Chapter 6: Thoughts on Changing Professions
Thinking of the Physician Profession, Zhao Liuyun rejected the idea.
It wasn't that Spirit Master patients were of higher quality, but that the person's poisoning was stubborn, difficult to detoxify, and life-threatening.
If it weren't for Martial Uncle's Honeysuckle Martial Soul, such deep-seated toxins, reaching the internal organs, would have almost certainly claimed a life.
How could the medicine have taken effect so quickly and cured the illness?
For a Physician Profession, high-quality patients are those whose illnesses are difficult to cure.
However, Zhao Liuyun did think of one such person.
Years of accumulated exhaustion, deep poisoning, even reaching the bone marrow, passed down to descendants, and even the transformed Spirit Beast Xiao Wu didn't recognize his true form back then—
The blind Douluo Dugu Bo!
Detoxifying him would surely cause the Physician Profession's professional experience to skyrocket.
Coincidentally, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well couldn't be bypassed without him, and this was already Zhao Liuyun's goal.
As his thoughts flowed, he began to meticulously understand what medicines the shop had, calculating to prepare several more potent poisons for self-defense based on the knowledge from the poison chapter.
"Snow Skin Flower Fruit, none."
"Heart-Devouring Mushroom, none."
"Illusory Mist Flower, also none."
"Black Blood Thorns, still none."
Zhao Liuyun's brows gradually furrowed. Why was everything he needed unavailable?
"Corpse Fragrance Begonia, found it."
His eyes flickered slightly as he continued to check, but the complementary poisonous herbs were missing.
He searched the entire shop but couldn't gather all the medicinal ingredients needed to prepare several famous poisons from the Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons' poison chapter.
There were quite a few poison-attribute Spirit Beast materials and various poisonous herbs, so preparing them himself wasn't impossible.
However, the toxicity of self-prepared poisons was difficult to control and required testing, far less stable than the mature poison formulas in the poison chapter.
Zhao Liuyun didn't give up: "Martial Uncle, do you have Illusory Mist Flower in the shop?"
This was a hallucinogenic poisonous herb, capable of concocting a hallucinogenic poison found in the poison chapter, 'Flower Not Flower'.
Zhao Liuyun was a Mental System Spirit Master, and this hallucinogenic poison might produce miraculous effects when combined with Spirit Abilities.
"What do you want Illusory Mist Flower for?" Martial Uncle looked puzzled. "Its pollen can disturb people's minds and cause hallucinations. It's not easy to collect, and Spirit Hall's herb collectors usually avoid it when they see it."
"Just to prepare some things for self-defense." Zhao Liuyun didn't hide it.
There were many such poisons in the poison chapter that could complement mental Spirit Abilities, but he was particularly interested in 'Flower Not Flower's' silent and unpredictable nature.
"None."
"What about Snake Saliva Grass?"
This poisonous herb's leaves would exude colorless, oily mucus, and touching it would also make one's mind confused.
"None."
To prevent his nephew from continuing to ask, Huang Xin quickly explained:
"Unless it has medicinal value, or someone posts a mission in the Mercenary Guild, few people specifically collect such dangerous poisonous herbs."
"Mercenary Guild?" Zhao Liuyun heard a strange yet expected term.
Huang Xin nodded: "It's located in a tavern and is also a subordinate industry of Spirit Hall."
"Ordinary people can post missions there, and Mercenaries will assess and accept them. Spirit Hall will take a commission and guarantee the missions."
"But—"
Zhao Liuyun understood what Martial Uncle had left unsaid.
"As I said, apart from spirit rings and the almost impossible Spirit Bones, everything else in Soul Hunting Forest is Spirit Hall's wealth!"
"To take out these medicines or poisons, you have to pay after Spirit Hall's people assess their value."
That is, when posting a mission, in addition to paying the Mercenary's remuneration, one also had to pay Spirit Hall to purchase the desired items.
What Zhao Liuyun needed were poisons, and few people collected them, so the money required to post such a mission was already considerable.
Not to mention having to pay Spirit Hall as well.
He still had over a thousand gold coins, but he was far from being able to spend lavishly.
From this perspective, to save money, it would be best to collect them himself.
He only needed to pay a sum to Spirit Hall, saving the Mercenary's remuneration.
He calmly pondered.
Ordinary people who wanted to enter Soul Hunting Forest needed a permit and would face its dangers.
They would probably be more inclined to post a mission.
This would allow the money spent to be reasonably recovered.
The money spent also came from the two great Empires, Spirit Hallplayed the good guy, and in the end, still made a profit.
They took all the benefits, truly knowing how to make money!
