Mimicry Cultivation

Director Su knew Su Yuntao. After all, Nuoding City's Soul Master circle was only so large. It was hardly strange for him to know the deacon of Nuoding City's Spirit Hall Branch Hall. Director Su asked, "Young friend Ye Lan, how do you plan to sell them?"

"Director, I plan to provide one batch of Candied Hawthorn Skewers each day. Each batch will have ten skewers. For now, I'll price each batch at one Gold Soul Coin. As for how the cafeteria sells them, that will be up to you, Director Su. I don't want a single coin of the profits. Just give me one Gold Soul Coin as the cost price."

"Good! That price is very fair. The academy still has plenty of room for profit. If the nobles in the city learn that the academy cafeteria has royal desserts, they might trample down the academy gates." Director Su immediately calculated the potential profits and hurriedly agreed.

Ye Lan was relieved. He then said, "I'll bring several extra batches of Candied Hawthorn Skewers over later. Director Su, please let the academy leaders and teachers try them. Sell more to the noble students too, so we can open up the market for Candied Hawthorn Skewers."

"Not bad. No matter how delicious a food is, people need to know about it first."

Director Su nodded, sighing inwardly. Su Yuntao truly was blessed to have such a clever junior. First, they would open up the Soul Masters' taste buds. Once they wanted more, they would have to spend extra.

After their negotiations concluded, Ye Lan ate the meal Director Su had prepared before returning to the dormitory. He then brought six batches of Candied Hawthorn Skewers to Director Su.

Of the remaining three batches, Ye Lan gave them to Wang Sheng and the others in Seventh Dormitory. He had Wang Sheng give the extra Candied Hawthorn Skewers to the other noble dormitories.

Within a few days, the fame of Candied Hawthorn Skewers had spread throughout Nuoding City, becoming a noble dessert produced by Nuoding Academy. Many noble ladies asked the noble students at the academy to bring them a batch to try, but production was limited and demand exceeded supply. Anyone who wanted some had to pay a higher price, spending quite a bit more money.

However, Ye Lan had no intention of increasing production. First, it was hunger marketing. If there were too many Candied Hawthorn Skewers, the price would inevitably plummet, and the noble students and their elders would no longer find them novel.

Second, if he made too much money, it would surely draw the covetous eyes of certain people. Ye Lan did not yet have the strength to handle that. An income of thirty Gold Soul Coins a month was barely manageable under the banner of Su Yuntao, the branch hall deacon. Any more than that would be a problem.

One had to know that Spirit Hall only gave Su Yuntao a monthly stipend amounting to one-third of thirty Gold Soul Coins.

Third, Ye Lan needed to leave himself ample time to cultivate. He had come to Douluo Continent to cultivate, not to make money. He could not neglect the essential for the trivial.

Thus, Ye Lan stopped worrying about money and threw himself wholeheartedly into Martial Soul cultivation.

Over these dozen days, aside from setting aside time to make Candied Hawthorn Skewers, Ye Lan either cultivated or immersed himself in the academy library. The academy's classroom instruction was far too basic and did not suit him.

Teaching himself in the library allowed him to absorb knowledge more quickly. This was one advantage he had gained from undergoing exam-oriented education in his previous life—his self-study ability was exceptionally strong.

Ye Lan read avidly about the strange tales of this world, the Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook, and the continent's history. He also became familiar with the old librarian. The old man knew the library's book arrangement very well, so Ye Lan only needed to ask him to learn the exact location of whatever book he wanted.

With the perspective from his previous life, Ye Lan directly suggested creating a library catalog to record the precise location of every book.

The old librarian simply laughed lazily. "It's an excellent idea, but aside from you, Xiao Lan, no one else in the academy may even visit the library once a year. Even that famous Master of the academy rarely comes here. I suppose he looks down on it! So leave the catalog for future generations."

On further thought, Ye Lan found that reasonable. Douluo Continent still placed Soul Masters above all else. As long as one's fist was big enough, others would regard one's words as truth. Thus, most people on Douluo Continent were busy cultivating, lacking a thirst for knowledge and possessing scant theoretical understanding.

Even though Yu Xiaogang had merely put forth the plainly obvious theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, it was enough for most ignorant Soul Masters to regard it as truth.

One had to know that most people on Douluo Continent could not break through level thirty, and most were lower-level than Yu Xiaogang.

As for the small circle above Soul Saint rank, they all possessed experience passed down through their families. They would not challenge Yu Xiaogang's title as Master either. After all, Yu Xiaogang had the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan behind him, one of the Upper Three Sects. Thus, amid countless cries of "Master," Yu Xiaogang became the so-called Number One Theory Master of Douluo Continent.

Putting those thoughts aside, Ye Lan decided to speed up his cultivation. At his current grinding pace, he might not even reach level ten by the time he graduated six years later.

The funds for Whale Rubber were already accumulating through the money earned from Candied Hawthorn Skewers. Now, it was time to change his cultivation environment. Cultivating in the dormitory, no matter how hard he worked, would not improve his cultivation speed.

Where could Blue Silver Grass cultivate faster? Naturally, in the wild where there was plenty of Blue Silver Grass. This was Martial Soul Mimicry Cultivation. Douluo Continent lacked nothing more than Blue Silver Grass. Wherever there was sunlight and soil, Blue Silver Grass had room to grow.

With that in mind, Ye Lan put down the book in his hand and headed into the city to buy camping supplies. After all, the wilderness was not like a dormitory. The environment was harsh, and Ye Lan had no intention of suffering needlessly.

After leaving the library, Ye Lan went into Nuoding City and bought camping supplies: a tent, insect-repelling incense, and a cushion.

Ye Lan planned to cultivate on the academy's Back Mountain. The vegetation there was dense, and Blue Silver Grass was abundant. Though the environment was somewhat harsh, it was an excellent cultivation ground for a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

By the time he had bought the supplies and reached the academy's Back Mountain, night had fallen.

The moon shone bright while the stars were sparse. Under cover of night, Ye Lan selected an area where the Blue Silver Grass grew most thickly, set up his tent, and lit the insect-repelling incense.

Ye Lan sat cross-legged on the grass and circulated the soul power within his body. Before long, little blue blades of grass continuously emerged from his body.

Ye Lan shut his eyes tightly and quietly called out to the wild Blue Silver Grass with his spiritual consciousness.

Before long, the wild Blue Silver Grass slowly crawled toward Ye Lan.

Bathed in the glow of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, the Blue Silver Grass swayed quietly, as if cheering with joy.

Within Ye Lan's dark consciousness, points of Blue Silver Grass light gradually appeared nearby. He sensed streams of Blue Silver Grass consciousness—the delight of solitary souls welcoming newborn Blue Silver Grass.

Before long, Blue Silver Grass covered Ye Lan's entire body. The soul power condensed in his meridians became much more active than usual, and Blue Silver Soul Power surged straight toward the Dantian in his abdomen.

Yet Ye Lan did not sense the changes within his body. He was merely immersed in the Blue Silver Consciousness. Like a lone star in darkness, he gave off a faint glow that echoed the distant stars.

Though the stars were few, Ye Lan could still sense their light. That starlight made his entire body feel warm, as though he were immersed in a warm current.