Inside the infirmary, Little Dot, now fully recovered, stared excitedly at the potion vessel in Su Ping's hand.
It recognized it.
This was the very thing their king had consumed—the thing that had caused his power to surge dramatically.
The master of their king hadn't lied to it!
Clearly, Little Dot wasn't as dramatic as Old Sha, nor did it possess such high intelligence. Or rather—after being stimulated by Xiao Qing's contemptuous gaze earlier, this young wolf's desire for strength now surpassed everything else.
Su Ping didn't hesitate.
He took out the jelly-like, frozen Heart of Wood potion. The medicinal, gelatinous substance was tossed directly into Little Dot's mouth.
Su Ping had to admit—
He did have a bit of selfish intent. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Little Dot as the next test subject.
But the result didn't disappoint him.
A low growl echoed through the infirmary, and the scene from that morning repeated itself.
Only this time, unlike Old Sha's brief transformation, Little Dot's change lasted a full ten minutes.
Specks of emerald light clung to the small wolf's body like stardust.
Even Xiao Qing, looking again at this once-insignificant opponent, showed a trace of seriousness in its small eyes.
It sensed danger—from a foe it had previously crushed with ease.
And indeed, that feeling wasn't wrong.
Wood-element energy gathered in the air.
Yet instead of vines forming for Entangling Vines, the little wolf—slowly opening its eyes—began to grow larger.
This was…
Another racial skill of the Forest Wolf?
Accelerated Growth?
Before Su Ping could fully observe Little Dot's transformation, the Forest Wolf Codex delivered its feedback:
[Successfully caused an associated Pet Beast to obtain skills: Heart of Wood, Accelerated Growth; rank increased. Codex EXP +10.]
The experience gained this time was noticeably less.
Su Ping wasn't sure whether that was because Little Dot's level had originally been low, or because repeated use of the potion caused diminishing returns, leading the Codex's data records to become increasingly redundant.
But at this moment, he truly didn't care.
He immediately activated True Sight and looked at Little Dot:
[Forest Wolf (Wild)]
[Current Rank: Ordinary Rank 6]
[Racial Potential: Elite Rank 10]
[Skills: Sunlight Absorption (Beginner), Accelerated Growth (Beginner), Heart of Wood (Beginner)]
As expected!
Joy flashed through Su Ping's eyes.
Little Dot's rank had risen—and by a shocking margin.
A single Heart of Wood potion had propelled it straight from Ordinary Rank 3 to Ordinary Rank 6.
Worthy of a potion perfected by the Myriad Spirits Codex.
Worthy of the magic potion crafted by his future self as a master breeder.
Su Ping was extremely satisfied.
Before he could indulge in self-admiration, something tugged at his sleeve.
As expected—it was Xiao Qing.
Seeing a rival it once looked down upon suddenly surpass it in strength and aura, Xiao Qing could no longer sit still.
"Aw… aw…"
Su Ping burst into laughter at his impatient little partner.
"Relax. How could I forget about you?"
He opened the final bottle of Heart of Wood potion.
Unlike Old Sha's desperate avoidance of that pungent smell, Xiao Qing swallowed it in a single gulp.
Once again, soft green light bloomed—starlike motes enveloping Xiao Qing's body.
But this time, Su Ping's breathing quickened.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have tested the potion on Little Dot first.
Little Dot had succeeded—but Xiao Qing was different from all the other Forest Wolves.
Xiao Qing carried a poison-element bloodline mutation.
The Heart of Wood potion was fundamentally wood-element based. What kind of reaction would occur within Xiao Qing was still unknown.
Gastric cleansing tools and emergency medication were already prepared in the infirmary.
Su Ping stared unblinkingly at Xiao Qing's changes, True Sight running almost continuously.
Yet even True Sight couldn't fully analyze Xiao Qing's condition.
Fortunately, the life-monitoring equipment showed stable vitals, easing Su Ping's tension slightly.
Time passed—minute by minute.
Ten minutes.
Little Dot had fully digested the potion in ten minutes.
But now, fifteen minutes had gone by.
Not only had the emerald light not faded—it had grown darker.
The bright green gradually deepened into ink-green, eerily similar to the potion's original color.
Su Ping could no longer stay calm.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he kept his gaze locked onto Xiao Qing.
Finally—
Just as Su Ping was about to intervene, the dark green light suddenly stabilized.
Accompanied by a wolf howl—no longer childish, no longer milk-soft, though still not loud—the light vanished.
Xiao Qing stood revealed once more.
But before Su Ping could even activate True Sight, the Forest Wolf Codex responded first—more decisively than ever:
[Successfully caused an associated Pet Beast to obtain skill: Variant · Poisoned Wood Heart; rank increased; racial upper limit increased. Codex EXP +50.]
[Initial analysis of poison-element mutation cause for Forest Wolf completed. May consume 50,000 Codex EXP to forcibly analyze mutation cause and obtain mutation cultivation method.]
Su Ping blinked.
He genuinely needed a moment to process all of that information.
Wasn't this… a bit too much at once?
Still, earlier Codex feedback had already mentioned that Xiao Qing's mutation could be analyzed—and that daily interaction granted a chance to uncover the cause.
He just hadn't expected that day to arrive so soon.
Although the glaring cost of 50,000 Codex EXP was painfully conspicuous, it at least represented hope.
If he could truly master a poison-element mutation cultivation method for Forest Wolves, then the future of Woodheart—
As his unreliable father once claimed—
Might truly become number one in Jianghai Province… perhaps even all of Dragon Country.
Of course, 50,000 EXP was still a distant dream.
Suppressing his excitement, Su Ping turned his attention back to the present.
What he wanted most right now—
Was to see exactly what kind of changes Xiao Qing had undergone after consuming the Heart of Wood potion.