The Time Has Come

[Name]: Clear Heart Orange Tree

[Attribute]: Wood

[Species Potential]: Century-level

[Evolutionary Path]: None

[Introduction]: A plant-type Soul Beast already domesticated by humans. Even upon reaching a century of age, it possesses no offensive capabilities. However, it can bear Clear Heart Oranges, which possess the effect of clearing the mind, calming the spirit, and soothing irritability. It is a very common economic plant-type Soul Beast.

[Note]: Consume a large amount of mental energy to deduce the evolutionary path and method? (Yes/No).

Consume a small amount of mental energy to deduce the cultivation method? (Yes/No).

Xu Bai gazed at the information presented on the Manual and rubbed his chin.

The Clear Heart Orange Tree was, at the very least, a Soul Beast with century-level species potential. Based on his previous experiences, if he chose to deduce the cultivation method, the Manual would certainly divide it into a "First Stage" and "Second Stage."

He reckoned the first stage would involve rapidly increasing the age of the Clear Heart Orange Tree to a century, while the second stage—or perhaps a third—would be what he was truly after.

Fine, I'll just deduce it all at once. My mental energy isn't exactly scarce, and it's just a matter of spending some time raising a ten-year-old Clear Heart Orange Tree to a century.

Thinking this to himself, Xu Bai moved his mind and chose to begin the deduction.

The next moment, the image on the Manual changed.

[Note]: Enable the second stage of the cultivation method? (Yes/No).

The second stage? I've never deduced a Clear Heart Orange Tree before, have I?

Xu Bai blinked. Just as this doubt arose in his mind, a piece of information appeared out of thin air within his brain.

It wasn't an instruction manual for the device, but rather an explanation as to why the second stage of the cultivation method was being unlocked directly.

The reason was simple: he already possessed the first stage of the cultivation method for the Clear Heart Orange Tree and had successfully cultivated a century-old specimen.

The first stage of the cultivation method was the refining of Hundred Herb Liquid.

He could only say that it was worthy of being the first potion formula he had obtained through the Manual; its effects were compatible with almost all plant-type Soul Beasts, and it was inexpensive to boot.

This value was practically his own beginner's gift package.

Sighing with emotion, Xu Bai didn't idle and immediately initiated the second stage of the deduction.

Consuming a small amount of mental energy was within an acceptable range for Xu Bai now. When the deduction began, he was surprised to find that he could move about freely; it seemed as though the Manual's deduction process had no impact on him at all.

Of course, that was only seemed.

If he sat still and cleared his mind, he felt nothing unusual other than the sensation of his mental energy being slowly drawn away.

However, once he engaged in other tasks—like reading or studying, which required mental focus—he could clearly feel that he grew tired more easily and struggled to concentrate.

Thus, an hour passed quickly, and the Manual provided the method:

[Second Stage]: Produce Spring Autumn Fertilizer to accelerate the fruiting speed of fruit-bearing Soul Beasts under a millennium in age.

[Required Materials]: Century-old Spring Autumn Cicada slough, century-old Autumn Leaf Begonia, century-old Snow Lotus, high-grade Fire Soul Crystal...

[Production Method]: Use the high-grade Fire Soul Crystal to calcine the various materials over heat to extract their essence, then...

[Usage Method]: Once a year, one portion per use.

It was still potion-making, but the effect of this particular concoction was to accelerate the fruiting speed of fruit trees. It seemed the potential of the Clear Heart Orange Tree was limited; aside from turning it into a heartless fruiting machine, there was nothing left to cultivate.

The cost of the materials for the Spring Autumn Fertilizer was relatively cheap, roughly estimated between two to three hundred Gold Soul Coins.

However, the usage frequency was once a year...

"Once a year..."

Xu Bai clicked his tongue. The Spirit Ascension Liquid was used once every seven days, the Hundred Herb Liquid once a month, and even the Thousand Wood Spirit Powder was only once every three months.

This annual one was truly a first for him.

But since the Clear Heart Orange Tree's job was to bear fruit, he didn't mind if the fertilizer was used once every ten years, provided the results were good.

Century-old fruit-bearing plant-type Soul Beasts fruited slower than ten-year-old ones, roughly once every ten years, though the quantity of fruit was no different from the ten-year-old ones.

I won't hope for an effect as heaven-defying as the Hundred Herb Liquid; just letting a century-old Clear Heart Orange Tree fruit once a year would be enough...

Xu Bai prayed silently in his heart.

Since there was nothing else of importance, he could proceed directly with the process.

Purchase the materials, then refine them.

Obtain the finished product after a few failures, then move to batch production.

Finally, fertilize those few Clear Heart Orange Trees that had reached the century mark. This minor task, which wasn't particularly grand, would then be declared perfectly concluded.

Returning to the main topic.

Just as Xu Bai had expected, Little Blue slept for a full three months before finally waking up.

After the initial sluggishness caused by just waking, the sound of Little Blue's cheering and jumping echoed through the courtyard.

Of course, only Xu Bai, who possessed the talent of Telepathy, and the First, who was also a beast tamer, could hear it.

"I had just gotten used to three months of quiet life, and now things are getting rowdy again."

Xu Bai rose from his bed; though his words were full of complaint, a smile played upon his face.

He walked out the door and went straight to Little Blue.

"How is it? The results are pretty good, right?" he asked with a gentle laugh.

Hearing the familiar voice, Little Blue finally snapped out of its joyful frenzy.

It looked at its Beast Tamer, its vines "dancing" with excitement as it chirped: 'Beast Tamer, my, my age has increased by two hundred years! You are just too amazing.'

Xu Bai nodded with a smile. He had already learned this from the Manual; the age displayed for Little Blue on the Manual had started at one hundred and fifty years, and now it had become three hundred and fifty-five years.

In three months, an increase of a little over two hundred years—while slightly less effective than the Spirit Ascension Liquid, which provided twenty years in seven days, it was still heaven-defying enough.

With the effects of both the Spirit Ascension Liquid and the Thousand Wood Spirit Powder now known, the next phase would be a time for steady development.

And so, time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the start of the new term at the Junior Soul Master Academy was approaching. No accidents had occurred during this period.

By now, the age of the first one had reached eight hundred years, and Little Blue had reached seven hundred and fifty years.

Naturally, with the increase in age, their physical forms had also changed.

For instance, the first one, which originally stood only one meter tall, had now grown to two or three meters. Fortunately, it had been immersed in cultivation throughout this time and rarely stayed awake, so it hadn't spent much time eating.

Though its size had increased significantly, it hadn't developed the misshapen physique Xu Bai had feared. From a distance, one could sense a distinct muscularity, and its tiger eyes were bright and majestic, much like the legendary Mountain Lord.

As for Little Blue, it had now grown to cover almost the entire wall of the small courtyard, and its vines were much tougher than before.

If it were to use the Entangle skill now, trapping a Great Soul Master would be more than enough; in any case, it was impossible for Xu Bai to break free from it anymore.

"It's a pity there wasn't enough time for Little Blue's age to break through to nine hundred years... Oh well, let's just get Tang San's blood first. If all else fails, I'll just store it in a special container once I have it."

Xu Bai shook his head with a soft sigh and recalled Little Blue and the first one into his Beast Taming Space.

He left the city and rode swiftly toward Nuoding City.