Lin Jin saw many acquaintances among his guests. Out of the blue, a woman approached him and bowed.
“Hu Yuzhen of Mount Cangliang pays her greetings to Curator and Mr. Lin!”
This unusually gorgeous woman carried herself in a surprisingly solemn manner and spoke respectfully.
Hu Yuzhen!
Lin Jin recognized her at first glance. Hu Yuzhen was the first demon Lin Jin encountered as he was returning to Maple City from the capital of Jade Dragon Kingdom.
Hu Yuzhen was a powerful Rank 5 monster back then. She even entered the Unending Nature Landscape with him. After that, when Lin Jin was decoding the spells on top of Mount Gua, he had used the Demon Slayer to remove Hu Yuzhen’s obsession. In a sense, he saved her life.
It was not unheard of for one’s future to be destroyed by the process demonification, which itself was spurred by an obsession.
After parting at Mount Gua, they never saw each other again. This was why Lin Jin was surprised to see her again. She had come here to congratulate him, and he appreciated the gesture.
Though, Hu Yuzhen was only acquainted with Lin Jin and not ‘Curator’. Hence, he manipulated the fake Lin Jin to nod at Hu Yuzhen.
“I’ve heard about you from my disciple, Lin Jin!” said Curator, who was trying to draw Hu Yuzhen’s attention to himself. He had no other choice. While he was able to create an empty shell that resembled Lin Jin, there was no trick that allowed it to speak.
Hu Yuzhen only assume that Mr. Lin was being reserved since Curator was here so she didn’t think much of it.
“I see that your energy flow is disrupted. Are you hurt?” Skillful as he was in beast appraising now, Lin Jin no longer needed to touch creatures to see something was wrong with them.
Hu Yuzhen may appear fine on the surface, but there was a problem with her energy flow.
Initially, she was stunned to hear Curator’s question. She then nodded at once.
“Curator truly has extraordinary capabilities. Yes, I have sustained an injury recently.”
Lin Jin nodded.
If he guessed it right, Hu Yuzhen must have run into some kind of trouble. Her attending the celebration was merely an excuse for seeking Lin Jin’s help. Perhaps she was trying to take refuge here too.
Lin Jin did not particularly care about the exact reason why she was here.
He didn’t think anyone would have the audacity to cause trouble at Dark Wind Monster Sect right now. Lin Jin aside, all their guests were capable fighters so even if someone as strong as Corpse Taoist showed up, Lin Jin would never allow them to escape with their lives.
Given the level of strength he commanded, he could afford to be this confident.
“Get some rest here,” said Lin Jin. It was an assurance to Hu Yuzhen that nothing would happen to her here.
She was delighted to hear that response. However, the tense expression lingered on Hu Yuzhen’s face. After a moment of hesitation, she got down on her knees and said, “I have always been cultivating on my own. Today, I wish to formally enter Dark Wind Monster Sect. Please take me in, Curator.”
Then, she knocked her forehead on the ground.
Lin Jin did not expect this.
However, the reason he established the Dark Wind Monster Sect was so that he could lead the monsters of the world onto the righteous path. The fact that Hu Yuzhen was willingly asking to join the sect placed her ahead of other monsters.
He had no reason to reject her.
Still, he could not give her an answer immediately. He had to understand Hu Yuzhen’s recent conduct. If she had been committing atrocities all this while and was asking to take refuge in the sect now, Lin Jin wouldn’t allow it.
Hu Yuzhen started to panic when she was met with silence from Curator. However, she remained on her knees. Sharing her anxiousness was Tiger Taoist.
Ever since Hu Yuzhen showed up, Tiger Taoist’s eyes never left this tigress.
Before these few centuries of cultivation, Tiger Taoist had initially been an ignorant cub whose life was saved by Daojun. Then, he was taught cultivation methods which helped him turn into a monster.
