"This Soul Skill... it's really powerful. Unfortunately, it can only be used by Excellent Level and ordinary-grade Soul Kinds," Liu Shen said, looking slightly surprised.
"Soul Seed Boiling was left by my parents. I have no use for it, so I was thinking if you could help out a little..." Wang Linchi hastily added.
「After one month」
Wang Linchi had successfully mastered the Soul Skill·Soul Seed Boiling. However, its performance was worse by a significant margin.
Exhausting one hundred points of spiritual power could amplify the Soul Kind's effect by ten percent, but the damage was even more significant. Originally, it would have recovered within twenty-four hours. Now, however, a single use required forty-eight hours for the cracks in the Soul Kind to mend. If used before full recovery, the Soul Kind could only sustain three consecutive uses before becoming useless.
On the bright side, though, the result was remarkably good because it was easy to use and consumed little energy—yes, very little energy.
That's right, the consumption was low.
For Wang Linchi, one hundred points were high because he lacked a Soul Forging Method and the corresponding resources for cultivation; otherwise, the cost wasn't truly high.
"Hahaha, you're really courteous, Wang." Liu Shen felt rather pleased hearing that. Indeed, Wang hadn't come empty-handed asking for help; he was certainly sensible. This Soul Skill was useless to him personally, as he had already retired to a less prominent position. But if he presented it to his clan, he might get a slight promotion, not to mention other benefits. Perhaps next time, he could go from being a teacher to a director. Even his son's standing within the clan would rise. But first, he needed to appease Wang Linchi; he naturally knew not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. If Wang Linchi's price was reasonable, Liu Shen wouldn't deliberately undercut it. He knew Wang Linchi's parents had specialized in Soul Kind and Soul Resemblance, and they might have left behind more than just the Soul Seed Boiling Soul Skill. As for why Wang Linchi was selling it, Liu Shen also knew. Wang Linchi had simply run out of money and was struggling to make a living; otherwise, why would he sell it?
"I heard our Academy has a research subsidy. Teacher Liu, don't you think I should qualify for it since nobody else in my field has?" Wang Linchi cut straight to the chase.
Liu Shen's eyes couldn't help but narrow. He hadn't expected Wang Linchi's appetite to be larger than he imagined. He never thought he'd actually want this subsidy.
Indeed, there were subsidies for the Soul Kind and Soul Resemblance specialization; every specialization had one, no matter how unpopular. This was a regulation from Sky Capital of Great View Royal City.
However, the reality was that these subsidies rarely reached others; they were mostly divided up.
Wang Linchi could indeed apply himself, but the application process would likely not be completed even by the time he graduated.
This wasn't a small sum. Because sufficient results hadn't been produced in the field, the current professional subsidy was at the lowest tier: one hundred Excellent Level Soul Kinds plus one thousand yuan per year.
Theoretically, the distributed Excellent Level Soul Kinds were only for research and not for other uses. Of course, this was just in theory.
Therefore, if sold, they would amount to one hundred thousand yuan a year. This figure was significant even for Liu Shen.
And conveniently, this fell right into his area of interest.
As a teacher at Qinghe Academy, his monthly salary was just over a thousand yuan, but he gained much more through other means.
This particular 'perk' was relatively small; the truly lucrative ones were in the popular specializations.
"It's true, no one has claimed it yet. However, the procedures... they take quite some time," Liu Shen said, not too thrilled. He had initially thought he could fob Wang Linchi off with a thousand or eight hundred yuan, but he hadn't expected him to ask for so much. Yes, that amount of money certainly couldn't buy this remarkable Soul Skill, and with this Soul Skill, he could gain much more. Furthermore, after Wang Linchi left, the subsidy would still be his; Wang would only receive it for a few years at most. However, he just wasn't comfortable with it; he even considered trying to get the Soul Skill for free.
"Then how long will the application take?" Wang Linchi asked, feigning ignorance. He could tell that Liu Shen, accustomed to his gains, was now unwilling to part with any. Did Liu Shen really think he couldn't be dealt with? What he had given him was not the complete version. It was an incomplete version. If one were to cultivate and use it directly, each use would accumulate permanent damage. This damage would become increasingly severe with each subsequent use. According to his estimation, an accumulation of at most five uses would render the Soul Kind useless.
"That's uncertain. It depends on the procedures," Liu Shen replied vaguely.
"Please, Teacher Liu, help me out as much as you can. If this goes through, I have another generous gift for you," Wang Linchi added.
Upon hearing the words "generous gift," Liu Shen's eyes naturally lit up.
"Ahem, I'll help expedite this matter. It's not that I'm coveting your generous gift; it's mainly because there's a bond of friendship between us."
"But about that item..." Liu Shen was thinking of getting it for free, draining Wang Linchi dry first. As for the subsidy? Dream on. Since he already had the item and had memorized its contents, he could just keep saying the procedures were ongoing.
"That will take some time. After all, I need to go back and search for it. I read in a diary that this Soul Seed Boiling has a second half. If used directly without this second half, each use will cause irreversible permanent damage to the Soul Kind. It can be used at most five times," Wang Linchi said nonchalantly.
At these words, a shadow instantly crossed Liu Shen's face. He was actually being manipulated by this student. How dare a mere impoverished student be so arrogant!
Fortunately, he quickly composed himself and then said, "Wang, trying to exchange an incomplete Soul Skill for the subsidy... isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Wang Linchi also smiled. "Indeed, it's not quite right. In that case, I won't make the exchange. I'll come back to you, Teacher Liu, when I find the remaining part."
With that, Wang Linchi stood up to leave, not even wanting the paper recording Soul Seed Boiling.
The reason was simple. If the Soul Skill caused irreparable damage to the Soul Kind every time it was used, and the Soul Kind would be rendered useless after five such instances, then it essentially became a useless Soul Skill. Few people would risk their Soul Kinds for such a trivial boost. In that case, its value plummeted from immense to worthless.
Liu Shen finally weighed his options. The value of five years of the professional subsidy versus submitting the complete Soul Skill·Soul Seed Boiling—the latter was clearly far more valuable. The rewards from his clan, whether tangible or intangible benefits, would far exceed five years' worth of the subsidy.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Three days at most. I can help you, Wang, get the subsidy approved. I hope you won't forget your generous reward by then!"
As Liu Shen said this, his heart was bleeding inwardly; this was all a loss.
"Of course not. And I must thank you, Teacher Liu, for your help." Wang Linchi knew that Liu Shen was only slightly greedy, not excessively so. Therefore, he would weigh the pros and cons and inevitably choose the more beneficial option.