Book 2: Chapter 13: You’re a Grown-Up Fish Now

Vol 2 Chapter 13: You’re a Grown-Up Fish Now Lin Jing had no intention of indulging Gao Sheng’s antics. He needed to focus on making money! Although he shared a desire to eradicate the Yin Corpse Sect—a demonic sect notorious for human trafficking—now wasn’t the time. He feared that teaming up with Gao Sheng to fight demons would likely end with both of them being captured. Gao Sheng would probably be sent home safely while Lin Jing got left behind as a hostage. ... Given the overwhelming success of the first Mechanized Bamboo Rifle auction—partially due to the extravagance of a wealthy bidder—Lin Jing decided to sell the rifles exclusively through auctions for now. Once the prices declined, he’d flood the market with them at a lower price. After leaving the auction house, Gao Sheng continued following him until they stopped in a quiet corner. seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “Brother Gao, are you planning to participate in the academy’s assessment in four months?” Lin Jing asked. “Of course,” Gao Sheng replied. “My family’s forcing me into it, though I really don’t want to go. “I imagine I’ll just learn the Hidden Dragon Arts and skip the lectures. I’ve heard academy lectures can last ten days or more—how boring! I’d much rather roam around solving cases; I think I have a knack for it.” He tapped his temple. “Where I come from, all my peers had innate spiritual bodies or unique constitutions. I was the only one with an ordinary body. That killed my interest in cultivation as a child. But when I grew up, I realized that when immortals close one door, they open another. My talent might lie here.” “Unfortunately, I’ll be serving as a proctor for one of the assessment stages,” Lin Jing said regretfully. “I also need to enter seclusion for intense training, so I can’t join you on your investigations.” “Really?” Gao Sheng looked disappointed. “But the unsolved cases I’ve secretly unsealed are fascinating! “One involves the Gu God Sect! “Another even ties back to the Heavenly Demon Sect, the former top demonic sect that’s been completely destroyed!” “Well, if you’re unavailable, I suppose we can wait a few months and go together afterward.” “Brother Gao, you’d better prepare for the assessment,” Lin Jing advised. “If you get eliminated… I can’t bend the rules with the academy overseers watching.” “Fair enough,” Gao Sheng nodded. “Once I’ve mastered the Hidden Dragon Arts, I’ll invite you to tackle those cases with me. Solving them could make us famous across the ancient nations—it’s a win-win.” “By the way, do you know who else will serve as proctors?” “Is it just you, or are there others?” “There are several others,” Lin Jing replied. “From what I’ve heard, candidates will choose one proctor to challenge and demonstrate their strength.” Gao Sheng looked at Lin Jing and smirked. “If I didn’t know you, I’d definitely pick you. “Beast Taming Sect cultivators usually lack personal combat strength. Even with my minimal training, I think I could beat one.” “But you’re an exception, of course, considering you’re hosting inside you.” The Dragon Carp rolled its eyes. “How would you even use it during the assessment?” The Ice Soul Gu was far from reliable; using it now would make the Dragon Carp hesitant to face the Genius Rankings. “That’s true,” Gao Sheng chuckled. “It’s not like the candidates have any grudges with him.” “Brother Lin, let me help you out. I’ll find out which proctor is the strongest and let you know!” “You’re too kind! You’re the epitome of integrity!” Lin Jing clasped his hands in mock reverence. “Why don’t we talk more after the assessment when we’re classmates? Good luck with your preparations, Brother Gao!” “You passed the character test—I knew you’d be a good teammate!” Gao Sheng laughed, returning the gesture. “By the way, where’s your horse?” “You’re still thinking about my horse?” Gao Sheng asked suspiciously. Lin Jing shrugged. “No, just curious.” With the Dragon Carp, now blessed with Kirin bloodline potential, Lin Jing had no reason to covet a dragon-horned white horse. The carp’s eventual transformation into a dragon was far more promising. What he lacked, however, was rare beast blood for crafting Beast Blood Pills. “Well, I should be off to buy a fish tank for my new pet carp,” Lin Jing said, bidding Gao Sheng farewell. Thanks to Gao Sheng’s generosity, Lin Jing had made a fortune today. Coupled with the Pine Leaf Mouse mastering an advanced spatial