"Who is the strongest among them?" Li Anle asked curiously.
"The title of the strongest Pupil Technique has been contested for thousands of years without a clear winner, but it's certain that the top three are the Sacred Lotus Li Family, the Heaven's Eye Yang Family, and the Yin Yang Zhang Family."
"Who is the weakest?"
"The Fire Eye Sun Family."
"Brother, how can you be so sure?"
"The Fire Eye Sun Family was once on par with the Heaven's Eye Yang Family, earning the reputation of 'Northern Heaven's Eye, Southern Fire Eye.' Later, during the Great Cataclysm, the Sun Family's leader, Sun Shengxian, beheaded an avatar of the Scarlet Blood God, enraging the deity. The Scarlet Blood God cursed the Sun Family, weakening their Fire Eye talent. Although it remains an Epic-level talent, its abilities are far from what they used to be."
Li Anle then inquired about the Sacred Lotus Eye.
"What are the abilities of the Sacred Lotus Eye?"
"The Sacred Lotus Eye has two Pupil Techniques: one is called Sacred Lotus Protection, and the other is Sacred Meal."
Li Cunxu took a sip of water and continued slowly.
"Sacred Lotus Protection conjures a sacred lotus to shield the user. The lotus possesses absolute defensive power, said to be indestructible as long as the pupil energy remains."
"Sacred Meal consumes pupil energy to transform resources into a sacred meal that can enhance the abilities of Pet Beasts and guide their evolution."
Li Anle said, "Isn't Sacred Meal just like Spirit Food?"
"They are similar in nature, but to be precise, Sacred Meal is a higher-grade food than Spirit Food."
"Because of Sacred Meal, the Sacred Lotus Eye talent is classified as a Breeder talent. But don't underestimate it just because it's a Breeder talent. Among Breeder bloodline talents, the Sacred Lotus Eye also ranks in the top three."
"I hope your Sacred Lotus Eye mutation retains the Sacred Meal Pupil Technique because it is truly useful."
Li Anle clasped her hands together and prayed, "May my Sacred Lotus Eye mutation retain the Sacred Meal Pupil Technique."
Li Cunxu smiled, not holding much hope that the Sacred Lotus Eye mutation would retain the Sacred Meal Pupil Technique.
Historically, the Sacred Lotus Eye has mutated many times, but very few mutations retained the Sacred Meal Pupil Technique.
Having shed her four sub-personalities, Li Anle chattered like a chatterbox and asked about the abilities of the Heaven's Eye Yang Family and the Yin Yang Zhang Family, which, like the Sacred Lotus Li Family, ranked in the top three.
"The Heaven's Eye Yang Family's talent is called Heavenly Eye, a Purple Epic-level talent with two Pupil Techniques: Clairvoyance of Origin and Heavenly Eye Golden Ray.
Clairvoyance of Origin allows the user to see through objects, discern their true nature, and see through illusions and mirages.
Heavenly Eye Golden Ray shoots a golden ray from the Heavenly Eye, capable of splitting mountains, shattering waves, and piercing through anything."
Li Anle said, "The Sacred Lotus Protection of the Sacred Lotus Eye is like the strongest shield, and the Heavenly Eye Golden Ray of the Heavenly Eye is like the strongest spear. When they collide, does the shield block the spear, or does the spear pierce the shield?"
Li Cunxu replied, "At that point, it depends on the amount of pupil energy. The one with more pupil energy wins."
"What about the Yin Yang Zhang Family's talent?"
"Yin-Yang Eye, also a Purple Epic-level talent with two Pupil Techniques: Glimpse of Yin-Yang and Yin-Yang Spirit General.
Glimpse of Yin-Yang allows the user to see the souls of deceased beings.
Yin-Yang Spirit General can refine malevolent spirits into Yin Spirit Generals and heroic spirits into Yang Spirit Generals. Combining Yin and Yang Spirit Generals can create a Yin-Yang Spirit General.
However, only a very few can successfully combine Yin and Yang Spirit Generals. Currently, the only known person to have done so is the Zhang Family's leader, Zhang Lingshen."
Li Cunxu spent the entire night chatting with Li Anle, knowing that she had been holding back for too long.
Lying in bed for ten years, he could only chat with her, and even then, his body was often taken over by four evil alternate personalities.
As dawn broke, Li Anle fell asleep in Li Cunxu's arms.
Li Cunxu looked at the tiny Li Anle, curious if her age had also regressed along with her body.
As for Li Anle's body splitting into five, he wasn't too surprised.
