level and receive evolutionary feedback, he probably wouldn’t have many years left to live.

As far as Li Qian knew, if a Beast Master reached the Dominator Level under normal circumstances, their lifespan could theoretically reach one hundred and fifty years.

If they broke through to the Emperor Level, they could add another fifty years or so to their lifespan.

Should they reach the Saint Spirit Level, they would undergo another sublimation, and legend had it their lifespan could reach three hundred years.

Of course, this was all just theoretical information Li Qian had read in books. The reality was a bit more complex.

For example, someone like Elder Tie, who had fought for many years and sustained hidden injuries, would definitely have their lifespan affected.

Conversely, in a situation like Li Qian’s, his lifespan would surely be even longer than Elder Tie’s if he reached the Dominator Level in the future.

This was because he was contracted to a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and Frostfire Salamanders. Both were Sub-dragon Pet Beasts, and their evolutionary feedback provided a greater life-extending effect.

And if one were contracted to a Life-type Pet Beast, such as Peach Saint’s Holy Light Angel, the bonus in this regard would be even more incredible.

On the surface, Elder Tie looked like a small, elderly man in his sixties, but his actual age was likely much higher.

This was why Li Qian felt a sense of urgency.

During the surprise attack on the Demon Dragon Rhinoceros inside the Unstable Rift, he would have been long dead if it weren’t for Elder Tie.

’I must repay this debt of gratitude!’

With this in mind, he didn’t hesitate, immediately pulling out his phone and starting to search.

Li Qian looked up all four of Elder Tie’s Pet Beasts: the Wind Thunder Lion, Purgatory Viper, Four-Winged Mantis, and Golden Pearl Bell.

He quickly discovered that all four of these Pet Beasts had indeed reached their final Evolutionary Forms.

However, after logging into the private Breeder network, Li Qian made an unusual discovery.

There was a considerable amount of research and speculation about subsequent Evolutionary Forms for those four Pet Beasts, some of it quite in-depth.

One study in particular, from Zhonghai Beast Taming University by a user with the ID "Pink Memory," caught his eye. According to this Breeder’s account, he had accidentally evolved a Golden Pearl Bell into a Tidal Sea Spirit, a Pet Beast possessing both Water and Life Elements.

Unfortunately, the evolution was incomplete. It lacked some unknown critical step or material, and after maintaining its form for a quarter of an hour, the newly evolved Tidal Sea Spirit reverted to a Golden Pearl Bell.

Reading this, Li Qian’s heart couldn’t help but stir with excitement.

After all, according to the Breeder known as "Pink Memory," the Tidal Sea Spirit was a Powerful Pet Beast that could reach Tier Three Emperor Level.

If he could help Elder Tie evolve his Golden Pearl Bell into a Tidal Sea Spirit, then with the elder’s power, experience, and the support of Shazhou Beast Taming University, breaking through to the Emperor Level shouldn’t be difficult at all.

Although he now had a promising lead, Li Qian didn’t stop there and continued scrolling through the research.

His search pulled up a lot of research on these four Pet Beasts, some of it credible, and some of it... not so much.

For instance, one article speculated that the Evolutionary Form of the Four-Winged Mantis could be the Eight-Winged Celestial Mantis, a Pet Beast with Saint Spirit Level Potential.

Initially, Li Qian was rather interested and read the article carefully.

After he finished reading, however, he couldn’t help but feel the urge to roast it.

’What was this nonsense? Not a shred of investigation, no factual basis whatsoever—just baseless speculation.’

’To think an article like this could get onto the private Breeder network...’ Li Qian couldn’t help but wonder if the Breeder profession had its fair share of fakes just filling the ranks.

After a moment’s thought, it dawned on him. The Breeder field was just like the scientific research industry from his past life: where there were people with genuine talent, there were bound to be phonies.

He did, at least, understand the principle that water too pure has no fish.

After looking through all the research, Li Qian’s focus ultimately returned to the Golden Pearl Bell.

But when he saw that the prerequisite for joining the project was to go to Zhonghai and research alongside this "Pink Memory," he couldn’t help but scoff. ’Might as well just charge a fee!’

Still, it wasn’t uncommon for a Breeder to get halfway through a project, realize they couldn’t finish it alone, and then post it on the private network to seek collaborators. So he didn’t dwell on it.

Truly talented Breeders weren’t short on money, or even mission points for that matter. A request for collaborative research wasn’t strange at all.

Having decided to go to Zhonghai during the summer break to meet this "Pink Memory," Li Qian put his phone away and stopped his search.

"Alright, that’s enough!" Li Qian called out, seeing Fatty An still splashing around with Tan Tou, completely drenched.

"Alright, alright, I’m leaving!" Fatty An chuckled, recalling Tan Tou to his Beast Taming Space before leaving the Cultivation Base.

’That guy has been at the Cultivation Base for over two days,’ Li Qian thought. ’If I hadn’t said anything, he probably would’ve forgotten to ever leave.’

Not long after Fatty An left, the DING-DONG of a notification from the class group chat sounded.

Li Qian pulled out his phone again to take a look.

’Oh, for heaven’s sake. It was Fatty An again.’

He was spamming the class group chat with pictures he had just taken of the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.

The majestic Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, flanked by several Frostfire Salamanders—it was a shocking image that filled all the rookie students with envy.

A student named "Xiaosun" even directly asked for a price, his desire to buy the creature obvious.

However, both Li Qian and Fatty An chose to ignore his inquiry.

...

「The next day.」

A visitor arrived at the Cultivation Base, someone who took Li Qian by surprise.

It was none other than Mu Qianqian, who had fought alongside them before.

After his initial surprise faded, Li Qian quickly figured out why she was here.

’Although Mu Qianqian’s Power Level has already reached the Dominator Level, she only has two contracted Pet Beasts. She’s here, nine times out of ten, for either the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon or the Frostfire Salamanders.’

And just as he’d guessed, after hearing Mu Qianqian’s reason for visiting, Li Qian learned she was indeed hoping to acquire a Frostfire Salamander. He agreed without hesitation. "You want a Frostfire Salamander? No problem," he said. "You can try communicating with them. If any of them agree, you can take it with you directly."

He continued without pause, "If they don’t agree to go with you, there’s another option: evolving one from a Koi Carp. However, that will take some time, and the failure rate for evolving a Koi Carp into a Frostfire Salamander is quite high. Because of that, I’d suggest you send over several high-potential Koi Carp."