CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 13: YOU’RE ALREADY A GROWN FISH

Lin Jing naturally couldn’t mess around with Gao Sheng; he still needed to make money!

Although he also wanted to rid the world of demons, to uproot the Yin Corpse Sect, this demon sect that trafficked people, it wasn’t time yet!

He felt that if he went to fight demons with Gao Sheng, the most likely outcome would be that the two of them would get captured by the demon sect, the sect would safely send Gao Sheng back, and keep him detained.

...

Due to the great reception of the first Mechanical Bamboo Spear, although the final bid had an element of the rich throwing money, Lin Jing had already made the decision to auction them all off... Once they couldn’t fetch high bids, he planned to release them on the market on a large scale for low-priced sale.

After exiting the auction house, Gao Sheng was still following Lin Jing, and they stopped in a secluded corner.

"Brother Gao, are you going to participate in the academy’s assessment in four months?" Lin Jing asked.

"Yes," Gao Sheng replied, "My family is forcing me; I actually don’t want to come."

"I estimate that I’ll cultivate the Secret Technique of Hidden Dragon at most, and it’s impossible for me to attend classes. I heard the academy’s lectures last for ten days or half a month at a time; it’s so boring. I’d still prefer running around solving cases; I feel I have a talent for it."

"In our place, everyone my age has an Innate Spirit Body or innate special physique, and I’m the only one with a mortal body, so I lost interest in cultivation as a child. But as I grew up, I realized when an Immortal closes a door for someone, they will open a window for them; my talent might lie here," he said, pointing to his head.

"At that time, I will act as one of the examiners for a certain part of the assessment. During this period, I have to retreat for intense cultivation, so I won’t be able to follow Brother Gao to investigate cases," Lin Jing said regretfully.

"Oh!" Gao Sheng exclaimed, looking disappointed, "Those ’cold cases’ I secretly unsealed are truly special!"

"One of them is related to the Gu God Sect!"

"There’s even one connected to the top demon sect in the cultivation realm which has been completely destroyed, the Celestial Demon Sect!"

"But since you don’t have time, let’s wait a few months, and then we can form a team to go."

"..." Lin Jing.

"Brother Gao, you should also prepare for the academy’s assessment. If you get eliminated during the assessment... With the academy lecturer watching, I can’t go easy."

"That’s fine."

Gao Sheng nodded, "That’s settled, once I have learned the Secret Technique of Hidden Dragon, I’ll invite you to investigate cases and exorcise demons. If we can solve these cold cases, our names will definitely become famous in the Ancient Country; we won’t waste time on either front."

"By the way, do you know who else will be acting as an examiner with you?"

"Is it just you alone, or are there many academy students?"

"There seem to be several people," Lin Jing said, "According to what I’ve learned, examinees might have to choose one to challenge to demonstrate their strength."

Gao Sheng looked at Lin Jing and said, "If I didn’t know you, I would definitely choose you."

"After all, cultivators of the Beast Taming Sect generally have weaker personal strength. Even though I haven’t cultivated much over the years, I still believe I can defeat a Beast Taming Cultivator."

"Except you, of course, because you have that thing inside you."

Lin Jing rolled his eyes, "How would I use that during an assessment?"

The Ice Soul Gu is extremely powerful, and using it, Lin Jing was confident he could challenge the celestial ranking now.

"That’s true, after all, examinees don’t have any grudges against you, haha!" Gao Sheng laughed heartily.

"Brother Lin, could you do me a favor and find out which examiner is the weakest for me and let me know!"

"I can’t help you cheat; I’m a person of integrity. We’ll talk after the assessment when we’re classmates, Brother Gao. You need to do your best yourself," Lin Jing said, clasping his fists.

"I was only testing your character; I indeed did not misjudge you as someone worthy of teaming up with!" Gao Sheng clasped his fists in return.

"By the way, where’s your horse, Brother Gao?"

"Are you still thinking about my horse?" Gao Sheng asked warily.

Lin Jing shrugged, "No, I was just asking casually."

Now that he has the dragon carp with the Kirin bloodline, how could he still be thinking about the dragon-horned white horse?

It’s much better to wait for the dragon carp to transform into a dragon.

He was just missing a bit of rare beast blood for refining the Beast Blood Pill.

"Let’s leave it at that for today. I’ll go purchase a fish tank for my pet beast. I recently captured a carp spirit!" Lin Jing began to bid farewell to Gao Sheng.

With Brother Gao’s good fortune, he made a significant profit today, and together with the pine-leaf mouse learning the superior space technique, Lin Jing felt he should celebrate by spending a bit.

Thinking about how the dragon carp couldn’t yet enter the Beast Taming space magical artifact and had to stay outside every day, he wanted to prepare a spacious, fireproof fish tank for it.

...

Soon after, in Lin Jing’s cave residence on the academy’s back mountain.

Lin Jing arrived outside the cave dwelling and saw the Dragon Koi basking in the sun as it gazed at the sky.

