Beast Taming: the More the Better

Chapter 3 - 3 Forest Wolf Catalog, Magic Potion: ʼHeart of Woods

As Su Pingʼs gaze focused, the only illuminated pattern on the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas slowly enlarged, appearing before his eyes.

[Catalog: Forest Wolf]

[A wolf tribe proficient in using Wood Attributes, with extremely strong Life Force. An average adult Forest Wolf is of Elite Level, with Skills such as Sunlight Absorption, Vine Strangling, Self-Healing, and Accelerated Growth.]

[Current Catalog Level: 1 (300/500)]

Known Evolutionary Atlas, special cultivation:

[Not discovered yet]

Preferences, habits:

[Enjoys basking in the sun, playing in the woods, moving in groups, and has stronger combat ability in daylight or within forests.]

Record log:

[Encountered and made contact with a Forest Wolf of a Poison Attribute mutation lineage; intimacy met the requirements. Catalog Experience +300!]

[This Forest Wolf is a special mutant. For every day spent with it, Catalog Experience +5! Each day of companionship offers a certain chance of discovering the reasons for the bloodline mutation. Alternatively, a large amount of this Catalogʼs Experience can be consumed to analyze the mutation reason.]

[Daily, Catalog Experience can be gained based on the number of interactions with such creatures and their level. It can also be gained by enhancing the biological abilities of creatures that meet the intimacy standard, thereby perfecting the Catalog and upgrading its level.]

Looking at the Catalog of the Forest Wolf, which had analyzed it quite thoroughly, Su Ping blinked once more.

This Catalog can actually be upgraded.

And there are rewards for each upgrade? Thinking of the Eye of Truth he had just discovered, Su Pingʼs eyes lit up.

It was clear in the Catalogʼs records that the more you interact with the creatures in the Catalog, and the higher their quality, the more Catalog Experience you obtain.

Itʼs just unknown whether this interaction will count if they are not oneʼs Contracted Beasts.

Moreover, the unlocking of the Forest Wolf Catalog happened after he established a Soul Contract with Xiao Qing.

Could it be that to illuminate the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas with its numerous Pet Beast Catalogs, one must contract each one individually?

Thatʼs obviously impossible.

After all, a Beast Tamerʼs Contracted Beast slots are limited.

Each Beast Tamer only gained one Pet Beast slot per Great Realm breakthrough.

In other words, Su Ping could only contract a second Pet Beast once he broke through to the Elite Level himself.

However, upon scrutinizing the Catalog again carefully, especially the text in the last line of the record, Su Pingʼs gaze locked on.

Intimacy!

Indeed, in the half-month since my graduation from Linzhou City, Iʼve come into contact with quite a few Pet Beasts.

None could light up the Catalog, and the reason must be this so-called intimacy!

This means that as long as I frequently accompany these Pet Beasts—even if they arenʼt my Contracted Beasts—they can be included in the Catalog and count towards its upgrade requirements, provided their intimacy is high enough.

With this realization, he finally recognized that the Pet Beast Breeding Base his unreliable father left him might actually have some value and use!

Immediately, the idea of going on an adventure was cast to the winds from Su Pingʼs mind.

Adventure? What joy could it hold compared to the delight of cultivation here?

Recalling his understanding of the Forest Wolf and the Heart of Wood Cultivation Base over the years, Su Ping was invigorated.

Cradling Xiao Qing, he returned to the living quarters and rummaged through Su Anyongʼs room. After a long search, he finally found what he wanted to see.

It was an ancient book with yellowed pages.

In this era, such ancient books were obviously rare. However, according to his father, it was the Su Family heirloom and the key reason why the Heart of Wood Cultivation Base had persisted until today.

Previously, his father had put on a show, refusing to let Su Ping see it until he had turned eighteen, awakened his Talent, and become a prospective Beast Tamer.

Now, this thing was tossed under a cabinet, evidently not treasured or carefully preserved.

The book title was quite lengthy:

”Forest Wolf Breeding and Training Manual with the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Magic Potion Recipe”

The origin of their familyʼs Pet Beast Breeding Base lay within this.

According to his dad, this was also his grandfatherʼs lifelong research.

Magic Potions were concoctions made from various resources combined according to a recipe, and the vast majority were for Pet Beasts to consume.

