Sakura's talent lies in the Illusion Attribute.
Well then, the previously tentative physical cultivation plan for the body needs to be modified, or rather, directly discarded, and a new mental cultivation plan should be drafted.
Fortunately, whether it's Guoguo's energy spell direction or Sakura's later mental illusion direction, their initial cultivation plans are common.
Defense and energy adaptability, these two advanced cultivation directions are always correct, no matter what.
It's already 8:10 AM.
According to the cultivation schedule set yesterday, at this time, advanced cultivation should begin.
However, plans always change, and Lin Chuan temporarily decided to postpone the advanced cultivation by a little bit, planning to start in another hour.
And during this time, Lin Chuan intends to further test the hallucinogenic effect of Sakura's floral scent, to see what extent it can reach.
Just now, if Guoguo hadn't pulled his pant leg hard to wake him up, he, a human, a Level 5 Beast Master, probably wouldn't have woken up from the floral illusion so easily.
First, Lin Chuan still tested it himself.
He was completely unprepared just now, but this time, Lin Chuan mentally prepared himself to resist the illusion, constantly reminding himself not to be affected, not to be immersed in it. Then, Lin Chuan had Sakura use Healing Aroma on him.
Sakura obediently followed, releasing Healing Aroma once again.
Lin Chuan took a deep breath like before and immediately felt comfortable all over; the healing effect took place!
The same light, warm, and soft feeling from just now swept over him again, but this time, Lin Chuan was alert. He immediately raised his spirits and resisted subjectively, so he didn't immediately sink into it. Healing Aroma is a continuous skill, and since Sakura didn't receive Lin Chuan's command to stop, she continued to release it.
Time quietly passed: 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds.
It wasn't until 45 seconds that Lin Chuan felt he couldn't hold on. That strong sense of mental haziness and fatigue once again brought him into the soft, mushy world.
Guoguo, who had already been instructed by Lin Chuan, let out a cry to Sakura when she saw Lin Chuan gradually close his eyes, and Sakura immediately stopped Healing Aroma.
Another 10 seconds passed before Lin Chuan slowly opened his eyes, his consciousness gradually returning.
Not rushing to make a judgment, Lin Chuan then made Guoguo the experimenter, having Sakura use Healing Aroma on Guoguo.
The first time, Lin Chuan had Guoguo completely relax without any resistance. The hallucinogenic immersion occurred after three minutes. With Lin Chuan's soft call, Guoguo instantly woke up.
The second time, Lin Chuan had Guoguo remain vigilant, focusing her energy and spirit to resist. Sakura continuously released Healing Aroma until all her internal energy was depleted. Half an hour passed, and Guoguo did not fall into a hallucinogenic immersion state at all.
The test was not sufficient, but given Lin Chuan's current conditions, this was all he could do.
At this point, a conclusion can be drawn.
Sakura's floral hallucinogenic ability, well, it's better than nothing.
It might be very effective for humans with low Beast Master levels, but for spirit beasts, hmm, it's not very useful.
At this current stage, at least in the Baby Cup 1v1 competition, it has little tactical value. Even if the opponent's spirit beast falls into a hallucinogenic immersion state, the opponent's Beast Master can wake the spirit beast with a shout.
Hmm?
Perhaps some might think that hallucinogenic immersion would at least expose a one or two-second window of vulnerability for the opponent's spirit beast, right?
You could seize that opening for a smooth combo.
The idea is good, but it's not realistic, not realistic for Lin Chuan.
If it were Sun Yinyin's Golden Silk Werewolf or Ping Kai's Fiery-Crested Gray Monkey, it might be possible, because their speed is fast enough and their explosive power is not weak.
But Guoguo and Sakura can't.
They don't have the speed and reaction time to suddenly burst into extreme speed and rush to the opponent's side in one or two seconds. They are completely incapable of quick-attack tactics.
As for Guoguo's Bomb Fruit, that also requires charging time for gathering and compressing energy.
However, for now, Sakura's Healing Aroma is only entry-level.
Lin Chuan speculates that perhaps by increasing its proficiency, the hallucinogenic effect could become stronger.
But today, it's definitely not possible; no more tests can be conducted.
Lin Chuan's mental energy consumption is already at the warning line from inheriting new skills for Sakura. If he were to add more points, he probably wouldn't recover to full status tomorrow, and it would even affect subsequent cultivation today.
Hmm, wait until tomorrow when my mental state is fully recovered, then inherit the remaining petal of Healing Aroma, and then test it.
