After finishing dinner with his parents, Chen Yue returned to his room.
He didn't summon Bastet, nor did he start cultivating right away. Instead, he took out his phone and began browsing through various shopping apps.
After Bastet's rapid growth, most of the previously purchased materials had been used up. It was time to restock.
Although Bastet was already growing at an astonishing speed, Chen Yue still found it too slow. After thinking for a while, he decided to focus on improving Bastet's food.
"I used to go easy when I had a lot of money, buying only mid-tier food. This time I should consider the higher-end ones."
His thoughts raced as his fingers moved swiftly, searching for premium pet food.
Compared to the mid-tier options, the high-end food had fewer varieties and was nearly twice the price.
Still, to grow faster and get into one of the top two universities, Chen Yue knew the investment was necessary.
He tapped away without hesitation, adding items to his cart.
Then he began checking evolution materials for Bastet.
Bastet's evolution path was unique, with no prior examples to reference. Luckily, Chen Yue had the Eye of Truth, which could guide Bastet through each stage.
Currently, Bastet's growth rate was accelerating. It was time to prepare for the next evolution.
[Evolution Requirements to Next Form: 100% Growth Rate, Glimmer Stones ×5, Light Attribute Spirit Stones ×20, Sacred Feathers ×3, continuous exposure to sunlight for two hours.]
Using this data from the Eye of Truth, Chen Yue began searching the major platforms.
The Glimmer Stones and Light Spirit Stones were fairly common, but the Sacred Feathers were much harder to find.
After multiple failed searches, Chen Yue gave up for now and decided to ask Yun Xiaohai about it another day.
Returning to his cart, he completed the payment and waited for the items to arrive.
"Tech sure makes life easier. Shouldn't take long for delivery."
Just as he was about to close the app and begin cultivating, a recommended item popup appeared.
Normally, Chen Yue would just dismiss it, but this time he paused—
because the item was too tempting.
It was a white jade necklace, carved from pure jade with spiritual energy flickering across it, clearly imbued with some mystical properties.
But it wasn't the appearance that caught Chen Yue's eye.
It was the functionality—something he desperately needed.
"It boosts cultivation speed!"
Without hesitation, he tapped on it—
only to feel deflated immediately.
The reason?
The price.
"Four hundred thousand?! Even if I hadn't just spent a fortune on pet food, I still wouldn't be able to afford it… sigh."
Although frustrated, he knew there was nothing he could do. Still, he bookmarked it.
"Just because I can't afford it now, doesn't mean I won't in the future. At my current rate, I'll be wearing that necklace soon enough."
Thinking about the increased training efficiency it would bring, Chen Yue felt content.
He turned off his phone and began cultivating while waiting for the delivery.
Once the new supplies arrived, Bastet's power was bound to take another leap.
The night passed uneventfully.
By noon the next day, Chen Yue headed out to meet Zhang Liang as planned.
They met at a training ground—and just as expected, Zhang Liang's beast had evolved!
The moment Zhang Liang summoned it, Chen Yue used the Eye of Truth to check the new stats:
Name: Shadow Hound
Level: Growth Phase 1%
Potential: Rare
Attribute: Dark
Skills: Shadow Claw, Night Walk, Shadow Step
Description: A canine beast that has evolved along the path of darkness. Agile and skilled in ambush and reconnaissance.
Evolution Path:
• Dark Route – Final form is a Complete Evolution
"That's a big change," Chen Yue thought.
The Shadow Hound was much larger than the previous Nightshadow Hound.
Its fur was still as dark as night, but its glowing green eyes had turned deep red, and its once fluffy tail had become thin and sharp.
Gone was its cute look—this beast now carried a sharp, fierce aura.
"Heh heh, what do you think? Your dad here is awesome, right?"
Zhang Liang grinned smugly, completely forgetting that it was Chen Yue who had pointed out this evolution path.
Chen Yue didn't let it slide.
"Don't forget, I'm the one who told you about this evolution path. If anyone's your dad, it's me."
He crossed his arms and stared at Zhang Liang with a mocking smirk.
Zhang Liang froze for a moment, caught off guard.
Then a sneaky grin spread across his face.
"How about this, Ah Yue? Let's have a battle. Loser calls the winner 'Dad'. Sound fair?"
Seeing the confidence in Zhang Liang's eyes, Chen Yue knew he must be up to something.
Still, he didn't refuse. He summoned Bastet.
As soon as Bastet appeared, the Shadow Hound instinctively sensed something it didn't like.
It wanted to retreat, but Zhang Liang commanded it forward, forcing it to fight.
The battle began—but the outcome was quickly decided.
Bastet's Light attribute directly countered the Shadow Hound's Dark attribute.
This is the power of information advantage.
"Hahaha! Come on, say it—call me Dad!"
Chen Yue grinned. Zhang Liang fell silent, lips twitching, unable to speak.
Luckily, a familiar voice interrupted the moment.
"Well, well. Look who it is—two pathetic losers. You two shouldn't even bother applying for college. Spare yourselves the humiliation."
The two turned to see a face they knew all too well—and despised.
"Song Xuan? We didn't provoke you."
Zhang Liang was the first to snap back.
Beside Song Xuan stood another youth who sneered.
"Our boss just can't stand seeing trash waste valuable resources. Now beat it."
"Li Si?" Chen Yue cut in coldly. "You've got the nerve to talk about wasting resources? You're nothing but leeches living off your ancestors' money. Bought your awakening with expensive potions and still think you're superior? Where do you get the face to say that to us natural awakeners?"
Zhang Liang burst out laughing, almost choking from how hard he laughed.
"You… You two! Fight me if you've got guts!"
Song Xuan pointed at them furiously.
"Fine! You want a fight? Let's go!"
Zhang Liang was already raring to go, cracking his knuckles.
But Song Xuan shook his head.
"Not you. My opponent is Chen Yue."
In Song Xuan's mind, Chen Yue was the weaker of the two.
His beast looked like nothing more than a plain white cat—not a threat at all.
"Hmm?" Chen Yue raised an eyebrow. He had originally planned to let Zhang Liang have some fun, but it seemed someone was rushing to get humiliated.
"Alright. But I want to bet 500,000 Daxia coins. No bet, no fight."
"Hahaha! First time I've seen someone so eager to throw away money. Fine—I'll take it!"
Song Xuan summoned his beast—Thunder Python.
Name: Thunder Python
Level: Juvenile Phase 80%
Potential: Rare
Attribute: Thunder
Skills: Thunderball, Tail Whip
Description: A powerful offspring of the thunder python species. Possesses devastating thunder-based attacks.
Evolution Path: …
Chen Yue took one look and had only one thought:
Weak.