Chapter 4: Three Elite-Rank Spirit Butterflies

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

Shareable Spells: Rooted Form, Whiplash, Energy Beam.

At MAX level, he could even share talents!

Spiritual affinity belonged to the category of talents. For spirit beasts below the Commander Rank, their talents were merely low-grade. Only upon reaching the Commander Rank could they be considered intermediate-grade. Some especially outstanding individuals, however, could break past that limit.

Wang Mu himself also possessed talents. He had been tested back when he was a child. Like everyone else, he had All-Attribute Affinity, but it did not fall within any rank. Afterward, through the feedback gained from contracting spirit beasts, he could gradually raise his affinity toward one or several attributes. In the end, Beast Tamers could even cast spells on their own without relying on their spirit beasts.

Because of that trait, Beast Tamers were usually focused on a single attribute, or at most three. Any more than that, and they would be unable to secure their own future.

But now that he could share talents, Wang Mu only needed to make sure his spirit beasts' talents were high enough. He no longer needed to worry about being locked into fixed attribute combinations. He could develop in every direction, and that also meant that when it came to breeding spirit beasts, he would no longer be limited to only a few attributes.

Wang Mu's eyes were shining.

Comprehensive development across all attributes did not mean mediocrity, nor did it mean becoming broad but weak. It meant having no shortcomings, being nearly flawless, striking across a vast range, and burying his weaknesses so deeply that they could hardly be found.

Wang Mu took a deep breath and calmed himself. Rather than sharing anything immediately, he went to his room and registered the breeding center's information. The name was Qingmu. There was nothing much to think about there, and he needed to claim it first. The other fields, such as his breeder rank and principal spirit beasts, were all left blank. Those would have to wait until he passed the breeder assessment.

Wang Mu registered for that as well. This assessment had no fixed date. As long as one felt capable enough, one could apply for it. One could bring assisting spirit beasts, bring one's own materials, and then use the other materials provided during the assessment to breed a spirit beast.

After succeeding, the quality of the spirit beast would determine the breeder's rank.

Some people became a High-Level Breeder in a single assessment, while others ended up only at the low level.

At present, the Breeders Association divided breeder ranks according to the grade of spirit beasts one could breed: Ordinary, Excellent, Elite, Commander, Beast King, Lord, Overlord, King, and Emperor. That made a total of nine grades.

If one could breed an Excellent-rank spirit beast, even by chance, one would still count as a Low-Level Breeder.

If one could breed Excellent-rank spirit beasts steadily, one was a Mid-Level Breeder.

If one could breed Elite-rank spirit beasts, one was a High-Level Breeder.

If one could breed a single Commander-rank spirit beast, one was a Probationary Breeder.

And if one possessed a stable method for breeding Commander-rank spirit beasts, one was a Junior Breeder—Zhu Tao was at exactly that level.

Thanks to his own advantages, Wang Mu could directly begin as a High-Level Breeder. But after that came an enormous gulf. The gap between breeders and true Breeders was so vast that the Association had specifically set up the rank of Probationary Breeder in between.

At this stage, even Wang Mu did not dare claim he could reach it quickly. He gave himself ten years.

It sounded like a long time, but if outsiders heard it, they would definitely think Wang Mu had gone mad.

Advancing as a breeder was extremely difficult, but the benefits were equally astonishing. Take that plot of land with the twenty-year usage term, for example. Once Wang Mu reached the rank of High-Level Breeder, Shanhai City's policies would take effect, and the land would belong to him without time limit. Aside from not being able to pass it down to descendants, he could do whatever he pleased with it.

He would also be able to publish tasks through the Association, hire Beast Tamers, gain qualifications to enter Secret Realms, and more.

Of all those things, Secret Realms were what Wang Mu looked forward to the most. If he could find high-grade spirit beasts there for research, perhaps he could shorten the time needed for advancement.

The registration process went very smoothly. Three days later, he could bring his identification card in person and take the assessment. That was enough time for Wang Mu to finish setting up the breeding center. In a world with spirit beasts, simple construction was not difficult at all. The only question was whether one had enough money.

