Chapter 68: Chapter 67: The 5 Supreme Butterfly Bloodlines
Before he even stepped into the Evolution Shop, Zhong Yi heard Zhong Ling’s cry of surprise from the entrance.
"Wow! Uncle Kai, with just one Potion, the Shattered Blade Butterfly evolved into a Blade Butterfly."
"The patterns on the Blade Butterfly’s wings are so beautiful. When it flaps its wings, the afterimages of the patterns look more and more like a peony."
"Uncle Kai, you’re amazing! You’re definitely the most incredible Creator I’ve ever seen!"
Zhong Ling praised Zhao Kai while watching the Blade Butterfly, which had just improved its Quality and undergone a Bloodline transformation.
Zhao Kai was usually stern and rarely smiled, but right now, his handsome features were crinkled into a broad smile.
Back in Zhuxue City, as a Four-finger Peak Creator, Zhao Kai had been admired and praised by countless people every day.
Zhao Kai had thought he was long immune to such praise.
But now, he found himself getting a little lost in Zhong Ling’s endless compliments.
Zhao Kai knew full well that most of the praise he’d received in the past was deliberate flattery and sycophancy.
But Zhong Ling’s praise was pure and came straight from the heart.
’To be honest, at first, I really hated being called ’Uncle Kai.’’
Before his injury, Zhao Kai had looked like a handsome young man in his late twenties. It was only the hardships of the past few years that made him look like he was in his thirties or forties.
’No one had ever called me ’uncle’ before.’
Then Zhao Kai remembered that Zhong Ling also called Zhong Chenghuai "uncle." Although Zhong Chenghuai already looked like an old man, their actual ages weren’t that different.
’I only look this young because my lifespan was extended by the feedback from my Guardian Beast.’
Besides, as a man who took pride in his appearance, Zhao Kai had been diligent about his skincare routine before his injury.
By contrast, Zhong Chenghuai’s Origin had been damaged right as his Lifebound Guardian Beast broke through to the Extraordinary Tier. Furthermore, he hadn’t managed to improve its Guardian Beast Quality before the breakthrough, so his Lifebound Guardian Beast had provided very little feedback.
Once Zhong Chenghuai’s Guardian Beast grew stronger and his lifespan increased, he wouldn’t look any younger, but living for another century or so would be no problem.
"Xiaolingdang, this Blade Butterfly has good potential. Judging from the changes in its wing shape and flap frequency, its Exclusive Trait should be ’Adamant Shatter’."
"The Exclusive Trait ’Adamant Shatter’ allows this Blade Butterfly to attack Defense Type targets with sturdy Scale Armor. The special high-frequency vibrations from the impact of its wings have an armor-shattering effect, directly cracking open the Scale Armor of high-defense targets."
"This kind of armor-breaking ability against high-defense targets is far superior to ordinary Armor-Piercing Type Exclusive Traits."
"Tomorrow, I’ll take you out to buy another three hundred Shattered Blade Butterflies. While we’re at it, we can recruit a few One- and Two-finger Creators as apprentices."
"We’ll have them raise all these Shattered Blade Butterflies, and you can pick the most suitable ones for yourself. The rest can be sold in the shop."
Having a Four-finger Peak Creator like Zhao Kai raise these Mortal Beast Tier Guardian Beasts was frankly a waste of his talent.
Among Creators, High Tier Creators generally recruit apprentices.
Whenever a High Tier Creator announced they were taking on apprentices, many Low Tier Creators would flock to them.
Studying the application of Soul Power and the art of Potion concoction under a High Tier Creator could save those Low Tier Creators decades of wasted effort.
Normally, if a Creator of Three-finger rank or higher was willing to take on apprentices, many One- and Two-finger Creators would gladly pay for the opportunity.
Although the difference between a Two-finger and Three-finger Creator was just a single Soul Finger, the gap between them was a massive watershed.
Out of fifty Two-finger Creators, it wasn’t guaranteed that even one would ever break through to become a Three-finger Creator in their entire lifetime.
And becoming a Three-finger Creator was considered a true mark of mastery, making them highly sought after by major factions.
Of course, this was just Zhao Kai’s idea. He still planned to ask Zhong Yi’s opinion on whether to actually recruit apprentices.
At that moment, both of them noticed Zhong Yi, who had just walked into the shop. Zhong Ling immediately directed the newly evolved Blade Butterfly to fly over to him.
"Young Master, look! This is the Blade Butterfly Uncle Kai helped me strengthen. He said its Exclusive Trait is amazing."
Hearing this, Zhong Yi used All Things Exploration to inspect the Blade Butterfly’s data.
After checking it, Zhong Yi said with a smile.
"This Blade Butterfly’s Exclusive Trait is a rare Armor-Piercing Type. If it gains decent Skills upon reaching the Extraordinary Tier..."
"...then it’ll be worth evolving this Blade Butterfly again, into a Blade Princess Butterfly once it’s at the Extraordinary Tier."
"With a few dozen Blade Princess Butterflies working in concert with some other Butterfly Guardian Beasts with special abilities, Xiaolingdang, your strength might even be able to match those Celestial Destiny Seekers."
Zhao Kai was somewhat surprised to hear this. Although he had sensed during dinner that Zhong Yi was very close to Zhong Ling and Zhong Chenghuai...
...when he and Zhong Ling went to the food street that evening, he had learned from her that she and Zhong Chenghuai were actually Zhong Yi’s Servants.
The two of them had been brought from the Lower City District to the Upper City District by Zhong Yi’s parents when he was a child.
’Even with that kind of relationship, Zhong Yi is willing to spend so many resources on Zhong Ling!’
It was clear that Zhong Yi was extremely generous to those he accepted and deeply valued personal connections.
’In my opinion,’ Zhao Kai thought, ’a person like that is far more worthy of following than someone who only values a Servant’s ability.’
