Evolve into a Wood Spirit?

However, before he could further improve the Thorn Spire Vine, Ram felt his spiritual power automatically concentrate in his eyes, similar to how he usually identified information. "What's happening?" he muttered. Soon, he discovered the reason. A new system skill called 'Spiritual Eye' had appeared on his attribute panel. Activated autonomously, it seamlessly analyzed the plant before him. In an instant, a new holographic interface materialized, presenting information and new options.

[Would you like to preserve Thorny Armor, a Grade 'F' skill, by expending 10 points of Spiritual Power?]

[Yes/No]

"Whoa," Ram whispered, observing the holographic interface. Details about its functions flashed within his mind, providing a clear understanding of the unfolding events. Based on his comprehension, each time he evolved a spiritual plant, the Spiritual Eye could analyze the new skills acquired by the plant. By expending a specific amount of spiritual power, he could save these skills and subsequently bestow them upon other spiritual plants during their evolution or consume spiritual power to remove them if needed.

"This ability... it's incredible," Ram thought aloud. "While it may hold little value for low-level skills, its true potential shines when considering special or high-level skills exclusive to certain plants. Transferring these skills to other plants could significantly increase their strength and capabilities or even mutate them into brand new spiritual plants."

Ram continued to ponder, "Just like talents, the skills possessed by monsters and plants are systematically classified into various categories, denoted by letters such as F, E, D, and beyond." Although confusing, this hierarchical system provides a clear framework for understanding the diverse abilities exhibited by these creatures.

After careful consideration, Ram said to himself, "Thorny Armor is just a Grade 'F' skill. It's not valuable to save it now." As he dismissed the holographic interface, Ram noticed something else. "Wait a minute," he muttered, glancing at his attribute panel. "The experience bar... it increased slightly. Just about 0.3% from the initial zero."

A smile spread across Ram's face. "Just as I thought evolving plants also increases the experience. This is better than I expected." 

He recalled that professionals from Tier 1 to 3 couldn't absorb reiki directly. They could only increase their cultivation by spending all the spiritual power in their body through practicing various exercises tempering the body and then waiting for it to recover naturally, or by taking supplements to speed up the process. This made the initial stages of cultivation a slow and tedious process.

"But now," Ram realized, "I can evolve plants and increase my experience, which is way faster than the normal cultivation methods used by others." Every upgrade from one tier to another is considered an evolution of the human body. The higher the level, the harder it is to improve. He understood that this new method of gaining experience through evolving plants could give him a significantly faster improvement.

As he marveled at his new abilities, a thought struck Ram. "If Life Energy can upgrade plants, what about Spiritual Power?"

Curiosity piqued, Ram pondered the possibilities. "Life Energy accelerates growth and enhances the physical attributes of plants," he mused. "But Spiritual Power... it's the essence that fuels spiritual skills and abilities. What if I could use it to enhance the plant's innate spirituality or even grant them new spiritual abilities?"

Ram decided to test his theory. He extended his hand toward the Thorn Spire Vine and concentrated, channeling his Spiritual Power this time instead of Life Energy. As the energy flowed from him into the vine, he watched intently for any changes.

To his surprise, the vine began to emit a faint, ethereal glow. The yellow flowers that had previously bloomed began to shimmer more brightly, and the leaves took on a slightly luminescent quality. It was as if the vine was awakening to a higher level of spiritual consciousness.

The familiar holographic interface appeared again, presenting a new set of information:

[Would you like to enhance the spirit attribute of the Thorn Spire Vine by expending 10 points of Spiritual Power?]

[Yes/No]

"Interesting," Ram muttered. "This seems different from the previous option to preserve the skill. It looks like I can directly enhance the plant's spirit attribute."

After a moment of consideration, Ram chose "Yes." And the Spiritual Eye interface updated with new details:

[ Name: Thorn Spire Vine

 Level: Black Iron (Tier-1)

 Quality: Ordinary

 Physique: 3

 Spirit: 0.2 (0.1^)

 Description: An ordinary plant vine that has undergone a remarkable transformation under the influence of unique vitality. Its deep green leaves shimmer in the light, and its small but sharp thorns glisten with an unmistakable resilience.

Skill:

Thorny Armor: It possesses an enhanced layer of thorny defense made up of sharp thorns, making it difficult for predators to damage or consume it.]

Ram stared at the updated panel in awe. "The Spirit attribute increased to 0.1," his mind buzzed with possibilities. "If I can combine Life Energy and Spiritual Power, I can create plants that are not only physically strong but once their spirit reaches 1 point, they can turn into Wood Spirits. This opens up a whole new realm of cultivation."

Excitement coursed through him as he realized the potential of his newfound abilities. "This is a game-changer," he said, knowing how difficult it was to evolve a spiritual plant into a Wood Spirit. Even high-level spiritual planters only have one or two Wood Spirits by their sides, but now he had the ability to create Wood Spirits just by spending spiritual power.

"Although I don't know how much spiritual power is needed, just having this ability is enough," he thought. "Even if it takes 1,000 or 10,000 points, it's fine by me."

Determined, he continued to infuse the plant with more spiritual power. Every 10 points of spiritual power increased the Spirit attribute by 0.1 points until it reached 0.9 and stopped increasing. 

With each increase in the Spirit attribute, the flexibility of the vines improved. Ram watched as the Thorn Spire Vine became more animated, moving with a grace and responsiveness that was almost lifelike. When the Spirit attribute reached 0.9, he could faintly feel a connection forming between him and the vine, an intuitive link that allowed him to sense its needs and intentions.

"This connection... it's like the vine is becoming a part of me," Ram murmured, awestruck by the bond developing between them. Determined to see how far he could push this transformation, he continued to infuse more spiritual power into the Thorn Spire Vine. The energy flowed steadily from him into the plant, each pulse strengthening their connection.