Beast Taming Begins with the Inner Circle of Pets

Chapter 18 The Honey Badger's Evolution

Seeing her acting like a little girl, Qiu Xiangjing couldn't help but sigh. Oh well, she has the ability to make money; she can spend it however she wants. Why should he make her live a miserable life? After all, she's just a teenage girl.

After the two finished buying the materials for advancing their spirit pets, it was almost 11 o'clock. Qiu Xiangjing knew that Lin Manman had to go to the Awakening Temple with the school the next day, so he didn't dare to delay. He picked up the reserved spirit beasts and the two of them headed back.

On the way back, Lin Manman advanced all nine bronze-level spirit pets, successfully awakened six high-level ones, completed two medium-level awakenings, and one low-level one. In the end, she acquired one low-level silver-level, three medium-level silver-level, two high-level silver-level, one low-level gold-level, and two medium-level gold-level spirit pets.

按照市价青铜级10万到50万华夏币，白银级50万到500万华夏币，黄金级500万到1000万华夏币来预估，这一波收益也要在三千五百万以上。

Having just received 20 million in compensation, and with another 30 million about to come in, Lin Manman felt much more at ease. She recalled that in her previous life she had never seen so much money, and that an ordinary person in this world couldn't earn that much in a lifetime.

But that's not enough. She wants to open her own spirit beast shop and become stronger; this money is far from enough.

Sigh, I hope she can open the spirit beast shop before she starts school.

It was already midnight when they returned to the hospital. Qiu Xiangjing told her to rest early before driving off in his land vehicle with his upgraded spirit pet. When Lin Manman returned to the ward, her mother was already asleep in bed. Her spirit pet, Adai, was nestled at her mother's feet, while the honey badger slept under the bed.

Lin Manman quietly approached the honey badger, shook it awake while it was snoring, and before it could react, she took advantage of its open mouth and stuffed the essence blood of the Earth Tyrant into its mouth. Afraid that it would wake up Lin's mother, she quickly put the honey badger into her spirit pet space and then sneaked out of the ward.

At this moment, deep within Lin Manman's soul, in the spirit beast space, Hongyu was fast asleep after consuming a level-two water-type spirit beast crystal core. The honey badger, on the other hand, was curled up as if in great pain, its fur constantly oozing blood, which was being slowly healed by the spirit pet space. Originally half a head shorter than Lin Manman, its height was now slowly increasing, the silver fur on its back had turned dark gold, its belly was covered with black, unidentified rock layers, and several bone spurs of the same material had grown on its forehead, resembling a crown at first glance.

Lin Manman was also very nervous upon seeing this. The spirit beast space had a restorative effect on spirit beasts, and she dared not summon the honey badger at this moment. She could only quietly go outside the hospital and find a quiet place. Using the soul contract, she carefully sensed the honey badger's condition. After about ten minutes, the honey badger finally calmed down, and she hurriedly summoned it. However, the honey badger's appearance had changed drastically.

Suddenly, a honey badger over two meters tall appeared on the lawn outside the hospital. The black bone spurs on its head gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and its two front paws had turned the same color.

The honey badger felt it couldn't look Lin Manman in the eye. As it crouched down, the moment its forelimbs touched the ground, Lin Manman felt a slight tremor beneath her feet.

"Huh?" What just happened? What's wrong with me?

Lin Manman was also shocked by the changes in Honey Badger and opened the system panel.

Honey Badger

Species: Black Rock Emperor Bear

Grade: High Gold

Level: 2

Status: Juvenile (6 months)

Bloodline: High-level Mythical Earth Tyrant (Extremely High)

Talent: Quicksand Prison: When activated, it creates quicksand terrain on the ground.

Skill: 1. Poison Resistance: Immune to all poison-related negative effects, and greatly reduces poison damage.

2. Charge: Increases own speed by 70% when activated.

3. Claws: Attacks using sharp claws. (Upgradeable)

4. Bite: Attacks using sharp teeth. (Upgradeable)

5. Earth Shield: Can erect an earthen wall within a 50-meter radius. (Upgradeable)

6. Rock Armor: Can equip up to three allied teammates with Rock Armor. (Upgradeable)

7. Meteorite Fall: Creates giant rocks that fall from the sky, causing damage. (Upgradeable)

8. Spikes: Creates sharp spikes within a 3-meter radius. (Upgradeable)

Basic attributes:

Qi and blood: 960

Spirit: 555

Soul: 480

Lin Manman gasped. It turned out that the blood essence of a high-level spirit beast could change the bloodline of a low-level spirit beast. The honey badger not only jumped directly from a low-level silver-grade aptitude to a high-level gold-grade aptitude, but also awakened its talent and learned three earth-attribute skills.

"It's alright, it's alright. Although you suffered a bit, you've become stronger! Why don't you try it?" Lin Manman quickly changed the subject.

After spending two days with these three spirit pets, she had a pretty good grasp of their personalities. Rainbow Jade was simple-minded and clever, and loved flattery; Ah-Dai seemed slow to react but was actually a bit lazy, though somewhat arrogant and afraid of being outdone, showing potential to become a top-tier pet. Only the Honey Badger was sentimental and responsible, but also hot-tempered and stubborn; if the topic changed quickly, its thinking couldn't keep up.

The honey badger looked at its significantly larger size and the hard rock armor on its chest, its claws, which had grown twenty centimeters in length, radiating a cold and hard luster.

It unleashed its ground spike attack, and a one-meter-tall spike suddenly emerged from the open ground in front of the two people.

"Roar!" Wow, that's really strong!

"Right? With more practice, you'll become even stronger." The human and the beast chuckled together.

"Oh no!" Lin Manman suddenly realized that this was the hospital lawn. With such a big splinter here, it would be found and publicly executed tomorrow.

"Honey Badger, hurry up, use your talent to flatten it back."

The honey badger did as instructed, and while the spikes were leveled back, the lawn was gone, leaving only a circular sandpit about 50 centimeters in diameter.

"That's a good trick, perfect for trapping people." Lin Manman chuckled rudely, stroking her chin. "Come on, let's go back to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow."

The next morning, Lin's mother specially asked her aunt Xu Yueyun to help take care of Lin Manman at the hospital, while she and Lin's younger aunt Xu Yuemei personally took Lin Manman to school.

"Your brother always goes to the Awakening Temple with your father. I can't leave the hospital for too long, so I can only take you to school." Lin's mother gently patted Lin Manman's head. "Go on, your teachers and classmates should already be there."

Lin Manman smiled and nodded, hugged her mother and aunt, and then ran towards the school playground. Because the honey badger's current size was too conspicuous, she had to put it back into her spirit pet space. Rainbow Jade remained in its mimicry form hanging around her neck; only Ah-Dai, perched on her right shoulder, was somewhat eye-catching.

At this moment, on the playground, each class had formed a square formation, with someone holding up a class sign at the very front. She spotted the 3rd grade (Class 9) formation in the distance and quickly ran over.

Xu Yuantao, the homeroom teacher, who was still smiling slightly when Lin Manman approached and looked at the stray beast Ah Dai she was carrying on her shoulder, showed a hint of surprise on his face. What was going on with his student? Why was she carrying an unclaimed spirit beast on her shoulder?

(End of this chapter)