Chapter 2: Contracting a Spirit Beast

When a Beast Tamer contracts a spirit beast, the human is the primary party. What level of spirit beast a Beast Tamer can contract is usually judged by the standard of their mental power.

Students like Wang Mu, for example, could at most contract the young of an Elite-rank spirit beast. Any higher than that, and their mental power would be exhausted during the contract process, resulting in death.

That was why, after obtaining a spirit beast from the Breeders Association or a Breeding House, one had to contract it on the spot. This was to prevent accidents, or even reselling. It was a rule established after civilization was rebuilt, and even King-rank Beast Tamers had to abide by it.

As a Commander-rank spirit beast, the Greenwood Treant was usually something only exceptionally gifted students could choose, unless they had enough money to purchase a treasure that assisted with contracting. Otherwise, it simply could not be contracted normally.

Zhu Tao was a Junior Breeder. Before reaching that level, one first had to pass through the three breeder stages of beginner, intermediate, and advanced, then pass a Probationary Breeder Assessment. Only after years of accumulation, and after possessing a stable method for breeding Commander-rank spirit beasts, could one qualify for the Junior Breeder Assessment.

At present, Zhu Tao looked like nothing more than a middle-aged man, but in truth he was already seventy or eighty years old. Naturally, his eyesight was excellent. Without the need for any testing apparatus, he had long since noticed that Wang Mu's mental power was outstanding, more than enough to contract a Greenwood Treant.

Still, he cherished talent. To be safe, he had not brought Wang Mu to the other regions, but instead to contract one of these plant-type spirit beasts. They were gentler by nature, so even if something went wrong, it could still be remedied.

At that moment, Wang Mu was reaching out to touch the Greenwood Treant, releasing his mental power through contact and using it to communicate with it.

Mental communication was the most direct form of communication there was. Even if the two sides were of different species, even if the other party possessed almost no intelligence and only the vaguest awareness, it could still understand the meaning. So what Wang Mu conveyed to the Greenwood Treant was simply:

"Are you willing to come with me?"

To be honest, even having lived two lives, Wang Mu was still nervous at this moment. The market price of a Commander-rank spirit beast started at ten million at the very least, but such things were usually not sold for money alone. One had to offer something that interested a breeder, and then add money on top of it before a deal could be struck.

A family like theirs could have scraped together the money after living frugally for more than ten years, but they had no connections and no qualification to buy one. That was why Wang Mu had pushed himself so desperately. He entered Shanhai Breeder Academy at fourteen and graduated at sixteen. As long as all the various tests added up to one hundred and fifty points, one was considered to have graduated.

Normally, those scores would be converted into points, which could be used to purchase initial resources from the academy. Most people used them to choose a spirit beast. But now that Wang Mu already had a spirit beast, and lacked the resources to raise two, he would naturally choose resources instead.

That was all based on one premise:

The contract had to succeed.

At that moment, amid Wang Mu's tension and anticipation, the Greenwood Treant suddenly swayed violently. Its fine roots rapidly withdrew into its body, then transformed into five thick tree roots that lifted it upright. It was literally pulling itself out of the ground.

There were too many things the Greenwood Treant did not understand, so it expressed its meaning through direct action.

In that instant, a brilliant verdant radiance erupted between them. Their origins connected, forming a contract. Before Wang Mu even had time to examine the Greenwood Treant's abilities, he was enveloped by abundant wood spiritual power. His mental power was drawn out, his body was strengthened, and his affinity for wood-element energy also rose.

This was the bond between a Beast Tamer and a spirit beast. Aside from the feedback a Beast Tamer received at the moment of contracting, every later breakthrough to a major realm or every evolution of the spirit beast would also bring feedback. Low-level Beast Tamers still needed to rely on their spirit beasts to fight, but high-level Beast Tamers were powerful in their own right.

This contract was relatively fair. A Beast Tamer could also actively grant one of their own abilities to a spirit beast. As for Wang Mu, however, he could more or less ignore that, because his talent was Sharing.

