After hearing Professor Yan, Li Qian didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he frowned and sank into deep thought.

He looked at the rugged Professor Yan, his eyes glinting with suspicion. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Professor Yan, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the success rate for evolving a Gray Bean Dove into a Sky Escape Eagle?"

Between Professor Yan’s words and his appearance—which seemed completely at odds with that of a Breeder—Li Qian couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Professor Yan gave an awkward laugh and held up one hand. "Less than fifty percent!"

Li Qian didn’t overthink it, assuming the rate was somewhere between forty and fifty percent. He subconsciously pressed, "How much, specifically?"

"Twenty percent!" Professor Yan folded three of the fingers on his outstretched hand, showing the remaining two to Li Qian.

"..." Li Qian stared at the two fingers left on Professor Yan’s hand and was struck speechless. The corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

The atmosphere instantly grew awkward. Li Qian couldn’t help but curse inwardly: ’Are you playing number games with me?!’

This Professor Yan didn’t just look unreliable; it seemed he really *was* unreliable.

After a moment of stunned silence, he finally collected himself and asked, "So... why is the success rate so low?"

When Professor Yan didn’t answer right away, Li Qian offered some possibilities. "Are the Evolution Materials hard to find? Are the requirements too demanding? Or are the steps just too complex...?"

"Er..." Professor Yan hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Ah, to be honest, the reason the success rate for evolving a Gray Bean Dove into a Sky Escape Eagle isn’t high... it’s probably because the evolution method I developed is imperfect."

Li Qian immediately seized on the key phrase. "Imperfect?"

"Yes." Professor Yan nodded, his expression somewhat dejected. "As everyone knows, a Gray Bean Dove’s attribute is Wind. But after it evolves, the Sky Escape Eagle’s attribute is Space. The Wind Element just... vanishes."

This was news to Li Qian. When he’d first heard of the Sky Escape Eagle, he had subconsciously assumed its attributes were Wind and Space.

He had simply taken its Wind Element for granted, which was why he had focused solely on its Space Element.

Li Qian’s brow furrowed in thought as Professor Yan continued, "You’re a Breeder too. You should understand the laws of evolution. When a Pet Beast successfully evolves, its attributes only increase. Under normal circumstances, an existing attribute doesn’t just disappear."

"In that case, the evolution method is definitely flawed. It’s incomplete!" Li Qian nodded in agreement with Professor Yan’s assessment. At the same time, his mind began to race.

’This can only mean that the Sky Escape Eagle is likely just an intermediate or transitional Evolutionary Form.’

’And above the Sky Escape Eagle, there must be a more Advanced Evolutionary Form. If my theory is correct, that form’s Potential could very well reach the Emperor Level.’

"Mmm." Professor Yan sighed in agreement.

Seeing Professor Yan sink into a melancholic state, Li Qian offered no words of comfort. His own brow remained tightly furrowed, showing no sign of easing. After about three minutes of silence, he suddenly spoke up with a proposal. "I wonder... would you be willing to teach me the evolution method for the Gray Bean Dove to the Sky Escape Eagle? In exchange, I can give you the evolution method for the Koi Carp to the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon."

To sweeten the deal, he added, "And don’t worry, my evolution method is fully refined. For any Koi Carp that meets the requirements, the success rate is virtually one hundred percent."

"This..." Hearing Li Qian’s offer, Professor Yan froze on the spot. He had never imagined Li Qian would propose such a trade.

After a moment of stunned silence, Professor Yan looked at Li Qian with disbelief, clearly tempted. "Are you sure you want to trade? With a deal like this, you’d be taking a huge loss."

Li Qian smiled. "I don’t consider it a loss. By trading with you, I get to master another evolution method. It’s not as if teaching you the method for the Koi Carp and Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon will make it disappear from my own head."

"Besides, whether it’s you, Professor Yan, or me who masters these evolution methods, in the end, it will benefit Shazhou Beast Taming University and the entire Dongxia Federation."

Professor Yan looked at Li Qian with admiration. "I didn’t realize your perspective was so grand."

He sighed and added, "If I’m not mistaken, the reason you want to trade is so you can try to fix the flaws in my method."

Li Qian smiled, not attempting to hide anything. "That’s the idea."

Seeing Li Qian’s frank and confident composure, Professor Yan nodded. "I have to say, you young people are certainly full of drive."

’He had to give Xue Huaiyu some credit,’ he thought.

’Forget his achievements so far. With a mindset like that, Li Qian was destined for greatness.’

Seeing the professor’s reaction, Li Qian, despite having a good idea of the answer, still asked for confirmation, "So, what are your thoughts, Professor Yan?"

Professor Yan gave a wry smile. "What’s there to consider? For me, this is all upside and no downside. I can’t think of a single reason to refuse."

The smile on Li Qian’s face widened. "In that case, a pleasure doing business with you!" He then extended his right hand.

Professor Yan raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, but finally shook Li Qian’s. "Sigh... It’s not exactly honorable of me to take advantage of you like this, but still... a pleasure doing business with you!"

Perhaps as a show of good faith, before Li Qian could say anything, Professor Yan took the initiative to bring up confidentiality. "But don’t you worry. I will absolutely not leak the evolution method without your permission."

In fact, this was the most common form of collaboration among Beast Masters. It was perfectly acceptable to use a traded evolution method to evolve Pet Beasts—whether one’s own or for others—but one could not share the method itself without the original creator’s explicit consent.

It was an unwritten rule, of sorts.

Seeing that Professor Yan was on the same page, Li Qian made a promise of his own. "The same goes for me. However, if I manage to improve the evolution method..."

Knowing what Li Qian was about to say, Professor Yan shrewdly cut in, "...then the new evolution method would have little to do with me."

Li Qian shook his head. "No. If I actually manage to develop it, I’ll share the improved evolution method with you."

Hearing this, Professor Yan’s expression grew complicated. "Li Qian, I’m afraid that wouldn’t be appropriate..."

After struggling with himself for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he made a suggestion. "How about this... I could introduce you to my daughter..."

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..." Looking at Professor Yan’s huge, bear-like frame, Li Qian started coughing violently, shaking his head back and forth like a toy drum.

He gave a pained but polite refusal. "That won’t be necessary!"