22: Soul-enhancing Technique and Crazy Improvement

Ya Fei's invitation was like a clap of thunder, completely disrupting Xiao Chen's methodical plans. Two months to go from being utterly powerless to possessing the capital to protect himself in Black Flame City was undoubtedly a huge challenge.

But challenge also meant opportunity. The core resource library of the Mittel Family was open to him, and the Xuan Rank Low-Tier Soul Dou Technique, the Spirit Nurturing Art, was within his reach. This was simply a windfall!

The next morning, Xiao Chen, holding the purple jade pendant, arrived at the Mittel Auction House once again. Steward Li had already received instructions and personally led him to a heavily guarded, independent building deep within the auction house.

"Young Master Xiao Chen, this is the core vault of our Mittel Family in Wutan City. With your jade pendant, you can enter the first three floors. The first floor contains Mortal Rank Low-Tier resources, the second floor has Mortal Rank Mid-Tier, and the third floor holds Mortal Rank High-Tier and some Yellow Rank Low-Tier. Higher floors require greater authority," Steward Li introduced respectfully.

Xiao Chen nodded, inwardly shocked. The Mittel Family was indeed wealthy and powerful; even the vault of their Wutan City branch was of such a scale.

He stepped through the vault door, and a rich scent of herbs and energy fluctuations wafted over him. On rows of neatly arranged shelves, various medicinal herbs, magic cores, ores, weapons, scrolls, and more were categorized and displayed, a dazzling array.

He didn't rush to choose, but first concentrated his mind, maximizing the system's Scan function, sweeping across the entire first floor like a radar.

"Scan: blood coagulation grass (High Quality) x1000 +..."

"Scan: bone regeneration flower (High Quality) x500 +..."

"Scan: Green Wood Fruit (Mortal Rank Mid-Tier) x200 +..."

"Scan: First-tier Wood-attribute Magic Core (Complete) x50 +..."

"Scan: Fine Iron Longsword (Mortal Rank Low-Tier) x100 +..."

A massive amount of information flooded his mind. Xiao Chen suppressed the dizzying sensation, quickly sifting through what was useful to him.

His goals were clear: enhance his soul power! Accumulate energy! Strengthen his self-preservation abilities!

First, he needed a large quantity of energy-rich items to fill his energy pool. Magic cores were the best choice!

He walked to the area where magic cores were stored. First-tier magic cores, depending on their attribute, yielded between 10 and 30 units of energy upon recycling. He specifically picked those with pure energy and high recycling value, selecting twenty first-tier magic cores of different attributes in one go, expecting to recover nearly five hundred units of energy! This was enough to sustain his synthesis consumption for some time to come.

Next were medicinal herbs. He needed a large quantity of herbs to refine power storing pills and attempt new elixirs. He selected enough herbs (Green Wood Fruit, Stone Stalactite, etc.) to refine one hundred portions of power storing pills, according to the highest standards, as well as some auxiliary herbs needed for Mortal Rank Mid-Tier elixirs like "qi recovery powder" and "Qi Enhancement Powder." These herbs could not only be used for synthesis, but even the lower-quality scraps could be recycled for energy.

Finally, he arrived at the area storing Dou Techniques. Most here were Yellow Rank Low-Tier and Mortal Rank High-Tier scrolls, which held little appeal for him. His foundation lay in the system and his soul power. However, he still selected a scroll called "Iron Bone Fist," a Mortal Rank High-Tier body-refining Dou Technique. This Dou Technique was simple to cultivate, primarily strengthening bones, tendons, and skin, and didn't require a high Dou Qi foundation, making it perfect for enhancing his close-quarters self-preservation ability. Additionally, he chose a movement Dou Technique, "Swimming Fish Steps," Mortal Rank High-Tier, focusing on evasion and agility.

After selecting the resources, Xiao Chen went to Steward Li again and received the first two scrolls of the Spirit Nurturing Art, as promised by Ya Fei.

Returning to his small room, Xiao Chen took a deep breath, looking at the resources piled halfway across the room, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Time was short; he had to seize every second!

He first picked up the ancient scroll of the Spirit Nurturing Art. The scroll felt warm to the touch, made of a material that was neither metal nor jade, inscribed with profound cultivation methods in ancient script. The system Scan immediately provided information:

"Scan: Spirit Nurturing Art (Fragment, 1st-2nd Stage)"

"Grade": Xuan Rank Low-Tier Soul Cultivation Technique

"Effect": Condenses the soul's origin, enhances soul strength and recovery speed, initially grasps Soul Impact (mental deterrence) techniques.

"Copyable": No (Insufficient energy, insufficient authority)

"System Evaluation": A premium among basic soul cultivation techniques. Cultivating to the second stage of perfection can bring soul strength to Spirit Movement Late-stage. Extremely beneficial to the host at present.

Xuan Rank Low-Tier! As expected, extraordinary!

Xiao Chen eagerly began to study it. The cultivation method was profound, but with the foundation of the miscellaneous records of the soul and the aid of the system's Scan for understanding, he quickly mastered the cultivation method for the first stage.

The first stage of the Spirit Nurturing Art focused on "nurturing." Through a special meditation method, soul power was continuously nurtured and refined, like cultivating jade, making it purer and stronger.

