After settling the valuable mail mission, Lin Chuan still had 3 delivery missions left to turn in.
One personal letter and two store packages, with no delivery deadline, were likely fabricated missions by these receptionists.
So, Lin Chuan was in no hurry and planned to deliver them tomorrow.
Yu Fuqing, following another of Lin Chuan's requests, registered his rental information: Beastmaster Association's rented villa apartment A113. According to Yu Fuqing, this villa apartment was in a relatively good location. Lin Chuan, unaware of the specifics, simply nodded slightly and thanked Yu Fuqing.
The rental period was one month.
The rent was 300,000 star rock coins plus 30 Beastmaster Association points.
Thus, Lin Chuan's Beast Master account now had 2.03 million star rock coins and 23 Beastmaster Association points remaining.
The star rock coins need no further explanation.
As for the points, 3 points were just credited from the valuable mail mission reward, in addition to the original 50 points from winning the Hua Ye Ye Cup.
53 minus 30 equals 23 points, which is also correct!
After confirming everything was in order and having no other immediate plans or new missions to accept, Lin Chuan left the service area directly.
He didn't go to the newly rented A113 villa apartment immediately. Although he had been cycling for nearly 6 hours, Lin Chuan felt he was still fine and it wasn't a big problem. As long as he didn't perform operations that heavily consumed mental energy, like adding skill points, he could last until midnight without issue. Lin Chuan also checked the two little ones in the Pet Space through the monitoring system of his watch's Pet Space Device.
At this moment, they had wrapped themselves into watermelon-like balls with their two leaves each, buried in the nutrient soil of their flowerpots. It seemed that today's continuous burst-Growth super-long run had completely exhausted their stamina and mental energy.
Confirming that there were no issues, Lin Chuan did not disturb the two little ones, letting them rest well and planning their cultivation for tomorrow.
Lin Chuan checked the time again; it was 5:13 PM.
It wasn't his usual dinner time, but eating early today was fine.
Lin Chuan had dinner at the Beastmaster Association's internal restaurant. Afterward, he called Old Deng to report his safety and informed him that today's data was unavailable as Guoguo and Sakura needed to rest.
Ignoring Old Deng's grumbling on the other end, Lin Chuan hung up the phone.
Then, Lin Chuan went to the trade and shopping area.
Searching for spirit beast materials with inherited skills is a very time-consuming task. Moreover, the material package Lin Chuan had in his Pet Space still contained many skill materials that Guoguo and Sakura could use.
For example, Grass Flute and Vine Armor Shield.
These skills were precisely what Lin Chuan, following his initial cultivation plan, intended to add points to for the two little ones now that their foundations were mostly solid and they were ready for advanced ability cultivation.
Rooting, Photosynthesis, and Growth, these three basic skills are essential for building a foundation and must be prioritized for skill point allocation.
Otherwise, without Expert Grade Photosynthesis, it would take at least half a month longer to lay the current foundation.
Then, to avoid becoming pure targets in battle, both little ones also had their respective damage skills.
Guoguo's combat experience big slap and the trump card Fruit Bomb, and Sakura's continuous attrition skill Poison Powder.
So now, it was time for defense and control skills.
Once the defense and control skills were leveled up, Lin Chuan's initially envisioned skill combination would be considered a simplified version.
At that time.
Start the match by applying shields, stacking armor to the max.
Then activate the tank mode, maximizing health regeneration.
Finally, scatter Poison Powder and throw a Bomb Fruit.
Just thinking about it, Lin Chuan could already imagine the despair, collapse, and pain on his opponent's cute little face.
Once the skill set is initially constructed, he will then fill in gaps and apply patches, and then let Guoguo and Sakura expand and develop in their respective Specialties directions.
Guoguo would undoubtedly develop in the direction of energy spells.
Sakura's specialty is currently unclear. With so much data given to Old Deng during this period, he should be able to research and analyze something. Lin Chuan will ask him then if he can find Sakura's specialty. For now, it's temporarily set to develop in the physical direction.
As for filling in gaps and patches?
For example, the health and status recovery tank mode has a significant loophole.
Photosynthesis must occur in sunny conditions, Rooting requires suitable soil and cannot be steel plate, and Growth must be based on both, otherwise, the effect will be significantly different.
Although in the Baby Cup, it's basically impossible to encounter such restrictions.
After all, Baby Cup matches are played during the day, and there are no special steel plate venues.
But what about later?
For example, the entrance examination for higher education will be held in a special secret realm, and the conditions might not be the same.
Therefore, once the simplified version of the skill set is initially constructed, it will still be necessary to find other health recovery skill materials to patch the two little ones' tank mode.
Lin Chuan had previously thought of a skill that almost all spirit beasts could learn, 'Sleeping,' which would be very suitable as a patch for the tank mode.
But back to the main topic.
Lin Chuan did not intend to browse various Beast Master shops at this moment, searching everywhere for spirit beast materials with inherited skills.
Just like before, occasionally visiting a few Beast Master shops during leisure time, outside of daily training, would suffice.
At this moment, Lin Chuan's purpose in coming to the trade area was to purchase cultivation materials for Guoguo and Sakura starting tomorrow, which meant advanced cultivation nutrients.
