"Not too sure," Levi shook his head, "But most people probably don't know. I remember it clearly because that day I went to submit my graduation thesis, and then I got killed by 99."
If you ask him, it's because he will never forget that day.
99 is a lucky number.
Because after that, it's three digits.
Levi: (•‿•)
Oh.
That day, his advisor seemed to have a bit of a why-can't-you-live-up-to-expectations look in their eyes?
Could it be because of this long-lost brother of his?
Mama Ruth: "..."
Glancing at Levi with a subtle look, Mama Ruth kindly chose to say nothing in the end—afraid that if she spoke, she might stab the kid's heart.
"…When you see Asher later, try to say less in front of him. Maybe you can still leave a good impression," Mama Ruth couldn't hold back her urge to tease.
'Seriously, how does this stinky kid Levi have the nerve to boast in front of Asher?'
Levi: *Say no more, say no more*
He was also reflecting on this issue now.
Where did his courage even come from?
Mama Ruth waved a hand at Levi, "Alright, alright, you should go rest too. It's rare for you to come back. Tomorrow, we'll all celebrate the New Year together properly."
Levi, who was doubting life just moments ago, immediately perked up after hearing Mama Ruth's words.
He knew it—Mama Ruth still loved him.
"Asher is also resting. That child carries a heavier burden than you. Don't bother him unless necessary," Mama Ruth added, "You can spend more time playing with the other kids."
Levi: "…"
'Got it.'
Compared to Asher, he had fallen out of favor.
———
The next day was New Year's Eve.
The festive atmosphere in the Spirit Cat Welfare Home was stronger than any Spring Festival Asher had ever experienced.
On the 30th day of the lunar month, all the children put on red cotton-padded jackets, hopping around the courtyard with glue-covered hands, busy sticking Spring Festival couplets and "Happy New Year" cards, and cleaning up the courtyard.
Mama Ruth even rounded up the two little spirit cats who usually ran outside and were impossible to find, making them accompany the children to play.
Even the stray cats outside had golden-red festive bows tied around their necks in celebration of the new year.
At first glance—
A̶s̶h̶e̶r̶ a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ G̶r̶y̶f̶f̶i̶n̶d̶o̶r̶ h̶a̶d̶ t̶a̶k̶e̶n̶ o̶v̶e̶r̶ t̶h̶e̶ w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶.
Though he usually didn't eat dumplings much, to burn off the energy of the overly active kids, Mama Ruth prepared colorful dumpling skins and well-seasoned fillings in advance for them to make dumplings.
Anyway, whoever made them would be the ones eating them, so there was no issue of anyone being picky.
In solving the problem of the children's excess energy, they also settled the next few days' meals for the welfare home—perfect.
Asher sat among the kids. On his left was little Lily clinging tightly to him, and on his right was Little Good, who had silently squeezed over at some point. Beside Little Good sat the tall Little Tall.
The dumpling skins were just the right size in the children's palms, but in Asher's hands, they seemed adorably small.
For every step Asher did, Lily copied the step.
Asher put in the filling, so Lily also put in the filling.
Asher overstuffed the dumpling, accidentally breaking the skin. Lily, after hesitating for a second, decisively squeezed too hard and broke hers as well.
Then she turned her head, looking at Asher with an expression asking for praise.
"Pfft—", A light chuckle came from the side.
Asher: "…"
Turning his head, he saw the two little turnip-heads, Little Good and Little Tall. Little Good's face showed no expression at all, while Little Tall wore a confused, goofy smile.
Little Tall: "?"
Asher sighed. Given their age, he wouldn't really get mad at the kids.
He worked the dumpling dough a bit, managing to make one that wasn't broken and looked passable.
Seeing that Lily was about to continue copying him, Asher—who only had six out of seven holes open when it came to dumpling-making—decisively released all four of his spirit beasts, who had been sleeping soundly in his mental space ever since New Year's began.
The four spirit beasts reacted differently.
Little Raven woke up immediately at Asher's movement, performed a perfect mid-air turn, flapped its wings, and landed steadily in Asher's arms.
The cat-worm looked completely dazed, still carrying traces of sleep on its face. Its round body rolled across the ground once, only stopping because its two dragon horns touched the floor. Lying belly-up, it stared blankly at the air.
