Due to the contract, Qiao Sang could sense the direction of the little Treasure-Hunting Ghost.
Liu Yao was different. The visualizer was right beneath his feet; with a quick glance down, a grey-and-yellow Ghost-type pet appeared in his field of vision, causing his heart to skip a beat.
Fortunately, having been trained by the erratic, appearing-and-disappearing nature of the Heaven-Manifest Bat in his youth, he possessed a strong heart and didn't lose his composure or cry out.
Liu Yao steadied his mind, crouched down, and began examining the little Treasure-Hunting Ghost.
"Xun~"
The little Treasure-Hunting Ghost handed over the endoscope with one paw and pointed to its ear with the other.
Although Liu Yao couldn't understand what the Treasure-Hunting Ghost was saying, most Breeders could discern a pet's intent through its behavior.
"You don't need to check your ears," Liu Yao said.
"Xun..."
The little Treasure-Hunting Ghost's mouth pouted, and its two yellow eyes stared straight at Liu Yao, as if asking why.
At that moment, Liu Yao's attention was completely captured by those eyes. He said in surprise, "The eyes of this Treasure-Hunting Ghost are actually golden-yellow."
Qiao Sang froze for a moment and couldn't help but become nervous. "Is there a problem?"
She naturally knew that a normal Treasure-Hunting Ghost's eyes were medium-yellow, but golden-yellow still fell within the yellow spectrum.
Human pupils in the Dragon Kingdom also varied between black, light brown, and dark brown; to her, it was just a matter of genetics. Could it be more than that?
"No problem, I just think the color is quite beautiful," Liu Yao replied.
Qiao Sang: "..."
She really wanted to say "thank you" sarcastically!
It was just like going to the hospital for a check-up and having the doctor look at you and say a certain organ of yours is slightly different from a normal person's—it's terrifying, okay!
After examining for a while, Liu Yao asked, "You've raised it very well. Have you thought about its future evolution path?"
Qiao Sang was stunned. The Treasure-Hunting Ghost had only one evolution, the Treasure-Hunting Demon. However, after the Treasure-Hunting Demon, there were two evolution paths.
They were the Treasure-Hunting Spirit and the Ghost-Ring Phantom.
To be honest, Qiao Sang hadn't thought about this at all. Both the Treasure-Hunting Spirit and the Ghost-Ring Phantom were High-level pets, while the little Treasure-Hunting Ghost was still a Primary-level pet.
Thinking about this felt too early for her; she figured she should wait until the little Treasure-Hunting Ghost evolved into a Treasure-Hunting Demon and became a Mid-level pet before considering it.
"I haven't thought about it yet," Qiao Sang answered honestly.
"Then you need to think about it now." Liu Yao stopped his movements and looked up. "If you want the Treasure-Hunting Ghost to evolve into a Treasure-Hunting Spirit later, that's fine; just raise it normally. But if you want it to evolve into a Ghost-Ring Phantom, you have to start implementing a different breeding plan while it is still a Treasure-Hunting Ghost."
Qiao Sang truly didn't know about this.
Most pet breeding was preparation for the next stage of evolution; she had rarely heard of needing to prepare across stages so early.
Qiao Sang pondered for a few seconds and asked, "Then what needs to be done if I want it to evolve into a Ghost-Ring Phantom?"
After contracting the Treasure-Hunting Ghost, she had naturally researched everything about the species online.
Although she hadn't decided between the Treasure-Hunting Spirit and the Ghost-Ring Phantom, that didn't stop her from studying both.
The Treasure-Hunting Spirit was a dual-attribute Ghost and Dark-type pet; as long as it accumulated enough energy, the evolution would happen naturally.
The Ghost-Ring Phantom was a Ghost-type pet. Although it lacked the Dark attribute, it was easier to learn Ghost-type skills compared to the Treasure-Hunting Spirit, and there was a certain chance it would automatically awaken Curse-type skills upon evolving.
