Chapter 155 — Eleven's Evolution
The Beast-Taming Craftsman Page 2 of 2
At this, Hao Ling seemed to grasp, at least in part, why Shi Jin had contracted this freakish Ginseng Baby.
Shi Jin must have foreseen that the Iron-Eater's evolution would bring a terrifying surge in power and drain on its beast tamer, so he had contracted in advance a Ginseng Baby capable of feeding back recovery speed to its tamer?
It must be said that this conjecture came remarkably close to the truth.
Everyone stood transfixed throughout, yet Eleven's evolution was in fact very brief—barely ten seconds.
Then, beneath the astonished, throat-swallowing expressions of Chong Chong and the Ginseng Baby, Eleven's evolved form finally emerged before the crowd as the evolutionary light receded.
At the sight of Eleven's evolved form, the crowd was struck by a second wave of shock.
For in theory, once an Iron-Eater evolved into a Jiuli War Beast, aside from its size, it should not differ greatly from its armored pre-evolution form.
But this rule of thumb failed for the first time with Shi Yan's Eleven!!
Eleven's body was still encased in hard black armor...
But the armor covering its face and head had turned the color of white lightning.
Beyond that, the thickened iron-ring armor wrapped around where its limbs met its body had also turned silver-white.
This brought its overall coloration closer to that of an ordinary Iron-Eater.
And lent its overall appearance an air more mysterious, more domineering, more noble.
"Awoo—" In truth, aside from the armor, there was one more crucial change to Eleven's body!
In its evolved form, its original black pupils had transformed entirely into a sky blue that seemed to harbor lightning. Combined with the black-and-white armor, it made Eleven look savage in spirit and utterly imperious, like an overlord capable of subduing all things!!
"Commander level..."
At this very moment, Shi Jin met the gaze of the evolved Eleven for the first time.
He could already sense that Eleven's current power could easily break free of the contract and turn on its beast tamer.
Clearly, however, Eleven had not done so; it had suppressed its power instead.
Though its form had changed and it now wore armor, looking all the more imposing and magnificent, Eleven was still Eleven—the same Eleven that Shi Jin had pillow-trained since it was small. Nothing had truly changed. Right now, it was gazing at him with a look of delight that only Shi Jin could understand.
"Congratulations," Shi Jin said excitedly, his voice barely above a whisper. The invisible-lens codex he wore instantly detected Eleven's initial energy value after evolution.
Yet before Shi Jin could recover from the shock, beside him, Hao Ling spoke up, her expression blank with astonishment.
"Energy value—eighty-one thousand nine hundred sixty-four. 81964. How is that possible!!!"
"That's the standard for a hegemonic-species pet among commander-level!! And it just broke through by evolving!!!"
"Could it be…" Hao Ling's eyes went wide.
Beside her, Lin Yun, who had heard Hao Ling read out the energy value, also froze on the spot—because this energy value could already crush any of his main forces except his two monarch-level pets!
At this moment, seeing the stunned gazes of Hao Ling, Lin Yun, and Xiong Qi, Shi Zhuo mused briefly and then said:
"Its species, I think, hasn't yet reached hegemonic."
"This time, it only awakened one super-tier skill—Concealed Edge."
"However, compared to an ordinary Jiu Li Battle Beast, for some unknown reason, Eleven seems to have gained an extra sub-attribute—lightning. Because of that, it also awakened two extra lightning-type skills!!"
"Also… without a doubt, in this state, its physical constitution seems no inferior to some hegemonic species."
After receiving the information Eleven fed back to him, Shi Jin paid no mind to how much power he himself had just been amplified by; he was wholly absorbed in Eleven's current might.
"Although it hasn't yet met the threshold of a hegemonic species possessing multiple super-tier skills, at this point, given its formidable physical constitution and initial energy value, perhaps calling it a quasi-hegemonic species suits it better than high-tier monarch."
Quasi-hegemonic species!
In the truest sense, a ferocious beast capable of tearing apart a dragon of the same level had been born!
In this evolution, Eleven had gained five new species skills!!
[Skill]: Electromagnetic Levitation
[Grade]: Low-tier
[Description]: A lightning-type skill. Using the magnetic force generated by electricity, the user floats in the air and can fly freely.
This skill directly solved Eleven's inability to fly.
Once proficiency was raised, it would even indirectly train Eleven's control over electromagnetic force!!
[Skill]: Charged Lightning
[Grade]: Mid-tier
[Description]: A lightning-type skill. The body can, to a certain degree, become immune to lightning damage, and can store lightning within the body and release it!
This is actually a skill akin to bodily modification, granting the pet exceptional resistance and adaptability to lightning!
Moreover, paired with Concealed Edge, which allows near-limitless charging, it might just produce results!
The third skill… was Gigantification. This was actually much like the Ginseng Baby's Slow Healing—easily overwritten by higher-tier skills.
Still, precisely because a higher-tier skill existed, this skill's initial proficiency would not be low.
The fourth skill was the Jiu Li Battle Beast's standard Impenetrable Fortress.
[Skill]: Impenetrable Fortress
[Skill Grade]: High-tier
[Description]: A metal-type skill. The user is guarded by metal-type power, increasing resistance to all types of skills.
This move could be stacked with Hardening to make Eleven even tankier. Against soul, spiritual, and elemental attacks, it would no longer be as afraid as before.
The fifth skill was, naturally, the metal-type super-tier skill, Concealed Edge!
[Skill]: Concealed Edge
[Skill Grade]: Super-tier
[Description]: A metal-type skill. Entering a concealed state allows the user to create a source of physical energy, accumulating power beyond its own limits without affecting its own condition. In the edged state, the accumulated power can be unleashed in multiplied bursts, raising attack power severalfold—though it places a certain burden on the body.
This was the skill Shi Jin most anticipated, the one he considered most invincible.
Eleven had suddenly gained so many species skills and become so strong—Shi Jin was so excited he felt he might explode.
The pets of those ancient academy seniors were probably no more than this.
Soon, it seemed, he might become invincible below monarch level?
Sweeping Capital University—wasn't that a sure thing now?
And what made his heart tremble even more was this: it seemed the inscription had not yet been carved?