The so-called advanced cultivation refers to further cultivation on top of a solid foundation.
To use a human fitness analogy.
Regular fitness can improve the body and make one healthy.
However, it is very difficult to develop rock-hard muscles and terrifying strength.
Besides being naturally gifted, it also requires specialized protein powder and other potions to potentially develop rock-like muscles.
This analogy isn't entirely accurate, but spirit beast advanced cultivation nutrients are roughly the same idea.
After browsing the trade area for a while, Lin Chuan found a relevant store.
The shop was named 'Xinxin Xiangrong,' a specialty store primarily selling Wood Attribute spirit beast cultivation products, including basic daily cultivation products, various nutrient soils and nutrient waters, and advanced cultivation nutrients.
Basic cultivation products go without saying; Lin Chuan did not intend to buy them here.
He would call Old Deng later and have him purchase them directly from the source through the farm's procurement channels, which would be much cheaper.
What Lin Chuan wanted to buy, of course, were advanced cultivation nutrients, which were not available through farm channels.
The shop 'Xinxin Xiangrong' truly lived up to its name as a specialty store for Wood Attribute spirit beast cultivation products.
The interior environment and layout were completely different from the modern, high-tech setups of other stores.
The arrangement here was like an ancient pharmacy, with the surrounding air filled with a rich, faint, and lingering scent of exotic flowers and herbs. Despite being in the noisy and bustling environment of the Beastmaster Association's trade area, it gave people a sense of natural forest, causing customers who entered to involuntarily relax their nerves.
Upon seeing Lin Chuan enter, a female sales assistant wearing a green silk gauze dress with a somewhat ancient costume style immediately came forward.
"Beast Master sir, how may I help you?"
"Hmm, I need advanced cultivation nutrients."
Lin Chuan replied.
Upon hearing this, the female sales assistant's eyes immediately lit up, and her attitude became even more enthusiastic.
Well, all sales assistants are like this; they get excited when they encounter a big order.
The female sales assistant poured Lin Chuan a cup of water brewed with some unknown plant fragrance. It had no special effects; it just tasted slightly sweet with a long aftertaste.
Immediately, the female sales assistant led Lin Chuan to the second floor.
The second floor was filled with antique wooden cabinets.
Each wooden cabinet was divided into five layers from top to bottom, and each layer had more or less small compartments separated by wooden boards.
In each compartment, there were black ceramic jars sealed with mud and wrapped with vines, varying in size. The large ones were as big as watermelons, while the small black jars were fist-sized.
These black ceramic jars contained the advanced cultivation nutrients.
"May I ask, sir, what type of advanced cultivation nutrients do you require? And, could you perhaps disclose your spirit beast's information?"
"What kind of spirit beast is it, and what stage?"
"Don't worry, I will not disclose your information to anyone else. If any leakage occurs, you can complain to the Beastmaster Association about me."
The female sales assistant asked softly, her attitude serious and earnest.
To operate a shop in the Beastmaster Association's trade area, and an established specialty store at that, confidentiality is the most basic requirement.
Lin Chuan didn't doubt her in the slightest and replied directly.
"Flower Leaf Leaf, first stage."
"A first-stage Flower Leaf Leaf, you are a new Beast Master? Ah, my apologies, I spoke out of turn. Please, follow me this way."
The female sales assistant pondered for a moment, then led Lin Chuan to a wooden cabinet where various small compartments were filled with fist-sized black ceramic jars.
"These are advanced cultivation nutrients suitable for Wood Attribute support-oriented, relatively fragile and soft first-stage spirit beasts."
"This one,"
The female sales assistant picked up one bottle. The label on the black ceramic bottle read 'Primary Flora Resilience Ointment'.
"It is an advanced cultivation nutrient that can make the skin tougher. Simply put, it can enhance basic defensive capabilities, but it has a slight side effect: it will slightly reduce the spirit beast's movement agility. However, for spirit beasts that primarily use static combat tactics, movement agility is not a critical attribute, so it's not a big problem."
It seemed the female sales assistant understood spirit beast battles quite well, speaking very articulately.
Then, she picked up two other bottles.
"This one is an advanced cultivation nutrient biased towards strength, with no side effects. However, it probably isn't suitable for a support spirit beast like Flower Leaf Leaf."
"And this one, this is an advanced cultivation nutrient for Metal Attribute resistance. If your Flower Leaf Leaf wants to be cultivated towards sustained battlefield presence and battlefield healing, then its resistance to its countering attribute needs to be increased. If you use this nutrient, the daily watering amount will need to be appropriately increased according to the situation."
Lin Chuan was utterly stunned.
He knew about advanced cultivation nutrients, but he never expected there to be so many types and so many cultivation directions for them.
And there were side effects?
And conditions like extra watering!?
At this moment, Lin Chuan knew that his cultivation plan would probably need significant revision and expansion.
Advanced cultivation directions require trade-offs, and he also had to consider side effects, as well as additional cultivation expenses—not just financial, but also time, effort, and mental energy—all of which needed to be factored in to maximize the effect of daily training.
