The green caterpillar looked at the dragon on the paper, then at its ordinary self on the other.
"Huh?"
Even if it was only six or seven years old in terms of intelligence, it was suspicious of the huge difference between the two paintings.
However, Wang Che knew that it had only hatched two days ago, so its understanding of this world was very limited.
This was the most suitable time for the soul pet enlightenment stage.
Wang Che did not want to distort the truth, but he wanted the little one to hold a concept in its heart.
Wang Che coughed and pointed at the drawing with his paintbrush.
"Do you think I'm lying to you?" Wang Che sneered as he looked at his soul pet.
"Ssss!" The green caterpillar nodded.
He smiled and continued, "Then, do you want to be like this when you grow up?"
As he spoke, he jabbed at the dragon in the canvas.
The bug glanced at the art of the beast, nodded, then shook its head.
It was obvious what it was feeling; the caterpillar wanted it to work, but didn't think it would be possible.
The soul pet's instincts told it that the creature in the painting was a powerful one that belonged high above, superior to all living things.
They were from different worlds…
"Well, let me tell you a story next."
This time, Wang Che pointed at the generic green caterpillar on the other piece of paper and said, "A story about this."
The green caterpillar straightened its body and looked at Wang Che obediently, eyes filled with curiosity.
"Once upon a time, there lived a green caterpillar. It often looked toward the boundless sky and the sea, with a distant and unattainable hope – to fly and swim.
"So, it told the other soul beast companions what it thought."
Listening to the beginning of the story, the green caterpillar's eyes became focused.
It began to look up at the sky; the little one yearned for that too.
"But, it was too weak."
Wang Che continued to paint as he spoke. "It was the target for all soul beasts to pick on."
Drawings of the various soul beasts began to materialize on the drawing paper, bullying the green caterpillar.
"The swallow caught it and swooped into the air, mocking it by saying, 'Look, it doesn't even dare to open its eyes in the air, yet it wants to fly in the sky?'
"The fish swept it into the sea and scoffed, 'Look, you can't even breathe underwater, and you want to swim in the sea?'
"The flame cat laughed and used its fire to burn the green caterpillar. The thorn grass used its blade of grass to whip it. Even insect's sharp antennas were used to poke it…
"They all laughed at it. It was so feeble, yet still dreaming…"
Wang Che explained as he drew, and at the same time, he observed the green caterpillar.
"Ssss! Ssss!"
Wang Che's painting skills were exceptional. Although the story seemed like a fairytale, the green caterpillar listened attentively and the image was very vivid in its mind.
It was already furious, eyes turning red and tail pounding the leaves.
He continued, "The green caterpillar was very upset, but it didn't know how to become stronger. What could it do?
"Coincidentally, a human Contract Soul Master appeared. He saw the injured insect and did not despise it. Instead, he signed a soul contract with it."
The green caterpillar's eyes sparkled in awe.
"After the Contract Soul Master learned of the green caterpillar's thoughts, he did not ridicule it, but instead, he encouraged it.
"Furthermore, in order to fulfill the green caterpillar's wish, the Contract Soul Master formulated a teaching plan and began to train it.
"Run 1000 meters a day, do 100 sit-ups a day, 100 pull-ups a day, another 100…"
Wang Che's eyes lit up as he drew several unique actions on the canvas.
"In the beginning, it couldn't even complete one-tenth of the training, but after a month, it was already able to fully execute these tasks every day accurately. It felt that it had become much stronger.
"Then, it encountered the same soul beasts that had tormented it before…"
Wang Che decided to stop as he put down the drawing board. The story was as simple as that, and he decided to stop.
"Ssss!"
The green caterpillar crept anxiously to Wang Che's side and stared at him with anticipation.
It was too immersed in the tale.
"You want to know the rest of it? First, you have to train."
Wang Che added seriously, "Otherwise, you too will be bullied by the soul pets in that story."
"Ssss!" The green caterpillar's eyes seemed to be burning with flames, as if it could see itself being the victim in the paintings.
It straightened itself, and its blood seemed to be coursing with fury through its body.
Wang Che's words made the caterpillar bitter yet excited.
"If you want to know if it managed to defeat those soul beasts…" Wang Che trailed off as he gestured at the painting of the movements. "…then you'll have to train according to the methods on this scroll."
His soul pet was only six or seven years old, so he did not need to explain an overly complicated story.
Such a simple and straightforward tale already maximized the fighting spirit in this little one's heart.
Furthermore, the actions shown on the canvas were not simple.
It was a unique cultivation technique called the Beast Origin Skill.
As the name suggested, this was the most basic and widespread technique for demonic beasts in the cultivation world.
When these creatures absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they mostly cultivated their bodies first. However, their physiques were different from that of humans. There were all sorts of unusual matters.
This technique was the most extensive and suitable for the majority of regular demonic beasts. It was a record of thousands of special body tempering stances from various creatures.
By practicing these body tempering stances, they could rapidly take in the spiritual energy into their bodies.