Wang Mu did not share his own abilities with the Greenwood Treant either. It was not that he did not want to, but rather that once this kind of spirit beast changed, it would cause a great commotion. Wang Mu had experienced that before. Otherwise, over all these years, he would not have limited himself to small-scale efforts, breeding only Greenleaf Butterflies.

After all, spirit beasts were judged not only by grade, but also by species.

Fairy-type spirit beasts held an extremely high status in the realm of spells.

Plant-type spirit beasts were easy to raise, long-lived, and could even allow Beast Tamers themselves to live longer, but their combat strength and raw power were usually ordinary.

Traditional beast-type spirit beasts were harder to raise, especially when it came to food. If one was careless, they could end up physically depleted, and their strength would decline. But they were also the most common, and their power was by no means weak.

Then there were the insect spirit beasts, whose growth cycles were the shortest. They could quickly take shape, and their strength was not weak either. However, they generally had short lifespans. No matter how the Greenleaf Butterfly lineage mutated or evolved, it always lived for only twenty years. Only after breaking through to the Fourth Rank would each further rank add another ten years to its lifespan.

A spirit beast's bloodline grade represented the level that species could normally reach through proper training. Before reaching that point, there would not be many major bottlenecks. But once it had reached that limit, every further breakthrough became exceedingly difficult.

At the very least, Wang Lingfeng's Phoenix-Eyed Butterfly possessed an Elite-rank bloodline, which meant it could smoothly grow to the strength of the Third Rank. It had already been at the Third Rank when Wang Mu was born, and now, at seventeen years old, it was still at the Third Rank.

If the family's circumstances had been a little better, and if it had been given enough resources, it might have been able to break through to the Fourth Rank.

But from the fact that his parents had been saving up money all these years, Wang Mu already understood that his father had more or less given up on the path of the Beast Tamer. Otherwise, they would never have been able to save that much. Although family members should not speak too much in terms of gain and loss, Wang Mu had already made up his mind. In the future, he would provide his parents with Excellent-rank spirit beasts.

The night passed quietly.

The next morning, Wang Mu got up a little after five, ate breakfast, and then watched over the three cocoons. Wang Lingfeng came over for a look, and he too was somewhat surprised.

"Those colors... they've already changed while still in the cocoon stage. You've improved by quite a lot."

Jiang Meiqin had already finished getting ready. Before leaving, she also came over for a glance. Having seen much of the world at the restaurant, she judged it even faster than Wang Lingfeng did, and her face filled with astonishment.

"That doesn't look like Excellent rank. Why does that silver one feel as though it has a fluctuation closer to Elite rank?"

"Elite?" Wang Lingfeng was equally startled. He immediately began communicating with a golden butterfly resting on his shoulder. A few seconds later, he looked at Wang Mu, his face brimming with delight.

"You little rascal. You never say a word, and yet you've prepared a surprise this huge. Are you planning to take the assessment and become a High-Level Breeder right away?"

Wang Mu nodded. "Yes."

"That will save a great deal of time and give me the chance to develop quickly. The Association provides many forms of support to outstanding young breeders—twenty percent off internal materials, one unconditional entry into a Secret Realm, and the qualification to purchase rare spirit beasts. Those are all things I need."

Jiang Meiqin and Wang Lingfeng both felt a strange ache in their hearts.

"Ah... when a child is too outstanding, parents end up both happy and a little miserable. Mu-Mu, whatever you need from now on, just say it. With talent like yours, you must not be buried."

Wang Mu, however, comforted them instead.

"Mom, Dad, you've already supported me more than enough. Dad, I remember that you always wanted to become a powerful Beast Tamer. Once I become a Breeder in the future, at the very least I'll get you a Commander-rank spirit beast."

"And Mom too. You used to want to travel, and you never wanted to turn being a Spirit Chef into a full profession. But for my sake, you've barely rested all these years. In the future, you'll be able to do the things you truly want to do."

