Cultivation technique and the journey to school

"But the most important thing right now is to cultivate to level ten."

"I just analyzed our situation. We need a powerful snake-type soul beast as your soul ring to stabilize your form, Azure Chi."

Perhaps because Azure Chi was now in martial soul form, its body and bloodline were nowhere near as strong as when Duan Qingya had contracted it in his previous life.

As a result, even if Duan Qingya had all the evolution materials ready now, Azure Chi's body would not be strong enough to withstand absorbing them all.

Just as Duan Qingya was about to say something else to Azure Chi, Grandpa Niu, who had only just returned, began calling his name from the courtyard again.

"Qingya, come out here! You need to sign the work-study application list. Once you've signed it, you can go study at a school full of soul masters!"

Duan Qingya had barely stepped out of his bedroom when he saw Grandpa Niu approaching the living room, panting and clutching a sheet of paper.

"Grandpa Niu, have some water first. There's no need to rush over something like this. At your age, it would be hard to recover if you fell!"

Seeing Grandpa Niu drenched in sweat, Duan Qingya hurried into the kitchen, poured a bowl of water, and handed it to him.

Grandpa Niu immediately bristled at Duan Qingya calling him old. He set aside the water he had accepted, puffed out his beard, and glared at Duan Qingya.

"Hmph! Your grandpa is still fit as a fiddle!"

"Back when I was young, once Azure Ox possessed me, I could plow more than half the village's fields all by myself!"

"If those boys from Niu Da's family hadn't insisted I retire and become village chief, I'd still be out there working!"

Had anyone else said that, Duan Qingya might have thought he was boasting, but Grandpa Niu really could do it.

He still remembered how Uncle Niu's three sons had barely managed to hold Grandpa Niu back when he wanted to go plow the fields.

Once Duan Qingya had signed his name, Grandpa Niu, who had just taken offense at being called old, looked worried again and spoke with heartfelt earnestness.

"Qingya, study hard when you get to school!"

"I hear Niu Er's boy, Niu Erdan, is already a One-Ring Soul Master. If you run into something you can't handle, don't be shy. Go ask him for help. Two people are always stronger than one."

Duan Qingya had always been well-behaved and sensible, rarely troubling him, but he worried the boy would remain that way out in the world. Sometimes, being too considerate could bring trouble upon oneself.

"Mm, I understand."

After night fell, Duan Qingya sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed, while Azure Chi lay in front of him with its head raised.

Duan Qingya already knew this cultivation technique so thoroughly that he could recite it backward.

In the span of a single breath, Duan Qingya sensed Azure Chi's bloodline aura within the Beast Taming Space, then established Bloodline Resonance between beast tamer and tamed beast.

The principle behind the cultivation technique was simple. Through the connection provided by the Beast Taming Space, a beast tamer could sense their tamed beast's bloodline aura.

Once they sensed it, they could establish Bloodline Resonance, allowing their Tamed Beast to help them cultivate every time they practiced. The Tamed Beast's cultivation speed depended on its bloodline.

That was precisely why the stronger the bloodline of a Beast Tamer's contracted Tamed Beast, the faster the Beast Tamer could cultivate.

Sensing that Duan Qingya had established Bloodline Resonance, Azure Chi, which had been holding its head up and flicking its tongue, settled back onto the bed and began adjusting its breathing rhythm to cultivate alongside him.

With each breath in and out, the soul power Duan Qingya and Azure Chi cultivated gathered within the Beast Taming Space before slowly flowing into Duan Qingya's dantian.

Early in the morning three days later, Grandpa Niu woke Duan Qingya, and they boarded Niu Er's ox cart to set off for Nuoding City.

"Uncle Niu, I hear your boy has level-six innate soul power! He's got much better prospects than my second boy. When my second boy was tested, his innate soul power was only level four."

Niu Er sat at the front of the cart, driving the ox with his whip while chatting loudly with Grandpa Niu behind him.

