Chapter 4: Choosing a Pet Beast

His own Physique, like a Mortal Body, was attribute-less.

After learning this, Lin Jing looked at Elder Mo and said, “Then Elder Mo, I’ll choose the Pine Leaf Rat.”

“Oh?” Elder Mo said, “Are you sure?”

Lin Jing nodded: “I’m sure.”

His thinking was simple; his Chang Sheng Body wasn’t suited for fighting and killing in the early stages. Raising a Wood-element Pet Beast that could farm and nurture spirit plants while hiding in the Sect to farm and slowly increase his strength might be better.

Additionally, although the Chang Sheng Body had no attributes, Wood-element techniques were mostly related to vitality and life force, making a Wood-attribute Spirit Beast clearly more suitable for him.

As for Pet Beasts specialized in combat, it wouldn’t be too late to look for one within the Sect after his cultivation reached a higher level and he became an Inner Sect Disciple.

“Elder Mo, is there something wrong with this Pine Leaf Rat?” Lin Jing asked, feeling uneasy.

“Well…” Elder Mo said, “The Sect raises many Spirit Beasts. After they are born, the Sect instills them with their mission to help them develop intelligence. Every month, they are given Spirit Stones to let them Cultivate.”

“And those available for Sect Disciples to choose from are basically those within a year of birth who, through the Sect’s resource cultivation, can reach the third level of Qi Refinement and have developed intelligence enough to understand human speech.”

“After all, with this level of cultivation support, if they still can’t reach the third level of Qi Refinement or understand human speech, it means they aren’t suitable for cultivation at all. Forget about helping human Disciples; it’s good enough if they don’t hold them back.”

“As for this one… when the previous batch of Disciples chose their Pet Beasts, it had only reached the second level of Qi Refinement, failing to meet the standard.”

“Normally, it would be released into the Pine Forest and would no longer be a Pet Beast given to Disciples.”

“However, according to an investigation by the Elder in charge of basic Spirit Beast cultivation, the reason this Pine Leaf Rat was only at the second level of Qi Refinement at the time was due to some special reasons.”

“What was it?” Lin Jing was startled.

Elder Mo hesitated before saying, “This Pine Leaf Rat has some quirks. It actually hoarded the resources given by the Sect like treasures, hiding them deep and not using a single one. It reached the third level of Qi Refinement recently entirely by relying on its own talent.”

“I don’t know what it’s thinking. Can Spirit Stones multiply if you hoard them?”

“…”

“Maybe it’s for a sense of security,” Lin Jing said.

“Considering its talent isn’t bad—one could even say it’s an excellent talent seen only once in a decade—that Elder hasn’t revoked its spot yet, giving it a second chance to enter the Outer Sect.”

“Anyway, I’ll take you to see it first. If it’s not suitable, we’ll look at other Pet Beasts. But if you can tame it, its talent will be of great benefit to your cultivation,” Elder Mo spoke.

“I understand…” After listening, Lin Jing planned to take a look first… Pine Forest Peak.

Two Immortal Cranes landed.

Shortly after, Elder Mo and the others arrived outside a Pine Forest.

“Pine Forest Peak, this is the habitat of the Pine Leaf Rat group.”

In the Pine Forest, Lin Jing saw many Squirrels. In Lin Jing’s eyes, the Pine Leaf Rats were like Squirrels turned into spirits. Their appearance was generally no different from ordinary Squirrels, with soft and bright fur adorned with fine light yellow stripes, looking very cute.

Somewhat similar to Huangshan Squirrels! But the difference from ordinary Squirrels was that they had a pair of emerald-green eyes, with a color like a dreamlike blend of falling forest leaves and morning light.

“Squeak…”

Pine Leaf Rats leaped past. These Pine Leaf Rats, which had just developed intelligence or hadn’t yet, were clearly unable to speak like the Black Bear Elder or the Immortal Cranes from before.

“The Pine Leaf Rats currently living in the Pine Forest basically have talent and potential that do not meet the Contract standards.”

After arriving, Elder Mo walked ahead, and Lin Jing followed.

“Except for that special one I mentioned.”

Under Elder Mo’s guidance, Lin Jing soon saw that Pine Leaf Rat.

He stood on the ground.

The Pine Leaf Rat was meditating on a pine tree with its eyes closed.

