After returning to his shabby little thatched hut, Li Xuan flopped straight onto the bed. He wasn't particularly tired today, but lying down just felt right—opportunities always came to those who were comfortably horizontal.
"System, open the shop," he muttered lazily from the wooden bed.
A soft ding echoed as a shimmering blue screen popped up in front of him.
[System Shop]
One Meat, Two Veg Bento Box – 1 Point
Guihe Mineral Water – 1 Point
100,000-Year Left Arm Soul Bone (Random) – 100,000 Points
Iron-Cleaving Dagger (On Sale!) – 30 Points (Original Price: 1,000 Points)
"Wait—there's a soul bone in here? A hundred-thousand-year one?!" Li Xuan's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
That was the kind of item even the top ten soul masters in the world would drool over. Just one of those could buy an entire city!
But after a moment of stunned excitement, he calmed down.
"I've got the system now. I've got the Heaven-Controlling Vial. A soul bone like that isn't that crazy anymore," he reasoned.
Still, timing was everything, and right now he didn't have anywhere near enough points to afford it. As tempting as it was, he'd have to put that dream on the shelf for later.
His eyes drifted to the bottom of the list.
"That dagger though…" he murmured.
Thirty points for a weapon that used to cost a thousand? Now that was more his speed. Besides, he had nothing for self-defense at the moment—something sharp and stabby sounded ideal.
Without hesitation, Li Xuan hit the confirm button.
A soft distortion of space appeared in front of him, and a short, gray dagger—about a foot long—materialized.
It looked entirely unremarkable. Matte gray. No shine. No decorations on the sheath. If "forgettable" were a weapon, this was it.
Shiiing!
The dagger slid out of its sheath with a crisp metallic whisper. Even just the sound promised that it could slice through iron like butter.
The blade itself was dull-colored, with no polish or luster, and if anything, looked less impressive than a regular kitchen knife.
Li Xuan gave it a few test swings.
Thunk!
With practically no effort, the blade sunk into the wooden bedframe.
Li Xuan nodded, clearly satisfied. "Nice! Might not look like much, but this is a proper weapon for someone who likes to stay under the radar."
He examined it a bit more, then tore a strip of ragged cloth and tied the dagger securely to his calf.
Feeling slightly more secure, he went ahead and bought himself a bento box and a bottle of water with the last of his points.
He devoured the food like a starving beast. Working in the Flower Fields, the "flower slaves" only got one meal a day in the morning. The rest of the time? Starve.
So yeah—Li Xuan had been hungry enough to hear his ribs knocking together like a xylophone solo.
He wolfed down every last bite, chugged half the bottle of water, and finally flopped onto the bed in contentment.
"Still a growing boy," he mumbled to himself, patting his full belly.
Then something clicked.
"Wait, the job change scroll!" he suddenly remembered. He'd totally forgotten about the thing he'd buried in the yard yesterday.
He leapt off the bed, rushed outside, and started digging like a dog after a buried bone. A few seconds later, he unearthed a dirt-stained white scroll.
"Class Change Scroll..." he muttered, brushing the soil off.
He hadn't dared to use it in the morning—what if he passed out again? But now it was evening, and he could sleep through the night if anything went sideways.
"How do I use this thing anyway?" he asked aloud.
[Answer: Snap it in half]
"Crack!"
With a clean snap, the scroll split in two. A flash of radiant, seven-colored light surged out and shot directly into Li Xuan's forehead.
His eyes went wide.
A flood of powerful information slammed into his mind, overwhelming his thoughts. His brain… crashed. Just flatlined. Total blue screen of death.
He didn't faint this time, at least, and there was no pain. He just stood there, glassy-eyed like someone who'd stared at a textbook for ten hours straight.
Half an hour passed before his eyes finally began to regain some focus. He blinked. The information had settled—barely.
"…A Herbalist?" he muttered, slowly coming back to his senses. Then a grin spread across his face. "No way! That actually works perfectly with the Heaven-Controlling Vial!"
The data he'd just absorbed included basic knowledge of how to cultivate and evolve medicinal herbs.
In short—he was officially a rookie Herbalist now. And as he continued growing and planting herbs, his level and skills would increase as well.
With the Heaven-Controlling Vial at his side, he could grow years-worth of rare herbs in mere days!
"System, show me my stats!" he said eagerly.
[General Attributes]
Name: Li Xuan
Age: 6
Martial Spirits: Heaven-Controlling Vial, Nine-Heart Nine-Flame Lotus
Soul Power Level: 10 (No soul ring absorbed)
Soul Bones: None
Survival Points: 16
Subclass: Herbalist (Collapsed View)
"Expand Herbalist info."
[Subclass: Herbalist]
Level: 1 (0/10 XP)
Talent: Cultivation (100% success rate when planting or transplanting medicinal herbs)
Skill: Herb Appraisal (Can identify all medicinal plants)
"Holy crap, this is amazing!" Li Xuan pumped his fist excitedly.
With Herb Appraisal, he could comb through Chrysanthemum Douluo's massive flower garden and easily spot valuable herbs, rare treasures, or even immortal plants.
And with those, plus the Heaven-Controlling Vial? He could create high-grade herbs faster than most alchemists could blink.
After a short rest, he bounced out of his hut and made his way into the courtyard.
There, he found the scruffy little weed he'd drenched earlier with the mysterious green liquid.
Even after several hours, the plant looked perky and vibrant. Not a hint of wilting. Truly worthy of its soul beast origin.
"Appraise plant," he thought, focusing on the weed.
[Plant: Greenblade Grass]
Quality: Common
Cultivation Level: 100 years
Description: A weed that got absurdly lucky. Technically a hundred-year soul beast, but still a weed with zero combat ability.
"One drop = one hundred years!" Li Xuan's eyes sparkled. The little green bottle's effects were now perfectly clear.
Excited, he wanted to rush into the flower fields he was assigned to and start gathering rare herbs immediately.
But just as he looked up, he noticed the sun was already sinking below the horizon.
"Right… going into the flower fields at night is just asking for trouble. If someone catches me, they'll assume I'm a thief—and that's an instant beheading."
He sighed. "Guess I'll wait until tomorrow."
He wasn't afraid of tripping or getting scratched—he just didn't want to accidentally stomp on any valuable plants. That would really be unforgivable.
And with that, he turned back toward his hut, already dreaming of tomorrow's herbal treasure hunt.