Hundred-Year Little Blue Silver Grass

[Note]: Initiate the second deduction of the Rebirth Method? (Yes/No)

On the bed, Xu Bai rested his head on his hands, his mind fixed on the line of text in the Manual. After a long moment of contemplation, he tapped "Yes."

The Manual began its deduction. With nothing better to do, Xu Bai closed his eyes, his thoughts wandering aimlessly.

Did I trigger the second Rebirth Method directly because I've already died once?

At this rate, I'll need to perform at least seven more deductions to obtain the complete evolution method for the Nine Tribulations Blue Silver Grass.

It truly lives up to its reputation as an attribute with only a 1% compatibility rate; it requires a full eight deductions.

It seemed troublesome, but for Xu Bai, it was actually a good thing.

If he had deduced the entire evolution method for the Nine Tribulations Blue Silver Grass at once, he likely wouldn't have been able to afford the required resources for a long time.

In that case, the Little Blue Silver Grass would remain nothing more than a Mutated Blue Silver Grass with a racial limit of only a thousand years. Setting aside its combat prowess, if he were to actually contract it, it would be no different from wasting a contract slot.

After all, one of the most important functions of the Beast Taming Space is the feedback provided to the Beast Tamer as the beast's strength increases.

In this sense, this installment-based method was particularly important for Xu Bai, allowing him to proceed with contracting the Little Blue Silver Grass without any further concerns.

However, all of this was predicated on the Little Blue Silver Grass stepping up.

Some time ago, he had unilaterally and secretly made a bet with the Little Blue Silver Grass: only if it could break through its age limit to a hundred years before he reached level twenty would he sign a contract with it and make it his second beast.

The Manual lacked a scanning function, so Xu Bai didn't know the exact age of the Little Blue Silver Grass, but he was clear about his own cultivation level.

Although he hadn't trained much this past month, the feedback from the strength growth of his first beast had already pushed his own cultivation to level fifteen.

Rising five levels in a month without much training—if word of this got out, who knows how many people would have their mental fortitude shattered.

Lost in these random thoughts, he opened his eyes to find that it was already dawn.

The Manual's sleep-inducing effect was excellent, but...

Xu Bai lifted his head slightly, slowly pulled his hands out from under him, and held them before his eyes.

It wasn't his imagination; his delicate hands were swollen, their color a faint purple. As for sensation, he wasn't even hoping for that right now.

Having been crushed by his head all night, his hands were suffering from a lack of blood flow.

His mouth twitched as he silently noted this minor mishap in his mind, then turned his focus back to the Manual:

[Evolution Conditions]: Age of one hundred years, perfect-grade 'Tenacious' proficiency.

[Required Materials]: Hundred-year Bitter Tree Heart, Flower Spirit Dew, Soul Nourishing Stone...

[Method]: Ignite the tree heart during advancement, irrigate with Flower Spirit Dew, and bury the Soul Nourishing Stone near the root system...

"The materials for the second Rebirth seem... not particularly precious." A look of surprise flashed in Xu Bai's eyes.

The most expensive material was the Soul Nourishing Stone; a lower-quality one cost around five thousand Gold Soul Coins on the market, while a high-quality one ranged from ten to twenty thousand.

As for the other materials, they wouldn't exceed six thousand in total.

Materials weren't an issue; he would be able to afford them in a short while.

That left only the evolution conditions...

"It's a pity that the Manual's data display function only works on beasts I've already contracted. I have no idea what the Little Blue Silver Grass's exact age or skill proficiency is..."

Xu Bai shook his head, temporarily pushing the thought aside. He would have to wait until he signed the contract to worry about the Little Blue Silver Grass.

His current priority was to increase his knowledge and—make money!

After getting out of bed and eating breakfast, Xu Bai trained his first beast for the morning as usual, then prepared to head to the branch hall.

However, he had a sudden whim and took a different route. Halfway there, an iconic building of the Douluo Continent appeared in his line of sight.

"Huangshan Great Soul Arena..." Xu Bai's eyes flickered. He suddenly thought that this place might be a way to earn Gold Soul Coins, but the moment the thought arose, he abandoned it.

Not to mention whether the Great Soul Arena even held matches for first-ring Spirit Masters, even if they did, he wouldn't necessarily earn much. With that spare time, he might as well continue working to increase the yield of his orchard.

If he were to challenge someone above his rank, the risk would be too great.

He wasn't talking about the risk to his strength; after these few days of training, he estimated that his first beast could easily handle a Great Spirit Master.

The real risk was his talent.

In the original story, the Shrek Seven Devils had to wear masks to hide their ages, even with the protection of Shrek Academy, which boasted two Spirit Saints.

If a small fry like him, with no power and no background, were to actually do something like that, he feared that the second he finished a match, his very underwear would be stripped away.

If nothing else, the Great Soul Arena would certainly extend an olive branch.

Agree, and he'd be a slave for life, with no hope of freedom.

Refuse, and that would be even worse; if he managed to walk home alive, it would only be because the people at the Great Soul Arena were feeling charitable.

"If only someone would inexplicably give me ten million Gold Soul Coins with no strings attached... or at the very least, a beautiful, wealthy woman, 165cm tall with fair skin, would suddenly appear and want to keep me."

Xu Bai daydreamed, muttering to himself, and glanced down at his "little brother," wanting to ask for its opinion.

Well, fine, his little brother was protesting.

It was simply too small right now; the dream of living off a woman would have to be shelved for the time being.

The days that followed seemed to return to the right track, with Xu Bai's life once again filled with a repetitive, three-point routine.

During this period, he refined some Hundred Herb Liquid, causing the Little Blue Silver Grass, which had only just awakened, to fall back into a deep slumber. Meanwhile, the twenty Clear Heart Orange Trees in his Beast Taming Space also seamlessly continued their rapid growth cycle, bearing fruit every six days.

Just like that, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, over half a year had passed.

One day, the sleeping Little Blue Silver Grass in the corner suddenly began to emit a faint blue glow, and the entire plant started to grow and develop at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As time passed, the blue of its leaves became purer, and the silver veins upon them grew deeper. The aura belonging to a century-old Soul Beast gradually drifted outward, bending the surrounding wildflowers and weeds.

"This is... it's broken through to a century-old level..."

Xu Bai, who had been cultivating in his room, felt the fluctuation of soul power. He walked out and watched the scene with a sigh of emotion.

By the third month, the proficiency of his first "Metal Spirit Power" had successfully reached the pinnacle of perfection, meaning this skill had been trained to a point where no further improvement was possible.

It was worth mentioning that when the proficiency of his first "Metal Spirit Power" reached that pinnacle, his Beast Taming Space provided feedback once again, directly raising his soul power by two levels.

With no training tasks for his first skill in the morning, the restless Xu Bai chose to cultivate his soul power instead.

Cultivating until now, his soul power had reached level nineteen, just a single step away from level twenty.

Looking at it this way, the Little Blue Silver Grass could be considered promising; it had not let him down.

Even though, from beginning to end, the Little Blue Silver Grass had no idea about that so-called "wager" with him...