Under the sunlight, the entrance to the sprawling Woodheart base was unusually quiet.
Only the calls of a few cicadas broke the silence.
In the end, Su Ping spoke first.
"Please come in and have a seat."
Only then did the girl's slightly flushed face ease a little, and she entered the reception room.
Su Ping took the fastest shower of his life before walking into the room.
This time, the girl's eyes lit up.
To be fair, although his first impression had been terrible, the Su Ping who walked in this time caught her by surprise.
His handsome features carried a steadiness rarely found in someone his age.
He was far easier on the eyes than those insufferably conceited campus heartthrobs and so-called young talents at Demon City's Beast Taming Academy.
Even if she had passed him on the street, he was the sort she would have glanced at several more times.
But obviously, she was not here to admire handsome men.
Although the handsome young man before her did soothe some of the irritation from her long wait, she still spoke with a frosty expression.
"All right, can this place train Forest Wolves in the 'Woodheart' skill or not? Call your breeder out. I'll talk to him."
Su Ping sat down.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Su Ping, the owner and Beast Tamer of the Wood Heart Pet Beast Breeding Base."
The girl froze, then frowned slightly. Her expression turned cold at once, and a hint of mockery even appeared on her face.
"And that includes odd-job man and poop scooper?"
Without waiting for Su Ping to respond, she stood right up.
"Forget it. Goodbye."
Although he had anticipated all this, a world that judged people by appearances was inherently unfair to an outstanding breeder and genius Beast Tamer like him.
But there was nothing he could do. Even a hero could be brought low by a single penny.
A customer whose brain did not work all that well had finally come knocking. Su Ping could not possibly let her walk away.
"You don't trust me?"
Had the handsome young man before her not been so pleasing to the eye, she clearly would not even have looked back. Hearing his question, she turned around.
"Judging by your age, you only just graduated, right? Do you know what kind of skill Woodheart is?"
Before Su Ping could answer, she spoke again.
"Woodheart is a passive enhancement skill, a lesser version of the transcendent skill 'Elemental Heart.' Only Wood Elemental pet beasts have a chance of comprehending it on their own.
"For other wood-type pet beasts, never mind Forest Wolves-even plant-type pet beasts like the Life Ancient Tree, whose racial potential reaches Monarch Rank, rarely possess it.
"Although Linzhou is the birthplace of Forest Wolf breeding, as for training one to acquire Woodheart... honestly, I never had much hope to begin with. Sorry for the trouble."
After saying that, the girl shook her head with a self-mocking look, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Yet Su Ping looked at her without the slightest change in expression. Still wearing that same confident, calm composure, he asked evenly,
"Why not give it a try?"
The girl paused and glanced at this young Beast Tamer, who had clearly only just graduated.
Meeting her scrutinizing gaze, Su Ping smiled slightly.
"If you're willing to try, then unless I successfully train your pet beast to acquire Woodheart, you won't have to pay a single penny for any preliminary expenses or materials!"
Those words truly stunned her.
Generally speaking, pet beast breeding bases-especially those that trained skills-had two crucial conditions!
The first, and most important, was that they had to guarantee the pet beast's safety.
Usually, though, this was not much of a concern. When a pet beast was in danger, its Beast Tamer could sense it and halt the training at any time.
Moreover, the contracts they signed generally included this clause. If a pet beast died, not only would the breeding base be shut down, but the breeder might even end up in prison.
Thus, becoming a breeder was not something just anyone could do. Without a certificate from the Breeder Association, it was perfectly reasonable that no one trusted Su Ping.
The second was that, before training began, the Beast Tamer had to shoulder a certain amount of the expenses, regardless of whether it succeeded.
After all, even the exceedingly rare master breeders could not all guarantee success in the end.
Breeding bases were not charities. Training where customers only paid upon success was simply not realistic.
Yet now, this young fellow before her actually dared to make such a promise.
Was he treating me as a guinea pig?
Still, at that moment, she really did hesitate. There was an inexplicably reassuring air of steadiness about the young man before her.
Besides, she had her own reasons for needing her pet beast to comprehend Woodheart.
Of course, perhaps it was simply because her mind worked differently from most people's?
Moreover, she did not believe that someone running such a large breeding base would be unaware of the consequences and implications of causing trouble.
And so, her interest was piqued.
"Qin Xiaoxue!"
Looking at the fair hand extended toward him, Su Ping paused, then reached out and shook it lightly.
Qin Xiaoxue, however, remained brisk and direct.
"Since you're the one who offered, don't say I took advantage of you. If you fail, and Timber hasn't learned Woodheart by the end of the training, you won't get a single penny!
"If you can do it, then besides paying the agreed price, I'll grant you any one request. How does that wager sound?"
Su Ping's answer was even more direct.
He simply printed out the contract.
Although Qin Xiaoxue seemed rather scatterbrained, she read the contract meticulously.
She pointed to one section.
"I just said that, besides paying the agreed price, I'd grant you one request. All you've put here is a training fee of three million five hundred thousand!"
Su Ping smiled.
"You're the first person to believe in me. Aside from waiving the material costs if I fail, I don't need any promises from you."
Having lived two lives, Su Ping could also tell that Miss Qin before him was probably no ordinary person.
After all, there really were not many people who could see that training price without so much as blinking.
But right now, he was short on money. He had no need for all those other complications.
At this price, his conscience was already beginning to ache.
Two hundred thousand in costs, with a return of nearly twenty times that amount.
Granted, for a Beast Tamer who could casually afford the price, it was absolutely worth every penny.
But this was Su Ping's first time doing business like this, and he still found it somewhat difficult to adjust.
After all, becoming a qualified black-hearted capitalist required a certain amount of talent, too.
Qin Xiaoxue gave Su Ping a complicated look. In truth, compared to her promise, never mind three million five hundred thousand-even thirty-five million was hardly worth mentioning.
Yet at that moment, this very young Beast Tamer left her with an extraordinarily unusual feeling and impression.
And so, inexplicably, a genuinely unrealistic hope arose in Qin Xiaoxue's heart.
Could he actually pull it off?
Before you continue