The class was drawing to a close.
This session had stretched from morning all the way into the afternoon.
At last, they arrived at the final topic Old Liu had mentioned:
"The cultivation of evolved-form pets is, in essence, no different from that of other pets. However, I believe all of you here are extraordinary individuals, and naturally you understand this: pet skills are divided into levels. Moreover, skills themselves are categorized into ordinary skills and super-tier skills!"
Even Su Ping felt his spirits lift when he heard this.
Super-tier skills.
This was a domain Su Ping had never encountered, nor even truly heard about in detail.
He had only caught fleeting mentions of them before.
According to rumors, every super-tier skill was incomparably powerful. The gap between ordinary skills and super-tier skills was immense.
But what exactly super-tier skills were, or how they were born—Su Ping genuinely didn't know.
Yet just as Old Liu brought the topic up, he didn't continue along that line. Instead, he returned to discussing ordinary cultivation matters.
It made Su Ping feel as though a cat were scratching at his heart, but there was nothing he could do.
Only when the course was about to end did Old Liu smile, as if summarizing:
"The ultimate goal of cultivating evolved-form pets is to condense super-tier skills. However, not every pet possesses the potential or the qualifications to do so.
"Now, returning to the earlier question—where do super-tier skills come from?
"Of course, some pets with extraordinarily high innate racial potential may naturally comprehend a super-tier skill once they mature. But such species are exceedingly rare and not something ordinary people can obtain.
"Therefore, the acquisition of super-tier skills still mainly relies on breeders."
Hm?
Su Ping looked at Old Liu in surprise.
Unfortunately, the old fox clearly knew exactly how to whet appetites—and knew no one would dare hit him. Right at that point, he cut the topic short again:
"Alright. Super-tier skills are not something you can access at your current level. In short, just focus on cultivation properly. Class dismissed!"
Although everyone felt indignant inside, it was obvious that this wasn't the time to say anything. After all, this was a free course provided by the Breeders Association, and the gains from just this single day were already substantial.
As for super-tier skills—aside from Su Ping, very few people were truly curious about them.
There was no helping it; that realm was simply too far removed from ordinary breeders.
Even among high-level evolved-form pets, how many actually possessed super-tier skills?
Not to mention Commander or Monarch-class pets—even Emperor-class ones weren't guaranteed.
Super-tier skills were firmly within the domain of Breeding Masters.
As for people like them, if one day they could even reach the level of an ordinary, single-specialization high-level breeder, they would already feel fulfilled and honored their ancestors.
Su Ping, however, was quite satisfied.
The reason was simple—this single class had granted him five hundred experience points.
That alone was a massive surprise.
He was even thinking of asking whether the Breeders Association had any more classes coming up, so he could tag along and audit them.
While the others left briskly, Su Ping caught Vice Chairman Liu's gaze and quickly followed him.
After all, aside from attending class, he had come for something even more important.
Vice Chairman Liu's office was also on the second floor, not far from the classroom.
Once inside, the assistant promptly served two cups of tea.
"Snow Peak Emerald Green. A precious tea produced in snowy mountain terrain. Give it a try and see how it tastes."
Su Ping didn't stand on ceremony. He picked it up, took a sip, then nodded.
"It tastes good—just not as good as Spirit-Nurturing Ancient Tea."
"?"
Vice Chairman Liu's smiling expression froze as he stared at this utterly tactless brat.
Su Ping looked up and immediately met Liu's gaze. He gave an awkward smile—he'd accidentally spoken the truth out loud.
"Heh. The Spirit-Nurturing Ancient Tree is a Monarch-class plant-type pet, and its yield is extremely limited. Naturally, its tea leaves are no ordinary thing."
Ah?
This time it was Su Ping's turn to be dumbfounded.
That stuff… came from a Monarch-class pet?
Unfortunately, the last time he'd drunk it, he'd been in too much of a hurry. He'd focused only on the effects of the tea and had completely forgotten what it actually tasted like.
