Strange Mushrooms 1

Thanks to the Green Leaf Butterfly family's growth speed, another day later, all one hundred fifty people who had purchased Spirit Beasts both online and offline arrived.

They were all waiting in their assigned rooms for the Spirit Butterflies to break out of their cocoons.

Their family members sat upright in the lobby, just as nervous. But today was special.

A young man sat in a corner reading, surrounded by several potted plants. His appearance and aptitude matched the photos exactly.

His face was still youthful, but his strength was undeniable. The guests grew cautious just seeing him.

Such a young high-level Breeder had only appeared in reports before. To now meet one in person made many sigh in amazement—he was truly too young.

Wang Mu was waiting here for a reason.

Before he could finish cultivating the second batch and hand them over to the Association, the Association had already come to him after hearing about the situation.

The Breeder Association and Beast Tamer Association appeared to be separate, but they were deeply integrated.

When the Breeder Association produced valuable results, the Beast Tamer Association quickly followed up, equipping their core members with whatever they needed.

The Silver Butterflies had drawn attention.

Detection skills were not uncommon, mostly high-level. Lower-tier versions were often too obvious. Spirit-type skills, however, had always been well-hidden.

For the Silver Butterflies bred by Wang Mu, the Breeder Association had come to register detailed information.

Wang Mu had to start sharing spells with the newly hatched Green Leaf Worms around eight or nine o'clock, so the appointment was set between six and seven.

Naturally, the staff had no objections. Everything revolved around the Breeder's time.

Around 6:10, the doorman and the woman Wang Mu had seen previously arrived together.

He couldn't help but be impressed. The Association was indeed meticulous.

He waved to them. "Please come this way."

"Hello, Mr. Wang. I'm Shen Yu, an official from the Association. We're here today to inquire about the Silver Butterflies. Can you steadily breed ones that carry Mental Scan?"

She got straight to the point, clearly having analyzed Wang Mu's personality beforehand.

It was the right approach.

Wang Mu had grown up in this world and was well aware of the Breeder Association's tradition of protecting talent.

For a "genius" like him, anyone who tried to cause trouble would be the one to suffer.

So he didn't hold back.

"Silver Butterflies are easy to breed. But ones that master Mental Scan after metamorphosis? That's not so simple. At this stage, I can produce one every two months. Have you looked at the value-added services for Silver Butterflies?"

Shen Yu caught on immediately and drafted two proposals. "Understood. It seems you already have cooperation in mind. Here are two contracts. Could you review them?"

"Yes."

She input her thoughts into an instrument. The man beside her printed out two documents and handed them to Wang Mu.

The first offered to buy five Silver Butterflies with Mental Scan per year at 300 points each, resold internally at the Elite-level standard of 150 points.

The second requested thirty Elite-level Silver Butterflies annually. When they reached the third stage and met other requirements, Beast Masters could bring them to the Qing Mu Breeding Center for skill instruction at 100 points per Spirit Beast.

This was the first time Wang Mu had seen such a detailed contract, even listing the sale price.

The discounted price made sense. Items exchangeable for points were internal benefits. The Association never marked them up; in fact, they often gave discounts.

Wang Mu could choose either or both contracts.

He signed immediately.

He was still short on points. If he had a way to earn them and didn't, he'd be a fool.

He also noted that an Elite-level Spirit Beast cost 150 points at the Association, but only 50 at the Academy. Even Lord-level ones were only 150.

This showed how much the Academy supported its students.

After signing, the contracts were stored.

Shen Yu said, "Mr. Wang, after you fulfill Contract One, the points will be transferred to your account. For Contract Two, each time a Silver Butterfly is taken, 50 points will be transferred. The remaining 50 will be transferred after the skill instruction."

This was clearly written in the contract, which Wang Mu had read.

He nodded. "Alright. You can arrange for people to contract with them early next month. The Green Leaf Butterfly family is special. You're Association members, so you should know. Just come directly to the Breeding Center. I'll notify you."

Shen Yu understood and stood up. "Of course, Mr. Wang. We won't take more of your time. Goodbye."

They really didn't linger.

Wang Mu checked the time—only 6:16. The whole process had taken just six minutes, leaving him plenty of time to head to the incubation room.

As he walked away, Beast Masters who had already signed contracts began emerging one by one.

As expected, those with stronger auras came out first. The leading one was likely fifth-stage.

At that level, Beast Masters had a Beast Taming Space where Spirit Beasts could rest. Even large Spirit Beasts could be carried around.

A Silver Butterfly perched on the man's palm.

Despite his burly build, the man had a gentle expression.

Sensing Wang Mu's presence, the Silver Butterfly flew toward him.

Wang Mu held out his hand. It landed.

"Little guy, quite sentimental. Come back whenever you want. This place is always open to you."

