Spiritual World, Purple Spirit Eye Art

During the half-hour lesson, Lin Yuan had committed the circulation path Zhao Liang taught for [Light Nourishment Art] to memory.

It was considerably more complicated than the [Night Nether Art] he had studied in his first year.

But compared with [Bonded Enlightenment Art], it was much simpler.

Even so, he listened closely as Zhao Liang explained the details he needed to watch out for.

After all, [Bonded Enlightenment Art] had been suddenly imprinted in his blood. Even without understanding how it worked, he could perform it smoothly from start to finish.

Something he had learned himself might not come so naturally.

The moment Zhao Liang finished speaking, Lin Yuan looked at the sky outside the window.

Then, following his own understanding, he began to circulate the art.

Soon, he felt his eyes catch a beam of light. The beam seemed to come alive, veering off its original course toward Lin Yuan.

Feeling that everything was going smoothly, he moved on to the second step.

The beam grew brighter, yet it did not dazzle. It flowed into Lin Yuan's eyes like water, and he closed them.

The light appeared within his Spiritual World, glowing faintly as it drifted through the darkness.

Naturally, he began the third step Zhao Liang had described.

The beam gradually stopped drifting, grew steady, and settled into his Spiritual World.

Had he done it?

Lin Yuan opened his eyes and scratched his head.

It seemed the second and third steps were just as easy as the first?

Perhaps learning Nourishment Arts was simply this easy after awakening a talent.

Still, this was his first taste of the joy of building a Spiritual World—and a Spiritual World was more than a place to hold a Pet Beast Space.

As a Beast Tamer's mental power grew and he learned more Nourishment Arts, his Spiritual World would become like a newly fashioned world. Light would appear, along with a sky and water, and trees would grow...

In the later stages, the Spiritual World would be shaped into a place increasingly suited to a contracted pet beast's survival.

But that was still a long way off for One-Star and Two-Star Beast Tamers. For now, a Spiritual World merely made it convenient to summon and recall contracted beasts.

If anyone asked Baishi whether he liked staying in the [Pet Beast Space], he would certainly shake his head.

Caught up in the wondrous feeling of building "my world," Lin Yuan captured several more beams of light.

Then he began to feel a little tired.

"My mental power is still too low..." He shook his head.

While Lin Yuan treated the Nourishment Art he had just learned like a game, Zhao Liang stood at the front of the classroom, watching him almost without looking away.

When Zhao Liang had said the first step was simple, he had been speaking from his own experience and perspective.

For a beginner, taking that first step would take two or three days—even for the best student he had taught before.

But Lin Yuan...

Not only had he completed the first step, he had completed the second and third as well, then gone through several more cycles in a short time.

The reason Zhao Liang had given Lin Yuan 97 points on the [Beast Tamer Competency] assessment was that he had sensed no sign that Lin Yuan had studied or mastered any Nourishment Art besides [Night Nether Art] ahead of time.

The number of Nourishment Arts a student learned and how well they mastered them were also major criteria in the College Entrance Exam.

If Zhao Liang had known Lin Yuan was this talented at learning Nourishment Arts too...

He might have given him 100 points without hesitation.

He looked around at the other students again...

Forget it. He would stop looking.

"Class, your task today is to complete the first step of this art. I'll have three teaching assistants come over shortly to monitor your progress as you practice," Zhao Liang said.

"Lin Yuan, come outside with me for a moment."

Lin Yuan nodded, then followed Zhao Liang out of the classroom under the other students' gazes.

Two or three students were a little baffled. They knew [Light Nourishment Art] was a focus for second-year students, and their parents had already arranged private teachers for them in the week since they awakened their talents.

One of them had thought he might complete the first step in class today and amaze the teacher.

But now the teacher had left.

Still, if he could not amaze the teacher, amazing a teaching assistant would do...

Zhao Liang brought Lin Yuan to his private office.

"Not bad. You learned quickly," Zhao Liang said.

"That's because you taught it well, sir." Lin Yuan nodded.

Zhao Liang's face remained expressionless, but he was delighted inside. This student certainly knew how to flatter someone.

"The day before yesterday, I promised to teach you an additional Nourishment Art or Beast-Taming Art that interested you. I'd planned to wait until you mastered [Light Nourishment Art]."

