Chapter 163: Pet Beast Evolution Again, Black Combat Skill, Bearing Star Mark!!!
A week had passed since the All-Pet Beast Tournament. With the help of the Seven Heavens, the ravaged Pet Beast World was slowly being rebuilt, about 30% restored. Even with their power, the Seven Heavens could only quickly revive living beings, like the NPC civilians. Restoring the terrain and buildings had to be done manually by Mechanical Species pet beasts.
The Dominating Cauldron Palace, however, had recovered quickly, showing no signs of damage.
The day of the rewards arrived as scheduled.
Lian Xing, Tears Maiden, the Second Princess, and the City of Awe champion, the top four participants, once again stood before the Azure Sky Emperor’s cauldron, under the supervision of the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor.
“According to the rules, you can deploy any number of pet beasts inside. The champion, Lian Xing, has five minutes, the runner-up, Tears Maiden, three minutes, and the other two, two minutes each.”
“You don’t have to return the same way. When the time is up, I’ll activate the seal and teleport your pet beasts back to the entrance.”
“Also, these are crystals made from the Azure Sky Emperor’s aura. Wearing them will help you resist the Pet Essence inside, preventing you from being immobilized…” After a brief explanation, the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor gave each of the four participants a jade-green crystal.
Lian Xing casually tossed it to the Mist Colt, the stars in her eyes twinkling with excitement. In her previous two entries, the Mist Colt had only managed to stay inside for about two minutes each time, half of that time spent returning. This time, it could focus entirely on finding treasure…!!!
Soon, the Second Princess and the City of Awe champion deployed their pet beasts. A magnificent, wing-shaped white light flashed, and everyone looked at the Second Princess, surprised.
Had that been…
Yun Jianyou!?
Had the Second Princess’s Returning Dust already evolved into Yun Jianyou?
Lian Xing wasn’t particularly impressed.
After all, she was just a village girl from a 10th-level region, a transmigrator at that. She hadn’t grown up with the legends of the Great Emperor Yun Jianyou.
So, Lian Xing began discussing tactics with the Mist Colt.
“Mist Colt, five minutes…that should be enough for you to get what you want, right?”
“If you have time, can you look for two things for me?”
“Of course, if you’re short on time, don’t worry about it…”
“…”
“…”
A moment later, under the City of Awe champion’s dismayed gaze, her pet beast returned in less than a minute. It wasn’t that the time was up, but her main battle pet beast, even with the Azure Sky Emperor’s aura crystal, couldn’t move past the entrance area. It had grabbed a Green Quality combat skill, then given up…
Two minutes later, Yun Jianyou emerged from the cauldron, its back covered in shimmering lights of various colors. Seeing this, the City of Awe champion’s expression turned to envy and resignation…
Although she was also one of the top four, she wasn’t on the same level as the other three participants. She had simply gotten lucky…
Then, Tears Maiden also deployed Rainwater. As Rainwater activated auto-loot, Tears Maiden’s expression remained unchanged, impossible to tell what kind of treasures it had obtained, but her usually cold face softened slightly.
Three minutes later, Rainwater returned.
Finally, it was Lian Xing’s turn…
Without hesitation, she deployed Dreamflow Sunset Glow.
“Boom!!!!”
In the next second, with a flash of emerald green light…
The incorporeal Viral Species dragon charged through the entrance of the Azure Sky Emperor’s cauldron.
This was its third time inside. Dreamflow Sunset Glow expertly navigated the space, heading towards its destination at full speed, as if it were returning home…
Soon, as Dreamflow Sunset Glow moved beyond her range, Lian Xing’s shared vision was cut off, and she could only pray…
“Is that…the Mist Colt…?” the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor, who was supervising, suddenly asked.
Lian Xing paused, then nodded casually.
This time, she was here to claim her reward, so she wasn’t nervous at all.
“Have you heard of the Azure Sky Emperor’s story…?” the Emperor asked, changing the subject. It seemed it wasn’t going to question her about her previous entries.
So, Lian Xing also nodded casually.
“A little~~~”
“…”
“…”
“Back then, the Azure Sky Emperor said it was going to challenge the Sanctuary Gate. It left behind all its resources, then…disappeared…”
“Everyone believes it successfully entered the new world, but…I don’t think so…”
“I…pessimistically believe that the Azure Sky Emperor failed… It died before reaching the Sanctuary Gate.”
