38: Chapter 38 Cultivation, Success
The light of evolution began as just a small cluster, right where the body of the Golden Horned Small Dragon lay.
Gradually, the white light seemed to gain substance, spreading in all directions. It passed through the glass, washed over the walls and ceiling, and then the radiance exploded, enveloping the entire spacious cultivation room in a sea of white.
The crowd hurriedly turned away, but those caught in the white light were blinded on the spot.
"It... it evolved!"
"How is that possible... Even Professor Li declared the cultivation a failure, how could it still succeed!"
"Such intense light. This is even stronger than the light when I hired a Senior Cultivator for an evolution. Could it be an A-rank evolution!"
"..."
The group of girls chattered away, their voices filled with intense excitement.
Zhang Lan's eyes welled with tears from the sting of the white light. Her heart churned as she muttered unwillingly.
"Impossible... How could this be... A lowlife who doesn't even have a Breeder certificate, how could he possibly succeed in cultivation!"
But regardless of whether she believed it or not, the light that made her eyes ache still existed.
"Mengting, are you okay?"
The Doll Girl shielded her eyes from the white light with one hand while supporting the violently trembling Wang Mengting with the other, asking with no small amount of concern and utter amazement.
She had thought this cultivation would fail, especially since Professor Li and so many experts said success was impossible, yet Li Yu had succeeded.
Song Jiang and the others' familiars were all S-rank; she wondered what rank this one would be?
The look of anticipation in the Doll Girl's eyes grew even stronger.
Beside her, Wang Mengting watched the white light excitedly. Though her eyes were stung to the point of tearing up, she refused to close them, as if trying to see the Golden Horned Small Dragon through the radiance.
At that moment, Wang Jianguo came over and used his body to block the light for her, his voice gentle yet carrying a hint of reproach: "Careful with your eyes."
...
Professor Li and the others stood with their backs to the white light, looking as if they had been petrified.
Evolved?
How was this possible?
Given the Golden Horned Small Dragon's state just now, it shouldn't have been able to withstand the energy of evolution at all!
How was this achieved?
"Professor Li, are we still leaving?" one Breeder asked.
"Leave? No, we're not leaving. Quick! Follow me inside!" Professor Li's voice turned shrill, as if he were on drugs. His aging body seemed injected with vitality as he rushed into the cultivation room with quick steps.
The others looked at each other and hurriedly followed him in.
By the time they fumbled through the darkness... no, fumbled through the whiteness to the control console and formed a human wall to block some of the light, they saw Professor Li grabbing Li Yu's arm.
"Li Yu! Can we record the data? Cultivation data in a near-death state is vital to familiar research." Professor Li's voice was very excited, trembling with emotion.
"Yes, little brother, let us record it. We promise not to use this data for commercial purposes."
"There has never been a successful cultivation from a near-death state before; this is the very first case!"
"If we can research something useful, the number of soldiers forced to retire due to the death of their familiars every year will be greatly reduced!"
"..."
They couldn't help but be excited.
The Research Institute catered to the official forces of Ningyang City; the cultivation of familiars for agencies like the Security Bureau and the City Defense Bureau was mostly handled by them.
Every year, countless police and military familiars were disabled or even killed while resisting beast tides, executing missions, or maintaining city stability.
If they could obtain this data, perhaps they could reduce the deaths of many familiars.
If it weren't for this, a big shot of the Research Institute like Professor Li wouldn't be holding onto Li Yu's hand and pleading with him so earnestly.
Just as the group was anxious and uneasy...
Li Yu spoke.
"Of course you can," he smiled. "This is your place to begin with, and you all participated in part of this cultivation as well."
It wasn't that he was particularly generous.
It was because Professor Li and the others had provided the cultivation room, helped process the materials, and hadn't blamed him for sneaking into the room.
It was just some data; if they wanted to record it, let them.
Besides, the Research Institute served the authorities. Staying on good terms with them only brought benefits and no harm to him.
Professor Li and the others were overjoyed upon hearing this. They thanked Li Yu profusely, then, squinting through the white light, some grabbed notebooks while others started up machines.
Everyone became busy.
Voices reciting data analysis rang out from their mouths, as if they had truly discovered something.
Time passed minute by minute.
This evolution was unusually long. It took a full ten minutes for the dazzling white light to gradually fade.
The Breeders stopped recording, and the people outside the cultivation room held their breath.
Supervisor Song was nervous, and Wang Mengting was anxious. Pair after pair of expectant or curious eyes focused on the incubation pod.
As the white light dissipated, everyone craned their necks.
The next second, they were stunned.
"Ah!"
"How can this be?"
"Where's the familiar? Where did it go?"
"Look! What's that on the ground? It looks like the skin of the Golden Horned Small Dragon..."
A commotion broke out outside the cultivation room, with cries of surprise and fear mixed with the sound of chattering voices.
Inside the cultivation room, in the original position of the Golden Horned Small Dragon, there was only a thin layer of skin stuck with scales and blood, lying there shriveled and hollow.
There was no evolved species, nor any flesh or blood remaining.
An eerie fear enveloped everyone's hearts. Wang Mengting's body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground.
Supervisor Song felt cold all over: "It's... it's over... This time, it's all over."
This was even worse than before.
Earlier, when the Golden Horned Small Dragon died, at least a complete corpse remained. But now?
Not even the bones were left!
And it had vanished during Li Yu's cultivation.
To pull this on them just when everyone thought it was going to succeed, and when the Wang family thought hope was right in front of them and their spirits were at their peak.
Even a roller coaster isn't played like this!
Supervisor Song could already see the image of himself holding a cardboard box, leaving Bright Moon Company in disgrace.
Zhang Lan was trembling with excitement. She tried hard to control her expression, but her voice rose as she shouted, "Murderer! He killed the Golden Horned Small Dragon! Mengting, did you see that? This guy killed Little Dragon!"
The crowd suddenly became restless.
Inside the cultivation room.
Professor Li and the others were also stunned, looking at each other. Their recording pens paused, and the testing machines beeped, indicating—No life signs.
Suddenly.
A pair of golden eyes appeared inside the incubation pod. The pupils darted around with a sense of playfulness. The eyes moved toward the glass and passed through it without any resistance, entering the cultivation room.
Immediately after, space distorted, and a glittering golden figure appeared in everyone's vision. Golden flames "poof-poof-poofed" into life, burning from between its scales.
It had a slender body, a pair of wings with curved hooks, golden scales all over, and a golden horn on its head. Its appearance had a bit of a silly, adorable charm to it.
"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"
The strange cry echoed around, stunning the Breeders and silencing the clamor outside the room. Everyone stared at it blankly.
They stared at this strange creature that had suddenly popped out.
Until Li Yu's voice rang out with a hint of ease.
"Cultivation, success."