Accompanied by guards, I rode a carriage toward the Soul Hunting Town.
Inside the carriage, Zhao Liuyun sat still, concentrating on his status panel, reviewing his gains over the past two years.
[Class Panel]
[Host: Zhao Liuyun]
[Age: 8 years old]
[Martial Soul: Moonlit Lotus]
[Soul Ring: 339-year Dream Spirit (0/10)]
[Soul Power: Level 14 (1655/3800)]
His Soul Power surged from Level 5 to Level 14, breaking through 9 levels in two years—a progression that could only be described as astonishingly brilliant.
[Physique: 5 (Standard physique for a normal adult male is 10)]
Still neglecting physical training, this score increased purely from natural growth.
To absorb a proper Soul Ring that heavily weighs on the body, spirit, and Soul Power—even one leaning more towards the spirit—Zhao Liuyun's current physique would still struggle under the burden.
However, coming to Soul Hunting Town was precisely to resolve this issue.
[Soul 34 (Standard Spiritual Power for a normal adult male is 10)]
Spiritual Power grew rapidly, almost entirely relying on the Soul Ring's power for its boost.
The body and spirit are inseparable; the spirit should naturally strengthen as the body develops, but the ratio would surely be very small.
Furthermore, Zhao Liuyun's physique was already low...
Fortunately, the Purple Demon Eye was specifically for training this aspect.
He dared not practice it at the academy, but now that he had traveled far to Soul Hunting Town, he could finally let loose.
[Profession: Dream Master Lv1, Thief Lv1 (2870/10000), Soul Master Lv1 (Level 14, 1655/3800), Physician Lv1 (4269/10000)]
The profession column was already quite rich.
[Hypnotist] had specially advanced to [Dream Master].
The Soul Master profession naturally advanced steadily through daily meditation.
The act of stealing the "Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record" from Tang San's dream caused the experience for the [Thief] profession to surge.
The [Physician] profession benefited from consistently practicing medicine and giving diagnoses every afternoon, accumulating considerable experience.
This further dispelled Zhao Liuyun's thought of using Universal Experience on [Physician].
The potential upgrade of [Focus] was indeed tempting.
But his intuition told him that advancing a profession to Lv2 was not as simple as merely stacking experience.
There were likely some additional conditions hidden away that could not be achieved quickly.
[Class Traits: Calm Mind (Locked), Agility (Thief Lv1), Soul and Body Synergy (Soul Master Lv1), Ingenious Ideas (Student Lv1), Understand One, Understand a Hundred (Student Lv1), Focus (Physician Lv1), Phantasmal Dream (Dream Master Lv1), Endless Vitality (Soul Master Lv1)]
[Endless Vitality] was a trait granted by the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
[(Can make Soul Power increasingly profound and sustained, also possesses the effect of refinement and purification, significantly boosting recovery speed and sustained combat power)]
It wasn't present when he first started cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, only appearing after a period of practice.
Zhao Liuyun guessed that he must have passed the Soul Power conversion period.
A cultivation technique, as expected.
Most cultivation techniques possess their own unique attributes, so one cannot simply switch to another at will.
And the meditation method on the Douluo Continent was equivalent to basic internal cultivation, which is why anyone could switch to the balanced and neutral Mysterious Heaven Skill.
But this conversion period was still unavoidable.
[Class Skills: Hypnosis (Locked), Extreme Reflex (Thief Lv1), Brainstorm (Student Lv1), Adjustment (Physician Lv1), Dream Entry (Dream Master Lv1), Dream Creation (Soul Master Lv1, First Soul Skill), Mysterious Jade hands (Soul Master Lv1), Controlling Crane Catching Dragon (Soul Master Lv1)]
Excluding the [Physician]'s Class skill [Adjustment], which he was still exploring and trying to adapt for his own use, Zhao Liuyun was intimately familiar with most of the others.
The two newly added skills, [Mysterious Jade hands] and [Controlling Crane Catching Dragon], were the exceptions.
The Purple Demon Eye would conflict with Tang San's presence in time, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step required a specific environment.
Only [Controlling Crane Catching Dragon], which relied purely on the invocation of Soul Power, and [Mysterious Jade hands], which required no environmental preparation, were convenient to practice.
The former was already proficient, while the latter was barely at the introductory level.
Time was ultimately too tight; if not for [Ingenious Ideas] vastly enhancing Zhao Liuyun's learning ability, even this much progress would have been difficult to achieve.
After all, Tang San possessed an innate proficiency; it was incomparable.
[Universal Experience: 9418]
No need to elaborate on Universal Experience—it was Zhao Liuyun's unique, most precious resource on the path of Soul Master cultivation.
