'Kunpeng?'
Old Ban heard the name, but it had no idea what a "Kunpeng" was.
But from its master's tone, this was an incredibly powerful name, possessing great fortune, a destiny that ordinary Pet Beasts couldn't bear.
Old Ban flapped its fins, skeptical but willing to try. It opened its mouth and gently bit down on the Spirit Stone.
This Spirit Stone was much larger than the ones it had brought back before. Its mouth wasn't big enough to swallow it whole, so it could only hold the stone, showing its master the problem.
'See? I can't swallow it. We shouldn't force it and waste a Spirit Stone.'
"Ah Kun, you have to believe in yourself. You can do this."
"You were born a Kun. Is there anything a Kun cannot swallow?"
Gu Ming continued to encourage it, looking his Fish Pet straight in the eyes, urging it to make a bold attempt.
'Ah... Ah Kun?'
The Old Grouper Fish was confused at first, but then its spirits lifted.
'Is he calling me?'
'That's right. Master named me Kunpeng, so of course he's calling me Ah Kun!'
The Old Grouper Fish had been reluctant to swallow the Spirit Stone, as it was a Cultivation Resource meant for Cyan Treasure.
With only a few months left to live, why waste its master's precious Cultivation Resources?
However, as the name "Ah Kun" flowed into its heart, the Old Grouper Fish felt a powerful current jolt through its body, making it tremble all over.
Its cloudy eyes suddenly cleared, and its body grew scorching hot.
Deep inside, its aging organs burst with renewed vitality, as if coming back to life.
This was its master's acknowledgment. This was... the name its master had given it.
'I have a name!'
Tears welled in Ah Kun's eyes. It flapped its fins and strained the muscles around its mouth.
'I'm old, but I'm not useless. I can at least still eat.'
It could force its mouth wide open, using the peristaltic motion of its jaw muscles to cram the Spirit Stone down its throat.
It would be incredibly uncomfortable, and if the stone couldn't be digested, getting it back out would be a nightmare.
But now, it didn't care. It wanted to trust its master. It wanted to believe it was a Kunpeng.
After more than ten seconds of struggle, Ah Kun finally managed to swallow the Spirit Stone.
Cyan Treasure watched, feeling uneasy. 'What a waste,' it thought.
But a snake couldn't be too selfish, so it could only watch as its master "tortured" Ah Kun.
Gu Ming smiled and continued his encouragement. "Well done, Ah Kun!
"Now, use the Seven-Word Mantra to refine it. If you don't know how to use the Cultivating Technique, just recite those seven words."
Gu Ming had no idea what those seven words actually were.
But if the system said the Kunpeng had comprehended seven words, then it had to be seven words.
And as for Ah Kun, it really did remember seven words.
After all, a fish's memory only lasts seven seconds, and it had coincidentally remembered exactly seven words.
On the Grouper Fish's Devouring and Movement!
That's right, it was the title of the paper that its master had read.
The content taught it how to swallow, how to move quickly while consuming various objects, and how to use movement to accelerate digestion.
'Huh? Did I really remember all that?'
Ah Kun was getting confused. It felt like what it originally heard wasn't quite like this.
'Whatever.'
'I'll just follow the memory in my head and refine it.'
As the Spirit Stone settled in its stomach, it pressed painfully against its organs.
While in pain, Ah Kun repeatedly chanted the seven words in its heart.
The first time it chanted, the Spirit Stone in its stomach didn't react.
The second time, the pain subsided slightly.
Then came the third time, the fourth time, and the pain slowly diminished.
Ah Kun felt very strange. It was clearly just chanting words, so why was its stomach getting hotter and hotter?
And because chanting the seven words didn't hurt, it just kept chanting. After ten minutes, it felt something different.
BOOM! A warm current seemed to surge through its body.
The hard Spirit Stone seemed to have been digested into the purest Spiritual Liquid, which then flooded its old stomach, repairing the cuts the stone had made.
