3: The first experiment

Li Wen steeled his heart; it was for his child, so he bought it.

Below the panel, two more lines of text appeared:

"A Level 2 Fire-element Beast Core, meeting the requirements, has been detected at a material shop 500 meters from here."

Li Wen thought this golden finger was quite user-friendly.

He walked straight out the door and arrived at the shop. The clerk warmly welcomed him inside.

"Do you have a Level 2 Fire-element Beast Core?" Li Wen asked.

"We do, but only one. And because of its excellent quality, it costs eighty thousand," the clerk said honestly, waiting for Li Wen's reaction.

Li Wen frowned, mentally calculating the expense. Though it pained him, he knew it was a necessary investment.

"I also need five Warm Water Reeds and two Silicon Crystal Rocks," Li Wen added.

"That will be ninety thousand in total," the clerk quickly calculated.

Li Wen said nothing more. After paying, he immediately rushed home. He just wanted to complete this pseudo-evolution ritual as soon as possible and see if Sprout Beast could successfully detoxify.

When he got home, it was already past eight in the evening. His parents had gone out to meet friends. The house was empty, so Li Wen immediately began the ritual.

He held a pot, poured water into it, and then dumped all the Warm Water Reeds into the pot.

"Here, put this here," Li Wen muttered to himself, placing three Silicon Crystal Rocks at the three vertices of a triangle. In the very center of the triangle was the expensive Level 2 Fire-element Beast Core.

After setting up the ritual site, Li Wen placed the pot on top of the Beast Core.

"Now I just have to wait for ten minutes, and it'll be done," Li Wen said to himself.

Just then, Sprout Beast looked at him with wide eyes, making a faint sound: "Sprout~ Sprout~"

Because he had already completed the contract with Sprout Beast, Li Wen could understand what it meant.

"Master, can you please not stew Sprout Beast?" Sprout Beast's tone carried a hint of a whimper.

Li Wen quickly comforted it: "How could I possibly stew Sprout Beast? Look, this is just a very normal ritual."

As he spoke, the water in the pot began to boil. Tears instantly welled up in Sprout Beast's blinking eyes, looking so wronged it was about to cry.

Soon, due to the Warm Water Reeds, the water's temperature dropped again, and the sound ceased.

Seeing Sprout Beast's strong resistance to the ritual, Li Wen switched to persuasion mode.

"Why are you afraid of Little Green Worm? Is it because it eats your leaves?" Li Wen asked.

Sprout Beast thought of the scene of Little Green Worm crawling on it and gnawing on its leaves, and it shivered, nodding obediently.

"Then if it can't chew through your leaves, won't you be afraid of it anymore?" Li Wen continued to guide.

Sprout Beast's mind conjured an image of Little Green Worm biting its leaves and breaking its teeth. A naive smile appeared on its face, and it nodded heavily.

Seeing Sprout Beast being led onto the 'right path' by him, Li Wen then played hard to get.

"I spent a lot of money for this ritual. If you really don't want to go through with it, then I'll just have to let another little pet beast do it," Li Wen said, feigning helplessness.

"Really, even though I don't want to waste it, Sprout Beast, you don't have to force yourself."

Sprout Beast, having just been contracted by Li Wen, clearly fell for this trick. It raised its two leaves and responded eagerly: "Sprout! Sprout! Master, I'll do it! Sprout Beast can endure any hardship! Sprout Beast must defeat the Great Demon King Green Worm!"

Li Wen chuckled inwardly, but maintained a serious expression on his face.

"Although this ritual will improve you, Sprout Beast, don't force yourself. If you can't keep going midway, you must tell me through the contract," Li Wen said earnestly.

Sprout Beast was deeply moved and resolved to persevere through this ritual carefully prepared by its master.

Like frogs in warm water, the energy from the Fire-element Beast Core made the entire kitchen feel a bit warm, but the Warm Water Reeds consistently balanced the water temperature.

