Was this kid deliberately working against him?
Why did he manage to be so irritating at every turn?
Sun Chaoju's expression darkened slightly.
However, this was something Qin Xiaoxue had personally asked about. It wasn't Su Ping deliberately stealing business. And if anyone was truly encroaching on someone else's turf, it was arguably Sun Chaoju himself.
Before Sun Chaoju could think any further, Qin Xiaoxue had already nodded decisively.
"No problem. Name your price."
Su Ping didn't hesitate. He really did need money right now. Aside from cultivating the Forest Wolf pack he already had, he also needed to raise Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing was different from the other Forest Wolves—it required rare poison-type resources.
On top of that, he still needed to continue expanding his breeding base, all of which required a huge amount of capital.
"Let me make this clear first," Su Ping said. "I'm only responsible for cultivating Forest Wolf racial skills, as well as the Wood Heart skill that I personally cultivated. I don't deal with other skills."
After receiving Qin Xiaoxue's confirmation, he continued:
"For racial skills, upgrading from Beginner to Proficient costs 200,000 per level.
From Proficient to Mastery, it's 800,000 per upgrade.
As for pushing a skill to Perfect, I haven't set a price yet—it depends on the specific skill."
The moment these words came out, everyone was taken aback.
Even the bald old man, who hadn't spoken for a while, paused before saying:
"Xiao Su, skill-level cultivation isn't usually priced this way. It's normally charged by time. After all, beast aptitude varies. If you charge by level…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
If a skill couldn't be upgraded, was the beast supposed to stay indefinitely at the training base? That was obviously unrealistic.
Sun Chaoju, however, seemed to have finally found a weak point.
"Brother Su," he said, "you probably haven't done this kind of cultivation before, have you? That's understandable. Achieving what you already have is impressive enough, and your future is bright.
But every field has its own expertise. It seems you still have a lot to learn in this area."
Su Ping snorted coldly.
"Don't lump me together with mediocre breeders. If I say I can do it, then I can. Or are you suggesting we put it to the test?"
Vice Chairman Liu frowned slightly. Meanwhile, Sun Chaoju suddenly looked energized.
"Oh? I, Sun Chaoju, have quite a bit of experience in cultivating Forest Wolf skill levels.
Right now, most of Mu Tou's skills have reached the Proficient level. Only Self-Healing is still at Beginner.
If Miss Qin trusts me, I'm confident I can raise Self-Healing to Proficient within one month.
Would you dare to make a bet with me?"
As he spoke, genuine confidence appeared on his face.
However, if he had paid closer attention to Mu Tou—who was standing nearby, being gently stroked by its owner—he might have noticed the look in the wolf's eyes.
A look that clearly said: Is this guy an idiot?
One month?
From Beginner to Proficient?
That very morning, Mu Tou had personally seen that little Forest Wolf raise its Sunlight Absorption skill to Proficient in just two hours!
Sure, Sunlight Absorption was easier to level up in the early stages than Self-Healing, but the difference was still enormous!
Su Ping smiled.
He genuinely loved betting.
His previous wager with Qin Xiaoxue—he'd thrown away the biggest prize just to show off.
But now that free wool was being delivered to his doorstep, why wouldn't he shear it?
Besides, this situation was exactly what Su Ping had deliberately guided things toward.
He had clearly heard Sun Chaoju mention that his base possessed a method to cultivate Accelerated Casting.
Accelerated Casting—speeding up spell activation—was an extremely practical skill.
With Shared Link active, Su Ping no longer needed to worry about having too many skills and not enough proficiency.
If skills could form effective combinations, even better.
More importantly, he could already tell that this guy harbored an obvious greed toward Wood Heart.
Thinking of this, Su Ping sneered internally, while outwardly showing a disdainful smile.
"One month? Forget one month. If I can't raise Self-Healing to Proficient within half a month, I'll count it as my loss."
A greedy glint flashed through Sun Chaoju's eyes.
He didn't even wait for anyone else to speak—before Su Ping had fully finished, he decisively answered:
"Fine! Since Brother Su is so confident, let's make it half a month!
If you fail, you'll put the Wood Heart cultivation method on the line. How about that?"
The moment those words were spoken, Su Ping sneered inwardly, though his face remained calm.
Qin Xiaoxue, Qin Erlong, and Vice Chairman Liu all frowned.
Sun Chaoju's behavior was downright ugly.
Seeing their displeasure, Sun Chaoju hurriedly added:
"Of course, if you succeed, I'll accept the loss. Brother Su, name any condition you want!"
Su Ping's expression didn't change.
"Fine. Half a month. If I fail to raise Self-Healing to Proficient, I lose.
But what can you offer?
Your so-called Accelerated Casting method alone isn't enough. Even if it has some value, it's nowhere near comparable to Wood Heart."
If this were any other Forest Wolf, Su Ping wouldn't dare boast like this.
But Mu Tou was different.
Mu Tou had already reached the required intimacy level with him.
It could now be included in the Forest Wolf Codex and benefit from Shared Link.
Upgrading its skills wouldn't be difficult at all.
Hearing this, Qin Xiaoxue glanced at Su Ping.
At that moment, he looked exactly the same as he had a few days ago—when he had stopped her in this very reception room.
Her heart stirred. She seemed to realize something and snorted coldly.
"Exactly. I've already experienced how impressive your Accelerated Casting really is.
Besides, you need a whole month to upgrade one Beginner-level skill, while Su Ping is betting on doing it in half the time.
The difficulty isn't even on the same level. This kind of unfair bet should just be dropped."
Vice Chairman Liu nodded as well.
But Sun Chaoju narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.
He wasn't completely certain himself, but a thought crossed his mind—
Could this kid be bluffing?
Maybe he just wanted an excuse to back out gracefully?
However, when he thought about Wood Heart, greed surged in his eyes again.
Wood Heart!
A cultivation method that could grant Forest Wolves this skill—if he mastered it, the profits would be unimaginable.
Gritting his teeth, Sun Chaoju knew he had to force this kid to accept.
Under everyone's gaze, he spoke:
"Besides the Accelerated Casting cultivation method, I'll add another wager—
the incomplete evolution cultivation method of the Myriad Wood Wolf!"
In an instant, not only everyone else—
Even Su Ping had only one thought:
Has this guy completely lost his mind?
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