The talent test for Sakura is complete. The adjustment of the mental illusion-oriented cultivation plan will be discussed tonight.
The advanced cultivation, which has been delayed by an hour, should also begin now.
Lin Chuan took out the two cans of Primary Flora Resilience Ointment he had prepared earlier and opened the sealed lids of the black porcelain jars.
Immediately, a pungent, mint-like smell assailed him.
Mint smells are usually refreshing and pleasant, but if too strong, they can be quite irritating.
At this moment, Lin Chuan was stimulated to the point of a runny nose, and tears involuntarily streamed down his face.
Seeing Lin Chuan's condition, the two little ones immediately became anxious, thinking something unexpected had happened, and fumbled around.
Without speaking, for fear of the scent entering his mouth, Lin Chuan merely shook his head and raised a hand to stop them, telling them to stand still obediently in front of him.
Putting on gloves, Lin Chuan held his breath forcefully and little by little, applied the pale green paste from the can onto Guoguo and Sakura, evenly and carefully, smearing it on every inch of their skin.
Five minutes later, Lin Chuan completed the operation, during which he took two breaths and almost suffocated himself.
At this moment, Lin Chuan felt it was very necessary for him to prepare a gas mask later, otherwise, it would be too much suffering.
Speaking of which, is this defense enhancement necessary?
Guoguo and Sakura will both follow the magical path in the future, just one with energy spells and the other with mental illusions.
So, isn't enhancing physical defense capabilities just doing something pointless? Isn't it a waste?
This is not the case.
Whether it is energy or spirit, both rely on the physical body.
There's a saying that only a strong physical body can nurture a strong spirit and unwavering will.
In spirit beast science, a more rigorous statement would be that energy is not generated or outputted out of thin air.
Energy is formed when spirit beasts absorb nutrients, water, and natural energy from the world, which is then further converted into energies of various attributes within their bodies and compressed within their spirit cores.
Then, when a certain skill needs to be used, it is released from the spirit core, through the meridians, and outputted externally, ultimately becoming various skills.
Since there is output, there must naturally be an output end.
For example, many fire-attribute spirit beasts breathe fire, so their energy output end is the mouth, or rather, the throat.
For certain fist-based or wing-based attack skills, such as Flame Fist and Water Wing, their energy output ends are the fist and wing, respectively.
This makes it much easier to understand.
Strengthening the energy output end will naturally enhance the skill's power.
Taking Flame Fist as an example, consider Sun Yinyin's Golden Silk Werewolf.
With the same level and quality of energy, which Flame Fist would be more powerful: one unleashed by a fist nourished by various nutrients, enhancing its fire attribute energy adaptability, or one unleashed by an unmaintained fist?
Naturally, it's the former!
The latter might even be unable to withstand the backlash damage from the fire attribute energy.
Sun Yinyin's Golden Silk Werewolf initially appeared weak and was ostracized by its former companions at the breeding base as a 'thin dog' for this very reason.
It was gifted and by chance learned Flame Fist, a skill it shouldn't have been able to learn. However, the fire attribute energy within it countered its inherent gold attribute, causing its meridians to frequently burn with pain, making it lose its appetite, which led to its depression and emaciation.
And defensive skills follow the same principle.
Many defensive skills are released through the skin as the energy output end.
Well, among other things, at least Vine Armor Shield, a Wood Attribute skill, is released through the skin as its output end.
The same energy, when used for Vine Armor Shield through tough skin, will result in better defensive effects and a thicker, tougher shield than when used through fragile skin.
At this moment, covered in Primary Flora Resilience Ointment, Guoguo and Sakura felt as if countless ants were crawling on them, making them unbearably itchy.
"Don't move, hold on, concentrate."
Lin Chuan's voice came, making the two little ones, who originally wanted to roll on the ground to relieve the intense itch, forcibly hold on. However, their bodies were still trembling slightly, like branches in the cold winter.
"Don't rush, don't panic, calm down."
Lin Chuan calmly advised the two little ones on what to do.
"Use Rooting to absorb the nutrients little by little, and use Photosynthesis to fully digest these nutrients."
"Finally, use Growth to supply all the medicinal effects to the skin."
Primary Flora Resilience Ointment.
According to the instructions, spirit beasts can absorb it naturally; just apply the ointment to the spirit beast and let it lie down and rest. If the spirit beast can't bear it, finding a way to knock it out is also an option.