There were no side effects.
In Wang Che's previous life, it was regarded as a treasure by countless demonic beasts, even if it was only the most basic skill.
Of course, he had made some modifications to it based on the physique and characteristics of the green caterpillar.
He gathered several body-forging postures that were suitable for insects and drew them out on the canvas.
'The essence of a soul pet is similar to a demonic beast. Of course, the internal structure is still very different… but I've improved the Beast Origin Skill, so it should be suitable for a green caterpillar.'
Wang Che thought to himself, 'If I can succeed, not only will this little one be able to swiftly assimilate soul power, it will also strengthen its body simultaneously.'
This was an experiment.
In the future, he would definitely awaken his martial soul and cultivate his soul power.
However, could modified cultivation techniques be used with soul power?
This could be tested through soul pets.
Soon, the enthusiastic insect began to move itself according to the movements portrayed on Wang Che's drawing.
It would straighten its body and use its tail to anchor itself onto the ground as it looked up at the sky, standing upright.
It could also twist its body into knots. Its head and tail were connected to each other as it circled the tree branches.
...
Almost as soon as the green caterpillar had started its regimen, Wang Che could clearly feel the soul power between heaven and earth briskly flowing into his soul pet's body.
"It worked!" Wang Che exclaimed, nodding slightly, as if everything was within his expectations.
He was naturally delighted.
Based on his current understanding of this world, there were no cultivation techniques present, but there were similar replacements, such as the Soul Guiding Skill.
Different soul pets had their own distinct ones.
However, if one wanted to develop a Soul Guiding Skill, they would have to pay a considerable price. It could even be a danger to the soul pet's life.
Therefore, they were rather expensive.
Not only that, soul pets were also required to wear a set of soul devices.
Only then would they be able to fully unleash the effects of the Soul Guiding Skill.
This way, the soul pet's soul power absorption speed would undergo a qualitative change.
Not surprisingly, these were costly too.
According to what Wang Che knew, the Soul Guiding Skill for a young soul pet like the Cuckoo Bird had a starting price of 50,000 to 60,000 dollars, while a specialized set of soul equipment cost over 100,000 dollars.
Moreover, the soul power cultivation speed was only 1.5 times faster.
As for the green caterpillar, it was too bad, but they did not have a Soul Guiding Skill.
No businessman or expert would develop a Soul Guiding Skill and soul equipment just for a soul pet like the green caterpillar…
Their value was too low.
On the online shopping platforms, Wang Che had not been able to find any Soul Guiding Skill or soul devices related to green caterpillars.
Generally, the more popular a soul pet was, the more types of Soul Guiding Skills and soul devices would be sold.
If one didn't have either, the speed at which a soul pet normally consumed soul power from the world was only correlated to its species potential.
Higher species potential also represented a high affinity with soul power, which meant a faster rate of absorption.
The lower it was, the slower it would be.
Green caterpillars had a low requirement for evolution. They were able to evolve after ten years of soul power cultivation, so nurturing them was very straightforward.
In reality, the speed at which they took in soul power was very slow.
However, soul pets with high species potential normally needed hundreds of years of soul power in order to evolve.
For example, the Cloud Cap Snake. If it wanted to evolve, it would need at least a 1000 years of cultivation before it could undergo its first evolution.
The second would take 4000 to 5000 years.
The training period was very long.
The higher the pet's race's potential, the higher the soul power cultivation base required for evolution.
That was why the green caterpillar could still quickly evolve, even though their soul power absorption speed was slow.
If they were cultivated at a fast pace, it would be possible for them to reach ten years of cultivation within a week.
If it was a Cloud Cap Snake instead, it could reach 30 years.
However, it would take at least a year to evolve, because the further one's soul power cultivation progressed, the slower their speed would become.
"Although rare soul pets rack up bills, even if they are casually trained, their strength and soul power cultivation can easily surpass normal soul pets…" Wang Che sighed.
This was also why many normal families would just grit their teeth and buy better soul pets for their children.
Higher limit, better growth.
If one spent a large amount of resources to nurture it, it would definitely be stronger and be of greater help to their Contract Soul Masters.
However, even if it wasn't brought up with the help of many factors, it could still grow on its own, and it was much stronger than average soul pets.
That would waste the talent of those rare ones.
Now that he had the Beast Origin Skill, Wang Che did not know how much his green caterpillar cultivation speed could increase, but it definitely wasn't slow, as he could already feel the change.
Two hours later, the sun set, and his soul pet had already lost its strength entirely, its body emitting a sticky, wet liquid.
It lay on the leaves, unable to expend any more energy.
That Beast Origin Skill wasn't easy at all. To maintain a body tempering posture for a long time, the expenditure would be extremely heavy.
Right at this moment, a faint white light suddenly radiated from the green caterpillar's body.
"Its cultivation has improved!" exclaimed Wang Che as he noticed the flash, and his eyes lit up.
