Future Cultivation Direction and Talent [Preliminary Analysis]

"Father, Mother, tomorrow is the Sky Lantern Festival. The Dao Academy is closed for three days. Once I return, I'll talk to the Instructor and see what suggestions she has."

"If there really isn't anything suitable, then we'll do as Father says and ask Uncle Chu!"

Zhou Ling also did not want to place too much pressure on his parents and make them work so hard.

After all, he had the support of his talent. As long as he could cultivate to Late Qi Condensation and become independent in the future, he could find a way to change his cultivation technique then.

Li Ru and her husband exchanged a look and nodded. For now, this was the only thing they could do.

A relieved smile appeared on Li Ru's face. She stroked Zhou Ling's head and said gently, "Son, tomorrow may be a festival, but your father and I will both be busy. No one will be able to keep you company!"

The Sky Lantern Festival was a grand festival of the Dao Alliance, similar to the Mid-Autumn Festival in his previous life. Most people in Lingxia Immortal City would have time off.

During this period, in order to earn more Spirit Stones, Zhou Shan would set up a stall to sell Spirit Herbs whenever he had the time.

It earned quite a bit more than selling them to the apothecary.

Whenever Li Ru had a day off, she was even busier than ever.

"Mother, Huzi and the others asked me to stroll around Market Street," Zhou Ling said obediently with a nod.

Although he was only four and a half years old, he was a cultivator.

In every aspect, his physical abilities surpassed those of ordinary people.

Thus, Zhou Ling could already travel to and from the Dao Academy by himself every day, without needing Li Ru to pick him up or drop him off.

Li Ru nodded and reminded him, "Market Street is crowded, so be careful!"

Early the next morning.

Zhou Ling was eating breakfast when a little dark head poked in through the front gate. A pair of bright, gleaming eyes peered into the house. Seeing Zhou Shan and Li Ru eating as well, the child carefully walked inside and greeted them with a smile. "Hello, Uncle Zhou, Auntie Zhou!"

Yuan Hu lived nearby on Xingyun Street.

His parents made a living by fishing.

Every morning now, he came over to call Zhou Ling so they could head to the Dao Academy together.

He had become familiar with Zhou Shan and the others as well.

"Little Hu, you came so early. Have you eaten yet?"

Li Ru asked warmly.

As she spoke, she stuffed a steamed bun into Yuan Hu's hands.

Yuan Hu swallowed. Though he looked a little embarrassed, his hands accepted it without the slightest hesitation.

He stuffed the bun into his mouth, took a huge bite, and ate with relish. "Thank you, Auntie! Your cooking is really amazing!"

At lunchtime in the Dao Academy, Zhou Ling would also give him some of his food whenever he saw that Yuan Hu had no meat.

He had never forgotten the food Li Ru steamed and cooked.

"You boys go have fun. I've prepared lunch for you and left it in the pot. Just heat it up when you return, and you can eat."

Li Ru reminded them with a smile.

Zhou Ling nodded in agreement, then headed out with Yuan Hu.

He had no interest in going shopping with Yuan Hu and the others.

With that spare time, he would rather cultivate at home.

But Wang Xin was going too, so as her slacking bodyguard, he could only agree.

Before long, they met Wang Xin at the entrance of the Dao Academy.

After discussing it for a while, the three of them headed toward the nearest Market Street.

Yuan Hu was extremely excited along the way, talking nonstop. It seemed his family had taken him out to play before.

Where there were lanterns, where there were variety performances, where there was delicious food...

He went on and on as if he knew everything.

But Zhou Ling could not be bothered with him, and simply asked Wang Xin where she wanted to go.

Wang Xin did not know where would be fun either, so she let Zhou Ling decide.

Zhou Ling thought that since they were already out, they might as well wander around and see whether there was anything that could earn them some Spirit Stones.

That would ease his parents' burden a little.

As it was the annual Sky Lantern Festival, most cultivators were on holiday, and the streets were exceptionally lively.

Every household hung red lanterns symbolizing celebration and good fortune, each in a different shape.

There were flowers, spirit beasts, magic artifacts, and all manner of other forms.

From time to time, cultivators by the roadside performed various spells. These spells looked dazzling and bewildering, but they were not actually useful.

They were enough to entertain children, at least.

However, the puppet performances crafted by Puppet Masters and the Spirit Beast performances trained by Beast Tamers did make Zhou Ling linger a while longer.

Through his [Basic Insight] talent, he could clearly see the trajectories of those dazzling puppets' movements.

As well as the speed of the Spirit Beasts darting back and forth through the air.

[You observed the trajectories of puppet movements. Basic Insight +1]

[You observed the flight speed of Spirit Beasts. Basic Insight +1]

[Total observations: 208/1,000]

Yuan Hu and Wang Xin watched with great interest, finding it immensely entertaining.

Yuan Hu even waved his arms and danced about excitedly from time to time.

When they passed a pastry shop, Wang Xin went inside and bought some Spirit Food pastries.

The three of them strolled as they ate their pastries, utterly at ease.

Zhou Ling observed as he wandered.

He was also keeping an eye out for some suitable way, given his current circumstances, to earn a few Spirit Stones.

Yet after wandering around for half the day, he still had no ideas.

The ways that could earn Spirit Stones were basically already overcrowded.

As for those that required Skills, he had no Skills to speak of.

At present, the only Skill of his that could be put to use was Herb Seeking and identifying herbs.

But that required entering the mountains, which was relatively dangerous.

I still need to learn some practical Skills!

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

After looking around, Zhou Ling felt that entering the mountains to gather herbs and sell them, like his parents did, was too dangerous.

Although he possessed talents such as [Crisis Reaction] and [Mountain Treasure Hunt].

They only worked within a certain range and could not guarantee absolute safety.

And if he wanted to flip goods for resale, he had neither the capital nor the time.

So, learning some Skills was his only option.

Master every subject, and you could travel the world without fear.

That principle held true everywhere.

Zhou Ling mused inwardly.

"Th-this little rabbit lantern is so pretty!"

At that moment, Wang Xin stopped before a stall selling flower lanterns.

All sorts of exquisitely shaped animal lanterns were displayed on the stall.

Wang Xin was looking at a White Jade Rabbit Lantern.

Its body, carved from white jade, shone with dazzling light.

"Little miss, this is a White Jade Rabbit Lantern. It has a Five-Color Inscription carved into it, so it can shine in five different colors. It costs twenty Broken Spirit."

The middle-aged stall owner introduced it to Wang Xin with a smile.

[You observed the Five-Color Inscription. Basic Insight +1]

[Growth Talent, preliminary analysis: Produce logical analysis of an object's structure to achieve better results. Requirement: Analyze the inscription structures of twenty Magic Artifacts.]

As his gaze swept over the rabbit lantern, Zhou Ling was able to see clearly through the white jade the Five-Color Inscription carved within.

Inscriptions were something only Artifact Refiners could master.

And since he was a fire-element cultivator, his best choices in the future would undoubtedly be Alchemist and Artifact Refiner.

But becoming an Alchemist required too much investment and the costs were too high—far beyond what Rogue Cultivators like them could afford.

The initial stages of becoming an Artifact Refiner, on the other hand, were much easier to enter.

As Zhou Ling pondered, his path for future cultivation gradually became clearer.

Then he pointed at an eagle-shaped lantern and asked, "What inscription is inside this lantern?"

The Middle-aged Man smiled. "It has two overlapping Winged Rainbow Patterns inside. It's a bit more expensive."

[You analyzed the inscription of the Rainbow Eagle Lantern. Preliminary Analysis +1]

Zhou Ling pointed at the other Sky Lanterns and questioned them one by one.