This caused the water's temperature to be much lower than the outside, while the Silicon Crystal Rocks, due to the Fire-element Beast Core, continuously dissolved in the water and were absorbed... As the Fire-element energy of the Beast Core was depleted, the three surrounding Silicon Crystal Rocks also completely dissolved and disappeared.

All the essence gathered into the large pot.

Li Wen breathed a sigh of relief and continued to look at the golden finger.

"Your pet beast: Sprout Beast is undergoing an energy baptism. Remaining time: 00:20:57."

"Now all there is to do is wait," Li Wen said to himself.

He sat aside, teasing the Little Green Worm.

"Do you hope Sprout Beast evolves successfully?" Li Wen asked.

A species like Little Green Worm, teetering on the edge of the Awakening stage, certainly wasn't as easy to communicate with as Sprout Beast. It seemed to understand nothing, its eyes only filled with a longing for leaves.

Li Wen simply fed it some of the leaves given by the park.

After teasing it for a while, Li Wen grew bored. He then pulled out the Insect Silk produced by Little Green Worm in the glass container today, preparing to sell it.

The park's original intention was to package the unpopular Little Green Worms as a 'return-to-health' gift package for customers.

As he was thinking about where to sell the Insect Silk tomorrow, the golden finger suddenly gave a notification.

"Your pet beast has reached energy saturation. Do you want to use the Creation Evolution talent?"

"Yes/No"

Li Wen sighed and clicked "Yes."

Sprout Beast's ritual continued, its leaves frantically absorbing the remaining energy. When 20 minutes were up, Li Wen looked at the panel, but it started acting up again.

"Another talent of the master has been detected. Beginning fusion now."

"Fusing..."

"Fusion complete."

...Li Wen watched the merged panel, speechless.

"Name: Li Wen"

"Soul Power: 3.98"

"Talents: Creation Evolution, All-Knowing Eye"

"Creation Evolution: ..."

"All-Knowing Eye: Will analyze relevant information about pet beasts and deduce cultivation methods based on one's own knowledge and observations."

"Contracted Pet Beast ①: Sprout Beast"

"Species: Sprout Beast, Agile Advanced"

"Energy Value: 105: Entry-level Primary"

"trait: ..."

"Skill ①: Ram"

"..."

"Skill ②: Leaf Blade"

"The leaf on its head has increased resistance after detoxification, becoming incredibly hard and capable of cutting attacks. (Note: No longer afraid of mosquito bites.)"

"All-Knowing Eye is inputting..."

Then a large section below turned into a chat box.

"Alright, alright, I thought it was a golden finger, but it's a new concept AI, isn't it? No wonder I thought it was so tricky," Li Wen complained helplessly.

"Master, I've already said I'm not an AI. I am the All-Knowing Eye. My previous appearance was just based on what you could accept mentally."

"And the evolution plan was also analyzed based on your own knowledge and the materials you encountered."

"So it's not me tricking you; it's you tricking yourself."

Seeing that this talent even came with a reply function, a herd of alpaca beasts instantly ran through Li Wen's mind.

He just wanted some peace and quiet now, so he ignored the talent and began to plan Sprout Beast's training schedule.

"Where should I train tomorrow?" Li Wen muttered to himself.

Crowded places were definitely out, and places that cost money weren't necessary yet. He thought for a moment and decided to go to the park near the school. There was a small mountain nearby, with many trees and few people, suitable for training.

"However, Sprout Beast's Leaf Blade Skill has turned into Leaf Blade. This is purely forcing a mage to switch to a warrior class," Li Wen said with a wry smile.

Thinking of this, he picked up Sprout Beast.

"Sprout Beast, Daddy is sorry for you," Li Wen sighed.

Then, remembering something else, he added: "Little Green Worm, I'm sorry for you too."

With no income yet and now having to consider an extra mouth to feed, Li Wen was practically bankrupt.

However, there was no time for regret; it was time to sleep. His dog's life depended on it.