Free Web NovelChapter 174: Chapter 156: What a Coincidence
After getting out of the car, the two wasted no time. They walked directly toward a certain part of the Cultivation Base, chatting amiably along the way.
After a few simple questions, which Wen Wan answered, Li Qian finally understood why she had said what she did earlier.
It turned out they weren’t just researching the Red Feather Chicken; they were studying the most frustrating aspect of it—its evolutionary path.
This endeavor was, in fact, the very reason they had taken over the Changfeng Cultivation Base.
The previous owner of this Cultivation Base had also been researching the same thing.
Apparently, he had even made some preliminary breakthroughs.
However, its evolutionary path was comparable to the Koi Carp’s—both were notorious money pits.
So, as expected, after pouring in a massive amount of time and money, the base’s original owner—like most Breeders who tackled this problem—failed to achieve any tangible, applicable results.
Worse still, the research plunged the Cultivation Base into a financial crisis, completely breaking its funding chain.
Three years ago, Gao Yaxin, Lu Xiaoli, and Wen Wan—the woman standing before him now—were three like-minded young women who had just graduated from Jiangnan Beast Taming University.
They heard about the situation, and coincidentally, their graduation thesis was a hypothesis on the evolutionary path of the Red Feather Chicken.
Since they all came from well-off families and weren’t short on cash, the three of them put their heads together, hatched a bold plan, and ultimately acted on it, taking over the Cultivation Base.
Upon hearing this, Li Qian couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly. ’Talk about having more money than sense.’
’Of all the projects to research, why insist on diving into this bottomless pit?’
’If it weren’t for his Golden Finger, which allowed him to eliminate all interfering factors and make intuitive leaps by gaining flashes of inspiration, he never would have been able to figure out the evolutionary paths from Koi Carp to Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and from Koi Carp to Frostfire Salamander.’
’The Koi Carp was one thing, but how could the Red Feather Chicken, which held a similar status, be any different?’
’If it were really that easy to crack, the "Four Wastes" would have become the "Three Wastes" long ago.’
So, just like the Cultivation Base’s previous owner, it was no surprise that after three years, they too had failed to produce any valuable results.
Of course, they had achieved some preliminary results, but it was hard to say how useful those results actually were.
The Red Feather Chickens they bred using special methods, as well as their only known Evolutionary Form—the Golden Crowned Red Feather Chicken—were somewhat different from the common varieties.
These Red Feather Chickens and Golden Crowned Red Feather Chickens not only mastered Flame and Pecking, but they had also learned a very strange Skill.
Light Energy Storage!
The reason the Skill was considered strange was that it wasn’t a Fire Skill, but a Light Skill.
But the Red Feather Chicken’s attribute is Fire!
They hadn’t managed to breed for a Fire Skill, but had somehow ended up with a Light Skill instead.
What was even more frustrating was that this Light Skill couldn’t even directly increase the Red Feather Chicken’s combat effectiveness.
This was because Light Energy Storage, strictly speaking, wasn’t a combat Skill but a buff Skill.
Casting the Skill allows the user to store Light Energy within its body. The more Light Energy stored, the more powerful the next Light Skill it releases will be.
If it stored up to its limit, it might even be possible to double the power of a Light Skill.
Such an incredible buff Skill, on any Light Pet Beast, would be considered a Divine Skill.
But on a Red Feather Chicken, it was utterly useless—or even worse than useless.
As Li Qian listened to Wen Wan’s description, his interest was visibly piqued.
’Although his breeding successes were mostly thanks to his Golden Finger, Li Qian had discovered that his own Talent for breeding wasn’t actually half bad.’
Based on this Talent Ability, he quickly sensed that the Light Energy Storage Skill was likely not as simple as it seemed.
Just like with the Koi Carp’s Fish Leaping Skill, perhaps this Skill held the secret to the next, more promising evolutionary stage for the Red Feather Chicken, or even the Golden Crowned Red Feather Chicken.
The two continued to walk and talk, and after about ten minutes, they arrived in front of a small, blue building.
The building was quite elegant. It wasn’t large, covering an area of about two hundred square meters, and stood three stories tall.
A building like this was a size smaller than Building One at Li Qian’s Jiaoyang Cultivation Base, but its refined and quaint charm was something the latter couldn’t hope to match.
’Living and conducting research in a building like this must be a wonderful experience.’
Led by Wen Wan, Li Qian had just stepped into the blue building when he saw a familiar figure in the main hall.
This familiar figure was none other than Gao Yaxin, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Seeing Gao Yaxin’s smiling face, Li Qian felt a surge of joy as well.
Gao Yaxin had not only answered his questions before but had also saved his life once, so he held her in very high regard.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he respected her as if she were his own sister.
His face wreathed in a smile, Li Qian started walking over, ready to shake Gao Yaxin’s hand. But halfway there, he abruptly froze.
Because at some point, another, equally familiar figure had emerged from behind Gao Yaxin.
Li Qian recognized this person, too. In fact, he had just met her yesterday.
This familiar figure was none other than Wu You—the woman from the Wing Race whom he had fought alongside on the Flying Ship, the very same one he had carried out of a crater!
Wu You’s appearance here truly took Li Qian by surprise.
So much so that he was left standing there, completely stunned.
"Student Li Qian, what’s the matter? Don’t you recognize me anymore?" Wu You blinked her big, watery eyes, looking at Li Qian with a gaze of pure innocence.
Her gaze made Li Qian’s skin crawl. A moment later, he snapped out of it and scratched his head in embarrassment.
Though he was already cursing his bad luck inwardly, his expression didn’t change. He walked over with a composed air. "Sister Yaxin, long time no see! Sister Wu You, what a coincidence! I never thought I’d run into you here!"
Wu You glanced at Li Qian, the corner of her mouth lifting in a faint smile.
She nodded meaningfully before replying, "It is a bit of a coincidence, indeed!"
Seeing this, Gao Yaxin and Wen Wan were both taken aback. "You two know each other?"
"Didn’t I mention to you all before that I was originally heading to Zhonghai City?" Wu You began to explain. "I was attacked on the way. If it wasn’t for Student Li Qian’s help, I’m afraid my chances of survival would have been slim."
"In fact, you could say Student Li Qian is my savior!"
Hearing this, Li Qian quickly waved his hands in dismissal. "I wouldn’t dare call myself a savior. In that situation, we were all in the same boat. If one of us went down, we all would have. Saving you was the same as saving myself!"
Li Qian replied with a smile, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this woman, Wu You, had a strange tone, as if her words held some vague, unspoken meaning.
