Monster Pet Evolution

Gao Peng had to admit that the things sold here seemed more impressive than what he could find outside the island. There was an exotic charm to some of them. Naturally, any of these shops would have to one-up everyone else in terms of how exotic their merchandise looked if they hoped to make a profit during the trade fair.

"These stalls were set up by people from the upper echelons of our tribe and others," explained Bai Yin in a low voice.

Gao Peng nodded. People bustled through the trade fair ceaselessly. Every stall was surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers. The cacophony of people debating every aspect of the merchandise sold there filled the air.

"Dad, I want that familiar."

"All right, I'll buy it for you when you turn 18."

"You're still selling that? It's been standing there for half a year now…"

"Thing is, I don't think it's an ingredient. Looks more like someone carved it by themselves…"

Gao Peng squeezed past a crowd to get a better look of a row of ingredients that were being sold in a stall. Attached below each ingredient was a price tag.

One of the more prominent items being sold was what appeared to be a baby monster inside a metal cage. The creature resembled a toad with two horns on its head. It was as big as a mortar and as white as snow. The two horns on its head were red like ruby.

[Monster Name]: Dragon Snowtoad

[Monster Level]: Level 26 (Commander-tier)

[Monster Grade]: Perfect

Gao Peng diverted his gaze to the rest of the merchandise. Suddenly, his eyes fell on something peculiar. What had caught Gao Peng's attention was a strange object whose shape resembled a gravestone that seemed to have been carved by human hands.

[Item Name]: Divine Adamantine Tablet

[Item Description]: A tablet governed by the powers of heaven and earth and tempered by the rigors of battle. It is nigh-indestructible. It can only be destroyed by a few things in this world. Its usage has a strict set of requirements, namely...

The Divine Adamantine Tablet. Gao Peng widened his eyes at it before turning away. It's true what they said: the things we wanted tended to turn up in the most unexpected of places.

Who says these tribal folk aren't selling anything good here?

These tribes must have stockpiled a lot of high-quality goods over the years. Excitement grew in Gao Peng as he thought about all the possibilities the trade fair had in store for him. He could probably strike up a deal with the high priestess and trade one of his possessions for something of equal value here.

The price of the Divine Adamantine Tablet was one Overlord-tier monster core crystal or 20 Emperor-tier monster core crystals.

It was a bit pricy. As a rule, an Emperor-tier familiar could finish off another Emperor-tier monster. However, the latter could also turn the tables on an Emperor-tier familiar. Only an Overlord-tier familiar could kill any Emperor-tier monster without any fear of retaliation.

And only a Saint-tier trainer could easily obtain an Overlord-tier monster core crystal. However, it was highly unlikely that he or she would spend one Overlord-tier monster core crystal just to buy something.

The owner of the stall must not have known the true purpose of the Divine Adamantine Tablet. If he had, he definitely wouldn't have been selling it for such a low price.

Gao Peng looked down at the rest of his body. He was still wearing the same black combat uniform that he had worn on Earth. He stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of the crowd.

"Brother Bai Yin, could you help me out here?" whispered Gao Peng in Bai Yin's ear. After surreptitiously handing an Overlord-tier monster core crystal to Bai Yin, he casually stepped away from the stall as if nothing had happened.

Despite not completely trusting Bai Yin, Gao Peng believed in his ability to not do anything stupid, like making off with the Divine Adamantine Tablet, for instance. He was a smart guy, and smart guys generally knew when not to cross a line.

Ten minutes later, Bai Yin waved Gao Peng over just outside the stall. The Divine Adamantine Tablet was on the back of a cow. This was a strong crow, at least King-tier. Its trainer was walking beside it.

When Gao Peng walked over to Bai Yin, the latter said with a strained smile, "I didn't bring my familiar with me. The tablet's too heavy for me."

"No worries." Gao Peng summoned Silly to his side. The jellyfish glistened with silver light under the sun, instantly drawing the attention of both Bai Yin and the cow's trainer to itself.

With a slight spatial distortion in the air, Silly absorbed the Divine Adamantine Tablet into its portable space, relieving the cow of its load.

"Thanks," Gao Peng said to the cow's trainer before beckoning to Bai Yin to leave the place with him.

The cow's trainer asked Gao Peng, "What do you intend to do with that tablet?"

Gao Peng smiled at him cryptically and said, "Souvenir." The trainer frowned at his response.

When Gao Peng and Bai Yin had left the stall far behind them, the cow's trainer returned to the back of the stall. "Did he say what he wants to do with that tablet?" asked the stall's owner.

"Just that he was buying it as a souvenir…"

"Phooey! There's no way that's true." The stall's owner was anxious about whether he had accidentally sold something at a price lower than what it was actually worth.

He had consulted many people as to the actual nature of the tablet. None of them seemed to have any idea what it was supposed to be used for. Subjecting it to heat and electricity didn't seem to have any effect on it. Also, it had cost him two Emperor-tier monster core crystals just to buy it off of someone else from another tribe's hands.

The thing was essentially useless in his hands. He might as well have bought a wok back then. At least he could use that to cook rice.

And so he decided to sell the tablet for one Overlord-tier monster core crystal just to get rid of it for good. However, even though he had finally gotten rid of it, he still felt that it might have been a mistake to sell it away.

If Gao Peng knew what was going on in the stall owner's mind, he would have just shaken his head with a sad smile on his face. People are truly a petty bunch.

Bai Yin didn't ask what Gao Peng wanted to use the tablet for. He feared that he wouldn't be able to control himself if he knew, so he thought it best not to ask for now. He spent the rest of the day accompanying Gao Peng around the fair, where Gao Peng got to see all kinds of monsters native only to the Squared World. Gao Peng didn't see any other item worth spending his wealth on for the rest of the trip.

When they finally returned to the island, Gao Peng headed over to the high priestess' place, where she was still chatting with one of her familiars.

Beside her sat a seven-foot-tall grey-furred ape with a long tail. There was an intelligent light in its eyes. It could apparently speak the human tongue.

"High priestess, I'm actually a monster breeder. I've helped raise the grades of my own familiars as well as those in the Southern Sky Group," said Gao Peng.

The high priestess smiled at him. "Yes, I have heard about this from others. Is there something you need from an old grandma like myself?"

"I was at the trade fair with Bai Yin today when I scored some high-quality ingredients. I was thinking about raising the grades of my familiars here on your island. I hope I won't be a nuisance to you and the rest of the tribespeople."

The high priestess chuckled. "No problem. I could also help you obtain any ingredients you want. We have lots of unused ingredients piled up in storage."

If anyone from the tribe had heard the high priestess's offer to Gao Peng, they would definitely have been green with envy. Not even the tribal chief knew exactly what kind of treasure lay unused in the White Dragon Tribe's storage.