Upon seeing the Dragon Koi, Lin Jing smiled and said, "Look what gift I brought you!."

"A fish tank! Fireproof!"

Lin Jing returned, and the Dragon Koi was very delighted. Upon hearing that Lin Jing brought a gift, it was even more pleasantly surprised.

Although the Dragon Koi couldn’t recall much before, as its blood awakened, childhood memories slowly returned.

Being a fire carp pushed out of the clan due to mutation, encountering a good Beast Master like Lin Jing was truly a great fortune.

Until...

The Dragon Koi stared at the pill furnace Lin Jing took out with fury, who called this thing a fish tank?!

Isn’t this used to kindle fire and refine pills?!

Bullies because of its lack of knowledge!

It’s not much better than being stuck on the zen staff!

At least within the Beast Taming Sect, there were hot springs to soak in, but life outside the sect got worse by the day.

Although, it truly was fireproof.

"This is the Hundred Beasts Cauldron, crafted using various demon beasts’ companion minerals, inscribed with multiple auxiliary pill refining formation patterns inside, having massive strengthening effects on pills that contain demon beast materials." Lin Jing said painfully, "It cost me nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Spirit Stones."

It’s what he found at the Lotus Pavilion Business Street, most suitable for his upcoming use.

After all, Beast Blood Pill materials are practically all derived from demon beasts.

Even the ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill contains several demon beast materials.

This cauldron has a great restrictive effect on demon beast materials, and Lin Jing thought it could also be used for the fish’s body refining.

After all, some monkey seemed to have been transformed into divine abilities from the pill furnace.

"Pop..." The Dragon Koi looked at Lin Jing, extremely sharp.

Feeling that this cauldron was not for pill refining but for refining it, guessed accurately.

"The reason for buying this fireproof cauldron was also for your sake."

"Too strong flames aren’t necessarily good." Lin Jing shook his head and said, "Previously, I was focused on helping you stimulate potential and neglected whether you had the ability to harness this stimulated potential."

"In the future, you will reside in the cauldron! I’ll further teach you pill refining, to enhance flame control, striving for self-reliance in pill refinement without me controlling the fire!"

You are already a mature fire carp, time to learn self-fire control and pill refining.

"You remember how I crafted Spirit Supplement Pills, right? I’ve arranged for the pine leaf mouse to prepare a thousand sets of materials for you, refine a thousand sets of Spirit Supplement Pills for me first."

"Pop..." The Dragon Koi paused. The pine deity only knew to beat it to control flames. Lin Jing telling it to learn fire control through pill refining was certainly humane, but it felt something was off.

"Pop pop!!" It inquired, if the cauldron is for it, then what about Lin Jing? After researching pill books for so many days, isn’t he going to refine pills?

"The situation has changed, may not have time for pill refinement studies in the coming months, post academy examination, I’ll speak further, for now, focus on mechanical techniques." Lin Jing took out two items.

One was a palm-sized mechanical bamboo turtle.

The other was the core of a mechanical beast, a clever soul nucleus acquired from Elder Yu during the sect’s Ascension Festival.

He plans to utilize the coming period to upgrade and enhance this simple mechanical turtle.

In a duel, he surely cannot use the Dragon Koi, the Dragon Koi and he have yet to conduct a bloodline contract, still considered "two separate entities."

If the Dragon Koi is sent to fight, it would be "two against one," which during Great Wilderness demon beast hunting is fine, but in formal duels, if not specifically stated, it doesn’t comply with the rules.

The pine leaf mouse is fine because it has already signed a bloodline contract with Lin Jing, the Immortal Palace’s Beast Taming Technique is extraordinarily unique, any pet beast that contracts with a cultivator can almost be regarded in any environment as "a single entity."

Even some Void Profound Great Power’s legacy secret realms allowing only one person entry have seen Beast Masters take multiple pets successfully inside, due to the unique nature of the Beast Taming Sect’s technique, its cultivators and contracted pet beasts are reasonably considered as one entity.

While the Dragon Koi cannot be used, mechanical beasts differ, as they are viewed as akin to magical tools and equipment, devoid of life, hence they have no use restrictions, and as long as cultivators can master and operate them, they are considered part of the cultivator’s own strength.

Therefore, to err on the side of caution, Lin Jing intends to reinforce the mechanical turtle to avoid potential pitfalls when conducting the examination.

After the mechanical turtle fuses with the clever soul nucleus, the advantage is that it can be directly controlled by the mechanical master’s spirit, stronger the spirit, fiercer and more flexible the mechanical beast. Although Lin Jing’s cultivation is low, his spirit strength is not!

Having lived through two lifetimes, and being directly empowered and developed by a Buddhist cultivator in the Demon Suppression Tower, his spirit strength far exceeds ordinary Qi Cultivation cultivators!

By delving deeply with the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique into the academy’s more advanced mechanical books, even without dispatching the pine leaf mouse, he should be capable of unleashing Foundation Establishment battle strength solely with the mechanical turtle!