Chapter 101: Three Years

The little green insect ran away, but Lin Jing didn’t pay it any mind; the direction it fled in was exactly where the Pine Leaf Squirrel’s cave was—

“I’ll go find him first.”

Lin Jing thought for a moment, and his body floated up, flying toward a mountain peak. Before long, he landed in front of a cave and called out loudly, “Is Brother Xu here?”

Rumble.

The stone door of the cave opened, and a young man wearing a scholar’s robe stepped out, smiling. “A rare visitor indeed. Brother Lin, you haven’t been out much for three years, have you?”

“I haven’t missed a single lesson from Mr. Zhu, Mr. Ji, or Mr. Lyu,” Lin Jing said with a smile.

Following Mr. Cao, these three teachers had also each opened courses to preach the Dao during these three years.

They taught respectively: 【The Dao of Feng Shui (Urban Construction Edition)】, teaching how to plan the geographical locations of important buildings in a city or a Sect to control prosperity, decline, good fortune, and misfortune.

【The Dao of Astrology (Marriage Edition)】, which uses the movement and changes of celestial bodies and stars to deduce the most auspicious wedding dates for men and women.

If the date was chosen well, even a couple whose ancestors were all Mortals for generations would have a very high probability of giving birth to offspring with excellent cultivation Aptitude.

【The Dao of Formations (Military Edition)】: In a city, the majority are low-level Cultivators. When facing disasters, these low-level Cultivators are actually the core force. A city defense force composed of a hundred Qi Training Ninth Layer Cultivators, entering a Formation to face an enemy, can resist a Monster Core Great Yao. The mountain-protecting Formations of various Sects operate on a similar principle.

Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Squirrel had both listened attentively to these three courses.

“Brother Lin, you came to find me, it shouldn’t be just for idle chatter and reminiscing, right?”

Xu Zhizhi had already entered the Foundation Establishment Stage. Seeing that Lin Jing was still in the Qi Training Realm, he couldn’t help but shake his head. A Qi Refining Tenth Layer was clearly an extremely perfect Foundation; why hadn’t Lin Jing made a Breakthrough yet?

Many people were guessing that Lin Jing wanted to Cultivate a very powerful Acquired Physique. Even if his basic Realm had reached the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, it still couldn’t guarantee his success, which was why he had delayed his Breakthrough for so long.

“In these three years, I used the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique to nurture a new Pet Beast, a dragon-blooded Pet Beast!” Lin Jing said.

“It’s now at the Qi Training Ninth Layer and hasn’t been contracted yet. I want it to spar with the Academy’s Prodigies. I imagine Brother Xu should have the contact information for this year’s examinees?”

“I wonder if Brother Xu could notify the examinees of this batch for me, to see who is interested and willing to spar with it.”

“Huh?”

Xu Zhizhi was stunned and said in surprise, “You’ve been nurturing a new Pet Beast for these three years???”

Lin Jing nodded.

Xu Zhizhi said with a sigh, “So you were nurturing a second Pet Beast… but using the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique to nurture it is far too extravagant!! I use my Potential Dragon Luck to deduce Spell Realms.”

“Brother Xu, just help me convey the message,” Lin Jing said with a smile. “I will naturally have a generous reward.”

“What generous reward? I don’t want any more Spirit Bean Bombs.” Xu Zhizhi had now reached Foundation Establishment and had already played with the Mechanical Bamboo Gun; the novelty had worn off. He no longer had any interest in these mechanical creations that couldn’t really improve his strength.

“An opportunity. Brother Xu will know when the time comes.” Lin Jing kept him in suspense. The number of Rising Dragon Pills was not many.

Naturally, they should be sold to acquaintances first. If Xu Zhizhi wanted to buy one, Lin Jing would prioritize preparing it for him.

Lin Jing hadn’t sought out the wrong person. Perhaps Xu Zhizhi hadn’t become well-acquainted with the older students over the three years, but as someone with an Innate Official Saint Physique, he already knew all the new students of this batch whom he had personally examined.

For a person who truly wanted to be an official, the connections one could accumulate within the Academy were actually just as important as cultivating the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique.

