Time flew by, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, Lin Yue and Tang San's studies at Nuoding Academy finally settled into a proper routine. Aside from learning about Soul Masters, Soul Beasts, and the like each day, they cultivated on their own and looked for part-time work outside the academy to save up Soul Coins.
After learning of their difficult circumstances, the academy's dean of instruction had once offered to help them obtain their Spirit Rings. However, citing inadequate preparation, Lin Yue postponed the Soul Hunting trip slightly.
Although Xiao San was puzzled by Lin Yue's actions, she trusted Brother Lin and did not stop him. Instead, she spent this time immersed in the library, desperately absorbing knowledge about the world of Soul Masters like a sponge.
However, half a month had now passed, and their preparations were more or less complete.
"Finally, I found materials from two ten-year plant-type Soul Beasts. Today, I'll complete the brewing of this Beginner Resistance Potion and break through to a Level 2 Alchemist!"
Rolling up his sleeves, Lin Yue glanced around the empty clinic. After making sure no one would discover or disturb him, he closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and kneaded two pearls and two ten-year sunflower blossoms into one.
A flash of white light passed by, and a milky-white potion appeared in Lin Yue's hands in the blink of an eye.
[Ding. Beginner Resistance Potion successfully brewed. Congratulations, Host, for brewing all Level 1 potions. Experience requirement met--] [Alchemist level increased. Current level: LV2]
The instant his level broke through, a vast amount of common knowledge about potions flooded into Lin Yue's mind, making his head ache...
After a long while, once Lin Yue had fully absorbed the Alchemist knowledge in his mind, he had no time to check the new medicines he could brew at Lv. 2 before a grateful voice rang out beside him--
"Doctor Little Lin, the medicine you gave me before worked amazingly well. My aunt injured her knee some time ago and has been bedridden ever since. Could I buy a bottle to bring to her?"
Lin Yue looked up at the middle-aged man standing before the counter, who was gazing at him with a face full of gratitude. He scratched his head and smiled.
He remembered this patient. The man had apparently carelessly chopped off one of his fingers while cooking. Only after drinking Lin Yue's Healing Potion had the severed finger reattached itself to his hand and grown back.
However, Lin Yue shook his head at his request.
"Sorry, my potions can only be mixed and drunk on the spot. Once they've been away from the counter for too long, their effects disappear. So if you want medicine for a relative, it would be better to ask them to come here personally."
In truth, the issue was not that the potion would lose its effectiveness.
Even if Lin Yue's potions were left sitting for a year, their medicinal properties would not change.
His real goal was to keep even a single drop of medicine from leaving the clinic. Every potion had to be drunk on the spot.
Otherwise, if those Soul Masters discovered how terrifyingly effective the medicine was, his life would be in danger.
Mixing it fresh and drinking it immediately, using it only on ordinary people, and claiming it had no healing effect on Soul Masters—this was his way of surviving.
Even if his reputation rose, it would spread only among ordinary people. In the eyes of Soul Masters, the miraculous medicines those mud-legged commoners talked about were nothing but exaggerated rumors. Who would care?
"Alright, no problem. I'll write to my aunt right away and have her come here to collect the medicine."
After saying goodbye, the middle-aged man left happily. Lin Yue nodded with a smile, then turned to look at the savings he had accumulated over the past few days.
Every day, several people came seeking medicine, giving him commissions to accept almost daily and earning him hundreds of points each day.
Still, with only a few bottles of potion each day, saving money was indeed rather slow.
Tossing the Gold Soul Coin in his hand, Lin Yue wore a troubled expression.
Over the past half month, selling three or four bottles of medicine a day had earned him a total of five hundred Silver Soul Coins, or fifty Gold Soul Coins.
He had originally wanted to use these savings to buy some Whale Rubber before obtaining their Spirit Rings and help Xiao San temper her body. But he had underestimated the price of Whale Rubber. This amount of money was only enough to buy some defective century-old scraps.
However, they now had no choice but to prepare to hunt Spirit Rings.
It was already nearing the end of the month. In two and a half months, Third Sister would have to fight Xiao San from the original Douluo world. After gaining their Soul Skills, they would need time to get used to them. Time waited for no one...
Rubbing his brow, Lin Yue made up his mind. After closing up for the day, he would see whether he could find two inferior pieces of low-grade Whale Rubber and refine them. He wanted to test whether this alchemical technique could maximize Whale Rubber's effects and help both himself and Xiao San break through the five-hundred-year limit for their First Spirit Rings.
No matter what, they had to enter the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow to obtain their First Spirit Rings. There could be no further delay!
However, a piercing scream interrupted Lin Yue's thoughts.
"Someone, come quickly! Is there a doctor? Hurry up! Come help!!"
The person who rushed into the clinic was a richly dressed woman. Her features were delicate, but her heavy makeup gave her an air of falseness and unreality.
At this moment, she had completely lost her composure and shouted into the hall in panic.
