A pair of alluring yet indifferent eyes gazed down from atop the building.
The figure standing there seemed as though she naturally belonged high above all others.
Yet from the expression on her face—colder than usual—it was clear that this queen-like existence was not in a good mood at the moment.
And indeed, that was the case.
Dong Muyun glanced at Manager Guan, who stood nearby wiping sweat incessantly, and her red lips parted as she spoke calmly:
"You offered that price, and the little fellow still refused? And now he may even have noticed something—so much so that he's stopped the rental business altogether?"
Her tone was flat, but the beads of sweat on Manager Guan's forehead multiplied.
"It's not necessarily that he noticed something," Manager Guan replied hurriedly. "Su Ping isn't short on money anymore. He's already become an Intermediate Breeder, and in this short span of time, he seems to have developed the method for cultivating Wood's Heart in Lin Wolves. He's already registered with the Breeders' Association."
At this point, there was even a trace of admiration in his voice.
He had been here for several years and, as a neighbor, had interacted quite a bit with the Su family father and son.
Naturally, he knew just what a sorry state Wood's Heart had been in before.
Yet now, Su Ping had inexplicably become an Intermediate Breeder. Not only that—starting from this very morning, a steady stream of people had been coming to visit him.
After making a few inquiries, Manager Guan realized one thing clearly:
This kid was truly about to take off.
However, it was equally clear that these words caused Dong Muyun—seated above—to slowly turn her head and look at him calmly.
"Manager Guan Qianshan," she said evenly, "from this moment on, you are no longer the manager of Yun Tian Resort. The company has a construction and development project for a water-type pet beast breeding base on Crescent Island. You'll go there and oversee the work."
Those plain words caused Manager Guan's face to turn pale.
Crescent Island was a small island in Jianghai Province—an utterly desolate place.
Was this… exile?
However, he had already prepared himself mentally before coming to report today. Instead of despair, he felt an unexpected sense of relief. He nodded and replied:
"Yes."
Manager Guan had always been very close to the Su family.
He could vaguely guess that the chairwoman's desire to purchase that land deed was driven by other motives. This realization had long burdened him with a sense of guilt—like deceiving a child.
Now, being exiled like this actually brought him an unprecedented sense of ease.
"Since there are still buses running, hand over things to the new manager today," Dong Muyun said flatly.
Watching him leave, her gaze remained unchanged.
Tianyun was a small kingdom—and she was its sole queen.
With a mere thought, a flash of light appeared in the spacious living room.
A silver strange fish—about the size of a dolphin—materialized in midair.
"Woo—woo…"
A strange cry rang out, finally drawing a faint smile to Dong Muyun's lips. But it vanished almost instantly, her brows knitting together instead.
"The spatial fluctuations are becoming more intense? Even some high-tier pet beasts can already sense them?"
The silver strange fish nodded in a very human-like manner.
Dong Muyun's eyes shifted slightly as she looked down at the land beneath her feet.
"So soon? A few months earlier than expected… What went wrong?"
Then, as her gaze drifted toward the distant Wood's Heart Base, her expression gradually calmed.
"An Intermediate Breeder? Interesting. Looks like I'll have to pick a time to personally meet this little friend."
Su Ping, of course, had no idea that simply skipping pet beast rentals today had directly led to Manager Guan being exiled from his position.
But it wasn't because he was lazy. Though exhausting, the results had been real.
Aside from the three pet beasts that had achieved skill breakthroughs in combat, Su Ping woke up to another pleasant surprise that morning.
Little Dot and Little Qing had both changed.
Little Dot had comprehended one of the Lin Wolf's primary combat skills: Vine Strangle.
And Little Qing did not disappoint—she had successfully comprehended Self-Healing.
Such progress clearly demonstrated the necessity of real combat for pet beasts.
Unfortunately, from the moment he woke up—no, from the moment he was jolted awake by phone calls—Su Ping hadn't had a single moment of peace.
He was beginning to understand why Vice Chairman Liu had said those words before leaving.
On the phone were Junior Breeders who also specialized in Lin Wolves, curious Intermediate Breeders, Beast Tamers looking to inquire about cultivation services, and representatives from companies or studios trying to recruit him—with the benefits all open for negotiation.
There were even people hoping to purchase the Wood's Heart cultivation method outright, offering prices beyond imagination.
And on top of that, reporters from certain media outlets had come by, hoping to conduct interviews.
There was no helping it.
An eighteen-year-old Intermediate Breeder—once word got out, it was bound to attract attention.
With such prime news material, how could the media not be interested?
Su Ping decisively put his phone on silent.
Only then did he truly understand why that Intermediate Breeder certificate and badge had made Jin Sheng so envious yesterday.
It was his first time realizing that such a high-profit business could draw so many people rushing to inquire.
Especially after seeing that even Mu Tou and Little Dot—who were still training—had both awakened Wood's Heart.
These people seemed to treat money as if it were worthless!
It made Su Ping feel embarrassed enough to raise the price again—to five million.
Yet even then, the response barely changed.
Of course, most were just making inquiries, and not many actually paid a deposit. Still, when people asked, he couldn't exactly ignore them, could he?
Some might wonder: if someone was willing to spend such a huge sum to cultivate a Lin Wolf, why not just add a bit more money and purchase a pet beast with higher racial potential from the start?
But that wasn't how things worked.
Not everyone was born with money or opportunities.
Countless people had contracted a Lin Wolf as their very first pet beast. Later, they rose in status and gained access to higher-tier options—but the contract was already set.
There were plenty of such cases.
Moreover, as one of Linzhou's origin pet beasts, the Lin Wolf had many developed evolution paths and respectable cultivation potential.
Amid this chaos, Su Ping couldn't even personally supervise pet beast training—how could he possibly spare the time to lead them out for rental battles?
Finally, after a full day of hustle, Su Ping sent off the last two inquiring Beast Tamers.
Standing in front of his gate, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
But soon, he noticed a familiar figure standing at the nearby bus stop.
It was Manager Guan.
Su Ping was about to call out to him. After all, he had agreed yesterday, yet didn't go today—he should at least explain.
However, before he could open his mouth, he saw Manager Guan pull a suitcase behind him and board the bus.
Su Ping frowned slightly, watching as the bus drove away, lost in thought.
But soon, he shook his head.
Before he could think further, a private car drove up not far away.
The car door opened, and a voice called out:
"Excuse me, is this Breeder Su's cultivation base?"
For the first time in his life, Su Ping felt this overwhelmed.
And for the first time ever, he sincerely felt that—
Making money really wasn't something humans were meant to do.
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