Rise in Douluo Continent with the help of bean buns

It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking.

On a secluded open space in the back mountains outside Blackstone Town.

Lin Chen sat cross-legged on a blue stone, his eyes slightly closed, his breathing long and steady.

A faint blue halo surrounded him, like the morning mist or the green of early spring grass.

That was the life force of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. After being refined over the past six months, it had become increasingly condensed and pure.

The Azure Lotus Technique circulated slowly within his body, and strands of spiritual energy from heaven and earth flowed into his body through his pores. After being filtered and compressed through the meridians, the energy finally converged into the vortex of soul power in his dantian.

Lin Chen had repeated this process countless times.

It has been a full six months since I went from being a level 5 Soul Master to now.

At the average Soul Master's cultivation speed, leveling up two or three times in half a year is already considered quite good.

But Lin Chen is different—he has bean buns.

  

After three optimizations by Doubao, the Qinghe Technique's soul power absorption efficiency is more than three times that of ordinary cultivation techniques.

Furthermore, after the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul underwent fundamental optimization, its affinity for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was greatly enhanced, making cultivation twice as effective with half the effort.

But Lin Chen was not in a hurry to upgrade.

He's being held back.

He would hone each skill to perfection, building an unbreakable foundation before choosing to break through.

"Doubao, current soul power status," Lin Chen silently recited in his mind.

[Soul Power Level: Peak Level 9, 3.7% away from the bottleneck of Level 10 Soul Master]

[Meridian width: 162% of the average level for the same grade]

[Soul Power Condensation Level: 215% of the average level for the same level]

[Purity of Martial Soul Origin: 94.3%, an increase of 0.8% compared to last month]

Doubao's voice echoed in my mind, clear, precise, and devoid of any emotion.

The series of data represents Lin Chen's achievements over the past six months.

For ordinary Soul Masters, leveling up depends solely on whether their total Soul Power is sufficient.

But Lin Chen is different. He pursues all-round improvement—the width of his meridians, the refinement of his soul power, and the purity of his martial soul's origin. He wants to hone each aspect to the extreme.

This is the significance of the "level-down" system.

The more solid the foundation, the further you can go in the future.

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes, a faint blue light flashing in them before disappearing.

He stood up and stretched his arms and legs.

At seven years old, his body had grown to be half a head taller than his peers due to long-term training and tempering with whale gel.

He wasn't particularly muscular, but his physique was well-proportioned, and every muscle possessed explosive power.

She has a pretty face, fair skin, and clean features, making her very pleasing to the eye.

What's most special about him is his temperament—gentle and peaceful, like a quietly growing tree, making people feel at ease just by standing there.

Only those who know him well know what kind of thoughts and shrewdness are hidden beneath his gentle exterior.

"It's time to go back." Lin Chen dusted himself off and turned to walk down the mountain.

By the time we got back to our lodgings in Blackrock Town, it was already broad daylight.

This is a large courtyard with three sections. The front courtyard is the accounting office and warehouse, the middle courtyard is for living, and the back courtyard is Lin Chen's special cultivation area.

When he moved here from Qingshi Village, he rented the place for five years at once. The rent was not expensive, the place was big enough, and it was quiet.

In the courtyard, Zhou Lei was practicing boxing.

Seeing Lin Chen return, Zhou Lei stopped his punches and walked over: "Good morning, boss."

Zhou Lei is 28 years old this year, a level 26 Great Soul Master, with the Iron Arm Bear Martial Soul.

He was injured during the Soul Hunting event years ago, which caused his cultivation to stagnate. His family was also in dire straits, so Lin Chen invited him to be a retainer, with a monthly salary of twenty gold coins.

After spending the past six months with his employer, who was more than ten years younger than him, Zhou Lei had grown increasingly impressed with him.

Despite his young age, his mind is unfathomable.

He was a master at doing business. From nothing to something, Qinghetang grew to a scale where it earned hundreds of dollars a month in less than a year.

His cultivation is even more terrifying—half a year ago he was a level 5 Soul Warrior, and now he's about to reach level 10. No one would believe this speed if they told them.

But what Zhou Lei admired most was Lin Chen's composure.

Despite having such strong talent and earning so much money, he remains incredibly low-key.

He usually keeps to himself, avoids trouble, and doesn't show off. When he walks down the street, he looks like an ordinary, handsome young man. No one would guess that he is the owner of Qinghetang.

