24 Chapter 24: Gossip

"Further data collection is needed before making a judgement," Xiaoyi replied.

Merely relying on Great Knight Owen's statement didn't contribute much to Xiaoyi's database, so the results of the analysis remained similar to before.

After the public class ended, Duke didn't immediately leave the Arcane Society.

On the third floor of the Arcane Society was a library, containing many books related to the practices of Sea of Spirit, Sea of Blood, and Sea of Qi cultivation. However, there were no books on meditation techniques, blood refining techniques, or breathing techniques. Only books that analyzed the key points of cultivation were available.

Meditation techniques were only stored in the Arcane Tower, and perhaps some prominent families might possess them, replicated through special machines.

Blood refining techniques and breathing techniques were considered valuable "products" and required money to acquire.

Duke obtained a library card and was prepared to borrow a batch of books from the Arcane Society.

He had only recently discovered that the Arcane Society had a library. By obtaining a library card and paying a small fee, he could borrow a large number of books. This was much more economical than buying books for reading.

After all, even the most profound books only required a single reading for Duke to assimilate the information into Xiaoyi's database. He didn't need to repeatedly read and comprehend, which meant he didn't need to buy books and study them later.

"If I had known earlier, I could have saved at least 50 silver dragons on book fees!"

Duke took out his Spirit Dragon Card, swiped fifteen copper dragons, and borrowed five books from the library.

The borrowing fee for each book was one copper dragon per day.

These five books were quite thin, and he could finish reading them in a day. After all, having experienced countless online novels in his previous life, reading quickly had become second nature to him.

Sure enough, he finished reading all five books by the nighttime.

"Xiaoyi, with the knowledge you've gathered about Sea of Blood cultivation, can you now calculate if I can attempt to awaken the Sea of Blood?" Duke playfully teased the still-closed eyes of the young Long-haired Mongoose, while asking in his mind.

Xiaoyi responded, "Based on the system's calculations, even if there's a failure in the first attempt to awaken the Sea of Blood, there's still a possibility for a second attempt. However, Xiaoyi still requires more knowledge about Sea of Blood cultivation, preferably in the form of purchasing a Blood Refining Technique. This would allow the Xiaoyi system to understand the entire cultivation process of the Sea of Blood and formulate an opening plan."

"Buying a Blood Refining Technique... that won't be cheap," Duke felt a little hesitant.

His Spirit Dragon Card balance currently had ten and a half gold dragons, thanks to Mr. Robin's generous sponsorship before his passing. However, at least two and a half gold dragons needed to be set aside for various expenses at Little Sam's card repair shop.

This meant he could only use eight gold dragons to purchase a Blood Refining Technique.

"Eight gold dragons should be enough to buy a decent one."

Duke wasn't one to hesitate. He was willing to spend this amount for even a slight chance to awaken the Sea of Blood.

The next morning.

He woke up early and roused the still-sleeping Long-haired Mongoose cub. As a powerful spiritual beast, the cub's growth rate was much faster than that of ordinary wild animals.

"Chirp chirp." The cub could already emit slight chirping sounds.

Its eyes were also about to open.

Duke placed a nursing bottle near the cub's mouth and murmured, "I hope that when I return, your eyes will be open... they say that when spiritual beasts open their eyes, they can recognize their master. In any case, you'll recognize me as your master. If I manage to awaken the Sea of Blood, we'll form a contract immediately... If I can't awaken the Sea of Blood, I'll find a good knight for you."

After feeding the Long-haired Mongoose cub, Duke prepared another bottle of milk powder and left it in the box.

The route between Snakehead Town and Chenjiao City had only two trips of the black armored beetle car each day, one in the morning and one at noon. As a result, Duke usually had to spend the night to make it back in time.

With everything settled, he hid the box in the ceiling again.

Even if someone entered his room, it would be difficult to notice the presence of a 2-ring spiritual beast cub.

...

Whoo whoo whoo!

The black armored beetle car sounded its whistle as it slowly moved along the route.

"Have you heard? A mercenary group broke into Emerald Sea Valley and found the Spiritual Spring. It's said to be a mid-sized Spiritual Spring!" People on the car were chatting.

"Is the news confirmed?"

"I'm not sure, but my relative is in the Black Serpent Family's patrol knight team. He mentioned it, so I guess the news might be limited to the Black Serpent Family's internal circle."

"If a mid-sized Spiritual Spring is really found, there might be a small-scale expansion war. But the Black Serpent Family doesn't have any 3-ring members, only two 2-ring individuals. I doubt they have the qualification to launch an expansion war."

"But the Black Serpent Family could sell the information, which would change the situation for Snakehead Town. It wouldn't be situated at the very border anymore, and the defensive pressure would greatly decrease. The family could focus on its full development."

"Who knows!"

This was just a small piece of news that was casually discussed and then forgotten.

However, Duke fell into contemplation. He was a transmigrator, taking the place of the original Duke who had been orphaned as a result of the previous "Black Serpent's Nest" expansion war.

He had asked around and learned quite a bit about that war. It had started nearly thirty years ago and attracted many individuals from Chenjiao City and surrounding areas who sought a share of the spoils.

As a result, some did amass wealth and accomplishments.

But many also perished around Snakehead Town.

At that time, this area was a den of a 5th-ring spiritual beast, the Multi-Headed Black-Necked Snake, which held control over a medium-sized spiritual spring. After the extermination of the Multi-Headed Black-Necked Snake, the recently ennobled Black Serpent Family established Snakehead Town above the spiritual spring.

Duke's parents were among those who went to Snakehead Town during that period to seek a livelihood.

Unfortunately, the dangers in the vicinity had not been fully cleared at the time.

The couple was bitten to death by invading spiritual beasts. They left behind an infant Duke in swaddling clothes, who was adopted by the local welfare institution until he turned ten. It was only at this point that the "Black Serpent's Nest" expansion war had just been declared over.

Over the next five years, Duke was driven out of the welfare institution and worked as child labor in several factories.

He struggled to get enough to eat, wore inadequate clothing, and endured difficult and exhausting work.

If he didn't work, he wouldn't have food to eat.

At times when he was barely catching his breath, he coincidentally encountered a job opening at Little Sam's card repair shop for apprentice workers. Duke applied and was taken in by the kind-hearted Old Sam as an apprentice, where he worked for a year and a half.

"Expansion wars... who knows how many people will end up buried in foreign lands," Duke shook his head.

Anyway, no matter what, he wouldn't participate in the expansion war, even if it cost him his life.

Of course, deep down he actually had a bit of anticipation. If the expansion war were to truly start, Snakehead Town would undoubtedly become a frontline supply station, and that would surely cause a booming business for the card repair shop.

After a bumpy and groggy journey, he finally arrived smoothly in Chenjiao City once again.

Rolling black smoke was gently pushed towards the outskirts of the city by a steady gust of wind magic. Despite this, Chenjiao City still didn't reveal a clear blue sky. Under the sunlight, the air was filled with particles of dust, visible as they sparkled in the air.

The continuous factories brought vibrant vitality to this city, but they also brought substantial pollution.

Without any delay, Duke bought two flatbreads from a roadside vendor, nibbling on them as he sat on the tram. He headed towards the nearby Knight Academy.

Blood Refining Technique was the exclusive monopoly of the Knight Academy.