Perhaps sensing Li Qian’s apprehension, Professor Yan quickly explained, "Li Qian, my boy, don’t be put off by this burly old mug of mine. My daughter is nothing like me—she takes after her mother. She’s a real stunner, absolutely gorgeous! You have no idea how many boys at Shazhou Beast Taming University are lining up to date her."

Li Qian looked at Professor Yan, his eyes filled with suspicion.

From the way he was acting, he might as well have had the four words "Come and get her" plastered on his forehead.

His sheer impatience and desperation to marry her off made Li Qian suspicious. Could Professor Yan’s precious daughter be an eyesore, or perhaps a terrifying shrew?

Either way, Li Qian had no intention of getting involved, let alone causing trouble for himself, without meeting the girl first. Besides, this Professor Yan hadn’t made a good impression on him. Ever since arriving, he’d been subtly comparing himself to Elder Tie, trying to show his superiority.

"Your daughter is a peerless talent and a great beauty with countless admirers," Li Qian said, tactfully declining. "I’m just an ordinary guy. She would surely never look twice at me, so please, Professor Yan, don’t go to any trouble."

’This was not the time to get tangled up in some troublesome romance.’

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t be so quick to say no! Why don’t you just meet her? I swear, every word is true," Professor Yan said urgently when Li Qian rejected him without a moment’s hesitation.

He assumed Li Qian was still unconvinced about his daughter’s looks. After all, his own rough appearance was an undeniable fact.

What he didn’t know was that even if this Miss Yan were truly a peerless talent, as beautiful as a celestial fairy, and utterly charming, Li Qian would still refuse without hesitation and keep a respectful distance.

’According to Professor Yan, she has countless admirers. To still be single under those circumstances could only mean one thing... her personality.’

’This Miss Yan must have a personality trait that makes men only dare to admire her from a distance, without ever daring to get close.’

’I’m a man of simple tastes,’ Li Qian thought. ’What’s the point of a relationship where you can only look but not touch?’

’You’d be better off with your own hand.’

Once he’d sorted that out in his head, his refusal became even firmer. "Professor Yan, children have their own lives to live. You shouldn’t worry so much about these things. Besides, as the saying goes, ’If fate decrees it, you’ll meet though a thousand miles apart; if not, you’ll pass like strangers face to face.’ I believe that if your daughter and I are meant to be, our paths will cross someday. If we’re not, then no amount of matchmaking will change that."

Li Qian’s words were high-minded and elegantly phrased, sparing both the professor and his daughter’s pride. But how could Professor Yan not see that it was a complete shutdown, leaving no room for negotiation?

’Looks like becoming this Genius Breeder’s father-in-law isn’t going to be easy. I’ll have to play the long game.’

After a bit more small talk, the two of them brought the conversation back on track.

Having settled on the terms of their collaboration, the next step was naturally to exchange breeding information. Li Qian hadn’t prepared for this beforehand.

So, he spent another half a day specifically organizing the evolution method for the Koi Carp into the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, including his sources of inspiration and other details. While these things might seem useless, they were actually priceless treasures to a Breeder, as they revealed the Breeder’s underlying logic.

Soon, on the second day, the two completed their USB drive swap. One contained the detailed evolution data for the Koi Carp to the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, and the other, the evolution data for the Gray Bean Dove to the Sky Escape Eagle.

If judged by the Potential of the evolved Pet Beasts, their trade seemed equal. In reality, however, Professor Yan had definitely gotten the better end of the deal. After all, the information Li Qian provided for the Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon evolution was incredibly detailed. The steps and method were flawless, and according to his notes, even the cost of the required materials wasn’t very high—neither Dragon Bone Powder nor Wind Chime Fruit were exceptionally valuable.

Therefore, upon seeing the evolution data on the USB drive, a look of uncontrollable delight appeared on Professor Yan’s face.

Strictly speaking, Professor Yan had indeed gotten a huge bargain, but after looking at the evolution data Professor Yan had given him, Li Qian felt he hadn’t lost out either.

To put it plainly, this collaboration was a win-win, something both Li Qian and Professor Yan were happy to see.

After getting the data, they were like two children who had just received their favorite toys, burying their heads in research.

According to the breeding data from Professor Yan, the evolution from Gray Bean Dove to Sky Escape Eagle wasn’t, strictly speaking, a new evolutionary path. Rather, it was a form of mutated evolution.

It was a benign mutation actively guided during the process of evolving a Gray Bean Dove into a Storm Eagle.

The Gray Bean Dove’s standard evolution is simple. Once the Pet Beast’s Power Level reaches its limit, which is Tier Five Elite, the evolution is triggered using the Wind’s Breath Skill. This evolution poses no danger; as long as the Power Level is sufficient, the success rate is nearly one hundred percent.

To induce the mutation, one must have the Gray Bean Dove carry the rare Evolution Material, Void Stone, and then enter a Teleportation Array during this process. If the evolution succeeds, a Sky Escape Eagle will emerge from the other side of the Teleportation Array. The next best outcome is a Storm Eagle. Below that, the result is an injured, or even severely injured, Gray Bean Dove.

In other words, whether the evolution succeeded or not was entirely a matter of chance.

Under these circumstances, achieving a twenty percent success rate was already considered quite remarkable.

Of course, through continuous trial and error, repeatedly using this simple and crude method of evolution, Professor Yan had managed to gain considerable insight and experience.

For example, a higher quality Void Stone would slightly increase the probability of evolving into a Sky Escape Eagle. The distance of the Teleportation Array also had a certain impact on the success rate.

In Li Qian’s view, the evolution method provided by Professor Yan was extremely crude and couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as the one he had provided.

However, for Li Qian at this stage, the most important things were a direction and a potential breakthrough.

The evolution data he’d exchanged with Professor Yan perfectly supplied him with both.

Thinking of this, Li Qian didn’t hesitate for a moment, directly using his Golden Finger to create a Pet Beast research quest.

[Quest 1: Evolution Method for Gray Bean Dove to Sky Escape Eagle]

[Current Quest Progress: 90%]

The moment he established the Pet Beast research quest, Li Qian saw the progress bar.

90%!

When he saw that number, the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

’Only 90% complete, yet Professor Yan was able to evolve a certain percentage of Sky Escape Eagles just by relying on luck. I have to admit, the guy really is a talent.’

’But this also proves one thing: the evolution method is still far from perfect.’

’Of course, this also indirectly proved that this evolution method held immense value, with plenty of potential waiting to be unearthed by me.’

Having come to this understanding, Li Qian couldn’t help but nod slightly.

At that moment, a sliver of anticipation bloomed in his heart.

’I wonder just how many Achievement Points I’ll get for seeing this quest through to the end...’