"Good morning." Lin Chen nodded, his tone flat. "Have the accounts for this month been reconciled yet?"

"I've figured it out," Zhou Lei replied, a hint of joy on his face. "Boss, this month's accounts have increased quite a bit compared to last month."

"How much?" Lin Chen asked casually as he walked inside.

"A net profit of two hundred and fifty-three gold soul coins." Zhou Lei's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "That's twenty-one more gold soul coins than last month. Mainly because the distribution channels in the three surrounding towns have been established, and the sales of the calming packs have increased significantly. As for the concentration powder, there are more and more repeat customers, and the supply can't keep up with the demand."

Lin Chen nodded, his expression unchanged.

A monthly net profit of over two hundred gold coins is quite an astonishing figure in a place like Blackrock Town. Keep in mind that an average family's annual expenses are only two or three gold coins.

The net profit of Qinghetang in a month is enough for an ordinary family to live on for a hundred years.

But Lin Chen knew very well that this was far from enough.

Blackrock Town is too small.

This town has only so much market space at most. No matter how much you try, your monthly income will only be capped at 300 gold coins.

To achieve greater development, one must move to a larger city.

But now is not the time.

At least, we should wait until he gets his first spirit ring and becomes a true spirit master.

"What about your savings?" Lin Chen asked again.

"Our total savings have exceeded 3,200 gold soul coins," Zhou Lei replied. "This is after we bought those ten acres of wasteland last month and expanded the workshop. If we hadn't expanded, our savings would have been even greater."

Three thousand two hundred gold coins.

This figure would definitely qualify someone as a millionaire in Blackrock Town.

But Lin Chen was still not satisfied.

Hunting souls requires money, buying soul beasts requires money, hiring guards requires money, and developing in big cities in the future will require even more money.

Three daughters may sound like a lot, but they can easily be spent.

In particular, he planned to hire three Soul Masters as guards to hunt souls. The guard fees alone would cost tens of gold coins per trip. In addition, the cost of various supplies, medicines, and emergency equipment would easily exceed a hundred gold coins.

Money is never enough.

"Okay, I understand," Lin Chen replied casually and went inside.

Breakfast was already laid out on the table—plain congee, pickled vegetables, and two steamed buns—simple but filling.

Lin Chen is not a person who cares about food and clothing. For him, eating is just to maintain the body's function, and he will save money wherever possible.

The time and money saved were used for spiritual practice and business.

As he ate, he mentally calculated Qinghetang's accounts.

Qinghetang's business is now mainly divided into two parts.

One is a budget-friendly calming pack, sold in large quantities with low profit margins, but it's stable.

The general stores in the four surrounding towns all sell on consignment, and they can sell nearly three thousand packs a month, with a net profit of about fifty gold soul coins.

The other item is the Soul Master-grade Tranquilizing Powder and Concentration Powder, which are profitable and have high sales volume. They are mainly sold to low-level Soul Masters in the town and visiting Soul Hunting Teams, as well as to pharmacies in surrounding towns. The monthly net profit is about two hundred gold Soul Coins.

In total, the monthly net profit is consistently around 250 gold.

And it is still growing steadily.

But Lin Chen has been controlling the speed of expansion.

It's not that production capacity is insufficient, but rather that he doesn't want to be too high-profile.

In a small place like Blackrock Town, standing out too much can easily get you into trouble.

Concealing one's talents and keeping a low profile are his guiding principles.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Chen did not immediately begin cultivating, but instead went to his study.

It's called a study, but it's actually just a big room filled with books.

These books were collected by Lin Chen over the past six months. They included a variety of books, such as a soul beast encyclopedia, botanical classics, an introduction to pharmacology, and basic theories of soul masters.

Lin Chen walked to the bookshelf, took out a copy of "A Hundred-Year-Old Illustrated Guide to Soul Beasts, Volume 3", and began to read it.

This is his daily routine—expanding his knowledge base.

While Doubao's database is comprehensive, much of the advanced knowledge and detailed information requires the host to unlock through reading books. Moreover, the content understood through reading is different from the content directly imparted by Doubao.

Lin Chen watched very carefully, silently memorizing as he read.

"Doubao, analyze the content of this page and supplement the relevant information."

[Analyzing...Analysis complete. Information on the three variants of this soul beast, its habitat distribution, soul skill details, and weakness analysis has been added. This information has been synchronized to the database.]

