91: Chapter 91 The Uninvited Guest, Ye Wushuang
Three months is neither long nor short; it passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Fan was promoted from his first year to his second year of high school.
But life remained the same, passing by peacefully and fulfilling.
His strength had not fallen behind either.
As a Rank 26 Armor Master, he still had a way to go before reaching the Armor Spirit Rank, but he was already far ahead of his peers.
Xiao Zhuang was Rank 27. The aura of the Shadow Wood Spirit Snake was becoming increasingly deep, and the dark purple patterns on its scales were more intricate than before; every time it performed Armorization, he could feel the intensity of its poison rise to a new level.
Tongtong was Rank 23. The wings of the Phantom Eye Moth had grown from half a meter to nearly a meter, looking increasingly dazzling and eye-catching.
His Source Energy had also accumulated to 4,000 points.
It was still a long way from the 10,000 points required for the fifth armor aperture, but Lin Fan was not in a rush.
There was still plenty of time; he would take it slow.
On Wednesday afternoon, there were no customers in the shop.
Lin Fan sat behind the counter, flipping through an ancient book he had borrowed from President Ye Wenyuan.
Tongtong landed on his shoulder with its wings folded, its huge compound eyes half-open and half-closed, as if it were dozing off.
Xiao Zhuang coiled its slender body around his wrist, occasionally flicking its tongue and glancing at the door.
Three employees were organizing the shelves, chatting in low voices.
The door was pushed open.
The wind chime rang, and Lin Fan looked up, stunned for a moment.
Ye Wushuang was standing at the doorway.
He was wearing a dark blue hoodie, and his hair was shorter than when they had last met.
His eyes were the same as ever, calm as stagnant water; he had no expression when looking at people, and no emotions could be discerned.
He was not followed by anyone; he was alone.
Lin Fan blinked, confirming he wasn't seeing things.
"Ye Wushuang?"
He put down the book, his tone tinged with surprise, "Why are you here?"
Ye Wushuang walked into the shop, his gaze sweeping over the Materials on the shelves, passing by the Iron Turtle dozing in the corner, and finally landing on Tongtong on Lin Fan's shoulder, pausing for a second before looking away.
"I'm here to ask for your help."
Straight to the point, no pleasantries, no nonsense. This was indeed Ye Wushuang's style.
Lin Fan leaned back against his chair and smiled.
"What kind of help?"
Ye Wushuang sat down opposite him, took a small box from his pocket, opened it, and pushed it toward him.
Inside the box lay a fist-sized crystal, entirely ice-blue, with snowflake-like patterns slowly rotating inside; one could feel the biting chill even from afar.
It was a Mystic Ice Crystal, a core Material for the evolution of Ice-type Armor Spirits.
Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.
"Good stuff. Where did you get it?"
Ye Wushuang did not answer the question, merely pushing the box forward.
"The Mystic Ice Luan Bird is about to evolve, and I need you to design a route for me."
Lin Fan was stunned for a moment.
"Design a route? Doesn't your Family have its own Breeders?"
Ye Wushuang looked at him with a calm gaze.
"They aren't good enough. During the last evolution, the route they designed almost caused an issue. I know what you are capable of."
Since there was business, Lin Fan naturally wouldn't refuse.
Lin Fan walked out from behind the counter and sat down opposite Ye Wushuang.
"Fine, summon the Mystic Ice Luan Bird; let me check its condition first."
The two walked to the backyard.
Ye Wushuang raised his right hand.
Ice-blue light condensed in his palm, and a giant phantom of a bird, entirely ice-blue with crystal-clear wings, appeared behind him before rapidly solidifying.
Although the Mystic Ice Luan Bird had its wings retracted, it still took up nearly half of the backyard.
Its ice-blue eyes swept over Lin Fan, then over Tongtong on Lin Fan's shoulder, and finally landed on Xiao Zhuang, its gaze filled with a hint of scrutiny.
Lin Fan's left eye heated up slightly, and the information about the Mystic Ice Luan Bird appeared in his field of vision.
[Race]: Mystic Ice Luan Bird
[Rank]: Rank 30
[Aptitude]: Mystic Spirit High-Grade (Limit: Imperial Spirit High-Grade)
[Attribute]: Ice/Wind
[Status]: Full of spiritual power, about to break through, but there is a slight obstruction in the circulation of spiritual power within its body, suspected to be a hidden danger left from the last evolution.
[Current Evolution Route]: Can evolve into Extreme Cold Luan Bird (Earth Spirit Medium-Grade), requires consuming Mystic Ice Crystal x1, Ice Crystal Grass x3, Frost Ganoderma x2, Cold Spring Water x5.
[Hidden Route]: Can evolve into Extreme Ice Phoenix (Earth Spirit High-Grade), requires consuming Mystic Ice Crystal x1, Ice Phoenix Tail Feather x3, Extreme Ice Cold Marrow x3.
A Rank 30 Mystic Ice Luan Bird; Ye Wushuang was already a Rank 33 Armor Spirit.
A Genius with eight armor apertures, truly not to be underestimated.
Lin Fan withdrew his gaze.
"During the last evolution, did you use acceleration-type Materials?"
Ye Wushuang frowned slightly. "How did you know?"
Lin Fan pointed to his eyes and smiled.
"I can tell. The spiritual power circulation in the Mystic Ice Luan Bird has a slight obstruction; it's not serious, but long-term accumulation will affect the success rate of the next evolution. It must be that some kind of acceleration Material was used during the last evolution, causing the spiritual power to not fully settle."
Ye Wushuang was silent for a moment.
"Previously, the Family Breeder used an Ice Spirit Fruit to accelerate the evolution. Since then, the Mystic Ice Luan Bird's condition has been very good, and I didn't notice any problems."
"The Ice Spirit Fruit can indeed accelerate, but the side effect is that the spiritual power doesn't settle enough."
Lin Fan stood up and took a few things from the shelf—a small bottle of light blue liquid, a few dried ice-blue grass leaves, and a thumb-sized white crystal.
"The residue from the Ice Spirit Fruit is not hard to clear; just mix some Cold Spring Water and Ice Crystal Grass and let it nourish for a few days. It's not a big problem."
Ye Wushuang looked at the things in his hand, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"You keep these in stock at your shop?"
Lin Fan smiled.
"As a Breeder, one must keep a bit of every Material in stock. What if someone needs it urgently one day?"
He placed the Materials on the table, took out a palm-sized jade mortar from under the counter, ground the Ice Crystal Grass, mixed it with Cold Spring Water, and blended it into a light blue paste.
The whole process was fast, and his technique was very skilled; Ye Wushuang watched from the side without saying a word.
"Done."
Lin Fan pushed the prepared paste toward Ye Wushuang.
"Apply it to the root of the Mystic Ice Luan Bird's wings every day for three consecutive days. After applying, use your spiritual power to nourish it for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, allowing the medicinal power to penetrate. After three days, the residue of the Ice Spirit Fruit will be cleared."
Ye Wushuang nodded and put the things away.
"What about the evolution route?"
Lin Fan did not answer directly.
"There are two choices: one is the Earth Spirit Medium-Grade Extreme Cold Luan Bird, and the other is a hidden route, the Earth Spirit High-Grade Extreme Ice Phoenix, though the evolution Materials are much more precious."
"Which one do you choose?"