Xiao Chen immediately began to attempt cultivation. Compared to the incomplete Soul Condensing Technique, the Spirit Nurturing Art's efficiency was several times higher! He felt his soul was like a parched sponge encountering sweet rain; every cell greedily absorbed the nourishment brought by the cultivation method.

He cultivated for an entire afternoon. When he awoke from his deep meditative state, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his soul strength had increased from [Spirit Movement Early-stage (1/1000)] to [Spirit Movement Early-stage (15/1000)]! This speed was nearly ten times faster than before!

"Xuan Rank cultivation methods are indeed powerful!" Xiao Chen was ecstatic. At this rate, it was not impossible to raise his soul realm to Spirit Movement Mid-stage, or even Late-stage, within two months!

With soul cultivation on track, the next steps were energy accumulation and strength enhancement.

He first recycled all twenty of those first-tier magic cores!

"Ding! Recycled a first-tier wood-attribute magic core, gained 12 units of energy!"

"Ding! Recycled a first-tier fire-attribute magic core, gained 28 units of energy!"

"Ding! Recycled a first-tier earth-attribute magic core..."

A series of notification sounds rang out, and the number in the energy pool began to jump wildly!

Finally, after all twenty magic cores were recycled, the energy pool surged to [520/10000]!

Over five hundred units of energy! Unprecedented abundance! Xiao Chen felt much more confident.

With energy, he could boldly proceed with synthesis! He decided to temporarily stop the production of blood coagulation powder, focus all efforts on power storing pills, and attempt to refine a new elixir—qi recovery powder!

qi recovery powder, a Mortal Rank Mid-Tier elixir, could quickly restore a small amount of Dou Qi. It was highly effective for those below the Fighter realm, had huge market demand, and was even more valuable than power storing pills, costing about eighty gold coins per pill. Its refining difficulty was also higher.

Xiao Chen adjusted his state and began a night of frantic synthesis.

The synthesis of power storing pills was already proficient, with a success rate stable above eighty percent. He synthesized twenty portions in one go, successfully producing sixteen pills, consuming 240 units of energy, and gaining finished products worth nearly a thousand gold coins! His soul power consumption was considerable, but with the aid of the Spirit Nurturing Art, his recovery speed was extremely fast.

Next, he attempted qi recovery powder. The main ingredients for qi recovery powder were "Qi Recovery Grass" and "Spirit Gathering Flower," both Mortal Rank Mid-Tier medicinal herbs, requiring more complex energy guidance.

First attempt, failure! Energy conflict, ingredients scrapped.

Second attempt, cautiously, success! But ordinary quality.

Third attempt, summarized experience, success! Quality reached good!

...After consuming five sets of materials and failing twice, Xiao Chen finally mastered the synthesis technique for qi recovery powder, increasing his success rate to around sixty percent. He pressed on, synthesizing all remaining qi recovery powder materials, ultimately obtaining five high-quality Qi Recovery Pills.

A night of hard work yielded rich rewards! The energy pool still had [200/10000] remaining. Although his soul power was greatly depleted, after cultivating the Spirit Nurturing Art, its recovery speed was astonishing, reaching eighty percent recovery before dawn.

In the following days, Xiao Chen's life settled into a fixed cycle: daytime was spent frantically cultivating the Spirit Nurturing Art to raise his soul realm; evenings were for batch synthesizing power storing pills and qi recovery powder to accumulate funds and proficiency; and late nights were dedicated to cultivating Iron Bone Fist and Swimming Fish Steps, tempering his body and enhancing his combat capabilities.

The Mittel Family's continuous supply of resources allowed him to focus wholeheartedly on his cultivation. His rate of progress was terrifying!

Soul Realm: Spirit Movement Early-stage (150/1000) → Spirit Movement Early-stage (400/1000) → Spirit Movement Mid-stage (1/2000)!

Energy Pool: Maintained at around 300 units, balanced by extensive synthesis and recycling of medicinal herb scraps.

Combat Ability: Iron Bone Fist achieved minor mastery, capable of shattering bluestone with one punch; Swimming Fish Steps achieved entry-level, making his movements much more agile.

Funds: Through selling elixirs, he accumulated a huge sum exceeding three thousand gold coins!

In just one month, Xiao Chen seemed to have been reborn! Although he still lacked Dou Qi, his soul power, physical strength, reaction speed, and most importantly—his wealth and ability to mobilize resources—had already far surpassed ordinary Fighter!

However, he did not relax in the slightest. He had already memorized the records of Black Flame City; it was a place teeming with experts, where Fighting Master and Great Dou Master were not uncommon, and there might even be Dou Ling present! His current strength was still not enough!

"Only one month left. I must break through to Spirit Movement Late-stage! And I need to start making more specific preparations for the trip to Black Flame City!" Xiao Chen looked out the window, his gaze firm.

He decided to visit Xiao Yan. On one hand, to check on his fellow countryman's progress; on the other hand, Black Flame City was near the Black-Corner Region, a place where Yao Lao once was active, and he might obtain some useful information from him.

More importantly, he had a premonition that Xiao Yan's growth might somehow wonderfully intersect with his own journey to Black Flame City. And opportunities often lay hidden within these intersections.