Beast Taming: My System is Bugged-Chapter 63 - 62: Evolution! Freezing the Inner Core

Chapter 63: Chapter 62: Evolution! Freezing the Inner Core

If the Little Cyan Snake could break through to Three-star, the implications would be entirely different. It would be tantamount to forging a completely new path.

At a university, this would be equivalent to a top-tier journal publication, capable of bringing their son an unimaginable allocation of resources.

Following this line of thought, the old couple realized that the ordinary path for a Little Cyan Snake was a dead end. It had to find a different way, an untrodden evolutionary path.

Teacher Zhang had agreed to the attempt with Gu Ming’s future potential in mind.

If they didn’t take the risk, it would follow the ordinary evolutionary path: advancing step-by-step to Two-star, then contracting a new Pet Beast in university.

But if they took the gamble and succeeded, it would be a case of a Fish Leaping the Dragon Gate, bringing glory to the Gu Family.

As for the probability of a catastrophic failure, it was very low.

With the help of an Ice Pet, they could manually fine-tune the freezing of the Inner Core. At the very least, the path to Two-star remained as a fallback.

"Let’s do it!"

"We’ll trust them this one time!"

Mr. Gu gritted his teeth and decided to take the risk.

The process of transcending one’s social class is never smooth sailing.

Following the established path was stable, but stability also meant a lack of excitement, a future that was plain to see.

Young people have drive and a desire to strive upward; the two of them certainly couldn’t hold their son back.

A family’s role is to be the ultimate safe harbor. As long as the two of them were alive, they wouldn’t let their son starve or be left with no options. At the very least, they would always provide him with a way out.

The couple brewed the medicinal soup, and as soon as it was ready, they immediately brought it to their son.

In the bedroom.

Cyan Treasure was coiled up on the windowsill, gazing at the modern street outside as it slowly performed its Breathing Technique to train its body.

It was using its Breathing Technique to mobilize all the Mana in its body, gathering it toward its Dantian.

Just as all the Mana from outside the Dantian had been squeezed into it, creating immense pressure, the old couple’s medicinal soup arrived at the perfect moment.

"Drink the soup. After you digest it with the Snake Swallowing Elephant Technique, you’ll begin Solidifying the Pill. The Mana in your Dantian can’t be released now; you must keep it taut at all times," Teacher Zhang said.

Gu Ming took the medicinal soup and held it to Cyan Treasure’s mouth.

Cyan Treasure drank it all in one gulp. Then, Gu Ming’s voice echoed in its mind: ’Use the Elephant-Swallowing Demon Technique to refine the medicinal soup, then begin Solidifying the Pill.’

On one hand was the Cultivation Technique mentioned by Teacher Zhang, and on the other was the Elephant-Swallowing Demon Technique mentioned by its master.

However, in Cyan Treasure’s eyes, both Cultivation Techniques had the same name.

It closed its eyes, and with a rumbling sound, it began digesting the medicinal soup, converting it into pure energy and nutrients that flowed into its meridians.

A larger portion of the Medicinal Power rushed directly to its Dantian, making it more robust and capable of withstanding greater pressure.

At this moment, it entered a focused state, manipulating its Mana to rotate toward the center point, compressing it relentlessly.

The Mana within its Dantian seemed to twist into a storm, spinning smaller and smaller, shrinking by a full circle every minute. A visible white mist began to rise from the scales all over its body.

After ten minutes, a dense Magic Power Inner Core had formed inside Cyan Treasure’s Dantian.

Because it was forcibly compressed using the Breathing Technique, the Mana had not yet solidified.

The Magic Power Inner Core would also change with the Pet Beast’s breathing, sometimes expanding, sometimes contracting, in a dynamic state.

Only when the Inner Core was stabilized and solidified could it be considered a true Evolution.

Cyan Treasure could clearly feel it. With every breath, the Magic Power Inner Core in its Dantian exerted immense expansion pressure, as if it was about to burst the Dantian itself.

A moment later, the Inner Core shrank back into a pellet, creating a strong negative pressure. In an instant, its very flesh and blood were squeezed inward, and a large amount of Spiritual Qi rushed into its body through its mouth.

At this point, Teacher Zhang came over to help.

Cyan Treasure had not yet met the evolutionary requirements for Solidifying the Pill.

Its Mana had reached the standard, but its physical strength had not. If it continued Solidifying the Pill like this, its body would only be dragged down or even burst by the unstable Inner Core.

