‘It’s a good thing that I’m calm enough. Even if you’re exceptionally smart, Yang Jie, what can you possibly do to me without proof? And that Lin Jin… Who would’ve thought that he’d become a Rank 2 beast appraiser? That uncle of mine who panders to people of power is even shamelessly trying to get back on Lin Jin’s good side again after seeing him make a comeback. How could I let him have his way? Since all of you are looking down on me, I’ll mess everything up for you guys.’
Feeling pleased with himself, Chen Cheng laughed out loud.
Or rather, a sinister cackle.
By now, Yang Jie had arrived at his mentor’s study for a one-to-one class.
This was a privilege no one else in the association enjoyed.
Yang Jie’s mentor, Ye Yuzhou, was a famous cultivator and ranked number one among the cultivation mentors in the Friar Association.
One was the top mentor while the other was the top disciple. Yang Jie had obviously picked up his behaviors from Ye Yuzhou.
Ye Yuzhou’s cultivation area was rather unique. Built atop a pond, half of the floor space in his study was empty, beneath which was pond water.
Inside the room was an old man, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Eight cloud patterns were visible on this old man’s robes, a signifier that he had reached the eighth realm of his blood contract cultivation.
Yang Jie paid his respects before sitting down, cross-legged.
Yang Jie’s pet beast, a white peacock, stood obediently in the corner. Even as a Rank 3 pet beast, it was behaving passively as it stared into the pond water as if something else was inside there.
“The lesson on pet beasts we’ll be talking about today…”
Ye Yuzhou’s lessons were consistently profound, and it was evident that he didn’t hold back when it came to imparting knowledge to Yang Jie.
“Yang Jie, you should know that the ninth realm is the highest blood contract cultivation level. Nine is the mortal limit and it’s practically impossible to reach the tenth realm. However, even if we reach the ninth realm, our strength is mainly based on our pet beasts. If our pet beasts are strong, we are strong. And this is a concept that has remained constant since ancient times.”
“I understand.”
“Come, invoke the spirit sword from your spirit energy finger. I want to see if there’s any improvement.”
“Yes!”
Invoking a spell, Yang Jie swept his fingers across the air sharply in a domineering manner.
However, Ye Yuzhou frowned at this.
“Yang Jie, the energy in your right arm is disturbed. Are you injured”?
Yang Jie was stunned.
He had tried his best to conceal his scuffle with Lin Jin earlier on, but his mentor still found out nonetheless. With Ye Yuzhou pressing the question, Yang Jie had no choice but to tell his mentor about his clash with Lin Jin today.
Ye Yuzhou frowned upon hearing his story.
“You’re saying that you fought with someone, but for an unknown reason, your armpit hurt as if it was stung by a needle, and then your arm went numb thereafter without you being able to move it?”
Yang Jie nodded, looking slightly ashamed of his failure.
“Who is this Lin Jin? And who is his mentor? Why haven’t I heard of him before? Ye Yuzhou asked.
If there was someone on par with Yang Jie within the association, he should have at least heard about it.
This mildly perturbed Yang Jie, but he answered truthfully, “That Lin Jin just entered and became a disciple of our association today.”
“Just entered today? Oh, then he must have been recommended by a mentor. Who was it?”
“Mr. Huangfu.”
“Him?”
Ye Yuzhuo’s expression darkened.
Just like Yang Jie’s relationship with Lu Yunhe, Ye Yuzhou wasn’t exactly on good terms with Huangfu Ming. They’ve been constantly competing both openly and covertly, and neither side was willing to back down.
“If that’s the case, that Lin Jin must be Huangfu Ming’s disciple. Great, I thought Huangfu Ming only managed to produce one Lu Yunhe. Who knew that he had backup. I see he’s planning to humiliate me at the upcoming disciple’s tournament. Yang Jie, from today on, you are to go into seclusion with me for three days. I will teach you part three of the spirit energy blade,” Ye Yuzhou said darkly.