A gentle Spirit fluctuation carried the words to the Butterfly's mind. Otherwise, it wouldn't have understood just from sound.

It perked up and flew to its new Master's shoulder, clearly trying to introduce him.

The Beast Master smiled and said, "Hello. I'm Cui Linhai, Silver Moon's Beast Master. Thank you for bringing him into this world."

Wang Mu smiled and nodded. "Hello. Silver Moon? Good name. I hope you two get along well."

He also greeted Zhang Tiancheng.

In a fixed Beast Master team, relationships were usually close. When someone passed away, teammates often took care of their children.

Wang Mu's father was raised by a teammate of his grandfather, who had died years ago. That person trained him to be a Beast Master and gave him an Excellent-level Forest Lizard.

That family had mostly Water-type Spirit Beasts and moved to Tianhai City, far away.

That region belonged to Pioneer City, where information spread slowly, sometimes delayed by a month.

Wang Mu expected to receive a gift next month.

Thinking of that made his steps lighter.

His relatives on his parents' side had left a bad impression when he was young. He cut ties, but Guo Shu's family had been wonderful—especially Guo Zihao.

To support Wang Mu's grand Breeder plans, the chubby guy even gave up his private stash and lost several pounds from cutting meals.

Ordinary life was generally calm and repetitive, without many grand waves.

Wang Mu, as planned, continued cultivating Spirit Beasts in peace.

Other novice Breeders had to worry about failure and loss. Wang Mu didn't.

He had over twenty million yuan in his account, even after buying another batch of materials.

Among them were expensive items like Attribute Jade, averaging ten thousand yuan per gram.

There were also Spiritual Energy Essences—standard rhombic crystals the size of a pinky finger, each costing about three hundred thousand.

Their effect was simple: increase a Spirit Beast's elemental affinity.

Wang Mu used them on Elite-level Spirit Beasts, hoping to produce Lord-level ones. The chance was low, but not zero.

By noon, the second batch of Green Leaf Worms had all begun metamorphosis.

Without time acceleration like in Secret Realms, this would take two days.

Though he could begin the third batch, Wang Mu wasn't the type to exhaust himself.

With no pressure, he headed for the Breeder Association.

He wanted to enter Secret Realm 03.

This time, the receptionist was still Shen Yu.

Wang Mu guessed that each Breeder was assigned a dedicated receptionist.

With the Association's vast resources, that was feasible.

As Shen Yu led the way, she explained, "All Secret Realm creatures have undergone guided breeding. They're eager to explore the outside world. If you find one you like, you may communicate with it and take it with you."

"Secret Realm 03 is a beginner Secret Realm. The strongest Spirit Beasts are level two. There are 317 species in total. Among them are two Lord species, four Beast King species, and eleven more Lord-class variants. They're mostly found around several lakes."

"Thank you," Wang Mu said politely.

He already knew this, but high-level Spirit Beasts rarely came out. To adopt one, he had to meet it first.

Just like last time, Wang Mu passed through a blue vortex and entered a forest.

Immediately, he saw several colorful mushrooms bouncing around.

He went silent.

Strange Mushrooms. Lord-level Spirit Beasts.

They mastered various spells.

Innate spells: Hallucination Spore, Parasitic Spore, Toxic Spore, Healing Spore, Inheritance Spore.

Evolved bloodline spells: Gigantification, Hypnosis, Life Sharing.

Life Sharing was the most famous—after contracting one, either the Spirit Beast or the Beast Master could survive as long as the other lived. Depending on the Strange Mushroom's strength, it could sustain life for three to one hundred days.

With Parasitic and Inheritance Spores, it could recover quickly in a host.

These mushrooms formed the core of the early Beast Taming school known as the Undying School.

If they weren't so difficult to evolve to sixth stage, most high-level Beast Masters would probably have one.

Wang Mu didn't hesitate.

He pulled out the nutrient solution he'd prepared, opened it, and set it down.

He used Spirit communication: "Little guys, come on, time to eat~"

Right now, he looked like a shady uncle luring children with candy.

The Strange Mushrooms looked the same to him, and he couldn't tell their exact stage.

There were three.

If possible, he would take them all.

As for the Emerald Bird and the Hundred Flowers Bee Queen? He had a points channel now. He could buy them later.

Two Strange Mushrooms hopped over without hesitation.

The third didn't move.

Just as Wang Mu felt disappointed, that one disappeared from view and reappeared beside him, starting to eat.

"Earth Escape Spell?" Wang Mu blinked.

This seemed to be a newly evolved form.

Textbooks only updated every few years. New findings weren't shared immediately, so it was normal for him not to know.

Each Breeder specialized in different fields. Many common Spirit Beasts had evolved forms that were still undiscovered.

A single person's energy was limited.

But Wang Mu planned to challenge that limit.