Chapter 66: Chapter 64: Nine Minutes
Li Qian wasn’t surprised to see that under the pressure of the Sun-devouring Tiger’s Intimidation Skill, a dozen or so Koi Carp led by Ah Long were still holding on instead of sinking to the bottom of the pond.
However, he knew that even if they could endure for now, they certainly wouldn’t be able to last much longer.
The situation unfolded just as he’d guessed.
After less than three seconds, Koi Carp began to give in one after another, unable to withstand the pressure of the Sun-devouring Tiger’s Intimidation Skill, and sank to the bottom of the pond.
Ah Long and Tan Tou, however, were not among them.
After about another minute, the vast majority of the Koi Carp had sunk to the bottom of the pond. Only five remained, struggling to hold on.
They clustered together, as if intending to face their trial as one.
In reality, however, grouping together had no effect against an Intimidation Skill of this caliber.
As expected, Ah Long and Tan Tou were still among the struggling group.
Just as Li Qian thought the five Koi Carp wouldn’t last much longer, the ones to truly drop out first were actually those that had already sunk to the bottom.
BLUB BLUB BLUB...
As the first Koi Carp’s eyes began to roll back in its head, its belly turned upward and it floated to the surface. One by one, more Koi Carp could no longer endure and started to pass out.
In less than five minutes, eighty percent of the Koi Carp had become "dead fish" floating on the surface of the water.
Of course, they weren’t actually dead—they had just fainted from the pressure of the Intimidation Skill.
Fainting in this way had no impact on a Pet Beast’s physical health.
Time ticked by, second by second. More Koi Carp gave out, joining the ranks of the "dead fish" on the water’s surface.
At this point, even the five Koi Carp that had been struggling to hold on, including Tan Tou and Ah Long, could no longer maintain their positions and sank to the bottom.
Time passed slowly...
Even though the Intimidation Skill wasn’t directed at him, Li Qian could feel an immense pressure just by standing at the edge of the pond.
This was a Tier Seven Commander Pet Beast with Dominator Level Potential, after all.
Even if it was relatively lacking in combat experience, it was far beyond anything Qizai or Ah Fu could hope to match at their current level.
To put it bluntly, at this moment, the Sun-devouring Tiger was the most powerful being in the entire Cultivation Base.
Eight minutes passed.
By this point, only three conscious Koi Carp remained in the entire Central Pond: Ah Long and two of the base’s other Koi Carp.
As for Fatty An’s Tan Tou, it had already been "eliminated."
Its aptitude was certainly good, but its willpower was ultimately a cut below the rest.
Even among the base’s own Koi Carp, it wasn’t one of the top performers.
A few seconds past the eight-minute mark, the other two Koi Carp from the base also succumbed. Their eyes rolled back, and they fainted.
And so, only one fish remained in the entire pond: Ah Long, still holding on.
Li Qian gazed toward the bottom of the pond. Ah Long’s whole body had started to sway, and Li Qian figured it couldn’t hold out for much longer.
And, as it turned out, he was right.
Just as the timer hit nine minutes, Ah Long could no longer hold on. It passed out and floated to the surface.
Li Qian nodded slightly as he looked at the hundred-odd Koi Carp floating on the surface of the pond.
All in all, he was quite satisfied with the Koi Carp’s performance.
Especially for the two that lasted the longest—he figured their chances of successfully evolving into a Frostfire Salamander, to say nothing of a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, would not be low.
For the time being, however, Li Qian had no plans to use them as his test subjects.
He had a more suitable target in mind... one whose willpower surpassed even Ah Long’s.
Since this was their first time undergoing Intimidation Skill training, Li Qian didn’t schedule any more sessions for the rest of the day.
He had to give them some time to recover; he couldn’t push them too hard right away.
Besides, some of the Koi Carp still needed to train their Climbing Waterfall Skill, so it wasn’t wise to add to their burden.
The next day, early in the morning, a large, dark silhouette suddenly descended from the sky, landing at the main gate of the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base.
The gatekeeper, Uncle Zhang, wasn’t surprised by the sight.
He immediately called Li Qian to notify him.
He recognized the massive creature that had descended from the sky with just a single glance.
It was a Flying Pet Beast—a Long-necked Sparrow.
The Long-necked Sparrow possessed a long neck and a sharp beak. When it flew, it was like an arrow loosed from a bow, incredibly fast.
Despite the Long-necked Sparrow’s incredible speed and impressive stamina, its combat prowess was actually quite low.
Its Racial Potential just barely reached the Commander Level.
Because this type of Pet Beast had a docile nature and wouldn’t typically attack humans even without a Soul Contract, they had become the primary flying delivery Pet Beasts for many courier companies.
This particular Long-necked Sparrow was the Pet Beast of a courier from the United Express Company.
’Clearly, something our boss bought online has arrived.’
’Back when the base was doing better, this sort of thing was a common sight.’
Hearing Uncle Zhang’s call, Li Qian didn’t hesitate and went straight outside.
"Package delivery, please sign here!" Seeing the recipient appear, the courier swiftly handed a small cardboard box to Li Qian.
"Thanks!" Li Qian took the box without wasting time on questions.
He opened the box, and just as he’d expected, a Beast Taming Ball was inside.
Li Qian picked up the Beast Taming Ball and walked over to the edge of the Central Pond.
A beam from the Light of Collection flashed, and a fairly standard-sized Koi Carp, about sixty centimeters long, appeared in the pond.
This was the special Koi Carp he had won in an auction on the Pet Beast Mall—the one that could withstand a River-Flipping Crocodile’s Intimidation Skill for ten minutes.
"Not bad. Looks pretty energetic." After entering the pond, the little fellow swam about excitedly, occasionally leaping from the water’s surface, appearing quite worked up. Seeing this, Li Qian offered a casual word of praise.
"Little fella, I wonder if meeting me is your good fortune, or your misfortune," Li Qian remarked with a sigh as he glanced at the new arrival in the pond.
Without missing a beat, he looked toward a certain part of the pond. "Qizai, come out!"
As his voice faded...
"GRAH! GRAH! GRAH!"
A majestic, domineering Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon suddenly surged forward, its speed astonishing.
SPLASH...
The Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon burst from the water, its powerful aura truly a sight to behold.
When the new Koi Carp saw this, its eyes widened. They were filled with envy, and... a trace of sorrow.
"Go have a talk with this one," Li Qian instructed Qizai, pointing at the new Koi Carp.
Having evolved into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and reached the Elite Level, Qizai’s intelligence was now on par with a seven or eight-year-old child.
He and Qizai could communicate almost flawlessly through their Soul Contract.
Obviously, that wasn’t possible with the new Koi Carp, so he had no choice but to have Qizai act as an interpreter.
’Hopefully, with Qizai translating, the Koi Carp will understand what I mean.’
