Stowing the Beast Taming Ball containing the Koi Carp and the extra empty one he'd negotiated for, Li Qian left the bearded man's stall. He didn't waste any time, heading straight for another Pet Beast Potion Shop.
The search for a potion to awaken the Flood Dragon Bloodline within his Koi Carp wasn't over. He had to keep grinding.
He glanced up at the shop's name, then strode inside without breaking his pace. The moment he entered, a promotional sign by the door caught his eye.
"Tear of the Ocean Potion, Gale Roar Potion, Blood Orchid Potion, and Blazing Kiss Potion—all 30% off."
A flicker of doubt crossed Li Qian's mind as he read the sign.
He immediately pulled out his phone, opened the Pet Beast Mall, and did a quick search. He found that with the discount, these potions were indeed significantly cheaper than their online prices.
'Are these potions about to expire?'
'That can't be right. I've never heard of potions having expiration dates. Besides, even if they did, the discount wouldn't be this steep.'
"Hello, welcome! Is there anything I can help you with?" A female sales associate with delicate features noticed Li Qian studying the promotional sign. She walked over with a smile and greeted him in a sweet voice.
Ignoring her syrupy voice, Li Qian pointed to the discounted prices on the board and asked bluntly, "What's the deal with these potions? Why are they so cheap?"
"Today is our store's anniversary, so these are our special promotions." Her voice still sweet, the sales associate explained. She then gestured. "Come on, handsome, let me show you and tell you about them."
Just as Li Qian was about to follow her, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from a nearby stairwell. "Li Qian, don't let her fool you."
"I don't know if it's their anniversary or not, but what I do know is that these potions all come from the Jade Federation. There's nothing wrong with them, but they're really only effective on certain Pet Beasts from there. Very few Pet Beasts here in the Dongxia Federation can actually use them."
Following the sound, his gaze fell upon a stunningly curvaceous female figure.
Looking at the familiar figure and hearing the familiar voice, Li Qian blurted out two words without thinking: "Teacher Zhu!"
That's right. The person who had suddenly appeared in the potion shop was none other than Li Qian's Meditation teacher, Zhu Bingqing.
It had to be said, her figure was probably eighty percent of the reason why Teacher Zhu Bingqing was the dream Goddess for most of the male students, Fatty An included.
With a figure like that, forget Fatty An—even Li Qian found it a little hard to handle. To make matters worse, she was wearing tight jeans and a crop top today. Those legs were longer than Fatty An's life expectancy.
Li Qian figured that if he hadn't been tempered by the trials of Teacher Bo Bo and Teacher Nai Nai in his past life, he'd probably be losing his composure right about now.
'No wonder most of the guys in Meditation class had trouble focusing. In the face of such a temptation, anyone who could actually enter a meditative state had to have incredible willpower.'
Suppressing the slight flutter in his chest, Li Qian smiled and asked, "Teacher Zhu, what brings you here?"
"I'm here to buy potions, of course." Teacher Zhu Bingqing smiled sweetly. She looked Li Qian up and down, her expression turning to one of admiration. "Not bad. It's only been two days, and you've already awakened!"
Seeing that Teacher Zhu had noticed, Li Qian scratched his head and offered a polite compliment, "It's all thanks to your everyday guidance, Teacher Zhu."
"Ultimately, Meditation is a class where the teacher opens the door, but you must enter by yourself. Your awakening is a result of your own hard work."
After a few pleasantries, Teacher Zhu Bingqing waved the sales associate away. She then offered, "Tell me what you're looking for. Let me be your guide. I should be able to give you some useful advice."
"Thank you, Teacher Zhu." Understanding that Teacher Zhu was trying to keep him from getting ripped off, Li Qian stated his goal. "I came to the Pet Beast Potion Shop today mainly to see if I could find a potion capable of awakening a Pet Beast's Flood Dragon Bloodline."
Teacher Zhu considered his words for a moment before replying, "Dragon-type Pet Beasts have astonishing combat power, so any related potions are usually expensive. As far as I know, this shop only carries five potions that can awaken a draconic bloodline, and only four of those are for the Flood Dragon Species."
