“Neither of them? Could it be Mr. Yi? Since when did he become so amazing?” Luo Beihe was surprised by Xue Bao’er’s response.
Xue Bao’er continued shaking her head. “It’s not Mr. Yi.”
“Then who was it?”
“I don’t know either. It was a senior. Yesterday, I saw him researching the Fire Spirit Possession so I sought his guidance and he taught me this trick,” Xue Bao’er answered honestly.
“Senior? A disciple?” Luo Beihe found her answer to be incredulous. She knew how infamous Xue Bao’er was within the association. Even a mentor would go out of his way to avoid Xue Bao’er and they weren’t really at fault for doing so. When this lass started asking questions, there would be no end to the ordeal, and the questions she comes up with would always be trickier than a riddle.
Among the disciples, both Yang Jie and Lu Yunhe weren’t considered worthy of teaching Xue Bao’er. This was in spite of the fact that the latter knew them quite well too.
But other than those two, which other disciple would have the nerve to educate Xue Bao’er?
After further questioning, Xue Bao’er described the person’s appearance and said his blood contract was at the fourth realm.
Luo Beihe was dumbstruck.
Among Maple City’s disciples, there had been only three individuals who had reached the fourth realm thus far. Yang Jie, Xue Bao’er, and Lu Yunhe. Yesterday, a new disciple had joined their ranks. Could it be him?
***
Lin Jin didn’t go to the Friar Association today.
Since he had already decided on using the ‘Fire Spirit Possession’ against Yang Jie, he had already learned it. With the Museum of Deadly Beasts providing superior material than those found in the Friar Association’s archives, there was no real reason for him to be there.
Going there was troublesome.
Every time he visited the place, he would hear rumors about himself, so he’d be doing his ears a service if he didn’t go.
Lin Jin stayed in his consultation hall until the evening. Just then, Han Dong came in, saying there was a delivery for him.
Lin Jin was greeted by a small box outside, filled with medicinal ingredients and money. It didn’t take much to figure out who delivered this package.
Chen Wenlin, the head of the Chen family.
That hypocrite still hasn’t given up yet, it seems. Did he really expect Lin Jin to change his mind if he continued showing these little ‘acts of kindness’ every day? Lin Jin scoffed.
How shameless could that old man be? Leaving gifts at his door, making it difficult for Lin Jin to even reject these items.
While Lin Jin accepted the plaque last time, these medicinal ingredients were just too expensive. As for the money, it made no sense to receive an undeserving reward so no matter how troublesome it was to return them, it had to be done.
“Han Dong!” Lin Jin called out and Han Dong appeared at once.
“You know where the Chen Manor is, right?” Lin Jin asked. Han Dong nodded. Chen Medicinal Hall was a rather well-known establishment in Maple City. Some people had even begun comparing the Chen family to the top three families that ruled the city. It was only natural that Han Dong knew about them.
“Return all these gifts. Think of some way to do it. I want them returned at all costs. Also, remember that you’re my student so you mustn’t put my honor to shame,” Lin Jin instructed.
There were some tasks that weren’t appropriate to assign to Zhao Ying and Lu Xiaoyun as they were girls. However, it was different for Han Dong. When it came to these missions, Lin Jin felt more assured with Han Dong carrying them out.
Aware of Lin Jin’s intention, Han Dong grabbed the gifts and set off merrily without another word. His crusty horned pig tagged alongside him.
After looking at the skies, Lin Jin planned to return home because tonight, he had to visit the fox demons to change Little Nine’s medicine and examine her condition.
Late at night.
Lin Jin got ready to leave with Xiao Huo. He didn’t plan to bring Goldy along his journey but the bird kept trailing behind them as if it knew where they were going.
Unable to chase him away, Lin Jin could only bring him along.
Once outside the city, when it got darker outside, Lin Jin had Xiao Huo turn into his gigantic form before continuing their journey on his back.
Xiao Huo in his enormous form was quite an intimidating sight. With his body over twenty feet long, he could easily cover a hundred miles in just a short span of time.
When they arrived at the forest, Shang’er and the other fox demon cubs were already waiting for them.
At the sight of Lin Jin, Shang’er bowed to pay her respects. The little foxes mimicked her action, which was an amusing sight to behold.
Lin Jin brought along some candied fruits as snacks that he offered to the fox cubs. Shang’er and the little foxes were delighted upon receiving the treats and enjoyed them very much.
Inside the cave, Little Nine had gotten noticeably better. Lin Jin was amazed by how fast monsters recovered but he knew that Little Nine’s condition wasn’t the result of a simple illness.
From her wound, Lin Jin sensed the aura of decay, both unique and demonic. Otherwise, with a monster’s constitution, Little Nine would have made a full recovery by now. An ordinary illness would never have caused her so much grief.
