Biao's motivation to grow stronger was hatred. If Xu Bai had chosen the emotion attribute, the result might not have been Biao, but it would probably have been some creature similar to him.
Although First's compatibility with the emotion attribute was as high as 95%, and the deduced evolution method might not even have required any precious materials,
was First, living in hatred, still the same First?
Admittedly, Xu Bai had used hatred as a hook when he'd bluffed and persuaded First back then. But after spending all these days together, he still preferred the First he had now: greedy for food and sleep, and a little like Gong Baiwan.
There could be hatred in one's heart, but one's heart couldn't hold only hatred.
As Xu Bai thought this, the result in the Manual finally appeared:
[Name]: Golden Spirit Holy Tiger
[Attribute]: Metal.
[Race Potential]: 100,000 years.
[Introduction]: A tiger-type creature favored by the metal element. Its mastery of the metal element had reached the initial level of the Laws. When faced with metals of a lower grade, it was the undisputed uncrowned king.
[Note]: Consume a large amount of spiritual power to deduce an evolution method? (Yes/No)
"Race potential of 100,000 years!" Xu Bai's eyes widened slightly in astonishment.
The Mutated Green-Red Tiger's race lifespan was only a thousand years. This had increased it a hundredfold in one go. No wonder it had taken so much of his spiritual power to deduce.
After marveling at that, Xu Bai looked at the section for deducing an evolution method and saw that it only required a large amount of spiritual power.
He'd thought that raising the race lifespan directly to 100,000 years would take at least a huge amount of spiritual power, and might even unlock a new unit of measurement. He hadn't expected it to still be only a large amount.
"Judging by this, the method shouldn't be too difficult. I'll deduce it tomorrow and take a look. Maybe if I work hard, I can do it now."
Thinking it over, Xu Bai patted First on the head, signaling that there was nothing more for it to do here and that it could go play somewhere else.
First: (O_O)?
So, are you messing with me?
After sending First off, Xu Bai rubbed his brow and forced himself to stay awake long enough to make dinner. Then he called out to the two Soul Beasts in the courtyard and went to his bedroom to sleep.
The next day, everything returned to normal.
It wasn't until after dinner that Xu Bai lay on his bed and began deducing the evolution method.
As he watched the circle on the Manual spin like a webpage loading, anticipation gradually rose in his heart.
His very first evolution-method deduction...
If he really had the conditions to evolve First now, First's strength would surely improve significantly.
If he was lucky, the feedback from the Beast Taming Space might even raise his Soul Power straight to level twenty, or higher.
After all, this would raise the race lifespan from a thousand years all the way to 100,000. It was no exaggeration to call it a leap in the level of life.
Xu Bai waited eagerly, and waited...
He waited until he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.
Looking at the sunlight streaming in through the window, Xu Bai's mouth twitched for no apparent reason.
Well, as someone who had suffered from severe insomnia in his previous life, he'd finally found a cure in this life.
Whenever the Manual consumed his spiritual power, it left him dizzy, with eyelids as heavy as a thousand jun.
Every time, he'd forced himself to stay awake to see the results. This time, though, he'd waited in bed, a place with a perfect sleeping environment.
With those two buffs stacked, of course he'd fallen asleep.
Fortunately, the Manual's deduction wasn't affected by him falling asleep. The result was still displayed in the Sea of Consciousness:
[Conditions for Evolution]: Metal Spirit Power at perfect proficiency; lifespan reaching one thousand years.
[Required Materials]: The core of any large metal vein, Millennium Gold-Melting Grass, High-Grade Flame Essence Crystal, Millennium Cold Marrow Liquid...
[Method]: Use Gold-Melting Grass to soften the vein core. Once Metal Spirit Power can freely control its shape, spread it evenly over the entire body, then temper it with High-Grade Flame Essence Crystal...
Well, that look in its eyes confirmed it: this was for people who couldn't afford to play.
Forget the rest. The main expense was the Metal Vein Core.
Although Xu Bai didn't know how much a Metal Vein Core was worth, he did know the price of a large metal vein: around a million Gold Soul Coins.
And that was just ordinary iron ore. If it were a precious metal, the price could exceed ten million or even a hundred million...
"Damn, how am I supposed to manage this? At my current rate of earning money, I'd have to go without food or drink for a year just to save 20,000 Gold Soul Coins. A million would take fifty years..."
Xu Bai looked troubled. "Wasn't it supposed to be that the higher the compatibility, the more common the evolution materials?"
First had 81% compatibility, and the materials needed for his evolution were already this expensive. With Little Blue Silver Grass's 1% compatibility, would the price of its materials be so high that he'd have to sell the whole Douluo Planet to afford them?
"Wait!" Xu Bai suddenly had an idea. "Maybe I've got it wrong. Maybe the vein core itself isn't worth much, or maybe its market price is far lower than that of an entire metal vein."
If that really was the case, he still wouldn't be able to afford the evolution. The other materials would add up to at least 100,000 or 200,000. But at least it wouldn't be quite so hopeless, right?
"No, I have to go find out how much a vein core costs!"
The moment he decided, Xu Bai sprang out of bed. After tossing the simple breakfast he'd prepared into the Beast Taming Space, he hurried out.
There happened to be a large iron mine near Huangshan City. He could go ask around and see if he could get the materials directly, without any middlemen driving up the price.
With his status as a Soul Master, asking the miners questions went smoothly. But getting the answer he wanted wasn't so easy.
He asked several people, but all of them said they'd never heard of something called a vein core.
Just as Xu Bai thought he'd have to return disappointed, a distinguished-looking old man caught his attention.
When Xu Bai saw the old man, he couldn't help thinking of a certain type of person from novels: the all-knowing passerby. Whenever something ordinary people couldn't understand appeared and the protagonist was there, an all-knowing passerby would automatically materialize from the crowd to enlighten everyone. This sort of passerby was usually a distinguished-looking old man like this one.
Although Xu Bai didn't quite fit the profile of a protagonist from Douluo Continent, wasn't he still the protagonist of the Beast Taming World?
So, on the off chance, he went straight over to ask. To his surprise, he really did get an answer.
As it turned out, vein cores were indeed valuable, but not all that valuable. In essence, they were simply minerals of better, purer quality.
Although their quality was higher, there weren't many of them. Under normal circumstances, a vein core wouldn't be worth more than a tenth of the vein itself.
Of course, precious metals were an exception.
After learning what he wanted to know, Xu Bai returned, satisfied.
It was still early. After taking care of today's tasks, he could deduce Little Blue Silver Grass's evolution path.
He wanted to see just how precious the evolution materials for something with only 1% compatibility really were.