Chapter 34: The Iridescent-Crowned Platinum Swan

Fanxing pondered for a moment and decided to continue hunting for the Mudflat Beauty tomorrow. She also chose not to return tonight, opting to camp by the sea instead.

She retrieved a tent from her spirit-pattern bracelet, set it up, and then brought out pots, pans, and utensils to prepare dinner. The ingredients, naturally, were the Golden Abundance and Snow Crisp she had caught.

First, she simmered a pot of soup using the Golden Abundance. Then, she sliced the massive Snow Crisp into chunks, set up an iron griddle, poured in some oil, and began to sear them.

Before long, a rich, savory aroma began to drift through the air.

At that moment, Yedou and Princess returned. Smelling the fragrance of the fish soup and the grilled fish, their faces were filled with anticipation.

"Don't worry, it'll be ready soon," Fanxing said with a smile.

As she spoke, she flipped the Snow Crisp sizzling on the griddle. The snow-white fish meat soon turned a golden-brown. She sprinkled on some seasoning, and the scent was heavenly; Fanxing couldn't help but swallow hard.

Soon, the grilled fish was done, and the soup was ready as well. Fanxing placed a bowl and a plate in front of Yedou and Princess, filling their bowls with plenty of soup and adding several pieces of grilled fish to their plates.

After a quick sniff, Princess and Yedou began to feast.

"Meow, meow, meow!" It’s delicious! This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten. Yedou felt like it was in heaven.

"Goo, goo, goo!" Princess ate without even lifting its head. Cats love fish, and so do geese.

Fanxing picked up a piece of fish and took a bite. The fresh, succulent flavor instantly filled her mouth; the tender fish meat melted on her tongue, so good it felt like she could swallow her own tongue along with it.

Although she knew the Snow Crisp was delicious, only after tasting it did she realize that words couldn't describe such a delicacy. She took a sip of the soup and was amazed once more. The Snow Crisp had its own unique deliciousness, and the Golden Abundance had its own charm; both were addictive.

Fanxing felt like the food she had eaten in the past few decades had been a waste; only today did she know what true gourmet food was. Even though her culinary skills weren't exceptional, with such premium ingredients, she managed to create an irresistible flavor. Moreover, both ingredients were rich in spiritual energy; after consuming them, her whole body felt warm and incredibly comfortable.

"Meow, meow, meow!"
"Goo, goo, goo!"
Yedou and Princess were also crying out in delight.

Just as they were enjoying their meal, the girl who had been sitting on the reef appeared before them, watching them with longing eyes. No, to be precise, she was watching the grilled fish in their hands.

Fanxing, Yedou, and Princess were all startled by the girl's sudden appearance.

Fanxing hesitated for a moment, then held up the plate of grilled fish and asked, "Would... would you like some?"

Hearing this, the girl grinned, revealing two rows of fangs. They looked exceptionally sharp, and Fanxing had no doubt that if she were bitten, the girl could crush bones with ease. Furthermore, the girl's eyebrows were unusually thick, looking like two fake brows stuck on.

Fanxing took out another plate, placed a few pieces of fish on it, and handed it to the girl.

The girl didn't stand on ceremony at all. She took the plate and began stuffing the fish into her mouth like a savage. "Good! Good!" she muttered while chewing.

Seeing this, Fanxing served her a bowl of soup. "Here, have some soup too." She wasn't just being kind; she felt this girl was extraordinary, and it wouldn't hurt to build a good relationship with her.

The girl took the soup and, ignoring the heat, gulped it down in one go. After finishing, she wiped her mouth and held the bowl and plate toward Fanxing. "More!"

Fanxing: ...She really didn't hold back.

Fanxing took the bowl and plate, refilled them with plenty of soup and a full plate of fish. Seeing this, Yedou and Princess were extremely dissatisfied—that was their food! But they dared not complain; they had a hunch that if they dared to protest, the girl could kill them with a single punch.

In almost no time, the entire grilled Snow Crisp and the whole pot of soup were completely devoured by the girl.

