The sky was clear for miles, and boundless sunshine poured down. The midday sun shone through the leaves, scattering patches of light across the ground.
The Forest Wolves chased and roughhoused with one another or lounged lazily beneath the trees, enjoying the sunshine without getting too hot.
Xiao Qing and Little Dot were slight exceptions.
The two little ones were actually using their skills to spar and practice in the sunlit woods.
After all, improving skill proficiency was one of the main ways to grow stronger.
Old Sha watched over the pair to make sure nothing went wrong.
The entire Wood Heart Pet Beast Breeding Base seemed utterly carefree.
Except for one person.
Who was also the only person in the entire breeding base.
At that moment, Su Ping was not only far from carefree, but also thoroughly exasperated.
Under the blazing sun, he held a pair of specially made tongs, beads of sweat gathering at his temples in the heat.
Even so, he kept his mask on as he crouched there, tongs in hand and a bamboo basket on his back.
An indescribable stench wafted toward him.
It was not quite as overpowering as when he made the Magic Potion, but it was certainly enough to make anyone cover their nose and steer clear.
After picking up the lump of wolf dung, which looked rather like wood shavings, and dropping it into the bamboo basket,
Su Ping sighed behind his mask.
It was not because of the foul smell of the wolf dung in front of him.
After so many days, he had gotten used to it.
Besides, the results had been pretty good.
He did not know why the Forest Wolves' affinity with him rose faster when he smelled of wolf dung, but several days of experiments had confirmed that it really did.
He was also immensely grateful that his family's Pet Beast Breeding Base raised pack animals like Forest Wolves.
A wolf pack had a Wolf King, whose authority over the pack was absolute.
As the Wolf King, Old Sha was as close to him as family. Under Old Sha's influence and authoritative rule, the other Forest Wolves naturally followed suit.
There was also the knowledge of Forest Wolf habits recorded by the Su Family.
Over the past few days, every Forest Wolf except the elite ones had reached the required affinity with him and been added to the Forest Wolf Record.
Granted, these unremarkable ordinary Forest Wolves gave his Forest Wolf Record very little experience.
Still, after several days, the experience he earned from spending time with them and adding them to the record had reached around four hundred.
He reckoned that in a few more days, or once those elite Forest Wolves reached the required affinity, he would be able to upgrade the Forest Wolf Record to LV2.
The only reason he had sighed was that spending his family's money hurt a little.
Li Shu had been right. Who even read local news feeds anymore? Advertising through the local media was far too ineffective.
After all these days, only a handful of people had called to inquire.
And once they heard that this was an obscure breeding base run by someone who did not even have a Junior Breeder certificate, that was the end of the conversation.
So Su Ping felt he had been too hasty.
The advertisement had accomplished practically nothing.
In fact, if he had not still harbored one last shred of hope, he would have simply used up the final bottle of Magic Potion and been done with it.
Fortunately, the Forest Wolf Record was not his only gain over the past few days.
The most obvious improvement was his rank.
A Beast Tamer primarily advanced through feedback from their contracted pet beasts' growth, the use of certain special resources, and the most common, fundamental method: meditation.
Aside from their innate beast-taming talent, this was one of the greatest tests of a Beast Tamer's ability.
And Su Ping had plenty of authority on that subject.
His meditation progress had always been the best at Sixth Middle School. He did not know whether that was because he had lived two lives or because of some hidden effect of the Myriad Spirits Codex.
He also knew from basic beast-taming knowledge that after contracting a soul pet beast, meditation would become more effective and progress faster.
Now, that certainly seemed to be true.
These few days of meditation had taken Su Ping from ordinary fourth rank to ordinary fifth rank.
Xiao Qing had improved along with him. Although Xiao Qing had not advanced in rank, there had still been a noticeable increase in strength.
Shaking his head, he deposited this batch of wolf dung in the woods.
Forest Wolf dung promoted plant growth and counted as a special resource of very little value.
It was precisely thanks to this that his family's woodland grew so well.
Once I make it big, should I raise some plant-type pet beasts?
After all, the Forest Wolves provide such ideal conditions.
Su Ping quietly pondered the idea, finding a little amusement amid his troubles.
Unfortunately, no sooner had the thought occurred to him than he sighed.
The same old problem: no money!
He possessed extraordinary skills, yet no one recognized their worth. After finishing his poop-scooping duties, the great, unappreciated Beast Tamer Su had no desire to play with these silly dogs and headed straight for the manor.
But just as he arrived, he heard the doorbell ringing at the gate.
The ringing was urgent and prolonged. Clearly, someone was pressing it nonstop.
Manager Guan again? Or one of those classmates I haven't bothered keeping in touch with, aside from Li Shu?
Su Ping did not bother thinking any further and went straight to the gate.
"Coming, coming! Stop ringing!"
When he opened the gate, the person standing before him made him pause.
It was a woman who looked around twenty, probably a little older than him. She wore sunglasses, but even so, Su Ping could make out her fair complexion and the suppressed anger on her face.
And, of course, the delicate nose she had instinctively covered.
"You are...?"
Before Su Ping could finish asking, the woman launched straight into a tirade.
"What kind of business are you running here? I've been ringing this doorbell for almost an hour! I must've lost my mind to actually come all the way to this godforsaken place..."
Faced with the anger she had clearly built up while ringing the bell under the blazing sun, Su Ping hurriedly interrupted.
"Um, are you here to have your pet beast's skills trained?"
"Obviously! Why else would I come to this middle-of-nowhere place?"
With that, the woman took off her sunglasses, revealing a face pretty enough to leave even Su Ping a little dazzled.
What a beautiful young woman.
Unfortunately, Su Ping inwardly lamented.
Such a pretty young woman, but she doesn't seem all that bright.
"Sorry, I was taking care of the pet beasts. Have you been waiting long? No one answered the doorbell?"
"What do you think? Would I lie to you?"
Su Ping quickly waved his hands. He understood how it felt to wait forever without anyone opening the gate, but...
His expression grew conflicted. He was not quite sure how to put it.
The young woman, meanwhile, eyed this fellow who reeked of wolf dung suspiciously as she watched his reaction.
"What?"
Su Ping pressed his lips together before finally speaking.
"If you're really in a hurry, you can call the number on the sign or the advertisement."
The woman opened her mouth, then looked up at the phone number on the sign and fell into a strange silence.
At that moment, Su Ping felt somewhat certain that this might be his first-and only-walk-in customer,
And that she might not be all that bright.
Before you continue