With that, Ah Kun had accomplished the impossible, completely completing the Refinement of the Spirit Stone.
Gu Ming, in turn, received an official notification from the system.
[Juvenile Kunpeng has activated the Devouring Secret Technique for the first time, completing the Refinement of one Spirit Stone. Mana +10]
[Kunpeng Devouring Secret Technique experience +1]
[Points required to upgrade Kunpeng Devouring Secret Technique Skill Level: 1/2000]
[You have successfully unearthed the Juvenile Kunpeng's Devouring Talent, taking a firm and powerful step on Old Deng's comeback. Achievement Points +1]
'Huh? The system awarded Achievement Points?'
Now Gu Ming had two Achievement Points, which could be used for the Dream Training Space.
Before, he hadn't used this convenient ability, mainly because he was afraid of wasting the training time.
After all, it was only for training Skill Levels, not for increasing one's Cultivation.
Now that he found that Ah Kun had learned the Secret Technique, and a new progress bar had appeared, it seemed the opportunity to use the Dream Training Space had arrived.
He wondered what the Dream Training Space was like inside.
Gu Ming looked at Ah Kun, then at Cyan Treasure beside him.
Both pets looked at Gu Ming. The former, Ah Kun, was utterly baffled, with no idea how it had managed the Refinement.
The latter, Cyan Treasure, was astonished, unable to comprehend how the fish had digested the stone.
"Ahem, let's talk after I come back from my shower." Gu Ming decided to put it aside for now, as a voice from outside the door called him to take a shower again, and he had to go.
The two pets nodded and waited for him to return.
After Gu Ming left with his clothes, only a snake and a fish were left in the room.
Cyan Treasure slithered to the edge of the Fish Tank. It draped its head over the rim, looking down at Ah Kun inside, flicking its forked tongue as if asking how it had managed the digestion.
Ah Kun also didn't understand. It had been chanting seven words and hadn't done anything else.
Cyan Treasure's eyes glinted, its snake tail swaying from side to side.
'I want to learn the Seven-Word Mantra, too!'
...
"You want to learn the Kunpeng Secret Technique too?"
When Gu Ming returned to his room, he was surprised by Cyan Treasure's immediate intensity. It also wanted to hear him "chant" so it could learn the Kunpeng Devouring Secret Technique.
The problem was, Cyan Treasure had been right there listening when he read the paper aloud.
It didn't gain any experience itself, which meant it didn't have the Talent to learn it.
In other words, this was an innate Secret Technique of the Kunpeng Race, and other races couldn't learn the Devouring Secret Technique.
"Let's not talk about this for now. I'll take you to a good place."
Gu Ming said mysteriously, wanting to distract Cyan Treasure from its request. He then reached into the Fish Tank to touch the fish.
The two pets were confused. 'Where is Master taking us?'
In the next second, both pets felt the world shift and they entered a strange space.
The room was still the same room, but the two pets felt it was completely different.
It was as if everything here could be shattered and rebuilt. Their own consciousness became incredibly sharp, able to sense every detail in the room.
"This is the Dream Training Space. You can understand it as one of a Beastmaster's abilities."
While Gu Ming explained, he glanced at the exchange rate for Achievement Points.
One Achievement Point could be exchanged for ten days of time.
He had two Achievement Points, allowing him to train for twenty days in the dream.
Training in the dream would not cause mental fatigue, whereas training in reality required rest.
A rough calculation showed that training Skills in the dream would be several times more efficient than training in reality.
He had originally thought grinding two thousand experience points for the Entry Level Devouring Secret Technique would be a huge pain.
Now that he knew training in the dream wouldn't cause mental fatigue, he suddenly felt it wasn't that difficult to grind after all.
Furthermore, his biggest discovery upon entering this place wasn't related to his Pet Beasts. It was that he could now see the progress panel for his own *Cyan Pine* Cultivation Technique.
[*Cyan Pine* - Uninitiated: 0/500]