Yang Jie wanted to say that Lin Jin wasn’t Huangfu Ming’s student. But after thinking about it, he decided to keep quiet. Lin Jin and Huangfu Ming must be connected in some way. Otherwise, why would Huangfu Ming recommend him into the association?
And when he heard how Ye Yuzhou would teach him part three of the spirit energy blade, Yang Jie’s eyes lit up.
Prior to this, he only knew the first two parts. He wanted to learn part three but Ye Yuzhuo wouldn’t teach him no matter how he begged his mentor. The day had finally come for the old man to agree to teach him the third part of mastering the spirit energy blade that Yang Jie had been longing for.
“Also, I found a few practices from some secret books that can be passed on to pet beasts for them to cultivate and, in turn, would allow you to reach a higher realm. If this still doesn’t work, I’ll take you to the Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters to meet a few of my old friends and get their assistance. Yang Jie, your white peacock has been stuck in Rank 3 for a long time now. If there’s a chance to evolve it, or for it to even show signs of evolution, this improvement would far exceed the effects of the spirit energy blade’s part three. All in all, it’s still the strength of your pet beast that matters.”
***
Lin Jin was annoyed for the rest of the day.
Those baseless rumors were far too infuriating.
Now, everyone was saying that Lin Jin only entered the Friar Association because of Chen Yuanyuan, for the sake of confronting the number one prodigy, Yang Jie. They even twisted the facts enough to make it sound plausible.
However, Lin Jin knew that he shouldn’t bother with such gossip. The more he tried to do something about it, the worse it would only become.
‘I’ll endure it!’
At night, Lu Yunhe brought Lu Ba over as promised. Whether or not Lu Ba could evolve was very important to Lu Yunhe.
Since it was such a great learning opportunity, Zhao Ying, Lu Xiaoyun, and Han Dong came over earlier to help Lin Jin out and prepare the required medicine. They couldn’t possibly miss out on such a precious chance.
“Brother, you’re here!” Upon seeing her brother enter through the gates, Lu Xiaoyun greeted.
Lu Yunhe was visibly anxious.
He wasn’t sure if his Lu Ba could evolve. Even though Lin Jin had already given him a ‘confident answer’, there was still a sense of unease that plagued Lu Yunhe’s heart.
It was as the saying went, ‘anxiety goes both ways’. One would be just as anxious about success as they would be about losing.
Lu Xiaoyun easily read his mind so she offered some words of reassurance, “Brother, just relax. If Master Lin says Lu Ba can evolve, then he’ll surely evolve.”
“Well, I sure hope so!” After Lu Yunhe entered the courtyard, he realized that Lu Ba didn’t follow him inside.
Turning around, he saw Lu Ba trembling at the gates.
“Lu Bu, come inside!” Lu Yunhe called out. Still, the latter wouldn’t budge and following the tempest lion’s line of sight, one could tell that he was staring at something in the courtyard.
Shifting his gaze to where Lu Ba was looking, Lu Yunhe saw Lin Jin’s pet beast, Xiao Huo.
At that moment, Xiao Huo was crouching slightly with his eyes closed as if he was ready to pounce and attack his foe at any given time. No one knew why he was in this pose but they could vaguely sense Xiao Huo’s aura gradually growing stronger.
Because Lu Ba noticed Xiao Huo’s oppressive state, he was instantly reminded of the fear of being dominated by the wolf, which was precisely why Lu Bu didn’t dare to enter the yard.
Finally, Lin Jin had to come out and coax the frightened Lu Ba inside.
“Brother Lu, isn’t your pet beast a little too cowardly?” Lin Jin mocked. Lu Yunhe responded with a dry laugh, musing, ‘That’s because he got traumatized from the last beating. Before meeting your Xiao Huo, my Lu Ba was mighty courageous.’
“Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s get started.” Lin Jin caressed Lu Ba’s head. After selecting an evolution method, he took out his needles, and with a flick of his wrists, more than a dozen needles pierced into Lu Ba’s body.
Lu Ba roared in pain but he remained perfectly still. Obediently, the beast endured the pain.
