Wang Mu was very busy today; he had an assessment tomorrow and needed to go to bed early.
Plants like the Blue Leaf Mist Flower had already been planted by dedicated personnel, as Spirit Butterflies particularly favored them. After preparing the nutrient solution, Wang Mu took Green Sprite, carrying the confidential box, and headed to the association.
Breeder assessments only took one day, so there was no need to worry about the Spirit Butterflies having problems.
...
The Breeder Academy was located next to the Breeder Association. Wang Mu was already familiar with the route. When the doorman saw him coming, he extended his hand in a welcoming gesture from three meters away.
As soon as Wang Mu took out the form, a lady approached and said, "Mr. Wang, please follow me. This assessment will be held in Secret Realm No. 17. The materials you need have been prepared and will be delivered after your formal assessment begins."
The lady was very professional. After guiding Wang Mu through the procedures, she led him directly to the Secret Realm entrance. It was a black door frame with a blue vortex swirling inside. A middle-aged man was sitting by the door. Seeing them arrive, he tapped on the table.
Wang Mu placed the confidential box on it. The man scanned it with an instrument to ensure it had not been tampered with, then checked Green Wood Demon to make sure it was not carrying any cheating items. He handed Wang Mu a jade token and said, "When you feel you have completed the assessment, or if you have failed, inject spirit power into it. Someone will come to verify."
"You may enter now."
"Thank you," Wang Mu replied, taking the jade token and stepping into the Secret Realm.
A complete Secret Realm had its own rules, the most obvious being the flow of time. However, this situation was not beneficial for humans. Only spirit beasts could withstand the disparity in time flow. Therefore, special formations were set up to maintain normal time in certain areas.
The association cleverly used these Secret Realms for assessments.
After passing through the door, Wang Mu found himself in a room with a grassland-like environment beyond it. The materials he needed were neatly stacked in ten portions. Looking at them, Wang Mu felt wonderful.
He had chosen a Commander-level worm egg for the assessment precisely because of these materials. He had considered the possibility of failure, but the probability was very low. Therefore, he aimed to maximize resource utilization. This worm egg, combined with the overall materials, could result in more perfect breeding. These Spirit Butterflies would become Wang Mu's first pot of gold.
Assessment?
No, it was stocking up.
Wang Mu opened the confidential cabinet and placed the worm egg into the incubator. At that moment, the countdown began. Hatching, which normally took a day outside, was completed within a few seconds here.
The newly hatched Greenleaf Worms were slender and fragile, with a Sharing Level of 1. When Wang Mu shared his abilities, he needed to suppress them to the entry level.
He then took them all out. He had not expected it to be so fast, so he had not prepared individual portions beforehand.
In the ten culture dishes, Wang Mu placed different materials. The common ones were Green Jade Bamboo leaves. Early-stage Greenleaf Worms were very fragile and could only be fed low-grade materials. Then he placed them in the time acceleration area to wait for their first metamorphosis.
At the same time, Wang Mu prepared the food and materials needed for the first molt.
The Strengthening Base Solution could make the Greenleaf Worms' bodies stronger.
The various plant leaves they ate in the first step were to give the Greenleaf Worms attribute biases.
Two of them ate Green Jade Bamboo, two ate Blue Leaf Mist Flower, and two ate Oleander flower petals. This setup was to replicate the Green Jade Butterfly, Silver Butterfly, and Poison Powder Butterfly. With two of each, success was guaranteed, ensuring Wang Mu reached the level of a Senior Breeder at the very least.
The remaining four Greenleaf Worms ate fire-attribute Red Leaf Mulberry leaves, wind-attribute Wind Chime Flowers, water-attribute Poplar Catkins, and light-attribute Bright Light Grass. These were materials Wang Mu had specifically deduced, theoretically allowing them to evolve to Elite-level.
It did not matter if they failed. Due to the attribute bias, they would 100 percent evolve into Excellent-level spirit beasts with corresponding attributes. Afterward, they would have attribute spells. By sharing them, Wang Mu could add spells as a "material" during future molting stages when breeding new Spirit Butterflies.
In other words, Wang Mu would not lose out no matter what. These four types of attribute spirit beasts would also be bred sooner or later.
The assessment proceeded in an orderly manner. After the second molt, Wang Mu continued feeding them. This time, the materials used were more expensive, such as the Attribute Jade series. Among them, Light Jade had a market price of 10,000 per gram, while elements like gold, wood, water, fire, and earth were 8,000 per gram, wind was 9,000, and lightning was 15,000.
Unfortunately, the lightning attribute was rare. Wang Mu was only able to come into contact with the mental attribute thanks to Wang Lingfeng's Phoenix Eye Butterfly. Therefore, he had not researched the lightning attribute and naturally had not bred any related spirit beasts.
For the mental attribute, there were no Elemental Jade Stones. Wang Mu used the spirit core of a Level 1 demon beast, the Patterned Snake, which cost 30,000 per core.
High-quality spirit beasts sold for high prices, but the materials needed to breed them were not cheap either. Some spirit beasts' evolution methods had long been published, but few attempted them, either because the materials were expensive or the process was complex. Only professional breeders could utilize the materials reasonably.
Wang Mu followed a relatively simple approach, using food to increase a spirit beast's potential and induce evolution. His shared spells acted like a cheat, increasing the probability of evolution, and with proper pairing, it could even reach 100 percent success.
