2: Chapter 2 The Evolved Form of Flameclaw

"I heard you want to become stronger?"

The human voice rang in its ears. The Flame Claw Beast looked up and stared straight at Lin Chen. It still held up its sharp claws, its eyes full of vigilance.

The receptionist explained, "Perhaps because of its past experiences, this little one is quite wary of humans. Even the staff find it hard to get close."

Lin Chen nodded in understanding. He continued to watch the Flame Claw Beast, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"I don't care why you want to become stronger. The fact that you have your own thoughts and goals at this stage is a wonderful thing, in my opinion."

"You are a wonderful Flame Claw Beast."

The Flame Claw Beast's tense facial muscles gradually relaxed, and even the wariness in its eyes dissipated a bit. But when it met Lin Chen's gaze, it waved its claws again, pretending to be fierce: "Gagu!"

Don't think you can get close to me just by praising me!

Lin Chen smiled. As he pulled out his phone, he spoke slowly, "But becoming stronger is just a goal. How to become stronger and through what means is what matters most."

"As a mature Flame Claw Beast, you should understand this."

The Flame Claw Beast blinked.

Lin Chen suddenly pointed his phone screen at the Flame Claw Beast and said, "Look, these are the two forms you can evolve into."

"This is the Fire-attribute Flame Ridge Beast; its racial rank is Mid-tier Elite."

"This is the Fire-Rock-attribute Cinder Rock Exploding Armor; its racial rank is High-tier Elite."

The Flame Claw Beast's attention was instantly drawn to the two pets on the screen, its expression flickering with uncertainty.

"Are they strong?"

Lin Chen's voice rang out again, forcibly pulling back the Flame Claw Beast's wandering thoughts.

"Strong, but limited in strength."

Lin Chen's expression was serious, his voice low: "In my opinion, only those with a racial rank at the Lord level, or even Epic level, can be considered truly powerful."

"But if you grow stronger according to these two evolution forms, your ceiling will be limited, and your strength will be capped."

"Gagu..."

The Flame Claw Beast opened its mouth but couldn't say anything to refute him. It suddenly lowered its head and stared straight at its claws, its expression changing rapidly.

The receptionist was speechless for a moment.

She knew Lin Chen was using rhetoric to lower the Flame Claw Beast's psychological guard, but his tone was simply too bold.

Could it be that he had a way to make the Flame Claw Beast even stronger than the Flame Ridge Beast and Cinder Rock Exploding Armor?

"I can make you stronger—stronger than both of those pets."

Lin Chen entered a series of prompts into the AI drawing software. After waiting a moment, he saw the image generated by the software and curled his lips, his voice rising:

"Look at this pet; it will be your future evolution path."

The Flame Claw Beast looked up blankly. When its deep green eyes saw the pet in the picture, it was suddenly stunned.

This... this was a pet that radiated "power" from the inside out.

Its entire body was covered in dark-gold battle armor, its head majestic, with a metal shield on its back. Its arms ended in dragon claws like blazing blades, and its posture was as tall and straight as a god of war, with an awe-inspiring aura.

"Gagu..."

The Flame Claw Beast stared blankly at this pet, then looked down at its own small arms and legs and short claws, a clear look of confusion in its eyes.

It could evolve into this too?

Could it really become this strong?

"Of course you can evolve into this." Lin Chen nodded seriously, his eyes burning like torches, like a devil's whisper, "Your future holds infinite possibilities."

The Flame Claw Beast fell silent.

After a while, it looked up again at the unfamiliar pet in the picture, the flames of fighting spirit burning in its eyes.

It had decided.

This would be its future evolution path.

So, the Flame Claw Beast took one last look at Lin Chen's sincere gaze, no longer hesitated, and nodded.

The receptionist, full of curiosity, leaned over to look at the pet in the picture and praised, "What a domineering pet."

"Domineering" was the most direct first impression.

But after looking closely for a moment, the receptionist shook her head.

She had never seen a pet that looked like this.

Looking at its appearance, it seemed like a dual Dragon and Mechanical attribute pet, completely unrelated to the Fire-attribute Flame Claw Beast.

In other words, it was simply nonsensical to suggest the Flame Claw Beast had such an evolution form.

After all, as far as she knew, the Flame Claw Beast currently only had two publicly known evolution forms. If a Flame Claw Beast could truly evolve into this pet, its market price would definitely skyrocket several times over.

