Monster Pet Evolution

"Would you please listen to me? I'm still your trainer, you know..." pleaded Qian Wuliang through gritted teeth. He knew that forcing a Blood Contract on the crocodile in its injured state back then had been an unseemly thing to do, but he had done more than enough to make up for it since.

"Someone has come to challenge you. Do you still remember the white dragon you saw last year? The one who came to challenge you is the grandson of the white dragon's trainer."

The Red-Eyed Crocodile King, who had been basking in the sun all this time, finally cracked open an eye, revealing a black slit behind its eyelid. It gazed coldly at Qian Wuliang.

A low rumble filled his head through their Blood Contract.

"Has the white dragon come to challenge me?"

"No, probably a walking skeleton."

"Oh." The Red-Eyed Crocodile King closed its eye once more.

"What did that white dragon do when it came here last time? It didn't even take the crane's corpse with it." Qian Wuliang asked the question that had been burning inside him for a long time.

"It took a featherless newborn crane with it," said the Red-Eyed Crocodile King casually.

A wrinkly-looking newborn crane hadn't been worth its time or attention. What was there to fear from a mere baby whose mother it had just killed?

Qian Wuliang's heart skipped a beat, as he had just thought of something. He remembered that Gao Peng had a crane-like monster as a familiar.

Qian Wuliang told the Red-Eyed Crocodile King everything that he knew about the upcoming duel. "Try not to kill his familiars. You just need to beat them into submission."

Qian Wuliang was still a bit worried that the Red-Eyed Crocodile King would disregard everything he had said and slaughter Gao Peng's familiars outright.

He shuddered at the thought of what would happen after that.

...

There was still one day left until the duel. After hearing Chen Qi mention Lake Tai, Gao Peng suddenly had the urge to go there.

It would be a waste of a trip if he didn't visit there at least once.

The lake's clear water shimmered beneath the sun. Not a cloud could be seen in the sky. Lake Tai was a must-see tourist spot for anyone visiting the base city of Jiangnan for the first time.

It was a mysterious place, rife with history and legends of old.

Since ancient times, Jiangnan had covered a huge area of land. Ever since the Cataclysm, Gusu District, where Lake Tai was located, and a few other large-scale cities in the vicinity had merged to form the base city of Jiangnan.

Lake Tai, which was joined with the Jiangnan base city, was the fourth largest lake and the third largest freshwater lake in the Huaxia region.

Since the Cataclysm, the lake had grown much wider, practically turning into an ocean. Some had even nicknamed it the Tai Ocean. The buffer zone joining Lake Tai and the Jiangnan base city had turned into a huge swamp in the southwest. The Swamp of the Crocodile Spirit was located in the westernmost part of this huge swamp.

Gao Peng arrived at a dam that was between the Jiangnan base city and Lake Tai.

The dam had been built at least 100 feet above water level. A commercial district was established near the dam, which had enjoyed a steady flow of visitors since its conception.

"Why isn't anyone selling noodlefishes anymore? I thought they were a Lake Tai specialty," asked Gao Peng.

The reason behind the noodlefishes' popularity as a local specialty was their delicious taste.

Their bodies packed a lot of meat and nutrition. They were also scaleless and didn't give off the same stench as other fish.

"Noodlefish fishing is now prohibited in Lake Tai," said a nearby guide.

"That's a shame..." said Gao Peng.

"A Noodlefish Prince has appeared in Lake Tai and practically scared all the other monsters living in the lake into not attacking the Jiangnan base city. We're only allowed to fish for monsters that aren't noodlefishes."

Gao Peng nodded, somewhat impressed by this. By letting the humans fish out the other monsters living in the lake, the Noodlefish Prince was able to create a conducive environment for the noodlefishes to grow in.

Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the lake. A 13-foot-long meaty-looking fish emerged from the lake's surface and blew a couple of bubbles at Gao Peng.

The guide produced some fish food from his pocket and scattered it into the water. The huge fish gobbled it up greedily, twisting its body around in the lake like a fat white mealworm.

Gao Peng was taken aback by the sight of the huge white fish in the water. A few seconds later, he said, "That's a noodlefish?"

"That's right. Most of these noodlefishes love to come up to the surface and beg for food from tourists, as they know we won't hurt them," said the guide, smiling.

Gao Peng fell silent.

Aren't they supposed to be called noodlefishes for their noodle-like slenderness? What is that thing in the water supposed to be?

Gao Peng had already taken a look at its stats in the data frame. His eyes began to water as he continued looking at the rolling, writhing thing in the water...

He suddenly realized what a slender thing Flamy was...

"Are all noodlefishes this big?" said Gao Peng, pointing a finger at the noodlefish in the water.

"No, just this little guy... Most of us here recognize it," said the guide, chuckling. "The other noodlefishes only come to the surface for food sometimes. This fellow here spends 24 hours a day close to the shore. As soon as it sees anyone come by, it swims towards the shore looking for food."

The fish food that the guide had scattered into the water was completely cleaned up by the huge noodlefish. It looked at Gao Peng from the water with saucer-like eyes, its huge head thicker than its waist. Its bloated body made Gao Peng think of a water bucket. Its tail was only as wide as the palm of a human hand. It looked somewhat dimwitted.

[Monster Name]: Lake Tai Noodlefish (overweight)

[Monster Level]: Level 11

[Monster Grade]: Excellent

[Monster Attribute]: Ice

[Monster Status]: Suboptimal health (Glutton)

[Evolutionary Route]: 1. Ice-type evolution (Lake Tai Noodlefish King) 2. Fire-type evolution (Ice-fire Coral Reef Fish) 3. Dragonblood evolution (Noodlefish Dragon)

These were the stats of the Lake Tai Noodlefish. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. If anything, it seemed a bit underwhelming. Gao Peng had no idea what kind of creature could possibly scare off that huge noodlefish.

After strolling along the lake for a while, Gao Peng took out his phone and gave it to the guide, asking him to take a couple of pictures of him and his familiars.

Goldie patted the guide on the shoulder and nodded at him meaningfully.

The guide gave it a thumbs-up. "Got it. I'll be sure to get your good side!"

Goldie grinned at the guide and slapped him on the butt.

The guide stared at it, speechless.

Gao Peng stood at the front of the group, while Silly sulkily slid down to his shoulder.

Dumby stood behind Gao Peng, arms crossed before its chest. Its black robe billowed around its knees, and it stared at the camera impassively. A dandelion had taken root on its head, its petals fluttering in the wind.

Goldie stood on tiptoe beside Dumby, with the mischievous Da Zi wrapped around their shoulders and hanging between them.

At the back of the group stood Flamy, who stretched its neck high up in the air and gazed haughtily down at the camera.

Kacha—

The picture was taken and saved in Gao Peng's phone.

(What will happen after this? Will Gao Peng kill the Red-Eyed Crocodile King to prove that he's better than Qian Wuliang? Will Qian Wuliang, in a fit of anger, send someone to retaliate against Gao Peng? Will Gao Peng be forced to demolish the Qian family as a result?)