This was a body that had been influenced by the Power of the Four Gods, so it was normal for it to be a bit special. He pinched Li Anle's rosy little cheek and quietly got out of bed.
Though drowsiness was overwhelming him, and he really wanted to stay and sleep with Li Anle, he still had things to do.
He needed to buy her some suitable clothes.
Li Cunxu first went to the garbage dump, where the Recording Parrot had already arrived.
He released dozens of Garbage Slimes and asked the Recording Parrot to keep an eye on them.
Li Cunxu had a decent relationship with the Recording Parrot, so it was willing to help.
Although there was a rule that the Recording Parrot couldn't eat food given from outside, Li Cunxu could give money to the receptionist to buy Flying Bird Cookies for the parrot.
With just this small gesture, he managed to build a good rapport with the Recording Parrot.
Li Cunxu went to a children's clothing store and bought a bunch of pretty dresses, then spent 30,000 at the Creature Pet Store on a disposable Contract Slot Detector.
Actually, those who awakened their talents naturally could test their Contract Slots for free, but the alliance would record the number of slots.
Given how special Li Anle was, Li Cunxu had a feeling that she might have quite a few Contract Slots, so it was better to test privately and keep it discreet.
Returning to the ranch, Li Anle was still asleep. Li Cunxu lay down on the rattan chair for a short nap.
When he woke up, he opened his eyes to see Li Anle sitting on him, wearing the little white dress he had bought for her.
"Do you like the dress?"
"I like it. I like anything you buy for me, brother."
With that, Li Anle planted a kiss on Li Cunxu's cheek.
"Brother, don't we still have my old dresses from when I was little? You didn't need to buy new ones. It's a waste of money."
"To celebrate your new life, you can't wear old clothes. We can't go back to the past."
Li Anle's memory was still stuck on the idea that their family was so poor they were almost at the point of selling the house.
Li Cunxu ruffled Li Anle's little head. "Alright, don't worry about the money. We're not short on money now."
Indeed, they weren't short on money—just heavily in debt.
They owed Chen Xi a million and a ranch.
"How can we not be short on money? Did you sell the house, brother?"
Li Anle looked around the all-wooden room and guessed.
Li Cunxu's face darkened. "I didn't sell the house. Sister Chen Xi funded me."
"On TV, they say women don't just fund boys for no reason. So, brother, are you being kept?"
Li Anle's eyes turned dangerous, as if someone had taken her most precious thing while she was away.
"Chen Xi, don't you remember? Our parents adopted a child a year older than me."
Hearing this, Li Anle had a vague memory, but not much.
At the time, Chen Xi was six, Li Cunxu was five, and Li Anle was two. What could a two-year-old remember?
"It's her!"
"Sister Chen Xi gave me a ranch and a million, so our family isn't short on money now."
"In the future, I'll give you that much money too," Li Anle said defiantly, raising her voice.
"Could you sense the outside world when you were in that meatball state?"
"No, it's not called a meatball. That doesn't sound good at all. That state is called the Spirit Fetus. That's what the four sub-personalities said."
"Secretly taking out a Spirit Restriction Nail, the culprit who almost killed me..."
"If he dared to harm you, I would kill him."
Li Anle's eyes gleamed with ferocity.
Li Cunxu interrupted her, "Listen to me first. Thanks to the Mech Hunter that Sister Chen Xi hired, we managed to catch him. Otherwise, it would be us who were captured now. We should be grateful to her, understand?"
"Understood."
Li Anle replied reluctantly, though a sense of gratitude toward Chen Xi welled up in her heart, accompanied by a hint of pride.
Li Cunxu took out a disposable Contract Slot Detector. "Let's check how many Contract Slots you have."
Li Anle obediently extended her small hand and placed it on the disposable Contract Slot Detector.
When Li Cunxu saw the number of Contract Slots Li Anle had, he was stunned—not because it was too few, but because it was too many.
A full sixty Contract Slots.
Considering that upon advancing to the King level, the number of Contract Slots would double.
Sixty times two equals one hundred and twenty.
With one hundred and twenty Contract Slots, she could contract an entire army of Pet Beasts.
Thinking of his own pitiful two and a half Contract Slots, Li Cunxu felt a surge of envy and jealousy.
We were born from the same parents, so why is the difference so vast?
But recalling the hardships Li Anle had endured, Li Cunxu's envy lessened.
"If your legendary talent were a Beast Tamer talent, you'd be invincible."
(End of Chapter)