Monster Pet Evolution

The Desolate Frost Lion had been an Emperor-tier monster back when it was at its peak. Right now, it had barely returned to King-tier. As Gao Peng already had King-tier Stripey and Mythical-grade Dumby, he wasn't particularly ecstatic about the Desolate Frost Lion finally reaching King-tier.

Upon reaching King-tier, the Desolate Frost Lion's size had increased considerably. It could now reach Gao Peng's knees. It was also at least three feet long.

Naturally, the White Bladed Beast was happy about this. However, fearing that the lion might be offended by any overt displays of happiness, the White Bladed Beast decided to just settle on tapping its claws against the ground excitedly.

Sensing the White Bladed Beast's eyes on it, the Desolate Frost Lion threw a suspicious glance at it. The White Bladed Beast looked away, pretending that it wasn't trying to celebrate its comrade-in-arms' rise in monster tier.

Gao Peng then continued chatting with Bei Qing Yan. As he stopped to drink some water, he looked at the time. It was already noon.

Time sure flies when you're having fun. He had no idea why the day had gone by so quickly. "It's getting late. The reason I came here was to help my familiar level up..." His voice trailed off, as he had no idea how to finish that sentence.

"Uhm..." Bei Qing Yan simply nodded.

Both of them looked at each other in silence. The atmosphere in the room was an awkward one.

"Then, I guess this is where I take my leave. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll show you around Yuzhou if you're ever in the neighborhood," said Gao Peng as he kneaded Silly, which was in his hands, into all kinds of shapes.

"I'll be sure to visit Yuzhou as soon as my people return to me," said Bei Qing Yan, smiling. Her eyes glowed beautifully, like a pair of crescent moons.

"Don't get my hopes up now," said Gao Peng, chuckling.

"I'm sorry, what hopes?" asked Bei Qing Yan quizzically. Gao Peng really had a penchant for cryptic expressions.

"Uhm, well..." Gao Peng shrugged with futility. He had no idea how to dig himself out of that hole.

"Wait here," said Bei Qing Yan before returning to her chambers. A moment later, she came back with a crystal vial that was as big as a palm. Inside it was a metal bead.

Uhm? That's not a bead. Gao Peng strained his eyes at it. A row of numbers and letters appeared before him.

[Monster Name]: Male Magnetic Beast

[Monster Tier]: Level 5

[Monster Grade]: Normal

[Monster Attribute]: Metal

[Monster Description]: Magnetic Beasts come in male and female pairs. When both genders are within a certain distance from each other, they immediately sense the other and are inexorably drawn to each other. The closer they are to each other, the stronger the attraction they feel to each other.

It was only then that Gao Peng noticed that the Male Magnetic Beast was pressed up against the glass as if it was currently being drawn somewhere.

"This Male Magnetic Beast can feel the presence of a Female Magnetic Beast. She's inside the palace. With the Male Magnetic Beast, you won't get lost while trying to find my place," explained Bei Qing Yan.

Gao Peng had a sneaking suspicion that she only wanted to ensure a constant source of good food from him.

Yep, that's probably it...

...

Later, Gao Peng left the palace alongside his familiars. Along the way, he passed through a frozen valley.

The way back home was quite nonchalant, as opposed to the first time he had made his way up to the North Pole.

He decided to linger around for a bit before heading back to Yuzhou. His journey to the North Pole had been an arduous one. It wouldn't feel right to leave without at least bringing something back as a souvenir.

Only a few people were aware of the real reason behind his trip to the North Pole. Those left in the dark probably assumed that he was goofing off in his manor, playing video games all day.

Before him lay a basin, in which stretched a black-and-white ocean. There was a hint of yellow in the water.

When Gao Peng came close enough, he could see the shapes of these creatures, which stood at least six feet tall and seemed quite rotund. They looked like... penguins.

Their beaks were yellow, wide and thick. They had fierce looks in their eyes, and their hair danced about wildly in the wind. From Gao Peng's point of view, they looked like a bunch of hooligans trying to revive punk.

Gao Peng had read about these creatures in various monster compendiums. Before the Cataclysm, they were called rockhopper penguins. They were the punk rockers of penguins.

Upon evolving into Yellow-browed Monster Penguins, they now seemed to have embraced their punk side even more so than before.

[Monster Name]: Yellow-Browed Monster Penguins

[Monster Tier]: Level 18

[Monster Grade]: Normal

[Monster Attribute]: Water

[Monster Description]: In comparison to other penguin-typed monsters of the same monster tier, the Yellow-browed Monster Penguin has proven itself to be the strongest. It has a rowdy personality, always making sure that everyone knows that it's the coolest penguin in town.

A group of these penguins was just standing around like a bunch of thugs. Necks... None of them had any.

They stretched out their dumpy little heads. The yellow hair on their scalps suddenly stood up, sharp like spears. Their gaits were flamboyant. Gao Peng thought he was looking at Desolion's shadow.

The Yellow-Browed Monster Penguins waddled up to Gao Peng and company like a bunch of confused teenagers, surrounding them completely. The Yellow-Browed Monster Penguin leading the group had hair that was almost touching Gao Peng's face. Its head was slightly slanted, its eyes staring straight at Gao Peng. There was a wild look on its face. All that was missing was the customary sleeve-rolling and growling, "I'm going to beat you up today, you prissy-looking b*stard," at Gao Peng. With this, the penguin would have completed the stereotypical street thug image.

The White Steel Bladed Beast tensed. It furtively unsheathed its bladed appendages...

Gao Peng pressed a hand against its head, indicating that there was no need to start a fight. Yet. In truth, even without his familiars, thanks to his current physical condition, he could probably beat up these Yellow-Browed Monster Penguins on his own.

Seeing that Gao Peng wasn't the least bit intimidated by them and that he still remained quite calm, the penguin at the front of the group narrowed its eyes at them. Then... it silently backed away.

Its bulky body merged into the mass of penguins behind it, where it continued observing Gao Peng and his familiars.

In a corner, one of the Yellow-Browed Monster Penguins couldn't take it any longer. This was their turf. Every monster in the area knew this, and still, this bipedal weirdo decided to just barge in like he owned the bloody place. I'm going to put the fear of God into this man if it's the last thing I do!

It came at Gao Peng and swung out its wing, which was intercepted by Flamy. The penguins let out an outraged noise when they saw a monster of the same species as them, but of a much higher level, defend the bipedal outsider.

"Traitor!"

"Enemy of all penguins!"

"The eighties called, they want their red feathers back!"

"We have a traitor in our midst!"

The Yellow-Browed Penguins began screeching nonstop.

Flamy's face darkened. Who the hell are you calling a penguin?

It then opened its beak and let loose a ball of fire that struck some of the penguins closest to it. They began squawking and running around in circles while trying to put out their burning backsides with their wings. I'm Gao Peng's skinniest familiar! That's what he told me personally, so it must be true! thought Flamy.

It flapped its wings powerfully, whipping up a gust of wind that sent fragments of ice on the ground twirling chaotically in the air.

In the face of such a spectacle, the Yellow-Browed Monster Penguins didn't show a trace of fear on their faces. They began huddling up before surging towards Flamy as one single body.

A ring of fire spread out from Flamy's body as it flapped its wings once more. The flames then exploded into a million fiery fragments.

Boom!

Flamy's ring of fire exploded across the North Pole's frozen ground.

The resulting blast wave sent the penguins closest to Flamy flying away, while also causing their bodies to catch fire.

Upon seeing this, the Yellow-Browed Monster Penguins at the back halted their advance. Then, looking at each other, they bolted in the opposite direction as quickly as their stumpy little legs could carry them.