Ding-dong—
Ding-dong—
Ding-dong—
The doorbell at Woodheart rang again and again.
Half a day had already passed, yet not only did no one come to open the door—there wasn't even a hint of footsteps from within the base.
A middle-aged man stood under the blazing sun, staring at the unmoving gate. From time to time, faint wafts of a strange stench drifted out from the courtyard, making him suck in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.
What in the world is that little ancestor doing in there?
The visitor was none other than Manager Guan from the neighboring Yuntian Pet Beast Training Base.
Yesterday, the company's chairwoman had instructed him to personally visit and invite this "little ancestor" over to discuss the matter of renting Forest Wolves.
As a result, Manager Guan had been standing outside the gate for an entire morning.
Aside from those intermittent, eye-watering odors wafting out of the base, there wasn't even a ghost in sight!
Back when the chairwoman hadn't arrived, his days had been easy. When bored, he could even drop by to chat and joke around with Su Anyong.
But now that that woman had arrived, Manager Guan didn't dare slack off in the slightest.
Even after standing here for a whole morning, as long as he was sure Su Ping was home, he couldn't just leave.
He knew the chairwoman's temper far too well.
Thus, Manager Guan had pressed the doorbell for a full three hours.
He hadn't eaten lunch—he hadn't even had a sip of water.
Finally, under his desperate, expectant gaze, hurried footsteps sounded from the other side of the gate.
Bang.
The door—like a barrier between two worlds—finally opened.
But before Manager Guan could tear up at the sight of the young master he'd met a few times before, a wave of nauseating stench slammed into him head-on, forcing him to stagger back several steps.
Enduring the eye-stinging smell, Manager Guan looked at the innocent-faced Su Ping.
In this heat, why was the kid wearing a gas mask?
What are you researching at home—some kind of biochemical weapon?
Honestly, the smell really did resemble one.
"Uncle Guan? What brings you here?" Su Ping asked.
"What are you even doing in there?" Manager Guan complained. "It took you this long to open the door—I was about to call your dad!"
Su Ping scratched his head.
What else could he have been doing?
Of course—brewing potions.
After seeing Xiao Qing's growth and progress, and witnessing Little Dot's effort, how could Su Ping, as their master, afford to slack off?
Little Dot was the name he'd given to that weakest Forest Wolf.
He had just spent another half-day working, finally placing three new bottles of Heart of Wood potion into the cooling chamber.
He hadn't even removed his equipment yet when he noticed the doorbell ringing.
"You came because of something?" Su Ping asked.
With that overwhelming stench lingering, Manager Guan had no desire to step inside for a proper chat. He got straight to the point.
"The training grounds are short on training beasts lately. How about the Forest Wolves here? The price is negotiable."
Once business was mentioned, Manager Guan's expression turned serious.
"Uncle Guan, are you looking to rent, or to buy?" Su Ping asked calmly.
Su Ping trusted Manager Guan's words.
In Dragon Country, the Beast Tamer Association and the authorities had strict regulations—unless under special circumstances, Beast Tamers were forbidden from freely engaging in Pet Beast battles in public areas.
Any damage to public facilities or the natural environment would result in 7–15 days of detention, with harsher penalties if the situation was serious.
Private battles weren't much better. Pet Beast skills were too varied and destructive—most people simply didn't have the conditions for it.
As a result, Pet Beast training and battle arenas had become a lucrative business, naturally requiring a supply of battle-ready Pet Beasts for paid sparring sessions.
Manager Guan thought for a moment.
"Primarily renting. Of course, if there are some with good quality, buying a few is also possible. Also… I don't know if your father mentioned it to you, but regarding this piece of land Yuntian is using, we'd like to—"
Before he could finish, Su Ping interrupted him.
"Uncle Guan, I know about that. But something this big can't be settled in a short discussion. Let's leave it for later.
"As for the Pet Beasts—renting is fine. Buying, though… probably not."
"Uh…"
Manager Guan looked troubled.
"Xiao Su, we're really sincere. In this suburban area, there truly aren't many buyers who can put up such a large sum to purchase such a big piece of land. Other than Yuntian, there really won't be anyone else."
Su Ping merely smiled.
Looking at the boy before him, Manager Guan felt helpless. Somehow, this kid seemed even harder to deal with than his slick old man of a father.
"Alright," Manager Guan sighed. "When you have time, let's sit down and properly talk about it. Yuntian really is sincere.
"For now, let's talk about renting Forest Wolves. Your father worked with us before. For Ordinary-rank Forest Wolves, it's 300 yuan per day, and 500 yuan per battle, win or lose. For Elite-rank, the base rate is 1,000 yuan per day, with the same battle fee. Of course, every Forest Wolf is insured—"
Before he could finish, Su Ping interrupted again.
"Uncle Guan, I really don't have time today. How about this—give me a couple of days. If you don't come looking for me, I'll go find you myself. I'll visit personally. How about that?"
Seeing Su Ping's smiling face, his full protective gear, and catching another whiff of the stench wafting from Woodheart, Manager Guan—after waiting over three hours—could only nod.
He'd spent an entire morning here and hadn't even finalized a single detail.
He could already imagine how furious the chairwoman would be when he returned.
But Su Ping truly had no time to worry about other people.
After closing the gate, he returned to the living quarters, took a shower, and—while absently petting Xiao Qing—fell into deep thought.
Money.
This was now an urgent issue.
The reason was simple: Woodheart did have some reserves.
There had been leftover materials from before for potion-making—but only four sets.
And today, he'd already used them all.
If he wanted to continue producing Heart of Wood potions, he needed to find a way to make money.
Old Guan was indeed being generous—the price he offered was more than fair.
Ordinary and Elite-rank sparring beasts were in high demand, and those rates were quite good.
Su Ping was satisfied. After all, he needed real battles to properly train the Forest Wolves anyway.
Others paying to hire his beasts meant he could get free combat training and earn money at the same time.
No one would refuse a deal like that.
But it still wasn't enough.
Even at cost price, a single set of Heart of Wood potion materials added up to around 200,000 yuan.
If he relied solely on renting out Pet Beasts, gathering enough funds to supply potions for all twenty-plus Forest Wolves would take far too long.
And when Su Ping thought of the Myriad Spirits Codex in his mind, he knew—
He couldn't wait. And he didn't want to wait.
The problem was—
How was he supposed to get such a massive sum of money?
Sure enough, poverty hinders scholars, wealth builds warriors—and in this world, once Pet Beasts were involved, there was no place where money wasn't needed.
To cultivate truly outstanding Pet Beasts required an endless stream of resources—and money flowing like water.
How to make money?
Su Ping sank into deep contemplation.