Lin Jin wasn’t poor anymore. Although he couldn’t fork up too huge an amount, a couple of thousand taels were no problem to him.
After leaving the Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters, Lin Jin’s excitement gradually died down. He was in a good mood but not to the extent of being uncontrollably excited. Had he been at Jade Dragon City, the whole city would have known the instant he passed the Rank 4 assessment. In fact, he was sure that they would have thrown a celebration for him.
‘Right, I should write Appraiser Tan Xun a letter to tell him the good news,’ Lin Jin thought. Tan Xun was the person who recommended him anyway. Now that results were out, he had to inform Appraiser Tan about the good news.
As for everyone else? Forget it.
Lin Jin felt no need to write so many letters because he was sure that following this single letter, the rest would find out about his new rank sooner or later.
With this in mind, Lin Jin arrived back at the inn.
What perplexed Lin Jin was the fact that Gu Mengzhong was still sitting at the same table on the first floor, deeply immersed in the ‘Battle Saint Mantra’ in his hands. In total, four hours had passed since Lin Jin left the inn this morning.
Did Gu Mengzhong really sit here for four whole hours?
It was evident that the shopkeeper had listened to Lin Jin’s instruction, since Gu Mengzhong was still sitting there, undisturbed. Still, Lin Jin could tell how troubled the shopkeeper appeared.
Lin Jin went over and cleared his throat. Even with that Gu Mengzhong’s focus remained entirely on the book as if he was pondering some difficult questions.
Out of options, Lin Jin could only pat him on the shoulder. It wasn’t just an ordinary pat though. He circulated a bit of mana to get Gu Mengzhong’s attention as he called out, “Master Gu?”
“Huh?”
As if he had just been woken up from a dream, a jolt ran through Gu Mengzhong’s body. He looked up, clearly irritated by being disturbed, but after seeing that it was Lin Jin, Gu Mengzhong started grinning ear-to-ear.
“Brother Lin, this ‘Battle Saint Mantra’ of yours is superb. It’s practically a priceless piece of treasure. Where did you get it? Can you lend this to me for a few more days?”
The way he acted reminded Lin Jin of a child on a Christmas morning. Gu Mengzhou was too invested in the book to let go of it now.
Lin Jin’s foundation in martial arts was weak and he was certain that he wouldn’t spend a couple more decades practicing and polishing his technique.
Hence, this ‘Battle Saint Mantra’ didn’t mean much to him.
But the same couldn’t be said for Gu Mengzhong.
Gu Mengzhong already had more than ten years of swordsmanship experience under his belt but this ‘Battle Saint Mantra’ was still able to redouble his might. It only made sense that he treated this book like a treasure.
Lin Jin nodded. “I see no problem in lending Master Gu this book. You can even hold onto it for a few more days but you should know there’s a limit in doing things so please rest for now. Let’s continue after lunch, okay?”
“Lunch?”
Gu Mengzhong was dumbstruck. In the back of his head, he hadn’t even finished breakfast yet, so what’s this about lunch?
When he looked outside, his jaw dropped.
He was so engrossed in the ‘Battle Saint Mantra’, that he completely lost his sense of time.
It was already noon.
At least four hours must have passed since he started reading the book.
Amidst his surprise, Gu Mengzhong abruptly remembered that Lin Jin was to participate in a Rank 4 assessment at the Beast Appraisal Association Headquarters. He was about to ask about it when he noticed the four-ringed beast pattern on Lin Jin’s sleeve.
Gu Mengzhong’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
“Brother Lin, yo-you passed?”
Lin Jin nodded with a smile. “There were hiccups but I made it out, somehow.”
“Haha, this is just wonderful!” Gu Mengzhong grew ecstatic. “How could we not celebrate this? Shopkeeper, bring over some good wine and food. We must commemorate this occasion!”
Lin Jin didn’t stop him because this was indeed worth drinking to.
As for the fact that he was expected at Heavenly Spiral Academy in the afternoon, Lin Jin wasn’t the least bit worried. With his cultivation level, he could easily remove the alcohol from his system, even after consuming a whole pot of strong liquor.
Senior Mo, who had not spoken a word up until this point finally broke his silent streak. The first thing he did, of course, was to congratulate Lin Jin for passing the assessment.
This trip to headquarters had frightened the wits out of him.
In the beginning, he did not think much of Rank 4 beast appraisers. He thought they were similar to Rank 3 beast appraisers at Jade Dragon Kingdom. His trip to Heavenly Spiral City made him appreciate how much more powerful Rank 4 appraisers were compared to Rank 3 appraisers.
