Night had fallen, and it was completely dark.
Lin Chuan returned to the manor.
He didn't rush to work through the night; even if he wanted to, he couldn't, as Wan Wan was still unconscious, and her advice was needed for subsequent path choices.
Lin Chuan first checked on Guoguo and Sakura.
The garden cottage had been built, and Guoguo and Sakura were now happily and contentedly residing in their respective small houses, looking as if they were preparing to rest. Seeing Lin Chuan return, their last worries faded, and they began Sleeping.
After checking on Guoguo and Sakura, Lin Chuan also went to wash up and Sleep.
He needed a good rest to recuperate and better handle the upcoming matters: breaking through to Tier 1 as a Beast Master and condensing a Spiritual Core!
The past few days had been quite draining.
First, he took a two-day flight from Qinghe City to Wanshan Prefecture.
Then, right after getting off the plane and without much rest, Liu Wenrou picked him up and took him to the Sixth Academy in the Silver Mountain Range's inner world.
Finally, he had just spent three hours intensively catching up on basic knowledge.
Although the physical exertion wasn't significant, the continuous travel had taken a toll on his mental and spiritual energy.
In short, Sleeping was the right choice!
After washing up, Lin Chuan smoothly rolled into bed.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, at 6 AM, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Chuan woke up.
He had returned to his previous routine of cultivation and training, shifting from the relaxed state after the entrance examination.
First, he checked on the three spirit beasts.
Guoguo and Sakura had also woken up early. After three months of intense, dedicated cultivation, they had formed a habit. Now, even without Lin Chuan's request—or rather, if Lin Chuan didn't deliberately stop them, like he did with Guoguo's cultivation and even sunbathing a few days ago—the two little ones would start their training themselves.
It began with warm-ups, then Flower Leaf Leaf's third set of calisthenics, followed by internal sparring, and then individual Skill practice.
Speaking of Flower Leaf Leaf's third set of calisthenics...
Lin Chuan was helpless; the old man only showed affection for Flower Leaf Leaf but didn't have much feeling for the more anthropomorphic Flower Spirit, nor did he research calisthenics specifically for Flower Spirit or want to invest effort in it.
So, for now, there was nothing to be done.
Fortunately, Flower Leaf Leaf's calisthenics served as a warm-up, promoting various bodily balances and maintaining optimal health.
It didn't have an irreplaceable, extraordinary effect on cultivation improvement.
As long as nutrition kept up, and the three skills—Rooting, Photosynthesis, and Growth—were maxed out, the effect was actually not bad, perhaps even better.
The same applied to Flower Spirit.
In short, there was currently no way to develop an exclusive health routine for Flower Spirit; it would be slowly researched and developed later.
He believed that the Sixth Academy surely had relevant knowledge. He would attend classes there, and then, together with Wan Wan and combining the old man's 30 years of Flower Leaf Leaf research data, he would try to develop a fitness routine for Flower Spirit.
This would also serve as practice for developing his own Secret Skills in the future.
Guoguo and Sakura.
They were performing Flower Leaf Leaf's third set of calisthenics under the gradually unfolding morning light.
Lin Chuan did not participate. Previously, his participation was more to lead by example and supervise Guoguo and Sakura, but now that the two little ones had developed a self-disciplined habit, it was no longer necessary. He had more suitable exercise methods for humans, and at the same time, he also had important matters to attend to.
Then he looked at Wan Wan.
Yesterday, Wan Wan pushed herself to the limit, forcefully memorizing all the basic knowledge from that pile of books.
At that time, Wan Wan's state was like being drunk on fake alcohol or under an illusion, dizzy and with a muddled consciousness.
But now, Wan Wan had fully recovered.
Currently, Wan Wan sat motionless by the windowsill, staring blankly at Guoguo and Sakura, who were doing Flower Leaf Leaf's third set of calisthenics in the garden, bathed in the morning light.
She would even sway her head from side to side in rhythm with Guoguo and Sakura's exercises, looking adorable and cute.
Lin Chuan waved his hand in front of Wan Wan's face, and only then did she suddenly snap back to reality.
With a whoosh.
Wan Wan's face instantly turned crimson, extremely shy.
Had Lin Chuan seen her silly head-swaying just now?
"Master, boohoo, um, I, uh, just now, hmm, I was organizing the knowledge I memorized yesterday!"
After much stammering, Wan Wan finally found an excuse and forcefully tried to justify herself.
He saw through it but didn't expose it.
For a shy Wan Wan, there was no need to reveal the truth of her adorable moment just now.
Otherwise, she might not be able to lift her head for half a day.
Lin Chuan thought to himself, he would install a camera here in the future.
Then he would record Guoguo and Sakura exercising, as well as Wan Wan's adorable moments, and secretly enjoy them!
Appreciating the cute appearances of his contracted spirit beasts and creating a Growth (dark history) photo album for each one.