After tearing himself free from the exhilaration of his improvement, Wang Mu immediately used his talent to examine the Greenwood Treant.

Greenwood Treant (Juvenile): Level 0

Bloodline: Commander Rank

Talents: Wood Spiritual Affinity (Intermediate, Mid Grade), Earth Spiritual Affinity (Intermediate, Low Grade)

Innate Spells: Rooted Form (Proficient), Whiplash (Beginner)

Inherited Spell: Energy Beam (Beginner)

Shared Level: MAX

No wonder this Greenwood Treant leaned toward the energy-type path. So it was because of its inherited spell. At that moment, Wang Mu realized that through his talent, he could share every one of the Greenwood Treant's abilities. That had never happened before.

His father's Phoenix-Eyed Butterfly had started with a Shared Level of 3 with him. Through it, he could only share innate spells no higher than the Mastery level, while its other spells could not exceed the Proficient level.

As for the grading of spells, it began with Beginner, followed by Proficient, Mastery, Control, Perfection, and finally Innovation.

Because the Greenwood Treant was under contract with Wang Mu, it had directly reached MAX.

"I know you're happy, but don't celebrate too soon. You're planning to use the Greenwood Treant as the core and build an ecosystem around it, aren't you? One hundred and fifty points won't be enough."

At that moment, Zhu Tao's voice rang out and poured a basin of cold water over Wang Mu's excitement. But Wang Mu did not mind. Instead, he smiled.

"This student, Wang Mu, thanks you for your guidance, Teacher. With the Greenwood Treant, far fewer obstacles stand in the way of my plan. My parents also intend to support me."

Zhu Tao's expression softened somewhat. He did not want a rising star of the breeding world to be broken off merely because of a few minor obstacles. But his own breeding center was too far away. This was Shanhai City, while he was based in Jidi City. There were seven cities between them, and on top of that, he specialized more in breeding ice-attribute spirit beasts. The help he could offer was limited.

So after hearing Wang Mu's words, he was quite pleased, though his temperament would never show it plainly.

"Then let's go. I've already made arrangements. There's a plot of land in the western district of Shanhai City that you can use for twenty years. After that, you'll have to handle things yourself. Don't tell me you can't even manage something this small."

Wang Mu was delighted all over again, and for a moment he hardly knew how to thank him.

"Teacher, I..."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhu. I will work even harder from now on. One day, I'll visit you in Jidi City as well."

How vast was Shenzhou? Without some measure of strength, one could not even leave one's own city. For this child to say he would come visit him, his ambition was certainly no small thing. Zhu Tao reflexively wanted to criticize him a little. No one knew how many people had fallen at the Breeder Assessment. But this time, for some reason, he said nothing. He merely glanced at Wang Mu.

"Then I'll be waiting."

A Breeder was always busy. Zhu Tao had not come to Shanhai City only to teach. There was also a Breeding Master here, and teaching was one of his obligations. Being able to seek guidance from that master was itself a benefit. So after escorting Wang Mu out of the Breeding Hall, Zhu Tao headed elsewhere.

As for Wang Mu, he could no longer suppress his excitement. He directly scooped up the Greenwood Treant, which had been following him step by step.

"Come on, we're going home~"

The Greenwood Treant swayed a little. It felt that its master's pace was somewhat slow. Would it not be better to put it down and let it walk by itself?

Wang Mu sensed that at once and laughed.

"Haha, I was just too excited. You're a Commander-rank spirit beast, after all. Even if you're a plant-type spirit beast, you're still faster than I am. And you're more comfortable in contact with the ground too."

As he spoke, Wang Mu set the Greenwood Treant back down.

There were not many people in the academy, but there were still some. When they saw Wang Mu coming out of the Breeding Hall with a Greenwood Treant, many of them could not help feeling envious. This was a Commander-rank Greenwood Treant. This year, the Shanhai Realm had only released two contract quotas, and now one of them was gone.