Of course, Su Ping hadn't come here to drink tea. He quickly said:
"Elder Liu, about the Sun Crystal I mentioned on the phone…"
Vice Chairman Liu didn't waste words.
Without any obvious movement, a drawer in the tea table slid open, and a glass case appeared in his hand.
Through the transparent casing, one could see a warm, radiant glow inside—like a tiny lightbulb.
But upon closer inspection, it was actually a glowing stone about the size of a baby's fist.
"Elder Liu, how much does this cost? And what did you mean on the phone when you said it didn't require money? I didn't quite understand. How exactly do I obtain it?"
Vice Chairman Liu took a sip of tea and waved his hand dismissively.
"Just take it. Your credits are sufficient to redeem it."
"Credits?"
Although Liu's straightforwardness caught Su Ping off guard, he immediately sensed that something was amiss.
Vice Chairman Liu smiled.
"You kid—completely clueless about the basics of the Breeders Association. But then again, only someone who forgets sleep and food like this can achieve what others cannot at such a young age."
As he spoke, he took out a remote control and pressed a button.
In the next moment, a massive translucent blue holographic screen appeared not far away inside the office.
"The Breeders Association isn't a charity. What we mainly sell to the outside world are pets and high-end experimental instruments.
"But some materials and resources are not circulated on the market using currency. Instead, they're exchanged through credits—what you just heard referred to as points."
Credits. Points.
The terminology felt oddly familiar, but it had to be said—this system was indeed reliable.
If everything could be bought with money, the Association's resources probably wouldn't be enough to sell.
Only now did Su Ping truly understand something.
This world never lacked rich people.
"So how are credits earned?"
Facing Su Ping's question, Vice Chairman Liu smiled and said:
"As long as you achieve a corresponding research breakthrough and can fully prove that it was created by you personally, you can obtain credits.
"Of course, if you fully share that research with the Breeders Association, you'll earn even more credits. And if the value is high enough, the central association will also provide unimaginable rewards and compensation.
"For example, your Forest Wolf Wooden Heart cultivation method. Simply confirming that it's your personal achievement earns you one thousand credits.
"But if you fully share the Wooden Heart cultivation method, you'll immediately receive ten thousand, or even tens of thousands, of credits—along with additional designated rewards distributed by the headquarters.
"These could include corresponding high-tier resources, rare pet cubs, or even more special things like skills, pet cultivation techniques, or magic potion formulas.
"I won't hide it from you—every quarter, the central Breeders Association allocates resources to provincial branches. The amount allocated depends on the total credits produced by the local association.
"So even if research isn't shared with the Association, as long as it's created, there are credit rewards!"
"I see."
"Alright. When you have time, browse the Breeders Association's internal network. It'll save you from causing so many misunderstandings.
"But you kid—buying so many Forest Wolf cubs recently, and now asking for a Sun Crystal…
"Looks like you really do have some ideas about the Wolf of Ten Thousand Woods, hahahaha! I'll be waiting for your good news!"
Old Liu was clearly in an excellent mood.
Just as he'd said earlier, if the evolution plan for the Wolf of Ten Thousand Woods were successfully researched, the Jianghai Province branch would also receive rewards from headquarters.
Su Ping nodded.
This was the talent reward system of the Dragon Nation.
It was precisely this system—spanning from the Beastmaster Association to the Breeders Association and countless others—that had allowed the Dragon Nation to develop to this day.
When true talent emerged, the authorities at every level would support it with all their might, rather than suppress it.
Because, fundamentally, such talent was deeply tied to their own interests.
What Su Ping hadn't expected was that, in his imagination, the hardest resource to obtain—the Monarch-class Sun Crystal—ended up being the very first, and easiest, thing to acquire.
The first step in the evolutionary cultivation of the Wolf of Ten Thousand Woods had gone far more smoothly than he'd ever imagined.
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