CHAPTER 175: CHAPTER 130: LAW EVOLUTION, THE THIRD SPIRIT BEAST

The final destination Lin Chen visited was the Beast Sale Shop.

This journey was long, so he needed to prepare enough Spirit Grass.

Although the route Lin Chen planned passed through big cities, he didn’t plan to stay as he was unfamiliar with them.

The purpose of this trip was to reach the Spirit Academy as soon as possible.

"Our little star is here again." The saleswoman who greeted Lin Chen was the same as before, always full of enthusiasm, and now smiled even more.

Someone had spread the word that Lin Chen bought his Plowhorn Beast here, so many people came to buy Plowhorn Beasts.

Now this shop was considered somewhat of an "internet famous shop."

So, when the saleswoman mentioned the little star, she wasn’t referring to Lin Chen, but to Xiaobai.

After profiting, the owner of this pet shop decided that whenever Lin Chen bought Spirit Grass, it would be half price.

Thus, Xiaobai also got to enjoy another kind of grass:

Blue Spirit Grass.

This Spirit Grass tasted better but was twice as expensive as Inferior Spirit Grass.

Lin Chen didn’t hesitate and stocked up a pile.

"Come again soon." The saleswoman accepted the money and said with a full smile.

Lin Chen nodded slightly and was about to leave when suddenly a few burly men came through the door, saying as they entered:

"Without the Monster Hunter Guild, we don’t dare to venture into the deep mountains. All we can do is catch a few valueless ones on the outskirts, and a few were even abandoned."

From this sentence, Lin Chen judged that they must be the suppliers for this shop.

He was ready to leave without interfering, but unexpectedly, Xiaobai nudged his arm.

Following Lin Chen’s line of sight, he saw a familiar face.

"Iron Palm Bear?" Lin Chen was surprised.

This Iron Palm Bear was Lee Zaiqing’s Iron Palm Bear, now caged, head hung low in silence.

Lin Chen checked its level:

Level 20.

The next moment, Lin Chen guessed what had happened.

The Iron Palm Bear’s evolution failed and it was abandoned.

Lin Chen sighed; this wasn’t Lee Zaiqing’s fault. He had used the best possible resources for the Iron Palm Bear’s evolution, even buying items at an auction far exceeding the bear’s own value.

But life was unpredictable, and no one could guarantee an evolution’s success.

It was like a gambler’s classic saying:

"As long as I’m at the table, my win rate is fifty-fifty."

Lin Chen understood the Iron Palm Bear must have been abandoned in the wild, only to be captured by these individual monster hunters.

After some contemplation, Lin Chen finally stepped forward.

After all, Lin Chen and Iron Palm Bear fought side by side before; although Lee Zaiqing abandoned it, he wouldn’t want to see it captured.

After evolution failure and abandonment, spirit beasts typically faced three fates:

First, returning to demon beasts, but usually only becoming low-level, quite miserable.

Second, not accepted by demon beasts or caught back by humans, waiting for a kind-hearted individual to adopt as a pet, though this was rare.

Third, ending up on the dinner table as meat.

The Cangling Ancient Country expressly forbade the intentional killing of spirit beasts and beastmasters under contract for food, violators faced severe consequences, possibly execution, or at least having their beastmaster qualifications revoked and contracts forcibly dissolved.

However, despite the regulations, in every world, there are those who secretly break the law.

With the Iron Palm Bear’s paws being highly sought-after, Lin Chen felt compelled to help it.

"Hello..."

"Who are you?" The man rudely and unfriendly stared at Lin Chen.

Fortunately, the saleswoman quickly stepped forward, saying, "Brother Song, this is a customer in our shop, the Cow King Competition champion."

"Oh..." Brother Song recalled, his attitude slightly improved, saying, "We rough workers have this temperament, don’t take it personally."

Lin Chen ignored these minor details and pointed to the Iron Palm Bear in the back, saying, "How much for it?"

"Oh, that one." Brother Song pondered for a moment, then quoted an outrageous price, saying, "It’s a failed evolution, so let’s say five hundred thousand."

Lin Chen frowned.

Too high.

This exceeded his expectations.

Lin Chen’s target price was three hundred thousand.

The saleswoman quickly said, "Brother Song, you sell it to us for just a hundred and fifty thousand, tell you what, sell it to him for two hundred and fifty thousand, you can earn an extra hundred thousand."

Lin Chen gratefully glanced at the saleswoman.

Brother Song thought again, ultimately saying, "Alright, two fifty it is, giving you some face."

"Thank you, Brother Song." The saleswoman smiled.

Lin Chen also thanked him, then approached the cage. The saleswoman asked, "Do you know it?"

"A friend’s spirit beast, though it failed, it deserves another chance at life," Lin Chen replied.

"True," the saleswoman nodded.

Having successfully opened the cage, the Iron Palm Bear saw Lin Chen and them, though its spirits didn’t lift.

The current Iron Palm Bear felt its life hopeless.

It always trained hard, and even Lee Zaiqing had stopped the hellish training later on.

Yet, when it came to evolution, it still failed.

While it and Xiaobai once stood on the same starting line, now it had fallen far behind.

"Let’s go," Lin Chen said to it.

Xiaobai mooed, comforting this former familiar beast.

Lin Chen led it out of the city, into the backwoods, saying to it, "I can’t take care of you, so this is as much as I can help."

The Iron Palm Bear nodded, gratefully looking at Lin Chen and the others.

"Wait a moment." Lin Chen stopped it, trying to give it a pound of meat as backup food, but his movement froze at that moment.

[Iron Palm Bear]

[High-level Mortal Beast]

[Dominant Bloodline: Iron Palm Bear 74.8%, Profound Armor Bear 1.332%, Frost Bear 1.8%...]

[Hidden Bloodline: 16.2%]

[Polluted Bloodline: 2%]

"This bloodline...."

Lin Chen was utterly surprised.

According to the "Mad Scientist’s" research, after a failed evolution, bloodlines become fragmented, like the Dominant Bloodline listed above, with a long list following.

This was reasonable.

But a dominant bloodline of 74.8% Iron Palm Bear was remarkable, and it even possessed 16.2% hidden bloodline.

Lin Chen recalled the first time he detected the Iron Palm Bear’s bloodline data, it was:

[Dominant Bloodline: Iron Palm Bear 38.8%, Profound Armor Bear 11.2%, Frost Bear 8.8%]

[Hidden Bloodline: 11.2%]

[Polluted Bloodline: 30%]

Though the Iron Palm Bear had failed to evolve, its intrinsic bloodline greatly enhanced, essentially absorbing much of the polluted bloodline.

This spirit beast was practically custom-tailored for a third evolutionary path.

"Roar?"

The Iron Palm Bear looked at Lin Chen in confusion.

Lin Chen snapped back to reality, now very clear in his thoughts. If the Iron Palm Bear’s nature was still good, Lin Chen wouldn’t mind cultivating it as his third spirit beast.

After all, Lin Chen had always been very curious about the "Mad Scientist’s" Law Evolution.

It was said to be the strongest among the three laws.

Although on Blue Star, successful cases weren’t nonexistent, they were very rare.

After all, getting a spirit beast with a 99% bloodline was very difficult.

But Lin Chen had the Bloodline Golden Hand, allowing him to completely achieve this.