Monster Pet Evolution

"Gao Peng, there's something good inside," said the Desolate Frost Lion, salivating as it gazed intently inside the temple.

Gao Peng rubbed the lion's head. "Hush now."

While the Desolate Frost Lion couldn't see the stats of whatever awaited them up ahead, Gao Peng could see them clearly. It was a King-tier monster.

Well, crap. Dumby and Stripey aren't with me right now.

The strongest familiar he had brought along with him was his Level-50 White Steel Bladed Beast. No matter how ruthless its attacks might have been, the fact that it was only one level away from reaching King-tier didn't change the fact that it was still a Lord-tier familiar.

To make matters worse, this was the North pole. They were in the Frozen Asura Knight's domain.

"Leave this place, human," said the Frozen Asura Knight in a deep voice.

Gao Peng stared at it in surprise. None of his familiars were translating its words psychically in his head. The Frozen Asura Knight was speaking directly to him in his tongue!

"You can speak my language?"

"Leave here now, human!" roared the Frozen Asura Knight, hostility rising in its voice. Despite the rising anger in its voice, it still hadn't taken a step out of the palace.

Its ability to speak the human tongue meant that it wasn't a wild monster. It must have come into regular contact with human civilization. It might have even been someone else's familiar.

Ridiculous as it might have sounded, the fact that his grandfather had been able to raise the White Dragon himself was enough proof that there were other trainers just as gifted and lucky as he was out there in the world. They would also be capable of raising their own King-tier familiars.

"We're not going to break into the palace. We're just taking a look around. Is that all right with you?" asked Gao Peng, trying as best as he could to show that he carried no ill will.

The Frozen Asura Knight looked as if it was about to say something else, then, glancing at Gao Peng, it turned around and went inside. "Your words, not mine," it said flatly, letting its voice echo in the wind.

Only after it had stepped back into the palace did Gao Peng realize just how big the palace was. Its blue-white walls loomed high. Nothing but a sheet of white snow surrounded the palace.

Without waiting for Gao Peng to come over, the Desolate Frost Lion broke into a small jog towards a bluish frozen lake not too far away from the palace. The lake's surface was as smooth as a mirror.

With a splash, it leaped into the lake and disappeared beneath its surface.

Inside the palace, suddenly sensing something, the Frozen Asura Knight who had returned inside scanned the walls to its left before turning away.

A huge frozen room had been built in the innermost parts of the palace. If the cold outside was a one, the temperature inside the room was a freezing ten. An ice fog hung in the air, with spindly frozen tendrils branching out from the walls.

In the middle of the room lay a frozen casket. The casket was six feet long and three feet wide, adorned with exquisite floral patterns. The Frozen Asura Knight walked solemnly towards the frozen casket before dropping to a half-kneel in front of it.

"Mistress, what are your orders?" The Frozen Asura Knight's markings began to flow into the ground, making it seem as if it was now firmly rooted in the ground, as if it had become one with the palace itself.

Suddenly, a dainty white hand stretched out from the casket. Its skin was so white that one could see the blue-green veins bulging slightly on its extremities. It gently waved at the knight, its middle and ring fingers touching each other.

The knight took this to mean, "State your business if you have any. If not, leave. I do not like to be bothered."

After a moment's silence, the Frozen Asura Knight slowly lowered its head. "Understood," it said solemnly.

…

Half an hour later, the Desolate Frost Lion crawled out of the frozen lake. As a result of soaking inside the frozen lake for that period of time, it had risen from Level 41 to Level 43.

"All of you, come with me." The Frozen Asura Knight had appeared out of nowhere behind Gao Peng. The frozen spear in its hand dangled over the ground. It was a tall and gangly thing, its frozen blue armor hugging its skin tightly. Behind it trailed its shadow, solitary like a tower.

It then turned around and began walking back towards the palace.

Gao Peng looked at it strangely. Then, beckoning his familiars towards himself, he began following it back to the palace.

Upon entering the building, the Frozen Asura Knight melted into a nearby wall. Gao Peng and his familiars stared silently at the empty wall.

They had entered the palace via a side entrance. The white floor didn't sparkle as much as the rest of the building, plus Gao Peng and the others didn't come across a single living being in the palace as they walked through its corridors; it was as if the Frozen Asura Knight had been living there on its own all this time.

In what appeared to be the backyard, a frozen dome hung above their heads. The auroral spectacle in the heavens shone through the dome, staining it an assortment of colors.

In the middle of the backyard was a well. It was six feet wide, and the water inside was boiling. White steam rose out from the mouth of the well.

Wait, it's boiling? was Gao Peng's first thought. Is it a Pure Yin Frozen Spring?

The Desolate Frost Lion lowered its body, ready to leap into the well. Before it could do so, Gao Peng pulled its mane back, causing it to flail its front limbs futilely in the air.

"Ow, ow!" The Desolate Frost Lion whined in pain. "Unhand me, you fiend! Keep your hands off me, you filthy animal!" it shouted.

"We're in someone else's backyard. Try to be on your best behavior now," said Gao Peng patiently. I wouldn't have cared too much if this place didn't have a master. But he or she could be watching us as we speak. Jumping into strange wells on someone else's property without their express permission is just downright disrespectful!

More importantly, we're currently not in any position to take on the Frozen Asura Knight… It may be on its own here, but we probably wouldn't stand a chance against it even with our powers combined.

"You've grown weak. This could help you recover a portion of your power," said the Frozen Asura Knight out of nowhere.

Giving Gao Peng a small nod, it turned to leave the backyard.

The Desolate Frost Lion stared after it, stunned. It then looked at Gao Peng. "Gao Peng, how did it know I lost my power?"

Gao Peng affectionately rubbed the lion's head. "Don't worry, just keep on training and you'll become stronger than you ever were before."

The Desolate Frost Lion simply gazed at him, speechless. In the end, Gao Peng let the Desolate Frost Lion jump into the well, though it still didn't sit right with him.

He lowered a bucket that seemed to be made of some unknown material into the well and scooped out some water. He emptied two buckets of water into a nearby tank. The water had been transparent when it was inside the well. However, when it left the well, it turned a shade of pure black.

It was no longer steaming once it was poured into the tank. Inside the tank, the black water's temperature dropped drastically. Desolion cautiously dipped its paws into the tank.

Crickkkk—

The Desolate Frost Lion was instantly frozen into a lion popsicle inside the tank. It sank to the bottom like a rock...

Gao Peng and the others watched over the Desolate Frost Lion as it slept in its frozen state at the bottom of the tank. He didn't dare make himself too comfortable inside the palace without the master's permission. He still hadn't forgotten his manners.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard behind Gao Peng, as soft as a petal falling onto the surface of a pond.

Gao Peng turned around and was greeted by the sight of a white figure hugging close to the palace's ice walls. The long train of her white gown trailed behind her. The Frozen Asura Knight was walking the white figure over to Gao Peng and company, carefully holding her hand in its own.