"Burp!" Satisfied, the girl let out a full burp and sprawled out on the sand.

Fanxing looked at the empty pot and thought, *I worked so hard to make this meal, and before I could even take two bites, it’s all gone.*

Yedou and Princess looked at Fanxing with aggrieved expressions, their tearful eyes seemingly saying: *Master, I'm hungry...*

Fanxing patted their heads one by one. "Be good, I'll make more for you." Fortunately, there was still some Golden Abundance left.

***

Fanxing cooked another pot of soup and grilled a few more Golden Abundance, and finally, the group was full.

Just as Fanxing was cleaning up, the girl suddenly sat up and pointed at Yedou. "It... eat fish... one hundred... evolve."

Fanxing was stunned by the sudden remark, taking a moment to process the meaning. "You mean, Yedou can evolve if it eats one hundred spirit-fish?"

The girl nodded. "Mm-hmm."

Fanxing was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected such a gain; the meal was well worth it. It turned out that Yedou's evolution condition was to eat one hundred spirit-fish.

"Meow, meow, meow!" Yedou was also overjoyed, jumping and dancing on the sand. It was great that it could evolve; no wonder it felt such a strong desire to eat the Golden Abundance—it was an evolutionary instinct.

Princess looked on, feeling quite indignant. *What's there to be proud of? One day, I will also find a way to evolve, and I will become even more beautiful and noble than I am now!*

Just then, the girl rummaged through her red top and pulled out a red crystal the size of a fingernail. She flashed forward and appeared in front of Princess, grabbing its neck before Fanxing or Princess could react.

"Caw!" Princess's mouth opened involuntarily. The girl then quickly stuffed the red crystal into its mouth.

"Gulp!" Princess swallowed it subconsciously; by the time it realized, it was too late.

After feeding the crystal, the girl flashed away again in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, the energy inside Princess began to erupt. Black and gold light surged from its body, enveloping it.

"Goo, goo, goo!" Princess cried out urgently as its aura began to skyrocket. It had originally been a single dark-attribute spirit creature, but now, both dark and gold spiritual energies were erupting from within.

Needless to say, this was related to the red crystal the girl had just fed it. Fanxing didn't know that the crystal was actually a condensed drop of the girl's own blood, and the girl herself was a gold-attribute spirit creature. The girl's life level was far higher than Princess's, so under the influence of the blood crystal, Princess began to mutate.

After some time, Princess's aura reached its peak. It broke through its transformed state and returned to its original size, continuing to grow until it was three or four meters tall.

"Goo, goo, goo!" Princess flapped its wings, kicking up a cloud of dust on the beach. Its appearance had changed as well. The crown on its head became more brilliant, the embedded gems sparkling, especially the red one in the center, which was so deep it looked like dripping blood. Its blue eyelashes turned silver, shimmering with a faint metallic luster. Its wings became thicker, broader, and longer, and its black feathers began to take on a metallic sheen.

"Goo!" With a high-pitched cry, Princess completed its transformation.

Fanxing pointed her guide at it.

Race: Rainbow-Crowned Platinum Swan (Mutated)
Classification: Demon Spirit
Attributes: Dark, Gold
Traits: Not Awakened
Skills: Glazed Light [Condenses demonic energy to fire a beam at the opponent], Steel Feathers [Hardens feathers into steel, significantly boosting defense], Steel Wings [Turns wings into steel blades to slice opponents]
Rating: C
Role: Aggressive Attacker

Seeing Princess's stats, Fanxing was stunned. Not only had its attributes changed, but its rating had also jumped two levels, reaching C—the same as Fanxing's—and it had learned two new, highly practical skills.

Although its race name had changed, it hadn't technically evolved; it had merely mutated. The Rainbow-Crowned Platinum Swan was a sub-species of the Rainbow-Crowned Swan, related to its newly acquired gold attribute. Princess had truly hit the jackpot.

