Speaking of which, talent appeared on the panel for the first time.
Lin Sheng was quite interested in this attribute.
After all, this was something that had not been present in the ordinary beasts he had incorporated before.
Earth Affinity, it sounded like it was primarily related to the earth.
But what were the specific effects…
Lin Sheng closed his eyes and felt it carefully.
At this moment, he could feel that the surrounding earth seemed to have gained some connection with him, although it was extremely subtle, so much so that if he didn't feel it carefully, he might even ignore it.
But now it truly existed, as if some kind of power within the ground was slowly trying to pour into his body.
This feeling was quite peculiar.
As this power flowed into his body, he felt full of energy.
"The talent Earth Affinity seems to provide a certain amplification effect as long as I stand on the ground. As for the direction of the amplification…"
Lin Sheng recalled the introduction of the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile in the hundred beast compendium and the description in the mountain and sea scroll.
This Spirit Beast was mainly known for its thick hide and flesh, extremely tenacious vitality, excellent endurance, and its ability to burrow, moving much faster underground than on the surface.
Perhaps this Earth Affinity was related to this.
The effect brought by this Earth Affinity should be most evident in terms of Physique.
The Silver-patterned Black Crocodile's Physique amplification had already reached 4 points, which was the highest among all the amplifications.
And after activating Earth Affinity, it further strengthened the original amplification effect.
Lin Sheng thought to himself, and already actively let go of his body, starting to frantically absorb the heavy power from the ground. Immediately, he felt the slowly flowing unknown power surge into his body like a tide.
His originally tall figure instantly expanded.
His height of over 1.8 meters rapidly grew to over 1.9 meters, approaching two meters, in just a few breaths.
His broad Physique became noticeably wider by more than two circles.
His entire person resembled a thick, heavy city wall.
His exposed skin even developed faint patterns, like cracked earth.
Lin Sheng felt an indescribable swelling and heaviness in his body, yet it was filled with explosive power, giving him a sense of inexplicable security.
"Is this the true Earth Affinity? To absorb the power of the earth for my own use."
He muttered to himself, but it was not suitable to vent in the courtyard.
He could only suppress the urge to punch the ground to release the restless thoughts in his heart.
He stretched out his rough, large palm and grasped his other arm, squeezing tightly. The powerful strength completely erupted. At this moment, he felt as though he could directly crush even refined steel in his hand.
However, to his surprise, there was only a violent grinding noise. The arm being gripped felt no pain at all, and when he released his hand, the arm was only slightly red.
Clearly, although the most obvious feeling was the increase in strength, the truly significant improvement was in Physique, especially the toughness of his muscles and skin.
"Strength has increased by thirty to forty percent based on the incorporated Silver-patterned Black Crocodile, and the Physique amplification is even stronger, estimated to be close to fifty percent. However, the specifics will require more testing."
Looking at his strong Physique, which seemed to be wearing a layer of armor, Lin Sheng muttered to himself.
Since he had released his self-imposed restrictions and actively absorbed the power of the earth, his perception of the heavy and violent power from the ground became more real.
However, while in a state of powerful amplification, he also clearly felt the violent power of the earth raging within his body.
The impact was extremely strong, and even with his current Physique, he felt somewhat strained.
Clearly, the power of the earth was not that easy to use, and he could not activate the Earth Affinity talent for a long time.
Soon, more than ten breaths passed. Lin Sheng felt the power of the earth within his body becoming increasingly violent, already nearing his limit, so he decisively cut off the connection.
His figure, which had resembled a city wall, visibly returned to the size it was after incorporating the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile.
"Fifteen breaths. There won't be any problem within fifteen breaths. It cannot exceed twenty breaths at most, otherwise, it will damage myself." Lin Sheng estimated the time and determined the duration he could maintain the Earth Affinity state.
Fifteen breaths might not seem long, but it was enough to serve as a trump card.
"In the activated Earth Affinity state, I should be no worse than ordinary burst techniques, and perhaps even exceed them, especially in terms of muscle toughness."
Besides these, he also had a subtle feeling.
Lin Sheng squatted down and touched the ground with his palm. He could faintly feel a special, slight vibration.
Based on this vibration, he clearly perceived the trembling sensation transmitted from the people walking to and fro on the street outside the courtyard as they came into contact with the ground.
