161: Mantis's Evolution Plan

A single sword strike upon arrival instantly killed a Monarch-rank.

This cold and glamorous beauty was naturally Yan Ruyu.

Ever since she sensed the bracelet's defense being activated, she rushed here without stopping, arriving just in time to see the fighter jet entangled by the vortex.

After the instant kill, Yan Ruyu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Xie Ning was fine.

When she arrived inside the fighter jet, Captain Li and the other four were clearly much more emotional than Xie Ning; some had tears in their eyes, some trembled with excitement, and others covered their faces.

"Captain..."

"Boss Yan..."

The few people called out, their voices trembling.

Yan Ruyu looked around and said with a smile, "I didn't expect it to be you guys. I'm not the Captain anymore, just call me by my name."

"No, Boss will always be our Boss. Compared to you, we are far too inadequate," Captain Li shook his head, his words firm.

"Exactly! I agree with Captain Li," Xu Shaoxiang gave a thumbs up.

Yang Three Blades and Gu Wa also nodded in agreement.

"Suit yourselves. I didn't expect you two little lesbians to still be together; I thought you'd been poached by the hungry wolves in the group," Yan Ruyu teased, reaching out to stroke the heads of Yang Three Blades and Gu Wa. The two enjoyed the gesture greatly, squinting their eyes with expressions of satisfaction.

Xie Ning looked shocked.

The amount of information... could it be... "Just get used to it. Boss Yan has always been very accepting of these things," Chen Pingan comforted him, patting Xie Ning's shoulder with one hand while still covering his face with the other.

Yan Ruyu also noticed him, frowned, and asked Captain Li, "Is this a newcomer you recruited?"

"..." Captain Li fell silent.

The other three, however, burst into loud laughter, roaring for several seconds before explaining, "Boss Yan, this is Pingan."

"Chen Pingan! This..." Yan Ruyu exclaimed sympathetically, "Is the department's food quality that poor? How did they manage to feed a young man into this state in just a few short years?" Yan Ruyu gasped.

As soon as she said this, the group laughed even harder.

Finally, Captain Li couldn't bear it anymore and offered a few explanations.

The result of the explanation was that several people, including Captain Li, were disciplined by Yan Ruyu, with only Xie Ning and the pilot spared.

After some joking around, which allowed the group to release their pent-up emotions, and once things had calmed down a bit, Xie Ning stepped forward and called out, "Master."

"Mm, it's good that you're alright." Yan Ruyu nodded.

Afterwards, Xie Ning recounted the detailed events to Yan Ruyu. Upon learning that Little Mantis had entered a state of deep sleep due to overexertion, she nodded and said, "This isn't a bad thing for it. Once it wakes up, it should be ready for a Breakthrough."

"Mm, but I plan to use evolution to achieve the Breakthrough."

Yan Ruyu frowned upon hearing this and said, "Won't that be too risky?"

"Not necessarily. This evolution plan poses no risk to it," Xie Ning said, pausing to think before smiling:

"Future enemies, including those from the Imperial Capital, might have Demon Tamers Beasts that possess extremely high quality from the start. If I keep its quality close to its Rank, I won't be able to fight them at all."

Xie Ning wasn't guessing these things; he deduced them from Yan Ruyu herself.

Her first Demon Tamers Beast was a Lynx of Transcendent Quality, even though it was only Black Iron Rank 1 at the time. Had it not been for her decline and negativity over the past few years, who knows what terrifying strength this Lynx might have achieved?

Compared to those people from the Imperial Capital, Xie Ning, who lacked an umbrella, could only run a few steps faster.

"Mm, I understand." Yan Ruyu thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and asked again, "How are the Materials preparations coming along?"

"I'm still missing a tiny bit of Materials, and these are hard to find on the market."

After Xie Ning finished speaking, Yang Three Blades grabbed Xu Shaoxiang and dragged him over, saying, "What Materials do you need? Let him check for you; he's good at this sort of thing."

