Lying on the floor, Lubao opened her eyes and glanced up.

"Come here and drink this." Qiao Sang said as she opened the bottle of the potion in her hand.

The Potential Enhancement Potion was an easy choice for her to give to Lubao.

What’s that saying? Strengthen what’s weak.

It wasn’t that she thought Lubao was lacking in potential, but rather that, compared to Yabao and Little Treasure, Lubao seemed like the better candidate.

"Lu." Lubao responded, not asking any questions. She got up, walked over, and sniffed the potion with her nose.

Finding the scent acceptable, she took the bottle with her paws, sat on the ground, and drank it all in one gulp.

"How do you feel?" Qiao Sang asked expectantly.

This was an S-rank potion! Without that unlimited card, she probably would’ve had to scrimp and save her whole life to even think about buying something like this.

"Lu."

Lubao placed the empty bottle on the ground, flicked her tail, and returned to her original spot. Lying down, she closed her eyes, seemingly unaffected.

No effect? How could that be? This was an S-rank Potential Enhancement Potion! Could it be expired? Qiao Sang picked up the empty bottle and checked the expiration date.

No, it wasn’t expired...

"Lu..."

Just then, Lubao’s eyes snapped open, a bewildered expression on her face.

She began to feel something changing within her body, a strange yet comfortable sensation spreading through her being.

Qiao Sang looked over just in time to see a faint blue light enveloping Lubao. Her body began to grow larger within the glow.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the light faded. Lubao, once only around 40 centimeters long, now measured closer to 60 centimeters.

"Xun!"

Little Treasure’s eyes widened at the sight of the newly enlarged Lubao. Realization dawned, and he floated over to his trainer, staring alternately at the empty bottle and Qiao Sang.

"Xun..."

Even if it meant losing his place on her head, he really wanted to try this too...

Qiao Sang, however, was deep in thought, not noticing Little Treasure’s actions.

The Potential Enhancement Potion was supposed to improve a pet’s constitution, broadening its capacity to store energy. Increased physical size was often a byproduct of this improvement.

But this growth? This was intense. Clearly, an S-rank potion packed quite a punch.

If only they had an energy tester at home, it’d be easier to measure Lubao’s new limits.

Out of curiosity, she decided to check her Beastmaster Codex. Closing her eyes, she quickly entered its interface.

Name: Ice Qiya (Lubao)

Attribute: Water, Ice

Level: Intermediate (9755/10,000) +

9755?!

Qiao Sang was dumbfounded.

What the... Last night, it was only at 3013! How did it jump to 9755 overnight?

Was the S-rank Potential Enhancement Potion this outrageous? Over 6,000 points in one go?

When she’d splurged on energy-boosting items like Flame Condensation Beads for Yabao and Little Treasure, their daily gain was a mere 5 points. This... this was just insane!

With this much stored energy, Lubao could probably evolve immediately.

But wait, wasn’t this potion supposed to enhance potential? Why did the energy spike so dramatically?

Exiting the Codex, Qiao Sang sat up abruptly, tempted to buy an energy tester right away.

Then she remembered: She’d handed her unlimited black card to her mother for house-hunting...

With a sigh, she sat back down.

She’d have to wait for her mother to return.

And maybe, while at school tomorrow, she’d swing by the vice principal’s office to figure this all out.

"Xun..."

Little Treasure’s persistent gaze finally drew her attention.

"You want some too?" She asked, realizing what he was after.

"Xun Xun!" Little Treasure nodded eagerly.

"But there’s only one bottle, and it’s already gone." Qiao Sang said apologetically.

"Xun..." Little Treasure's head drooped, disappointment written all over his face.

Seeing this, Qiao Sang glanced at the empty bottle and held it up.

"There’s one drop left. Want to mix it with water and try?"

"Xun Xun!"

In an instant, Little Treasure perked up, snatched the bottle, and floated off happily to the kitchen.

Qiao Sang: ...

"Lu."

Meanwhile, Lubao, feeling her changes, got up and walked over to the full-length mirror.

One glance was enough. Unimpressed, she turned and went back to her spot, lying down and closing her eyes.

What a bore, still so much smaller than Yabao.

7:12 PM

At the dinner table, Qiao Sang’s mother glanced sideways and hesitated. "Why does Lu Bao look bigger?"

"Bought a bunch of potions today. It drank an S-rank Potential Enhancement Potion, and this happened," Qiao Sang explained. "By the way, Mom, did you check out houses this afternoon?"

"Yah!"

From the living room, where Ya Bao was snacking on energy balls, its ears perked up. It paused mid-bite, eyes lighting up with anticipation as it looked over.

After a moment’s pause, Ye Xiangting replied, "I did, but we can’t buy it."

Qiao Sang was surprised. "Why not?"

A house in Hanggang City they couldn’t buy, even with an unlimited card?

"Yah?"

Ya Bao tilted its head in confusion, mirroring its trainer’s expression.

Ye Xiangting sighed. "The development I liked has a purchase requirement: you need to be at least a C-rank talent to buy there."

"Yah?"

C-rank talent? Wasn’t its trainer one of those?

Qiao Sang froze for a moment, then understood.

Some developments required buyers to meet certain criteria, like having achieved C-rank in fields such as beastmastery, nurturing, coordination, alchemy, or craftsmanship.

These rules were common in major cities like the imperial capital or Luojing. Not just anyone with money could buy a house there.

Sometimes, these criteria were so strict they only sold to A-rank talents.

Yet, despite the high bar, these homes often sold the fastest.

The thought of a community filled entirely with A-rank talents was a little intimidating.

She hadn’t expected Hanggang City to have developments like that too.

Seeing her daughter deep in thought, Ye Xiangting placed a piece of meat in her bowl and said lightly, "Don’t worry. I’ll check out other developments tomorrow. With this card, finding a suitable house shouldn’t be a problem."

"That’s true..." Qiao Sang chewed her meat and said, "Oh, Mom, could you also pick up an energy tester for me tomorrow?"

"Sure." Ye Xiangting said with a smile.