The little white snake wasn't doing much better.
For cold-blooded creatures like it, winter was the perfect time for hibernation.
It lay twisted around the cat worm, merging into one.
After all, both had icy-cold, scaly textures—no one disliked anyone. A win-win.
The little jellyfish, when asleep, curled up into a perfect sphere, just like when it was resting in a water pool.
When it landed on the ground, it even bounced up and down a few times.
Boing! Boing! Boing!
It looked like it had a very satisfying texture.
Sure enough—
The moment Lily saw the bouncing jellyfish, her attention was instantly drawn away.
"Eggy!"
Lily completely forgot about making dumplings. Dropping the half-formed dumpling, she, with flour all over her hands and face, lunged toward the jellyfish.
The jellyfish, startled awake by her yell: "?"
As it floated in the air, its eight long tentacles extended from under its bell.
Lily, who had been excitedly running towards it, slowed down, her big eyes widening in shock at the sight of its tentacles.
"Eggy…? It's not an egg?", Her voice was filled with disappointment, her eyes wet like a betrayed puppy.
The jellyfish, who had never seen Lily before: "?"
It tilted its head slightly, expanding and contracting as it hovered in the air, as if the air were an ocean keeping it afloat.
"Gulu?"
'Hello there~'
'But who is Eggy?'
Lily didn't understand the jellyfish.
But Lily was very sad.
She thought she had found an egg-friend, but it turned out it wasn't an egg at all. Devastated, she dragged her feet back to Asher's side.
Asher: "?"
Just as confused as the jellyfish, he had no idea what was going through the little girl's mind.
Thinking for a moment, he waved at the jellyfish. It obediently floated over and sat on Asher's other shoulder, away from Lily.
Now, Little Good and Little Tall were the ones mesmerized by its light and graceful movements and its shimmering, translucent form.
Despite the minor incident, everything was going smoothly.
By noon, the entire welfare Home was completely transformed, filled with a strong New Year's atmosphere.
The chefs in the kitchen worked busily, preparing a feast big enough to fill an entire long table.
"Mama Ruth, when did our welfare Home get this rich?", Levi, who hadn't been back in years, was stunned at the sight.
The feast was extravagant.
Too extravagant.
He even spotted a specialty dish made from a beast.
Even though it was just a soup, the cost of that single dish alone was equivalent to more than half of the table's worth of food.
Since when did Spirit Cat Welfare Home become so wealthy? Do they not need to save money anymore?
Mama Ruth glanced at a short distance away, where the children were gathered around Asher. Some wanted to touch the Little Raven in Asher's arms, others wanted to pet the fluffy Cat-Worm, and one little boy was tugging at Asher, hoping to become as strong as him.
Even the usually calm expression on Asher's face was about to crack.
But Mama Ruth's face was filled with a subtle smile.
'Ah—Asher is still just a child.'
He couldn't relax outside, but now that he was back at the welfare home, back with his family, letting the children have some fun was a way to unwind, wasn't it?
Turning her head, Mama Ruth saw her "silly big son" eagerly waiting for an answer. What could she do?
She sighed lightly and quietly explained the matter of Asher's donation.
Levi: "!"
Levi was dumbfounded.
'How… how much?'
'Just how much Asher donate?'
"Did I hear that wrong…?", Levi's voice wavered slightly,"Isn't Asher still a student… Oh, right, he's already an honorary professor at Bluewind University now."
Recalling how he searched for "Asher" online last night and found countless entries he couldn't even finish reading, Levi thought he'd already exhausted his capacity for shock yesterday.
But unexpectedly, today, Asher managed to shock him once again.
"A kid like Asher can donate five million, and here I am, thinking my 100,000 yuan is too little?", Levi sniffled, letting out a loud sob.
Is this what they call "not as good as the older generation, not as good as the younger generation"?
He still felt young.
But Asher, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, made Levi truly feel the passage of time—like the saying goes, the new wave pushes the old wave forward.
And before he could even catch up, he was already washed up on the shore by Asher.
