8: Chapter 8 Shadow Evolution

"Chu Xiu, the injuries on your Scythe Mantis have completely recovered."

A few minutes later, Chu Yuqing recalled the slightly fatigued Unicorn into her Beastmaster bracelet, looked at the fully recovered Scythe Mantis before her, and said to Chu Xiu.

In front of her, the Scythe Mantis had shed its charred outer shell, returning to its original state.

The 1.6-meter-long Scythe Mantis had a jade-green carapace with a metallic luster. Its forelimb sickles featured serrated edges, emitting a sharp, chilling gleam that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Squeak, squeak—"

At this moment, the fully restored Scythe Mantis also let out a friendly chirp toward Chu Yuqing, its triangular head affectionately rubbing against Chu Yuqing's snow-white, lotus-root-like arms.

"Hahahaha, this Scythe Mantis of yours is truly the most spiritual one I have ever seen."

The Scythe Mantis's actions caused Chu Yuqing to laugh softly as she stroked its head.

After saying this, Chu Yuqing turned her head to look at Chu Xiu and asked:

"Chu Xiu, have you given this Scythe Mantis a name yet?"

Hearing her words, the Scythe Mantis also turned its head to look at Chu Xiu.

"Ahem, I just subdued this guy and haven't had the time yet... Sister, why don't you help it come up with a name?"

Feeling the gazes of both, Chu Xiu let out an awkward cough.

"Since that's the case, let's call it Xiaodao."

Hearing Chu Xiu say this, Chu Yuqing rolled her eyes and immediately gave an answer.

"Squeak, squeak—"

At this moment, the Scythe Mantis also turned to look at Chu Yuqing, letting out a joyful cry as if it really liked the name.

"Since you like this name so much, you'll be called Xiaodao from now on."

Through his contract with the Scythe Mantis, Chu Xiu could also feel its mood at this moment.

Seeing this, he could only default to the name Xiaodao.

"Xiaodao, go back to the Beastmaster bracelet first."

As he spoke, he stretched out his left hand wearing the Beastmaster bracelet.

Afterward, the Scythe Mantis turned into a stream of light and was taken into it by him.

"Sister, do you have any money? Lend me some, and I'll pay you back double in a few days."

Recalling the Scythe Mantis back into the Beastmaster bracelet, Chu Xiu blinked and looked at Chu Yuqing.

"Speak, how much money do you need?"

Hearing Chu Xiu ask her for money, there was no surprise on Chu Yuqing's face; she just looked at him with a faint smile and said.

She was also a Beastmaster, and she knew very well how much financial resources were required to cultivate a beast.

Chu Xiu had just contracted a beast and become a Beastmaster, and it was precisely the time when he needed a large amount of funds to cultivate his beast.

"I'm not quite sure yet; I'll tell you in a bit."

Chu Xiu said in a low voice.

"Mm, let me know when you figure out how much money you need. I still have to go to work, so I'll head out first. You should come out early too."

Chu Yuqing nodded. After instructing Chu Xiu, she turned and walked toward the outside of the breeding room.

Ten minutes had passed since she first saw Chu Xiu.

She was just an ordinary counter clerk at the Breeder Association and didn't dare to leave her post for too long.

Moreover, although this breeding room was temporarily unused, she couldn't let Chu Xiu stay in this breeding room for too long, lest people gossip.

"Sister, I'll go with you!"

Seeing this, Chu Xiu shouted, quickly followed, and left the breeding room together with Chu Yuqing.

He planned to first purchase the materials for the Scythe Mantis's first-stage evolution; he wasn't clear about the value of these materials.

Coincidentally, the Breeder Association also had many breeding materials and evolution resources for sale. He prepared to stroll around the association hall and find the evolution resources he needed first.

[Scythe Mantis - Dark Blade Mantis (Shadow Evolution): Devour 30 stalks of shadow grass, take 10 catties of Black Iron Tier venomous beast fangs and grind them into powder, boil them in a large pot, and after cooling, let the Scythe Mantis soak for 3 hours.]

"30 stalks of shadow grass, 10 catties of Black Iron Tier venomous beast fangs—I wonder if Sister's private stash is enough."

Leaving the breeding room, Chu Xiu glanced at the steps and required materials for the Scythe Mantis's first-stage evolution, and he muttered inwardly.

He wasn't clear what grade of evolution resource shadow grass was, but he knew very well that Black Iron Tier beast materials were not cheap.