As someone arrived, it finally opened its eyes.

“Squeak?”

Their eyes met.

At this moment, a few of Elder Mo’s unruly strands of hair fluttered in the wind, adding a bit of untamed and ethereal aura to him.

“I have already greeted Elder Jiang. This is a new Disciple of the Sect who wants to choose you as his first Pet Beast. What do you think?” He asked the Pine Leaf Rat with his hands behind his back.

“Squeak…” This Pine Leaf Rat hesitated for a moment, looking at Lin Jing and making a childish sound.

Its emerald eyes observed Lin Jing.

Beside him, Elder Mo said, “You need to introduce yourself to it. Generally, Spirit Beasts will decide whether to follow based on the Disciple’s situation.”

“The choosing of Pet Beasts by Beast Taming Sect Disciples has always been a two-way selection. To take it away, you also need to gain the Spirit Beast’s approval.”

“This process is also a test for the Disciple. Whether one can gain the Spirit Beast’s approval through their own ability is very important for a Beast Taming Sect Disciple.”

“Only when both the Cultivator and the Pet Beast acknowledge each other can they achieve twice the result with half the effort in cultivation.”

“I see,” Lin Jing nodded.

Drawing a big pie?

But he was a dutiful and honest man.

“I am Lin Jing. I have a special Physique, so my cultivation speed is somewhat slow. If you become my Pet Beast, we might have to put in more effort together.”

Lin Jing looked at the Pine Leaf Rat and gave it a heads-up. Since he wanted it to help him Cultivate, he didn’t hide his Physique’s flaw.

After all, the Chang Sheng Body was known as a Physique with extremely slow cultivation speed.

He believed that sincerity would be enough to move it.

However… “Squeak!!!” The Pine Leaf Rat was startled.

Slow cultivation? Wouldn’t that mean using up all the Spirit Stones it had hoarded for so long?

It took a small step back.

Seeing this, Lin Jing fell silent.

As expected, sincerity alone cannot keep them.

Beside him, a subtle smile appeared at the corner of Elder Mo’s mouth.

These bizarre Pet Beasts often had strange personalities and unique ways of thinking; they weren’t easy to win over.

However, Lin Jing was no ordinary person either.

Facing this fellow who could resist using Spirit Stones, had a firm will, and seemed like it had quit an addiction, he thought for a moment and said:

“Storage Pouch.”

Since sincerity didn’t work, Lin Jing planned to cater to its interests.

“After becoming my Pet Beast, I’ll save up Spirit Stones to give you a Storage Pouch with an independent space that can store countless items.”

“When our cultivation is successful, it won’t matter if I give you ten Storage Rings with even larger spaces.”

“Don’t you like hoarding resources? When you have more things, will this place still be enough to hold them?”

For a hoarding rat that loved collecting, the most painful thing must be insufficient bag capacity, Lin Jing was certain.

Pine Leaf Rat:!!??

“Squeak!?”

The next moment, the Pine Leaf Rat’s eyes indeed lit up, instantly attracted by Lin Jing’s “big pie.”

“This Chang Sheng Body is quite clever,” Elder Mo was startled.

“A quirk for hoarding items, a Storage Pouch…” Compared to the people here, Lin Jing, who had experience as a veteran hoarder-rat gamer in his previous life, knew much better what the hoarder rat in front of him needed.

“It’s just that this Pine Leaf Rat doesn’t look very smart.”

“But it has only just developed intelligence, after all.”

Beside him, Elder Mo shook his head at the sight. Storage Pouches were expensive.

Regardless, this Pine Leaf Rat had taken the bait.

Subsequently.

One, two, three… dozens of Low-Grade Spirit Stones were tossed out of the tree hollow by the Pine Leaf Rat under the pair’s silent gazes, and finally, the Pine Leaf Rat crawled back out as well.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”

Looking at Lin Jing, the Pine Leaf Rat’s tone was excited, as if it had chosen him and planned to bring all its belongings to join Lin Jing and start a new Cultivate life together.

Lin Jing also had a smile on his face.

“So that we can buy a Storage Pouch as soon as possible, I’ll keep these Spirit Stones for you for now, and we’ll plan and use them reasonably.”

The Pine Leaf Rat was startled, looked into Lin Jing’s sincere gaze, and nodded innocently.

It was full of anticipation for the future.