Yang Chan didn't let the remaining Potential Points on his panel go to waste. He used all of them to improve his strength.
He tried allocating points to Talent and Lifespan, but there was no option to do so. He wasn't sure if he didn't have enough points or if they simply couldn't be increased. In any case, it didn't affect him much.
Yang Chan directly allocated five Potential Points to the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill and three to the Ox Demon's Mighty Fist. The last point went to the Turtle Breath Body Cultivation Skill, and all of them saw significant improvement.
'I've gained quite a lot this month.'
Yang Chan slowly concluded his practice, ending his cultivation of the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill. His body's Qi and Blood returned to their peak state.
He hadn't taken on any missions this month, but his life had been exhausting. Just memorizing the Medicine Scriptures was a real struggle.
He would first try his best to memorize everything before using his points. His dedication even earned him some admiration from the staff at the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion. He spent most of his time studying, a level of grinding few were willing to endure. Most Official Disciples were more focused on improving their Ox Demon's Mighty Fist and strengthening their Wild Ox Force.
Shi Gaoshun had asked Yang Chan about his plans before. After learning that he wanted to become a Pharmacist, he offered a few words of encouragement. In his opinion, Yang Chan was only choosing the path of a Pharmacist because he knew his own Talent for Martial Arts was poor. At least, the boy was self-aware.
'Panel!'
At Yang Chan's thought, a panel appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Yang Chan]
[Lifespan: 16/68]
[Talent: 7]
[Potential Points: 0]
[Mastered Professions: Pharmacist (Tier One Initial Glimpse 12%)]
[Comprehension Technique: Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill (Tier Two Entry 6%), Ox Demon's Mighty Fist (Tier One Initial Glimpse 95%), Turtle Breath Body Cultivation Skill (Tier One Initial Glimpse 5%)]
Upgrading the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill to Tier Two Entry added ten years to his Lifespan and two points to his Talent. The total volume of Qi and Blood in his body also increased significantly, enough for him to practice several more sets of the Ox Demon's Mighty Fist.
He also felt his body's healing rate improve. Once, he accidentally cut his hand. A wound that would normally have taken six or seven days to heal now closed up completely in just two.
His physical strength had increased considerably as well. Simultaneously, knowledge of the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill's Silk Binding Force surfaced in his mind, but he chose not to cultivate it.
Steward Lin's warning had made him aware that it was best not to cultivate a second type of Power before his Wild Ox Force reached the Great Success stage. Otherwise, it would compromise the purity of the Wild Ox Force and hinder his future progress in Martial Arts.
The Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill could grant him a long life, but he still needed the Ox Demon's Mighty Fist for protection. Besides, future Cultivation within the Cyan Yuan Sect was tied to the Ox Demon Strong Fist Technique, requiring the Wild Ox Force for advancement.
He had learned from Shi Gaoshun that when the Sect's Elite Disciples underwent External Refining of the bones, they had to combine the Wild Ox Force with another power, the Fierce Tiger Force. This allowed them to improve their strength faster and more perfectly.
With his future in mind, Yang Chan naturally chose not to cultivate the Silk Binding Force from the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill.
His Ox Demon's Mighty Fist was already close to Perfection, and the Wild Ox Force within his body was almost fully nurtured, so he naturally didn't mind waiting a few more days.
The panel didn't show the improvements to his Ox Demon's Mighty Fist, but the increases in his physical strength, speed, and Wild Ox Force were very noticeable. However, he hadn't reached a breakthrough yet; he was still building up his power.
Upgrading the Turtle Breath Body Cultivation Skill to Tier One Initial Glimpse added three years to his Lifespan and one point to his Talent. Beyond his breathing becoming slightly deeper and longer, there weren't many other changes.
It wasn't as effective as the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill.
Still, his Lifespan had increased by quite a lot. If he continued to improve the Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill and the Turtle Breath Body Cultivation Skill, he was certain to live past one hundred within a year.
Gaining thirteen years of life in exchange for one month of effort was definitely worth it.
The common wish to "live a long life of one hundred years" was now just a trivial goal for him.
Even though his strength had increased so much, Yang Chan continued to keep a low profile. His current power was comparable to those in the Medicine Hall who had reached the Great Success stage of Wild Ox Force. However, he chose not to reveal his Cultivation level and instead stuck to his original plan of becoming a Pharmacist.
Today, he planned to take the assessment to become a Pharmacist's Assistant.
A month of diligently studying the Medicine Scripture, on top of his past experience as a Medicinal Herb Collection Boy, was enough to show that he had the potential to become a Pharmacist—and very promising potential at that.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Yang Chan, are you going to the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion again today?"
Outside, Du Xiaolin knocked on the door and asked.
He was an Official Disciple who often studied the Medicine Scriptures in the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion. Feeling his own Talent for Cultivation was poor, he wanted to pursue the path of a Pharmacist. In his eyes, Yang Chan was in the same boat.
Since they both frequented the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion, they had met several times and become familiar. As he was heading there now, he had called for Yang Chan to come along.
"I'm not going today," Yang Chan said, opening the door. "I want to go to the Medicine Hall's assessment area and try the Pharmacist's Assistant assessment."
'As far as I'm concerned, it's practically a sure thing.'
'Unless someone with ill intentions interferes, nothing should go wrong.'
"The Pharmacist's Assistant assessment can only be taken once every half a year. Aren't you going to prepare more?"
Du Xiaolin was surprised by Yang Chan's decision. After all, Yang Chan had only been studying the Medicine Scriptures in the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion for a month. Du Xiaolin himself still wasn't confident after three months, so he was naturally taken aback.
"I've put in a lot of effort recently. I just want to give it a try and see where I stand."
Yang Chan had already made up his mind and wasn't going to change it.
"That's a good idea. You can give it a shot and see what the Pharmacist's Assistant assessment is like. Even if you fail, you'll gain some valuable experience."
"I'll go take the assessment with you. It'll be a good way to see what I'm still lacking."
Yang Chan's words made Du Xiaolin eager to try as well. He felt that just reading books in the Medicine Hall wasn't having much effect; it would be better to take the assessment himself to find out what he was missing.
He had only been an Official Disciple of the Cyan Yuan Sect for four months, so he was exempt from mandatory missions for his first year. If he failed this time, he would still have another chance. There was no point in procrastinating further.
"You can prepare a bit more first, then go to the assessment. There's no need to rush."
Yang Chan hadn't expected his words to spur Du Xiaolin into taking the assessment too. He'd overheard Du Xiaolin reciting the properties of various herbs before. Just yesterday, he had mixed up the properties and functions of a very common one.
'If he rushes into it like this, he probably won't pass.'
"It's fine! You're going, aren't you? I want to give it a shot too, just to see how big the gap really is. If I fail, I'll just come back and try again."
Du Xiaolin said, patting his chest. He'd been considering it anyway. Seeing someone like Yang Chan, who had only been studying for a month, dare to take the assessment gave him courage. If he could do it, then someone who had studied for over three months like himself certainly could.
He was the type to get nervous easily, so being decisive was better than procrastinating.
"Alright then, let's go together!" Yang Chan replied.
'If he's already prepared for the possibility of failure, then there's no need to say anything more.'
'Half a year sounds like a long time, but it passes quickly. In fact, using the assessment as an opportunity to identify one's own weaknesses is actually a good thing.'
'And if he got lucky and passed, that would be even better. It would save a lot of time.'