"Don't worry, I have my own plan in doing this. With your father Ash there, I didn't intend to harm you. In the future, if you want to trade spiritual cores, just come to my Atlas shop directly. The price will definitely be fair." Mark leaned back on his chair, his slightly overweight body creaking the seat.
"Well then, thank you, Mark."
As Regret left the shop, his mind still couldn't process what had happened. The shopkeeper had actually gifted him a precious spirit crystal. Even his father, Ash Blaze, would find it unbelievable. "Given my situation, there doesn't seem to be much to gain. No spirit master has any utility. But this Mark seems decent. Let's have my father interact with him more."
Stuffing the spirit crystal eagerly into his clotch, Regret turned a few streets and quickly vanished among the crowd.
Watching Regret leave, on top of a tavern, a figure twirling a wine glass gradually revealed a sinister smile on his lips.
"Silently taking you out shouldn't be a problem, right? Young master, can't wait for next time."
"In the continent where I reside, known as the Spirit Beast Continent, the ancient Veloria City where the Blaze Family is located is part of the Bistol Empire, situated in the southeast corner of the entire continent. It could be considered remote."
The burning lamp cast flickering small black shadows on the wall, as Regret sat under the lamplight carefully flipping through the pet encyclopedia brought back from the Atlas Store. Red was lying lazily on the table, gazing out the window where the lush branches rustled in the wind.
"Hmm, there are sixteen types of spirit beasts on this continent. It seems that Veloria City is truly small. I've only encountered five types of spirit beasts in all my years." Regret placed the pet records on the table with a sigh of relief. This book was indeed worth buying; compared to the books in the family recording spirit beasts, it was far superior. The information recorded inside made him engrossed in it for the whole day.
"Has the absorption of the spirit crystals been successful?" Regret suddenly looked at Red and asked.
Nodding slightly, Red lazily propped himself up, a faint red light emanating from his body, eventually enveloping him completely.
Soon after, Regret witnessed the white fur on Red's tail disappearing at a visible speed, and the claws started to retract, reverting entirely to the appearance of the Flame Cat.
"The Illusionary Cat Art is truly miraculous. I no longer need to go to great lengths to conceal Red's rank in the future." A hint of unusual color flashed in his eyes as Regret smiled.
*Snap!*
After lining up the six bottles of Condensing Spirit Liquid on the table, Regret turned to retrieve the wooden basin he used yesterday. The medicinal properties of the Condensing Spirit Liquid were very mild, with few restrictions, and could even be used continuously. Some wealthy spirit masters directly raised their spirit beasts to the ninth rank using the Condensing Spirit Liquid, then waited for the opportunity for the spirit beast to break through.
Taking out a bottle of Condensing Spirit Liquid casually, just as he was about to uncork it, a voice with a hint of playfulness suddenly rang out in the room.
"Hey hey, such poor quality potion might not be worthy of your spirit beast."
The voice echoed, Regret's right hand holding the bottle stopper suddenly froze, then he took a few steps back with his pupils slightly shrinking, grabbing a wooden stick in his hand. Red also immediately pounced in front of Regret, with tiny flames quickly swirling around its sharp claws.
"Who?" Regret scanned around and shouted sternly.
Regret's shout startled a hovering water winged insect outside the window, which suddenly accelerated and fled into the distance. The voice that had appeared earlier disappeared from the room like an illusion.
After a moment, Regret's gaze suddenly stared at the Pet Encyclopedia on the table as if seeing a ghost. In a room where no wind blew in, the Pet Encyclopedia began flipping on its own, getting faster and faster. For a moment, the entire room was filled with the sound of flipping pages.
Swallowing quietly, Regret used his eyes to stop Red from tearing the Pet Encyclopedia apart with its claw. Gritting his teeth, the wooden stick in his hand made a sharp whistling sound as he fiercely smashed it towards the Pet Encyclopedia, which was about to flip to the end.
"Buzz!"
At the moment when the stick was about to hit the Pet Encyclopedia, an invisible energy shield suddenly enveloped the Pet Encyclopedia, causing the stick swung by Regret to freeze in midair.
"Hey hey, humans are always timid, naturally fearful of the unknown."
As the Pet Encyclopedia flipped to the last page, that unfamiliar voice resounded once again.
"Is it you speaking?" Regret stared intently at the somewhat damaged Pet Encyclopedia, his scalp slightly tingling. It wasn't that he was timid, but the scene unfolding right now was too unbelievable, a worn out book actually speaking!
"Of course it's me, who else could it be?" Pet Encyclopedia shifted slightly and then half stood up, humming softly, "Ignorant. Could it be that in your impression, all spirit beasts are like that foolish Cat? Let me tell you, there are countless strange spirit beasts on this continent, and I am one of them."
Hearing a book actually belittling itself, Red let out an angry growl and swiped a claw upwards.
"Even a high level novice level spirit beast can't do anything to me."
A mocking voice came out as Red pounced forward, only to rebound fiercely as if hitting a hard wall.
Regret swiftly caught Red in his hand, and at that moment, Pet Encyclopedia's voice rang out again.
"Truth be told, the folding screen at the Atlas Shop is also a spirit beast. If I remember correctly, it should be called Painting Screen Fan. I didn't expect that chubby guy's luck was so good. Painting Screen Fan is a rare spirit beast, rarely seen even in the outside world. The strength of this little Flame Cat, it was detected by the Painting Screen Fan."