ʼHeart of Woodsʼ was clearly the same.

The effects of Magic Potions varied: some accelerated Pet Beastsʼ growth, some enhanced their Realm, others restored their energy, some caused them to evolve, and some enabled them to learn a certain Skill.

Among these types of Magic Potions, those that could induce Evolution in Pet Beasts were undoubtedly the most precious—no need to elaborate on that.

Beyond that were Magic Potions that enabled Pet Beasts to learn Skills.

And the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Magic Potion recipe from this ancient book was just that.

ʼHeart of Woodsʼ was a Skill. Although not a ʼSuper-Rankʼ Skill with mighty effects comparable to forbidden spells from games in his previous world, it was still quite remarkable.

On Blue Star, Pet Beast Skills were generally divided into ordinary Skills and Super-Rank Skills.

Although ʼHeart of Woodsʼ was an ordinary Skill, it was an extremely rare ability, sometimes even more useful than certain offensive Super-Rank Skills!

Its effect was actually quite simple: all Wood Attribute Skills of the Pet Beast were passively enhanced. When injured or its energy was depleted, it could actively absorb nutrients from trees and plants for Rapid Recovery.

This ability, combined with a Forest Wolfʼs Skills, was an unmatched treasure if used in battle in a forest or on the plains!

Across the entire Blue Star, not many Wood Element Pet Beasts naturally possessed the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Skill.

Were it not for the fact that his familyʼs ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Magic Potion recipe had an exceedingly low chance of successful awakening—with only a few successes over decades—and was exclusively for Forest Wolf use, this recipe alone, regardless of its monetary value, might have contended for the top prize at the Breeder Associationʼs annual Breeder Research Competition, achieving nationwide fame!

However, since it was the family heirloom, Su Ping, having already decided to run his familyʼs Pet Beast Breeding Base well, naturally had to master it.

He quickly skipped over the information about Forest Wolf breeding, which he was already familiar with, and carefully read the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ recipe.

ʼRaw materials: three sections of hollow willow branches, one Wood Spirit herb, three drops of hundred-herb juice, one nectar-absorbing bee stinger.ʼ

ʼProduction method: The hollow willow branches must be pounded by hand for 30 minutes over fire until they become crushed. Then, 100ml of clear water and one drop of the hundred-herb juice are added. Continue to pound by hand for another 30 minutes until it becomes paste-like. After that, add another drop of the hundred-herb juice and one Wood Spirit herb. Continue to pound by hand for another 30 minutes until it becomes a pulp. Then, add the nectar-absorbing bee stinger. Finally, pound it into a concentrated liquid before cooling for over six hours to form a jelly-like state. Only then is it considered successfully made.ʼ

ʼEffect: After consumption by a Forest Wolf, there is approximately a one percent chance of learning the rare Skill: Heart of Woods, and a chance to raise the Pet Beastʼs Level.ʼ

ʼThe better the innate Talents of the Forest Wolf, the higher the success rate.ʼ

After reviewing the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ recipe from beginning to end, Su Ping let out a sigh.

Damn, no wonder such a rare and precious Skill Magic Potion recipe has been well preserved by our family, yet nobody knows or seems to care about it.

Itʼs bad enough that itʼs only for Forest Wolves, but this success rate is just too low, isnʼt it?

Instead of spending time researching and trying this, wouldnʼt it be much better to directly contract a Pet Beast with Commander-level or Monarch-level Racial Potential?

But itʼs still better than nothing, I suppose.

Shaking his head, Su Ping was just about to stand up when he was suddenly taken aback.

At this moment, the Myriad Spirit Beast Atlas in his mind started flipping pages on its own, and the Forest Wolf Catalog appeared before his eyes.

Feedback from a Catalog entry then emerged in Su Pingʼs mind:

[Discovery of a ʼForest Wolfʼ special cultivation method: ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Magic Potion.]

[Detected that the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Magic Potion recipe is in an incomplete state. Do you wish to spend 285 Forest Wolf Catalog Experience to perfect the ʼHeart of Woodsʼ Magic Potion recipe?]

Su Ping couldnʼt help but open his mouth wide, his eyes revealing an incredulous surge of elation.