[This analysis consumed 2.1% of my mental energy; my current remaining mental energy is 91.5%]

Doubao's comprehensive analytical capabilities are practically bug-level when it comes to learning.

It might take an ordinary Soul Master ten days to half a month to finish reading a book, and even then, they might not be able to remember it.

But Lin Chen is different. He only needs to flip through the book once, and Doubao can analyze, organize, and supplement the entire book's content, then synchronize it into his memory.

Not only can they remember it well, but they can also add many details that are not in the book.

Of course, the cost is the depletion of mental energy.

Deciphering a book requires approximately 10% to 20% of one's mental energy, depending on the complexity of the content.

Therefore, Lin Chen would analyze a maximum of two or three books each day, and spend the rest of his time reading and digesting them on his own.

Over the past six months, his knowledge base has expanded considerably.

He has already read 95% of the Hundred-Year Soul Beast Encyclopedia. He can describe the habits, weaknesses, and soul skill effects of common Hundred-Year Soul Beasts with his eyes closed.

He has read 75% of the botanical classics, especially those on medicinal plants, and knows more about them than many veteran herbalists.

I've studied basic pharmaceutics quite thoroughly. Although I haven't tried making medicine myself yet, my theoretical knowledge is already very solid.

This knowledge may seem useless in ordinary times, but it can save lives in critical moments.

For example, when hunting soul beasts, being able to recognize the type of soul beast and know its weaknesses can save you a lot of trouble and may even save your life.

Lin Chen spent about half an hour reading through the last few pages of the third volume.

"The complete encyclopedia of 100-year-old soul beasts is now unlocked," he thought to himself.

[Congratulations, host! The Hundred-Year Soul Beast Encyclopedia is 100% complete. Related achievement: Basic Soul Beast Identification. Analysis costs for Hundred-Year Soul Beasts reduced by 20%.]

Doubao's notification sound rang.

Lin Chen nodded slightly and put the book back on the bookshelf.

Having finished looking at the hundred-year-old soul beast encyclopedia, it's time to move on to the thousand-year-old soul beasts. However, the thousand-year-old soul beast encyclopedia entries are more expensive and harder to buy, so we'll have to collect them slowly.

He then pulled out a book called "On the Origin of Plants," an ancient text about the cultivation of plant martial spirits. It was somewhat obscure and difficult to understand, but its content was very valuable.

Lin Chen had just turned two pages when there was a knock on the door.

"Boss, Manager Zhang from Hongyuan Pharmacy is here and says he wants to see you." It was Zhou Lei's voice.

Lin Chen put down the book, got up, and walked out.

In the front hall, a middle-aged, plump man dressed in a silk robe was sitting and drinking tea. He was none other than Manager Zhang of Hongyuan Pharmacy.

Upon seeing Lin Chen emerge, Manager Zhang immediately stood up, his face beaming with smiles: "Young Master Lin, it's been a long time! It's been a long time!"

"Manager Zhang, please have a seat," Lin Chen said casually, taking his place in the main seat. "What brings you here today?"

"Hey, I'm here to pay you for the goods." Manager Zhang said with a smile, taking out a money bag from his pocket and placing it on the table. "This is the payment for last month's goods, a total of forty-eight gold soul coins. Please count it."

Zhou Lei picked up the money bag, opened it, looked inside, and nodded to Lin Chen.

"Hmm," Lin Chen responded, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

Looking at Lin Chen's indifferent attitude, Manager Zhang felt a little uneasy.

It's strange, but Lin Xiaodong looks young and doesn't talk much, yet he gives off an unfathomable feeling.

Every time he spoke to him, Manager Zhang unconsciously lowered his posture.

Mingming Qinghetang is only slightly larger than Hongyuan Pharmacy.

But Manager Zhang just felt that this young man was no ordinary person.

"Mr. Lin," Manager Zhang said with a smile, rubbing his hands together, "I've come today to discuss something with you."

"Speak," Lin Chen said succinctly.

"It's like this," said Manager Zhang, "Your calming powder is really effective. Our regular customers all say it's great, and we have a lot of repeat customers. I'd like to ask if you could supply our shop with more stock? The price is negotiable; I'll add 20% profit to each pack."

Lin Chen glanced at him.

Concentration Powder is a high-end product from Qinghetang, specifically sold to Soul Masters. Its effects are 30% better than similar products on the market, yet it is only 10% more expensive. Because of its superior effects, it is always in short supply.

But Lin Chen has been controlling production.