Obviously, this was an evolution form Lin Chen had fabricated on the spot to lure the Flame Claw Beast away.

So the receptionist joked, "Does this pet have a name?"

Lin Chen looked at the image of WarGreymon created through the AI software. He didn't answer immediately but crouched down to look the Flame Claw Beast in the eye: "When you evolve into this form, give yourself a name."

"Gagu!"

At this moment, the Flame Claw Beast's eyes were filled with starlight.

After the Flame Claw Beast agreed to the contract, Lin Chen prepared to go to the front desk to pay. But just then, as if suddenly remembering something, the Flame Claw Beast abruptly turned its head and looked at the Flame-Fire Dog behind the receptionist.

"Gagu!"

Lin Chen followed its gaze and saw that Flame-Fire Dog still hiding behind the receptionist.

This Flame-Fire Dog, which had nearly become Lin Chen's initial pet, only showed a pair of timid eyes. At this moment, sensing the Flame Claw Beast's gaze, its body stiffened.

Every hair on its body stood on end, a whimper of fear rolled from its throat, and its head pressed tightly against the ground; it didn't even have the courage to look up.

"Awoo..."

The Flame Claw Beast tilted its small head and waved its little claw at the Flame-Fire Dog, as if saying a final goodbye.

But the Flame-Fire Dog seemed even more frightened. It curled into a ball like a ball of yarn, burying its head even deeper, and its whimpers became faint.

"Awoo, awoo..."

Don't look at me, don't look at me.

Seeing this, Lin Chen gave a helpless smile.

Talk about a breeding house bully.

It seemed he would have to focus on the Flame Claw Beast's moral education in the future; he couldn't let it bring such unhealthy tendencies into his future pet lineup.

The human and pet followed the receptionist out of the enclosure when a crisp voice suddenly came from beside them: "You're Lin Chen from Class 3, right?"

Lin Chen turned his head and saw two girls walking toward him.

The girl on the left had a sweet face, straight bangs, and a low ponytail. She was wearing the student uniform of Qinglan City No. 1 Middle School, her eyes full of smiles.

The girl on the right was tall and slender, with exquisite and cold features. Her long black hair was tied in a high ponytail, revealing a smooth forehead. She frowned slightly, carrying a faint sense of aloofness.

Lin Chen quickly recognized them—they were students from Class 1 next door. The one on the left was Zhang Xiaoxiao, who was cheerful and lively, a well-known social butterfly in their grade who could strike up a conversation with anyone.

Su Qingyuan on the right was even more of a prominent figure in their grade. Her grades were consistently at the top, she was exceptionally beautiful, and she came from a wealthy family.

In this college entrance exam, they, like him, had been admitted to the Qiming Beast-Taming Academy.

But thinking of this, Lin Chen shook his head slightly.

With Su Qingyuan's grades, she should have been able to get into the top-tier Yandu Beast-Taming Academy or the Tianshu Royal Beast-Taming Academy in Donghuang. However, she seemed to have been in poor form this year, and her grades had dropped quite a bit.

However, it was said that Su Qingyuan's parents had long ago arranged her future development path. After graduating from high school, she would go directly to a top beast-taming academy in the Star Dome Federation for further studies and wouldn't stay in the Donghuang Federation at all.

For Su Qingyuan, this college entrance exam was perhaps just an inconsequential and novel experience.

"I'm Lin Chen. Hello." Lin Chen replied politely.

"I heard you were also admitted to Qiming Beast-Taming Academy. We might be classmates in the future."

Zhang Xiaoxiao took the initiative to start a conversation, then noticed the Flame Claw Beast beside Lin Chen, her eyes lighting up. "Is this the initial pet you're planning to contract with?"

"A Flame Claw Beast! Those are quite rare in Qinglan City."

Su Qingyuan lowered her eyes, the figures of the human and pet reflected in her pupils, but she remained silent.

For an ordinary rookie Beast Tamer, a Flame Claw Beast was a pet with decent cost-performance. After evolving, it would possess considerable strength, enough to help a Beast Tamer achieve a relatively high social status in Qinglan City.

But such pets would be like mere weeds in the World Catastrophe two years from now. Such a Beast Tamer would be powerless against that Dark Crisis.