Chapter 98 – The Third Pet Beast

After Lin Ze politely declined the invitation, Ye Zuping and Xue Wei didn’t press the matter further.

They simply offered a few words of encouragement before leaving the Stele Chamber.

Fortunately for them, they had no idea that Lin Ze possessed a second Tier 6 Pet Beast.

Otherwise, both of them would likely have been shocked speechless.

With the two Silver Beast Tamers gone, the atmosphere in the Stele Chamber immediately relaxed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Ze noticed several Beast Tamers around him eagerly preparing to approach and strike up a conversation, so he hurriedly took his leave as well.

Back in the dormitory.

Lin Ze immediately retrieved the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon egg from his Spatial Ring.

After advancing to Bronze Beast Tamer, his third Pet Beast slot had opened up.

It was time to contract a third Pet Beast.

Lin Ze had already made up his mind about this.

The Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon was clearly an excellent choice.

Not only was it a Pure-blood Dragon Clan member with formidable combat power, but its final Potential Ceiling could even reach King Rank.

Without a doubt, it was an outstanding contracting candidate.

It was worth noting that.

The third Pet Beast slot also had a level restriction.

It could only contract Pet Beasts up to Tier 5 at most.

“Fortunately, a newly hatched Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon seems to be only at Tier 3.”

Lin Ze recalled the information about Stone-Condensing Magic Dragons in his mind.

Unlike ordinary Pet Beasts, the advancement of Pure-blood Dragon Clan members was less like evolution and more like growth.

Each time they crossed a growth stage, their strength would increase by leaps and bounds.

From smallest to largest, the stages were: Hatchling Dragon, Juvenile Dragon, Young Dragon, Adult Dragon, Prime Dragon, Elder Dragon, Ancient Dragon, Primordial Dragon, and Primeval Dragon.

For instance, the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon encountered in Grey-Blood Valley back then belonged to the Adult Dragon stage.

Snapping out of his contemplation, Lin Ze wasted no more time and decisively began the contract.

The Soul Power within his body flowed like a sluice gate opening, rapidly pouring into the egg through his fingertips that were in contact with its surface.

In the blink of an eye.

Lin Ze’s Soul Power had decreased by nearly half.

“I didn’t expect contracting a Pure-blood Dragon Clan member to consume this much Soul Power.”

Lin Ze couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.

When he had contracted Xiao Xue and the Stubborn Stone Monster back then, it had only consumed a double-digit amount of Soul Power.

If any other Beast Tamer had tried to contract a Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon, they would probably already be chugging potions by now.

After absorbing a large amount of Soul Power, the dragon egg finally came to a stop.

At the same time.

An indescribable connection formed between Lin Ze and the dragon egg.

A moment later.

The dragon egg suddenly trembled violently, and then with a crack, a large number of cracks appeared across the surface of the shell.

A miniature Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon covered in sticky fluid emerged from within.

“Rawr!”

The hatchling’s cry carried no intimidation whatsoever—instead, it had an inexplicably adorable quality.

After emerging from the shell, the hatchling paid no attention to its surroundings and immediately lowered its head to devour the broken eggshell fragments.

Crunch!

Crunch!

It ate at an incredibly fast pace, finishing every last piece of eggshell in less than two minutes.

During this process, the hatchling’s body expanded rapidly like an inflated balloon.

In the blink of an eye, its size had more than doubled.

When it stood upright, its head reached just about Lin Ze’s waist.

“Rawr!”

Having finished its meal, the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon quickly noticed Lin Ze’s presence. It let out a joyful cry and pounced over, nuzzling its head affectionately against his palm.

Lin Ze smiled and patted the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon’s head.

At the same time, with a thought, a semi-transparent panel materialized in the air before him.

【Name】: Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon (Hatchling Dragon)

【Attribute Type】: Dark/Dragon

【Level】: Tier 3, Stage 3

【Growth Rate】: 0%

【Skills】: Dragon Breath, Trample, Stone-Rending Claw

【① Bloodline Path: An evolution method that taps into the power of bloodline origins, continuously enhancing Constitution and strength while strengthening Dark Element manipulation. Next Evolution Form: 【Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon (Juvenile)】, with a maximum evolution potential of King Rank.】

“No hidden evolution path, huh.”

Lin Ze mused quietly.

“But that’s fine. Its potential is already as high as King Rank. Even if there were other hidden paths, they might not necessarily be better than this one.”

He shook his head to dispel the stray thoughts and turned his attention back to the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon’s Level.

Although the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon was currently only at Tier 3, Stage 3.

Pure-blood Dragon Clan members grew extremely fast in their early stages. As long as there were sufficient resources, it wouldn’t take much time to cross the Juvenile and Youth stages.

【Bloodline Path, next Evolution Form 【Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon (Juvenile)】, requirements: Growth Rate 100%, Lower-grade Dark Element Essence X5, Dragon’s Fang X1】

Lin Ze glanced at the panel. He had a little over eighty Achievement Points remaining.

After a moment of thought, he invested 1 Achievement Point into Growth Rate—something he hadn’t done in a while.

In an instant.

The Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon’s Growth Rate increased by 1%.

“That much?”

Lin Ze was somewhat surprised.

Back when Xiao Xue was still at Tier 2, it had taken 5 Achievement Points to increase Growth Rate by 1%.

By comparison, the Achievement Points needed for the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon to raise its Growth Rate were pitifully few.

Beyond his surprise, Lin Ze decisively invested another 9 Achievement Points, bringing the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon’s Growth Rate up to 10%.

Unexpectedly.

The Level didn’t change at all.

“What’s going on?”

Lin Ze frowned in confusion.

After thinking for a few seconds, he invested another 10 Achievement Points, raising the Growth Rate to 20%.

This time, the Level finally changed.

From Tier 3, Stage 3 to Tier 3, Stage 4.

“So it takes 20% Growth Rate to advance one Stage.”

Lin Ze clicked his tongue.

No wonder the Achievement Points required were so few.

“At this rate, the Stage increases after evolution breakthroughs will probably be fewer than Xiao Xue’s or the Spirit of the Earth’s as well.”

“Come to think of it, that adult Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon in Grey-Blood Valley was only Tier 6.”

Shaking his head, Lin Ze closed the panel, recalled the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon, and left the dormitory.

He still needed to purchase the evolution materials required for the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon.

He decided to focus on training the Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon over the next few days, pushing it to break through to Tier 6 as quickly as possible.

After that, he could apply to the Beast Tamer Association to enter a Secret Realm for training.

Since Guan Ning had gone to the wilderness for training with senior members of her Club, Lin Ze had returned to his usual solo routine.

Over the following days.

Aside from having two meals with Guo Xinyi, Liu Man, and the others, he spent almost all his time on cultivation.

Whether it was practicing Soul Arts or training in the wilderness.

Though he hadn’t kept a precise count, Lin Ze felt that the number of times he’d used Soul Arts and Pet Beast Skills was getting close to ten thousand.

In a little more time, he should be able to unlock a new achievement.

“Based on the rewards from the previous two achievements, the Achievement Points from ten thousand Soul Arts uses and ten thousand Pet Beast Skill uses should total at least 1500 points combined—maybe even 2000 isn’t out of the question.”

Even though Lin Ze was now extremely frugal with Achievement Points, rarely using them to boost Pet Beast Growth Rates or strengthen himself.

He still constantly felt like he didn’t have enough Achievement Points.

The Stone-Condensing Magic Dragon went without saying.

Xiao Xue and the Spirit of the Earth’s new Skills—unlocking either one would require a considerable number of Achievement Points.

“If only there were some new achievements to earn.”

Lin Ze couldn’t help but sigh.