technique, he felt it was time to celebrate. Since the Dragon Carp couldn’t yet reside in the Beast Taming space, it remained outside. Lin Jing decided to buy it a fireproof fish tank. ... At the academy’s back mountain, Lin Jing returned to his cave dwelling. Outside, he found the Dragon Carp basking in the sun, staring at the sky. Smiling, Lin Jing called out, “Look what I’ve got for you—a gift!” “A fish tank! And it’s fireproof!” The Dragon Carp, overjoyed to see Lin Jing, was even more excited to hear about the gift. Although its childhood memories had been hazy, its bloodline awakening gradually brought them back. As a mutated fire carp rejected by its clan, it felt incredibly fortunate to have found a Beast Tamer like Lin Jing. Until… The Dragon Carp stared dumbfounded at the cauldron in Lin Jing’s hands, bristling with fury. Who called this a fish tank?! This was clearly a cauldron for refining pills! Was Lin Jing mocking its ignorance? Sure, it was fireproof, but that didn’t make it any better! “This is the Hundred Beast Cauldron, crafted from companion beast ores of various demonic beasts. It’s inscribed with multiple pill-refinement formations that greatly enhance the efficacy of materials with beast origins,” Lin Jing explained with a pained expression. “It cost me 9,999 spirit stones.” It was the perfect cauldron for his current needs, given that almost all the materials for Beast Blood Pills came from demonic beasts. The cauldron was highly effective for refining beast-related pills, and Lin Jing figured it could also be used to temper the Dragon Carp. After all, some mythical beings—like certain apes—had gained their abilities through being refined in cauldrons. “Blub…” The Dragon Carp glared at Lin Jing, its sharp instincts sensing that the cauldron was meant more for refining than pills. “You need this fireproof cauldron for your own good,” Lin Jing said earnestly. “Too much firepower can be a bad thing. “I’ve been so focused on unlocking your potential that I overlooked whether you could handle the power we’ve awakened. “From now on, you’ll live in this cauldron. I’ll teach you pill refining to help you master your flames. The goal is for you to refine pills without my help!” “You’re a grown-up Fire Carp now—it’s time to learn how to control your own flames.” “You remember how I refined the Replenishing Pills before, right? I’ve prepared 1,000 sets of materials with the Pine Leaf Mouse’s help. Start by refining 1,000 pills for me.” The Dragon Carp froze. Although the Shen Pine had tried to train it through sparring, Lin Jing’s approach—using pill refinement—seemed more humane, yet somehow even more devious. “Blub blub!!” The carp protested, asking why Lin Jing wasn’t refining pills himself after studying pill manuals for so long. “The situation has changed. I won’t have time to delve into pill refining for the next few months. After the academy assessment, I’ll revisit it. For now, I’m focusing on mechanized arts.” Lin Jing revealed two items: a palm-sized Mechanical Bamboo Turtle and the Ingenious Soul Core, a prize from Elder Yu during the Ascending Dragon Festival. He planned to spend the coming months upgrading the turtle. During combat, he couldn’t rely on the Dragon Carp—it wasn’t bound to him through a Bloodline Contract and was technically an independent entity. Using it in a duel would count as fighting two-on-one, which was generally prohibited in formal competitions unless explicitly allowed. The Pine Leaf Mouse, however, was a different story. Having a Bloodline Contract with Lin Jing, it was treated as an extension of him. Beast Taming Sect cultivators were unique in that their contracted beasts were recognized as part of their individual strength. The Mechanical Turtle was another option. Mechanized beasts were considered tools rather than living beings, so there were no restrictions on their use. To ensure he performed well as a proctor, Lin Jing decided to enhance the turtle. With the Ingenious Soul Core, the turtle could be directly controlled by his spiritual consciousness, making it more powerful and agile. Although Lin Jing’s cultivation was low, his spiritual strength was unusually high due to being tempered by the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and his experiences across two lifetimes. With further research into mechanized arts at the academy, he was confident he could upgrade the turtle to display Foundation Establishment-level combat power, even without the Pine Leaf Mouse.