CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42 THE FALLEN PINE AND LI SHU, RESOURCES DELIVERED! (FIRST UPDATE)

「Afternoon.」

Su Ping was doing the work he was most familiar with. Wearing a mask and holding tweezers, with a wooden basket on his back, he continued to sort through the Forest Wolf droppings before him, which resembled wood shavings.

Only this time, he wasn’t the only one subjected to this torment. Beside him, Li Shu looked aggrieved and indignant.

"Bro Ping, is this how you introduce me to the work and life of a Breeder?"

Su Ping glanced at him. "If you’re not willing, then get lost! There are plenty of Junior Breeders out there eager to be apprentices."

Deflated, Li Shu returned to diligently scooping poop. After giving him a look, Su Ping nodded in satisfaction.

Although Li Shu was a bit unpredictable, he was reliable and enthusiastic in his work. A good assistant indeed. That’s right, an assistant.

It had been two days since Li Shu had come to deliver Su Ping’s Intermediate Breeder certificate. In those two days, Su Ping felt he had received more phone calls than in his entire life. This was the influence of the Breeder Association’s backing. Now, Su Ping was beginning to understand the power of such official organizations.

As a result, Su Ping had switched his original phone number to serve as the Heart of Woods reception line. He then applied for a new one and sent the new number to people he knew, finally getting some peace.

Although many inquiries came by phone, most did not follow up after hearing the price. The Beast Tamers with real intentions to pay for Cultivation were those who personally visited. Li Shu was responsible for receiving them, handling guests in the morning and learning basic Cultivation for interacting with Forest Wolves from Su Ping in the afternoon.

As for Su Ping, he had pleaded for mercy, asking Vice President Liu to take down the promotional advertisement. He also wrote the Cultivation prices and a new Rule at the entrance: Only one Forest Wolf will be accepted for Cultivation per week. If interested, please schedule an appointment.

Finally, the world became completely quiet.

Money can never be enough, Su Ping mused. The purpose of making money is to cultivate Pet Beasts better; priorities should not be confused. Otherwise, Su Ping wouldn’t have the time to leisurely scoop poop with Li Shu here.

As for returning to Yuntian Resort to rent Pet Beasts, Su Ping hadn’t gone again. After speaking with Qin Xiaoxue, Su Ping had become much more cautious about Yuntian Resort. Moreover, as he had said that day, renting so many Pet Beasts in a row meant he had to constantly watch over them at Yun Tian, which was both worrisome and exhausting. Although battles greatly improved the Pet Beasts, doing it occasionally was fine; however, daily battles were too much. The Forest Wolves might withstand it, but Su Ping couldn’t.

Li Shu glanced at Su Ping, sincere admiration flashing in his eyes.

Li Shu might appear frivolous, but he wasn’t dumb. This became clear when he talked to his father, Li Senlin, via video chat that night. Upon mentioning Su Ping’s Intermediate Breeder certificate, Li Senlin reacted as if he had seen a ghost. Even his father had shamelessly tried to use Li Shu’s connection to see if he could interview Su Ping, but regrettably, he was politely declined.

What did it mean for a peer to so drastically alter his father’s opinion of his friendships?

Although his own Talent was average, in a society so closely intertwined with Pet Beasts, everyone wanted to become a professional Beast Tamer or find a profession where they could rely entirely on Pet Beasts for a living. Besides passion, it also represented a promising future. Therefore, he was also thick-skinned in his desire to stay here longer. Being able to learn a little more from Su Ping would be good.

Su Ping himself didn’t really care; in fact, he was quite happy to have Li Shu stay. The reason was pretty simple. For example, right then, Su Ping wasn’t carrying much Forest Wolf dung, but Li Shu’s basket was piled high with it.

And right then, the two of them stood before a particular item.

It was a small pine tree, only about one meter tall. The vibrant green leaves swayed gently, as if welcoming their master’s arrival. This was the Luozisong (Pine), a Plant-based Pet Beast with Elite Tier Racial Potential. Its main combat Skill was the Pine Cone Cannon; it could condense pine cones on its branches and shoot them out with great power, making it a stationary artillery-type Pet Beast.

"Do you know why I had you shovel poop?" Su Ping asked.

"First, getting the scent of Forest Wolf dung on you can greatly reduce their aggression towards you, or even eliminate their hostility. With me around, you can get closer to other wild Forest Wolves.

"Second, some Plant Type Pet Beasts absorb Forest Wolf dung extremely well, which can accelerate their growth. The Luozisong is one of them.

"That’s all. If we were outside, forget about shoveling it for free; you’d have to pay me a thousand Gold just for the privilege of touching it!"

Li Shu’s eyes lit up, and he instantly straightened. "My fault! I didn’t appreciate your painstaking efforts, adoptive father! I deserve to die! From now on, adoptive father, you can leave the Forest Wolves’ daily poop to me! If the Luozisong doesn’t use it all up, I will!"

Watching Li Shu thump his chest and make promises, Su Ping glanced sideways at the guy. But he was too lazy to contradict this show-off’s antics; instead, he turned his gaze to the Luozisong in front of him.

He had agreed to let Li Shu stay at the Heart of Woods for a while, not only because he had a good relationship with Li Shu, but also because Li Shu had indirectly done him a great favor by leading to Qin Xiaoxue’s arrival. After all, without Qin Xiaoxue, it would have been difficult for Heart of Woods to secure its first round of start-up capital, let alone the subsequent acquaintance with Vice President Liu and that special wager.

Besides these reasons, there was another main one: this Luozisong.

Within the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas, there were countless Pet Beast Compendiums waiting to be illuminated and activated. Although the Luozisong wasn’t his Pet Beast, as long as he reached the intimacy threshold with one, he could activate its compendium entry. Upgrading was one aspect, but just by activating it, he could receive corresponding rewards. Su Ping naturally wouldn’t miss out on the Origin rewards of the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas.

Therefore, Su Ping also wanted to use the time Li Shu was here to try and bond with the Luozisong, hoping to increase its intimacy to the required level, light up the Luozisong’s Pet Beast Compendium entry, and obtain a reward.

To prepare for this, Su Ping had even consulted abundant information on the Cultivation requirements and details for the Luozisong, but hadn’t found anything particularly useful. He then asked Qin Xiaoxue for some tips on cultivating Plant-based Pet Beasts, which gave him a bit more confidence.

Forest Wolf dung was a fertilizer that the majority of Pet Beasts in the Plant System desperately needed. Unfortunately, the fertilizing Magic Potion formulas for these Plant-based Pet Beasts were also hard to come by; even with money, Su Ping found them difficult to collect. Su Ping could only use the most basic method: mixing quality soil with the Forest Wolf dung and applying it around the Luozisong.

But before Su Ping had a chance to get closer to the Luozisong in front of him, to communicate feelings and experience the relatively tender expressions of a Plant-based Pet Beast, his phone suddenly chimed with a DING-DONG sound.

He took it out and saw a message appear:

[The item you purchased has been delivered. Please come outside to receive it promptly, thank you!]

A hint of joy flashed in Su Ping’s eyes.

The materials he had purchased for millions of Gold had finally arrived! Could the Heart of Woods Cultivation for the other Forest Wolves, and Xiao Qing’s intake of Poison System resources, finally begin?