"I didn't expect you to learn it so much faster than I thought."

"So let's strike while the iron is hot and teach you another art."

Zhao Liang was so eager to teach Lin Yuan a second art because he wanted to determine one thing: was Lin Yuan's speed at learning arts a fluke, or could he learn them all this quickly?

Some people were born perfectly suited to a particular art and learned it astonishingly fast. There had been cases like that before.

But if it was the latter... that was another story altogether.

Lin Yuan's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He had only been thinking last night about what he wanted to learn.

And today, an opportunity had appeared.

"Sir, I've thought about it over the past couple of days. I'd like to learn a Beast-Taming Art that can help pet beasts adjust the circulation of energy in their bodies—not just my own contracted beasts, but other ordinary pet beasts too."

"Oh?" Zhao Liang looked at him with interest. "Something like [Unblocking Art] or [Guidance Art], the kind healers need to master?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

What he really wanted was a Beast-Taming Art that would complement his [Eye of All Spirits] talent.

Now, he could use the [Status] field to see whether certain pet beasts were ill and where the illness was located.

He might be able to speed up a great many things—helping Baishi digest the energy in his body sooner, for example, or helping Linghuan recover earlier and reach peak condition.

"I have [Unblocking Art] and [Guidance Art]. Would you like to learn something more powerful?" Zhao Liang said. "[Purple Spirit Eye Art]."

"It's the art I used at the end of yesterday's exam."

"It lets you see and guide the flow of energy inside pet beasts. You can see it in humans, too."

"That would let you quickly build an understanding of how energy works in different creatures. Once you've mastered it, you could put it to even more uses."

"It's over a hundred times harder than [Light Nourishment Art], though, and you'll need quite a few products to help you learn it."

"But if you do learn it, it will be a great help. You could even see the circulation of energy in your own body and correct mistakes you make when using different Nourishment Arts and Beast-Taming Arts."

"Interested?"

Of course Lin Yuan wanted to learn it. It sounded far too tempting.

He had noticed purple light flickering in Zhao Liang's eyes before Zhao Liang quickly graded everyone yesterday. So this was the Beast-Taming Art he had used.

Before answering, though, Lin Yuan asked a question. "Can I really learn such a valuable Beast-Taming Art just like that? Do I need to buy a license?"

"Haha, you're mindful of copyright." Zhao Liang smiled. "If I'm teaching it to you, you can learn it without worry."

"Besides, you probably won't manage it. Without the mental power of a Two-Star Beast Tamer, even getting started will be difficult."

"But if you do learn it, you'll have to promise me one thing," Zhao Liang said.

"Please tell me, sir."

"You'll have to join me at the next Chenlong Kingdom High School Spellcraft Competition."

"You'll need to learn quite a few Nourishment Arts and Beast-Taming Arts over the next six months. It may disrupt your usual study schedule."

"There are benefits, too. It's a specialized competition, and if you win a medal, it will count in your favor when applying to the top ten universities."

"I know Teacher Chen is also thinking of taking you to the General Studies Research Competition. You may have a hard time of it."

Lin Yuan was tempted.

Spellcraft was currently his weakest subject.

If he could learn various arts for free, then combined with his talent, many things he planned to do would become much easier—whether raising pet beasts, conducting research, or training them.

As for managing his time?

In his previous life, he had earned the title "master of time management."

"Sir, I'm willing to try." Lin Yuan's gaze was resolute.

"Good. Then I'll give you another one-on-one lesson today."

Zhao Liang waved his hand, and the key points of [Purple Spirit Eye Art] were immediately projected onto the office's white wall.

Three hours later.

Lin Yuan's eyes were bright.

This art really was far more complicated than [Light Nourishment Art].

The guidance process alone had six steps, with many transitions between each one.

On top of that, training required the glow of dawn or the last rays of dusk to capture the purple qi within them.

He would also need to regularly buy specific graded products, both for external application and for consumption. They were essential to learning and improving the art.

But...

It still didn't seem as complicated as [Bonded Enlightenment Art]?

"Understand it?" Zhao Liang asked.

"Mm." Lin Yuan glanced at the flowchart once more and nodded.

"Then give it a try. It's dusk now, just in time. See if you can manage the first step..."

Lin Yuan looked out the window.