Accompanied by guards, he rode a carriage towards Soul Hunting Town.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Liuyun sat still, focused, reviewing his gains from the past two years on his Panel.
[Profession Panel]
[Host: Zhao Liuyun]
[Age: 8 years old]
[Spirit: Moon Secluded Epiphyllum]
[spirit ring: 339-year Dream Demon (0/10)]
[spirit power: Level 14 (1655/3800)]
His spirit power leaped from Level 5 to Level 14, breaking through 9 levels in two years, a progress that could be described as astonishingly brilliant.
[physique: 5 (Standard physique for an adult male is 10)]
Still lacking in exercise, it naturally grew to 5 points.
To absorb a proper spirit ring that heavily relies on body, Spirit, and spirit power, even if it emphasizes Spirit more, Zhao Liuyun's current physique would still struggle under the burden.
However, he came to Soul Hunting Town precisely to solve this problem.
[soul: 34 (Standard soul strength for an adult male is 10)]
His soul strength grew rapidly, almost entirely relying on the power of the spirit ring to foster it.
Body and soul are inseparable; the soul should naturally grow stronger with the body's development, but the proportion must be quite touching.
Not to mention, Zhao Liuyun's physique wasn't high to begin with... Fortunately, Purple Demon Eye specializes in this aspect.
He didn't dare to practice it in the academy, but now that he's traveled far to Soul Hunting Town, he can finally let loose.
[Professions: Dream Master Lv1, Thief Lv1 (2870/10000), Spirit Master Lv1 (Level 14, 1655/3800), Physician Lv1 (4269/10000)]
The profession column was already quite rich.
[Hypnotist]Special Class Change [Dream Master].
Spirit Master, needless to say, steadily improved through daily Meditation.
The act of stealing the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record from Tang San's dream caused the [Thief] profession experience to skyrocket.
[Physician] benefited from daily afternoon medical practice, accumulating considerable Professional Experience.
This further dispelled Zhao Liuyun's idea of using general experience on [Physician].
The potential upgrade of [Focus] was indeed tempting.
But his intuition told him that advancing a profession to Lv2 wasn't as simple as just accumulating experience.
There were likely some additional conditions that would be difficult to achieve in a short time.
[Class Traits: Heart Like Still Water (Locked), Dexterity (Thief Lv1), Soul-Body Duet (Spirit Master Lv1), Ingenious Ideas (Student Lv1), Understanding Everything Through One Thing (Student Lv1), Focus(Physician Lv1), Illusory Dream (Dream Master Lv1), Endless Life (Spirit Master Lv1)]
[Endless Life] was a trait bestowed by Mysterious Heaven Skill.
[(Can make spirit power more profound and continuous, with the effect of refining and purifying, greatly increasing recovery speed and sustained combat power)]
It wasn't there when he first started cultivating Mysterious Heaven Skill, but appeared after practicing for a while.
Zhao Liuyun guessed that he had passed the spirit power conversion period.
Cultivation techniques, as expected.
Most cultivation techniques have their unique attributes, so it's not possible to just switch to them whenever one wants.
And the Meditation methods of Douluo Continent are equivalent to basic internal cultivation, so anyone can switch to the balanced and peaceful Mysterious Heaven Skill.
This conversion period is still unavoidable.
[Class Skills: Hypnosis (Locked), Extreme Reflexes (Thief Lv1), Brainstorm (Student Lv1), Adjustment (Physician Lv1), Entering Dream(Dream Master Lv1), Dream Creation (Spirit Master Lv1, First Spirit Ability), Mysterious Jade Hand (Spirit Master Lv1), Controlling Crane Catching Dragon (Spirit Master Lv1)]
Except for the [Physician] Class Skill [Adjustment], which he was still exploring and trying to adapt for himself, Zhao Liuyun was largely familiar with the others.
However, [Mysterious Jade Hand] and [Controlling Crane Catching Dragon], two newly acquired skills, were exceptions.
Purple Demon Eye would conflict with Tang San's existence time, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track required specific terrain coordination.
Only [Controlling Crane Catching Dragon], which relies purely on spirit power, and [Mysterious Jade Hand], which requires no terrain preparation, were convenient to practice.
The former had reached proficiency, while the latter was barely at an introductory level.
Time was ultimately too pressing; if not for [Ingenious Ideas] greatly enhancing Zhao Liuyun's learning ability, even this much progress would have been difficult to achieve.
Tang San's proficiency was, after all, innate; it couldn't be compared.
[general experience: 9418]
general experience needs no further mention; it was unique to Zhao Liuyun, the most precious resource on a Spirit Master's cultivation path.
He always remembered Teacher Bai Hong's admonition—
"Spirit Masters should prioritize cultivation!"