He always remembered Teacher Bai Hong's warning—
"A Soul Master must prioritize cultivation!"
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, all this experience would be used to enhance his cultivation.
While Spirit-type Soul Masters were certainly mysterious, even with the [Mysterious Jade hands], he still lacked the frontal combat capabilities of a Power Attack-type Martial Soul.
He didn't have the heaven-defying opportunity of Huo Yuhao to gain an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion as a second Martial Soul.
Nor could he use hidden weapons like Tang San.
Poison was not bad; medicine and poison are inseparable. Combining the poison and medicine sections of the "Secret Records of Hidden Weapons", he could focus his research there.
However, cultivation was the foundation of a Soul Master; to truly become powerful, Zhao Liuyun could only accelerate his training.
Accelerate, and accelerate again!
...
"Dried rations—secret recipe dried rations, one piece can last a whole day!"
"Leather armor, made from hundred-year Scale Dragon hide, durable and sturdy. Get a set, you won't lose out, you won't be fooled!"
"Fine iron spears, last three left, selling cheap!"
Amidst the shouts rising and falling, Zhao Liuyun once again stepped into the Soul Hunting Town, shrouded in the smell of sweat and earth.
Unlike the last time, he would be staying here for a long period.
"Whoa—" The wheat-skinned coachman lifted the curtain. "Soul Master, we've arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Zhao Liuyun nodded lightly, jumped off the carriage with his heavy backpack, and the accompanying Great Soul Master guard followed closely until they saw him step through the door of the pharmacy before turning to leave.
Zhao Liuyun hurried into the shop and immediately saw his Martial Uncle Huang Xin processing a pale purple vine with his head bowed.
Indeed, even seeing him again, Zhao Liuyun found it hard to associate a two-meter-tall, burly man with the title of "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.
"Liuyun, you're here?" Huang Xin was not surprised; he had received a letter from his Senior Brother before his nephew's arrival.
He simply removed his leather gloves and handed over a gauze mask.
Zhao Liuyun quickly put it on, immediately finding his breathing a little smoother.
Huang Xin continued his work, speaking as he did:
"Senior Brother said you've practically memorized all the medical texts at his place. Let me test you, do you recognize this item?"
Zhao Liuyun glanced at it and answered without hesitation:
"Shadow Wilt Vine. Its leaves are dark green. It thrives in damp and shady conditions, often growing in lightless, sheltered spots. The vine secretes a pale black liquid that repels insects."
"Except for the root, the entire plant can be used in medicine, typically for insect repellent powder."
The records in his teacher's medical texts stopped there, but Zhao Liuyun had seen another usage in a travelogue at the academy library.
Summarizing what he learned, he added: "If mixed with the powder of the dried fruit from a ten-year Frost Tree Soul Beast's trunk, it can stimulate the latent medicinal properties of the Shadow Wilt Vine, possessing a repellent effect even against millennium-level insect-type Soul Beasts."
It's similar to smearing oneself with manure; ordinary people would be too disgusted to approach.
The effect of the insect repellent powder is similar, but it's only aversion; if cornered, the Soul Beast would still come after you.
"Truly a genius; your knowledge is profound," Huang Xin's eyes lit up, and he paused his actions. "Do you know how to process it next?"
Zhao Liuyun's tone was calm: "I've read about it."
Huang Xin took off his gloves and stepped aside: "You prepare it. I'll go get the materials ready for your medicinal bath."
"Huh?" Zhao Liuyun didn't mind the smell while preparing the insect repellent powder, but the latter half of the sentence genuinely startled him.
"So fast? No need to rest? Shouldn't I absorb the medicinal properties first, or maybe..."
Huang Xin turned to look at him, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint, sudden smile.
The smile seemed gentle but inexplicably sent a chill down Zhao Liuyun's spine.
Zhao Liuyun shivered: "Martial Uncle?"
Huang Xin didn't answer.
Before preparing the medicinal bath, he needed to ascertain the body's physical strength to adjust the dosage.
He approached and squeezed Zhao Liuyun's biceps, his brow immediately furrowing:
"Soft and weak, like a little girl, completely lacking in strength. Too weak!"
"What about the hundred-year Soul Ring you absorbed?"
"Well..." Zhao Liuyun gave an awkward smile. "The Small-Sized White-Striped Purple Scorpion is tiny, and it's a Spirit-type Soul Beast; its physical refinement effect is indeed limited."
"You'll know soon enough, then." One sentence answered all previous questions, and a hint of pity seemed to flash across Huang Xin's face.