Vol 6 Chapter 25: The Heavenly Emperor’s Post-Frog
“Rationally speaking, this frog is indeed extraordinary.”
Although it was only an ordinary frog, Lin Jing could clearly see a spark of intelligence in its eyes.
That was very unusual.
If it were an animal with relatively high intelligence that would be one thing, but for a species as mentally limited as frogs, this was exceedingly rare.
Lin Jing observed for a moment and found no signs that the frog had eaten any spirit herbs, so the remnant soul’s words might not be false.
Still, Lin Jing wanted to probe further to determine exactly how advanced the frog’s intelligence truly was.
“Come.”
Lin Jing spoke, condensing spiritual power into a gust that swept the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog, which was suppressing the mosquito clan, to his feet.
The sudden demonic wind startled the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog. It suspected the mosquito clan’s vengeful spirit had struck.But when it saw that the one who attacked it was a human it had been sheltering, it couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“Ribbit! (Who are you?)”
“Ribbit! (Why interfere with my suppression of the mosquito clan?)”
Oh dear.
After Lin Jing caught the soul-wave signals and decoded the meaning behind those two “ribbits,” he was astonished.
This frog did not act like a lowly creature at all. Rather, it behaved like a beast that had achieved sentience. Although it could not speak human language, its thoughts were coherently expressed, indistinguishable from an ordinary person.
“See? See?” the remnant soul boasted, certain his perception was right: this frog definitely, like him, carried a trace of Heavenly Emperor blood.
“But this frog’s speech isn’t like a normal person’s.”
Lin Jing stared intently at the frog and used soul-transmission so the frog could understand him.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Ribbit! (Why should I be afraid?)”
“(Humans suffer humiliation and torment from the mosquito clan. I intervened to help humans suppress these blood demons. In ancient times, such world-shaking merit would earn incense offerings; people would enshrine you as a guardian spirit.)”
“Ribbit. (I did no wrong.)”
A righteous frog fears no shadow.
“........"
Lin Jing felt extremely strange. Even if the frog’s intelligence had awakened earlier than usual, the way it spoke, methodical and composed, made him sense it was definitely not a lone frog—someone skilled must have been guiding it from behind.
“Who told you these things?”
“Ribbit! (Great Yellow Immortal.)”
“Who is the Great Yellow Immortal?” Lin Jing folded his arms. Speak of the devil.
From a distance, a demonic wind approached. A weasel spirit that had refined itself and reached the qi-training stage shouted from afar:
“Let it go!!!”
“Ribbit!” Seeing the Great Yellow Immortal come to its rescue, the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog exclaimed in delight.
What shocked the frog next was that the so-called Great Yellow Immortal—who had seemed omniscient and had told it so many things—immediately bowed low and began pleading to the human who had captured it.
“Little demon has trouble recognizing greatness. How may I serve this divine one?”
“Ribbit?” The not-so-bright frog bobbed its head.
“What’s your relationship with this frog?” Lin Jing asked.
“In answer to the divine one: that day I wanted a change from mice. I fancied snakes, fish, frogs and such. I encountered it. I intended to use an illusion so it would hop straight into my mouth. Unexpectedly, the illusion had no effect on it.”
“My illusions—how could they fail on an ordinary frog? I tried them on other frogs and they all worked, so I guessed this one’s potential was extraordinary. In such cases, it’s a promising candidate for cultivation, so I didn’t eat it.”
“I taught it many things and discovered it learned quickly. Though it hadn’t begun formal cultivation, its intelligence already rivaled mine.”
“I had high hopes for it and protected it carefully, hoping that one day, when it became a great demon queen, it might repay me with assistance.”
“As a mid-stage qi-training Great Yellow Immortal, you have good eyesight,” Lin Jing praised the weasel spirit. “You judged correctly—its bloodline is indeed unusual.”
The Great Yellow Immortal’s eyes brightened at Lin Jing’s confirmation and it straightened with pride.
“Not bad at all,” the Great Yellow Immortal muttered to itself. Seeing Lin Jing bore no obvious ill intent, it asked, “Divine one, you found it because you wish to—”
“Of course. Seeing its extraordinary bloodline, I planned to take it to cultivate.”
“Fate, fate indeed.” The Great Yellow Immortal patted its leg, then looked at the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog. “This divine one wishes to take you to train. Aren’t you going to thank the divine one? If you stay here, who knows how long it will take you to rise into a demon. Follow the divine one and in no time you can become powerful.”
“Ribbit!” The Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog trembled and looked at Lin Jing. So Lin Jing was such a great figure.
He had even made the most formidable Great Yellow Immortal in a hundred-mile radius behave with such reverence.
“Exactly. Staying here and bullying some mortal mosquitoes is hardly an accomplishment.”
“Are you interested in cultivating with me and suppressing an even more terrifying mosquito clan?” Lin Jing asked.
The frog inhaled deeply. It was indeed tired of this place.
The mosquito clan here was a joke.
Even without it, its fellow frogs could finish suppressing the clan to prevent them from descending to plague the human world.
“Ribbit! (Senior!)” The Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog leapt to Lin Jing’s feet, showing it was willing to follow.
“You need to think carefully. The place I’ll take you to—those mosquitoes are larger and far more ferocious than you.”
Lin Jing’s words did not scare the frog; instead, they ignited its fighting spirit.
“Ribbit! (I, as Frog Heavenly Emperor, will suppress all mosquitoes in the world.)”
Lin Jing: ?
He turned to the Great Yellow Immortal and asked, “What have you been teaching it? This kid’s gotten a bit full of himself.”
Could the Great Yellow Immortal possibly have seen through so much as to recognize the frog’s Heavenly Emperor lineage? Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Even he couldn’t discern that.
The Great Yellow Immortal wiped its sweat and stammered, “N-no, nothing much. At first it was timid. To build its confidence, I embellished a few things I’d heard from humans, told them to it with some exaggeration, so it’d understand its own uniqueness…”
“You’re quite the talent yourself.”
Lin Jing thought for a moment and said, “I’ll give you six months. If you can establish your foundation, I’ll grant you another stroke of fate.”
“Establish the foundation? Divine one, don’t joke—”
“Soft?”
The Great Yellow Immortal caught a storage pouch thrown by Lin Jing that contained a stack of spiritual stones and a foundation-establishing pill. Its eyes lit up. “Don’t worry, divine one. Establishing a foundation? No problem, no problem. Consider it done.”
“Just watch.”
“Ribbit ribbit!” The Great Yellow Immortal spoke a few frog-words to the Heavenly Emperor Post-Frog, telling it to train diligently with Lin Jing and to be obedient. Then it prostrated itself and respectfully saw Lin Jing and company off.