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, all this experience would be used to enhance his cultivation.
Although Mental System Spirit Masters are peculiar, even with [Mysterious Jade Hand], he still lacks the frontal assault capability of an attack system Spirit.
He didn't have Huo Yuhao's heaven-defying fortune to have an Ice Jade Empress Scorpion as a second Spirit.
Nor could he, like Tang San, use Hidden Weapons as a means.
Poison is not bad; medicine and poison are inseparable. Combining the poison chapter and medicinal chapter of Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons, it could be a Focus of research.
However, cultivation is the foundation of a Spirit Master. To truly become powerful, Zhao Liuyun can only accelerate his cultivation.
Accelerate, and accelerate again!
..."Rations—secretly made rations, one piece can last a whole day!"
"Leather armor, made from hundred-year Scale Dragon Hide, sturdy and durable. Get a set, you won't lose out, you won't be fooled!"
"Fine iron spears, last three, selling cheap!"
Amidst the continuous shouts, Zhao Liuyun once again stepped into this Soul Hunting Town, enveloped in the smell of sweat and earth.
Unlike last time, he was going to stay here for a long time.
"Whoa—" The wheat-skinned coachman lifted the curtain, "Spirit Master, Soul Hunting Forest is here."
"Thank you."
Zhao Liuyun nodded gently, jumping off the carriage with his heavy satchel.
The accompanying Spirit Grandmaster guard followed closely until he watched him step into the pharmacy, then turned and left.
Zhao Liuyun quickly walked into the shop, where he immediately saw his martial uncle Huang Xin, head down, processing a light purple vine.
Indeed, even seeing him again, Zhao Liuyun found it hard to associate a burly man, two meters tall and powerfully built, with "Physician."
"Martial Uncle," he greeted softly.
A strong, foul odor assailed him, and Zhao Liuyun couldn't help but raise a hand to cover his nose and mouth.
"So Liuyun, my nephew, has arrived?" Huang Xin wasn't surprised; he had received a letter from his senior brother before his nephew's arrival.
He merely took off his leather gloves and handed over a gauze mask.
Zhao Liuyun quickly put it on, immediately feeling his breathing become a bit smoother.
Huang Xin continued his work, asking,
"Senior brother said you've basically memorized all the medical books at his place. Let me test you then, do you recognize this item?"
Zhao Liuyun glanced at it and blurted out,
"Shadow Wilt Vine, dark green leaves, thrives in damp, shady places, often growing where sunlight doesn't reach. The vines secrete a light black liquid that insects and ants find repulsive."
"Except for the roots, the entire plant can be used as medicine, generally for insect repellent powder."
The medical books at his teacher's place only recorded this much, but Zhao Liuyun had seen other uses in a travelogue in the academy Library.
Summarizing, he added, "If mixed with the powder of a ten-year White Frost Tree's dried fruit from a Spirit Beast, it can activate the latent medicinal properties of the Shadow Wilt Vine, even having a repellent effect on thousand-year-level insect-type Spirit Beasts."
It's like smearing feces on a person; ordinary people would be disgusted and dare not approach.
The insect repellent powder has a similar effect, but it's only repulsion; if pushed too hard, the Spirit Beast will still come and attack you.
"As expected of a genius, your knowledge is indeed profound." Huang Xin's eyes lit up, and his hand movements paused. "Do you know how to process it next?"
Zhao Liuyun's tone was calm: "I've seen it in books."
Huang Xin took off his gloves and offered the spot: "You prepare it."
"I'll go prepare the Medicinal Bath ingredients for you."
"Ah?" Zhao Liuyun didn't mind the stench when preparing the insect repellent powder, but the latter part of the sentence truly surprised him.
"So fast? No need to rest? Shouldn't I absorb the medicinal properties or something? Or perhaps..."
Huang Xin looked sideways, a slight curve to his lips, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on his face.
The smile seemed gentle but inexplicably sent chills down one's spine.
Zhao Liuyun shivered: "Martial Uncle?"
Huang Xin did not answer.
Before preparing the Medicinal Bath, he needed to ascertain the body's strength to adjust the dosage.
So he approached and squeezed Zhao Liuyun's biceps, his brow immediately furrowing:
"Soft and weak like a girl, utterly lacking in strength, too weak!"
"What about the hundred-year spirit ring you absorbed?"
"That..." Zhao Liuyun chuckled awkwardly, "The Human-faced White-striped Purple Scorpion is small and a mental-type Spirit Beast, so its body tempering effect is indeed limited."
"Then you'll know soon enough." With one sentence, he answered all the previous questions, and a hint of pity seemed to flash across Huang Xin's face.