"I really don't want to accept these donations, whether it's yours or Asher's, but that child said so…", Mama Ruth sighed with amusement and repeated what Asher had said earlier.
Within his means.
It was simply a heartfelt gesture from them.
Levi: "…"
That was unexpectedly comforting.
"Asher is such a good person!", Levi said sincerely.
Mama Ruth nodded repeatedly beside him.
'That's right!'
'Asher is the best!'
Vicky: "?"
June: "?"
Those who had been tricked by Asher, whether intentionally or not: "?"
———
New Year's Eve dinner.
Red envelopes.
When Asher received the red envelopes that Mama Ruth and Levi had prepared for him, his expression froze for a second.
"Wait… I…", Asher opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Mama Ruth.
"You're still a child, isn't it normal for you to receive New Year's money?", Mama Ruth waved her hand, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone, "I know you don't lack money, so what's inside isn't money but a formula that helps pet beasts calm their minds and enter a meditative state more effectively."
"The little spirit cat and the Cat-Worm both have very gentle personalities, and their potential has an upper limit, so they won't need it. But for you, this formula is just right."
Asher was even more surprised upon hearing this.
A formula that could help pet beasts calm their minds?
That sounded incredibly valuable.
But since Mama Ruth had already put it this way, and was looking at him with the affectionate gaze of a parent, what else could Asher do?
Of course, he accepted it.
"Thank you, Mama Ruth," Asher stepped forward and gave Mama Ruth a big hug.
Mama Ruth gently patted Asher's back, her voice soft as she whispered in his ear, "Be well."
Whether he wanted to be a beast tamer—
Or a professor researching pet beast evolution—
It was all fine.
As long as he was well.
Asher nodded, accepting this heartfelt blessing from Mama Ruth.
After Asher and Mama Ruth returned to their seats, Levi pulled out a thick package wrapped in a kraft paper envelope from under the table. To make it festive, he had even tied a golden-red ribbon on it.
"Ahem…", Remembering yesterday's events, Levi still felt a bit embarrassed looking at Asher. But it was New Year's.
Clearing his throat, Levi decided to shove those memories deep into the back of his mind and not think about them for the next year or two. He looked into Asher's eyes.
"Asher, I thought about it for a long time and decided to give you this gift."
"Dun dun dun dun—these are all the important materials I gathered while studying pet beast evolution in Blue Nation. You won't find these in our country. I personally summarized and compiled them from books I borrowed at the library."
"So precious!", Levi grinned widely, giving Asher a thumbs-up.
Mama Ruth: "…"
The other kids: "…"
'Wait?'
This was like giving a child a pile of homework as a birthday gift, claiming it was "for their own good"—isn't that just the same as forcing them to go bald from studying?
The kids who weren't top students, who had to rack their brains just to complete their homework, looked at Levi with new eyes.
Their impression of him shifted from "a kind uncle who gives out snacks" to "a terrifying overlord who assigns homework".
And Levi was completely unaware of it.
He didn't know that in the next few days, the kids would avoid him whenever they saw him—determined not to be caught and forced to do homework.
"You, child…"
'Shouldn't gifts be festive and practical? Who would like something like this?'
Mama Ruth wanted to say something, but before she could, Asher spoke.
Asher calmly took the thick stack of notes from Levi and nodded at him, "Thank you, Brother Levi, I really like this 'New Year's gift.'"
Mama Ruth fell silent again.
She looked at Levi.
Then at Asher.
…This must be what they call a generational gap, right?
Forget it.
It wasn't important.
The kids watching Asher accept the gift without hesitation gasped.
They stared at Asher with wide eyes, as if looking at an alien.
'Could there really be someone who liked this kind of gift?'
'No, no, no.'
'Definitely not.'
'No wonder big brother and his pet beasts are so powerful!'
'Turns out, big brother is an alien!'
The kids, who accidentally guessed half the truth, 'Wow—Mama, Mama! We saw an alien!'
Asher still didn't know what the kids thought of him, and even if he did, he wouldn't care much.
Children's thoughts change constantly, and Asher no longer expects to understand the magical ideas that come from their little heads.
As long as they're happy.
Asher flipped through a reading notebook written in both Blue Nation's script and Soren characters.
