Ding-dong…
The doorbell rang.
Su Ping frowned slightly. Still, since someone had come without calling ahead, he could only drag his exhausted body over to open the door.
Standing there in the fading light were two familiar figures.
No one else—it was the Zhang family's twin brothers from earlier that day.
"Oh, it's you two. Come in."
With guests at the door, Su Ping forced himself to perk up despite his fatigue and led them into the reception room.
"I don't really have anything to drink here. Just make do with this."
Su Ping grabbed two bottles of cola.
He did have tea leaves and even a drink-making machine, but he truly didn't have the energy to entertain them properly right now.
Clearly, the brothers hadn't come over for such trivial matters anyway. After thanking him, the older brother, Zhang Wen, hurriedly spoke up:
"Well… um—"
"Just call me by my name," Su Ping said.
Zhang Wen then blurted out:
"Su Ping, what exactly are the services for Lin Wolf training here? And, uh… you do have business permits and certifications, right?"
Although that breeder Jin Sheng—who seemed quite capable—had given Su Ping extremely high praise during the day, the brothers still needed to see things with their own eyes before they could be certain.
As always, pet beast cultivation was no small matter.
Aside from the massive expenses involved, the most important thing was that it affected one's future.
So the Zhang brothers' caution was entirely understandable.
Su Ping smiled.
"Don't worry. If your pet beast dies because of my fault, you won't even need to sue me—I'll turn myself in."
Then his expression grew a bit more serious.
"That said, my cultivation here is different from other places. The skill being cultivated is the rare wood-element skill Wood's Heart. You should both understand the value and significance of Wood's Heart.
"So the fee for successfully cultivating it is four million. If the cultivation fails, the materials fee is one million. As for skill level enhancement cultivation, I don't have time to take that on for now.
"After some time, when you come again, there will also be accelerated casting cultivation for Lin Wolves. I haven't decided on the exact pricing yet, but if you're the first to try it, I'll give you a discounted price."
As he spoke, Su Ping wore an expression that clearly said they were getting a great deal.
That's right—Su Ping had raised his prices.
After this period of experience, he had gained a deeper understanding of his own abilities.
What kind of skill was Wood's Heart?
Sun Chaoju dared to open his mouth and charge three million just for accelerated casting—no refunds whether it succeeded or not. Compared to that guy, Su Ping could practically be called conscientious.
Compared to the value this ability truly deserved, it was even a bit cheap.
If it actually succeeded, its worth simply couldn't be measured in money.
This was the value of knowledge in Beast Tamer society.
Besides, things were different from just a few days ago.
The current Su Ping was a bona fide Intermediate Breeder officially registered with the Breeders' Association.
With that status alone, the pricing might change again in the future.
However, it was obvious that the Zhang brothers weren't like Qin Xiaoxue—a reckless big spender.
Even if it was clear they weren't short on money, they definitely weren't the type to casually throw away several million.
The two exchanged troubled looks. After a brief pause, it was still the older brother, Zhang Wen, who spoke:
"Su Ping… can't it be a little cheaper?"
Clearly, the recently graduated youth wasn't very good at bargaining. After saying it, his cheeks even flushed slightly.
Su Ping shook his head.
"Sorry. I also need to bear the risk."
Seeing Su Ping's stance, the brothers finally said:
"How about this—we'll go back and discuss it with our family first. Can we give you an answer in a few days?"
Su Ping smiled.
"Of course. There's no such thing as forcing a deal in this world."
Only then did the two of them relax and head out.
Su Ping, meanwhile, fell into contemplation.
Of course, it wasn't about discounts. In fact, even if the two of them paid on the spot, Su Ping still wouldn't be able to cultivate their Lin Wolves yet.
The resources and materials he had purchased were still on the way and would take some time to arrive.
What Su Ping was really thinking about went far deeper.
He had never intended to be satisfied with things as they were.
Becoming a breeder was certainly important—but not a breeder who did it purely for money.
After all, no matter how remarkable a breeder or how respected a cultivation master might be, they still couldn't compare to a truly high-level Beast Tamer.
Only by wielding extraordinary Beast Taming power could one fulfill Su Ping's true pursuit and dream.
His cultivation abilities were merely a supporting path to help enhance his own strength.
The Zhang brothers' visit was neither the first nor the last.
It was easy to imagine that as his abilities and reputation grew, there would be a steady stream of clients.
He didn't want to reach a point where he no longer even had time to train his own pet beasts.
If that's the case… should I look for some helpers in the future? Or perhaps set up a complete production line, like other pet beast cultivation bases?
Su Ping blinked, feeling that it would be necessary sooner or later.
Not purely for money.
A pet beast cultivation base meant constant exposure to large numbers of pet beasts, which would allow the Myriad Spirits Codex to improve faster—and naturally, his own strength would rise more quickly as well.
As for money, whoever earned it made no difference.
His cultivation abilities were surely better than those scammy breeders out there, right?
Shaking his head, Su Ping dragged his exhausted body over and called the Lin Wolves back together.
The training for Self-Healing couldn't stop.
However, the Lin Wolves that had fought during the day were allowed to rest properly. Only those that hadn't participated were required to train tonight.
After arranging everything, Su Ping resumed pondering the earlier issues.
But before long, already exhausted and poorly rested, he slowly fell asleep.
In front of the forest, some of the Lin Wolves rested, while others voluntarily joined the training ranks.
As a result, aside from that area, the vast Wood's Heart Pet Beast Cultivation Base was completely empty.
And at that very moment—
Behind the forest of Wood's Heart, at the boundary bordering Yun Tian Resort and the Spirit Creek riverbank,
Within the darkness of night, a faint ripple slowly appeared.
It was a special fluctuation in space.
Then, within that barely perceptible ripple, a small figure suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Tilting its head, it looked around in confusion.
But very quickly, its figure faded—and it vanished once more.
Not long after, Old Sha—who had been watching over the Lin Wolves' training in front of the forest—seemed to pause slightly.
He looked toward the direction of Spirit Creek, sniffed the air, and a suspicious expression appeared in his eyes.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/Nishaat