With a slight movement of his mind, Xu Bai tapped "Yes" after "Deduce Evolution Route and Method."
The Manual's display changed:
[Prompt]: Begin the first-stage deduction? (Yes/No)
Another first-stage deduction? He'd thought it would give him a few possible evolution paths and let him choose one.
Xu Bai clicked his tongue twice, then tapped "Yes."
The display changed again. Just like when it had deduced the cultivation method, a webpage loading screen appeared in the middle, with a line of tiny text beneath it: "Deducting evolution route and method..."
Xu Bai glanced at the sky, then sat off to one side and waited quietly for the results.
Time flew by. Just like last time, the deduction finally finished only when his head was splitting with pain and his mind was utterly exhausted.
He hurriedly looked at the sky again. Compared with before the deduction, the sun had moved about three or four fingers' breadth across the sky—roughly an hour.
"So a deduction using a small amount of mental power takes about an hour. I need to make a rule for myself: whenever I need to run a deduction, I have to find somewhere absolutely safe first."
Xu Bai rubbed his brow, easing the dizziness and pounding in his head, then turned his attention to the Manual:
[Direction Selection]: Life, Resilience, Poison, Purification, Creation.
[Prompt]: Look at a target to check its attribute compatibility.
"Pretty clever." Xu Bai nodded in satisfaction.
Just a moment ago, he'd received some more instructions on how to use the Manual.
The Manual's function for deducing evolution routes was actually a lot like the tech trees and evolution trees in certain games.
Xu Bai didn't know what the final result of the deduction would be, but he got to decide which direction it took.
And among the attributes that followed, he could choose several or just one.
The more he chose, though, the less compatible the result would be with the Soul Beast he'd selected.
The lower the compatibility, the more expensive and rare the materials needed to advance it would be.
Xu Bai looked at the Mutated Blue Silver Grass and mentally confirmed that he wanted to begin the scan.
Before long, the Manual changed:
[Target]: Mutated Blue Silver Grass
[Attribute Compatibility]: Life 76%, Resilience 13%, Poison 51%, Purification 15%, Creation 1%
[Prompt]: Select an attribute to begin the deduction.
The compatibility with Life was 76%, while the compatibility with Poison was 51%.
If Xu Bai wanted to choose both, their compatibility would be 76% × 51%, leaving him with just 38.7%.
Honestly, if this Mutated Blue Silver Grass had been the Soul Beast he contracted with at first, he wouldn't have needed to think twice. He would've just picked the highest compatibility and called it a day.
As for choosing several attributes, that was something only rich people could afford.
But now, Xu Bai moved his mind slightly and tapped the option for Creation.
Since it wasn't a pet beast, he didn't have to worry so much.
Besides, sure, the compatibility was low, but it was Creation! Even the name sounded like it belonged in a higher league than the other attributes.
Xu Bai guessed that the reason this Mutated Blue Silver Grass had any compatibility with Creation at all was probably because it had once returned from the brink of death.
He was curious, too, about what kind of Blue Silver Grass possessing the power of Creation could evolve into.
The Manual's display shifted:
[Name]: Nine Tribulations Blue Silver Grass
[Attributes]: Wood, Creation
[Species Potential]: Ten Thousand Years
[Introduction]: This Mutated Blue Silver Grass lived through death nine times. It lost its affinity with life, but grasped the mysteries of Creation between life and death, gaining a simple grasp of the barest sliver of its power.
[Prompt]: Consume a massive amount of mental power to deduce the evolution method? (Yes/No)
Xu Bai: ?????
Seriously, wasn't "Deduce Evolution Route and Method" supposed to be one package? Why did this need mental power too?
So I use up all that mental power, and all you tell me is what this Blue Silver Grass can evolve into?
And what do you mean, "massive"? Is that even more than "large"?
Xu Bai felt utterly worn out. At first, he'd thought that the Manual's ability to increase his mental power by recording Soul Beasts was an incredibly overpowered skill.
But now, it seemed there was a reason behind everything.
This golden finger of his consumed mental power no matter what it did—and in huge quantities.
A "small amount" of mental power from the Manual was already equivalent to most of what he had now. He couldn't even imagine how much mental power "large" or "massive" would mean for him.
And looking at the situation now, it was clear the Manual's units of measurement didn't stop at "massive." How many more there were after that, he had no way of knowing.
"I've got my work cut out for me." Xu Bai sighed softly and briefly considered the things he needed to do in the near future.
While helping First awaken his first species skill, he needed to find a way to build up his knowledge of Soul Beasts, especially tiger-type Soul Beasts.
Ideally, he'd also find a way to reduce the mental power needed to deduce the first evolution route and method.
If he remembered correctly, Spirit Hall had a library open to Soul Masters for free. It should have the books he needed.
Once First successfully awakened his first species skill and gained the most basic ability to protect himself, he'd need to find a way to make money.
Being a Beast Tamer was a money-burning profession. That was no exaggeration.
Evolving pet beasts took money. Improving their cultivation methods took money. Even training their skill proficiency took money. Then there were the natural treasures that replenished mental power; getting those would depend on luck.
Finally, he needed to raise First's age to a hundred years. Then First would be able to enter small and medium-sized Soul Beast habitats and Soul Hunting Forests to record Soul Beasts and increase Xu Bai's mental power.
Well, that was enough to think about for now. He could worry about the rest later.
"Awooo~"
Suddenly, a faint whimper drew Xu Bai's gaze over.
"First, you're awake. How do you feel?" Xu Bai immediately abandoned the Blue Silver Grass that had left him feeling so dejected and hurried over to First, brimming with excitement.
"Awooo~"
Great! First could feel a special power inside his body being drawn along. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could draw that power out.
First's eyes were bright as he gazed at his Beast Tamer with admiration.
Though he'd more or less been tricked into making the contract, without his Beast Tamer, even if he'd been lucky enough to survive the fall off the cliff, he never would have uncovered his species skill in his lifetime.
More importantly, his Beast Tamer had promised to help him get revenge one day.
His Beast Tamer wasn't just his Beast Tamer; he was his benefactor, a tremendous benefactor.
He could never repay his Beast Tamer's kindness—not in this lifetime.
Xu Bai, who had Telepathy: ...
Good. He knew how to be grateful. He was a good pet beast.
And it seemed his talent was pretty good, too. At this rate, First might fully awaken his species skill before Xu Bai even used up all the magnets he'd bought.
"I'll wash you first. For the next few days, we'll have a few good meals to celebrate your awakening your species skill in advance."
There were plenty of ingredients at home. He'd bought too much when he'd gone shopping.
Xu Bai was small and couldn't eat much, so he'd never managed to finish it all.
Originally, he'd been able to do nothing but watch in dismay as the ingredients slowly spoiled. But now things had worked out: Soul Beasts probably had huge appetites. With First around, he wouldn't have to waste food anymore.
First had no idea what Xu Bai was thinking. When he heard the words "good meals," his already-bright eyes shone even more.
The mood of both man and beast improved immensely.
Of course, the Mutated Blue Silver Grass in the corner was happy, too. It didn't know why the bad guy had poked it and then left, but since nothing had happened, it had survived another day. Hooray!