Although this ability currently seemed to have no substantial effect, this alone allowed him to better detect the movements of creatures within a certain range, whether they were people or mutated beasts. As long as they were in contact with the ground, they could not escape his perception.
"The range of vibration I can feel is probably around five li."
Lin Sheng closed his eyes and felt the countless vibration feedbacks coming from the ground, already having a general understanding of the feedback range in his heart.
He had to admit that the effects brought by talent were indeed more mysterious than simple attribute amplification.
And this was only the weak level of Earth Affinity. Although he did not know the grading system for talents, the word 'weak' clearly belonged to the lowest tier.
"The Silver-patterned Black Crocodile I incorporated was only in its juvenile stage. If I had incorporated an adult Silver-patterned Black Crocodile, putting aside the amplification attributes for now, I imagine the talent would not just be weak."
He thought this in his heart.
Once again, he felt the power of Spirit Beasts.
They possessed powerful Physiques, strength, and this very mysterious talent blessing.
It was no wonder that the Materials from any Spirit Beast, even low-level ones, were extremely expensive.
The difficulty of hunting Spirit Beasts was simply too high.
As far as he knew, Zhenshan Tower had been operating Yangping Mountain for so many years, yet they hadn't hunted many Spirit Beasts.
They basically only had harvests during beast tides, and most of the Spirit Beasts hunted during those times were low-level ones like the Crimson Belly Spirit Snake.
As for Spirit Beasts like the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile, there had only been a handful of times, and they were obtained with significant casualties.
"Spirit Beasts… I wonder if I can collect Spirit Beast blood through the Dark Star Organization's channels."
This thought suddenly popped into Lin Sheng's mind.
Given the powerful strength displayed by the Dark Star Organization, this should not be a problem, but the prerequisite was that he could afford the matching price.
And currently, he clearly did not have that kind of bargaining chip.
However, selling the Materials from the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile cub would yield a large sum of money. This money might be enough to buy the lowest-level Spirit Beast blood, but the quantity might not be enough to meet his incorporation needs.
"Forget it, it's too early to think about this now. The top priority is to activate the second imprint first."
In fact, compared to the amplification effects brought by incorporating mutated beasts, he valued martial arts cultivation more. Although the effects of high-level mutated beasts were extremely powerful, perhaps even comparable to martial arts techniques.
For example, after incorporating the Iron Yak, he would have a considerable advantage against ordinary Body Tempering Martial Artists.
But compared to incorporating mutated beasts, he still believed that martial arts techniques were the foundation. Incorporating ordinary beasts was fine as there were no requirements.
However, incorporating Spirit Beasts was different. When he incorporated the Silver-patterned Black Crocodile, a requirement for incorporation appeared. If he hadn't met this requirement, he clearly wouldn't have been able to incorporate it successfully.
It was not hard to imagine that Spirit Beast-level mutated beasts should all have incorporation requirements, and for those even more powerful mutated beasts, the incorporation requirements would definitely become higher and higher.
Therefore, the progress of martial arts techniques could not be neglected in the slightest.
The great sun in the sky was setting in the west, and it was already dusk.
Glancing at the sky, Lin Sheng's figure shrunk, and in the space of a few breaths, he had returned to his original normal Physique.
At this time, the beast he chose to incorporate was the Crimson Mane Horse.
He changed into a set of casual clothes from his room, took a few pieces of Silver-patterned Black Crocodile jerky, and glanced at Big Yellow, who was chasing flying insects in the courtyard and looked foolish.
"Watch the house, Big Yellow."
After saying that, he pushed the door open and left.
While he had nothing to do these past few days, he planned to go to Tongzhi County to finalize his second-rate technique.
It would only take a day, so it shouldn't delay him for too long.
Soon, his figure disappeared into the night.
Watching Lin Sheng leave, Big Yellow immediately pricked up his ears, seemingly listening carefully. After confirming there were no more footsteps, he opened his large mouth and swallowed the moth that had been flying back and forth in front of him in one bite.
Then, taking small steps, he trotted towards the room in the courtyard. Looking at the bolt on the door, a hint of disdain appeared on his dog face. He leaped up from the ground, bit the bolt, and twisted it to the side.
With a crisp click, the door opened in response.
Big Yellow immediately squeezed in, twitching his nose. He quickly found something and walked towards the room on the right. Inside were strings of dark red jerky hanging from the beams. A look of excitement flashed in his eyes. He jumped onto a nearby stool, bit a piece of jerky, and with a pull, tore off a piece of the jerky.