"Your second boy has good prospects too. He's already a One-Ring Soul Master!"

"Soul masters are something else! I hear students like Erdan get a job straightaway if they go to Spirit Hall, earning several Gold Soul Coins every month!"

“But are you really not sending Erdan to an Intermediate Soul Master Academy? I've heard you can learn real skills there and even find work in a big city.”

When Niu Er brought up Niu Erdan, Grandpa Niu, who had been hoping to learn more about soul master academies, immediately perked up and rattled off a string of remarks.

Faced with Grandpa Niu's questions, Niu Er could only sigh. Looking down the misty road, he answered helplessly.

"Uncle Niu, to tell you the truth, these past few years of Erdan studying at the Soul Master Academy have used up almost all our family's savings."

"I've heard the teachers say that only Junior Soul Master Academies offer work-study places. At an Intermediate Soul Master Academy, we'd have to pay the tuition, lodging, and everything else ourselves. They say it costs dozens, even a hundred Gold Soul Coins a year."

"But you know how it is, Uncle Niu. We have eight mouths to feed. We really can't give Erdan any more money."

Grandpa Niu was momentarily speechless. He had thought Niu Er's family would become better off once Niu Erdan became a soul master, never imagining that it would leave them poorer instead.

At that thought, Grandpa Niu could not help touching the few Gold Soul Coins tucked against his chest. He had spent more than ten years saving them.

Before they left, he had naively believed that, even if his money could not put Qingya through an Advanced Soul Master Academy, it would at least see him through an Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

Duan Qingya, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly felt someone looking at him. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Grandpa Niu turn his head away.

Putting that together with their conversation, Duan Qingya immediately understood what Grandpa Niu was thinking. He sat up straight and spoke earnestly.

"It's all right, Grandpa Niu. Don't you remember Doctor Wang saying a year ago that I had a talent for medicine? There are so many pharmacies in the city. I can earn money as an apprentice."

Hearing Duan Qingya say that, Niu Er chimed in from the front of the cart.

“That's right, Uncle Niu! Doctor Wang said himself that if Qingya weren't so young, he'd want to take him on as an apprentice!”

“Once Qingya learns his trade, we'll be counting on him to treat our illnesses.”

Their words eased some of Grandpa Niu's worries, and he answered Niu Er's teasing with a smile.

"Oh, Qingya's still so young. Who knows whether anyone will take him on as an apprentice?"

Watching Grandpa Niu resume chatting with Niu Er, Duan Qingya inwardly sighed in relief.

I finally put Grandpa Niu's mind at ease. Grandpa Niu never owed me anything. How could I keep making him give more?

In truth, Duan Qingya was not certain whether any pharmacy in Nuoding City would accept him as an apprentice.

After all, the medicine-making methods from his previous life might not suit the Douluo Continent, and unlike Tang San, he did not have a divine craftsman for a father to teach him.

If I weren't trying to find a chance to learn about all the medicinal herbs, ores, and other materials on the Douluo Continent, I'd have no reason to become an apprentice at a pharmacy.

Not wanting to listen to Grandpa Niu and Niu Er chat, Duan Qingya lay down in the ox cart and gazed at the gradually bluing sky, thinking silently to himself.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs. The power soul rings provide alone definitely won't give Azure Chi a chance to transform into a dragon. Otherwise, Martial Soul Evolution wouldn't be so rare.

I have to make an Evolution Potion that can help Azure Chi transform, just as I did in my previous life. Only then can Azure Chi become a dragon again, and I can once more strive for the realm of Divine Beast Tamer!

With that thought, Duan Qingya tucked his hands beneath his head and closed his eyes again.

Hopefully, the pharmacies in Nuoding City won't have overly strict requirements for medicine-making apprentices.

Otherwise, I'll have to find a way to sneak into the Soul Hunting Forest or some other forest later and gather medicinal herbs and ores to analyze.