There were other evolution methods too, but Wang Mu lacked the strength and resources for them.
The third molt finished. This time, they consumed nutrient solution. After eating and drinking their fill, the Greenleaf Worms began to pupate. Three hours had passed by this time, meaning that even breeding other spirit beasts would be completely feasible within a day.
Wang Mu waited quietly, observing whether the pupae absorbed enough energy. When they were nearly ready, he took them out, placed them in a simulation pod, turned on sunrise mode, and waited for them to emerge.
Following the same sequence as at home, the Silver Butterfly was the first to emerge, followed by the Poison Powder Butterfly and the Green Jade Butterfly.
The Green Jade Butterfly showed no significant change, but the other two Spirit Butterflies' talents reached Low-grade Superior.
After the six butterflies emerged, they fluttered around Green Sprite. Their nature was to seek a mate after emerging from the pupa. This time, he let Green Sprite interfere. It emitted a faint mist, which was atomized spirit energy, and it successfully attracted the Spirit Butterflies to feed.
At that moment, Wang Mu quickly removed the other four pupae. Without the catalysis of skills, their foundation was not as strong, and they emerged slower, but they still evolved successfully.
Water Mist Butterfly (Adult): 0
Bloodline: ExcellentTalent: Water (Low-grade Middle)Talent Spells: Water Mist (Entry), Water Arrow (Entry)Sharing Level: 3
Spark Butterfly (Adult): 0
Bloodline: ExcellentTalent: Fire (Low-grade Middle)Talent Spells: Fire Arrow (Entry), Spark (Entry)Sharing Level: 3
Wind Chime Butterfly (Adult): 0
Bloodline: EliteTalent: Wind (Low-grade Superior)Talent Spells: Wind Blade (Entry), Illusory Wind Chime (Entry), Tailwind (Entry)Sharing Level: 3
It turned out to be an Elite-level spirit beast with three skills.
Wang Mu was overjoyed. He had initially planned for Excellent-level ones. This unexpected gain made him especially happy. Three skills meant triple the value.
He looked at the fourth Spirit Butterfly and found another pleasant surprise.
Bright Light Butterfly (Adult): 0
Bloodline: EliteTalent: Light (Low-grade Superior)Talent Spells: Light Blade (Entry), Radiance (Entry), Beam Impact (Entry)Sharing Level: 3
They all belonged to Wang Mu. This was also a benefit offered by the association. Regardless of assessment level, as long as it was the first time, the association provided the materials for free. If you succeeded, you kept the spirit beasts and your rating increased. If you failed, you only paid 50 percent of the material cost for the second attempt, and 100 percent for any attempts afterward.
Sharing abilities would be handled after returning home. Wang Mu checked the time; the entire process had taken five hours and eleven minutes. He then took out the jade token and activated it.
[Please wait 1-3 minutes, professional personnel are entering the assessment area.]
It took less than a minute. The man who had been guarding the door entered, now wearing glasses. He looked at the Spirit Butterflies resting on Green Wood Demon, examined them one by one, and said, "Congratulations, you have become a registered Senior Breeder of the association."
"The jade token is your proof. Go find someone to record your information and process your identity certificate. If you plan to open a breeding facility, you can handle that at the same time."
After speaking, he turned and left the Secret Realm without any hesitation. The Spirit Butterflies did not seem to surprise him. Having seen plenty of geniuses, he was used to it. A brief reminder was enough.
Wang Mu understood the meaning behind his words. Before he could even say thank you, the man had already left. Helplessly, he gathered the spirit beasts and left. The lady from earlier was already waiting. She looked at the beautiful Spirit Butterflies but quickly composed herself.
"Mr. Wang, I will take you to process your certificate," she said.
Wang Mu nodded. "Okay, please also help record the information for a breeding facility. Thank you for your trouble."
"It is no trouble. The association provides assistance to every member," she replied politely.
Thanks to her help, all the procedures were completed quickly. It was not until Wang Mu returned home that he realized just how smooth this trip had been. He touched the badge pinned to his chest. Its main body was silver, with three raised five-pointed stars at the bottom and a pattern of hands holding something in the center.
This represented the identity of a Senior Breeder.
A Master Breeder had a gold badge. No stars meant Apprentice Breeder, one star meant Junior Breeder, and so on.
Wang Mu had only seen a few Junior and Intermediate Breeders today and had not seen a single Master Breeder. However, the middle-aged man who assessed him was most likely a Master Breeder, or at least an Intermediate Breeder. Only they could casually certify a Senior Breeder.
These Master Breeders were busy people. Being called to stand duty for assessments made them unhappy and more demanding during checks. In such circumstances, those who could still pass were genuinely capable.
The Breeder Association knew this and did it deliberately.
An industry cannot just let anyone in. They only want elites.
This line of work can truly change one's fate.
Wang Lingfeng was now 55 years old. Considering his lifespan of over two hundred years, he had just passed the young adult stage, and his appearance was shifting toward middle age. Yet after so many years, he only had one Elite-level spirit beast.
But a breeder like Wang Mu, with talent and ability, could mass-produce Elite-level spirit beasts.
Still, ambitious breeders did not simply pursue mass production. They pursued excellence, aiming to breed Commander-level spirit beasts, and eventually Beast King level, then Lord level.
Wang Mu was the same.