There were also those with quicker wits. Seeing that such a young man had been gifted a Greenwood Treant, they immediately realized that his chances of rising in the future were enormous. They began wondering whether they should make contact with him in advance. After all, befriending an outstanding breeder could help one avoid decades of detours at the very least, and might even allow one to build a great family clan.

But such things had to be done gradually. To go up and greet him rashly would only be unsightly...

Thanks to the differences in this world, one could drive at fourteen, and sixteen counted as adulthood. Wang Mu had driven himself to school as well. The Greenwood Treant was rather uncomfortable inside the car, but it behaved itself and did not move about.

At that moment, Wang Mu opened the in-car phone and started a video call.

"Mom, is Dad home today?"

A woman's face appeared on the screen. She looked as though she were only in her thirties, but in reality she was already fifty-two. In this world, nearly everyone had contracted a spirit beast. Even if they did not raise it much, it still brought improvements to the body, and living to two hundred was perfectly normal. That was why people married late and had children late as well.

Instead of answering Wang Mu immediately, she first saw the tree beside him.

"Is that your spirit beast? You graduated?"

"Yes. My score was high enough. Teacher Zhu let me choose a spirit beast for myself. It's a Commander-rank Greenwood Treant. If Dad's home, should we celebrate a little? I also have a few things I need his help with."

The woman froze for a moment, then cried out in delight.

"Our Mu-Mu really is incredible. Just wait, I'll call him back right now. Even if he isn't home today, he'll be home!"

Wang Mu looked at the darkened screen and laughed. Then he said to the Greenwood Treant beside him, "We'll be home soon. Unfortunately, my home isn't on the ground floor, so you probably won't be used to it. Endure it for one night. We'll go to the western district tomorrow."

Shanhai City possessed the Shanhai Realm and also had three Breeding Masters. They were renowned throughout all of Shenzhou, which made the city extraordinarily prosperous. But Wang Mu had no mind to pay attention to any of that right now. Half an hour later, when he returned home, he saw a man and a woman springing up from the sofa.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back."

The two of them, however, shifted their gaze from Wang Mu to the tree beside him. Wang Lingfeng was overjoyed.

"It really is a Greenwood Treant. Tsk, tsk. I used to see this thing only in illustrated manuals."

After Wang Mu walked over, Wang Lingfeng wasted no time and handed him a card.

"If you're going to begin your career as a breeder, then of course we'll support you. You made that request when you were five years old, and we've been saving for you for eleven years. There are 3.48 million in this card. Use it well."

Beside him, Jiang Meiqin handed over another card.

"Then it looks like I won this time. There's 4.39 million in here. That makes 7.87 million total. It still doesn't seem quite enough. Lingfeng, why don't we discuss it and lease a shopfront for him?"

Wang Mu hurriedly spoke up, "It's enough, it's enough, Dad, Mom. Teacher Zhu set aside a piece of land for me in the west of the city. I have the right to use it for twenty years."

Wang Lingfeng sighed in admiration. "Your teacher truly is a good teacher. But then again, that's because you performed well enough to earn that investment."

"It's a pity he's too busy. We can't even invite him to a meal."

Wang Mu looked at the dishes already laid out on the table and smiled. "I'll repay Teacher Zhu in the future. For now, let's eat first. If it gets cold, we'll be wasting Mom's cooking."

"Then let's eat first."

The three of them took their seats.

Ordinarily, with a Beast Tamer in the household, the appetite should have been enormous. Yet there were only three dishes and one soup on the table. It was not because there had been no time, nor because this day was not important. Rather, Jiang Meiqin was a Spirit Chef, and the dishes she made used special ingredients.

Take the blanched shrimp on the table today, for example. It came from a first-rank demon beast, the White-Glow Shrimp. In the past, Wang Mu could barely digest even the smallest one. Fortunately, with the other dishes paired alongside it, he could eat a little more.

When family members ate together, they did not care much for the old rule about not speaking at the table. And so, the house was filled with laughter and lively voices.