Its cultivation speed was indeed very fast.
Under normal circumstances, if the green caterpillar was cultivated quickly, it could raise its soul power cultivation by more than a year in a day.
However, it had only been two hours.
'The white birch milk leaf has a certain effect… but the main reason for this is definitely because of the Beast Origin Skill. This means that my theory was correct. Modified cultivation techniques from the cultivation world have extraordinary effects on soul pets!
'Those Soul Guiding Skills might have similar principles, but it's probably just that they're not as effective as the Beast Origin Skill.'
Wang Che wondered to himself.
The Beast Origin Skill was the basic cultivation technique for the many demonic beasts in the cultivation world.
After countless years, many powerful beasts had come together to form it, so obviously, it was outstanding.
Its greatest characteristic was its suitability and stability.
Even the weakest creatures could equip the Beast Origin Skill to cultivate; there was no entry barrier to begin with.
It wasn't difficult for Wang Che to revise a technique of this level.
The glow previously was proof that its soul power cultivation base had increased, and it was the result of condensing soul power to a certain extent.
It was as though it had leveled up.
Enveloped by the white light, the green caterpillar's frame grew slightly, and its skin looked even more compact. All the parts of its body had improved.
"Ssss!" it hissed as it opened its eyes and looked at Wang Che energetically.
He touched his soul pet, and from its texture, it seemed that the strength of its body had upgraded significantly.
He nodded slightly.
Due to the low potential of the green caterpillar species, the increase in strength from one year of soul power cultivation was extremely small.
It was like adding a cup of water to a huge pond.
However, the little one's physical sturdiness had undoubtedly improved, even if it was slight.
If it cultivated for a longer time, the effects would definitely be obvious.
However, the consumption of the Beast Origin Skill was very high. Even with high-quality food, this little one might not be able to manage it more than a few times a day.
"The potential of the green caterpillar species is fixed and cannot be changed… However, the potential of the species only represents the increase in soul power cultivation to soul pets. It's similar to online games on Earth, like giving fixed attribute points for every increase in level.
"But these points can also be obtained through other methods… such as external cultivation."
Wang Che pondered.
Species potential was fixed, unless the soul pet's vital structure was modified.
Consuming certain natural treasures might change that as well, but that was too difficult to fulfill.
However, soul pets' physical strength training could be divided into two segments, which were the internal and external strength training.
Internal training was to boost soul power cultivation. According to the different species potential, the soul power cultivation would increase the strength of the soul pet's body in all aspects every year.
External training, on the other hand, targeted the different abilities of soul pets and had different practice methods.
For example, speed could allow one to run while carrying weights, but a strong physique could allow one to exercise in many ways.
External training could also increase the power of a soul pet's body, but this was the most resource-consuming way.
It required excellent food, suitable venues and equipment. Different soul pets required different methods, and all of these required money.
"The Beast Origin Skill is the original Demonic Cultivator's cultivation technique. It focuses on body tempering and can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at the same time. After my modification, it is able to combine both inside and outside."
Wang Che mulled over and continued, "But the best way to cultivate the Beast Origin Skill is to combine it with food. High-quality meals also contain a large amount of energy other than having soul power…
"White birch milk leaf is not bad, but it's not the best… and it also requires a lot of money…
"Earning wages isn't difficult for me though…"
Wang Che thought of many ways to acquire funds, but now…
He played with the green caterpillar for a while before taking it for a walk in the neighborhood to relax.
Young soul pets could not be overly trained.
After returning home, he turned on some shows related to soul beasts for the little guy. It even played some puzzle games on his phone for a while.
This was until it glanced at Wang Che's drawing on the A4 paper.
Immediately, its blood boiled as it started cultivating the Beast Origin Skill again.
In fact, many cartoons had similar upsetting stories, but none of them were about green caterpillars.
As such, this little fellow had not had much interest in them previously…
After restarting its cultivation, the green caterpillar's soul power cultivation reached three years.
It had grown three centimeters longer. The soul power contained within the white birch tree leaf was also completely assimilated into its body.
Soon after, his parents returned home.
"Why does this little one seem to have grown up?"
Mother Wang looked at the bug eating on the dining table and said in surprise, "It's only been a day… Old Wang, do you think I was mistaken?"
"It did grow a little…"
Father Wang pondered and asked, "That's not right, son. You should have enlightened it today, right? Has it already started cultivating?"
Wang Che nodded and replied with a grin, "It might be… gifted."
"Is that so?" gushed Mother Wang as she poked the green caterpillar's head and found that it was actually a little hard…
It was completely different from the soft texture it had in the morning, but after hearing what her son had said, she did not suspect anything further.
She still kindly stroked its head.
The little fellow that was nibbling on the leaf looked at Mother Wang with an innocent expression.
"It's not bad to keep it as a pet," she said with a smile.
It wasn't until three days later, as Mother Wang stared at the 20 centimeter green caterpillar in front of her, that she realized that something was wrong…