Monster Pet Evolution
chapter-7

A Monster Trainer's individual strength was not particularly impressive. Even though it was said that at later stages, Familiars could greatly increase the survival abilities of its Trainer, it was only an increase in survival ability. At the end of the day, in order to actually do battle, Trainers had to rely on their Familiars.

The number of Familiars that a Trainer could establish Blood Contracts with was determined by the strength of the Trainer's soul. As a Familiar grew stronger, the Trainer was nourished as well, causing the Trainer's soul to grow and strengthen, allowing them to establish contracts with more Familiars.

In other words, everything was relative. Establishing Blood Contracts required the expenditure of a soul's energy. Even though the 'blood' was in Blood Contract, the blood was only a medium. What truly linked human and monster spiritually was actually the soul.

Of course, this link worked in both directions as well. If a Trainer were to use cruel and violent methods to control a Familiar, the Familiar would constantly putting up resistance, and this would result in an increased burden on the Trainer's soul. If the number of Familiars resisting a Trainer's control increased too much, it could result in terrifying consequences…

Perhaps I could take in a large number of low-ranking Familiars, and then continually raise their monster grade… Gao Peng suddenly thought, as an idea to exploit his ability.

Nope, no can do. This would be too obvious.

Gao Peng quickly banished this thought from his mind. He could not do that. At least not right now. Furthermore, raising Familiars required a large amount of resources, which he could not afford at the moment. Gao Peng also had no intention of exposing his ability to join other powerful groups or organizations. He feared that he would end up being used by others as a monster-breeding machine.

"Is everyone here? Class monitor, please take attendance," said their form teacher Murong Qiuye to class monitor Tan Qianjin as she boarded the bus.

Tan Qianjin was also a small and plump person who had dimples when he smiled. He always got along with others in class and also had a cheerful personality and good grades. It did not take long for the class to eventually elect him as class monitor.

"Ms. Murong, everyone is already here. I made a tick on the class register every time someone came in," said Tan Qianjin with a smile as he handed the class register to Ms. Murong.

Ms. Murong nodded. She then held on to a grab pole, stuck her head out of the window and shouted, "Director, the students in our class is all here. We can leave now."

After a moment, Ms. Murong nodded again, then promptly sat on the driver's seat.

Sitting in the first row, Tan Qianjin's jaw dropped as Ms. Murong very proficiently adjusted gears, stepped on the gas pedal, and started up the bus in one smooth motion.

Such an experienced driver…

The bus's exhaust pipes gave a roar and the bus charged forward like a hulking metal beast.

Behind it were two blue cars following closely behind. The cars were totally blue except for a white shield drawn on the sides of the car. It was the BlueShield Protection Company.

They travelled at high speed and in only a few minutes, they reached the edge of a lake within the outskirts of the city.

"Alright, we've arrived. Students, please alight."

With a tsss sound, the front and rear doors of the bus opened at the same time, allowing bright sunrays to shine into the bus from the doors.

"This… This is so exciting! So this is what the outskirts are like!" said one of the fat boys in class. He was one of those who seemed to have trouble acting appropriately at the right situations. He rubbed his hands together and continued, "It's just… just too damn exciting, ugh." At this moment, a girl in a ponytail and glasses viciously hammered him on the head while wearing a blank expression. "Li Zipang, stop the drama."

Li Zigong angrily responded, "Li Hongdou, don't go too far! If it weren't for the fact that you were my older sister, I would never…" A cold gaze that came sweeping over from Li Hongdou caused Li Zigong to freeze. "I would never dare to raise my voice at you…" he continued.

As Gao Peng tried to lead Da Zi down the bus, its antennae kept twirling around anxiously. Da Zi was hesitant about entering a foreign environment. In the end, Gao Peng had to forcibly throw Da Zi off the bus.

Being tossed out of the bus, Da Zi frantically circled around Gao Peng before getting itself upright to try to climb onto Gao Peng. Gao Peng cold-heartedly refused to let it do so.

This was the first time he saw Da Zi this nervous, and Gao Peng could not help but laugh.

"Roar!" A ferocious roar exploded next to Gao Peng's ear. Gao Peng's eardrums almost burst from the powerful sound waves. This angered Da Zi. Its body sprang upright, then suddenly bent behind Gao Peng's like a giant bow.

Xiu–

Da Zi left a long afterimage as it gave the Black Raging Kong a bite on the thigh. It was a swift motion, like a dragonfly laying an egg on water.

The Black Raging Kong frowned in a very human-like manner, and clutched its thigh, yelping continuously.

Hai Lanyu, who was standing right beside them, had originally been laughing at Gao Peng's misfortune. The moment he saw that his Familiar had been bitten, his smile turned to a look of rage. He was about to act on it when he heard the strict voice of Murong Qiuye scolding them. "What are you two doing? Don't think I didn't see what happened. Hai Lanyu, now that you have a Familiar you are a Monster Trainer! As a Monster Trainer, make sure you control you familiar properly and not let it scare people like that. Gao Peng, you too have to make sure your little centipede doesn't bite people that easily."

Both sides were scolded, but it was clear that Murong Qiuye was more biased towards Gao Peng, probably because of his good results.

The Black Raging Kong was eventually summoned away by its master reluctantly. It looked towards Hai Lanyu with eyes filled with resentment as if to say, You sent me to scare that guy just now, and in the end you called me back after getting me bitten by that little centipede. What kind of master are you?"

It unhappily jumped up and down on the spot, making yelping sounds.

Black Raging Kongs were rather intelligent, and roughly as smart as seven to eight-year-old children. Its emotions, which it wore clearly on its face, were there for anyone to see. Right now, its face was scrunched up and its brows were furrowed; it was clearly putting on a long face.

Gao Peng looked closely at the Black Raging Kong, and from the stats table that appeared in his mind, he could see that the [Monster Condition] had changed from "Healthy (Frustrated)" to "Mildly hurt (Depressed) [Poisoned]"

The last word, "poisoned," flashed with a red glow which grew dimmer as time went by. At the same time, the condition in front of it also eventually changed from "mildly hurt" to "minor injuries."

…

"Is this a Blood Lilyturf? This is a plant that was evolved from the dwarf lilyturf during the cataclysm. Even before its evolution, the dwarf lilyturf had medicinal purposes that could nourish the lungs and treat coughs. The evolved Blood Lilyturf has the ability to treat internal injuries, especially damage to internal organs. Administering a bit of Blood Lilyturf root can help to replenish blood and aid in the recovery of such injuries." Gao Peng was in a half-squat position, obsessing over a blood-red plant next to his leg.

The dwarf lilyturf was also called Yanjiecao, and was a very common plant before the cataclysm. It could even be seen often in the streets. In flowerbeds along the roads, there were often plants that looked like chives lining the bottom. Those were dwarf lilyturf.

Information regarding the Blood Lilyturf could all be found in "The New Edition Mutant Plant Botany," which was a must read course for all middle school students after the cataclysm.

No matter when, knowledge would always remain the number one productive force. Even in the current bizarre and fantasy-like world they were in, knowledge and science had not fallen behind.

Science was not the same thing as technology. Technology was merely the result of science. Science was a method to sort out one's own knowledge, a system of collating and searching for information, and the use of logic and analysis for research. It was something that could greatly increase the effectiveness of increasing one's knowledge and making it one's own.

It was something that never fell behind.