It's not that production capacity is insufficient, but rather that he doesn't want to be too high-profile.

In a small place like Blackrock Town, standing out too much can easily get you into trouble.

"Production capacity is limited, so we can't add too many," Lin Chen said calmly. "At most, we can add another twenty packs per month."

"Twenty packs?" Manager Zhang was a little disappointed, but he knew he couldn't force the issue. "Alright, twenty packs it is. Is that settled then?"

"Mm." Lin Chen nodded.

Manager Zhang sat for a while longer, exchanged a few polite words, and then got up to take his leave.

After seeing Manager Zhang off, Zhou Lei approached him: "Boss, our Concentration Powder is so popular, why not produce more? Wouldn't it be better to make more money?"

Lin Chen glanced at him and asked in return, "You make so much money, can you hold onto it?"

Zhou Lei was taken aback.

"Blackrock Town is only so big. If a pharmacy suddenly appears that earns several hundred gold coins a month, what do you think people will think?" Lin Chen said calmly. "There will be envious people, people who want to trip us up, and people who want to extort money from us. We're still weak, so there's no need to cause so much trouble."

"But..." Zhou Lei wanted to say something more.

"It's better to play it safe," Lin Chen interrupted him. "You can never earn enough money, but you only have one life. We can expand when we're strong enough."

Zhou Lei opened his mouth, but finally nodded: "Yes, the boss is right."

He felt even more admiration for Lin Chen.

At such a young age, he has earned so much money, yet he can still maintain such a clear mind and know how to conceal his talents.

This mindset is more terrifying than talent.

After seeing Manager Zhang off, Lin Chen returned to the backyard and began his afternoon cultivation.

The afternoon session consisted of martial spirit micro-management training and mental strength training.

Lin Chen stood in the center of the courtyard and summoned his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

Pale blue vines extended from his palm, swaying gently in the air. Faint silver patterns adorned the vines, traces of the optimized martial soul essence.

"Let's begin, micro-management training, the 327th time," Lin Chen thought to himself.

[Received. Training objective: Simultaneously control 300 vines, each vine precisely hitting the target point with an error of no more than 0.05 millimeters. Estimated mental energy consumption: 15%.]

As Doubao's voice faded, countless tiny points of light suddenly appeared in the yard—those were the target points simulated by Doubao.

The next second, all three hundred Blue Silver Grass vines moved at the same time.

As if they were alive, the vines weaved, bent, and precisely landed on the points of light in the air.

Fast, accurate, and stable.

Three hundred vines, each with a different trajectory, yet each one precisely struck its target.

This is the Martial Soul Micro-Management Training.

An ordinary Soul Master is lucky if they can control a dozen or so vines at the same time.

With Doubao's help and his daily hard training, Lin Chen can now control three hundred vines at the same time with a precision of 0.05 millimeters.

This level of micro-management can play a huge role in combat.

For example, while ordinary soul masters can only roughly bind their opponents with blue silver, Lin Chen can precisely bind their joints and acupoints, and even penetrate their bodies through their pores.

The gap widens little by little like this.

"First group, complete. 100% hit rate, average error 0.03 mm."

[Consumed 4.7% of mental energy, current remaining mental energy 72.3%]

Doubao's notification sound rang.

Lin Chen didn't rest and continued with the second set.

One group, two groups, three groups...

Lin Chen stopped when his mental energy was depleted to about 50%.

Micro-management training is over; next is mental training.

The method for training mental strength is very simple—meditation.

But Lin Chen's meditation is different from that of ordinary soul masters.

With the help of Doubao, he can conduct "extreme meditation training".

Simply put, it involves expending mental energy to its limit, then meditating to recover in that extreme state, repeatedly stimulating the body to increase the total amount of mental energy and its recovery speed.

This method is very effective, but it is also very painful.

The feeling of mental exhaustion is much worse than physical fatigue. It feels like your brain has been emptied out, leaving you feeling dizzy, nauseous, and wanting to vomit.

But Lin Chen persisted.

Because he knew very well that mental strength was the foundation for Doubao's effectiveness. The stronger the mental strength, the more things Doubao could do—longer analysis time, more calculations, and more accurate deductions.

It can be said that his mental strength is his core competitiveness.

Lin Chen sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

Doubao assisted him from the side, guiding the flow of his mental energy.

Time passed little by little.

As the sun set, it bathed the courtyard in gold.

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

[This extreme meditation training is complete. Total mental energy increased by 0.3%, and recovery speed increased by 0.2%.]

