Chapter 5: Qingmu Breeding Center

There was no reproductive isolation between the evolved forms of the Greenleaf Butterfly lineage. These three Elite-rank spirit beasts consisted of one male and two females, and after the research of countless scholars, it had long been established that the mother's talent and aptitude had a greater influence on the offspring.

As far as Wang Mu was concerned, he only needed to know that the Azure Jade Butterfly was female. He would not sell any of these three. Instead, they would become the breeding stock of the Qingmu Breeding Center. After laying eggs two or three times, they would simply be kept there, free to do as they pleased.

A spirit beast of this kind could lay more than a hundred eggs in a single clutch, which was more than enough for Wang Mu to conduct experiments for years to come.

Just as Wang Mu was thinking about this, he suddenly discovered that the Silver Butterfly was already mating with the Azure Jade Butterfly.

Wang Mu: ...

Although he knew this was simply the nature of insect-type spirit beasts, did it really have to be in such a hurry?

Well, no, that was merely instinct. It had nothing to do with being lustful.

Wang Mu took out a leaf of Azure Jade Bamboo and placed it beside them to carry their eggs. Once the breeding center's renovations were complete, the eggs would be placed in a freezing chamber. They would only be taken out when incubation was needed, so there was no danger of them hatching on their own.

With three Elite-rank spirit beasts in hand, Wang Mu knew his assessment was secure. He thus returned to his usual routine, reading and studying. The Breeders Association had publicly released a great deal of knowledge from the breeder stage, and he had not yet read even half of it. The more he read, the more he felt that much of it overlapped, but there were still some fresh ideas worth noting.

Wang Mu thought to himself that the Breeders Association had long since made the core knowledge of breeders public. No wonder they were not afraid that high-level breeders would form a monopoly. Spirit beast evolution paths were far too numerous. As long as newcomers continued walking this road, there would always be people bringing forth new ideas.

Nor did they have to fear a lack of breeders. With benefits that generous, there would always be people moved by them.

The next day, his parents informed Wang Mu that the breeding center had already been fully renovated and that he could move in whenever he wished. Wang Mu directly picked up the flowerpot and set out, while the three spirit butterflies rested among the leaves.

Wang Mu had noticed that Jiang Meiqin had looked at the Azure Jade Butterfly several times, and so he paid attention to it as well. Among the three spirit butterflies, the Azure Jade Butterfly was the most beautiful. Its entire body had the luster of green jade, with a few dark-cyan patterns running across it. When it was still, it looked like a work of carved jade art.

Along the way, Wang Lingfeng and Jiang Meiqin also handed over the red envelopes they had accepted on his behalf. Unsurprisingly, the largest one had come from Xue Yun. It contained a full six hundred and sixty thousand. Quite apart from whether most people would dare accept such a gift, almost no one would give one so lavishly in the first place.

Wang Mu accepted it anyway. After taking the assessment tomorrow, money would no longer be a major problem for him. He would not lack for small sums. What he would lack were truly large amounts.

The house Wang Lingfeng had bought back then was in the northern part of the city. That area was not particularly expensive, but even so, it took an hour to drive from there to the Qingmu Breeding Center in the western district, traffic not included. Added to the sheer busyness of breeders, Wang Mu could already tell that he would rarely return home in the future.

That seemed to be a common state of life. Children and parents were fated to spend much of their lives apart. If one wanted to change that, then one needed capital.

As Wang Mu pondered, he told himself that in at most ten years, he would be able to establish himself for real. No one would ever underestimate the appeal of a true Breeder.

More than an hour later, the three of them arrived outside the breeding center. To Wang Mu's surprise, there were even several flower stands by the entrance, along with a strip of red silk stretched across the doorway. As they got out of the car, Jiang Meiqin handed him a pair of scissors.

"Cut the ribbon. Originally, some of your relatives wanted to come too, but you know what they're like, so we didn't invite them."

Wang Mu walked calmly toward the silk ribbon. With a crisp snip, the red silk fell to the ground.

Then he turned around and said, "It doesn't matter whether they came or not. It's enough that you two are here."

Unfortunately, Teacher Zhu could not come. Wang Mu had sent him a message the previous night, but there had been no reply. Most likely, he was buried in research again.

