The morning mist enveloped everything as they began to awaken.
On the treetop in front of Regret's house, a transparent dewdrop slowly traversed along the leaf veins, finally slid from the tip of the leaf and dripped into the eagerly awaited mouth of a water bug below.
Inside the room, Regret rubbed his drowsy eyes, got out of bed, and was about to splash his somewhat dry face with clear water. Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught sight of a small Flame Cat sleeping soundly at the foot of the bed. His whole body froze, the clear water in his hand dripping through his fingers unnoticed.
"No way!"
Regret quickly walked up to the small Flame Cat, in disbelief he raised its paw. He saw the sharp claws on it were much sharper than yesterday, and the originally fiery red fur on its tail now had a dash of attractive white.
"This... This is not a Flame Cat at all! This is a Scorching Flame Cat!"
The Scorching Flame Cat, a high level novice class spirit beast!
Staring at the slumbering Scorching Flame Cat, Regret's hand couldn't help but tremble slightly. This was a high level novice class spirit beast, after all something the entire younger generation of the Blaze family had never owned!
"Could this little Flame Cat have mutated?"
Regret took a sharp breath. Generally speaking, before breaking through, the grade of a spirit beast is fixed. However, there are exceptions. Some rare natural treasures growing deep in the mountains and forests, when consumed by spirit beasts, can have a chance to alter the spirit beast's bloodline, thereby improving its grade, while its original appearance remains unchanged.
But those chances are very slim. Most spirit beasts, even if they consume every fruit on a mountain, will not have any change in their bloodline, hence remaining novice class spirit beasts until they reach the tenth stage.
Aside from that, there's another, more direct method to improve their grade: mutation!
A mutated spirit beast would not only have an elevated bloodline but would also undergo significant changes in its appearance.
The probability of mutation is not higher than eating spiritual treasures, the entire Veloria City has not heard of any incidents of spiritual beast mutation in recent years!
"Wu~"
It seemed to be awakened by Regret's vigorous movements, the Scorching Flame Cat rolled over lightly, then sat up straight with a pretty black pupil blinking.
"Your level has actually reached the Second Rank?" Regret looked at the Scorching Flame Cat in pleasant surprise. Due to being too excited just now, he hadn't noticed that the little Scorching Flame Cat's level had been raised.
During mutations, the level of spiritual beasts can also change.
The intelligence of spiritual beasts is not much lower than that of humans. With a clear mind, the Scorching Flame Cat nodded towards Regret and then looked somewhat dejectedly at the empty wooden basin.
The Soul Condensing Liquid has a very strong attraction for spiritual beasts below the magistrate level.
"Such a hassle, gotta figure out a way to earn some coins."
Regret rubbed his temples in distress. After eating some dry rations, he carried the Scorching Flame Cat perched on his shoulder and headed towards the door.
Swish!
Just as he stepped out, a jade green vine suddenly whipped towards them. The Scorching Flame Cat's eyes narrowed, and its paws swiftly moved, cutting the vine into two pieces.
The Scorching Flame Cat's second tier mastered skill, Swift Claws!
"Yi ya!"
The painful groans came from the front, and the green vine was cut off and hanging in the air, trembling while staring at the Scorching Flame Cat on Regret's shoulder with a fearful look.
"Qistina, why is it you?" Regret looked at the girl at the door with a wry smile.
Qistina, dressed in simple green clothes, with her long hair that was previously draped to her waist now tied up. Under the green hair that hung down her forehead, her watery big eyes were very attractive, but now they showed an extra touch of shock.
"I just came to see you... cousin, your Scorching Flame Cat has actually reached the second rank?" Looking at the glaring Scorching Flame Cat, Qistina couldn't help but be shocked, not realizing that the Scorching Flame Cat had already undergone a mutation.
"Isn't your green vine also at the second rank?" Regret picked up the piece of vine from the ground and handed it to the whimpering green vine. The latter did not hesitate, accepting it and pressing it at the broken part. The self-healing ability of wood-type spirit beasts was very strong. Such injuries could recover within a minute, with no lingering effects.
"Last night, I spent most of the night in the back mountains, having Green Vine kill dozens of first order spiritual beasts to upgrade the Green Vine to second order," Qistina rubbed her slightly darkened eyes and said.
To enhance the level of spiritual beasts, the fastest way is through battles, other than using items like Spirit Concentration Elixir.
"No wonder," Regret nodded lightly, acknowledging not everyone was as fortunate as him to have a spiritual beast capable of mutation.
"I fell tired after fighting last night, I need to rest well. Cousin, do you plan to accompany the elders in transporting goods or join Adam's group for patrolling?" Qistina blinked her long lashes, suddenly asking.
For young members of the Blaze family to earn gold coins, they must contribute, whether escorting goods or patrolling. After completing tasks, they receive a certain amount of gold coins, which is very safe since older Blaze family members will accompany them. His father once said that Blaze family members are not ones to live idly, so every spiritual practitioner in the Blaze family must has the ability to survive independently.
"I want to go to the Blaze family's territory to hunt and kill spirit beasts, to see if I can obtain some spirit cores," Regret said with a smile.
Spirit cores are the core of each spirit beast, the most essential part. After consuming a spirit core of the same attribute, the spirit beast's own spiritual power will be enhanced, which is a way to improve its own strength.
Valuable items come with a price. These spirit cores are not cheap in the shops; typically, two first order spirit cores can be exchanged for one gold coin.