4: Chapter 4 Top-Tier Pets?

Time was almost up; the three-hour limit was fast approaching.

Just as he was about to give up and turn back to choose one of the flawed Gold Rank potential fierce beast eggs he had appraised earlier,

he suddenly paused. A fierce beast egg in the layer of dust beside some messy cardboard boxes on the ground caught his eye.

When his gaze had swept over it just now, the characters he saw in the potential column didn't seem to be Bronze, Silver, or Gold—those three he was already weary of seeing.

After performing so many appraisals, Qin Ce's eyes were a bit blurry, and his reactions had slowed down.

He picked up the fierce beast egg and brushed off the dust.

Qin Ce activated [Nine-Star Insight] once more.

The appraisal page for the fierce beast egg slowly unfolded.

[Beast Egg]: Cloud Emerald Bird

[Bloodline]: A trace of Phoenix, a trace of Bifang

[Potential]: Mid-Grade Star-Glow Rank

[Attribute]: Wind

[Talent]: Wandering Cloud (Gold Rank) - Extreme sensitivity to air currents; rides the wind, high speed, and doubles Wind-type attack power.

[Skills]: Wind Blade, Sky Soarer, Wing Flash, Beak Strike, Wind-Tearing Claw (Requires activation)

[Status]: Excessive innate strength but insufficient postnatal development; physically weak.

[Weaknesses]: High evolution difficulty due to bloodline burden; difficult to awaken Innate Method at Star-Glow Rank; proud.

[Evolution Opportunities]: 1. Inject Phoenix bloodline to evolve into a Phoenix-type fierce beast. 2. Inject Bifang bloodline to evolve into a Bifang-type fierce beast. 3. High-level items of Wind, Fire, Auspicious, Cloud, Wood, or Bird types can all facilitate its evolution. (Due to the influence of both Phoenix and Bifang bloodlines, it easily triggers attributes from either side to complete evolution.)

...

Mid-Grade Star-Glow Rank!

Qin Ce gasped. This was the highest-ranked fierce beast egg he had appraised!

Wait, what was this bloodline?

Phoenix and Bifang!

Qin Ce's heart pounded violently as blood rushed to his head.

Then—then—what about the status, weaknesses, and evolution opportunities? Many of the decent fierce beast eggs he'd seen before had failed because of those.

Physically weak due to excessive innate strength and insufficient postnatal development?

That's not an issue; he just needed to nourish it.

Then, high evolution difficulty, difficult Innate Method awakening, and pride.

Huh? These are weaknesses? Isn't this just showing off its strengths? Shouldn't something excellent be hard to rank up? Shouldn't it be proud? How are these weaknesses?

Not to mention the final evolution opportunities.

This is top-tier!

This is the one!

Qin Ce carefully wiped the fierce beast egg—no, his pet egg—once more, feeling the slight chill in his hand and a rhythmic pulse like the wind.

Then, he held it tightly in his arms.

...

"Kid, have you chosen yet? Time's up!" The warehouse manager's voice, tinged with impatience, sounded behind Qin Ce.

Three hours had passed without him realizing it. Everyone else had already made their choice; he was the only one left.

"I've chosen," Qin Ce turned and replied calmly, but he wasn't even willing to show the pet egg he was holding.

Seeing how Qin Ce was treasuring it, the warehouse manager curled his lip but said nothing, leading him out.

However, the waiting students nearby erupted into a wave of suppressed snickers and chatter.

"After picking for so long, he still chose from that corner. Does he really think he could find some treasure?"

"Look at him, acting like we're going to snatch it from him. Hilarious."

"Darn it, wasting time because of this guy. Can we start the contract already..."

Lin Hai also looked at the egg in Qin Ce's arms with concern, hesitating to speak. Qin Ce had been exceptionally strange today.

Facing the ridicule, Qin Ce's expression remained unchanged. He simply held the Cloud Emerald egg tighter and stepped into the queue.

Officer Li Qing's gaze lingered on him for a moment, sharp as if trying to see through something, but in the end, he only spoke indifferently.

"Since everyone has chosen, all of you, take your eggs to the outdoor plaza to prepare for the soul contract! Remember, the contract is two-way. You must use your own Soul Seed as a guide and your mental strength as a bridge to establish a connection with the nascent spirituality within the egg. You must not be disturbed during the process; otherwise, at best, the contract will fail, and at worst, you'll suffer a mental backlash. Move out!"

Stepping out of the warehouse, the sunlight was a bit blinding.

Following the instructions, the students spread out across the plaza. They all sat on the ground, placed their chosen fierce beast eggs in front of them, closed their eyes, and began to mobilize the power of their newly condensed Soul Seeds.

Qin Ce also sat cross-legged, placing the Cloud Emerald egg right in the center of his lap.

He took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and sank his consciousness into his Mental Sea. He guided that brilliant Soul Talisman, releasing gentle threads of mental energy that slowly reached toward the egg on his lap.

The moment his mental energy touched the eggshell, he seemed to "hear" an extremely faint murmur, as if it had been slumbering for thousands of years. A cool yet familiar aura of wind fed back through the threads of mental energy.

"With my soul, I contract your spirit..."

Qin Ce silently recited the contract incantation. The threads of mental energy solidified as he attempted to leave his own soul imprint upon the nascent, ignorant spirituality within the egg.

What followed was unexpectedly smooth.

The slumbering spirituality seemed to have no rejection toward him at all, even actively accepting his mental energy.

Soon, a feeling of being connected by blood and soul arose spontaneously.

Contract successful!

*Crack...*

A tiny crack on the eggshell on his lap began to spread like a spiderweb.

The crisp sound of cracking wasn't very loud in the spacious plaza, and similar sounds were echoing around him.

*Pop!*

The top of the gray eggshell burst open completely. A wet little bird, no larger than a palm and covered in sparse, downy feathers, struggled clumsily to climb out.

It shook off the mucus. The scattered feathers on its body, combined with the shaking, caused it to tumble over. Its little body appeared extremely fragile and thin.

But the little bird didn't mind. After a brief moment of dazed confusion, its bead-like black eyes looked around before finally fixing on Qin Ce's face.

*Chirp~*

A faint yet joyfully chirping sound, full of attachment.

"Hello there."

Right then.

In Qin Ce's mind, a flurry of notification sounds suddenly rang out.

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully contracted a Star-Glow Rank potential pet, Cloud Emerald Bird.]

[Novice Mission "Successfully select a high-quality fierce beast egg" completed!]

[Mission Evaluation: Excellent (Contracted pet's potential exceeds Gold Rank).]

[Commencing reward distribution... Extracting mythic-grade talent...]

[Extraction complete! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the mythic-grade talent: Nine-fold Azure Sky!]

A mysterious torrent of information, seemingly containing the fundamental rules of the wind's source, surged violently into the depths of Qin Ce's soul!

...