After a short rest, Lin Mo changed straight into his brand-new silver-white school uniform.
The uniform fit well. Wearing it made him look considerably sharper and clearly marked him as a student of Heaven Dou Intermediate Soul Master Academy.
He glanced out the window. It was still early, so he decided to head out first. His luggage contained only some simple clothing, and he still needed a set of bedding.
The academy did not provide that; students had to buy their own bedding.
Leaving the academy, Lin Mo once again joined the bustling crowds of Heaven Dou City.
Heaven Dou City was truly enormous, with shops standing in rows, selling everything imaginable.
He asked a passerby for directions and soon found a district specializing in everyday necessities.
After entering a shop that looked reasonably affordable, he selected a set of bedding of moderate thickness.
While paying, his gaze happened to sweep over the assortment of notices posted at the shop entrance.
One slightly yellowed notice caught his attention.
It read, "Ye Family Medical Hall is recruiting several apprentices on an ongoing basis. Applicants must be hardworking and patient. No age limit. Compensation negotiable."
The medical hall's approximate address was included below, placing it in the southeastern part of Heaven Dou City.
An idea stirred in Lin Mo's mind. While the shopkeeper turned away to fetch his change, he deftly reached out, tore down the notice, and quickly stuffed it into his pocket.
With an unchanged expression, he accepted his change and left the shop carrying his newly purchased bedding.
Time flew, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin Mo quickly adapted to life at Heaven Dou Intermediate Soul Master Academy. The classes were indeed as Xiao Lin had described: theory in the morning, independent cultivation in the afternoon.
The theory classes were considerably greater in both depth and breadth than those at Nuoding Academy, particularly the detailed lessons on Soul Beasts and Martial Souls.
Like Nuoding Academy, Heaven Dou Intermediate Academy also had a sizable library.
Once all his enrollment procedures were complete, Lin Mo went to obtain a library card.
Whenever he had no other plans for the afternoon, he would usually immerse himself in the library, consulting all kinds of material.
His life over these two months was quite regular and uneventful. His Soul Power rose steadily, and although its growth was no longer as astonishing as before, it was still considerably faster than that of ordinary Soul Masters.
Charmander's proficiency in the many skills he possessed was also gradually improving, and he seemed to have made some breakthroughs in that regard.
This uneventful life continued until one afternoon two months later. The academy had scheduled no activities that afternoon, making it a rare period of completely free leisure.
Xiao Lin, who lived next door in room 608, reached a stopping point in his cultivation and felt a little hungry, so he decided to knock on Lin Mo's door and invite him to the dining hall.
"Lin Mo, want to go to the dining hall?" Xiao Lin knocked on the door to room 609 and waited a while, but there was no response from inside.
He knocked harder and called, "Lin Mo? Are you there?"
The room remained silent.
Xiao Lin scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. "Strange. He didn't go to the library this afternoon. Where did he run off to?"
Realizing that Lin Mo was not there, Xiao Lin could only head to the dining hall alone today.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo had long since left the academy and was walking toward the southeastern corner of the city.
After venturing out to explore from time to time over the past two months, Lin Mo had become quite familiar with Heaven Dou City.
He had more or less learned where all its streets were.
His destination today was clear. Still holding the now somewhat creased notice he had torn down two months earlier, he headed toward the southeastern part of Heaven Dou City, not too far from Heaven Dou Intermediate Soul Master Academy.
The "Ye Family Medical Hall" mentioned on the notice was in that area.
After considering it for more than two months, Lin Mo finally decided to go and see whether he could successfully become an apprentice at this medical hall.
His main reason for considering an apprenticeship at a medical hall was to research his Second Martial Soul-the heart Body Martial Soul that came with blood.
During this time, he had discovered that his research into his own Body Martial Soul seemed to have reached a bottleneck.
Although he had some vague guesses about the direction of his Martial Soul's future evolution, he had yet to find any way to verify them.
After all, neither Soul Bones nor heavenly treasures were things he could come into contact with and obtain at his current stage.
He could only continue delving into his Self-Created Soul Skill, Blood Burst, which had already begun to take shape, to see whether he could draw connections and find the correct cultivation method.
Yet Blood Burst, too, was currently stuck at its first-stage "Boiling Blood" state, and he found it difficult to develop it further or work out a stronger stage.
His previous success in developing First-Stage Boiling Blood for Blood Burst had mainly been thanks to the formidable Bloodline Power, far beyond that of ordinary people, granted by the awakening of his Body Martial Soul.
There were also the distinctive insights and understanding of the heart and its vessels he had accumulated in his first life, when prolonged illness had made him something of a physician, forcing him to study on his own.
But those superficial studies and insights could, at most, help him barely push Blood Burst to its first stage.
When he tried to delve any deeper, his ability fell short of his ambition. His reserves of relevant knowledge were completely inadequate.
Moreover, Lin Mo knew very well that cultivating his Body Martial Soul was a threshold he could not avoid in the future.
And in this era, if a Soul Master like him wanted a legitimate reason to come into contact with all sorts of human bodies without being regarded as one of those evil fallen ones, then, however much he thought it over, medicine was the only profession available.
Even contact with patients suffering from simple injuries and illnesses would be enough to assist his research into his Body Martial Soul.
By observing and treating different patients, he might gain a more direct understanding of how the human body's Qi and blood changed under different conditions, and use that to work out the correct way to cultivate his Body Martial Soul.
And according to the inquiries he had made over the past two months, Ye Family Medical Hall was precisely the most renowned medical hall in Heaven Dou City.
The Old Mister Ye at the medical hall was said to possess exceptional medical skills.
That was also why Lin Mo had ultimately set his sights on them.
A large medical hall saw more cases and offered more opportunities.
Following the address on the notice, Lin Mo turned a few street corners and found Ye Family Medical Hall without trouble.
As soon as he arrived nearby, Lin Mo could not help marveling inwardly that this medical hall definitely held a highly respected position in Heaven Dou City.
Before him stood a sizable compound with blue-brick walls and gray roof tiles. It looked to have some years behind it, but it was kept exceptionally clean and tidy.
A plaque hung above the tall doorway, bearing the words "Ye Family Medical Hall" in bold, vigorous calligraphy.
Being able to occupy such a large plot for a medical hall in Heaven Dou City, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, was proof enough of Ye Family Medical Hall's resources.
Standing at the entrance, Lin Mo took a deep breath, felt the crumpled notice in his pocket, and strode toward the medical hall's doors.