Cultivation, transfiguration, training… Tiger Taoist had gone through it all. Then, he got hurt and was tormented for several centuries. Truth be told, his life was an eventful one.
Still, something was lacking.
From the beginning, tigresses were a rare sight. Even if he came across one, she would either be too young, or she belonged to a different breed. Tiger Taoist had never bumped into a female counterpart of his kind.
But today, the sun had risen from the west. He met a tigress whose mastery of Transfiguration was even more profound than his.
Her peerless charm simply struck him dumb.
When he heard that Hu Yuzhen wanted to enter Dark Wind Monster Sect, Tiger Taoist almost fainted with joy. He wanted Hu Yuzhen to join more than anyone else.
Only with that, would he have a chance to get closer to her.
Yet, Curator went silent upon hearing her request.
It made Tiger Taoist so anxious that he almost accepted her request on Curator’s behalf. Fortunately, he still knew when not to fool around.
If it had been Lin Jin, he would have answered in Lin Jin’s place. After all, they were brothers so there wasn’t the need to adhere strictly to formalities. The same could not be said with Curator.
Truth be told, when Curator first appeared, Tiger Taoist was met with traces of apprehension.
Given how strong Lin Jin was, Curator must be so much stronger. In addition to his prejudiced fear, Tiger Taoist dared not overstep his boundaries in Curator’s presence.
Hence, even if he was dying from anxiousness on the inside, he wouldn’t dare speak up.
However, Lin Jin had already caught sight of his anxious face.
Perplexed, Lin Jin wondered what was wrong with Tiger Taoist. Why did he look so constipated? Did something happen?
When he saw Tiger Taoist’s heated gaze periodically darting toward Hu Yuzhen who was still kneeling on the ground, Lin Jin was dumbstruck before coming to a realization.
‘Tiger Taoist isn’t in heat… is he?’ After counting the seasons in his head, Lin Jin let out a sigh inwardly.
Considering the atmosphere, Lin Jin had to accept Hu Yuzhen’s request to join the sect, especially on an occasion like this. So long as she hadn’t turned into a bloodthirsty murderer, Lin Jin was fine with her joining their ranks.
His silent pondering earlier had just been an act.
Lin Jin asked Hu Yuzhen about her recent activities and she immediately vowed that she hadn’t been murdering the innocent nor committed crimes.
With this, Lin Jin nodded and took her in.
In terms of cultivation, Hu Yuzhen was undoubtedly outstanding compared to the other monsters. Her proficiency in Transfiguration alone surpassed most of the monsters in Dark Wind Cave so she must have some unique method to achieve this.
Being able to gain an expert like her was surely good for their Dark Wind Monster Sect.
As for Hu Yuzhen’s injury, while others might find it troublesome, Lin Jin thought nothing of it.
Accepting Hu Yuzhen into the sect was a huge deal, and for her to enter the sect, she had to seek apprenticeship under a master according to the sect rules.
Who would Hu Yuzhen take as her master?
Tiger Taoist seemed eager but Hu Yuzhen had never once paid him any proper attention. When Lin Jin asked her about it, Hu Yuzhen pondered before saying, “Curator, I have once received guidance from Mr. Lin so I’d like to seek apprenticeship under him!”
The ‘Mr. Lin’ she referred to was none other than Lin Jin.
That actually surprised Lin Jin but he thought it was fine too.
He secretly cast a spell for the fake Lin Jin to step forward and nod at Hu Yuzhen. Then, the real Lin Jin said, “We’ll conduct the apprenticeship ceremony on another day. Hu Yuzhen, I can see that you’re weakened from the disruption of your energy flow. Let me take a look at your injuries.”
Hu Yuzhen wasn’t surprised at all since she was facing the legendary Curator. Rumor had it that even skilled beast appraisers at Heavenly Spiral Academy, the sacred ground for beast appraisers, were respectful toward Curator. Since he could produce a disciple capable as Appraiser Lin, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Curator a living legend.