Most of the content was in Soren, but for specialized terms that were difficult to translate, Levi would give up on translation and just write the original terms directly.
Asher, who had only learned some English, Japanese, and Russian besides Soren in his past life: "..."
This was instantly a challenge for him.
But no problem.
He could understand the Soren characters, and from them, he caught a few phrases that piqued his curiosity.
Asher took another glance.
The notebook was quite thick and couldn't be read quickly.
Meanwhile, Mama Ruth was urging him to hurry up and eat, so he had to put the notebook aside for now and join the family for the New Year's Eve reunion dinner.
It was the New Year, after all.
No need to strain his brain cells—deciphering all this could wait until after the holiday.
With his four pet beasts in tow.
After spending a lonely New Year's Eve alone with Little Raven, Asher welcomed a completely different New Year's Eve in the new year.
For Asher, this was an incredibly novel experience, one that made him smile from the heart.
New Year's Eve dinner.
Eating dumplings.
Watching the boring gala program.
Halfway through, Mama Ruth suddenly said, "I was wondering why something felt off—turns out it's not as shocking as last year."
"I still remember last year when Professor Damien appeared with an entire team and publicly thanked you by name. My feelings at that moment, oh...", As she spoke, a dazed expression appeared on Mama Ruth's face.
Levi, who had already looked this up online, nodded repeatedly, "Imagine watching the Spring Festival Gala and suddenly seeing your family member's name pop up… I'd be shocked and have to double-check multiple times to make sure it's really them."
Mama Ruth gave him a look of agreement.
'Exactly!'
Even now, she couldn't forget how shocked and disbelieving she was when she first heard the name "Asher" mentioned. She even thought there must have been a mistake.
Once she confirmed it really was Asher, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride deep in her heart.
"Back then, the internet completely exploded. As for whether the rest of the gala was any good...", Mama Ruth glanced at the rather dull program on the screen and shook her head, "No one was paying attention to it anymore."
"Haha," Hearing this, Asher laughed, "This year, there's nothing as explosive happening. Watching the Spring Festival Gala is just for tradition—no one really cares if it's good or not."
"Uh… I think maybe it's not just about tradition?"
Levi, who was casually scrolling through his phone, suddenly fell silent.
Mama Ruth: "?"
Asher: "?"
Aside from them, the kids had already fallen asleep on the sofa and carpet, sprawled in different directions as their biological clocks gave out.
"What happened?"
Saying this, Asher took out his phone as well.
As soon as he opened it, various apps flooded him with the same news—
During the construction of a pet beast breeding center in Graymont, workers digging the foundation unexpectedly uncovered a two-thousand-year-old tomb, with suspected traces of beasts.
The public: "?"
———
[Graymont]
The entire city sprang into action.
Graymont's Beast Tamer Alliance President, Bradley Cooper, was so busy he barely had time to catch his breath.
"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to start construction during the New Year? Couldn't they have waited until after the holiday?", Bradley cursed, his pudgy chin and large beer belly bouncing with each word.
The surrounding staff instinctively turned to look at him.
"It's just that the lease period for the Drilling Demon Dragon was almost up, so we wanted to make the most of it before it was returned… Who could have guessed that we'd accidentally dig up a tomb?"
If it were just a regular tomb, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Graymont had unearthed ancient tombs before.
As a city that had once flourished, Graymont was even considered as a potential capital of Soren. Its geographical location was ideal.
However, after much deliberation and due to the unique environment of Star City—which was better suited for repelling beast tides—Star City became the official capital instead.
Graymont did not decline because of this.
A thousand years ago, compared to the dangerous Star City, many wealthy families still preferred to settle in Graymont, which had a superior location and environment.
As a result, Graymont had many ancient tombs.
They weren't discovered daily, but every now and then, one would surface.
Most of them belonged to wealthy commoners.
So when this new tomb was found, they assumed it was just another one of those.
They called the Ancient Tomb Investigation Bureau for a routine check.
But unexpectedly, the instruments let out a deafening alarm, leaving everyone at the site completely dumbfounded.
What was going on?
The detection equipment had never gone off before—not once in all the years of operation. Even the staff from the Investigation Bureau were stunned.