Lin Chuan just wanted to curse one word: MMP.
However, in the end, Lin Chuan still swallowed that famous saying of the era.
You have to eat one bite at a time.
You have to walk one step at a time.
Even with advanced cultivation, you have to start with the basics.
"Give me the basic defense, that 'Primary Flora Resilience Ointment,' and also advanced cultivation nutrients for energy adaptability."
Basic defense goes without saying: stack armor, stack it hard!
Movement agility, today's burst-Growth super-long run, was just for breaking limits.
Lin Chuan had no intention of actually cultivating them in that direction, making the two little ones race against other agile spirit beasts.
As for energy adaptability, that's the key!
Energy adaptability affects the casting speed and power of various skills.
For example, Guoguo's Fruit Bomb: if Guoguo's own energy adaptability is raised, the casting speed and power of Fruit Bomb will also increase accordingly. Also, skills involving energy use like Rooting and Photosynthesis will have their effects enhanced.
"Give me two months' worth of both types."
Two months' worth for both Guoguo and Sakura means one month's worth if they both use it.
The female sales assistant was slightly surprised.
She didn't expect Lin Chuan to buy two months' worth at once; this was not the style of an ordinary new Beast Master.
Ordinary new Beast Masters would hesitate and be stingy even when buying a week's worth.
However, the female sales assistant didn't think too much; the more Lin Chuan bought, the more commission she got, and the happier she was.
"Okay, please wait a moment. I'll contact the backend warehouse and retrieve your goods immediately."
"As for the amount, hmm, let me calculate."
"Rounding down the odd bits for you, it's 2 million star rock coins. And, our store offers an 80% discount for new Beast Masters. So, the total is 1.6 million star rock coins."
Lin Chuan: ...
Although he was mentally prepared for a massive hemorrhage,
hearing the number 1.6 million, Lin Chuan still couldn't help but feel suffocated.
Gritting his teeth, his heart ached, and he found it hard to breathe.
Under the female sales assistant's brilliant smile, Lin Chuan opened his Beast Master account QR code and handed it over.
The female sales assistant picked up the scanner gun, ready to scan, but saw Lin Chuan actually step back half a pace!
Knowing Lin Chuan's thoughts, all new Beast Masters were like this. At this moment, she needed to provide a little push.
Smiling brightly, the female sales assistant stepped forward.
"Sir, if you regret it and don't want to buy, please put away your QR code."
Lin Chuan: ...
Taking a deep breath, Lin Chuan closed his eyes and extended the hand wearing the watch, displaying the Beast Master account QR code projected on the virtual screen.
The female sales assistant firmly grasped Lin Chuan's hand, then instantly processed the transaction!
'Beep, consumption amount, 1.6 million'
Such a sound came from the card reader, accompanied by Lin Chuan's internal bleeding.
At this moment, Lin Chuan frantically told himself in his heart.
No pain, no gain.
How can you become stronger without spending money?
Without spending money, you'll be crushed by other big spenders!
Without spending money, where would the admission letter from the Eight Great Academies come from?
There was no other way.
So, he could only spend! Must spend! Spend heavily!
...
Half an hour later.
Leaving 'Xinxin Xiangrong,' Lin Chuan looked at the virtual screen projected by his watch's Pet Space Device, displaying his Beast Master account balance: 350,000 star rock coins. He fell silent, his internal wound still throbbing.
Huh?
Shouldn't it be 430,000?
That's right, if he had only bought advanced cultivation nutrients, he should have 430,000 left.
The key was that Lin Chuan also impulsively bought some supplements for himself to restore stamina and mental energy.
Unfortunately, human physique is limited; at least Lin Chuan's current Level 5 body strength still couldn't compare to spirit beasts.
The amount of supplements he could take daily was limited, otherwise it would harm his body. If he reached the first stage, Lin Chuan would buy even more.
At that time, adding points 10 times a day, raising all skills to Expert Grade or even Master Grade, that would truly be explosive. Well, even if Lin Chuan could add points 10 times, he wouldn't have that many suitable materials.
Now with 350,000 left, he still needed Old Deng to help him order daily rations, which were nutrient soil and nutrient water.
Now that the foundation-laying period was over, he could appropriately reduce them and partially replace them with advanced nutrients, but it would still cost at least 100,000.
Well, indeed, cultivating battle pets is a bottomless pit for money.
The little money he had just gotten, which hadn't even been warm for a day, was almost burned through in such a short time.
Guoguo, Sakura.
Look how good your Beast Master is to you, so willing to spend money on you and even give you cheats.
So, you must strive for it!
You must get the admission letter from the Eight Great Academies for your master, me!
Like a gossiping aunt, Lin Chuan mumbled and whispered to his watch's Pet Space Device.
Of course, it was just mumbling and whispering, just talk.
Lin Chuan would never impose this kind of moral blackmail pressure on Guoguo and Sakura, saying 'I've sacrificed so much for you, so you must repay me in this way.'
Lin Chuan would only feel heartache for the two little ones.
He would only give the two little ones red envelopes and Little Red flowers, then pour more motivational chicken soup into them, encouraging them to burst forth.