[Current mental state: Deep analysis can last for 8 minutes, with a daily limit of 8 high-intensity calculations.]

Doubao's voice echoed in my mind.

Lin Chen nodded.

The improvement in mental strength is very slow, only a fraction of a percent each time. But with daily practice, the cumulative effect is quite remarkable.

Six months ago, his deep analysis could only last three minutes, and he could perform a maximum of three calculations per day. Now, it can last eight minutes, and he can perform eight calculations per day.

This rate of progress is already quite astonishing.

In the evening, after finishing dinner, Lin Chen read for a while and then began the last training session of the day—the Soul Power Impact.

Yes, we are aiming to break through the level 10 bottleneck.

In fact, his total soul power had already reached the level ten standard half a month ago. However, he did not break through, but instead continued to hone his foundation.

Now, he feels that's about right.

"Doubao, devise a breakthrough plan," Lin Chen said to himself.

[Received. Analyzing a breakthrough plan for a level 10 Soul Master... Analyze complete. Optimal plan generated, success rate 99.7%. Execute?]

"implement."

The next second, a stream of information flooded into Lin Chen's mind.

The steps to break through, the route of soul power circulation, and the details to pay attention to... are all clearly explained and easy to understand.

This is Doubao's optimal deduction and simulation ability—for any cultivation, breakthrough, or absorption of a soul ring, it can deduce the optimal solution, minimizing risks and maximizing effects.

Following the deduced plan, Lin Chen began to circulate his soul power.

The vortex of soul power in his dantian began to spin faster.

Strands of soul power were drawn out and circulated through the meridians along specific routes. With each complete cycle, the soul power became more refined, and the meridians widened slightly.

This process lasted for a full hour.

Finally, there was a soft "bang," as if something had been broken.

The bottleneck of a level 10 Soul Master has been broken.

Lin Chen's aura instantly surged.

But he didn't stop; instead, he continued to circulate his soul power to consolidate his realm.

Another half hour passed.

Lin Chen slowly finished his practice and opened his eyes.

[Breakthrough complete. Current level: Peak Level 10 Soul Warrior.] [Meridian width: 165% of the average level for the same level] [Soul Power Condensation: 220% of the average level for the same level] [Martial Soul Origin Purity: 94.5%]

Doubao's voice rang out, accompanied by a series of data.

Lin Chen clenched his fist, feeling the abundant soul power within his body.

Peak level 10 Soul Master.

Finally, the time has come to hunt for the first spirit ring.

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night outside.

The moonlight spilled into the courtyard, turning it into a silvery white expanse.

Lin Chen's gaze drifted into the distance.

That direction is the direction of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Soul hunting is an inevitable path for every Soul Master.

This is also the first step into the world of Soul Masters.

"Zhou Lei," Lin Chen called out.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Zhou Lei's voice came from next door, and soon he came over.

"I'm going to go soul hunting," Lin Chen said calmly.

Zhou Lei's eyes lit up: "You've broken through?"

"Hmm." Lin Chen nodded. "Peak level 10 Soul Master, you can hunt your first Soul Ring now."

"That's wonderful!" Zhou Lei exclaimed excitedly. "Boss, your talent is truly... amazing!"

Lin Chen didn't reply, but instead said, "Help me contact and hire a few reliable Soul Master guards."

"Soul Master?" Zhou Lei was taken aback. "Boss, it's just the first Soul Ring, is such a big fuss really necessary? A few Great Soul Masters would be enough."

"Safety first," Lin Chen said calmly. "Hunting Souls is a lifelong endeavor; we can't afford any mistakes. Spend a little more money to ensure everything is safe."

Zhou Lei opened his mouth as if to say something, but finally nodded: "Okay, I understand. I'll contact them right away and find three people I know well. They're all in their early thirties, and they regularly take on Soul Hunting escort jobs. They all have good reputations."

"Hmm." Lin Chen nodded. "The cost isn't a problem; the key is that the person has to be reliable."

"Don't worry, boss, don't you trust me to handle things?" Zhou Lei said, patting his chest.

Lin Chen didn't say anything more.

He turned his head and continued to look at the night view outside the window.

Starry Sky Forest.

First Soul Ring.

Green and resilient blue silver vine.

Everything is proceeding according to plan.

A very faint smile appeared on Lin Chen's lips.

His path to becoming a Soul Master is finally about to officially begin.

And this is only the first step.