After some frantic analysis, they finally realized—the alarm was triggered because the tomb contained an overwhelming amount of Stellar Energy.
So—
This wasn't just a regular tomb.
It belonged to a Beast Tamer, or at least contained traces of beasts.
The Investigation Bureau staff: "..."
The construction workers: "..."
Everyone was stunned.
What was supposed to be a simple formality had suddenly turned into something way beyond their expertise.
They needed real professionals.
Where could they find such people?
Star City.
The leader of Graymont's Ancient Tomb Investigation Bureau— :)
No complaints.
After all, Graymont had no experience handling tombs related to beasts or energy. Now was not the time for pride—safety came first.
No one wanted something to go horribly wrong during the New Year.
Star City responded quickly.
Regular flights would take too long?
No problem.
They applied for an emergency deployment.
The Lightyear Dragon Cavalry was dispatched.
Including the time needed to process the request, within two hours, Star City's experts had landed in Graymont.
Bradley rushed over, wiping sweat from his forehead, "Uh..."
"Don't worry, our people are professionals," Wearing a uniform, devoted to his work, and voluntarily working overtime during the New Year, Charolette adjusted her glasses and spoke calmly.
With a wave of her hand—
A group of experts dismounted from the Lightyear Dragon Cavalry, carrying various professional tools, and immediately started their investigation in the now-restricted construction site.
Their movements were swift and efficient, leaving even Bradley, the president of Graymont's Beast Tamer Alliance, struggling to react.
Watching their work, then looking at Charolette—
For some reason, one thought flashed through Bradley's mind, We lost."
Then he relaxed.
What? Compete?
No way.
He was born to take it easy.
The word "tomb" has nothing to do with him at all.
Excavating an ancient tomb, and not just any ancient tomb, but one related to beasts and Stellar Energys—this matter didn't need him to handle it. It could be fully entrusted to the Star City headquarters over there. He only needed to follow the arrangements.
The headquarters had experience and should be able to handle everything related to the ancient tomb quickly.
Then, he could continue to lie flat.
Standing in the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month of winter, Bradley's heart was at ease. Wait a little longer, wait a little longer... Then, just when Bradley thought that the inspection would only take half an hour or an hour at most, he realized—
'Huh? Three hours have passed, why is there no movement at all?'
'Instead, the professionals inside are arguing? Something seems to have gone wrong.'
"Director Charolette, what's the situation? Has everyone encountered some difficulty?", Bradley turned his head to look at the young Charolette. He called out "Director Charolette" very willingly, "If it really doesn't work... how about we eat New Year's Eve dinner first and then continue the inspection tomorrow?"
Go home!
Eat dinner!
Charolette gestured for Bradley to wait a moment, then stepped forward into the area where the inspection was taking place and started talking to one of the professionals.
Bradley saw that Charolette's expression was becoming more and more serious.
More and more solemn.
Bradley, who had originally thought he could go home, suddenly felt his heart sink.
'Not good—'
'It seems like something really big has happened!'
Before Bradley could organize his thoughts and come up with an excuse to slip away, he saw Charolette already walking out from inside.
"Director Charolette, I—", Bradley hadn't even finished speaking when he was interrupted.
"President Bradley, the situation is quite complicated right now. Our inspection suggests that the dating of this ancient tomb is questionable, and we may need to bring in more specialized equipment," Charolette frowned, speaking in a serious and solemn tone, "We'll also need to trouble you to handle the handover of items between the two cities."
Bradley's heart was bleeding, but he had no choice but to agree, "Alright, alright, I'll make the arrangements right away."
New Year's Eve, ruined.
Holiday.
Ruined.
A warm night with his wife and kids by the heated brick bed, gone.
Inside Bradley's heart, a torrential downpour had begun.
This day was a nightmare for Bradley.
As soon as the specialized inspection equipment arrived, these professionals from Star City threw themselves into the new round of testing as if they didn't need to rest.
Even the workers from Graymont felt embarrassed to take a break.
Look at them—look at them! They traveled all the way from thousands of miles away, and they're not resting. So how could the locals take a break? Work! Work to the death! As long as you don't die from working, you better stay at your workstation.