Before long, Lin Jing’s matter was widely announced by Xu Zhizhi to this batch of new students. Three years had passed, and ninety percent of these new students, who were at the Qi Training Ninth Layer back then, had already established their Foundations. However, these new students would not forget Lin Jing.

Three years ago, it was the Mechanical Bamboo Gun made by Lin Jing that had taught them a lesson. Besides that, the image of Lin Jing walking out of the Dragon Phoenix Cave Heaven with a double-ten Realm had also left them deeply shocked.

“During this time… he has actually been nurturing a new Pet Beast?”

“Three years… to actually spend three years in seclusion just to nurture a new Pet Beast, such patience.”

“A dragon-blooded Pet Beast nurtured by stimulating its potential with the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique? He’s really willing to spend!” These new students were inwardly astonished.

Ultimately, out of curiosity about Lin Jing’s new Pet Beast, they decided to come and witness the strength of Lin Jing’s new Pet Beast.

At least among this batch of examinees, there had never been a student who used Potential Dragon Luck to nurture a pet or mount.

Potential Dragon Luck was already precious; it wasn’t even enough for one’s own use. So they were also curious about what level it could reach if used to nurture a Pet Beast.

A month later, at the south gate of Hidden Dragon Academy, Lin Jing had already set up a stage, 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 flopping red Dragon Carp.

“A Dragon Carp?”

“The new Pet Beast he nurtured is actually a Dragon Carp?”

The students who arrived one after another at this place were all stunned when they saw the Qi Training Ninth Layer carp spirit on the stage!

Carp spirit… Dragon Carp… many Cultivators were familiar with this thing.

After all, the legend of “the carp leaping over the dragon gate” was far too classic. Many Cultivators might have grown up listening to similar stories. However, precisely because they were so familiar with it, they knew that a creature like a carp spirit had no combat power to speak of compared to most dragon-blooded Pet Beasts before it transformed into a dragon.

They had all entered the Dragon Phoenix Cave Heaven. The Qi Training Ninth Layer dragon-blooded Yao Beasts there were either flood dragons, great snakes, centipedes, or giant crocodiles. Besides those, dragon-blooded lions and tigers were all exceptionally powerful. But notably, there were no Dragon Carps among them. This showed that even the Immortals of the Celestial Palace did not recognize the combat power of a dragon-blooded carp.

“Perhaps after successfully transforming into a dragon, the change in a Dragon Carp’s strength will be the greatest among the various dragon-blooded Yao Beasts! But for now, its strength shouldn’t be too great. Moreover, the environment here… isn’t even of the water element—”

“Hmm? Wait, something’s not right. How is this Dragon Carp of the fire attribute!” Someone discovered a clue.

Most of the Cultivators present were already in the Foundation Establishment Stage and had developed Divine Sense. While observing the Dragon Carp with Divine Sense, they discovered that the power of flames was faintly rising within its spiritual energy; it was actually a fire-attribute beast.

Incomprehension, curiosity, amazement—

As more and more people gathered, Lin Jing stood on the stage, wearing a white Alchemist Robe. Except for a few alchemists like Zi Ling’er, most people’s focus was on the Dragon Carp, and they didn’t pay much attention to what Lin Jing was wearing.

“What does he mean?” Zi Ling’er was also an alchemist, and seeing Lin Jing wearing an Alchemist Robe now, she was filled with confusion.

“Everyone.”

Lin Jing saw many familiar figures in the crowd. He said, “This is a new Pet Beast I have nurtured using the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique and my own unique Medicinal Pills: the Flame Dragon Carp. It hasn’t been contracted yet, but I would like to first verify the results of the nurturing. I wonder which Junior Brother is willing to provide some guidance. Whether your cultivation is in the Qi Training Stage or the Foundation Establishment Stage, it doesn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Lin Jing looked toward a silver figure walking from afar and asked, “Is that the Heavenly God Body, Wang Xiao? You’ve challenged me several times over the past three years, but I couldn’t accept because I was in seclusion. Brother Wang, would you like to give it a try?”