The scene fell silent in an instant. All the little Steel Falcons stared blankly at Gangbao.
Qiao Sang gazed at the mysterious white light appearing on Gangbao's body, her thoughts frozen, stunned for a long moment.
The Light of Evolution?
How was it that one second they were just chatting, and the next second, she evolved?
According to the data in the Beast Codex, there should have been about ten days leftâŠ
Qiao Sang suddenly thought of something, snapped back to reality, and quickly entered the Beast Master Codex, flipping to Gangbaoâs page.
But the moment she saw the Codex, she was stunned.
Before she even made a move, the book was already glowing intensely with white light, automatically turning to Gangbaoâs page.
To be honest, this was the first time she had entered the Codex while a pet was evolvingâŠ
So this is what happens when a pet evolvesâŠ
Qiao Sang composed herself and looked at the data. Her expression abruptly changed to one of shock.
A new name had appeared in the evolution data, an evolution path she had never heard of.
The first line displayed the familiar name: [Steel Armor Falcon]
But below it, a second name appeared: [Steel Guardian Falcon]
And at this moment, the Steel Guardian Falcon text was significantly brighter than Steel Armor Falcon.
Qiao Sang: ?!!
Steel Guardian Falcon?!
Was this an alternative evolution path for Steel Falcons?!
Why had she never seen any mention of this when researching the evolution chain online?!
Her brain overheated for 0.03 seconds before she remembered her purpose. She swiftly maxed out Gangbaoâs level to 1000 in the Codex.
She hadnât forgotten, the maximum level data ensured that a petâs energy reached its full potential for the current stage, making evolution even more complete.
The moment she increased the level to 1000, the text Steel Guardian Falcon lit up blindingly, nearly dazzling Qiao Sangâs eyes.
She instinctively exited the Codex.
Not far away, the white light around Gangbao faded, revealing a completely transformed appearance.
Now one meter tall, her entire body was covered in metallic purple feathers, her lower jaw bore sharp fangs, and the white markings around her eyes resembled a mask.
The feathers at the tips of her wings were blade-like, giving it a drastically different appearance from a Steel Armor Falcon.
Qiao Sang stared blankly at the transformed Gangbao.
She had clearly seen the words Steel Guardian Falcon in the Codex and understood that Gangbaoâs evolution had diverged from the usual Steel Armor Falcon path.
So, while she was briefly stunned, she managed to keep her composure.
The other little Steel Falcons, however, were completely different.
Their eyes were wide open, their beaks gaped so much an egg could fit inside, and they stared at Gangbao in disbelief, completely losing their usual intelligence.
"Gang?!"
"Gang?!?!"
"Gang!!!"
After a few seconds, all the little Steel Falcons flapped their wings in a frenzy, clearly bewildered.
They couldnât understand why this contracted Steel Falcon had evolved into something so different from their usual evolution.
"Gang Armor?!"
The Steel Armor Falcon looked completely stunned, but it was the first to recover. It flew up to Gangbao, circling around and inspecting it curiously.
"Gang Guardian?"
Gangbao felt a little confused under the intense scrutiny.
Wasnât it just an evolution? Why such a big reaction?
She called out, puzzled, but then-
She froze.
"Gang... Guardian?"
"Gang Guardian?!"
Gangbao hesitantly called out again and then looked shocked.
Why did her voice sound different from the rest of the species?!
"Xun Xun~"
Little Treasure didnât understand the seriousness of the situation.
He assumed that the issue was just a change in voice, after all, when he evolved, his own voice had startled him as well.
âŠ
Your situations are completely different.
Qiao Sang silently glanced at Little Treasure.
Soon, all the little Steel Falcons gathered around Gangbao, curious and excited.
Qiao Sang, still sitting on Yabaoâs back, watched the scene unfold.
She was now a Beast Master with four contracted pets. Even though she couldnât understand their exact words, she could guess their emotions from their expressions and movements.
Clearly, the little Steel Falcons were confused about Gangbaoâs evolution form.
She instinctively started analyzing the situation.
She distinctly remembered researching Gang Baoâs evolution online, there had only been one intermediate form: Steel Armor Falcon.
There was no mention of a Steel Guardian Falcon anywhere.
Given the internetâs vast information network, even rare evolutionary paths should have some traceable dataâŠ
Thinking along these lines, Qiao Sang suddenly recalled Yabaoâs evolution from Fire Fang Dog to Flame Hound.
Since Yabao was native to the Yuhua Region, she was familiar with his entire evolution chain and knew that Flame Hound was a completely new evolution form.
But with Gangbao, she wasnât sure.
All her knowledge about the species came from online sources, and there was always a possibility of missing information.
Yet the reaction of these little Steel Falcons was identical to her reaction when Yabao evolved.
Could it be⊠Steel Guardian Falcon is actually a brand-new evolution path?
The thought made her heart race.
Before evolving, Gangbao had said something that deeply moved her.
If she connected all the clues together, it seemed like⊠this was Bond Evolution.
Bond EvolutionâŠ
Or was she just overthinking it?
After all, Gangbao was always rational and viewed her as a good person but never seemed like a pet that would develop a deep emotional bondâŠ
Her thoughts were getting tangled.
"Gang Guardian?"
Gangbaoâs voice snapped her back to reality.
She looked up and saw all the little Steel Falcons staring at her.
But unlike before, their gazes were no longer aggressive, only curious and observant.
"Gang Guardian."
Gangbao called out again, indicating they could leave now.
Qiao Sang was taken aback and whispered, âAre you sure itâs safe?â
"Gang Guardian."
Gangbao smiled and nodded.
"Then Iâm leaving." Qiao Sang tested the waters, still watching the little Steel Falcons warily.
"Gang Guardian."
Gangbao nodded again.
"Iâm really leaving?" Qiao Sang confirmed.
"Gang Armor."
Before Gang Bao could answer, the Steel Armor Falcon pointed its wing towards the southwest and called out.
âŠ
Was it giving her directions?!
Qiao Sang was a little overwhelmed, hesitating. âYou mean I should leave that way?â
"Gang Armor."
The Steel Armor Falcon nodded.
Qiao Sang looked towards the direction it indicated.
At that very moment, the little Steel Falcons in the southwest moved aside, creating an open path.
âŠ
What the hell did you just say to them?!
Qiao Sang shot Gangbao a shocked look.
"Gang Guardian."
Gangbao, understanding her expression, chuckled.
Itâs nothing. They just realized youâre a good person.
Qiao Sang: ???
Just like that?
You told them, and they believed it?!
So being a good person was a literal passcode in Steel Falcon society?
Just moments ago, they hadnât listened to a word Gangbao said and had even attacked her-
Yet now, they changed their minds after seeing her evolution?
âŠ
If they recognized this as Bond Evolution, it all made sense.
Qiao Sang took a deep breath, suppressing her thoughts, and thanked the Steel Armor Falcon before riding Yabao toward the southwest exit.
As they left, Gangbao took one last deep look at her kin before flapping her wings and following Qiao Sang.
"Gang Armor!"
The moment they disappeared, the Steel Armor Falcon flew to the center of the flock, calling out in high spirits.
"Gang!!"
"Gang!!"
"Gang!!"
The little Steel Falcons let out excited cries, then scattered, flying off in different directions.