Chapter 287: Confident Wang Qingzhi

"Auntie, Qingling is still young; please don't be too hard on her. Children are naturally a bit mischievous." Wang Changsheng spoke up for Wang Qingling.

Zhang Yue'e gave a wry smile and said, "Changsheng, she's not just mischievous; she's incredibly bold. Last time we visited her grandmother's house for a birthday celebration, her cousin, who is seven years older, released a Fire Cloud Tiger to scare her. But she wasn't scared at all. Instead, she hugged the tiger and wouldn't let go, insisting she wanted to take it home as a pet and refused to leave without it. She made her cousin cry, and it took a lot of persuasion before she finally agreed to come home."

Wang Qingling pouted and said nonchalantly, "Cousin is too stingy. He said he'd give me the Fire Cloud Tiger, then he started crying. If I hadn't seen him crying so miserably, I would have taken the Fire Cloud Tiger a long time ago."

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He also felt a little puzzled. Wang Qingling was only eight years old; why was she so fond of spirit beasts, spirit birds, and spirit insects? Children her age usually liked eating or playing, but Wang Qingling, uniquely, enjoyed interacting with spirit beasts.

"Auntie, it's alright. As long as we adults supervise her strictly, Qingling won't cause any major trouble. The clan actually needs talent in this area. I think Qingling genuinely loves spirit beasts, so you shouldn't be too strict with her. After all, it's not good to be too strict with children."

Zhang Yue'e frowned, her face showing concern, and said, "Changsheng, you know that after Changge passed away, Changyi is my only son. And Qingling is Changyi's only offspring. Her aptitude isn't bad, but she won't go far by just taming spirit beasts."

She made it clear that no matter how well spirit beasts were raised, it would be useless if her granddaughter couldn't reach the Foundation Establishment stage. She had to think about her granddaughter's future.

Wang Changsheng smiled and said, "Auntie, Uncle Twenty-one and I just discussed changing the rules. From now on, clan members with special skills, after cultivating to the ninth level of Qi Refining, can apply to the family for a Foundation Establishment Pill. If the majority agree, the pill will be granted. Taming spirit beasts is also a special skill. Currently, only Uncle Twenty-three in our clan is skilled at it. If Qingling does well, she might be able to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill in the future."

Hearing this, Zhang Yue'e immediately beamed with joy. "That's wonderful! This girl Qingling has loved spirit beasts since she was little. Qingling, you can play here with your Uncle Nine for a while. It's okay if you go back a bit later. Grandma will have dinner ready and wait for you at home."

After Zhang Yue'e left, Wang Qingling climbed back onto the horse and ran several dozen laps, only then feeling satisfied.

She dismounted, fed the Blue-Scaled Horse, and her little face was flushed.

"Qingling, why are you so fond of spirit beasts? I heard you rarely interact with other clan members?"

Wang Qingling thought for a moment and said seriously, "Human hearts can change, but spirit beasts don't. Once they acknowledge a master, they won't betray them. They don't fight and can live together peacefully."

Wang Changsheng was a bit surprised that Wang Qingling, at such a young age, would say something like that.

He recalled Liu Qing'er mentioning that Wang Changyi and his wife often quarreled fiercely. Wang Mingyuan had tried to mediate multiple times, but it was useless; they would just start arguing again soon after.

Perhaps this was why Wang Qingling preferred to be with spirit beasts. As long as they were fed, they wouldn't make noise.

"Qingling, you can visit the Spirit Beast Courtyard more often in the future, Uncle Nine says. But you must finish your homework before coming here, and you are not allowed to cause trouble for Uncle Twenty-three, understand?" Wang Changsheng patted her head and spoke earnestly.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Nine."

Wang Changsheng nodded and went to the stable to check the number of Blue-Scaled Horses.

The Blue-Scaled Horse that Wang Changsheng had bonded with was also boarded in the stable and had already reached low-grade second tier.