Back at their headquarters, he experienced an unprecedented level of pressure.
What convinced Senior Mo was how he had no means of fighting back when Appraiser Yang Ming attacked him.
Truth be told, if he ever met Appraiser Yang Ming outside those walls, he would likely have lost his life despite being a Rank 4 jade dragon himself.
Rank 4 beast appraisers were horrifying.
Having lived through that ordeal, Senior Mo came to understand one thing. Now that he had latched onto Appraiser Lin, he would never let go of him.
Only by following Appraiser Lin closely in the future could he live a better life.
Although the table wasn’t filled with the best, Lin Jin and Gu Mengzhong still had an enjoyable meal together. Lin Jin retreated to his room to rest after lunch while Senior Mo stood guard outside the door.
Inside the room, Lin Jin removed cleaned the alcohol from his bloodstream, and he felt refreshed almost instantly.
He had lent the Battle Saint Mantra to Gu Mengzhong for further research. He was confident that his friend’s swordsmanship would improve, sooner or later thanks to that book. Then, Lin Jin recalled one other thing he obtained from the rich young master’s home last night.
That peculiar black wooden box.
Lin Jin pulled out the box which was plastered with multiple amulets. He carefully reached out to touch the box.
In an instant, the Museum of Deadly Beasts was triggered.
‘Spirit Repression Amulet!’
Lin Jin looked at the words that had appeared on the museum’s stone tablet.
In addition to the name, there was a brief description.
“Written by cultivators using a mixture of beast blood. Effective in suppressing spirits and evil beings.”
That was surprisingly short and easy to understand.
However, for it to show up here made one start to think. Just what was inside this black wooden box that required the use of the Spirit Repression Amulet?
Also, the amulets on the box showed signs of being peeled away and resealed again. Some were beginning to tear so new ones were placed over them. And it looks like a few layers had been put over them so someone must have regularly opened and closed the box.
Why?
So they could retrieve the item inside and then put it back.
Lin Jin gave it some thought before he reaching out to peel the Spirit Repression Amulet away, allowing him to open the box.
With his current cultivation level, his mana should be enough to repress spirits or ghosts alike.
Once the box was open, Lin Jin discovered a short sword lying within.
The sword was without a sheathe and it was crimson all over. From the bloodstains on the blade, one could hear vaguely hear the painful and ghastly cries of those who had been slain by it.
The sword’s hilt was too short for a human to possibly wield it securely in battle.
Lin Jin was immediately reminded of a peculiar sword variant.
A flying sword!
This was actually a flying sword.
Most ancient cultivators wielded this magic tool, but ever since the rise of blood contract cultivators, flying swords gradually faded into obscurity.
Since blood contract cultivators had minimal spirit energy, controlling a flying sword would be tough for them, and with the presence of pet beasts, there really wasn’t a reason to rely on flying swords anymore.
Still, no one could deny how amazingly capable a flying sword was. For instance, it would come in handy for someone who intended to silently kill off a target from a long distance.
Lin Jin had once heard from a storyteller about an ancient immortal cultivator sitting at home drinking fine wine, all while his flying sword was far away, slaughtering his targets.
Even now, such a feat sounded like was pulled out of a fantasy novel.
Lin Jin noticed how unusual this flying sword was with spirits entwined around it. It was a tremendously malicious weapon. Out of curiosity, Lin Jin searched the box, wondering if there was a relevant formula to control the sword.
To his disappointment, Lin Jin didn’t find what he was looking for.
Without a formula, this blade wouldn’t be of much use.
Perhaps the rich young master had only used it as a regular short sword after obtaining it. It was likely that the sword was only removed from the box whenever it was needed. Otherwise, leaving it outside for a prolonged period would likely cause bad things to happen.
Lin Jin couldn’t use it but someone else could.
Shang’er.
Her Object Manipulation had reached the highest proficiency and she was able to control weapons with her eyes closed. In other words, she shouldn’t face any trouble using this flying sword.
Thus, Lin Jin put the sword away, thinking he would present it to Shang’er as a gift when he returned to Maple City. He was sure that she would be delighted to receive such a unique gift.
Out of a sudden, the blood energy on the blade began to overflow. As the energy rippled, a claw-like hand reached up and a face seemed eager to rush out from the bloody mist. The sight was nothing but harrowing.
Lin Jin smirked. Circulating his mana, an ember glowed in his palm before he pressed it down onto the blade, forcing the blood energy back into the blade.
Immediately after, the sword went silent again.
Closing the lid and resealing the Spirit Repression Amulet, Lin Jin stuffed the box under his bed.