And Wang Mu, with the mind of an adult and talent far beyond his years, naturally had no friends of the same age worth inviting, nor did he feel the need to call anyone. On a day like this, having his family with him was enough.

After entering, Wang Mu carefully examined the large building. It measured three kilometers long and two kilometers wide, covering a total area of six square kilometers. That was the standard size for a breeding center, suitable only for the initial stage of spirit beast breeding. Once one entered the middle stage, one had to integrate secret-realm fragments and build an entire secret-realm world.

A pale blue film of light covered the breeding center's walls. This was the Energy Barrier, and it also served to prevent prying eyes. Once inside, the first thing one saw was a garden, from which two paths branched off. The one on the left led to the storefront, while the one on the right led to the VIP room.

Behind that was the true main body of the breeding center: a pond, a sloping grove, and a cave area.

Farther back were the living quarters and the laboratory.

The Spirit Gathering Array inside was already active, and the spiritual energy was abundant. After Wang Mu set down the flowerpot, Qingling found a small garden beside the living quarters on its own and took root there. The soil in that area was rather special, and plant-type spirit beasts were especially fond of it.

After making a full round, Jiang Meiqin asked, "What do you think? If you're satisfied, we'll confirm the order for them."

Wang Mu nodded. Even from a professional point of view, he could not find a single flaw. This was an official construction team. They would not leave any loopholes behind.

Jiang Meiqin then added, "This area is part of the newly expanded district. There aren't many residents yet, and there's no commercial district either. For meals and things like that, you can order food in, or you can go home."

"But I figured you'd definitely think going back and forth was a waste of time, so I got you some restaurant business cards. They're on your desk. Check them yourself later."

Wang Lingfeng also spoke up. "The leave we took these past few days is almost over, so we have to go back to work too. If anything comes up, give us a call. Our phones will always be on."

Wang Mu smiled. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of myself. As for the two of you, didn't you once say you were going to give me a little sister? I've waited all these years and still haven't seen one."

The couple looked at each other and fell into silence for a moment.

Well...

Although, by the standards of this world, they were not particularly old, they had not considered such things while saving money for Wang Mu in the past. And now that Wang Mu was only just getting started, it did not seem appropriate either. So Wang Lingfeng immediately laughed it off.

"Well, ah, your Uncle Li and the others are waiting for me to set out, so I'll head off first. Take good care of yourself."

Helpless, Wang Mu waved them goodbye. "Then you two be careful as well. I'll send you a message once I pass the assessment."

Once they had all left, the courtyard became especially quiet.

Wang Mu had a clear purpose in mind. He walked over to Qingling and first shared its talents with himself.

In an instant, spiritual energy surged, forming a vortex centered on Wang Mu. In a very short time, his body was tempered all over again. He could clearly feel that he was now able to cast wood-element spells more quickly.

With a wave of his hand, he launched a Leaf Blade shaped like a willow leaf. It carved a mark more than a meter deep into the ground. In the past, at most he would only have managed thirty centimeters.

Then Wang Mu crouched down and brushed a hand across the mark. The earth stirred and mended itself as if nothing had happened. Such was the power of talent. It directly increased the force of spells.

After that, Wang Mu also shared Rooted Form. It did not cause him to sprout roots. Rather, he could extend illusory roots and anchor himself into the earth to recover at high speed, though he would be unable to move during that time. As for Whiplash, he had long since known how to use it.

Finally, Wang Mu went to the testing instrument to try Energy Beam. A streak of emerald light flashed past, and the display showed the number 2, meaning that the spell was extremely powerful and capable of injuring a Second-Rank spirit beast.

Wang Mu suddenly felt rather curious just how powerful the Greenwood Treant Progenitor within the Shanhai Realm truly was. But one day, his Qingling would only become even stronger!

Filled with confidence, Wang Mu returned to the garden. This time, he could clearly sense Qingling's emotions. It was a calm and peaceful feeling, tinged with a moment of joy whenever Wang Mu approached.

Wang Mu stroked Qingling's trunk. "I'll teach you some interesting things."

At that moment, Wang Mu sensed the information of the abilities he could share:

Talents: Wood (Intermediate, Mid Grade), Earth (Intermediate, Low Grade), all others (Unranked)

Innate Ability: Sharing (Unique)

Intermediate Spell: Energy Beam (Beginner)

Low-Level Spells: Mindforce Burst (Proficient), Mindforce (Proficient), Mental Pierce/Blade (Proficient), Leaf Blade (Control), Rooted Form (Proficient), Whiplash (Proficient), Mental Reinforcement (Proficient)

Wang Mu shared all of them with Qingling at once.

