Although Lin Jin had not learned the art of cloning, that didn’t mean he was oblivious to its existence.
One glance at where it was standing and the blood-filled pond next to it was enough for Lin Jin to come up with a rough guess.
“Where is Yang Qingshi?” Lin Jin asked.
The bloodied freak roared in laughter. “That disciple of mine should have left the city by now…”
There was a hint of cheekiness in his voice.
“That may not be true at all!” replied Lin Jin.
Lin Jin shut his eyes to hone in his senses before they abruptly sprung open. He invoked a spell and with a wave of his hand, a whirlpool of clouds gathered out of nowhere before a human figure was spat out. It was Yang Qingshi.
The bloodied freak was astonished. It looked up and finally noticed the Nebula Barrier.
“What a miscalculation. This clone of mine can’t sense spiritual energy so it couldn’t sense the barrier you’ve placed. Sigh, to think I was played by a young’un like you.” The bloodied freak’s tone was calm as if it were talking about the weather.
That implied how confident it was, and Lin Jin was aware of that.
That was a fact too. Since his clone was able to materialize here through sorcery, his actual body must be far away from here. Yang Qingshi must have used a spell to summon him.
It was because the monster was strong that it could afford to remain so composed in the face of a capable opponent.
Yang Qingshi quickly scrambled up from the ground and looked around with a bewildered expression. He had tried escaping the compound multiple times only to fail each time. In his last attempt, he was wrapped up by the fog and he felt his head spin until he reappeared here.
Besides his mentor’s clone, there stood another young man. He carried an unusual aura and donned a three-ringed beast pattern sleeve guard. Yang Qingshi immediately knew who he was.
Lin Jin.
Although Yang Qingshi knew every Rank 3 beast appraiser in Jade Dragon City and Lin Jin was the only one he hadn’t met personally yet.
The situation couldn’t have been any more obvious. It was Lin Jin who erected this barrier that stopped him from escaping. It was also due to Lin Jin’s incessant pursuit that forced him to come up with an escape plan in the first place. If Lin Jin had not gotten involved, Yang Qingshi’s plan would still be unknown, he would still be one of the honorable Rank 3 beast appraisers of their kingdom.
At this thought, Yang Qingshi fumed from the ears.
“Lin Jin! I don’t recall the existence of any grudges between us, so why do you have to do this? If you insist on giving me trouble, I won’t let you live. It’s either you or me now.” Yang Qingshi gritted his teeth.
This was also Lin Jin’s first time meeting Yang Qingshi.
He was well-dressed and had the demeanor of a gentleman. It was a pity he was fair without and foul within. What he did today had exceeded what Lin Jin could tolerate.
Yang Qingshi was no fool. Despite his words, he had already sacrificed his pet beast in order to summon his mentor’s clone. If he were to fight Lin Jin on his own, Yang Qingshi knew he couldn’t win.
Leaving everything aside, being able to raise a barrier to prevent him from leaving, transporting him over here in the blink of an eye, these moves had surpassed Yang Qingshi’s scope of knowledge. However, he wasn’t afraid because he still had his mentor’s clone.
Yang Qingshi knew better than anyone how capable his mentor was, so he remained confident.
Without his pet beast, Yang Qingshi was only a paper tiger; he posed no threat at all. In other words, Lin Jin’s greatest challenge now was that bloodied freak.
“Hehe, how skillful! To think a mere intermediate country possesses an expert like you. You truly are amazing to be able to utilize the Nebula Barrier like this in battle! Tsk, tsk. Your name was Lin Jin, was it?” As the bloodied freak spoke, it took a step forward. Yang Qingshi proceeded to hide behind the monster. Though, the venomous resentment remained in his eyes.
Lin Jin knew one thing that would turn the tide, but he didn’t stop Yang Qingshi from making his move. Here inside the Nebula Barrier, Lin Jin had the upper hand. What this bloodied freak was capable of doing remained a mystery, but Lin Jin had a trump card too. Should he require it, he could always borrow the museum’s aura to enhance his own strength.