"Follow me." As she spoke, Teacher Zhu was already walking ahead, beckoning him to follow with a wave of her hand.
Li Qian hurried to catch up, listening patiently to her explanation just as if he were in class.
Teacher Zhu led Li Qian to a glass display case and began her explanation. "This is the Blood Orchid Potion from the promotional sign. Its main ingredient is the Blood Orchid, a precious herb found only in the Jade Federation. It's refined with several other medicinal herbs and can awaken the draconic bloodline in certain Pet Beasts.
She sighed, pausing for a moment before continuing, "However, very few Pet Beasts in our Dongxia Federation can use it. That's because the bloodline it awakens belongs to Western Dragons, not our Eastern Dragons."
Li Qian nodded in understanding.
Outwardly, he wore the expression of a student humbly listening to a lecture, but inwardly, his heart was already in turmoil.
It was because just as Teacher Zhu was explaining the Blood Orchid Potion, his Golden Finger had reacted.
[Inspiration Value +2, Current Task Progress 98%!]
'Just a little more.'
'He was so close to completing the research task. Despite his best efforts to stay calm, his heart began to pound uncontrollably.'
As Teacher Zhu continued her explanation, she seemed to sense Li Qian's odd reaction. A faint smile touched her lips. She was all too familiar with this sort of thing.
'Teenage boys... honestly. Their minds wander so easily.'
'Then again, I suppose I am to blame for dressing a little more revealingly today.'
After finishing her explanation of the Blood Orchid Potion, Teacher Zhu didn't stop. She led Li Qian onward, and a moment later, they arrived at a display case on the second floor.
Li Qian followed at an unhurried pace, having already calmed his racing heart.
'There wasn't much demand for Blood Orchid Potion in the entire Dongxia Federation, and even less of a market for it here in Lingshui City. It wouldn't be a problem even if he didn't buy it immediately.'
'The potion isn't going anywhere. It'll be his sooner or later. No need to rush.'
Before Li Qian could even ask, Teacher Zhu's voice rang out again as they reached the next display case. "This is a Dragon Saliva Fruit. They supposedly only grow in places inhabited by Dragon-type Pet Beasts."
"They probably don't exist on the Ancestral Star. A Dominator Level resource like this is currently only found within Dimensional Rifts."
Li Qian nodded, his attentive expression completely genuine this time.
The Dragon Saliva Fruit didn't trigger any feedback from his Golden Finger.
'But that was to be expected.'
'The odds of finding two resources for the Koi Carp's evolution in a row were minuscule to begin with.'
After discussing the Dragon Saliva Fruit, Teacher Zhu led Li Qian on a tour of the other display cases.
After looking around, it turned out that even counting the Blood Orchid Potion, the shop only carried a total of five potions capable of awakening a draconic bloodline in a Pet Beast.
'Looks like finding all the evolutionary resources for the Koi Carp in brick-and-mortar stores isn't going to be easy.'
After getting familiar with the store's small selection of draconic bloodline potions, Li Qian left the shop with Teacher Zhu, not having bought anything.
Li Qian said goodbye to Teacher Zhu, thanking her for her help before continuing to browse the other shops.
Perhaps worried he would get scammed, Teacher Zhu gave him a final piece of advice before leaving. "Remember, in these shops: look a lot, listen a lot, and buy very little. If you're serious about buying a potion, call me or your Cultivation teacher, Teacher Chu Xiran, first."
"My cultivation skills might not be on par with Teacher Chu Xiran's, but I can at least help you avoid the common pitfalls."
To be honest, Li Qian was quite touched by Teacher Zhu's parting words.
'Both she and the Cultivation teacher, Chu Xiran, were good teachers who genuinely cared about their students.'
'Most importantly, they were both gorgeous. If it had been the combat teacher, Hu Minghua, helping him, he figured his gratitude would have been cut in half.'
At this thought, an idea sparked in Li Qian's mind. He immediately pulled out his phone, sent a message to Fatty An, and attached a photo he had just snapped of Teacher Zhu in the shop.