Life Lineage

"Teacher Finn, I saw you feeding Xuan Cao?"

Pushing open the botanist's door, sixteen-year-old Linsey entered the room.

He first untied the rain hat from his head, carefully shook off the rainwater outside, then leaned it against the door.

"You could have left this sort of thing to me."

"It's pouring outside. It's inconvenient for you to go out."

Finn merely smiled and shook his head.

"Child, it's all right."

"I may be getting on in years, but scattering feed for a chicken is no trouble. Though I'll have to trouble you to feel around later and see whether Xuan Cao laid any eggs yesterday."

"I'll go check now."

The moment Finn finished speaking, Linsey vanished from the doorway without a trace.

He dashed outside at incredible speed, checked the chicken coop, then returned indoors.

The entire process took only three seconds.

By the time he placed the two eggs in his hand before Finn, only a few drops of rain had landed on his shoulders.

"Xuan Cao did well. There are two today."

Finn nodded, a flash of admiration appearing in his eyes. He had noticed Linsey's extraordinary speed.

"Such nimble movements. It seems your Life Source Material has already completed its First Stage of cultivation?"

Linsey readily admitted it. "That's right. The second step comes next."

Not long ago,

after three years of maintaining a healthy routine,

Linsey's initial cultivation of Life Source Material had been completed, and the Source Material within his body had become clearly visible.

He now possessed a stronger physique than ordinary people, along with superior natural healing.

Minor swelling from bumps and collisions would disappear on its own within fifteen minutes.

If his finger were cut by a sharp page, the wound would completely heal after a day.

These were abilities every possessor of Life Source Material gained after their first advancement.

But unlike the common knowledge understood by all Awakened,

Linsey had discovered a truth about Life Source Material with the help of his attribute panel.

After advancing, the words Life Source Material had changed into Life Lineage. An icon resembling the Kabbalistic Tree of Life had appeared beside it, while the original suffix of (Initial Awakening) had evolved into (Seed of Life).

In this world, people generally treated the cultivation of Source Material as though they were expanding an energy bar. The techniques they cultivated themselves, along with the series of abilities those techniques developed into, were what Awakened considered most important.

But the attribute panel would not lie.

Judging from the changes in its wording, Linsey had an intuition—cultivating Source Material might have a deeper purpose as well.

At that moment, Finn, seated before the fireplace, showed some concern for Linsey's condition. "As far as I know—"

"The Second Stage of Life Source Material cultivation seems rather troublesome."

Linsey was a little embarrassed by the topic, but he answered at once. "For the Second Stage, my Life Source Material requires me to constantly satisfy my physiological needs. So lately, I eat whenever I want and sleep whenever I want. It has caused Nun quite a bit of trouble."

Finn offered a reminder. "Satisfying physical desires is the nature of life, but remember, we are rational human beings. Never lose your way in the pursuit of endlessly satisfying those desires."

Linsey hurriedly waved his hands.

"I won't, I won't."

Finn trusted Linsey greatly. He said nothing more and instead rose shakily to his feet. "Come, let's begin class."

Linsey hurried forward to support him.

The two of them entered the study together and began the day's lesson.

First, Finn tested Linsey's knowledge.

Linsey's answers were orderly and logical, with almost no flaws to be found.

After all, over the course of three years of study,

the Botany skill he had acquired from Finn had progressed from Recorded—Beginner—Mastered, and finally to its current level of Proficient.

With the aid of Proficient-level Botany,

Linsey's foundational knowledge in this field was complete, and he could apply it flexibly.

Even if he encountered a completely unfamiliar plant in the wilderness,

he could infer its approximate age, some of its habits, and its possible uses.

In fact, among the abilities he had learned from his other teachers,

most of Linsey's skills had also broken through to the Proficient level.

Common Language in particular, which he used every day and which gained tiny amounts of experience almost every moment, had become the only one of all Linsey's skills to surpass the (Proficient) level and advance to (Master).

Master-level Common Language

allowed Linsey to understand every written form of the language and even comprehend the many dialects derived from Common Language!

"Very good, Linsey."

"As long as you are willing, with the knowledge you have now, awakening the techniques of the Life School should be effortless."

After the test, a satisfied smile appeared on Finn's face.

Yet he also lamented that Linsey still had not chosen a school.

Linsey replied helplessly,

"Teacher, I still have a long way to go."

Linsey's attitude made him seem modest.

But the real reason was that his Life Source Material had already fused with the Game Player technique, making it impossible for him to awaken abilities in other areas.

As for the other Willpower Source Material,

Linsey had not experienced any emotional upheavals lately, so it had naturally seen no growth.

Moreover, according to Red Moon, he had no plans to divide his attention for now. Focusing on cultivating Life Source Material was the priority at present.

Finn neither agreed nor disagreed with Linsey's answer.

He waved a hand and rose from his chair. Linsey hurriedly supported him, and together they went to the Glass Greenhouse inside the wooden cabin.

The few species cultivated here had only just broken through the soil and sprouted.

As usual, Finn recited the condition of each plant, while Linsey stood nearby with a notebook in hand, recording information such as "healthy growth," "seed hybridization failure," "yellowing cotyledons," and "thin roots and stems, prone to lodging."

Linsey had learned from Finn and knew that these Crops were newly cultivated cold-resistant varieties.

Thinking of his teacher's methods, he could not help asking,

"Teacher, don't you have the ability to control a plant's life cycle, letting it swiftly live out its life, flower, and bear fruit?"

What Linsey meant was,

why not use that method to make the plants reproduce rapidly instead of letting them grow slowly on their own?

Finn slowly shook his head.

"Child, pay attention to the process."

"If you blindly seek results, you will inevitably lose your way in pursuit of shortcuts."

"That hasty method is only a temporary expedient for special circumstances. Excessive extraction and manipulation of life will instead cause them to lose the vitality they might otherwise have displayed."

Finn then gave an example. "There was once a Life Scholar named Gustin in Volcano City. Using such a hasty method, he cultivated plants suited to specific needs in just one year. But the result was that the species he appeared to have cultivated to perfection developed an internal viral condition after two days of normal growth, and soon died out completely."

"The plants we cultivate must ultimately be grown by the vast number of ordinary people. We cannot approach this work from an Awakened's perspective."

After completing their routine inspection of the plants, Finn and Linsey returned to the front room.

It was now noon, and the sound of rain outside gradually faded. That concluded the day's lesson.

Finn had naturally wanted to continue teaching Linsey through the afternoon after lunch.

But his strength could no longer support an entire day of work.

At that moment, Linsey took the initiative to ask Finn,

"Teacher, may I read here this afternoon?"

Finn nodded in agreement, then casually added,

"And when you go back tonight, pass a message to Red Moon Lady. Tell her I need to discuss Merchant's Source Material with her."

Linsey naturally indicated that he understood.

Finn then sat down to rest, while Linsey picked up the eggs he had just collected from the table and began preparing lunch for the two of them.

By now, Linsey had also added a Cooking skill to his attribute panel.

He was no longer the terrifying fellow who could turn even flatbread into dark cuisine.

Instead, he had become a capable cook who could make delicious soup before the fireplace with nothing more than eggs and flour!

After they finished lunch, Finn lay down on the bed to rest.

Linsey entered the study alone and began the thing he had been doing for the past three years.

—Preparing to break through Black Mountain! Please bookmark and vote!