Book 2: Chapter 10: Innate Divine Physique

Vol 2 Chapter 10: Innate Divine Physique “Senior, you flatter me…” “The opportunity for fame you mentioned, what exactly is it?” Lin Jing was reminded of his previous life when professors would offer him “opportunities,” only to load him up with tedious and menial tasks. Cao Ziwei chuckled. “In a few months, the academy’s enrollment season will begin again. At that time, numerous talented cultivators from all over will come to Hidden Dragon City, hoping to gain admission into Hidden Dragon Academy.” “Every year, there’s a special segment during the assessment where academy students act as examiners and engage in combat trials with the candidates.” “You want me to act as one of the examiners this time?” Lin Jing asked in surprise. Cao Ziwei nodded. “To be precise, this is the academy’s arrangement. You won’t be the only one; all the students who have recently shown exceptional performance will be examiners.” “This is actually a great opportunity. These candidates are geniuses from various regions, often accompanied by senior sect members. During the assessment, the academy and sect representatives will focus intently on the examiners. If you perform well, you’ll gain significant attention.” “What do you think?” “I’ll take the examiner role!” Lin Jing agreed. This opportunity, like many things, had its pros and cons—success would depend entirely on his strength. “Excellent,” Cao Ziwei said. “Prepare yourself in the coming months. Since you’re at the Qi Refining Stage, you’ll only need to face candidates of the same stage. Don’t underestimate them just because you’ve defeated Foundation Establishment cultivators before. You might end up being their stepping stone. In past assessments, it’s not uncommon for senior students to be defeated by candidates.” “Even though these candidates might not have been specially recruited like you, it doesn’t mean they’re weak,” Cao Ziwei warned. “I’ve heard there are quite a few monsters in the Qi Refining Stage among this year’s candidates.” “From the royal family of the capital, there’s a prodigy at the ninth stage of Qi Refining with an Innate Divine Physique!” “From the Divine Talisman Sect of the Dao Domain, there’s a saintess, also at the ninth stage of Qi Refining, with the Talisman Physique. She can substitute her brush with her hand, the heavens and earth her paper, and inscribe talismans in the void.” “There’s also the grandson of a Nascent Soul-stage elder from the Demon-Slaying Bureau. Though he was said to be unruly in his youth, he reformed and uncovered a demonic plot by the Gu Cult in Snow Moon City just a few months ago. He’s also at the ninth stage of Qi Refining!” “That Innate Divine Physique cultivator is already renowned in the Ancient Domain at the Qi Refining stage. He’s a well-known genius in the capital. Defeating him in the assessment would mean far more than defeating someone like Fang Shilin,” Cao Ziwei said with a persuasive smile. At this, Lin Jing wore a strange expression. The first two indeed sounded impressive. Cultivation physiques were divided into attribute-based physiques and special physiques. For instance, Fire Spirit and Ice Spirit Physiques were attribute-based and enhanced corresponding techniques and spells. Special physiques like the Primordial Yang Body and Longevity Body were rarer and offered broader benefits. Tianji Pavilion even compiled a Physique Rankings list, much like the Genius Rankings, cataloging a hundred physiques. Those on the list were often deemed “divine physiques,” with a guaranteed path to forming a Golden Core and a high likelihood of reaching Nascent Soul or even Soul Transformation without major bottlenecks. The top ten physiques were called “immortal physiques,” said to offer a chance at ascension to immortality. seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. The Innate Divine Physique was undoubtedly powerful. Anyone with such a physique who cultivated Hidden Dragon techniques was bound to make waves. Compared to someone like Fang Shilin—who had reached Foundation Establishment without even an acquired spiritual body—the gap was immense. Lin Jing had initially taken this seriously, but when he heard about the Nascent Soul elder’s grandson, he felt something was off. He wanted to ask, “Is that Demon-Slaying Bureau genius named Gao Sheng?” Was that guy finally out of confinement? It seemed his family didn’t want him