Overjoyed, Fanxing turned to thank the girl, only to find she had already returned to the reef. Seeing this, Fanxing didn't want to disturb her and kept her gratitude in her heart. This meal was truly worth it. However, she was now intensely curious about the girl's identity. Who was she?

Fanxing tried to point her guide at the girl, but the guide only displayed four bright red characters: *Unable to Probe.*

***

Indeed, mysterious!

After successfully upgrading, Princess shrank rapidly, returning to the size of a normal goose.

"Goo, goo, goo!" It ran to Fanxing, expressing its joy.

Fanxing stroked its long neck. "Keep working hard and aim for even higher levels."

"Goo!" Princess held its head high, looking extremely proud. *Of course, I will become even stronger in the future!*

Yedou watched the now-powerful Princess with envy. Sensing this, Fanxing patted its head. "We'll continue catching fish tomorrow. Once we get one hundred, you'll be able to evolve too."

"Meow, meow!" Hearing this, Yedou's face was full of anticipation.

"Alright, let's rest. We'll continue fishing tomorrow morning." Because they were on a mission, they didn't need to attend classes tomorrow.

She walked into the tent, and Yedou and Princess followed.

Time passed to the next day. When the sun rose from the sea, Fanxing led her two pets out of the tent. She instinctively looked at the reef nearby, only to find it was empty.

The girl, Little Red Riding Hood, had appeared by the sea to track the traces of the Jingwei. The Jingwei was a water-attribute spirit creature and was severely injured; the girl thought the seaside was the most likely place for it to be, but unfortunately, she hadn't found it after a long search.

Not finding the girl's shadow, Fanxing didn't dwell on it; it was normal for such a powerhouse to be elusive.

After a quick wash, Fanxing began her day's fishing mission. This time, she decided to go deeper into the sea, hoping to catch more spirit-fish, and ideally, a Mudflat Beauty. Yesterday, she hadn't caught a single one.

Fanxing led Yedou and Princess deep into the sea until the coastline was no longer visible. "This should do."

"Goo!" Princess flapped its wings and swam to the side, intending to hunt spirit-fish on its own.

Fanxing used the same method as yesterday, tossing a drop of Taisui flesh into the water. Sure enough, Golden Abundance soon began to appear. After catching the first one, she tossed it directly to Yedou.

"Meow!" Yedou drifted in mid-air as black mist. Seeing the Golden Abundance, it snapped it up and swallowed it whole. Even without cooking, it was the ultimate delicacy for Yedou.

One, two, three... The spirit-fish in the deeper waters were indeed more abundant. In less than an hour, Fanxing had already caught over a dozen Golden Abundance. Yedou was completely satisfied.

Just then, Princess swam over with a Golden Abundance in its beak and tossed it to Yedou.

"Meow!" Yedou caught it and chewed it down.

Princess glanced at Yedou, tilting its head. "Goo, goo, goo!" *I'll let you eat for now. Once you evolve, you have to pay me back for yesterday's share!* It swam away quickly, leaving Yedou stunned. *Why did that guy suddenly get so nice?*

At that moment, through her Water Control skill, Fanxing suddenly sensed a massive entity approaching rapidly. In an instant, the creature was right below her in the water.

Just as Fanxing thought it was going to swallow the Taisui flesh, several white objects shot out of the water, aiming straight for her. Despite her best efforts to dodge, she was caught off guard and hit; a long, thin bone spike pierced her shoulder, passing clean through.

Seeing the spike, Fanxing knew her target had arrived. She pulled it out, and the wound healed rapidly, disappearing in a blink; even the blood flowed back into her body.

Then, more bone spikes broke the surface. This time, Fanxing was prepared; she controlled the water to wrap around the spikes and flung them far away.

Princess sensed the situation and swam rapidly to its master's side, diving headfirst into the water. Beneath the surface, it saw a massive fish made of countless white bones, eyeing its master hungrily.

*Dare to hurt my master?!*

Princess was enraged. Without hesitation, the rainbow crown on its head flashed with a dazzling light. The Glazed Light skill activated, and a seven-colored beam shot toward the bone fish.