Xiping Province, Kansai City. Inside a detached villa in a high-end residential complex.
A cute, petite girl of about five-foot-one, with a classic oval-shaped face that was still a little chubby, her hair tied in twin tails, was holding her phone and deep in thought.
After a moment, as if she had figured something out, she made up her mind. She exited a Sixun chat group on her phone and, without hesitation, made a call.
The phone only rang twice before it was answered. The girl spoke into the phone in a sweet, slightly naive voice, "Dad, have you eaten dinner yet?"
On the other end of the line, a kind, middle-aged man's voice quickly replied, "Mhm, I've already eaten."
In reality, it was already approaching 8:30 p.m. Who wouldn't have eaten dinner by this time?
However, the middle-aged man on the other end didn't point this out. Instead, he patiently began to chat with his daughter.
"Dad, you haven't been home in a week. Mom is also really busy, leaving early and coming back late. The whole house feels so empty," the girl said, a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice.
The man's voice came through the receiver again. "I've had a lot of research projects recently, so I've been extremely busy. How about this? Dad promises you I'll be back in a few days for sure."
After tossing out a promise he wasn't sure he could keep, the man changed the subject. "By the way, the college entrance exams aren't far off. How are you feeling about them? Are you confident?"
"If you hadn't brought it up, I would've thought you'd forgotten all about it." The girl pouted, her dissatisfaction clearly not having lessened much.
After taking a jab at her father, she gave him an answer, her tone full of confidence. "Don't worry. I've already awakened my Beast Taming Space, and my grades in my other subjects aren't bad. Getting into one of the Federation's Eight Great universities will be no problem."
The girl said it so casually, but if any outsiders had been present, they would have been stunned. The term "Eight Great" she used wasn't just a simple phrase; it represented the eight best Beast Taming Universities in the entire Dongxia Federation.
Aside from Kyoto Beast Taming University and Zhonghai Beast Taming University, which were considered a cut above the rest, the other six—Jiangnan Beast Taming University, Kansai Beast Taming University, Snow City Beast Taming University, Mizhou Beast Taming University, Central Plains Beast Taming University, and Shazhou Beast Taming University—were all the most elite Beast Taming academies in their respective provinces. They were institutions that the vast majority of Beast Taming High School students could only dream of attending.
Yet, when the girl spoke of them, it was as if she were stating something as trivial as eating a meal or drinking water.
The man didn't doubt her. He knew that if his daughter said she could do it, she would. After a brief pause, he spoke again, tentatively trying to persuade her. "About which Beast Taming University you want to apply to... you know, our Kansai Beast Taming University is actually quite good..."
"You're a professor at Kansai Beast Taming University's Cultivation College, so of course you'd say it's good, but I don't plan on choosing it." The girl showed no intention of listening, immediately rejecting his suggestion. "Kansai Beast Taming University isn't the right fit for me. Besides, I'm sure you don't want me to live under your wing forever, either."
"Kansai Beast Taming University is one of the Eight Great, after all. How is it not a good fit for you?" The man didn't give up. He continued to reason with her, a little puzzled.
The girl was blunt, her words hitting home. "Kansai Beast Taming University might have been decent a dozen or so years ago, but it's been going downhill recently. Whether in combat or cultivation, it has no outstanding achievements aside from the Undead Element. Among the Eight Great, it's almost at the bottom of the list. What's more, I have no interest in studying the Undead Element, so..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was perfectly clear.
On the other end of the line, the man fell silent for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh. "Fine, fine. In the end, it's your path to walk. Dad won't interfere with your decision anymore."
"I trust you'll take this matter seriously and be responsible for your own future."
With that, his tone shifted, becoming a little playful. "By the way, you didn't call me tonight just to discuss this, did you?"
"Of course, Dad. You see right through everything." The girl immediately laid on the flattery.
"Go on, tell me. What is it really about?" The man was clearly pleased by his daughter's flattery.
"Well, I heard that Kansai Beast Taming University has also researched the evolution methods for the Koi Carp..." The girl began to reveal the true purpose of her call. "It's like this: a friend of mine is also researching the Koi Carp, and he's run into a problem..."
Hearing this, the man instantly understood his daughter's intention. He shook his head with a resigned smile, already prepared to answer her questions.
The girl's voice continued from the phone, "According to his research, for a Koi Carp to evolve into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, it needs both Dragon Element and Wind Element resources."
"He said he's pretty much figured out the Dragon Element resource, but he hasn't made any headway with the Wind Element one."
The girl's words brought a flicker of interest to the man's face. "So he knows it needs Wind Element and Dragon Element resources, and he's already identified the Dragon Element one... It sounds like this friend of yours has put a lot of thought into the Koi Carp's evolution."
"But there's more to the Koi Carp's evolution than just that. Although our Cultivation Base at Kansai Beast Taming University hasn't discovered a fixed evolutionary path from Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, our research in this area is quite deep." The man began to speak with the ease of an expert. "According to our studies, it should also be related to its Racial Skills and living environment."
"However, the specific details are the result of more than just my own work, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to disclose them."
Hearing this, the girl rolled her eyes, speechless. 'If you can't disclose it, then why even bring it up?'
She couldn't help but feel her dad was being a little smug about it.
Ignoring her father's slight showboating, the girl got straight to the point. "Just tell me, have you done any research on the Wind Element resources required for the evolution?"
"On that front, we actually have done some research." The man stopped keeping her in suspense and answered, "Currently, the Wind Element resources that provide the greatest stimulation to a Koi Carp's internal Energy are the Wind Chime Fruit and Golden Wind and Jade Dew."
The girl silently memorized the names of the two resources. After chatting with her father for a few more moments, she made an excuse and hung up the phone.
As soon as she hung up, she immediately posted the information she got from her father into the group chat and @'d Li Qian.
That's right, this girl was none other than Tun Tun is not a Pig!
Li Qian saw the message just as he was about to leave the artificial waterfall. He didn't pay it much mind. 'Wind Element resources aren't that easy to figure out,' he thought. 'That Tun Tun person probably just named two random resources to make me feel better.'
With that in mind, he prepared to exit the chat. But just then, a notification popped up that left him completely stunned!
[Inspiration Value +6]
[Current Task Progress: 105%]