Zhao Liuyun sighed inwardly. After inspecting all the medicinal materials in the shop, he silently picked up a medical book and started devouring it.
First, he would steadily temper his body, and at the same time, earn full Physician Profession experience.
Unlike his teacher Bai Hong's place, there were many surgical medical books here. Reading them all would also bring in a considerable amount of general experience.
When patients arrived, he would assist Martial Uncle in diagnosis and treatment, combining work and study.
Time passed quickly; in a blur, three days had gone by.
Zhao Liuyun continued his cycle of "Medicinal Bath, dietary supplements, and exercise."
He only added an extra step: after exercising, he would use half of an Adjustment to vibrate his muscles with spirit power.
Even just half of it could relieve physical fatigue more quickly.
In just three days, Zhao Liuyun felt his strength had increased significantly, and his muscles had become more powerful.
His body was weak, so any subtle growth was evident under scrutiny.
The pain also seemed to have lessened.
Martial Uncle Huang Xin said: "That's how it is. Only the first time is the most painful and difficult to endure."
As the physical body grew stronger, the pain would become increasingly slight.
His physical growth was encouraging, but the Physician Professionexperience gain was not good.
Many people came and went in the shop, but most only bought insect repellent powder, snake repellent powder, and antidotes.
The number of Spirit Master patients who truly needed treatment was far less than imagined, and their source was extremely unstable.
Sometimes no one would appear all day, sometimes one would come, and occasionally a few more.
But there were no major injuries; in three days, he only gained 60 points of Physician Profession experience, an average of only 20 points per day.
It seemed like a lot, but the problem was it relied entirely on luck. He might not encounter anyone for several consecutive days, and then the Physician Profession experience would stagnate.
Martial Uncle said this was the norm.
Zhao Liuyun immediately dispelled his original idea of "sharpening the axe doesn't delay chopping wood," which was to first complete the second Change Profession for the Physician Profession to enhance the Focus Class Trait.
Considering the Class Trait for his body and the poisonous herbs needed to prepare poisons, he wasn't going to wait any longer.
The advancement of the Physician Profession could be left for later.
The Medicinal Bath wouldn't run away either.
It would be better to strive for a new body-related profession sooner.
After much deliberation, Zhao Liuyun told Martial Uncle his plan:
"Martial Uncle, I want to become a Mercenary."
This was the profession he had chosen.
Mercenary, Soldier, Knight... without exception, the Class Traits of these professions would mostly be related to physique.
Soldiers and Knights were official professions, requiring enlistment in the military.
Perhaps in the future, to quickly farm Class Traits, Zhao Liuyun would find a way to Change Profession, but not now.
And a Mercenary only needed to register with the Mercenary Guild, making it the most suitable choice.
"Mercenary?" Huang Xin didn't object, merely stating calmly, "Tell me your reasons."
Zhao Liuyun's gaze was solemn as he met Martial Uncle's eyes: "I need to work hard to earn money for Medicinal Baths and Spirit Beast meat."
"Insect repellent powder and antidotes sell well, but the money isn't enough."
Limited by funds, Martial Uncle Huang Xin had planned a Medicinal Bath for him once every seven days.
This way, the profits earned could cover the expenses and avoid overspending.
The arrangement was certainly reasonable, but it only considered balancing income and expenditure, not efficiency.
The efficacy of one Dragon Blood Tree Medicinal Bath only lasted for three days, leaving a gap of four full days in between.
Zhao Liuyun wanted to change the seven days to five days, or ideally, three days.
He also needed more Spirit Beast meat for dietary supplements.
Everything required money, more money!
Moreover, to obtain the Mercenary Profession, the prerequisite was naturally to become a Mercenary.
Three days were enough for Zhao Liuyun to understand the entire Soul Hunting Town and what professions he could potentially obtain.
There was a blacksmith shop here.
Blacksmith Profession was a good profession, but Zhao Liuyun's strength was still shallow.
Although Tang San was not old, he had climbed and run in the mountains and wilds since childhood, developing a strong physique.
He also had memories and experience of blacksmithing from his previous life, able to use the force of Controlling Crane Catching Dragon freely, which couldn't be compared with Zhao Liuyun, a pure novice who could only choose what to practice from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
Among other professions, Zhao Liuyun had considered Herb Collector.
This line of work valued quick eyes and hands, and agile movement, which had some similarities to the skills of a Thief.
However, after much thought, the possibility of acquiring a body Class Trait was too small, so it was ultimately abandoned.
After several considerations, the Mercenary path was still the most reliable.
Although it was also a gamble, he might not necessarily obtain a strong physique Class Trait, perhaps only some combat-related Class Traits.
But comparing the two, Mercenary was certainly more worth a try.