“After all…if it had truly been invincible, why would it leave behind so many resources for the Dominating Cauldron Palace? It means it had doubts about its own victory.”
“All these years, I’ve blamed myself. If only I had noticed my sister’s hesitation and stopped her…”
“But after seeing you, I’ve changed my mind.”
“Perhaps this is also a good ending…”
This thing was the Azure Sky Emperor’s…sister…!?
No wonder it had been so hostile towards her auto-loot…
At this moment, although Lian Xing didn’t understand why the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor was telling her all this, she still politely agreed, while cold sweat trickled down her forehead.
Time was running out…!!!
Only a dozen seconds left, and Dreamflow Sunset Glow still hadn’t found what it was looking for.
Dreamflow Sunset Glow had miscalculated its stamina. Although it could maintain its full power for five minutes now, its performance was starting to decline. It was almost at its destination.
However…
When the five-minute mark arrived, Dreamflow Sunset Glow wasn’t teleported out.
Tears Maiden, the Second Princess, and the City of Awe champion waited, their breath held, but the Mist Colt didn’t appear.
“Emperor…is it…broken…?” Lian Xing asked, her voice slightly panicked.
This time, it wasn’t her fault.
However, the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor simply shook its head, its expression unchanged.
“It’s fine, give it a little more time…”
“If my sister were still here, she would have done the same.”
“…”
“…”
Under everyone’s confused gazes, after about 90 seconds of overtime, Dreamflow Sunset Glow finally emerged from the cauldron’s entrance.
[I got it,] Dreamflow Sunset Glow confirmed.
Lian Xing let out a sigh of relief.
Just then, the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor turned and left without a word, the green protective aura around its body dissipating, revealing a voluptuous woman holding a black umbrella.
If you asked Jade Lady, she would probably say that its menopause was finally over…
“This thing…it’s not that annoying after all,” Lian Xing thought, looking at the black umbrella woman’s retreating figure.
Then, she turned her attention to Dreamflow Sunset Glow’s loot…
This time, Dreamflow Sunset Glow hadn’t bothered with any other resources, focusing solely on its target: a Black Quality combat skill card. And a strange, small, spherical part, emitting a faint starlight as it spun.
“Master, I only found a Mechanical Species part, not a Mechanical Species Emperor-Tier crystal.”
“Perhaps the Azure Sky Emperor didn’t collect any Mechanical Species crystals…?”
“It’s fine, you did well~~~~” Lian Xing praised it, then, ignoring the other three participants, activated Shared Travel and entered Dreamflow Sunset Glow’s Viral Space, eager to examine her spoils.
There were only two items: a mechanical part and a Black Quality Viral Species combat skill card, the thing the Mist Colt had been so fixated on. Although she didn’t understand how it had seen it from five minutes away, it must be some kind of Viral Species connection.
This wasn’t uncommon…
[Viral Species, Black Quality Combat Skill Card]
[—Heavenly Punishment—]
[Condenses formless, giant sword-shaped Viral Pet Essence on the surface of the void. Upon contact, unleashes Heavenly Punishment.]
[Heavenly Punishment’s power is determined by the void’s durability multiplied by the Black Quality enhancement.]
[Heavenly Punishment doesn’t consume stamina or Pet Essence.]
[If Heavenly Punishment fails to kill the target, it automatically triggers Divine Retribution.]
[Divine Retribution’s range and power are greater than Heavenly Punishment’s, but after activation, the pet beast temporarily loses the ability to use Shared Travel.]
“…”
“…”
Even without seeing its power in action, just reading its description was enough to understand its strength. Especially the part about not consuming Pet Essence and having no activation limit was incredible…
But more importantly, after equipping this Black Quality combat skill, Lian Xing sensed Dreamflow Sunset Glow’s next evolution path. She closed her eyes, carefully analyzing Dreamflow Sunset Glow’s characteristics and form, trying to deduce the requirements.
Now that she had both an Emperor-Tier crystal and a Black Quality combat skill, at least two of the Throne-Level requirements were met, perhaps even some of the Monarch-Tier requirements. It seemed the Royal-Tier path was within reach, just a few minor conditions left.
“Perhaps I should visit Youyou Leize…”
“Libra should still be around there, right…?” After pondering for a while, Lian Xing looked at the second item, a small, ball-shaped part, emitting a faint starlight as it spun.
