Chapter 49: Spirit Skill
'Could this be the Dantian?'
Su Ke recalled the plots of the Xuanhuan novels he had read before. Spiritual Qi was always stored in the Dantian, and he seemed to have come across similar information during his previous research.
Next, Su Ke looked around and noticed that in the area corresponding to his left arm, the Spiritual Qi was especially dense. Its color was whiter than in other places, and all the surrounding cavities and gaps were completely filled.
'It seems this place is my "Spirit Skill Slot." Since I successfully utilized this area, the Spiritual Qi circulating here is more abundant than elsewhere.'
After confirming his condition, Su Ke exited the state of internal vision. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to see Zhang Xin looking at him expectantly.
"How is it? Have you confirmed?" Zhang Xin asked impatiently.
Su Ke nodded and said, "You were right. The Wind Spirit DNA I just scanned indeed occupied one of my Spirit Skill Slots; I only have 2 left now. However, the Wind Spirit race is naturally powerful, so I haven't lost anything. In fact, I've gained."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Zhang Xin's face.
She patted Su Ke's shoulder and said, "It seems my guess was correct. In that case, you must think carefully before scanning DNA in the future. The number of slots is limited, and every choice will affect your future development."
Su Ke nodded seriously in agreement.
Zhang Xin continued, "Wind Spirits are powerful Elemental Spirits. Once they grow, their strength cannot be underestimated. I'll have Little Green teach you how to use this power later."
Su Ke said, "I hope she won't find it annoying."
Zhang Xin replied, "As long as you don't make her angry, it'll be fine. Alright, go Cultivate now. Stay at home and don't run around; I'm going out to buy a few potions for you."
Su Ke nodded firmly and returned to his room to continue Cultivating.
'Speaking of which, why do I always feel like I'm being taken advantage of? Well, whatever. She's my aunt, so it doesn't really count.'
After a while, hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, Su Ke confirmed that Zhang Xin had left.
'I still have 2 F-rank crystal cores left, but those are meant for reaching the 10th stage and the Second Rank. I've just reached the Ninth Stage; using them now would be such a waste. Aunt said she's going to buy potions for me, so there should be quite a few. Even so, even if I use only Advanced potions, half a month would barely be enough to reach the 10th stage. Reaching the Second Rank will likely take even longer.'
Su Ke stopped overthinking and calmed his mind, focusing on Cultivating.
Now that he had reached the Ninth Stage, the difficulty of Cultivation gradually increased.
Although the speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi had improved, the total amount required for a Breakthrough had also increased, so overall progress was still slower.
They say there is no sense of time in Cultivation.
Su Ke Cultivated for 3 hours straight.
At 5 in the afternoon, Zhang Xin, Zhang Xu, and Su Yuan returned together.
Su Ke walked out of his room and could not help but sigh.
"3 hours and my progress only increased by 2%. That's way too slow!"
Zhang Xin said, "Don't worry. Look what Auntie brought back for you."
With that, she raised her hand and tossed a glittering stone toward him.
Su Ke's eyes widened.
"Holy crap, a crystal core! How did you get this?"
"The production of crystal cores in this small place is pitifully low; there's no stock at all. But there are plenty of Yao Beasts in the wild. I found a group of E-rank apes and killed them all. My luck was good, and 1 dropped."
'Listen to that—was that even human speech?'
When Su Ke and the others dealt with an F-rank Thirst Wolf, they had to carefully dig traps, and even then, without the Wild Demon Vine, they might have failed.
Yet Zhang Xin simply found an entire group and slaughtered them all.
Su Ke did not find it particularly cruel. Humans and Yao Beasts were natural enemies.
They were either killed, contracted by Spirit Energy Users of the Taming or Summoning systems, or artificially bred to ensure 100% safety. There was no third possibility.
Su Ke only felt that she was amazing and hoped that one day he could be like her—slaughtering an entire Yao Beast group just to give a junior a gift.
'Just thinking about it feels incredibly cool.'
Zhang Xu said, "It must have taken quite some effort to obtain this crystal core."
Zhang Xin replied, "It's nothing. Xiao Ke's Supernatural Ability and talent are both excellent. By doing this, I'm nurturing a top-tier powerhouse for the future of the Human Race."
Su Yuan said, "An Earth-rank Talent is indeed very good, but it probably isn't much where you come from, right? It's not that I want to dampen Xiao Ke's confidence, but 'top-tier powerhouse' sounds a bit exaggerated."
Zhang Xin shook her head. "It's not an exaggeration. Rest assured, once he grows up, he will definitely shock everyone."
Su Yuan said, "Xiao Ke, your aunt has so much faith in you. You must Cultivate diligently and not disappoint her."
Su Ke replied, "Don't worry. I have a feeling I'll definitely reach the 10th stage this week!"
'No joke, it's a crystal core. If I still couldn't reach the 10th stage with this, what would I even be?'
Now he had 3 crystal cores in hand: 1 for the 10th stage and 2 for the Second Rank. Perfect.
However, since he had just reached the Ninth Stage, he still needed to consolidate his Realm. He decided to save this crystal core for the Breakthrough; using it now would be too wasteful.
Along with it, Zhang Xin also brought back 10 bottles of Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions.
Now that Su Ke had reached the Ninth Stage, the improvement provided by Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions was decreasing. At the Eighth Stage, each bottle had increased his progress by 5%, but now it only provided 2%.
Do not assume Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions are extraordinary simply because they are diluted from crystal cores.
Although 1 crystal core can be diluted into 10 such potions, the combined effect of 10 bottles is still inferior to directly absorbing a single crystal core.
This is because some spiritual power is inevitably lost during the production process. In addition, many herbs are added to stabilize the energy, making the medicinal properties milder and easier to absorb, but also reducing the total amount of energy. Generally speaking, using 10 potions is less cost-effective than a crystal core.
It could even be considered a complete loss.
The crystal core Zhang Xin brought him was high F-rank, while the 2 he had previously been allocated were both lower F-rank.
Do not underestimate the difference in grade; she traded 5 for 1 and even included a large number of Advanced Spiritual Energy Potions.
Su Ke had already formulated a plan. He would first use the potions to Cultivate steadily. Once his progress reached the Ninth Stage Peak, he would use a lower F-rank crystal core to advance to the 10th stage. Then he would use another to push his progress through the 10th stage, and finally use the high F-rank crystal core Zhang Xin had given him to break through directly to the Second Rank.
Perfect.
With his plan firmly in mind, Su Ke began to Cultivate with peace of mind.
Just like that, half a month passed.
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