This was something every Beast Master should consciously do!
It certainly wasn't some twisted hobby!
Lin Chuan put on a look of sudden understanding.
"So that's how it is."
"You've worked hard, Wan Wan. First, I had you memorize Flower Leaf Leaf's research data, and now I made you memorize all that knowledge at once. It must have been very difficult to organize, right?"
Seeing that Lin Chuan seemed to have genuinely fallen for her deception and apparently hadn't noticed her silly head-shaking moment, Wan Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately, she straightened her expression and shook her head very seriously.
"It's not hard, boohoo, I have to do it even if it's hard!"
"This is what Wan Wan should do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be worthy of Master's nurturing!"
Speaking of nurturing, Wan Wan's eyes revealed sincere joy and gratitude.
In these past few days, Lin Chuan had passed on various basic Five Elements skills to her. Now, Wan Wan's Fairy Attribute skill list had a full 13 skills!
Especially the two skills, Little Fireball and Water Gun, which had reached the proficient level! Reaching the upper limit of her bloodline quality restriction.
This was a situation she had never dared to dream of.
Now, apart from the legendary, very few Book Spirits who followed Heavenly Kings, whose bloodline quality was reforged by the Heavenly King's Nirvana Fire to break through limits and soar to prominence,
Wan Wan could confidently say.
She, as a Book Spirit, was currently the most, uh, definitely ranked in the top ten in terms of strength among all Book Spirits!
Moreover, Lin Chuan's nurturing of her was far more than just skills.
Lin Chuan said he would train her as a battle pet, and he was not negligent at all.
Originally, Wan Wan thought Lin Chuan would just buy her some ordinary cultivation resources, as her bloodline quality was inferior, so ordinary ones would suffice.
Unexpectedly, Lin Chuan directly bought her a box of White Jade Cream.
White Jade Cream, among low-tier cultivation products, was the top-tier Fairy Attribute resource.
It was a nourishing product specifically for Fairy Attribute spirit beasts, made from extracts of various precious spiritual plants and special white jade ore essence through complex processes.
The method of use was to cut a small piece of White Jade Cream and light it, like incense.
When burning, White Jade Cream would release a fragrant mist called 'Fairy Qi'.
The Fairy Qi contained various high-purity natural attribute energies that were easiest to absorb, as well as mysterious nourishing substances that helped the Growth of Fairy Attribute spirit beasts.
Just this one box of White Jade Cream cost Lin Chuan 10 million star rock coins!
Just because she looked at the White Jade Cream advertisement one more time.
Lin Chuan didn't bat an eye and bought this cultivation nutrient that she had only dared to dream of.
Of course, Lin Chuan wasn't particularly favoring her; he treated them fairly, also buying top-tier resources for Guoguo and Sakura.
Even now, she had only absorbed less than a tenth of this one box of White Jade Cream.
Yet, she had already risen from Level 3 to Level 9, an incredibly exaggerated leveling speed, considering she had a soldier-tier inferior bloodline.
Now, Wan Wan felt nothing but fondness, reverence, and endless gratitude for Lin Chuan, her Beast Master!
A scholar dies for his confidant.
For Lin Chuan, her Master.
What was a little fatigue, a little hardship, or forcibly memorizing some knowledge!
She, the Book Spirit, Wan Wan.
Was willing to go through fire and water for her Beast Master, Lin Chuan!
...
Guoguo and Sakura finished Flower Leaf Leaf's third set of calisthenics.
Wan Wan had also finished categorizing and organizing the knowledge she had forcibly memorized yesterday in her mind.
Lin Chuan let Guoguo and Sakura practice freely.
He himself moved a small stool and a small table over, and like a primary school student attending a lecture, he sat down properly in front of Wan Wan.
"Little Teacher Wan Wan, please begin the class!"
Lin Chuan said jokingly.
Wan Wan was extremely flustered, smoke even started rising from her head, and her hands shook like a rattle-drum.
"No, no, no, no! I can't, how can I be Master's teacher."
Lin Chuan chuckled, not minding at all.
He knew his biggest weakness: insufficient knowledge accumulation.
Although he had Wan Wan, this external brain, encyclopedia, and little strategist, he couldn't rely entirely on Wan Wan.
He couldn't just discard his own brain because he had a Book Spirit, stop learning, and rely on Wan Wan for everything.
A Beast Master who truly discarded their brain and lacked their own thoughts and decisions wouldn't go far.
As a Beast Master, one still had to constantly enrich and improve oneself.
Continuous learning and accumulation would enhance his personal cognition, horizons, mindset, and way of thinking.
Wan Wan, although lacking the inspiration and creativity of a human academic genius, her ability to memorize and organize knowledge was beyond doubt.
She was more than capable of being his personal little teacher at this stage.
Lin Chuan stopped his teasing.
"No more joking."