Finally, on the night of New Year's Eve at 9:13 PM, the ancient tomb inspection bureau's staff conducted first, second, and third rounds of repeated testing using specialized instruments and reached a unanimous conclusion—this was an ancient tomb from approximately two thousand years ago.
For now, they couldn't pinpoint exactly how many years within those two thousand.
But as soon as this news came out—
Whether it was Charolette or Bradley beside her, they were both utterly shocked, looking like they had been struck by lightning.
Two thousand years?
Never mind exactly how many years within those two thousand—the number two thousand was already wrong from the start.
"But the era of coexistence between humans and beasts has only been about twelve hundred years, right?", A worker responsible for excavation at the Graymont construction site muttered.
Hearing this, Bradley's eyebrow twitched slightly.
The worker's colleague nudged him with a shoulder and whispered, "That's exactly the problem!"
In this quiet environment, everyone could hear him.
And they had to admit—yes, that was the problem.
In human history, beasts had only been documented for twelve hundred years.
But today, they discovered an ancient tomb from two thousand years ago that contained Stellar Energy.
If this was proven to be true...
The history of both humans and beasts would have to be rewritten.
Bradley: "..."
Despair.
Would it still be possible for him to resign from his position as president of the Beast Tamer Alliance now?
Charolette: 'You guess?'
———
"Ah... this news has already spread explosively. The residents near the ancient tomb said they heard a loud, eardrum-shattering, piercing explosion from some instrument in the afternoon. Online 'experts' are saying it was an Stellar Energy detection device," Levi looked at his phone and talked about the situation in Graymont to Mama Ruth beside him.
"Star City sent professional personnel to handle it, and then the residents of Graymont noticed that Lightyear Dragon Riders kept transporting more people and large-scale detection equipment from Star City. If this were just an ordinary ancient tomb, there'd be no need for any of this."
Sometimes, information leaks from the most inconspicuous sources.
Moreover, the excavation of this ancient tomb in Graymont happened so suddenly that no one had time to react. The discovery was made before anyone could try to conceal it.
As the news spread across the internet, in order to prevent people from coming up with even wilder conspiracy theories, the authorities had no choice but to reveal a small part of the truth.
And then...
The internet exploded.
Two thousand years! A two-thousand-year-old ancient tomb.
"If this turns out to be true, the entire human society will be impacted," Levi frowned and said, "Could it be that the tomb really is two thousand years old, but the Stellar Energy detected wasn't from back then?"
"Maybe some beast died near the tomb later, leaving behind traces of Stellar Energy? That's also a possibility!"
Asher sat quietly beside them, listening without expressing any opinion.
Levi's theory... wasn't impossible, but Asher believed that the professionals at Star City's Ancient Tomb Inspection Bureau must have considered this as well. Since they still released such news, it meant they were convinced that the Stellar Energy in the tomb truly originated from two thousand years ago.
What a pity.
Asher sighed in his heart.
Going into the tomb had nothing to do with him.
Hopefully, the authorities would release more related information later and not just keep them in the dark after stirring up public curiosity.
"As long as you understand. If textbooks and history really get rewritten, it won't affect you two at all. The ones who should be crying are those still in school," Mama Ruth watched Levi gossiping excitedly while also complaining and couldn't help but lightly pat him.
Levi: "?"
Levi: "!"
"Oh right! I've already graduated!", Levi's eyes lit up with a "whoosh," and his whole body radiated an aura of joy, "Hahaha, that's great!"
"Otherwise, I can't even imagine—if human history with beasts suddenly extended by another eight hundred years, when would I ever graduate?"
'Thank goodness!'
'Heaven's blessings!'
'The heroic spirits of Soren's predecessors, thank you.'
This ancient tomb discovery only came after he had already graduated.
Otherwise, Levi would really be sitting in his student dorm in Blue Nation, crying his eyes out right now.
As for those classmates who hadn't graduated yet?
Cough! Cough!
That had nothing to do with him.
Thinking about this, Levi's face showed a mischievous grin as he opened his chat app to start teasing his overseas student friends.
Mama Ruth: "..."
'The child has grown up.'
'Let him be.'
'If he gets beaten up someday, I will just call an ambulance for him.'