While in the State of Yu, Wang Changsheng had killed many demon wolves and obtained several second-tier demon cores. After consuming two second-tier demon cores, his top-grade first-tier Blue-Scaled Horse successfully advanced to second tier.

In addition to caring for the Blue-Scaled Horses, Wang Mingyan was also responsible for taming Fire-Feathered Eagles. The clan's second-tier Golden-Beaked Eagle was also under his care, and the Spirit Bird Courtyard was right next to the Spirit Beast Courtyard.

Of course, Wang Mingyan also had several assistants.

"Changsheng, the number of spirit horses has increased, and we don't have enough fodder! Fire-Feathered Eagles and Golden-Beaked Eagles need to be fed spirit fish and spirit beast meat; they don't eat grass. We have a shortage of spirit fish and spirit beast meat, so we can't cultivate more spirit birds. Currently, spirit horses are the most numerous."

Wang Mingyan reported truthfully, took out an account book, and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

The account book recorded the details of each spirit horse, including its age, grade, size, weight, food intake, and running speed.

"Uncle Twenty-three, are there any spirit fish or spirit beasts that reproduce quickly?"

The Wang clan's primary mode of transportation was the Blue-Scaled Horse; spirit birds were rarely used.

"The Purple-Scaled Crucian Carp reproduces very quickly, but this type of spirit fish likes to nibble on a spirit grass called Water-Moon Algae, which is not easy to cultivate. Besides the Purple-Scaled Crucian Carp, the Snow Frog also reproduces quickly and has delicious meat. As for spirit beasts, the Mountain-Pushing Beast has the fastest reproduction rate. It resembles a wild boar from the mundane world. Its disadvantage is its large appetite, but its advantage is that it's not picky and will eat anything it's fed."

"I understand. I'll have Qingze handle this later. We'll build a courtyard next to the Spirit Beast Courtyard to breed Mountain-Pushing Beasts, Purple-Scaled Crucian Carp, and Snow Frogs. As for the Water-Moon Algae, I'll have Qingzhi think of a way. He's quite interested in spirit plants. If it doesn't work, we'll transfer Uncle Twenty-two back and focus on cultivating the Water-Moon Algae first."

Back at his residence, Wang Changsheng called Wang Qingzhi and asked him if he knew how to cultivate Water-Moon Algae.

Wang Qingzhi thought for a moment and said, "Father, I'm not very confident, but I'm willing to try."

"Good. Go ahead and do it. Tell me if you need anything. This task is entrusted to you."

"Yes, I will definitely do my best," Wang Qingzhi nodded in agreement, looking very confident.

After Wang Qingzhi left, Wang Changsheng called Wang Qingze and asked him to send someone to bring Wang Mingsen back. Wang Qingzhi had read many cultivation scriptures, but theory was ultimately just theory. Without actually having planted spirit plants, the chance of success was not high.

Since Wang Qingzhi was rarely willing to put effort into something, Wang Changsheng naturally wouldn't dampen his son's confidence.

As Wang Changsheng expected, Wang Qingzhi didn't know how to cultivate Water-Moon Algae at all. Based on the records in the spirit plant scriptures, he scattered the Water-Moon Algae seeds in the lake. A month passed, but the seeds hadn't sprouted.

Wang Qingzhi didn't ask Wang Changsheng for help; instead, he consulted clan members who cultivated spirit grains, but it didn't help much either.

Spirit grains and spirit herbs were two different things. Spirit grains were relatively simple to cultivate, while spirit herbs were more difficult.

Wang Qingzhi struggled for over two months. The Water-Moon Algae did sprout, but it died shortly after. He searched through all the clan's cultivation scriptures but couldn't solve the problem. He then went to see Wang Changsheng, looking dejected.

"Father, I am incompetent. I cannot cultivate Water-Moon Algae." Wang Qingzhi said, his head bowed and his face full of shame.

He had struggled for over two months, mobilizing many people, yet he still couldn't cultivate the Water-Moon Algae. He felt very guilty.