Free Web NovelChapter 412: Chapter 399: The Original Heart
Right now, Mouse Treasure was continuously performing Refinement, converting all the essence from the Dragon Blood into its own Essence of Life while also tempering its mind.
This process was meant to continuously strengthen itself without affecting its own racial characteristics.
’Honestly,’ Gu Ming thought, ’does sticking to the path of "true self" Evolution really require maintaining one’s initial racial features?’
There was a reason why Low-star Races had an Evolution cap and couldn’t evolve to a higher level of life.
Certain muscles, bones, and body shapes were useless in high-level combat and would be eliminated during Evolution, giving way to a more optimal Pet Beast form.
"Use it or lose it" was the current mainstream consensus in the Beast Taming Realm. Useless body parts would only hinder a Pet Beast’s upward Evolution.
Only a more powerful physical form could contain more Mana and Blood Qi. At the same time, a High-Level form might also be closer to the form of the Celestial Dao, making it easier to accommodate the Power of the Great Dao.
Therefore, it was basically impossible to maintain one’s original form while also retaining the potential for High-star Evolution.
Perhaps there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance, but the current Gu Ming had not yet reached that level of academic understanding.
Gu Ming watched as Mouse Treasure painstakingly refined the drop of Dragon Blood, suppressing the physical changes caused by absorbing the Earth Dragon Blood.
At this moment, its Blood Qi, Mana, and other attributes had all made considerable progress.
But because it was suppressing the changes so fiercely, it hadn’t grown that much stronger.
Compared to two days ago, the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s progress was only about a hundred and ten or so.
Compared to the huge progress of other Pet Beasts like Cyan Treasure and Ah Kun, this seemed rather small.
Lost in thought, Gu Ming looked at the system’s plot commentary.
Apparently, in the system’s eyes, Mouse Treasure was also struggling with how to continue on the "true self" Cultivation path.
"Faced with a choice on the path of the true self, Mouse Treasure wants to follow the Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster’s path of Evolution, but the Earth Dragon Blood is constantly influencing it.
"To absorb it completely, it must allow its body to change, or else it will be difficult to digest. Every second, it is wasting the essence of the Earth Dragon Blood.
"As a pioneer of this new path, you begin to ponder:
"Is the path of the true self about adhering to one’s original heart and appearance, or is maintaining an unchanged body the real ’true self’?
"Which path should it take?"
"You can’t help but fall into contemplation."
That was the system’s commentary.
For Gu Ming, however, this didn’t require much thought.
The reason was simple. He spoke directly to Mouse Treasure:
"Mouse Treasure, don’t hesitate."
"Evolution is a process of constantly enduring pain and challenging higher limits."
"Keep what’s useful and discard the rest. Just accept the beneficial parts of the Dragon Blood’s essence."
"As long as you hold on to your true self, you are still you. You won’t be defined by the Earth Dragon Blood."
"The Earth Dragon Blood wants to transform you, so you must turn the tables. Control it with your powerful will and make its essence serve you. That is the choice of the path of the true self."
Gu Ming didn’t overthink the miscellaneous details.
To him, a Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster was Mouse Treasure, and Mouse Treasure was Mouse Treasure.
It didn’t need to be defined by a dragon form, nor by its original Sunflower Seed-eating Hamster form.
After all, a Pet Beast was bound to evolve and grow larger. If it maintained such a small body, there would be a limit to the Mana, Blood Qi, and so on that it could contain in the future.
Unless it could comprehend a Space Talent and continuously expand the Space within its body to hold a near-infinite amount of Mana. Only then would a small body truly be an advantage.
But right now, Mouse Treasure’s Level was too low, and its potential was completely insufficient to evolve to a High Tier.
In truth, it didn’t have many choices at the moment.
Mouse Treasure shuddered. Feeling that what Mr. Gu said was absolutely right, it released its suppression and began to absorb the Earth Dragon Essence Blood as much as possible.
And because it had heard Gu Ming’s words, it also focused its Spiritual Power to continuously suppress the Earth Dragon Blood while simultaneously activating the Dragon Pattern Tripod within its body, placing the Earth Dragon Essence Blood inside the tripod to be refined with a RUMBLE.
It used the ancient Earth Dragon Illusion to suppress the blood, while at the same time preserving its own will.
As a result, its Refinement speed increased by more than a hundredfold, and its body was constantly digesting the essence.
The various Treasure Medicines it had just consumed finally began to flow rapidly through its body, nourishing its bones and stimulating rapid muscle growth.
Lu You had also been hesitating for a long time. Hearing Gu Ming’s clear-headed speech gave her a sense of sudden enlightenment, and she quickly thanked him.
"Thank you."
Gu Ming waved his hand. "I was struggling with it too, but seeing how uncomfortable Mouse Treasure looked, I felt a change in form was necessary. As long as it holds onto its true self, that’s enough."
Lu You nodded and added in a low voice, "Mhm, appearance... isn’t really that important. It’s inner beauty that counts."
As she said this, Lu You subconsciously fiddled with her bangs.
Her bangs often covered her eyes, preventing her from seeing others clearly.
She had also considered changing her image, cutting the long bangs on her forehead to transform her overall look.
But after hearing Gu Ming’s words, she couldn’t help but wonder:
’Are these bangs really that important?’
’With these thick bangs, when people look at me, I can use my hair to hide. I don’t have to force myself to make eye contact.’
’This gave her, with her social anxiety, a strange sense of security.’
’If she cut them, she might feel a bit out of place.’
As she was lost in thought, Mouse Treasure finished its Refinement. She subconsciously asked, "Mouse Treasure, do you think I should cut my bangs?"
Mouse Treasure tilted its head and chirped, SQUEAK SQUEAK:
"Master will look beautiful no matter what. If Master wants to cut them, then you should cut them."
But that wasn’t the answer Lu You wanted to hear. She let out a soft "mhm," stealing a glance at Gu Ming, but didn’t dare to ask him.
The question remained stuck in her heart, unasked.
...
Gu Ming returned to Ah Kun’s side and saw it wagging its fish tail, enveloped in a cloud of water vapor. It excitedly swam around him several times.
Gu Ming listened carefully and learned that Ah Kun had already digested nearly twenty percent of the Fog Dao Pearl.
’It’s only been a short time, how did it learn so quickly?’
It turned out that after Ah Kun’s Devouring Secret Technique had run for ten Circulations, its efficiency at digesting the Fog Dao Pearl had become much faster.
Under the operation of the Secret Technique, the various mucous fluids in its body had greatly improved its digestive abilities.
As a result, it had already gained a preliminary grasp of the Fog Concealment Talent without even realizing it.
And just like that, Ah Kun immediately began to show off its new Fog Concealment Talent to Gu Ming.
It spat out a cluster of bubbles, which burst into a thin mist that enveloped its body.
A moment later, Ah Kun’s body vanished, leaving only a faint, barely-there wisp of fog in its place.
Gu Ming was a little startled. He reached out to probe the fog, but his hand touched nothing but air.
The next second, Ah Kun reappeared right next to his arm, as if seeking praise.
’See? I learned this Fog Concealment Talent in less than half a day after eating the pearl. Aren’t I amazing!’
"Amazing," Gu Ming praised. "Keep digesting. Try to devour all of it."
In the field of reconnaissance, the Fog Concealment Talent was an exceptionally rare Talent.
It could conceal one’s tracks, Power, and other aspects, allowing a Fish Pet to disperse into the air like mist.
It was somewhat similar to how a Ghost Element Pet Beast turns ethereal, dissolving into Spiritual Fragments to move.
