This was something the school had taught as well. Some Pet Beasts, due to resources, growth environment, or even personality reasons, experience mutations in the skills they are supposed to awaken. These Mutated Skills can be strong or weak and cannot be generalized. And now, Xiao Qing was undoubtedly one such example.
Eye of Truth, upon inspecting Xiao Qing at this moment, had already provided Su Ping with feedback.
[Mutated Forest Wolf (Contracted)]
[Current Level: Ordinary Fourth Stage]
[Racial Potential: Commander Third Rank]
[Skills: Sunlight Absorption (Beginner), Poison Vine Strangulation (Beginner), Mutated Poison Wood Heart (Beginner)]
Even though he was prepared, Su Ping couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath. The breakthrough to an Ordinary Fourth Stage was not surprising. In fact, this breakthrough was actually one rank lower than Little One's breakthrough. However, that was clearly not the crux of the issue. The real key point lay in the leap in Racial Potential!
Forest Wolves had the Racial Potential for the Elite Tier! Even Old Sha might have had all sorts of opportunities in the past to break through his Racial Potential and become the Commander Level he was today. But when observed through the Eye of Truth, Old Sha's Racial Potential, in fact, had not increased. This meant that Old Sha's breakthrough and advancement were a result of personal fortune, not a transformation of the race. Even if Old Sha had offspring, it wouldn't affect the race.
But Xiao Qing at this moment was different. After consuming the Heart of Woods and somehow completing the mutation, its Racial Potential had improved even further! Even without Evolution, even without needing to consume precious resources and Magic Potions, as long as Xiao Qing grew normally and wasn't too lazy, then in the future, it could break through to Commander Level!
For a moment, Su Ping fell into deep thought. Was the effect of the Heart of Woods so ridiculous?Looking at it this way, if someone really did come to him for training, could he set his prices quite a bit higher?
However, Su Ping also understood that the effect of the Heart of Woods Magic Potion was one aspect, but Xiao Qing's incredible talent was another. Although there was no change in the skill level displayed on the panel, through the Soul Contract, he could clearly feel that Xiao Qing's Poison Vine Strangulation had greatly improved.
The gap in proficiency between each skill level was considerable. This was also the main reason why Beast Tamers and their Pet Beasts had to constantly practice and cultivate them. And certainly, the improvement in the might of the attack-oriented Poison Vine Strangulation was a primary direction for enhancement.
It was a pity that there was no suitable opponent to battle right now. Shaking his head, Su Ping finally turned the Eye of Truth towards Xiao Qing's main mutation: this rare and precious Mutated Skill!
[Mutated Poison Wood Heart (Beginner): A special Mutated Skill that combines the characteristics of the Poison Type with the Wood Element's Heart of Woods. It enhances the activation effect, power, and casting time of Poison Type and Wood Element skills. Additionally, it can absorb the essence of plant power to restore itself and can also use Poison System Resources to accelerate its own Realm and the Skill Proficiency improvement of this specific skill.]
Su Ping blinked, and the effect of the Eye of Truth vanished. Yet, he didn't snap back to reality for quite some time. Even though the school had said that Mutated Skills could either become more powerful and strange or weaker, without a doubt, Xiao Qing's "Mutated Poison Wood Heart" was clearly one of the mutations that had become more powerful. But Su Ping had never imagined it would be so powerful.
Other aspects aside, the fact that it could enhance the power of Poison Type skills—an effect analogous to the Heart of Woods' general enhancing properties for its own element—was already remarkable. However, the subsequent ability listed was what Su Ping truly hadn't anticipated. Could it really speed up the improvement of one's Realm and Skill Proficiency by consuming Poison System Resources and related materials?
Although Su Ping had previously thought about making money to buy some Poison System Resources for Xiao Qing to consume and fully exploit its Poison Type abilities, there was a certain risk involved. Why are Poison Type Pet Beasts so rare? It's because often, the use of Poison Type Pet Beasts and Poison System Resources can be fatal to the pets if slightly overdosed. However, now with this Mutated Poison Wood Heart, does it mean that Xiao Qing has gained an additional layer of insurance?
At this thought, Su Ping's eyes burst with an excited flame. He picked up Xiao Qing, still intoxicated by its newfound strength, and planted a kiss on the greenish wolf's head.
As expected, the price of a Pet Beast with a mutated bloodline far exceeds that of others, and this was precisely why. With Pet Beasts whose bloodlines have mutated, no one knows their limits, and they can sometimes give their owners unexpected and delightful surprises—like now, for instance.
Thinking of this, Su Ping longed even more for the Forest Wolf Catalog's mutation that requires a whopping 50,000 points of Catalog Experience—the reason behind the Forest Wolf's poison bloodline mutation.
All of a sudden, Su Ping, feeling somewhat worn out from making three batches of Heart of Woods Magic Potions, seemed to have regained his energy. He directly took Little One, who had returned to its normal size after retracting the 'Accelerated Growth' skill, and headed outside the manor's forest.
Putting other affairs aside for the moment, he decided to properly train Xiao Qing in combat and practice its skills. And he would ensure the other twenty-plus Forest Wolves bonded with him to the required level; once they did, upgrading the Forest Wolf Catalog would become much faster!
Speaking of which, the Forest Wolf Catalog had already reached (222/500) Experience Points after the breakthroughs of Xiao Qing and Little One. It was a big step closer to reaching Forest Wolf Catalog LV: 2!
Watching the wolf pack lounging lazily under the twilight sun, led by Old Sha, Su Ping's spirits lifted, and he called out to the wolves, "For Heart of Woods to become the world's number one Pet Beast Breeding Base! For me to become the top Breeding Master in Dragon Nation! Forest Wolves, give me your love tackle!"
The only ones to respond were Xiao Qing and Little One; the rest, including Old Sha, looked at their young master with a gaze usually reserved for the mentally challenged.
Laughing, Su Ping didn't mind and pulled out some tree fruit from the Beast Taming Space that he had prepared earlier. The Forest Wolves had their main meals provided automatically by a feeder. However, these little ones liked the dessert after dinner, which was clearly Su Ping's whim.
Unsurprisingly, the quick-to-adapt Forest Wolves, seeing the several large tubs of snacks and fruits, promptly came running over, shamelessly ready to sit in rows and share the treats.