Chapter 65: Chapter 63: Intimidation
After Li Qian told An Hou Nian about his idea to use Intimidation or other pressure-type skills to train the willpower of his Pet Beasts, An Hou Nian brought a man with him the very next day.
This man was none other than his father, An Tianyou.
Although Elder An had spent nearly his entire life in the world of business and wasn’t what one would call a true Beast Master, he came from a wealthy family. Thanks to a mountain of resources, his on-paper strength was quite formidable, regardless of his actual combat prowess.
He even had a Sun-devouring Tiger that had mastered the Intimidation Skill, which made it a suitable "tool pet" for the job.
Of course, a Dragon-type Pet Beast would have been even better, as it could exert bloodline suppression on the large school of lazy Koi Carp.
Seeing the old man, at his advanced age, still insisting on coming to help him train his Pet Beasts, Li Qian was quite moved.
He led the old man to the edge of the Central Pond.
After arriving, the old man wasted no time and directly summoned his initial Pet Beast—the Sun-devouring Tiger.
Looking at the tall and mighty Sun-devouring Tiger, Elder An felt a wave of nostalgia, remembering when he had first formed a contract with it. Back then, it was just a Little Flame Cat.
After summoning the Sun-devouring Tiger, An Tianyou relayed Li Qian’s request to it through their Soul Contract.
The Sun-devouring Tiger understood An Tianyou’s meaning. It walked to the edge of the pond, glanced at the Koi Carp inside, and a hint of human-like mockery flashed in its tiger eyes.
’I get to use my Intimidation Skill without holding back? What a great deal. I can finally let loose and have some fun.’
’I just wonder if these little guys can take it.’
’Of course, whether they can take it or not isn’t my problem. I just have to follow orders.’
"Big Cat, it’s our turn. Let these little guys see what you’re made of," An Tianyou said with great enthusiasm, also glancing at the Koi Carp in the pond.
Li Qian also looked over the numerous Koi Carp in the Central Pond. At that moment, they were all engaged in different activities.
Thanks to the subsequent additions from his parents and An Hou Nian, the number of Koi Carp in the entire Central Pond had now reached over a hundred.
Among them, more than thirty had learned the Climbing Waterfall Skill under the leadership of Ah Long and Tan Tou and were now training hard.
Li Qian had already observed these little guys. A few of them had Potential no weaker than Tan Tou and Ah Long.
Of course, this "prosperous" scene was also due to the targeted selections made by his parents and An Hou Nian.
The Koi Carp that later entered the base were all, at least on the surface, good prospects with considerable potential.
In addition, Qizai and Ah Fu, who often lurked in the pond, also played a significant supervisory role.
Faced with the supervision of two Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons, most of the Koi Carp didn’t dare to slack off too obviously. The reason why still only thirty-odd of them had learned the Climbing Waterfall Skill was because... some of them just had terrible aptitude. Other than Fish Jump, they couldn’t learn any other Skills.
Among these Koi Carp, some were indeed cunningly lazy and inherently slothful, while others, though diligent and hardworking, lacked comprehension.
For the latter, Li Qian would give them a chance. As long as they could hold on under the Sun-devouring Tiger’s Intimidation Skill, the longer they lasted, the more likely he would be to choose them to attempt the second evolutionary path.
As for the thirty-odd Koi Carp that had already learned the Climbing Waterfall Skill, Li Qian didn’t plan to exclude them either.
Through the two instances of Qizai’s and Ah Fu’s evolution, Li Qian had already seen that even the first evolutionary path, evolving into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, also required willpower.
In this regard, Qizai and Ah Fu were the most direct comparison.
Qizai had stronger willpower and climbed to the top of the waterfall relying solely on its own strength, whereas Ah Fu could not.
He could only climb about two-thirds of the way. If Qizai hadn’t helped by diverting some of the waterfall’s flow, it would have been impossible for him to reach the top.
Therefore, Li Qian had already made up his mind to have all the Koi Carp undergo the Intimidation training from the Sun-devouring Tiger together, regardless of whether they were destined for the first evolutionary path or the second.
"Qizai, Ah Fu, come out," Li Qian commanded softly. He looked at the surface of the pond. A moment later, the water burst open, and two Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons soared into the air.
"That little rascal Ah Jie is so lucky." Watching the majestic Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons, An Tianyou’s eyes flickered, his voice filled with emotion, and even a hint of envy.
’Back in the day...’
’Well, the one the family prepared for me was... a Little Flame Cat. Its initial Potential wasn’t great, but its advantage was a clear evolutionary path. As long as you had money, you could keep pouring resources into it until it became a Sun-devouring Tiger with Dominator Level Potential.’
"Elder An, there’s no need to be envious. In the future, this Cultivation Base of ours won’t be short on Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons," Li Qian said with a smile, having seen through the old man’s thoughts.
"Xiaotian, don’t just try to comfort me. I know my own aptitude for Beast Taming." The old man sighed. "The only reason I reached the Commander Level is by piling on resources. Breaking through to the Dominator Level is basically impossible for me."
If he couldn’t break through to the Dominator Level and get a new Contract Position, he wouldn’t be able to form a contract with a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, even if they were readily available. All he could do was watch with envy.
A glint flashed in Li Qian’s eyes. He then began to mutter to himself, as if unintentionally, "What a pity. You know, Dragon-type Pet Beasts are famous for their long lifespans. If one could receive the feedback from their evolution and contract, it might extend one’s life by twenty or thirty years."
"Xiaotian, what did you say? What was that about extending life by twenty or thirty years?" Li Qian’s voice had been low, and An Tianyou had only heard him vaguely, but the words "extending life by twenty or thirty years" had deeply stimulated him.
At his age, what did he care about most? Without a doubt, it was extending his life.
"The Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons! It really is a pity!" Li Qian said with a sigh. "If you had a new Contract Position, you could form a contract with a high-potential Koi Carp. Once it breaks through and becomes a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, extending your life by twenty or thirty years through the evolutionary feedback shouldn’t be a problem at all."
"Ahem, well, this old man may be past seventy, but as the saying goes, ’an old steed in the stable still longs to gallop a thousand li.’" The light in Elder An’s eyes grew even brighter. "Besides, my Level is already Tier Seven Commander. Maybe there’s still hope for me to break through to the Dominator Level."
Hearing this, Li Qian gave the old man a sidelong glance, a half-smile playing on his lips.
The old man’s weathered face flushed, a rare sight.
He quickly changed the subject. "Ahem, Xiaotian, let’s get back to the matter at hand."
Li Qian nodded.
"Big Cat, use the Intimidation Skill," Elder An commanded the Sun-devouring Tiger standing by the Central Pond.
The Sun-devouring Tiger didn’t hesitate, directly unleashing its Intimidation Skill on the school of Koi Carp that Qizai and Ah Fu had gathered.
An invisible, intangible pressure was instantly released.
In an instant, the pond, which had been quite lively with Koi Carp occasionally leaping from the water, fell silent.
Most of the Koi Carp were immediately overwhelmed by the Intimidation Skill and sank to the bottom.
Some even thrashed their tails, trying to burrow into the mud at the bottom of the pond.
Only a dozen or so Koi Carp managed to remain suspended in the water.
Liu Changfeng’s Ah Long and Fatty An’s Tan Tou were, remarkably, among them.
As expected of high-potential Pet Beasts that had been carefully selected. Their willpower alone far surpassed that of their peers.
