Sounding Stream

Chapter 97 - 26: Illness

Chapter 97: Chapter 26: Illness

Until the end of the Grotto Heaven, neither Lin Jing nor Matsushita Mouse could break through to the eleventh layer of Qi Cultivation. Instead, the Ice Soul Gu was one step ahead of them, reaching the eleventh layer of Qi Cultivation.

This situation indicated that the Ice Soul Gu’s talent far surpassed that of Lin Jing and Matsushita Mouse.

Breaking through for the Longevity Body is still too difficult. If I had another physique, I might have already reached the eleventh or even twelfth layer of Qi Cultivation by now. However, there is still an opportunity...

Having emerged from the Grotto Heaven, Lin Jing speculated that with the contract of the Ice Soul Gu and Matsushita Mouse, as long as these two pet beasts establish their foundation first, the spiritual power feedback after they establish their foundation would help him break through.

By then, maybe he could advance even further.

After coming out, Lin Jing did not hide his cultivation. He openly displayed his and Matsushita Mouse’s realms, as these were opportunities to cultivate the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique!

"Even the pet beasts have reached the tenth level of Qi Cultivation..." The cultivators present were quite surprised, completely unprepared for this situation.

Xu Zhizhi and Gao Sheng looked at Lin Jing in shock. No, how did this guy Lin Jing reach the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation!

Wang Xiao and Chen Lingxi were even more shaken; their previously strong aura was now somewhat overshadowed by Lin Jing and Matsushita Mouse.

Even the strong cultivators at the consummation of Nascent Soul, like the Wang family cultivator and the Divine Talisman Sect woman, were now paying significant attention to Lin Jing.

"Who is this remarkable young man?"

"Could it be..." Only Gao Sheng suddenly thought of something and had some realization of how things were.

Facing everyone’s shock and confusion, Lin Jing came out and said to Cao Zhiwei: "Examiner, the student had to use secret techniques within the secret realm, which overexerted himself. I may not be able to continue presiding over the examination for now and need to return to the abode to recuperate."

Cao Zhiwei nodded, noticing an anomaly in Lin Jing. Indeed, the burden was severe. Given the realms on both sides of Lin Jing, only using special methods to forcibly hunt down numerous dragon and phoenix projections could possibly achieve this.

"Go ahead."

With Cao Zhiwei’s approval, Lin Jing cupped his fists to the crowd, then flew off toward the abode via air, having gained the fame of having both the Beast Master and pet beasts reach the tenth level of Qi Cultivation. This examination did not need to continue.

Upon returning to his abode, Lin Jing immediately jumped into the furnace, startling the drowsy Dragon Koi inside.

The Dragon Koi was delighted to see Lin Jing return after several days, yet it was also quite confused.

What severe illness has the Beast Master contracted, diving into its fish tank without fear of scalding!!

"Much better." Jumping into the furnace, Lin Jing immediately felt his body warm up. After the Ice Soul Gu reached the eleventh level, the feedback of strong ice attribute spiritual power might have enhanced his cultivation significantly, but also made his Ice Soul Body far colder.

With the frequent use of cold energy these days, Lin Jing couldn’t stand it as soon as he came out. He had no desire to continue fighting and only wanted to comfortably nestle into the warm furnace on this chilly day.

The Dragon Scales fire, undoubtedly top-tier beast fire, though the Dragon Koi’s cultivation realm was not high yet, it could already alleviate Lin Jing’s Ice Soul Body burden.

Lin Jing stayed immersed in the Hundred Beasts Cauldron for a week, during which he fell asleep and slowly digested what he had gained.

As for the Dragon Koi, who lost its fish tank, it had learned from Matsushita Mouse that it missed the Grotto Heaven and received the shocking news that Lin Jing’s second contract spot had been usurped by the Ice Soul Gu.

"Pop!!!!" The Dragon Koi felt wronged as if struck by lightning. It was obviously the first to arrive!!

