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During the remaining vacation days, Ye Wen stayed nestled within the Huo residence.
There was no helping it. Having grown accustomed to having a master guide him, Ye Wen felt he could no longer return to the solitary path of self-cultivation.
Huo Rui's martial soul was unlike ordinary ones. In her early years as a commoner, she had almost no access to soul rings that provided direct combat abilities. As a result, she had begun developing her own unique martial arts techniques early on. Now, at the peak of Soul Sage, her explosive strength allowed her to temporarily rival even a Spirit Douluo.
Under the guidance of such a top-tier martial arts master, and with Ye Wen already possessing a foundational knowledge of boxing techniques, his combat abilities skyrocketed over the short holiday.
Moreover, Ye Wen couldn't help but feel something odd. Though he had been just an ordinary university student in his past life, under Huo Rui's tutelage, he seemed to grasp concepts effortlessly, as if he had once mastered similar skills long ago and was merely reawakening them now.
The feeling was subtle yet unmistakable.
But since there was no clear explanation for this phenomenon, Ye Wen quickly stopped dwelling on it. He chalked it up to one of the perks of being reincarnated.
However, no matter how refined martial arts techniques were, they ultimately amounted to nothing more than patterns. Without a strong physical foundation to support them, everything would remain an unattainable mirage.
Thus, after teaching Ye Wen some martial arts routines, Huo Rui instructed him to focus on physical conditioning.
Ye Wen fully agreed with her approach, recognizing that Huo Rui wasn't withholding anything. He gladly accepted the advice, especially since Huo Yu'er had undergone the same training.
Compared to school days, holidays always felt fleeting. In the blink of an eye, Ye Wen had entered the second semester.
Ye Wen wasn't one to flaunt his achievements, so even as the semester progressed, none of his classmates realized that the person they dismissed as useless had already become a single-ring soul master. During this time, Ye Wen also began receiving stipends from the Spirit Hall.
One gold spirit coin—a sum sufficient to cover a year's expenses for an ordinary family—was granted simply for becoming a soul master. This made Ye Wen reflect on how becoming a soul master truly was the simplest way to achieve social mobility.
"But this isn't enough." Clutching another month's subsidy, Ye Wen's eyes gleamed with wisdom.
By now, Ye Wen had completely escaped the clutches of poverty, achieving true financial security. If he wished to marry, all he needed to do was reveal his identity as a soul master, and countless girls would willingly come forward.
But this wasn't what Ye Wen desired.
"Though Grandma Huo has been incredibly kind to me, and Yu'er deeply cares for me, I must continue strengthening myself to ensure our relationship doesn't collapse in the future. Only love built on mutual support can endure.
If one side continually takes without giving, the relationship will inevitably deteriorate."
Such were Ye Wen's thoughts.
Though he had never experienced romantic love in his past life, the internet had exposed him to countless "relationship gurus," from whom he had formed his own views on love.
Having never been favored by the opposite sex, Ye Wen believed that true love should involve mutual tolerance, growth, and support—not the parasitic dynamics often seen in gold-diggers or opportunists.
With some initial capital saved, Ye Wen decided to start a small venture.
With the traditional Chinese medicine knowledge in his mind, Ye Wen knew it would be akin to Tang San's dimensional advantage—an overwhelming force that could easily create a massive enterprise.
However, Ye Wen understood that whether in his previous ordinary world or this extraordinary one like Douluo, pursuing vast profits without sufficient backing would leave him vulnerable to being devoured by those in power. At worst, he might even lose everything and suffer irreparable damage.
Though Ye Wen now had two Spirit Douluo-level figures supporting him, their influence was still limited to a modest second-tier power on Douluo continent. They wouldn't be able to protect him from larger forces.
Thus, Ye Wen resolved to start small.
Although he had no entrepreneurial experience, Ye Wen knew he wasn't someone blessed by fate who could stumble into success by sheer luck. Since the start of the second semester, he had conducted numerous small investigations.
These investigations revealed a glaring gap in the market:
The pharmaceutical industry.
While Douluo did have some research on medicinal substances, it remained rudimentary, with most drugs catering to the dominant group—soul masters.
Though elixirs like those in Douluo II hadn't yet emerged, medicinal baths and poisons were already well-established.
However, these fields were monopolized by major powers, completely inaccessible to ordinary soul masters.
Ye Wen, aware of his limitations, didn't entertain such ambitions. Instead, he focused on creating medical remedies for commoners.
Though the commoners of Douluo continent were extremely poor, wearing patched-up clothes out of necessity, this was also an era where hiring a healing soul master was an unattainable luxury. Even minor illnesses could prove fatal.
In Ye Wen's view, if a remedy costing only a few meals' worth of money could save someone from the brink of death, most impoverished families would surely scrape together the funds.
After all, money could be earned again, but life was irreplaceable.
Though Ye Wen now had a clear entrepreneurial plan, it wasn't something he could achieve overnight.
As previously mentioned, most medicinal resources on Douluo continent were geared toward enhancing or eliminating soul masters.
After conducting thorough research, Ye Wen discovered that common herbal medicines from his previous world were entirely absent here.
However, time was on his side. Not seeking power or control, Ye Wen had ample time to gradually develop his own formulas.
Though the field of traditional Chinese medicine was mysterious, Ye Wen had uncovered hidden uses for his martial soul after obtaining his first soul ring.
Nana's martial soul excelled at perceiving elemental changes. After discovering his spatial attribute, Ye Wen realized that storing objects within Nana's martial soul allowed him to roughly understand their effects on him.
Stones: Hard, composed of earth elements, inedible.
Lake water: Composed of water elements, containing many impurities; drinking it would cause severe diarrhea. Slightly toxic.
River shrimp: A small life form, harboring numerous microorganisms; edible but may cause mild diarrhea.
Through countless experiments, Ye Wen gathered various sensory data. As he grew more adept, the information became increasingly detailed.
With each plant's properties unveiled, Ye Wen couldn't help but marvel at how extraordinary his martial soul was. This ability was akin to a soul-master version of Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs. (T/N: A Chinese folk religion of a Divine Farmer who compiled the effects of hundreds of herbs after tasting them himself.)
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