"Wan Wan, based on the knowledge you memorized yesterday, please analyze for me: what attribute Spiritual Core should I condense? What kind of Beast Master path should I take in the future?"
No longer being called 'Little Teacher,' Wan Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon hearing Lin Chuan's question, she immediately got into character—yes, the 'Little Teacher' character.
"Based on the knowledge I recorded yesterday, and Master's 'Skill Master' Beast Master talent that consumes mental energy..."
"I suggest Master condense a Spiritual Core of Illusion Attribute when promoting to Tier 1, located in the upper Dantian."
Without the habit of being a riddle-teller, Wan Wan directly gave Lin Chuan the conclusion.
Then, she proceeded to analyze and explain to Lin Chuan.
Wan Wan held a chalk as thick as her thigh with both hands, controlling her book body to float to the small blackboard in front of Lin Chuan, and began writing continuously.
First were some numbers, which were Lin Chuan's previous quantified mental energy values.
Then came a set of formulas, which represented the final Growth rate caused by the mutual influence of various attributes, spirit, physique, and energy of a Beast Master. This formula wasn't entirely accurate, as everyone's situation was different and couldn't be perfectly quantified. However, it represented the average normal level of all Beast Masters.
While writing, Wan Wan explained.
"Before, Master, you did a preliminary quantification of your mental energy data."
"Wan Wan will use Master's data to build a model for subsequent reasoning and analysis."
"Given Master's current mental energy situation, you can perform a maximum of 5 inheritances per day."
Little Teacher Wan Wan began her lesson.
Lin Chuan listened intently, occasionally with a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
...
"Illusion Attribute itself is a pure spiritual attribute, and condensing it in the upper Dantian position."
"Master, your mental energy Growth rate will be at least 10 times the average."
"Moreover, Master's current contracted spirit beasts."
"Sakura clearly has a primary Illusion and secondary Wood development trend, and Guoguo, after evolution, will most likely be primary Wood and secondary Illusion."
"And I, as a Book Spirit, am primary Fairy Attribute and secondary Illusion."
"Illusion Attribute is the common attribute connecting me, Guoguo, and Sakura, our three spirit beasts."
"When condensing a Spiritual Core of Illusion Attribute, it's best for Master to also have an Illusion Attribute when contracting other spirit beasts in the future, regardless of whether it's primary or secondary."
"This way, Master will find it easier and more convenient to learn Secret Skills and even develop exclusive Secret Skills later on."
"Furthermore, the upper limit of Illusion Attribute is also very high, not inferior to Fairy Attribute, Demonic Attribute, or Dragon Attribute."
"Turning the Virtual into the Reality , turning the Reality into the Virtual , and even creating something out of nothing—these are the heights that Illusion Attribute can reach."
"Moreover, Illusion Attribute is also the attribute with the strongest life-saving ability, allowing Master to escape from difficult situations more easily when encountering danger."
...
"There are two paths for the development of a Beast Master."
"One is primarily based on bloodline inheritance, where Beast Masters continuously cultivate spirit beasts of the same attribute, accumulating extraordinary factors to raise the rank of their own Beast Master talent."
"Such Beast Masters find it easier to cultivate spirit beasts and increase their level."
"The other path is primarily based on Skill cultivation, where Beast Masters often contract spirit beasts of different attributes and races, thereby combining them, and even developing Secret Skills, or even unique skills. For example, contracting spirit beasts of all five elemental attributes to develop the Grand Five Elements Secret Skill."
"Beast Masters who take this path, although their level increases slower, their combat power will be much stronger."
"Besides the Eight Great Academies, the Star Rock Federation also has five great noble families and three great sects as top forces."
"Among them, the five great noble families follow the path of bloodline inheritance, accumulating extraordinary factors for generations, and thus can possess Fifth- or even Sixth-tier Beast Master talents from birth."
"And the three great sects follow the path of Skill cultivation."
"Each sect possesses a unique skill that is not exclusive to individuals, has high applicability, and can be learned and inherited."
"Human civilization is developing, and Beast Master civilization is also continuously progressing."
"Taking only one path, although feasible, will never allow one to catch up with the five great noble families and three great sects, as they have already walked their respective paths for thousands of years, accumulating over countless generations and countless heroic Beast Masters."
"In the current era, Beast Masters from common backgrounds usually take both paths simultaneously. Only then is there a glimmer of possibility to catch up with the Beast Masters of the noble families and sects."
"The way to take both paths simultaneously is to make the Beast Master's Spiritual Core attribute the main attribute, serving as the main trunk, ensuring that contracted spirit beasts, whether primary or secondary, must carry this attribute, while acquiring as many other attributes as possible, serving as branches."
"The main attribute accumulates extraordinary factors, enhancing the Beast Master talent."
"More secondary attributes mean more combinations, more possibilities, which is beneficial for learning and researching Secret Skills and improving actual combat power."