"Squeak..." Matsushita Mouse consoled and seemed to remind that the Ice Soul Gu indeed arrived first, and this thick-browed, big-eyed Flame Dragon Koi was also brought back specifically for better future contracts with the Ice Soul Gu...

After hearing the comfort, the Dragon Koi went black, surrounded by ghostly flames. Though it had yet to meet the Ice Soul Gu, it already harbored hostility towards it. Under Matsushita Mouse’s suggestion, it went to painstakingly train its fire control abilities, determined to prove to Lin Jing that it was better than the Ice Soul Gu.

It is the rightful second.

Seeing the Dragon Koi working hard for cultivation, Matsushita Mouse nodded satisfactorily, feeling it had done something significant for the Beast Master.

A week later.

Lin Jing awoke.

"Awake?" As soon as Lin Jing regained consciousness, laughter greeted his ears.

"Not a bad harvest, kid."

"Elder Shen Song?" Lin Jing recognized the voice’s owner and couldn’t help but ask, "What brings you to the academy?"

"The appearance of the Grotto Heaven, how could I not pay attention?!" Elder Shen Song snapped: "Ten layers of Qi Cultivation, yet you contracted the Ice Soul Gu first, quite the accomplishment."

Lin Jing replied, "I had no choice; the opportunities in the Grotto Heaven are rare and not to be missed by a disciple."

"Well done!" Divine Pine Dao said with satisfaction, "Now, the outside world only knows that you and your pet beast, along with Chen Lingxi and Wang Xiao, have broken through to the tenth level of Qi Cultivation, and that alone has made you famous. If they knew you contracted a Gu insect at the eleventh level of Qi Cultivation, I can’t imagine what their expressions would be!"

"However, it doesn’t matter much. It’s a good thing that no one knows about your Ice Soul Gu. You always need to keep some cards up your sleeve. Rest assured, unless an unscrupulous Divinity Transformation Cultivator, specializing in Divine Sense, forcefully breaks through the seal within you to investigate, ordinary people wouldn’t see that you have sealed the Ice Soul Gu inside you."

As Divine Pine Dao finished speaking, Lin Jing looked at the back of his hand—his color-changing fortune dragon had turned into purple-gold, reaching the first layer of perfection, and was not far from becoming a golden young dragon, signaling the small success of his secret technique.

Perhaps if the news spreads for a few more days, he might succeed soon.

"Although you didn’t undergo the complete academy assessment and didn’t defeat that Divine Body on the spot, the news of you three reaching the tenth level of Qi Cultivation through the Grotto Heaven is even more remarkable than any academy assessment."

"After coming out, that Divine Body continued the assessment with a tenth-level Qi Cultivation and defeated that Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator, earning widespread fame. But your reputation is no less; not only did you previously defeat Chen Lingxi, who also entered the tenth level of Qi Cultivation, both you and your pet beast simultaneously reached the tenth level of Qi Cultivation, something most people can’t even imagine."

"Now the outside world is all discussing who is stronger between you and Wang Xiao with the Divine Body, haha, let it ferment for a bit longer. There’s no need to rush into a duel with him. Wait until his reputation grows even larger, and then defeat him for better prestige gain. Your reputation now can already satisfy your cultivation needs."

"Thank you, Elder Shen Song," Lin Jing expressed his gratitude, realizing that Elder Shen Song had been protecting him these days.

Divine Pine Dao said, "Enough talking! It seems someone is here to see you. I won’t stop them this time!"

After speaking, Divine Pine Dao left the academy, and outside the cave was a young man clad in black.

"Brother Lin!" Gao Sheng arrived at the cave’s entrance and said, "I brought a few servings of celestial delicacies cooked by high-level spiritual beasts of yang and fire attributes from Xian-Ke-Lai. Came to visit you, how are you, may I see you?"

The cave’s door opened, and Gao Sheng entered to see Lin Jing emerging from the furnace.