———
[The first day of the Lunar New Year]
The topic of the 2000-year-old ancient tomb in Graymont was still being hotly debated online.
Some people believed it was a deep excavation into history.
Some thought it was just a coincidence.
Others had already started coming up with conspiracy theories.
None of this had much to do with Asher.
Asher was currently standing in the courtyard with a speechless expression, watching Old Rothschild's family, who had specially ridden the Jargon Dragon King to pick him up and take him to the Rothschild family's ancestral home.
"...So, you're saying that your whole family has already come here, so what's the point of me going over?", Asher held his forehead with one hand, looking exhausted.
Compared to Asher, the children in the orphanage were much more excited.
"A dragon!"
"It's a dragon!"
"A really, really big dragon!"
"A super cool dragon! Grandpa, are you a dragon rider?"
A group of children surrounded Old Rothschild, but they were all very well-mannered, keeping a respectful distance from him, as well as from the Jargon Dragon King. None of them rushed up too close.
Old Rothschild, now at an advanced age, had the weakest resistance against such well-behaved and adorable children.
Moreover, seeing so many polite children all at once, Old Rothschild's grin widened even further.
"Haha, I just wanted to show some respect to you, Professor Asher!", Old Rothschild waved his hand grandly as he spoke, "Then we won't go. Anyway, it's just the three of us at the ancestral home… Ah, wait, no. Dragontooth wants to invite you to Dragon Valley for a banquet in your honor."
Halfway through his sentence, Old Rothschild glanced at the Jargon Dragon King, who was still lying on the ground, massive as ever, like a towering mountain. He then leaned in close to Asher and whispered.
Compared to Asher's calm, unfazed reaction and the children's swarming excitement, Levi, seeing the Jargon Dragon King in person for the first time, was completely and utterly shocked.
'He... what the... this...'
Levi's entire language system seemed to malfunction for a moment.
The information he had found online about Asher, and seeing Asher's newly developed evolutionary form with his own eyes, were two completely different experiences.
The Jargon Dragon King's size, bloodline, and the overwhelming aura it exuded left Levi's mind blank.
Asher had developed a new evolutionary path for the Ancestral Dragon.
Levi had assumed it was just a minor change, or perhaps some kind of bloodline refinement.
At the time, he had merely marveled briefly at Asher's talent and didn't give it much more thought.
After all.
His education in the Blue Nation had taught him that evolving a new form for dragon-type beasts was the most difficult field of research.
Dragon-type bloodlines were deeply entrenched.
Unlike other beasts, which had highly variable evolutionary paths, dragon-type creatures had their potential and forms largely predetermined from birth.
If one wanted a dragon-type beast to undergo a quantitative evolution, there was only one approach—enhancing its bloodline concentration.
However, the Blue Nation Nation's Pet Evolution Association did not recognize bloodline concentration enhancements as a true form of evolution.
Only qualitative evolution—where a dragon-type beast fundamentally transformed at its core—could be called evolution.
Previously, Levi had assumed Asher's new evolutionary form for the Ancestral Dragon was just a quantitative change, a mere bloodline enhancement that strengthened the Ancestral Dragon.
Dragon King?
Oh.
Plenty of foreign professors who studied dragon-type beast evolution liked to slap a "King" onto the names of their so-called evolved forms.
Levi had assumed Asher was following the same line of thought.
But he had never expected...
Never expected...
Looking at the colossal form before him—this wasn't just a simple qualitative evolution, this was a complete transformation, like something out of a fantasy.
Levi was speechless for a long time.
He had only been back in the country for a short while.
And yet, he had already lost count of how many times he had been utterly shocked.
And every single time, it was because of Asher... Oh, wait, not last night's revelation. He couldn't blame that one on Asher.
Levi's thoughts were still swirling when—
Asher's phone suddenly rang.
"Hmm? Professor Damien?", Asher's eyes widened slightly, as if surprised that Professor Damien would call him at this time, "You mean... you want me to join your research team for this project?"
"I probably won't...", Naturally inclined toward freedom and averse to being tied down, Asher was about to refuse, but when he heard the words from the other end, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Researching the beasts in the ancient tomb?"
"Alright, I'm in!"
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