Wang Lingfeng and Jiang Meiqin exchanged a glance. Their eyes turned a little sore.

In the past, they had often felt that their son was too cold and distant. Now it seemed they had been wrong. Their child was simply not good at expressing himself, but he had seen everything, and he had remembered everything.

At that moment, emotions surged in their eyes.

In the end, all that remained was pride.

...

Breeders usually controlled how many people a spirit beast saw upon being born. Wang Lingfeng and Jiang Meiqin had specifically looked into that before. It just so happened that there was still work to be done at the breeding center today, so they set out and left Wang Mu enough space.

Around six o'clock, when the east had only just begun to pale, the cocoons began to twitch. Certain places bulged outward. The silver-white cocoon was the first to split open, but nothing emerged from the hole.

Wang Mu held his breath.

In the next moment, a burst of mindforce erupted, and the silver cocoon was instantly shattered. A palm-sized silver butterfly danced gracefully into the air. It first landed on Qingling's body, then drifted down onto Wang Mu's outstretched palm.

Silver Butterfly (Adult): 0 Level

Bloodline: Elite

Talent: Mental-Type Amplification (Low Grade, High Quality)

Innate Spells: Mindforce Burst (Proficient), Mental Blade (Beginner)

Shared Level: 3

A mental-type Silver Butterfly with two skills!

It was only Level 0, yet its combat strength was already astonishing. Combined with the advantage of flight, as long as its enemy was no more than one level above it and lacked any mental defense ability, it would certainly be killed.

There was no one else at home, so Wang Mu did not bother hiding his smile. When he had been breeding it, he had already known this would succeed, but seeing the real thing was an entirely different matter.

His assessment was secure.

Wang Mu took out the nutrient solution he had prepared, and the Silver Butterfly began to feed. The other two cocoons also started to crack apart, revealing the beautiful creatures within.

Poison Powder Butterfly (Adult): 0 Level

Bloodline: Elite

Talents: Poison Amplification (Low Grade, High Quality), Mental-Type Amplification (Low Grade, Mid Grade)

Innate Spells: Toxic Powder (Proficient), Mindforce (Beginner)

Shared Level: 3

Azure Jade Butterfly (Adult): 0 (The word "Level" will gradually be omitted from here onward.)

Bloodline: Elite

Talent: Wood Spiritual Affinity (Intermediate, Low Grade)

Innate Spell: Leaf Blade (Mastery)

Shared Level: 3

"Hm?"

Wang Mu looked at the Azure Jade Butterfly, greatly surprised. He had not mastered many wood-element spells, but his father had once owned a Jungle Lizard whose Leaf Blade had reached an extremely high level—Control Rank. It had counted as one of his trump cards.

Wang Mu already knew that spell levels influenced a spirit beast's evolution, but he had not known the effect could be this great. Beforehand, he had known that all three spirit beasts would be Elite rank, and he had also known that the Silver Butterfly was the more outstanding one. Even his parents, who were not breeders, had been able to see that. But now it seemed that the Azure Jade Butterfly actually had the greatest potential, because its talent was intermediate-grade affinity, which was the standard only Commander-rank spirit beasts possessed.

Its bloodline, however, was far too ordinary. The Greenleaf Butterfly lineage had never possessed inherited skills. No matter how powerful its parent generation was, their offspring would always begin as Greenleaf Caterpillars, and if left alone, they would evolve into Greenleaf Butterflies at most with somewhat better talents.

For other spirit beasts, after evolution, there was always a chance that their offspring might directly be born as evolved forms. But the Greenleaf Butterfly lineage, because of its talent of Adaptability, possessed limitless possibilities. Yet what made it was also what undid it. No matter what level a particular individual evolved to, its descendants would always only be Greenleaf Butterflies.

But none of that was what Wang Mu was focused on right now.

After staring at the Azure Jade Butterfly's talent for a while, he became certain of one thing.

If nothing unexpected happened, then the opportunity that would one day allow him to break into the Breeder tier would lie with the Azure Jade Butterfly.