Linzhou City.
The bus drove steadily down the road. Su Ping sat by the window, gazing at a world that felt both familiar and strangely wondrous.
He had already been in this world for many years now, and he had more or less adapted to it.
This was a world where humans and Pet Beasts coexisted. Its overall structure was somewhat similar to the world before his transmigration, except that beyond human nations, there also existed vast wildernesses and territories occupied by ferocious beasts—zones designated as forbidden areas for mankind.
In this world, once a human reached the age of eighteen, they could undergo Beast Tamer Awakening.
Upon awakening, they could obtain a Beast-Taming Space and an innate talent, allowing them to contract Pet Beasts and officially embark on the path of a Beast Tamer.
It had already been a month since Su Ping graduated from high school and completed his awakening.
Now, he could be considered a quasi–Beast Tamer, possessing his own Beast-Taming Space and talent.
As that thought crossed his mind, Su Ping's vision seemed to overlap, and his innate talent along with that narrow, cramped Beast-Taming Space surfaced within his perception.
[Pet Beast Home: The Beast-Taming Space can store uncontracted wild Pet Beasts, but their level must not exceed the user's own.]
A very ordinary talent.
It was uncommon, but its effect was fairly mediocre.
However—
Something else soon appeared before Su Ping's eyes.
Compared to this rather underwhelming Pet Beast Home talent, the other presence emerging from his consciousness was what had truly piqued his curiosity all this time.
It had also appeared in his mind a month ago, right after his awakening:
[Myriad Spirits Codex: Formed from the Origin of the World itself. It can contain records of all Pet Beast forms. By lighting up, completing, and perfecting the Codex, one can obtain feedback rewards from the world's origin!]
(Note: Only Pet Beasts that meet the conditions can be recorded into the Myriad Spirits Codex.)
(Note: Corresponding evolutionary forms count toward completion. The higher the quality of the Pet Beasts and the greater their quantity, the faster the Codex can be completed and perfected.)
With a single thought, Su Ping opened the Myriad Spirits Codex.
Inside it, countless Pet Beasts were listed, but every single entry was gray and white—clearly unlit.
Still, he had already waited an entire month. There was no need to rush now.
With that in mind, Su Ping looked expectantly out the bus window.
As one of the dozen or so first-tier cities in the country, Linzhou might not compare to Magic Capital or Imperial Capital, but it was still bustling and prosperous.
More importantly, it possessed natural treasures such as a massive forest park, Lingxi River, and Xilong Lake. Wild Pet Beast resources were extremely abundant here.
Some Pet Beasts were even unique to Linzhou alone.
The bus had now reached the suburbs. It was quieter and more remote, but soon, a signboard entered Su Ping's field of vision:
"Heart of Wood Pet Beast Breeding Base."
"Attention passengers, Lingxi River Station has arrived. Please prepare to disembark."
Hearing the announcement, Su Ping quickly stood up, got off the bus, and arrived before a vast estate.
He shook his head and sighed inwardly.
What a pity.
If this weren't a world centered on Beast Taming, then with such a massive tract of suburban land, judging by property prices in his previous life, this Pet Beast breeding base alone would have allowed him to live comfortably for the rest of his life in Linzhou.
But in this world, only industries related to Beast Taming truly mattered—and those were the most valuable of all.
Of course, things weren't bad even now. As long as one didn't touch high-tier Pet Beasts or rare resources, it was still possible to live without worries about food or clothing.
Still, having come to this world, how could Su Ping be willing to miss out on witnessing its wonders?
At that thought, he took out his phone again and opened a message left by his father, Su An'yong:
"Son, you're an adult now, and you've awakened your talent and become a qualified quasi–Beast Tamer. Since that's the case, Dad can finally pass my legacy on to you with peace of mind!
Come back—return to the Heart of Wood. Let's work together and turn it into the finest Forest Wolf breeding base in all of Jianghai Province, even the entire country!"
And so, Su Ping had come back.
Not because he fully believed his unreliable father's words, but mainly to explore his own Myriad Spirits Codex.
Over the past month in Linzhou City, he had encountered quite a few Pet Beasts, but none of them met the requirements to be recorded into the Codex to light up, complete, or perfect its entries.
In this world, awakening a talent and contracting a first Pet Beast did not automatically make one a true Beast Tamer.
A genuinely qualified Beast Tamer had to pass the Beast Tamer Assessment Tournament, held once every three years, to be recognized as a combat Beast Tamer by the Beast Tamer Association.
After graduation, talented Beast Tamer seedlings could choose to continue their studies at higher academies or receive early investment from various factions.
Naturally, both paths were extremely difficult.
And his family's breeding base clearly didn't fall into either category.
In reality, this was just a small-scale breeding base dedicated solely to cultivating Forest Wolves.
The only noteworthy point was its location in Linzhou's suburbs and the fact that Su Ping's grandfather had indeed been quite successful in his generation—a Monarch-rank Beast Tamer (a high-level Beast Tamer tier). He had even sacrificed himself while defending against a beast tide. That was how this massive breeding base, along with a large amount of surrounding leased land, had been preserved.
Shaking his head, Su Ping took out his keys and opened the main gate.
The breeding base was enormous.
Aside from a forest spanning several square kilometers for the Forest Wolves to rest and play in, there was also the family's residential area, constant-temperature and constant-humidity birthing and incubation rooms, inspection rooms, monitoring rooms, a potion workshop, a medical ward, and other facilities—all forming a sprawling estate.
Behind it all ran the Lingxi River, branching from Xilong Lake.
His father had once loudly proclaimed that he would make use of these excellent conditions to cultivate some water-element Pet Beasts—only to forget about it entirely the very next day.
Walking straight into the house, Su Ping looked at the empty living room, and an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
"Dad?"
"Su An'yong?!"
"Where are you?!"
His voice echoed through the vacant room.
Then he walked over to the sofa and spotted a piece of paper on the coffee table. The corners of his mouth twitched as he quickly picked it up.
Sure enough, Su An'yong's handwriting was unmistakable:
"Son, your Second Granduncle said he wants to introduce me to a stepmother for you, so I went to Beihan City to take a look. You're grown now—an adult, a real man!
That means it's time for you to shoulder the responsibilities at home. The future of the Heart of Wood is in your hands! You grew up here, so you should already know how things operate.
Don't worry about the rest. The feeders have enough food stocked for the little guys for two months, and Old Sha is still around. That's more than enough time for you to get familiar with everything.
Oh right, you probably haven't contracted your first Pet Beast yet, have you? After careful selection, I found one for you. It's in the incubation room.
If anything comes up, give me a call. As long as it's not about money, your dad will find a way to handle it.
—Your loving father, Su An'yong."
Looking at the familiar handwriting, Su Ping was speechless.
Fortunately, he was already used to his father's unreliable nature.
With a breeding base this large, if his father had put in even a bit more effort, things wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.
Still, Su Ping found himself genuinely intrigued.
That his unreliable father actually remembered he hadn't contracted his first Pet Beast yet—
He was really curious what on earth Su An'yong had managed to "carefully select" for him.
Taking three steps at a time, Su Ping hurried toward the nearby constant-temperature, constant-humidity incubation room.
Then he looked into the box at the small creature inside.