Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Seed Improvement and Selection There are seven major provinces in the Duchy of Stars. Among them, the Golden Rock Province is located at the northernmost part of the duchy, with Hulan Province bordering it to the southwest, and beyond that is Ranshuang Province. "What kind of epidemic?" Sunan asked. Kei didn’t say much and handed over the parchment. Sunan took it and glanced at it, his eyebrows furrowing as well. It turns out that just a month ago, a strange disease suddenly appeared in Silver Ridge City of Ranshuang Province. Those who fell ill would gradually grow beast-like fur, claws, and sharp teeth, even more beastly features, and would maniacally attack others, showing an extremely strong craving for flesh and blood. Initially, the City Lord of Silver Ridge City didn’t take it seriously. He sent guards to kill the infected and hastily buried them. But the matter didn’t end there, and more infected people appeared in the city afterward. In just a month, the number of infections in Silver Ridge City exceeded five hundred and was still increasing at an alarming rate. The situation developed to a point where the city’s military could no longer handle it. In desperation, the City Lord of Silver Ridge City had to seek help from Marquis Ranshuang. Currently, Marquis Ranshuang has already dispatched troops, preparing to suppress those mad infected individuals. After reading the contents of the parchment, Sunan couldn’t help but grimace as if his teeth were aching. Isn’t this Beastification Syndrome! Beastification Syndrome is more of a reversion phenomenon than a disease. Humans infected with Beastification Syndrome will have their beastification factors fully activated, causing their bodies to exhibit many beastly traits, losing their sanity and becoming bloodthirsty, savage beasts. However, only the original Beastmen can spread Beastification Syndrome. Original Beastmen refer to the first-generation Beastmen and their next-generation descendants. Beastmen born from the union of Original Beastmen with normal humans or ordinary Beastmen are not considered Original Beastmen. For instance, Ota, the Beastman guard beside Mu Zhuo of the Fire Fox Chamber of Commerce, is obviously just an ordinary Beastman. In the Ancient Era, Original Beastmen once caused the [Beastification Disaster], resulting in massive casualties until they were later suppressed by Wizards. Since then, Wizards have recognized the threat of Original Beastmen and exterminated them entirely. Those who survived were the ordinary Beastmen born from mating with normal humans. So theoretically, there shouldn’t be any Original Beastmen left on the Starlight Continent, so how is it possible for Beastification Syndrome to appear? Sunan was secretly puzzled. "This is Beastification Syndrome." Sunan handed the parchment back. Seeing Kei’s confused expression, he had to explain in detail what Beastification Syndrome was. After listening, Kei’s expression became particularly solemn. "Are the infected who become Beastmen difficult to deal with?" "It depends on the physique of the infected; if it’s just an ordinary person, they can at most reach the level of an Apprentice Knight after infection. But if it’s an Apprentice Knight or a Knight, then it becomes very tricky." "Beastification Syndrome can be either minor or major; if the source of the infection can be quickly identified and the transmission suppressed, and all the infected cleaned up, the situation can be rapidly calmed. But if it’s not controlled well, it could lead to a great disaster." Sunan shook his head. Upon hearing this, Kei furrowed his brows even tighter and sighed, "I hope Ranshuang Province can control the situation soon." Sunan pursed his lips, not too worried. Ranshuang Province and Flashing Territory are separated by Hulan Province, so even if Ranshuang Province really experiences a Beastification Disaster, it’s Marquis Ranshuang and the marquises of neighboring provinces who would have headaches, not him. ... Time swirled by, and in the blink of an eye, the month of Summer Long arrived. The Fire Fox Chamber of Commerce finally sent over the seeds of the Silver Moon Flower and Red Vein Fruit. The construction of the Magic Plant Garden could finally be put on the agenda. However, before planting, Sunan still had to improve the seeds of Silver Moon Flower and Red Vein Fruit. The former was relatively simple, just two words—synthesis! Using basic Silver Moon Flower seeds to synthesize a more superior variety. Of course, synthesis isn’t limitless. Although in theory, as long as there are enough Silver Moon Flower seeds, Sunan can continue to improve and advance them. But the problem is, the more superior the variety, the more demanding the growth environment becomes. If the synthesized Silver Moon Flower is too superior, even a Magic Plant Garden arranged with an Energy Gathering Array might not have an energy particle concentration sufficient for its growth conditions. Therefore, what Sunan needs to do is find the ultimate improved version of the seed that is just perfectly suited to the energy particle concentration of the Magic Plant Garden. This process isn’t difficult, just plant different synthesized seeds, then compare their growth performance, and pick the most outstanding one. After about two months, Sunan finally picked the most suitable superior variety. The improvement process of the Red Vein Fruit was much more difficult and prolonged. First, the Red Vein Fruit seed must be fused with the Sub-Dragon’s Blood, and after a round of planting, the improved Red Vein Fruit seeds can be obtained, and then synthesis can be done. Otherwise, fusing seed by seed, Sunan would exhaust himself to death. However, even with the Energy Gathering Array improving the growth environment, the growth cycle of the Red Vein Fruit still lasted three months. Adding on the time researching the fusion, it took Sunan four months to harvest the first batch of seeds, which he named Dragon Blood Fruit. Then came repeating the process of selecting and matching the Silver Moon Flower seeds. By the time Sunan planted the final selected Dragon Blood Fruit seeds, it was already the autumn twilight of the year, nearing year-end. The weather had turned cold. Fortunately, the Magic Plant Garden has an array for constant temperature, so there’s no need to worry about the climate’s impact. Looking at the dense Silver Moon Flower and Dragon Blood Fruit seedlings in the Magic Plant Garden, Sunan let out a breath with a sense of accomplishment. From now on, he wouldn’t have to spend vast amounts of gold coins purchasing Silver Moon Flowers anymore, temporarily solving the material issue for the Superpower Potion. The substitute for the secondary Dragon Blood Potion too. Once the first batch of Dragon Blood Fruits is harvested, he can solve the potion supply shortage issue. Stretching lazily, Sunan turned and left the Magic Plant Garden. The base was very quiet. Because Sunan was the only one here, most of the time it was very peaceful. Occasionally, the dull footsteps of Clay Golems could be heard, as they were cleaning the base. As Sherman and the other two were still not capable of handling tasks independently, the entire planting and cultivation process of the Silver Moon Flower was solely managed by Sunan. This also made him busier in recent months. To the extent that the Steel Golem hasn’t been refined yet, and the Black Stone Iron sent from Flash City still piled up in the warehouse. However, Sunan hadn’t skipped a day of meditation and magic practice. Now he has successfully constructed the seventh Star Ring, moving a step closer to advancing to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice. His Spiritual Power also increased to 22.12. However, the proficiency of the 8th-level Star Ring Meditation Method skyrocketed to 130,000 points. He’s still over 20,000 proficiency points away from leveling up and breaking through again. "Over 20,000 proficiency points, it’s about a month’s time." "But at this rate, the proficiency of the 9th-level Star Ring Meditation Method could very likely reach 200,000, which would take at least seven or eight months to level up." Sunan estimated, and the timing was roughly similar to what he predicted before. If everything goes smoothly, by the end of the Summer Long month or early in the month of Flaming Fire next year, he’ll be able to construct the ninth Star Ring.