[Monarch-Tier — Mechanical Species — Bearing Star Mark]
[A parts-type Mechanical Species, can be equipped by other Mechanical Species, requires one part slot.]
[Function: Increases the mechanical creation limit by 16, allows observation of the surroundings, and enables transfer of other mechanical creations between creations. Creations have basic Monarch-Tier defense.]
Parts-type Mechanical Species were the most bizarre things in the Pet Beast World. They could be equipped by Mechanical Species without taking up contract slots.
The Great Lord Biluo’s Expansion talent allowed it to equip three parts. This was just the first.
And with this part, and the High-Quality combat skills it had obtained earlier, the Azure Mechanical Heart could now fulfill the Commander-Tier evolution requirements.
A reset Great Lord Biluo would automatically reach max level, so Lian Xing didn’t need to train it, just gather resources to complete its evolution. This was a true shortcut…
“Azure Mechanical Heart~~~”
After summoning the Azure Mechanical Heart, Lian Xing immediately equipped the Bearing Star Mark. A few seconds later, with a faint flicker of starlight, the Azure Mechanical Heart’s form changed from a heart to a star-shaped halo, floating above Lian Xing’s head.
Azure Mechanical Heart, Commander-Tier evolution!!!
[Mechanical Species, Genetic Modification type]
[Celestial Anchor!!!]
[Characteristic 1: Celestial Anchor gains three mechanical creations: Star Gate, Star Key, and Star Order.]
[Star Gate: Costs 3 mechanical creations to deploy. Allows teleportation between two Star Gates.]
[Star Key: Costs 2 mechanical creations to create. Only pet beasts and humans holding a Star Key can use Star Gates.]
[Star Order: Costs 1 mechanical creation to create. A one-time use item that allows teleportation to any Star Gate location, even without a nearby Star Gate.]
[Current mechanical creation limit: 26 (10+16)]
[Characteristic 2: If a teammate teleports, they are not considered out of range as long as they remain within one kilometer of the Star Gate.]
Seeing the evolved Great Lord Biluo, Lian Xing’s eyes lit up with excitement. If she had had this…support…in her previous life, she wouldn’t have needed three years to evolve an Ancient Species!
Even traveling from Baiyue Province to the Dominating Cauldron Palace would only take a few seconds!!!
However, there was one thing Lian Xing didn’t like…
She looked up at the halo floating above her head and poked it.
It looked like a halo above a dead person…!!!
“Whoosh——!!!!!”
As Dreamflow Sunset Glow’s Viral World dissipated, Lian Xing was alone at the entrance of the Emperor’s cauldron. It seemed the other three had already left. The golden-haired girl with buns and the star halo above her head cautiously observed the surroundings, then walked to the cauldron’s entrance and extended her hands, releasing a wave of Pet Essence.
“Buzz~~~”
In the next second, a small, halo-shaped icon appeared on the cauldron’s surface.
-3 Mechanical Creations.
+1 Star Gate.
Yes, Lian Xing had placed her first Star Gate at the Dominating Cauldron Palace’s Emperor’s cauldron, so she could return and auto-loot whenever she wanted. And to prevent it from being discovered and destroyed by the Dominating Cauldron Palace, she shamelessly carved a message beside it with her Pet Essence.
[Exclusive mark of Moon Rabbit Lian Xing, champion of the 427622 All-Pet Beast Tournament. Do not touch. Damage will be punished….]
“…”
“…”
Then, just in case, Lian Xing used another 10 mechanical creations to create four Star Orders and three Star Keys. This way, if they encountered an unbeatable opponent, she and her teammates could use the Star Orders to instantly teleport back here.
The Star Keys were for her pet beasts to move freely and explore independently.
With 13 mechanical creations remaining, Lian Xing planned to place another Star Gate in Bimen Pass, helping the vanished Great Lord Biluo continue guarding the region, then keep the remaining 10 for later.
Soon, as the golden-haired girl left, the Dominating Cauldron Palace Emperor, the voluptuous woman with the black umbrella, returned, walking over to where Lian Xing had been standing and looking at the message carved on the cauldron.
A few seconds later, its face twitched…
“Lian Xing!!!!!”
“Buzz!!!”
A deafening, green aura, like a thunderbolt, erupted around its body.
It seemed its menopause wasn’t over after all…
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