Fangs of Black Iron Tier venomous beasts were sold individually. A single finger-sized Black Iron Tier venomous fang easily cost thousands of yuan, and wanting to buy 10 catties all at once made Chu Xiu's head hurt just thinking about it.

Shaking his head helplessly, Chu Xiu cast aside his distracting thoughts and strolled around the breeding hall.

[Wood Spirit Flower: Ashen-White 5-Star, contains a small amount of wood-type magic, can be used to enhance the strength of wood-type beasts.]

[Ice Python Scale: Silver 2-Star, scales shed by a Silver Grade Frost Python during its advancement, containing a large amount of water-type magic, can rapidly enhance the strength of water-type beasts.]

...

As Chu Xiu swept his gaze across the beast-taming resources on the counters of the breeder hall, one piece of information after another emerged.

They were all the system's introductions and grade evaluations for these beast-taming resources, far more accurate and detailed than the beast-taming resource information displayed on the counter.

[shadow grass: Black Iron 7-Star, suitable for dark-type beasts to enhance their strength. Combined with special materials, it can also cause certain beasts to evolve dark-type attributes.]

There were a wide variety of beast-taming resources in the Breeder Association. With the system's identification, Chu Xiu quickly found the shadow grass he needed.

"Found it!"

"shadow grass turns out to be a Black Iron Tier resource as well, and a palm-sized stalk actually sells for 8,000 yuan!"

"30 stalks of shadow grass would be 240,000!"

The price of shadow grass was like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing Chu Xiu's joy at finding it.

After calculating the funds needed to buy shadow grass, Chu Xiu found the fangs of Black Iron Tier venomous beasts.

After talking with the counter clerk, he calculated the funds required to purchase 10 catties of Black Iron Tier venomous beast fangs, which was a full 2 times the cost of the shadow grass.

A complete set of evolution resources totaled 750,000.

"How... how much?"

"750,000?!"

In front of the initial counter, upon hearing the sum Chu Xiu needed, Chu Yuqing's mouth twitched slightly.

She worked at the Breeder Association, and after deducting the living expenses of the two siblings each month, she could only save a few thousand yuan.

Over the years, the money she saved from work was only around 200,000.

Even adding the remaining relief funds, she was still short by more than 100,000.

"Chu Xiu, what are you buying for Xiaodao?"

"Even raising the Scythe Mantis from Ashen-White 7-Star to Ashen-White 9-Star should only require a little over 100,000 in resources."

Looking at Chu Xiu, whose expression was somewhat awkward in front of her, Chu Yuqing asked in a lowered voice.

"I want to buy 30 stalks of shadow grass and 10 catties of Black Iron Tier beast fangs to let Xiaodao evolve."

Chu Xiu did not hide it from his sister; he leaned close to her ear and said in a low voice.

Rumble!!!

Even so, Chu Xiu's words echoed in Chu Yuqing's mind like a bolt of lightning.

"You... what did you say? You want to evolve Xiaodao?"

"But the resources you want are not the ones needed for the Scythe Mantis's evolution. Don't try to hoodwink me."

Suppressing the look of shock on her face, a sharp gleam flashed across the depths of Chu Yuqing's eyes as she stared at Chu Xiu and said.

In the currently published evolution plans, the Scythe Mantis only had one evolution route, which was to evolve into the rare-quality Wood Blade Mantis.

The required evolution resources were all precious grass-type resources.

The resources Chu Xiu mentioned right now were either dark-type or poison-type, having no relation whatsoever to the Scythe Mantis's evolution, forcing her to suspect the true purpose behind Chu Xiu wanting so much money.

"Sister, do I look like that kind of person to you?"

Looking at Chu Yuqing's scrutinizing gaze, Chu Xiu spread his hands.

"What do you mean 'look like'? You are!"

However, Chu Yuqing's next sentence left him completely speechless.

Seeing Chu Xiu's expression, Chu Yuqing chuckled:

"Hahahaha, I'm just joking with you, my silly younger brother."

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore."

"The things you want can be purchased through internal pricing, which can save 70,000 to 80,000 yuan."

"However, even so, buying these things will still be short by about 50,000. Wait a few days, Sister will scrape together the money for you."

Her words warmed Chu Xiu's heart. Shaking his head, Chu Xiu spoke:

"Sister, you've already helped me a lot. As for the remaining 50,000 yuan, I'll handle it!"

After saying this, he took out his phone and dialed a number.