The Dimensional Reduction Strike of Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, Nuoding Academy

As Xiao Ze murmured to himself.

Xiao Ze felt a faint warmth in his Dantian.

It was as if some strange energy had entered his Dantian.

Xiao Ze was slightly delighted. He had felt something.

Steadying his mind, Xiao Ze continued cultivating.

One small cycle...

One great cycle...

Xiao Ze kept cultivating for two hours.

He completed two great cycles in total.

At that moment, Xiao Ze felt refreshed and full of energy, completely free of the fatigue from labor.

Even the Soul Power in his Dantian had grown by a tiny amount.

Though it was not much, that was normal.

Cultivation on the Douluo Continent was slow. Being able to rise two levels in a year already counted as very good talent.

"I never expected the cultivation technique written by DeepSeek to work in this world."

Xiao Ze shook his head and sighed. "It seems the world level of the Douluo Continent is simply too low."

It felt like the world from his previous life could crush this one.

Otherwise, how could this cultivation technique be explained?

In a world where even a Divine Artifact weighed 108,000 jin, what else could one expect?

"Hm?" Xiao Ze rose to his feet and noticed something strange around him.

The grass, once crisp and glistening, had now withered and yellowed, as though its life had been drained away.

Fortunately, the affected area was not large.

"This couldn't be related to me, could it?" Xiao Ze froze for a moment.

"Should I try again?"

After resting for a while, Xiao Ze began another round of cultivation.

This time, Xiao Ze deliberately changed locations.

Yet the result was the same.

Xiao Ze stroked his chin. "It seems that cultivation requires not only Spiritual Energy, but also Natural Life Force.

Is this because of my Martial Soul, or because of the cultivation technique?"

Xiao Ze did not understand. He would probably have to wait until he obtained a normal meditation method before he could figure it out.

If it was because of his Martial Soul, then it was nothing unusual. After all, his Martial Soul was so special.

Black Earth—there had not been many places with it even in his previous life.

But if it was the cultivation technique, that meant its effects were excellent.

Once he had money, he could buy some Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine. Compared to ordinary grass, they contained far more Natural Life Force.

Over the next two months.

Other than cultivating, Xiao Ze trained his body every day.

He had entrusted the farmland to two households.

To avoid disturbing or frightening the villagers, Xiao Ze went to the Forest two kilometers away whenever he cultivated.

The Natural Life Force there was much richer.

There were also fewer animals, making it very safe.

After two months, Xiao Ze had drained the Natural Life Force from nearly twenty-five square meters of land.

Actually, it could not be considered completely drained, since the grass had merely turned yellow.

Once it received enough nutrients, it would turn green again.

The grass: You're really so kind, leaving us our lives.

Early in the morning, the sky was barely light, and the sunlight had yet to fully spill down.

Cock-a-doodle-doo~~

The roosters had already begun crowing throughout the village.

Outside, the early-rising villagers had begun washing up and preparing for a day of work.

"Xiao Ze, we're heading to Nuoding Academy."

"I'm coming, Village Chief."

Xiao Ze carried the last thirty Gold Soul Coins left in the house.

This was his family's savings from the past six or seven years.

The average annual income of ordinary villagers was around 6 to 12 Gold Soul Coins.

Their yearly living expenses were roughly 5 to 10 Gold Soul Coins.

The villagers of Qingxi Village were relatively well-off, and Xiao Ze's family was no exception.

They earned around 10 to 11 Gold Soul Coins a year, while spending far less.

Xiao Ze's family was frugal and healthy. Other than food, clothing, and a few miscellaneous expenses, they had little need for money.

Thirty Gold Soul Coins might not amount to much for a soul master, but it would be enough for Xiao Ze to use for a long time.

After becoming a soul master, it really was easy to make money.

In the original novel, Tang San worked at Nuoding Academy and earned ten Copper Soul Coins every day—three Gold Soul Coins a month.

His money was only equivalent to a year's income.

The village chief had specially arranged a horse-drawn carriage to take Xiao Ze to Nuoding City.

"Xiao Ze, make sure you study hard after you get to Nuoding Academy."

"That's right. Remember to come back and visit us."

"Xiao Ze, you have to become a soul master!"

The villagers waved at Xiao Ze.

The corners of Xiao Ze's lips lifted slightly. Qingxi Village was a wonderful place.

Wasn't it?

"Xiao Ze, you're our village's work-study student. Work-study students receive quite a few benefits. There are no tuition or lodging fees.

"You only need to take care of your meals.

"Your family should have some savings. If you don't have enough money, come back. Grandpa Village Chief will give you some. Don't waste your time working."

"It wasn't easy for Qingxi Village to produce a soul master. Could it be that we can't even support one?"

The village chief spoke kindly.

"I understand, Grandpa Village Chief." Xiao Ze's heart felt warm.

Everyone in Qingxi Village truly felt like one big family.

"When you turn twelve, if you can continue, you must go on to a Junior Soul Master Academy.

"If you can't, then come back."

The village chief actually knew that Innate Level 2 Spirit Power did not promise a particularly bright future.

But Xiao Ze was still Qingxi Village's only soul master.

The village chief was not a soul master, but he taught Xiao Ze everything he had learned over the years.

Xiao Ze listened carefully.

Although he was a transmigrator and knew quite a bit of the original novel's plot, there was plenty of knowledge that the novel never covered.

For instance, how many types of Soul Beasts had even appeared in the novel?

Probably not even a tenth of them.

Didn't he need to learn how to judge the age of those Soul Beasts?

So, he still had much to learn.

However, this learning was child's play to Xiao Ze.

He had managed twenty years of studying in his previous life. Couldn't he handle this little bit of knowledge?

We Blue Star people came here to crush them from a higher dimension.

Every one of us was a top student!

Qingxi Village was not far from Nuoding City, and they had a carriage besides.

They arrived in Nuoding City by noon.

Nuoding City was not some great metropolis, but it was still a border city of the Heaven Dou Empire, so inspections were rather strict.

Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy was located in the western part of Nuoding City.

Xiao Ze and the village chief sampled Nuoding City's local specialties before heading to Nuoding Academy.

There, they witnessed a classic scene.

A hidden weapon appeared in Tang San's right hand, and he was just about to throw it when Old Jack stopped him.

"Enough, stop."

A thin man in his forties or fifties walked over. His face looked somewhat dejected.

Xiao Ze knew that this was the "famous" Yu Xiaogang.

"There are no useless Souls, only useless Soul Masters."

Yu Xiaogang had spent his entire life putting that saying into practice.

The facts proved that he himself was useless.

He had awakened an external Beast Soul that appeared only once in ten thousand years, one that even possessed the Golden Sacred Dragon Bloodline. Otherwise, he would have been trash himself.

It might even have been an external Golden Sacred Dragon.

How impressive was that?

Yet it had all been dragged down by him.

With innate Soul Power below Rank 1, no matter how much Spirit Grass and Spirit Medicine he used, he simply could not break through to Soul Elder.

Useless was useless, after all.

His character was nothing special, either.

He had stolen so much knowledge from Spirit Hall, only to claim it as his own.

But the facts proved that not many people thought highly of Yu Xiaogang.

Any Soul Master with even a little knowledge knew that Yu Xiaogang's so-called Ten Great Theories were merely conjectures.

"Are you here to study at Nuoding Academy too?"