Soon, half a year had passed.
During that time, Gui Yuan essentially followed the same three-stop routine every day.
In the mornings, he studied all kinds of Martial Soul theory. In the afternoons, he practiced Netherworld Needle and Shadow Step and learned about various Immortal Herbs and spirit herbs from Yue Guan.
At night, he meditated and cultivated.
In between, he took singular velvet heart-guarding petals to improve his indestructible vajra body constitution little by little.
As he repeatedly made singular velvet heart-guarding petals, he also recovered his Soul Power.
This, too, was a form of cultivation.
Or rather, this was the true cultivation method for Food System Soul Masters.
For other Soul Masters, mimicry cultivation grounds might be all sorts of large natural environments.
But for Food System Soul Masters, a kitchen was enough.
The kitchen was the best mimicry cultivation ground for a Food System Soul Master.
Occasionally woven into this routine were everyday activities that deepened his bond with his eldest senior sister.
For instance, when Hu Liena grew tired from cultivating, she would come over to sit with him for a while and chat, occasionally bringing snacks.
Of course, every time, she refused to accept defeat and tried to "tease" him with her charm, only to be mercilessly rebuffed each time.
This left Hu Liena increasingly frustrated.
After half a year, she had completely abandoned teasing him with charm and switched to simply pinching his cheeks.
After all, a six-year-old's cheeks were wonderfully soft and springy.
Gui Yuan protested vehemently, but his protests were ineffective.
He could only issue threats: she had better hope the day never came when his strength surpassed hers, or it would be his turn to pinch Hu Liena's cheeks.
Hu Liena expressed complete indifference. She would enjoy herself first and worry about the rest later.
But once, while Gui Yuan was protesting, he touched somewhere soft on her.
That left Hu Liena terribly embarrassed.
As a result, Hu Liena behaved herself for a while afterward.
One day.
Gui Yuan finished meditating and sensed the changes in the Soul Power within his body.
He paused briefly, then the corners of his mouth lifted.
Level twenty.
From level fourteen to level twenty-six levels of Soul Power in half a year.
Even with his innate full Soul Power, that speed was quite terrifying.
Especially since he primarily cultivated his First Martial Soul.
The Food System had the slowest cultivation speed of all systems.
A Food System Soul Master with innate full Soul Power might only be equivalent to a Battle Soul Master with innate level-nine Soul Power.
Gui Yuan was not quite certain. After all, these were only guesses.
And the reason he could progress so quickly, besides putting in the full amount of meditation every day, was also thanks to the [Level Up!] Hex.
Both level seventeen and level twenty had come from the Level Up! Hex.
In other words, he had actually cultivated only four levels of Soul Power himself over that half year.
He had no shortage of resources, so his cultivation speed was naturally much faster than Tang San's in the original story.
Tang San probably had not even reached level twenty yet.
Considering that he himself was a Food System Soul Master, gaining a level in a little over a month was reasonable.
Gui Yuan rose and walked out of his room. Yue Guan was already waiting at the door.
Seeing Gui Yuan, he smiled. "Awake? Why do you seem to be in such a good mood today?"
Gui Yuan said, "Big Dad, I've reached level twenty."
Yue Guan's smile froze, and he asked again to confirm, "What level?"
"Twenty."
Yue Guan stared blankly for two seconds, then shook his head helplessly. "You brat, you really do cultivate fast."
"Never mind being a Food System Soul Master-even if you were a Battle Soul Master with innate full Soul Power, you wouldn't progress this fast."
Gui Yuan said mildly, "That must be because I'm more diligent."
"And besides normal meditation, I also make food and practice Self-Created Soul Skills. Those help improve my cultivation too."
"You, honestly." Yue Guan patted his head. "Working hard is good, but don't wear yourself out."
"Also, because of you, Nana has had a tough half year too. Has she complained to you?"
Recalling Hu Liena's resentful expression when she had complained to him before, Gui Yuan could not help wanting to laugh.
"She has, but isn't spending a little more time cultivating a good thing? Otherwise, how could we do justice to the Spirit Hall's nurturing?"
"Her innate Soul Power was level nine, after all."
"Teacher said that Soul Masters cultivate fastest before twenty. If they still haven't become Soul Elders after twenty, their cultivation speed drops drastically."
"Even if they have become Soul Elders, their speed still declines slightly, so we definitely need to work hard while we have this time."
Gui Mei's voice came from behind him. "You brat, you always have a mouthful of reasons."
At some point, he had appeared in the corridor too, still in his black robes, still expressionless.
"Anyone who isn't an idiot understands this common knowledge. But understanding is one thing; holding yourself to strict standards is another."
"Cultivation itself is an extremely tedious affair."
"Before twelve, they're still children. Few will settle down and cultivate seriously."
"Yet here you are, not even seven, and already level twenty."
"Even His Holiness the Pope back then couldn't match this cultivation speed."
Now that Gui Yuan had reached level twenty, Yue Guan led him toward the Pope's Palace, saying as they walked, "With your current constitution, absorbing a three- or four-thousand-year Second Soul Ring should be fairly easy."
"We've already listed ten kinds of Soul Beasts that suit you this time. They should be a little easier to find in Sunset Forest."
Besides Gui Yuan deliberately dropping hints to steer them, there were two other reasons they were going to Sunset Forest rather than Star Dou Great Forest this time.
One was that Sunset Forest was smaller than Star Dou Great Forest, making the Soul Beasts he wanted relatively easier to find.
The second reason, also the most important, was that he planned to use this opportunity to search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
According to his memories, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay in Sunset Forest's core region.
And at this point in the timeline, Dugu Bo had already claimed it for his own use.
So they only needed to find the poison barrier to more or less pin down the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well's location.
The Second Soul Skill they would give the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum this time would involve restoring Soul Power, stamina, and healing.
Like Oscar's First Soul Skill, Recovery Big Sausage, it would be an extremely practical Soul Skill.
Because the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum was a Plant-type Martial Soul, it would be best to lean toward Plant-type Soul Beasts when choosing what to hunt.
That was not to say he could not absorb Soul Rings from animal-type Soul Beasts, but there was indeed a difference in priority.
For Gui Yuan, that order of priority was: plant-type > high-age animal-type > animal-type.
And on this trip to Sunset Forest, finding either of the top two ranked Plant-type Soul Beasts would be best.
The first was called Rejuvenation Vine.
It was a vine-type Plant-type Soul Beast, green all over, with fine, dense fuzz growing on its vines.
It had no offensive abilities, but its self-healing ability was astonishing. Even if severed, it could grow back in a short time.
The second was called Healing Spirit Tree.
This Plant-type Soul Beast was a little rarer than Rejuvenation Vine. It resembled a short shrub, with emerald-green leaves and pale golden sap flowing through their veins.
Its defining trait was its extremely vigorous vitality; broken branches could regenerate rapidly.
Absorbing its Soul Ring would also have a high chance of producing a Soul Skill related to healing or restoring Soul Power.
These two kinds of Soul Beasts were both ideal vessels for recovery-type Soul Skills.
P.S. Brothers, we're starting the trial run. Please keep reading and add this to your collections~~