The afternoon.
Su Ping was doing the work he was most familiar with.
Wearing a mask, holding a pair of tweezers, and carrying a wooden basket on his back, he continued carefully sorting through the Lin Wolf droppings that looked almost like wood shavings.
The difference this time was that he was no longer the only one suffering through it.
Beside him, Li Shu wore a look of righteous indignation.
"Brother Ping, is this how you're letting me experience the work and life of a breeder?"
Su Ping shot him a glance.
"If you don't want to do it, then get lost. There are plenty of Junior Breeders outside who'd kill to be an apprentice."
Li Shu instantly wilted and went back to diligently shoveling manure.
Watching him for a moment, Su Ping nodded in satisfaction.
Although Li Shu was a bit jumpy by nature, he was reliable when it came to work and had a warm personality.
He made for a decent helper.
Yes—helper.
It had already been two days since Vice Chairman Liu delivered his Intermediate Breeder certificate.
And in those two days, Su Ping felt like he had received more phone calls than in the rest of his life combined.
This was the influence brought by the endorsement of the Breeders' Association.
Only now did Su Ping truly begin to sense how powerful official organizations really were.
In the end, he simply turned his original phone number into Wood's Heart's public reception line, then applied for a new number and sent it to people he knew.
Only then did things quiet down a little.
Even so, while there were many phone inquiries, most people backed off after hearing the price.
The ones who truly had the intention to pay usually came in person to take a look.
And the one responsible for reception was Li Shu—handling visitors in the morning, then learning the basics of interacting with Lin Wolves and fundamental breeding knowledge from Su Ping in the afternoon.
As for Su Ping himself, he practically begged Vice Chairman Liu to help him out.
The promotional advertisement hanging outside was taken down, and a new notice was posted at the entrance:
Only one Lin Wolf cultivation accepted per week for now. Appointments required. Queue in advance.
Only then did the world finally become quiet.
Money could always be earned, but the purpose of making money was to better cultivate pet beasts.
Su Ping understood clearly that priorities couldn't be reversed.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have the leisure to shovel Lin Wolf manure here with Li Shu.
As for returning to Yun Tian Resort to rent pet beasts, Su Ping hadn't gone back at all.
After speaking with Qin Xiaoxue, his sense of caution toward Yun Tian Resort had noticeably increased.
Besides, just as he had said that day—renting so many pet beasts at once meant he had to stay there constantly, watching over things, worrying, and exhausting himself.
Although combat was highly effective for improving pet beasts, doing it occasionally was fine. Doing it every day?
The Lin Wolves might endure it, but Su Ping certainly couldn't.
Li Shu glanced at Su Ping, genuine admiration flashing in his eyes.
He might act carefree, but he wasn't stupid.
That night, when he video-called his father, Li Senlin, and mentioned Su Ping's Intermediate Breeder certificate, his father's expression—like he'd seen a ghost—said everything.
His old man had even swallowed his pride and tried to use Li Shu's connection to see if he could arrange an interview with Su Ping, only to be politely refused.
What did it mean for a friend of the same age to completely overturn his father's impression of his social circle?
In a society so closely tied to pet beasts, almost no one didn't want to become a professional Beast Tamer or a career entirely supported by pet beasts.
Beyond passion, it represented a promising future.
So Li Shu shamelessly wanted to stay here a bit longer.
Learning more from Su Ping would be worth it.
Su Ping didn't mind at all.
In fact, he welcomed Li Shu's stay.
The reason was simple.
For example—right now.
Su Ping's basket held only a small amount of Lin Wolf droppings, while Li Shu was carrying a thick, heavy pile on his back.
At this moment, the two of them stood before a certain object.
It was a small pine tree, only about one meter tall.
Its vivid green branches swayed gently, as if welcoming its owner's arrival.
This was a Falling Pine.
A plant-type pet beast with Elite-tier racial potential.
Its main combat skill was Pinecone Cannon, which condensed pinecone fruits on its branches and fired them out with tremendous power—a stationary turret-type pet beast.
"Do you know why I made you shovel manure?" Su Ping said.
"First, coating yourself in the scent of Lin Wolf droppings greatly reduces their aggression toward you, even eliminating hostility altogether. With me around, it'll let you get closer to other wild Lin Wolves more easily.
"Second, among plant-type pet beasts, some have excellent absorption efficiency for Lin Wolf droppings, which accelerates their growth. Falling Pine is one of them.
"That's it. If this were outside, don't even think about touching this stuff for free. Without a thousand credits, you wouldn't even be qualified to come near it!"
Li Shu's eyes lit up. He snapped to attention.
"My fault! I failed to understand my godfather's painstaking intentions! I truly deserve death! From now on, godfather, rest assured—every bit of Lin Wolf poop they produce is mine to handle! If the pinecones don't get used up, I'll take care of them!"
Watching Li Shu pat his chest in solemn assurance, Su Ping rolled his eyes.
He didn't bother arguing with this clown and instead turned his gaze to the Falling Pine.
The reason Su Ping had agreed to let Li Shu stay at Wood's Heart for a while wasn't just because they got along well, nor only because Li Shu had indirectly helped him in the biggest way—by leading to Qin Xiaoxue's arrival.
After all, without Qin Xiaoxue, it would've been extremely difficult for Wood's Heart to obtain its first startup capital, let alone the later connection with Vice Chairman Liu and that special wager.
Beyond all that, there was another major reason.
This Falling Pine.
Within the Myriad Spirits Codex, there were countless pet beast entries waiting to be lit up and activated.
Although the Falling Pine wasn't his own pet beast, as long as the intimacy with one reached the standard, the corresponding entry could be activated.
Leveling up was one thing—but simply activating it would grant him certain rewards.
As for the Codex's source rewards, Su Ping had no intention of missing out.
So he planned to use the time Li Shu was staying here to try and build rapport with this Falling Pine, raise its intimacy to the threshold, and light up its pet beast entry to obtain a reward.
To prepare for this, Su Ping had even researched a lot of information on Falling Pine cultivation requirements.
Unfortunately, he hadn't found anything particularly useful.
Afterward, he asked Qin Xiaoxue for some tips on nurturing plant-type pet beasts, which finally gave him a bit more confidence.
And Lin Wolf droppings were exactly the fertilizer most plant-type pet beasts needed.
Sadly, fertilizer magic potion formulas for plant-type pet beasts were extremely rare. Even with money, they were hard to obtain.
All Su Ping could do was use the most basic method—mixing high-quality soil with Lin Wolf droppings and applying it around the Falling Pine.
Just as Su Ping was about to get closer to the pine, exchange a bit of "feelings," and sense the relatively immature expressions of a plant-type pet beast—
Ding-dong.
His phone chimed.
He took it out and saw a message:
[The items you purchased have arrived at your doorstep. Please come out to receive them promptly. Thank you!]
A flash of delight appeared in Su Ping's eyes.
The materials he'd spent several million on—finally here!
The cultivation of Wood's Heart for the other Lin Wolves… Little Qing's poison-element resources…
Could it finally begin?
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