The second floor of the Breeders' Association consisted of meeting rooms, offices, auditoriums, and classrooms.
As for the breeders' laboratories, they were not located in this main association building.
So in reality, the main building only had two floors.
However, despite the low number of floors, one could already tell from the first-floor hall alone that the second floor covered a vast area as well.
Truth be told, if it hadn't been for Zheng Yong, Su Ping might very well have gotten lost up here on his own.
When Zheng Yong said he was familiar with the Breeders' Association, it clearly wasn't bragging—he truly knew the place well.
Taking the lead, he wove through several corridors and turns, finally bringing Su Ping to the door of a classroom on the second floor.
Sure enough, unlike other areas that only had a handful of staff scattered about, there were quite a few people gathered outside this classroom.
At the same time, the classroom door was open. After Su Ping arrived, several older-looking individuals smiled and walked inside.
Meanwhile, some of the younger Beast Tamers seated outside the classroom watched those entering figures with clear excitement and envy.
"Alright, let's wait here for a bit," Zheng Yong said, sitting down on the row of connected seats outside the classroom.
Su Ping blinked.
He wasn't stupid—he could naturally tell that the seats outside were for the wolf-type Beast Tamers waiting to be selected.
As for those who had just entered the classroom, they were the breeders waiting for Old Liu to begin the lecture.
Everyone had arrived together, yet due to differences in identity and status, the separation was crystal clear.
That was only natural.
Even a junior breeder held a status far above that of an ordinary Beast Tamer. After all, once someone turned eighteen and contracted their first pet beast, they could be considered a Beast Tamer.
But becoming a breeder officially recognized by the Association was vastly more difficult.
Su Ping didn't really mind any of this. Sitting outside suited him just fine. After all, he didn't know a single person in the Breeders' Association.
Going inside would just mean sitting around awkwardly.
He might as well chat with Zheng Yong.
Unfortunately, just as Su Ping sat down, a voice came from behind him:
"Su Ping?"
He turned his head.
Sure enough, Sun Chaoju—whom he hadn't seen for several days—was standing not far behind him. Beside Sun Chaoju was another man, slightly younger, who was also looking at Su Ping with some surprise.
Since their last encounter, Su Ping's impression of this intermediate breeder from Shuhua City had improved somewhat. Hearing him speak, Su Ping smiled and nodded.
"Breeder Sun, you're here too?"
"Of course I am. How could I miss Teacher Liu's class?" Sun Chaoju replied. "Why are you sitting out here? Hurry up and come in. Perfect timing—I'll introduce you to some friends from the Breeders' Association so they can get to know you, our current big celebrity."
Sun Chaoju spoke with a teasing tone, but he wasn't wrong.
The ordinary Beast Tamers in the first-floor hall aside, among the breeders who had standing within the Association, there were now very few who didn't know Su Ping.
The reason was simple.
He was too young.
And although Linzhou City was large, within these specialized circles, there were very few secrets.
That bet between Sun Chaoju and Su Ping—one that even Vice Chairman Liu had personally served as a witness for—was impossible to hide.
In Linzhou City, and even within the upper-level breeder circles of Jianghai Province, who didn't know that Sun Zhongpei—one of Vice Chairman Liu's disciples—had lost to a freshly graduated student in Forest Wolf breeding?
And lost so thoroughly that he was completely convinced?
This time, Vice Chairman Liu's wolf-type course—"On the Direction of Wolf Pet Beast Evolution, Growth Potential, and Subsequent Cultivation"—was a relatively advanced topic.
Even with Vice Chairman Liu's exceptional teaching ability, it still wasn't something ordinary breeders could easily grasp.
Pet beast evolution was one of the most critical subjects in a breeder's field.
One of the main reasons so many people had come this time was to see for themselves what this young genius breeder, who had recently made waves in Linzhou, was really like.
Faced with Sun Chaoju's enthusiastic invitation, Su Ping could only smile helplessly. He glanced at the slightly startled Zheng Yong and said,
"I've got something to take care of. I'll head out first."
Zheng Yong cautiously glanced at Sun Chaoju.
He didn't recognize Sun Chaoju personally, but the badge on the man's chest was unmistakable—
An Intermediate Breeder.
He quickly said, "No problem, no problem. You go ahead."
Su Ping nodded and followed Sun Chaoju toward the classroom. As they walked, Sun Chaoju smiled and said,
"Su Ping, this is Breeder Mu Hang. Don't let his age fool you—he's also an intermediate breeder. He just happens to specialize in Shadow Wolf cultivation, which is pretty rare in Jianghai Province…"
"So you're Breeder Mu. I've heard of you before," Su Ping said.
"Haha… Old Sun, you're making fun of me," Mu Hang laughed. "Who could be younger than Xiao Su? In my opinion—"
Their voices gradually faded as they entered the classroom, leaving only Zheng Yong sitting outside with a completely bewildered expression.
At that moment, another young man—clearly also a Beast Tamer and someone who knew Zheng Yong—walked over.
"Old Zheng, what's that guy's background? He looks pretty close with those two breeders."
Zheng Yong glanced at the speaker, equally confused.
How was he supposed to know?
Who would've thought that some random guy he met after watching a match downstairs would turn out to be someone like that?
They'd never met before.
Sure, they'd gotten along well, but it wasn't exactly appropriate to start probing into someone's background the first time you met them.
Zheng Yong opened his mouth and said,
"No idea. Maybe he's related to one of those breeders?"
He wasn't very sure himself.
But judging from how familiar that man had been just now, their relationship did seem pretty close.
Thinking about it, Zheng Yong couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
Having a breeder as a relative or close acquaintance brought unimaginable benefits to a Beast Tamer's future development.
It meant avoiding countless detours.
Although he himself had some connections within the Breeders' Association—otherwise he wouldn't have qualified to attend Vice Chairman Liu's class as a 'model'—it still couldn't compare to having an intermediate breeder backing you.
"What was his name?" the young man beside him asked curiously.
Zheng Yong thought for a moment before answering,
"Su Ping. I think his name was Su Ping."
"Su Ping?" the other man frowned slightly. "That name sounds really familiar. Feels like I've heard it somewhere."
Zheng Yong shot him a puzzled look.
This guy thought it sounded familiar too?
"Why are you two still chatting here?" someone suddenly called out. "Get ready—Chairman Liu has arrived."
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