Similar to how the Fire-Fang Dog awakened Tactile Perception and Void Fire when it evolved into the Flame-Listening Hound.
However, to evolve into a Ghost-Ring Phantom, the ring on the Treasure-Hunting Demon's body had to first split into two. She wasn't sure exactly how to achieve that.
She only knew that the number of Treasure-Hunting Demons evolving into Treasure-Hunting Spirits far exceeded those becoming Ghost-Ring Phantoms, because the conditions and materials for the latter were significantly harder to obtain.
Comparing the two, Qiao Sang leaned more toward the Ghost-Ring Phantom.
The little Treasure-Hunting Ghost already had the Psychic attribute. Quality was more important than quantity when it came to skills; Psychic and Ghost skills were already enough for it to learn. It would be better to evolve into a Ghost-Ring Phantom, which could comprehend Ghost-type skills more easily.
Liu Yao wasn't surprised by Qiao Sang's choice; Ghost-Ring Phantoms were far rarer than Treasure-Hunting Spirits.
"If you want it to evolve into a Ghost-Ring Phantom, you first have to let it learn Will-o'-the-Wisp, then use Will-o'-the-Wisp to forge the ring for a week. Once the ring splits in two, you can use Dark Ethereal Crystals at night to trigger the evolution."
Qiao Sang was a bit bewildered. "Will-o'-the-Wisp? Isn't that a Fire-type skill?"
"That's why I'm telling you to prepare while it's still a Treasure-Hunting Ghost. Although the Treasure-Hunting Ghost is a Ghost-type pet, its ring can absorb materials of different attributes. It can use the ring as a medium to release Will-o'-the-Wisp."
"As it evolves, the saturation of energy the ring can absorb increases. If you wait until it evolves into a Treasure-Hunting Demon to let it learn Will-o'-the-Wisp, the required materials will be more than ten times as much," Liu Yao explained.
Qiao Sang was caught off guard by this wave of knowledge.
She couldn't help but ask, "Is the ring that powerful? Does that mean as long as there are enough materials, it can learn skills of other attributes?"
Was the Treasure-Hunting Ghost's ring really that overpowered?! Why had she never heard of this!
Didn't this mean the Treasure-Hunting Ghost could use the ring as a medium to release skills of all other attributes?
Rounding it off, wouldn't that make it an all-attribute pet!
Impossible!
If that were true, Treasure-Hunting Ghosts would be selling like crazy. How could they be so unsellable that they had to rely on "scamming" people through pity?
"You certainly have a vivid imagination," Liu Yao laughed. "Of course it's impossible. The ring absorbing different attribute materials is just to extract the necessary energy to expand the internal space."
"Will-o'-the-Wisp is an exception because it inherently contains the Ghost attribute, and the required materials were only discovered after long-term research."
"Not just any Fire-type materials will allow it to absorb and form Will-o'-the-Wisp."
So that's how it was!
Qiao Sang finally understood. However, she couldn't be blamed; everything the Vice Principal said seemed to be a blind spot in her knowledge...
Once the examination was nearly complete, Liu Yao stood up, went to the desk, and directly picked up a pen to handwrite two breeding plans.
Qiao Sang specifically stepped forward to take a close look.
Fortunately, he didn't write in "heavenly script" like a doctor...
...
Leaving the school gates.
Holding the two breeding plans formulated by an A-rank Breeder, Qiao Sang went to a nearby pet breeding institution.
Pet breeding institutions could not only formulate comprehensive growth directions for pets but could also create energy pellets based on material recipes.
Energy pellets could perfectly fuse all nutritional materials and were convenient to carry.
They could also be customized according to the pet's taste, making them the best choice for all energy meals.
Although she had the recipes, Qiao Sang had never made them. If a single step went wrong, all the materials would be wasted.
Thinking that professional matters should be left to professionals, she came here.
(End of Chapter)