"Brother Lin!" Outsiders might not know what’s happening with Lin Jing, but Gao Sheng did. He smiled and said, "Congratulations on reaching the tenth level of Qi Cultivation! You must have used the powers of that thing in the Grotto Heaven, right?"

"Yes." Lin Jing did not deny it. "Without it, I couldn’t have slain so many Dragon and Phoenix projections."

"Marvelous," Gao Sheng looked on with envy, "Though I’m ’prepared’ fully, I’m still a bit short of the tenth level of Qi Cultivation. This useless mortal body drags me down... I just want to quickly establish my Foundation and cultivate a postnatal Cultivation Body."

Lin Jing smiled, as Gao Sheng continued, "By the way, my grandfather remotely relayed to me that the doors of the Demon Extermination Bureau are always open for you. You don’t need to worry about the Ice Soul Gu, within the Bureau, only my grandfather, Sister Feng, and I know about it."

"Even the City Lord of Snow Moon had his memory of the Ice Soul Gu erased by my grandfather. The Snow Moon City event was only treated as ordinary trouble caused by disciples of the Gu God Sect."

"Additionally, this is for you." He presented a black token and said, "This is a specially crafted token from the Demon Extermination Bureau. By holding this token, even if you use the Ice Soul Gu in the future, it’s sanctioned by the Bureau, and you won’t be deemed a Demon Cultivator. If you encounter righteous individuals hunting you, just present the token."

"Thanks..." Lin Jing accepted the token, surprised.

"No need to thank, the assessment has concluded. I’ve successfully entered the academy, and once we both reach Foundation Establishment, that’s the day we team up to solve cases!" Gao Sheng chuckled, taking out an exquisite feast and fine wines from his storage bag.

"I don’t want the situation where you use the Ice Soul Gu to solve a case, causing me to be misunderstood along with you."

"..." Lin Jing was speechless, wondering why this guy was still fixated on this after all this time.

"Fine." Lin Jing, considering the abundance of good wine and food along with the special token from the Demon Extermination Bureau, said, "Wait for my Foundation Establishment."

He agreed, though Lin Jing felt that his Foundation Establishment might still be a long, long way off.

Before making adequate preparations, he wasn’t eager to establish his Foundation. Currently, with his lifespan extended, he planned to study peacefully in this academy for a decade before considering Foundation Establishment.

"Let’s eat and drink!" Lin Jing picked up a drumstick and stuffed it into his mouth, but suddenly he felt nauseated, and with a burst, he spat the drumstick onto Gao Sheng’s face opposite him.

"What’s this, so disgusting!" He was taken aback.

"Huh?" Gao Sheng, not angry at all, looked shocked: "Impossible, these dishes were made by a chef that I paid lavishly at Xian-Ke-Lai, meant to suppress the power of the Ice Soul Gu!"

He also picked up a drumstick to taste and said, "It’s not that bad."

Lin Jing tried another bite but vomited again, finding it utterly disgusting, unable to swallow.

"I must be ill." Lin Jing felt nauseous; sure enough, cold and hot can’t mix.

"Oh no, I know what’s happened," Gao Sheng was taken aback, regretting, "It must be that you’ve sensed the taste of dragon liver and phoenix marrow too many times in the Dragon and Phoenix Grotto Heaven, causing a mutation in your taste! Thankfully, I’ve been accustomed to gourmet food since childhood, so I’m not as affected deeply, but as for you..."

Lin Jing’s vision darkened, wondering why the Grotto Heaven had such a troublesome side effect. Is it the same for the Pine Leaf Mouse too?

Even though he can now fast, savoring delicacies has been a major joy in his life; such a joy cannot be erased!

"Friend Lin Jing, are you there?"

"It’s Wang Xiao of the Wang Family." Just then, although Lin Jing intended to fatten up Wang Xiao before eliminating him, Wang Xiao couldn’t forget the pressure he felt when they gazed at each other back then, prompting him to come to challenge.