However, this absorption efficiency is very low; it might take 24 hours to absorb one can of ointment.
At the same time, this passive method also has very low utilization efficiency of the nutrients in the ointment, because when lying down and resting like this, many nutrients will volatilize and decompose over time.
The instruction manual provided another absorption method, which is the method Lin Chuan was currently guiding Guoguo and Sakura to do.
Use Rooting to absorb.
Use Photosynthesis to transform and utilize.
Then use Growth to supply all the medicinal effects to the skin to accelerate the metamorphosis.
...
Sakura still couldn't concentrate; her small body trembled.
But Guoguo, on the other hand, gradually calmed down. Even though the itching was unbearable, her body no longer trembled.
She thought of her defeat in the sparring just now, being pinned down by Sakura 5 times.
She thought of Sakura being rewarded by Lin Chuan with affectionate belly rubs just a moment ago, and she thought of the vow she had just made, the vow never to lose again.
Guoguo's small, black bean eyes seemed to ignite.
"Yi ya ya ya!"
Guoguo growled. With an exceptionally strong will, she completely suppressed the intense itching sensation.
Strands of roots, mimicked by Wood Attribute energy, spread out from various parts of her body, wrapping her into a misty green ball.
Guoguo carefully controlled the energy roots to absorb the nutrients from the Primary Flora Resilience Ointment smeared all over her body.
How to describe these nutrients?
If the previous nutrient soil and nutrient water were delicacies from a royal feast, then the nutrients in the Primary Flora Resilience Ointment now were like dry, stale black steamed buns, not only unpalatable but also difficult to digest.
Fortunately, Guoguo's Rooting, Growth, and Photosynthesis had all been leveled up to Proficient, Proficient, and Expert Grade, respectively.
Sakura was the same, but unfortunately, Sakura couldn't concentrate enough to release her skills at the moment.
Proficient-grade Rooting allowed Guoguo to swallow it smoothly and in large gulps.
Expert Grade Photosynthesis allowed Guoguo to digest the nutrients in a timely manner.
Proficient-grade Growth allowed Guoguo to almost entirely squeeze and accumulate the medicinal effect into her skin, making her skin visibly change from light green to dark green, then crack, revealing new, light green skin.
Seeing that Guoguo had already begun to absorb, digest, and accelerate her skin's metamorphosis, Lin Chuan quickly brought a water hose from the fountain in the center of the sunroom and sprayed water on Guoguo to assist in her molting and Growth.
As for Sakura, Lin Chuan couldn't help much at this time, only occasionally cheering her on.
Perhaps seeing Guoguo's rapid progress, Sakura also gradually stabilized her mentality due to competitive awareness, suppressing the intense itching sensation and beginning to release Rooting and Photosynthesis. However, her rhythm was still a beat slower than Guoguo's. Although all three basic skills were at Proficient, Proficient, and Expert Grades, Sakura's performance was still slightly lower than Guoguo's, which only indicates that Sakura's will was slightly inferior to Guoguo's.
Lin Chuan didn't blame Sakura for anything, nor did he say that she couldn't compare to Guoguo.
To be able to successfully release a skill while feeling as if ants were crawling all over her body and enduring unbearable itching was already extremely rare; it was not something an ordinary spirit beast could endure.
Two hours later, Guoguo finished absorbing first.
As the Rooting skill was canceled, the misty green ball enveloping her entire body dissipated, and Guoguo collapsed onto the ground like a fallen figure. She was almost too weak to get up.
However, visibly, Guoguo's skin was much more lustrous and shiny than before, as if it had been coated with a film.
After all, it was the first time using Primary Flora Resilience Ointment, so obvious effects were inevitable. Subsequent uses would see the effects continuously weaken with the number of applications and the increase in skin toughness.
Another hour passed.
Sakura also completed the absorption. She also collapsed on the ground—well, she just passed out directly.
However, Sakura's transformation was also very obvious, yet slightly different from Guoguo's situation. Unlike Guoguo, who became shiny and lustrous, Sakura's skin became more supple and smooth, full of elasticity, and could be gently pressed in.
So, why would two spirit beasts of the same species, with the same cultivation method and the same cheat-like stat allocation, have different effects?
Perhaps, this is what spirit beasts are.
As long as you truly cultivate them meticulously, diligently, and wholeheartedly, laying a solid foundation and further tapping into their potential, you will discover that every spirit beast, even if of the same species, is unique.