In any case, he would have Yang Qingshi done in today.
If he could capture him alive, that was that. If he couldn’t, then Yang Qingshi had to die.
“Master, this person is Lin Jin. He’s the one who ruined my plans and forced me to cease all operations. If it weren’t for him, the eight-headed viper would have been born in a couple more days,” Yang Qingshi explained.
The bloodied freak nodded with a smile. “I know, I know.”
It was as if it didn’t care about Yang Qingshi’s explanation.
Then, he turned to Lin Jin. In spite of its aberrant facial features, one could see the odd delight on its face.
“You, I have never heard of you before, but that’s alright. It’s fate that brought us here today, so I’ll be direct with you. I deem you worthy enough to be my disciple, so if you worship me as your teacher and serve me henceforth, I can overlook what happened today. Not only that, but I will also pass unto you supreme teachings and even help you attain immortality!”
“Master, this…” Yang Qingshi was stunned. He never expected his mentor to say such a thing.
However, the bloodied freak ignored Yang Qingshi. Its mystifying eyes were fixed on Lin Jin. “If you refuse my offer, then you leave me no choice but to annihilate you today. Eliminating this tiny intermediate country would be effortless for me, much less you.”
As it spoke, the scales on its body grew thicker and its aura grew denser. As it continuously drew in blood from its surroundings, it started growing in size.
Yang Qingshi wore an envious expression but he remained silent.
He knew he was just one of the many disciples his mentor had. At most, he was a somewhat useful pawn for his master.
Lin Jin was amazed by the phenomenon happening before his eyes. After watching the freak grow ten feet taller, he said, “I still haven’t learned your name.”
The man chuckled. “You can call me Patriarch Xue Pao, or just Lord Xue for short.”
Lin Jin chuckled. “Despite how highly you spoke of yourself earlier, it’s a shame that I’ve never heard of your name. Since that’s the case, it’s not unreasonable to assume that you’re just a nobody, yes? How could I trust a nobody? What’s more, even if a legendary immortal were to show up, I wouldn’t show them respect, let alone you. Yang Qingshi! Get over here!”
Lin Jin’s last sentence was spoken with indignance. Next, he lifted a hand to summon his clouds, which rolled towards Yang Qingshi who was taking refuge behind his master’s back.
Yang Qingshi was startled. He knew he couldn’t match up to Lin Jin so he didn’t plan on fighting back on his own. His only option now was to yell out to his master for help.
The bloodied freak burst into an uncontrollable fit of rage.
“Ignorant brat, you have some nerve!” he roared.
His booming voice made Lin Jin’s eardrums ring, and for a moment, he was stunned. However, he was able to recover almost instantly because he had the help of Xiao Huo’s Dharma body. Still, credit where credit was due, this monster was powerful.
The aura it exuded contained a beast’s spirit that was near Rank 5. It felt almost similar to that old dragon at the Jade Dragon Temple.
The difference here was that Lin Jin knew this freak was stronger than the old dragon.
Back then, the old dragon was already near the end of its lifespan and its spells weren’t powerful either. It mostly relied on its physical strength to put up a fight but it was clear that this freak had much more tricks up his sleeve.
The next instant, Lin Jin felt imminent danger as the bloodied freak abruptly charged forward. his dagger-like claws were inches from his face when Lin Jin parried it with his finger as a sword.
“Break!” he yelled.
It was the Sword Intent Lin Jin had picked up from the Divine Blade Scroll he found inside the Unending Nature Landscape.
Steaming-hot blood splattered everywhere.
A shallow cut appeared on Lin Jin’s cheek but that bloodied freak’s arm fell to the ground with a loud, heavy thud.
Lin Jin had sliced off his arm.
However, it was strange how the Sword Energy was completely undetectable. At least to Yang Qingshi, Lin Jin seemed to be fooling around, waving his finger as if he was brandishing a sword. However, it was clear that Lin Jin wasn’t playing around when the arm of his mentor’s clone was sliced off like a hot knife through butter.
