The little green worm ran away, but Lin Jing didn’t pay much attention to it. The direction it fled was precisely towards the lair of the pine leaf mouse...
"Let’s go find him first."
Lin Jing thought for a moment, then his body floated up and he flew towards a mountain peak. Before long, he descended in front of a cave dwelling and called out loudly: "Is Brother Xu here?"
The stone door of the cave dwelling opened, and a young man wearing a scholar’s long robe walked out, smiling: "A rare guest indeed, Brother Lin. Hasn’t it been three years since you’ve been out much?"
"I didn’t miss a single lecture from Mr. Zhu, Mr. Ji, and Mr. Lv," Lin Jing smiled.
After Mr. Cao, these three gentlemen also each began teaching over the past three years.
They taught respectively about the Path of Feng Shui (Urban Planning), instructing on how to plan the important architectural locations of a city or sect to control prosperity and misfortune.
The Path of Astrology (Marriage) predicted the best marital dates based on celestial movements, ensuring that even if a couple were mundane for generations, they would likely give birth to descendants with excellent cultivation aptitude.
The Path of Arrays (Military) focused on the core strength of low-level cultivators in a city during disasters. A city defense army composed of a hundred cultivators at the ninth level of the Qi Cultivation Stage could, by entering an array, resist the Great Demons with Demon Cores, similar to how the Mountain Protection Arrays work in various sects.
Both Lin Jing and the pine leaf mouse listened attentively to these three lectures.
"Brother Lin, you’ve come to find me, and it’s probably not just to idle chat and reminisce, right?"
Xu Zhizhi had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage and noticed that Lin Jing was still in the Qi Cultivation Stage. He couldn’t help but shake his head, wondering why Lin Jing hadn’t broken through despite his perfect foundation at the tenth level of Qi Cultivation.
A lot of people speculated that Lin Jing wanted to cultivate a very powerful acquired constitution; even with the perfect foundation at the tenth level of Qi Cultivation, it couldn’t guarantee his success, which is why he has delayed his breakthrough.
"In these three years, I’ve been nurturing a new pet beast using the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique, a dragon-blooded pet beast!" Lin Jing began.
"It’s now at the ninth level of Qi Cultivation but hasn’t been contracted. I want it to spar with the academy’s prodigies. I believe Brother Xu should have the contact information for this year’s examinees?"
"Could Brother Xu notify this year’s examinees for me and see who is interested and willing to spar?"
Xu Zhizhi was taken aback and surprised: "You’ve been nurturing a new pet beast these past three years???"
Xu Zhizhi was stunned: "So you were nurturing a second pet beast... but using the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique for cultivation is too extravagant! I use the Hidden Dragon Fortune to deduce magic realm advancements."
"Brother Xu, just help pass the message," Lin Jing laughed and said: "I will greatly reward you."
"What kind of great reward? I won’t accept spirit bean bombs." Xu Zhizhi, having reached Foundation Establishment and tired of mechanical bamboo spears, had lost interest in such contraptions that didn’t significantly enhance his strength.
"It’s an opportunity, Brother Xu. You’ll find out in due time." Lin Jing vaguely mentioned that the Dragon Ascending Pills were few, so preference was to be given to acquaintances. If Xu Zhizhi wanted to buy them, Lin Jing would prioritize his request.
Lin Jing didn’t find the wrong person. Maybe Xu Zhizhi hadn’t mingled well with the old students over these three years, but, as the Innate Sage Body, he had personally assessed and acquainted himself with this batch of new students.
For someone truly aspiring to an official position, cultivating connections within the academy is just as important as cultivating the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique.
Soon after, Lin Jing’s matter was widely announced by Xu Zhizhi to this group of new students. Three years had passed, and most of these freshmen, who were once at the ninth level of Qi Cultivation, had already reached Foundation Establishment. However, they hadn’t forgotten Lin Jing.
It was three years ago when the mechanical bamboo spear devised by Lin Jing had taught them a lesson. Apart from that, the scene when Lin Jing, at the tenth level of dual attributes, emerged from the Dragon and Phoenix Grotto Heaven, left them deeply impressed.
"During this period... was he actually nurturing a new pet beast all along?"
"Three years... he actually used three years in seclusion to nurture a new pet beast, what patience."
"To use the potential of the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique to foster a dragon-blooded pet beast? He’s really willing to spend!" the new students thought inwardly with astonishment.
Ultimately, due to their curiosity about Lin Jing’s new pet beast, they decided to come and observe the strength of Lin Jing’s new pet beast.
At least among this batch of examinees, no student had yet cultivated a pet or ride using the Hidden Dragon Fortune.
Since Hidden Dragon Fortune is precious and rare, even using it oneself isn’t enough. Therefore, they were curious about the extent of its effectiveness if utilized to nurture a pet beast.
One month later, at the southern gate of Hidden Dragon Academy, Lin Jing had already set up a platform, waiting for the examinees invited by Xu Zhizhi to arrive.
On the stage, Lin Jing sat with his eyes closed, resting his mind.
In front of him was a fluttering red carp.
"His newly cultivated pet beast is actually a Dragon Carp?"
Students arriving one after another were all stunned upon seeing the ninth level Qi Cultivation Stage carp spirit on the platform!
Carp spirit... Dragon Carp... Many cultivators were familiar with such a creature.
After all, the legend of "the carp leaping over the dragon gate" is too classic. Many cultivators perhaps grew up listening to similar tales, but precisely because it was too familiar, they knew that a carp spirit’s battle strength wasn’t comparable to most dragon-blooded pet beasts before it transformed into a dragon.
They’d all been to the Dragon and Phoenix Grotto Heaven, where the ninth level Qi Cultivation dragon-blooded demon beasts weren’t carp but either dragons or large snakes, centipedes, or giant crocodiles, and besides these, there were dragon-blooded lions and tigers that were extremely formidable...
Yet among these, there wasn’t a Dragon Carp, indicating that even Immortals of the Immortal Palace didn’t recognize the combat prowess of a dragon-blooded carp.
"Perhaps once transformed, the Dragon Carp’s power might have the greatest change among many dragon-blooded demon beasts, but currently, its strength is unlikely to be significant, especially since the environment here... isn’t even water attributed..."
"Hmm? Wait, something’s off. How is this Dragon Carp fire-attributed?" Someone noticed something amiss.
Most cultivators present were already at Foundation Establishment Stage and had developed Divine Sense. By observing the Dragon Carp through their Divine Sense, they found that its Spiritual Power faintly rose with Flame Power, being a fire-attributed beast.
Puzzled, curious, surprised...
As more and more people gathered, Lin Jing stood atop the platform, dressed in a white alchemist’s robe. Except for a few alchemists like Zi Ling’Er, most people’s attention was on the Dragon Carp rather than what Lin Jing was wearing.
"What does he mean?" Zi Ling’Er, being an alchemist, was puzzled seeing Lin Jing in his alchemist robe. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn N()velFire.net
"Everyone," Lin Jing saw many familiar figures in the crowd.
He said, "This is my pet beast nurtured through the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique, unique alchemical pills, the Fire Dragon Carp. It hasn’t been contracted yet, but I’d like to first verify the results of its cultivation. Which junior brother is willing to enlighten me, regardless of whether your cultivation is in the Qi Cultivation Stage or Foundation Establishment Stage?"
Suddenly, Lin Jing looked towards a silver figure approaching from afar and asked, "Could it be the Divine Body, Wang Xiao? You’ve challenged me multiple times over the past three years, but I couldn’t accept due to being in seclusion. Brother Wang, would you like to give it a try?"