And this was the perfect moment for an Ice Pet to intervene and use its Ice Element Ability to freeze the Inner Core.

"Ice Heart Fox, use the Shadow-Tracing Ice skill to freeze the Inner Core. Just one-tenth of your Ice Qi will be enough."

Teacher Zhang placed his hand on the edge of Cyan Treasure’s scales, using a Spiritual Technique to perceive the changes within its Dantian, and spoke to the Ice Heart Fox beside him.

The Ice Heart Fox nodded, pressing its small paw against the area of Cyan Treasure’s Dantian. A light flashed, and a layer of frost quickly coated the Snake Pet’s scales.

Inside the Dantian, the expanding Inner Core was also affected by the Cold Qi, and the frequency of its expansion and contraction slowly decreased.

The hazy Ice Qi transformed into the faint image of a fox’s paw, which gently grasped the Inner Core and began to freeze it at a slow pace.

Cyan Treasure’s complexion turned pale, and it shivered violently. It was so cold its tail trembled and straightened out.

"Keep breathing, Cyan Treasure."

Gu Ming reached out and stroked Cyan Treasure’s head, conveying an encouraging look.

The mist exhaled from Cyan Treasure’s forked tongue glittered in the air; it was a cold fog formed by the air freezing rapidly upon contact with the cold.

With each breath, it expelled a large amount of cold mist. However, Cyan Treasure’s breathing rate gradually returned to normal, and the expanding Inner Core within its body slowly became coated with a layer of frost, ceasing its changes.

At this point, the Evolution process was declared temporarily halted.

To unfreeze the Inner Core, one would need to consume a Fire Attribute medicinal soup daily to dispel the Cold Qi from the Inner Core.

"Whew, thank goodness nothing went wrong. Have Cyan Treasure try to cultivate with its Breathing Technique again."

Teacher Zhang wiped the sweat from his forehead, a look of relief on his face.

He hadn’t removed his left hand, still closely monitoring Cyan Treasure’s condition.

It was his first time freezing a Pet Beast’s Inner Core, and Teacher Zhang had been afraid of an accident. If something had gone wrong, his teaching career would have been frozen along with it. Thankfully, nothing had happened.

The nearby Ice Heart Fox took a step back, ready on standby.

It also had the Ice Soul Synchronization skill, which could manipulate the Cold Qi injected into Cyan Treasure’s body, allowing the Cold Qi to flow and shift to reduce the load on the Dantian. It served as a final failsafe.

However, the total amount of Cold Qi required for freezing was constant. If the Cold Qi in the Dantian decreased, the Magic Power Inner Core would become active again, re-entering the evolutionary process.

Unless absolutely necessary, it was best not to reduce the freezing intensity on the Inner Core.

Cyan Treasure took a long breath, and the Grass and Earth Attribute Spiritual Qi from the air flowed into its belly, slowly being refined as its muscles rippled.

The Spiritual Qi slowly transformed, forming new Mana.

At this time, Cyan Treasure’s total Mana capacity had increased, and its body no longer felt stuffed to the brim with Mana as it did before.

Cyan Treasure exhaled a long breath, expelling the non-Grass Attribute Spiritual Qi from its body, along with layers of Ice Attribute Cold Qi.

It shivered involuntarily. That was its body’s subconscious reaction to the cold from the Inner Core.

’I feel so awful, like there’s a giant ice tumor in my stomach. Every breath causes a sharp pain in my gut. I really want to use my Mana to heat it up and refine it.’

"Don’t do anything rash. Keep practicing your breathing technique and divert your attention. Have you noticed that your Mana capacity has increased?" Gu Ming said.

At its master’s reminder, a hint of joy appeared on Cyan Treasure’s face.

’My master’s choice was correct! After all the Mana was compressed into the Inner Core in my Dantian, I have twice as much free space. I can now hold double my original Mana reserves.’

’If the newly refined Mana can also be compressed into the Magic Power Inner Core, the quality of this Inner Core will be twice as good!’

「Cyan Treasure attempts Mana Evolution...」

「Inner Core successfully frozen. Evolution process successfully halted!」

「This is an evolutionary miracle! The Time Dragon Cyan Treasure, whose lifespan was nearing its end, has finally embarked on the path of Evolution before its body could wither away.」

「You have taken a firm and powerful step on the path of an old-timer’s comeback. Achievement Points +1!」