Old Song frowned slightly and shuffled outside, asking, "What happened?"
"Hurry up! You lowly commoners! My husband was bitten by a snake while escorting a merchant caravan. Treat him and detoxify him at once! If anything happens to my husband, can you bear the consequences?"
The woman let out a shrill roar, screaming herself hoarse. The sight made everyone frown.
At this moment, several guards helped a potbellied wealthy merchant into the clinic. His face was deathly pale, and he seemed to have lost even the strength to raise his arms.
"Calm down first. What poison was it? Have you sought out a healing-type Soul Master?"
Seeing that the pair were clearly either wealthy or noble, Old Song frowned and stepped before the injured man to take his pulse.
Generally speaking, none of his patients were such rich merchants. Those truly wealthy people usually had their own means of treatment. Whether it was healing-type Soul Masters or doctors with more refined medical skills, they would never need to come to an ordinary physician like him.
Seeing Old Song move at such an unhurried pace, the woman immediately grew anxious and began barking orders. "Don't worry about that. The healing doctors in the city have gone off somewhere to hunt Spirit Rings, and not a single one can be found. I order you to cure my husband immediately. Hurry!"
"Cough, cough... Xiaoting, shut up."
The merchant, whose complexion had turned bluish-purple, struggled to sit up. His fat face and lips were dark purple, and he looked deeply poisoned, yet he still forced himself to speak.
However, his words came in broken fragments, clearly with great difficulty, and his condition seemed to be worsening by the moment...
"Old sir... as long as you can cure me... I am willing to pay one thousand Gold Soul Coins. Please... do not take my wife's foolish words to heart."
"Don't worry. I'll do everything I can."
Hearing the wealthy merchant's words, both Old Song and Lin Yue's expressions improved considerably.
Although the woman was a useless madwoman, the merchant was clearly a shrewd man who knew how to speak properly.
Seeing that he was having difficulty breathing and was in poor condition, Old Song gave up on questioning him further.
The old man examined the wound on the man's thigh. Seeing that it had already been cut open to drain poisoned blood, while the fang marks could no longer be clearly identified, he could only bandage it again. He then turned to the guards who had brought the merchant over and asked.
"Do you remember what that snake looked like? When was he bitten?"
"Th-this..."
The guards exchanged glances, their faces all ugly and uneasy.
Seeing this, Old Song's expression darkened.
From the looks of it, that snake had quite the background.
"Don't tell me he was bitten by a Soul Beast?"
Lin Yue came to Old Song's side, grinding medicine as he spoke quietly.
The boy's words were like a sharp blade, completely tearing away the last veil of pretense.
"Yes, that's right. It looked like a Centurial Mandala Snake. We tried our best to stop it, but there was nothing we could do. It slipped into Master's carriage and bit him directly on the leg."
One guard wore a bitter expression as he lowered his head and admitted it through gritted teeth.
"We couldn't find any healing-type Soul Masters in the city, so we could only come here. Please do everything in your power."
"This..."
Upon hearing the guard's explanation, Old Song immediately felt his head swell.
Ordinary venomous snakes were already an extremely troublesome matter for a regular physician like him. If treatment came even slightly too late, they could cost someone their life.
Much less a century-level Soul Beast. Its venom was far more vicious than that of ordinary snakes. Even ordinary healing-type Soul Masters found it difficult to handle; for him, it was practically an impossible task.
Although he dearly wanted those one thousand Gold Soul Coins, the old man clasped his hands and spoke frankly out of responsibility toward the patient.
"My abilities are limited, and I fear I may delay the patient's treatment and endanger his life. You should seek a more capable doctor as soon as possible and contact a healing-type Soul Master."
"Old man, can't you understand human speech? We can't find any damned healing-type Soul Masters at all! They've gone off hunting Spirit Rings with who knows what beasts. There's no one left in the entire city! No one!"
"Didn't those mud-legged commoners say the doctor here could cure any illness? My husband isn't even a Soul Master! Why can't you treat him?!"
The frantic woman jumped and screamed, practically throwing a tantrum on the ground. Everyone looked at her with disgust.
"Sir, is there really no way?"
They had already searched every clinic in Nuoding City. The lead guard's expression was extremely ugly, but he still regarded Old Song as their only hope.
"My abilities are limited. There truly is nothing I can do."
Old Song shook his head sorrowfully. If there had been a way, he naturally would have treated the man with all his strength.
But judging from the wound, someone had clearly already tried bloodletting. That was all he could do as well, and it obviously would not change anything.
"Um... how about I give it a try?"
The moment the youth spoke, everyone present was stunned.
One thousand Gold Soul Coins—Lin Yue really wanted them.
With that money, buying a piece of Thousand-Year Whale Rubber would be no problem. If he got lucky and found a bargain, even Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber might be within reach!
It was just that his first freshly brewed Resistance Potion would be used up before it had even had time to cool...