*
Thump, thump, thump…
Amidst a rapid sound of horse hooves, a convoy of several carriages was heading towards Lin'an County on the official road leading to the County Town.
A simple mountain-shaped pattern with Ravine was painted on the carriages, which was the mark of Zhenshan Tower.
Around them were more than ten sturdy men with steady steps, who were from the Hunting Beast Hall.
As the carriages passed, a bloody smell immediately filled the air, but it was masked by another pungent smell of sulfur.
"Hurry up, everyone! Get this batch of goods to the County Town early, and then you can rest for a while…"
In front of the carriages was a tall, sturdy man with a horse-like face. While cracking his whip, he shouted to the convoy behind him.
"Understood, Captain!"
The people behind him immediately responded with smiles.
"Things have been quite chaotic recently. Everyone, stay alert, did you hear me?"
Seeing that everyone seemed indifferent, the horse-faced man frowned and shouted again.
But suddenly, the horse he was riding seemed to be stimulated, and it reared its front hooves high, almost throwing him to the ground.
Fortunately, he was skilled and immediately grabbed the horse's mane tightly, maintaining his balance. However, the horsemen following behind were not so lucky; they were all thrown to the ground by the horses' sudden movements, landing in a daze.
"Damn beasts, what's going on!?"
Angry curses mixed with painful wails.
The horse-faced man quickly noticed something was wrong.
Among the bushes under the night sky, figures had appeared at some point.
"Not good, there are…"
He immediately realized something and was about to speak to warn others.
Just then, the sound of whistling wind kept coming from both sides.
Some men and horses were already pierced by arrows before they could react.
After a round of shooting, only a few people remained relatively unharmed. Before they could catch their breath, dozens of burly men holding steel knives rushed out from both sides of the official road and killed all the survivors.
As for the horse-faced man, he was surrounded by several burly men, his face full of anger.
"Are you blind? You dare to touch Zhenshan Tower's goods."
However, the only response he received was the cold glint of knives.
After only a few breaths, the sound stopped abruptly.
The horse-faced man fell to the ground with wide, unwilling eyes, blood gushing from his body, which had long been hacked beyond recognition.
"Take the goods away and make them the side dishes for the brothers tonight."
Not long after, the carriages were driven away in another direction.
…
The sky was slightly bright.
A sturdy figure dressed in black tight-fitting clothes had appeared outside Tongzhi County.
"This is Tongzhi County. It's indeed much larger than Lin'an County."
Looking at the magnificent city in his sight, Lin Sheng couldn't help but sigh.
Among the twelve counties under Linjiang Prefecture, Tongzhi County could Rank in the top three. Compared to Lin'an County, which ranked at the bottom, there was naturally a considerable gap.
"The agility amplification of the Crimson Mane Horse is indeed effective for traveling. It's two hours earlier than I expected."
Putting away his thoughts, Lin Sheng walked towards the County Town not far away.
He had traveled all night, with only two or three brief rests in between, and had arrived here in just four hours. Moreover, he didn't feel any fatigue even now.
Although the sky was just getting light, the gates of Tongzhi County were already wide open, and many pedestrians and merchants were entering. Lin Sheng followed behind the crowd and entered the city along with the flow of people shortly after.
The streets were bustling with people, and vendors were hawking their wares along the street. It was very lively.
It made Lin Sheng feel the atmosphere of everyday life that he hadn't experienced for a long time.
He was not in a hurry. He ordered two steaming baskets of buns and a bowl of mutton soup at a breakfast stall on the street. While eating, he asked the owner for directions.
"Boss, where is Tongming Academy?"
The breakfast stall owner was a greasy, slightly plump middle-aged man. Hearing the question, he replied with a smile while wrapping buns.
"Tongming Academy? It's the spacious one at the very end of Fugui Street. Fugui Street is just three intersections down this main street, turn left…"
"Thank you, Boss."
Lin Sheng noted the location, drank the last sip of mutton soup from his bowl, thanked the owner, put down a few large coins, and got up to leave.
Following the owner's directions, he quickly passed three intersections and turned onto a small street that was noticeably narrower than the main road.
Walking to the end, he quickly found his destination for this trip, Tongming Academy.
Calling it an academy was perhaps overstating it. Although the area was not small, the facade of the entrance was quite old, clearly having been there for many years.