When Lin Jin asked Shang’er for more details, she replied saying, “It seems like there are no secrets we can keep from Master Lin after all. Little Nine was indeed wounded instead of contracting a disease.”
Shang’er told Lin Jin that Little Nine was hurt by another monster.
Upon hearing this, Lin Jin shook his head.
It seemed like the legends purporting that monsters were hard to find wasn’t true at all.
Other than the nest of fox demons here, the was another black anaconda monster hiding in a broken well of a temple inside Maple City.
That was a scourge and Lin Jin already had plans to get rid of it.
While it could be said he was doing it for the people, Lin Jin was mostly doing it out of fear of being ambushed by the snake in an attempt to seek revenge. Since there was an existing grudge between him and the snake, it was better to get rid of the enemy so he could be at peace once and for all.
Shang’er told him that a few days ago when she brought the fox cubs to Mount Zoroku for a short trip, they encountered a monster.
That monster was exceptionally powerful and Shang’er could barely match up to it in battle. Little Nine ended up being hurt by that monster. Thankfully, what Little Nine suffered wasn’t a fatal blow, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been here right now.
Mount Zoroku.
Lin Jin recognized it to be an uninhabited mountain about eighty miles from here. Even the most seasoned hunters wouldn’t dare to venture into that place. Only a handful of herb gatherers would occasionally go there to collect medicinal ingredients.
Lin Jin mused, ‘If it’s evenly matched with Shang’er, wouldn’t that make it a Rank 4 monster?’
It was later that Lin Jin found out, despite Shang’er’s high level, other than transformation, she knew nothing about offensive skills.
In other words, Shang’er only had cultivation but no skills in her arsenal. The only thing she was good at was transforming into a human.
Little Five was right below her in terms of cultivation, and she was skilled in dream invasion.
The other little foxes were unlearned, knowing nothing. They only had strong constitutions and spirits, equipped with pure intelligence.
Lin Jin now understood the situation.
Back when they were listening to the lessons at the temple, Shang’er had a better comprehension of what was said, so she was able to pick up her transformation skill. Similarly, Little Five learned dream invasion. As the other fox cubs had weaker comprehension skills, they couldn’t match up to Shang’er or Little Five.
For so many years, they traveled across the land in search of cultivation methods but to no avail. They were forced into stagnation as a result. Even if they came across creatures who had weaker cultivation compared to them, if their opponents were knowledgeable in offensive skills, the foxes wouldn’t stand a chance.
Inside the Museum of Deadly Beasts, Lin Jin ran through the Demonic Transformation manual.
The Demonic Transformation was a complete volume on various skills meant for monsters. At present, Lin Jin only had part one of it, but that was more than enough for the current circumstances.
‘Invisibility’, ‘Illusory Delusion’, ‘Physical Fortification’, ‘Mini Five Elements’, and ‘Object Manipulation’.
These were the skills provided in part one of Demonic Transformation.
Every skill was packed with explanations so detailed that Lin Jin could practically teach them to a pig.
Thus, he began his first lecture.
His first topic was the Beast Energy Formation, Part One.
As sequential progression was important in cultivation, even if Shang’er and Little Five had learned it before, they might find novel bits of information to fortify their existing knowledge.
The little foxes gathered around, listening earnestly as Lin Jin spoke. Shang’er too, sat down to listen to Lin Jin’s lesson.
After he was done explaining Beast Energy Formation Part One, the little foxes began to think on their own. Some seemed to have learned something while others looked puzzled, clearly still confused about the information Lin Jin had just relayed.
Since it was nothing urgent, they could learn it slowly.
Lin Jin began talking about ‘Demonic Transformation’.
Lin Jin altered the sequence a little and chose to start with ‘Object Manipulation’.
The ‘Object Manipulation’ skill was relatively easy, useful in both offense and defense. It was no wonder that the museum called it a ‘universal skill’. However, no matter how simple the concept, it was still a skill, and mastering it wouldn’t be easy.
Lin Jin explained ‘Object Manipulation’ to them slowly as he referred to the information offered by the museum. Then, he gave Shang’er and the others time to digest what they have just learned. In fact, at this point in time, only Shang’er and Little Five were capable of learning this skill. Judging by their current cultivation level and spiritual intelligence, the other foxes couldn’t perform it yet.
Comparatively speaking, Shang’er’s comprehension level was extremely high.
After a brief moment of contemplation, she bloomed into a smile as if having received the gift of her dreams. Then, she began asking Lin Jin questions.
Lin Jin answered all her questions earnestly.
Shang’er digested them all and then bowed.
“Thank you Master Lin for enlightening us!”