In the instant that followed, Wang Mu felt an uncanny silence. Then he "heard" the flow of spiritual energy, as various attributes of spiritual energy gathered together. When he opened his eyes again, he saw dense mist enveloping Qingling.

Qingling radiated obvious delight. After gaining several mental-attribute spells through sharing, its consciousness had grown greatly. Like a child, it constantly experimented with them.

The soil on the ground rose into the air and dropped again, or else exploded without warning. As its canopy swayed, more than a dozen Leaf Blades shot out and ravaged the grassland beyond recognition. Yet within that mist, the grass grew wildly, restoring itself to its original state in an instant.

Wang Mu had expected there would be some commotion after Qingling gained the shared abilities. He simply had not expected it to be this great. It was a good thing he had restrained himself at home and waited until reaching the breeding center before experimenting.

Back when he had bred the Mind Butterfly, at most he had only thrown a room into chaos.

Though he felt the disturbance was rather large, Wang Mu remained thoroughly excited. The three spirit butterflies were also startled awake, but they were not afraid. Instead, they eagerly absorbed the mist. After the Azure Jade Butterfly's aura flickered once, it broke through to Level 1.

That was the nature of insect-type spirit beasts. They advanced with astonishing speed. Once obtained, even a little bit of nurturing was enough to turn them into competent battle strength.

Because his own strength had risen, Wang Mu now understood the wood and earth attributes even more clearly. Inspiration burst forth in his mind, and he gained a new line of thought. But this was not something to be rushed.

Once Qingling settled down, Wang Mu headed to the freezing room and found several preserved eggs.

There were ten Greenleaf Butterfly eggs, each clearly marked with the level and species of its parents. They were all descendants of Commander-rank spirit beasts and possessed excellent innate quality. Wang Mu did not even open the safety case. Tomorrow, he would bring them straight to the assessment. With an Association-issued safety case, there would be no need for another round of inspection and verification.

Besides those, Wang Mu also saw the two skill crystals he needed, along with a box of dormant seeds.

These belonged to the Excellent-rank plant-type spirit beast known as the Serpent Vine. Thick and sturdy in form, it possessed tremendous strength, capable of constricting spirit beasts of the same rank to death. It could also split apart to attack. Because it relied on its body rather than spells, it was originally of little use to Wang Mu. But it could assist with planting, and it also produced Heartfruit, which was a material of fairly high quality. Suddenly, it seemed a little more useful after all.

In battle, the Serpent Vine had obvious flaws. It feared large spirit beasts, and while its explosive power was sufficient, its ability to sustain a prolonged fight was poor. If it were given Rooted Form, that weakness could be made up for. It could also be given the Mental Pierce skill, allowing it to launch a mental attack at range first. Then, while the enemy was stunned, it could close in and constrict them to death. Together with Rooted Form, it could keep draining the enemy until the foe perished.

In that way, even a support-oriented Serpent Vine could serve as the main attacker.

This thing could only be considered a tool, used to help Wang Mu build an ecosystem. Although he was not restricted by attributes, in the early stages of development he still needed to focus on one or two elements. A wood-element Serpent Vine was enough, and if paired well, it could play a powerful supporting role.

As the saying went, before one reached a truly high level, supports were ironclad while damage dealers came and went. Within a team, a support's standing was more important than that of a damage dealer.

Especially with a skill like Mental Scan. No matter how worthless a spirit beast might otherwise be, as long as it could be raised to the Third Rank, it could scan the environment within five hundred meters. It was extraordinarily useful!

After the Azure Jade Butterfly advanced, its Shared Level rose to 4. The Silver Butterfly was also on the verge of breaking through, so Wang Mu handed the Mental Scan spell crystal to it. Crystals like this held an overwhelming attraction for spirit beasts of the same attribute, and it almost instantly seized its entire mind.

After that, Wang Mu gave the Leaf Storm crystal to Qingling. Back when Qingling had first learned Leaf Blade, it had already built a foundation for Leaf Storm by releasing many of them at once. Wang Mu believed it would learn it very quickly.