"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 over his head and carefully shook off the rainwater outside before leaning it against the door.
"I could have handled something like that."
"It's pouring outside. It isn't convenient 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 later to check whether Xuan Cao laid any eggs yesterday."
"I'll go take a look."
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's doing pretty well. She laid 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 next step is the Second Stage."
Not long ago,
after maintaining a healthy routine for three years,
Linsey had completed the initial cultivation of his Life Source Material, and the Essence within his body had become clearly visible.
He now possessed a stronger Constitution than ordinary people, along with superior natural healing abilities.
Minor swelling caused by bumps and collisions would subside on its own within fifteen minutes.
If his finger was cut by a sharp page, the wound would heal completely 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,
with the help of the Attribute Panel, Linsey had discovered a truth about Life Source Material.
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 rank suffix of "(Initial Awakening)" had evolved into the designation "(Seed of Life)."
In this world, people generally treated Essence cultivation as though it were simply expanding an energy bar. The techniques they cultivated, along with the series of abilities those techniques evolved into, were what Awakened valued most.
But the Attribute Panel would not lie.
Judging by the changes in its wording, Linsey had an intuition—perhaps cultivating Essence also held deeper significance.
At that moment, Finn, seated before the fireplace, showed some concern for Linsey's condition. "As far as I know—"
"Cultivating Life Source Material through the Second Stage seems rather troublesome."
Linsey felt somewhat embarrassed by the topic, but he still answered at once. "For the Second Stage, my Life Source Material requires me to constantly satisfy my physical needs. So lately, I eat whenever I want and sleep whenever I want. It's caused Nun quite a bit of trouble."
Finn offered a reminder. "Satisfying physical desires is the nature of life, but remember, we are rational humans. Never lose your way in pursuit of endlessly satisfied desires."
Linsey hurriedly waved his hands.
"I won't, I won't."
Finn trusted Linsey deeply. He said nothing more and instead rose shakily to his feet. "Come, let's begin class."
Linsey immediately stepped forward to support him.
The two of them entered the study and began that day's lesson.
First, Finn tested Linsey's knowledge.
Linsey's answers were well organized and clear in thought, with almost no flaws to be found.
After all, over three years of study,
the botany skill he had obtained from Finn had progressed through Recorded—Beginner—Proficient, and had finally reached Mastery.
With Mastery-level botany assisting him,
Linsey's foundational knowledge in this field was complete, and he could apply it flexibly.
Even if he encountered an entirely unfamiliar plant in the wild,
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 had also reached the Mastery level.
Especially Common Language, which he used every day and gained tiny amounts of experience in almost every moment. It had become the only skill among all of Linsey's abilities to surpass the "(Mastery)" rank and advance to the "(Master)" level.
A Master-level Common Language skill
allowed Linsey to understand every written character in the language and even comprehend the various dialects that had evolved from Common Language.
"Very good, Linsey."
"As long as you are willing, with the knowledge you now possess, awakening a Life School technique should be effortless."
After the examination, a satisfied smile appeared on Finn's face.
Yet he also sighed over Linsey's continued refusal to choose a school.
Linsey answered helplessly,
"Teacher, I still have a long way to go."
Linsey's attitude appeared humble.
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 any other abilities.
As for the other Willpower Source Material,
Linsey had not experienced any emotional upheavals recently, so it had naturally shown no growth.
Furthermore, according to Red Moon, he did not intend to divide his attention for now. Focusing on cultivating his Life Source Material was his current priority.
Finn neither agreed nor disagreed with Linsey's answer.
He waved his hand and rose from his chair. Linsey hurriedly supported him, and together they went to the Glass Greenhouse inside the cabin.
The several species cultivated there had only just broken through the soil and sprouted.
As usual, Finn recited the condition of each plant, while Linsey stood beside him with a notebook in hand, recording information such as "healthy growth condition," "seed hybridization failure," "yellowing cotyledons," and "thin roots and stems, prone to lodging."
Having studied under Finn, Linsey knew these crops were newly cultivated cold-resistant crops.
Thinking of his teacher's methods, he could not help asking,
"Teacher, don't you remember? You can control a plant's life cycle, letting it rapidly live through its entire life and flower and bear fruit?"
What Linsey meant was:
Why not use that method to make the plants reproduce quickly, instead of letting them grow slowly?
Finn slowly shook his head.
"Child, pay attention to the process."
"If you seek only results, you will inevitably lose your way in pursuit of shortcuts."
"That hasty method is merely an expedient measure for special circumstances. Excessive extraction and manipulation of life will instead cause them to lose the brilliance of life they might otherwise have displayed."
Finn then gave another example. "Once, in Volcano City, a Life Scholar named Gustin used that hasty method to cultivate plants suited to specific needs in just one year. But the result was that the species he appeared to have cultivated most successfully 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 the routine inspection of the plants, Finn and Linsey returned to the front room.
It was now noon, and the sound of rain outside had gradually faded. That day's lesson had come to an end.
Finn had naturally wanted to continue teaching Linsey through the afternoon after lunch.
But his strength could no longer support a full day's work.
At that moment, Linsey took the initiative to ask Finn,
"Teacher, may I read here for a while this afternoon?"
Finn nodded in agreement and casually added,
"Also, when you return tonight, pass a message to Red Moon Lady. Tell her I need to discuss Merchant's Source Material with her."
Linsey naturally said he understood.
Finn then sat down to rest, while Linsey picked up the freshly gathered eggs from the table and began preparing lunch for the two of them.
By now, Linsey had also added the cooking skill to his Attribute Panel.
He was no longer the terrifying fellow who could turn even a flatbread into dark cuisine.
Even with nothing more than eggs and flour, he could make a delicious soup before the fireplace!
After they finished lunch, Finn lay down on the bed to rest.
Linsey entered the study alone and began what he had been doing for the past three years.
—Preparing to break through Black Mountain! Please bookmark and vote!