"Hey, hey, hey, be gentle, alright? My small arms and thin legs can't handle your rough treatment; go bully Gu Wa instead." Xu Shaoxiang struggled free from Yang Three Blades' grasp, opened a machine, and quickly typed something. "Student Xie Ning, what are those 'tiny bit' of Materials you need?"

Xie Ning didn't stand on ceremony and counted on his fingers: "Mm... not much. I need 1 Gold Rank inner elixir, 5 Silver Rank Space-type demon cores..."

"Mm-hmm, those are simple." Xu Shaoxiang nodded.

"You interrupted me, I haven't finished reading the list." Xie Ning gave him a kind smile and continued counting on his fingers, "20 pieces of true martial gold, 15 stalks of Origin Breaking Demonic Spiritual Plant, 5 segments of Insect-type Spiritual Bone of at least Transcendent Quality, 1 catty of Ethereal Powder..."

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Xie Ning was interrupted by Xu Shaoxiang before he could finish, and even Captain Li's mouth twitched, clearly aware of the nature of these Materials.

Yang Three Blades questioned, "Hey! Xu Shaoxiang, what are you doing? He hasn't finished yet! Can't you even handle a 'tiny bit' of Materials?"

"My dear sister, do you know what these things are? A 'tiny bit'? It's more like a *billion* bits!"

Xu Shaoxiang rubbed his temples, looking at the information displayed on the screen. "These are all related to the Space-type and Martial-type. Aside from the inner elixir and demon core, none of the others are easy to obtain, and the quantity you need is enormous. Xie Ning, what in the world are you trying to evolve? It's terrifying!"

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Yang Three Blades looked unconvinced.

Xie Ning laughed, "He's right. However, I checked the others previously in the Monster Taming Alliance, and they are generally available for exchange using merit points. It's just the Insect-type Spiritual Bone and true martial gold that I have no leads on."

The Insect-type Spiritual Bone is essential for shaping Little Mantis's new form. It concerns Little Mantis's overall future strength, so it must not only be acquired but also be of high quality.

As for true martial gold, it is a special metal suitable for Artifact Refining and cultivation. Not only is its texture tough, but it also carries a special martial charm that can enhance a Demon Tamers Beast's ancient martial strength and comprehension ability.

"Alright, well, I can't help with that. Can any of you think of a solution?" Yang Three Blades spread his hands, immediately admitting defeat.

The others exchanged glances and began to ponder.

Xie Ning felt a little embarrassed seeing this and was about to politely decline their help when Chen Pingan slapped his head. "I remember where there is true martial gold!"

"Where?" Xie Ning quickly asked.

The others also looked over.

"Jingzhou!" Chen Pingan named the location, and seeing the confusion of the crowd, he added, "I wanted to refine a third sword some time ago, and I unintentionally heard about an auction in Jingzhou City. The final auction item was true martial gold. I just forgot the exact quantity and time."

"Jingzhou Auction... true martial gold... let me check." Xu Shaoxiang quickly tapped his fingers. A few seconds later, he struck a key heavily and exclaimed, "There really is! And the quantity isn't small—a full 30 pieces!"

Hearing this, Xie Ning was overjoyed and pressed, "When is the auction?"

"The time..." Xu Shaoxiang checked, then looked up. "Tomorrow at 5 PM."

Isn't that too coincidental?

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, finding the coincidence incredible.

"Then it's settled," Yan Ruyu decided after listening to their conversation. "I will go to Jingzhou with you and leave once we get the true martial gold. As for the Insect-type Spiritual Bone, I happen to have a Monarch-rank set. If it's suitable, you can take it from me."

"Monarch-rank!" The crowd gasped in surprise.

Xie Ning gasped because he hadn't expected Yan Ruyu to offer something so valuable right away. If Little Mantis had Monarch-rank Spirit Bone, its early-stage strength would surely undergo a qualitative leap!

The others gasped because they couldn't believe Yan Ruyu was willing to give so much for Xie Ning.

Isn't she being too good to this apprentice?

Are there any more Masters like this? We want a stack too!