Su Ping grew interested.
Xiao Qing was still very young, but the talent the little wolf had already shown was enough to astonish him!
He had originally thought he would have to wait until Xiao Qing grew a little older and gained a few levels, then buy some poison-type resources for the little wolf to consume.
Only then would Xiao Qing be able to master this mutated poison ability. Now, however, it seemed he had vastly underestimated Xiao Qing's talent!
"Good job!"
He rubbed Xiao Qing's proudly raised head, then turned his gaze toward the other Forest Wolves. Soon, his eyes settled on the youngest one.
This Forest Wolf was also the scrawniest of the ordinary Forest Wolves here, and its level was only one higher than Xiao Qing's.
It was merely at the ordinary third rank.
Previously, Su Ping had never really considered whether Xiao Qing had any fighting ability at this stage.
But now that Xiao Qing had learned a skill, he wanted to see just how effective and powerful Poison Vine Strangulation was.
So he glanced at Old Sha.
"Old Sha, have that little one spar with Xiao Qing!"
Only by growing through battle could a beast become more proficient at using its skills.
Su Ping also wanted to see just how far the Poison Vine Strangulation Xiao Qing had only just learned could go.
"Awooo!"
The little Forest Wolf singled out by Old Sha stepped forward, looking warily at Su Ping and the proud little wolf standing beside his trouser leg with its head raised.
Clearly, this little wolf had also been born not long ago, and its talent was relatively average. Even now, despite being one rank higher than Xiao Qing, it had yet to learn Tree Vine Strangulation.
Facing an opponent, Xiao Qing showed none of the affection reserved for Su Ping. Instead, the little wolf gave a disdainful look and let out a still somewhat immature howl.
A fierce glint flashed in the little Forest Wolf's eyes, and it lunged straight forward.
Before it could get close to Xiao Qing, however, vines that had appeared out of nowhere wrapped tightly around it.
The tender, purplish-green vines looked weak, but having reached a ranked level, their strength already far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
"Whimper..."
The little Forest Wolf let out a howl and struggled to break free, but Su Ping keenly noticed that its strength had diminished considerably compared with normal!
Its wounds were also somewhat swollen.
This poison was powerful!
After he told Xiao Qing to stop through their soul link, the battered little Forest Wolf was finally freed from the strangling poison vines. Yet it seemed to have been drained of all its strength and could not even stand.
Xiao Qing's Poison Vine Strangulation primarily used a blood-borne paralytic poison.
Against an enemy in a genuine fight to the death, the victim might not even feel pain within those poison vines, yet would lose all ability to resist and die.
Su Ping was happy for Xiao Qing, but he hurriedly picked up the helpless little Forest Wolf and followed Old Sha to the infirmary. Only after taking out an antidote, feeding it to the wolf, and watching its condition gradually improve did he breathe a small sigh of relief.
The little Forest Wolf opened its eyes and looked at Xiao Qing, who stood swaggering on Su Ping's shoulder. A hint of dejection appeared in its eyes.
Su Ping stopped. After a moment's thought, he slowly crouched down, rubbed the head of this little wolf that was likewise only thirty centimeters tall, and smiled.
"It's all right. You'll get stronger too. As long as you're here at Woodheart, I won't give up on any of you little ones! Keep working hard!"
"Awooo!"
Before the little Forest Wolf could open its mouth, Xiao Qing let out a jealous cry from Su Ping's shoulder. With a light leap, the little wolf landed beside him and tugged at his trouser leg with newly emerging fangs.
Then Xiao Qing cast an unfriendly look at the defeated opponent.
This fellow had actually come up with a trick like this to compete for the master's affection. How despicable!
But the moment Xiao Qing bared those teeth, Su Ping gave the little wolf a light pat on the head. When dealing with wolves, or any pet beast, affection alone was not enough. They also needed to know who their true master was.
Xiao Qing felt a little wronged.
"Woodheart is one big family. You're not allowed to bully your companions, and you have to help one another! Understand?"
Xiao Qing covered that little head with two immature paws, but still gave an "awooo," clearly answering him.
The weakened little wolf, meanwhile, looked at Su Ping in surprise, then glanced at the little Forest Wolf that was somewhat different from itself. Determination appeared in its eyes.
Then it forced itself upright on legs that still trembled slightly and gave an equally immature cry.
"Awooo!"
It was as though it was trying to prove that it was not actually as hopeless as its performance had suggested.
"Good! That's the spirit!"
Su Ping smiled in satisfaction and set it on the ground. He also fetched some ointment to ease the pain of its rapidly healing wounds.
Old Sha had followed them and stood outside the infirmary door, watching Su Ping's back as he crouched on the ground in the morning sunlight.
Beside him were two equally tiny figures.
One was weak but determined, the other proud and indignant, yet neither resisted Su Ping.
At the sight, a trace of amusement flashed in Old Sha's eyes as well.
Old Sha did not understand why drinking the potion this young master had made had awakened the Woodheart skill and its power.
Nor did Old Sha understand how the young master dared to make such promises.
But at that moment, the sight of Su Ping standing in the morning light seemed to truly make Old Sha believe.
Perhaps this young master, who had only just become a Beast Tamer, could transform this little Pet Beast Breeding Base. Perhaps one day he might even become a greater Beast Tamer than his grandfather.
Just then, however, Su Ping suddenly froze for a moment.
Another notification appeared in the log of the Forest Wolf Record in his mind:
[Discovered and interacted with an ordinary Forest Wolf. Affinity requirement met. Record level experience +10!] [This Forest Wolf has an ordinary bloodline. Each subsequent day spent with it grants Record experience +1!]
It was not much experience. Neither the experience awarded for meeting the affinity requirement nor the Record experience gained by spending time together amounted to much.
But it was enough to fill Su Ping with unexpected delight.
That was right. Dealing with pet beasts was actually much simpler than getting along with people.
Pet beasts had sharper instincts than humans. They could sense who meant them well.
So when dealing with pet beasts, all it took was one thing.
Sincerity!
At that thought, Su Ping stood straight up and swept his hand through the air.
"Don't worry, little one! From now on, we're launching Woodheart's rapid improvement plan! We'll have every Forest Wolf awaken the Woodheart skill! Starting with you and Xiao Qing!"
"Awooo..."
"Awooo..."
The two immature wolf howls rang out together, as though cheering on their master's grand ambitions.
Only Old Sha, whose eyes had been smiling outside the door, suddenly looked crestfallen.
From the sound of it, was the young master going to start making that stuff again?
Although Old Sha had now experienced its benefits, that smell had left far too deep an impression on a wolf.
That was one resolution that truly left a lingering dread.
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