causing more trouble and had sent him to the academy. “I’ll work hard during this period to prepare myself,” Lin Jing said. “Senior, I was thinking… perhaps I should rent a cave dwelling,” Lin Jing added. He realized that if he wanted to refine pills, staying in a wooden hut wouldn’t cut it. “Very well,” Cao Ziwei said with a smile. “Resources are meant to be used. The rent for a cave dwelling is 10,000 spirit stones a year, but the benefits are worth it. Each dwelling is connected to the academy’s spiritual veins. Cultivating there for a year is far more effective than using 10,000 spirit stones on regular cultivation.” Cao Ziwei’s words made sense, but Lin Jing still felt a pinch in his heart. Thankfully, he’d already decided to start a business. The auction for the Mechanical Bamboo Rifle was still some time away. Lotus Pavilion always advertised its auction items for at least half a month, giving sellers ample time to prepare spirit stones. … The academy’s back mountain was dotted with cave dwellings for students. Lin Jing rented a small hilltop dwelling, ensuring he wouldn’t have to wander the city like a vagabond anymore. “Time to bring the Dragon Carp back!” Now that Lin Jing had his own place, he decided it was time to reclaim the Dragon Carp. After all, he couldn’t keep troubling Senior Divine Pine to look after it forever. He quickly left the academy, calling out silently. Not long after, a Dragon Carp was tossed unceremoniously at his feet. The carp was bruised and battered, its body marked with blue and purple patches—clearly, it had taken quite a beating. Fortunately, it seemed to have gained better control over its flames. “You’re still alive?” Lin Jing picked up the Dragon Carp and asked with concern. “Blub…” The Dragon Carp responded weakly. Pain? It was used to it by now. From now on, no more randomly setting fires—it wasn’t worth getting beaten by that old pine tree again. “As long as you’re alive,” Lin Jing said with relief. Then he addressed the ancient pine tree. “Senior Divine Pine, I’ve got a question.” “Do you think the Pine Leaf Mouse, with its current strength, could defeat a same-level Divine Physique?” “A Divine Physique?” Divine Pine chuckled. “You’ve got some serious misconceptions about Divine Physiques, don’t you? Even a demonic beast with the bloodline of a Demon King would only get shredded to pieces by a same-level Divine Physique. You’d better go find a shady spot and cool off.” “Not a single chance?” Lin Jing asked. His expression suddenly shifted into a classic villainous smirk as he dragged a finger menacingly across his neck. “I want to take him down—no matter the means.” The demonic pine was amused by the display. Seeing Lin Jing’s "devil-may-care" attitude, it decided to share a dubious strategy. “Let it eat the Void-Skipping Grass! Doesn’t its innate Crimson Leaf have spatial properties?” Lin Jing was taken aback. “But it’s not ripe yet.” “That’s exactly why it can eat it,” Divine Pine explained. “A fully mature fifth-tier spatial spirit grass is so packed with nutrients it could make it explode. It would need to be at the Monster Core stage to barely digest it. If it eats it unripe, the nutrient content is much lower.” “Eating it unripe won’t poison it?” Lin Jing asked. Most spiritual plants contained toxins before maturity as a natural defense mechanism against being consumed prematurely. “There’s poison, of course,” the pine replied nonchalantly. “That’s why it needs guts. Its spatial affinity might prevent it from dying, and if it survives, its mastery of spatial techniques will improve dramatically. With high-level spatial abilities during the Qi Refining Stage, it might not be much worse than a Divine Physique.” The pine’s suggestion was clearly a path to ruin, and Lin Jing waved it off. “Forget it. I’ll stick to being a proper righteous cultivator. I haven’t mastered Immortal Rebirth yet—if I die, I can’t resurrect.” “What’s there to be afraid of?” Divine Pine retorted. “Devil cultivators thrive on turning the impossible into the possible. Besides, that Pine Leaf Mouse of yours has already achieved minor success with the Everlasting Emperor’s Longevity Art, and you have that golden spiritual rice to enhance its ability to digest plants. With my help, it won’t die. The worst-case scenario is losing a single immature Void-Skipping Grass! So what if a peerless genius gets eaten by a beast? I haven’t heard anyone complain yet!”