After firing up Koi Ah Fu's fighting spirit, Li Qian returned to his room and fell into thought.
He didn't immediately put his plan into action.
It wasn't that he didn't want to; he just didn't have the money.
Whether it was the Limit-Breaking Stone or the potion that could awaken the Flood Dragon Bloodline, the prices were far beyond what a high school student like Li Qian could afford.
He had checked last night. Even an ordinary-quality Limit-Breaking Stone cost over two hundred thousand.
'Ask Gao Yaxin?'
'No, that's not an option!'
Li Qian shot down the idea almost as soon as it surfaced.
Her appreciating him was one thing, but sponsoring him was another entirely.
Most importantly, they didn't know each other well.
If he ran up to her now and said he had figured out how to evolve a Koi Carp and needed funding, she would probably think he had lost his mind.
Forget about her appreciating him; he'd be lucky if she didn't end up despising him.
As the old saying goes, 'a smooth chin means an unreliable plan.'
At his age and with his background, claiming to have discovered an evolutionary path for a Koi Carp... Forget other people, even he wouldn't believe it if he were in their shoes.
Therefore, to research the evolutionary path of the Koi Carp, he needed a sucker. A rich sucker.
At this thought, a face involuntarily surfaced in his mind—a fat face, heavy with flesh.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Fatty An, do you want a Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential?"
On the other end of the line, a big, round head heard this, and the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
...
「Half an hour later.」
The entrance to the Pet Beast Market.
Li Qian met Fatty An.
Fatty An's real name was An Junjie, a name that was the polar opposite of the man himself. He had nothing to do with the "handsome" or "outstanding" characters in his name. Thanks to his fleshy build and a weight exceeding 200 pounds, he'd earned the nickname "Fatty An."
Besides being fat, the other thing he was known for—at least among his classmates—was being rich!
Rumor had it that Fatty An's family did business with the Lingshui City Beastmaster Association.
What kind of business, exactly, was anyone's guess.
Inside a Pet Beast café next to the Pet Beast Market, Li Qian casually took a cup of coffee that was being held up by the tail of a ring-tailed cat. He then looked across at Fatty An, who seemed to be sinking into the booth. "Fatty An, you haven't awakened yet?"
"My Spiritual Power is already at 9.8. I'll probably awaken within a month at most," Fatty An said, slurping some coffee foam, his tone suspicious.
He wasn't sure why Li Qian had suddenly brought this up.
Li Qian didn't get straight to the point. Instead, he voiced something that had been puzzling him. "Fatty An, I've always wondered. With your family's resources, buying a Spirit Potion should be a piece of cake, right?"
Fatty An set down his coffee and adopted an air of worldly wisdom. "Ah, Li Qian, that's where you're mistaken."
After a dramatic pause, he continued, "Let me put it this way: even if I don't awaken my Beast Taming Space in the next three months, I still won't use a Spirit Potion."
"Aren't you worried your college entrance exam scores will be too low to get into a Beast Taming University?" Li Qian asked, even more baffled.
After all, whether or not you awakened a Beast Taming Space before high school graduation had a huge impact on your college entrance exam score.
It was safe to say that failing to awaken your Beast Taming Space before graduation meant losing any chance of getting into a top-tier university.
The only exceptions were those with exceptionally rare Beast Taming Talents.
Fatty An grinned smugly. "Even if I bomb the exam, I can still get into a Beast Taming University."
Realization dawned on Li Qian. He couldn't help but curse inwardly, 'Damn capitalists!'
"The reason I don't use them is that Spirit Potions have side effects," Fatty An revealed. "They're not something just anyone can take. If a Beast Master's Spiritual Power isn't up to snuff, taking a Spirit Potion can cause brain damage. That affects their future Beast Taming Potential, and that kind of damage is incredibly difficult to repair. Right now, every Spirit Potion on the market is too strong for someone who hasn't awakened their Beast Taming Space."
Li Qian nodded. "I see."
Having explained, Fatty An brought the conversation back to the matter at hand. "So, tell me. It's the weekend. Why'd you drag me out here?"
"You know my time is precious right now."
"And you shouldn't have much free time either, should you?"
At this, Fatty An seemed to remember something and asked, a little uncertainly, "Have you awakened already?"
Li Qian just smiled without saying a word, but his expression was answer enough.
A flash of envy crossed Fatty An's eyes.
Li Qian picked up the thread of conversation, repeating his earlier question from the phone call. "Fatty An, do you want a Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential?"
"A Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential? Of course, I want one. You know where to buy it?" Fatty An said dismissively, his lips curling and his face etched with skepticism.
Li Qian gave a sly chuckle. "So, Fatty An, do you trust me?"
"Brother Qian, don't look at me like that." Seeing Li Qian's eyes gleam, Fatty An suddenly had a bad feeling. "Just tell me how much you need to borrow. You don't have to resort to armed robbery!"
Li Qian's lips twitched. "With these skinny arms and legs, and without even a contracted Pet Beast? How am I supposed to go commit armed robbery?"
He spread his hands and continued, "I'll be honest with you. I've discovered a new Pet Beast evolutionary path. I'm ninety-five percent certain about it. I just need to run a few more experiments to finalize it."
"If you fund these last few experiments, I'll give you a Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential in return!"
Fatty An rolled his eyes. His expression practically screamed, 'Do you take me for an idiot? An easy mark?'
Li Qian sighed in resignation.
'As I thought. This sounds so much like a fantasy that not even this prime sucker is buying it.'
"Fatty An, we've known each other for a while now. You know what kind of person I am," Li Qian said, his voice laced with frustration. "In our three years of high school, have I ever lied to you?"
"What about the time you erased my name from the love letter I poured my heart into and signed your own?" Fatty An asked, giving him the side-eye.
"Ahem. Well, that time... that was for your own good. With the class president being so proud and standoffish, I didn't want to see you get hurt," Li Qian said awkwardly. "And later events proved me right."
"Tu Jiaojiao didn't even accept me. If it had been you, the outcome would've been even more devastating."
Fatty An took a sharp breath. "You might have a point, but for some reason, I really want to punch you right now."
"And think about it! Every time you got your heart broken, who was there to help you drink your sorrows away?" Li Qian quickly changed the subject, playing the sympathy card. "Minors aren't allowed to buy alcohol, so I had to steal my dad's ID every single time to get it for you."
Fatty An stared coldly at Li Qian, offering no reaction.
Seeing this, Li Qian's eyes darted, and he decided to play his trump card. "I remember one time when you were drunk, you insisted on telling me that you have a crush on our Meditation teacher, Zhu Bingqing. You said you liked how she was... 'curvy in all the right places.' I've been keeping that secret for you all this time!"
At those words, Fatty An's face instantly flushed crimson. He gritted his teeth. "Fine. How much?"
"Three million!" Li Qian held up three fingers.
Fatty An's eyes bulged when he heard the number. "What? Three million? Get lost!"
"No way!"
Li Qian sighed. "Ah well, I guess Teacher Zhu..."
Seeing Li Qian use the threat again, Fatty An's mouth twitched. "Dude, I really don't have that much money!"
"Then how much do you have?" Li Qian pressed.
Trembling, Fatty An held up one finger. "One million."
"One million works!"
Li Qian chuckled. "One million for a Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential... Fatty, you're getting the deal of a lifetime!"
Fatty An shot Li Qian a look and thought, 'Well, I might as well just be throwing this money into the river.'