An hour later, I finally settled in my new residence, it was in a small and secluded space in the back mountains with excellent sceneries and a similarly excellent atmosphere for cultivation. Because of the broadness of the Seven Profound Martial House, it was no problem to provide each disciple of the Earth Hall a room of their own.
Although it couldn't compare to the size of my previous place, beggars can't be choosers. Sitting cross-legged on my custom-made bed, I thought of what to do next.
"Hmm," I began pondering, "What to do, what to do...
"Inscription? Nah, I already made enough of them. Except for an inscription symbol for the soul, I already made all that I could with equipment, pill, and body.
"Resources? I've already gotten most of what is available in the Sky Fortune Kingdom and even items from the Huoluo Nation which is a way more prosperous country.
"Cultivation? I already consumed both those a few of those two pills. I'm back to the Peak Third Stage, but I lack the tempering of life and death battles.
"Techniques? I'm already fully stacked here, new techniques can wait.
"Titles? Hmm..." my eyes lit up, "These titles really are too good to be ignored, and I actually know one way to get one!"
...
"Holy Crap! Brother Ming is my life's idol! Dude, First place! You're way too amazing!"
In the streets of Sky Fortune City, a fat black-clothed youth was praising a young man wearing the disciple's attire of the Seven Profound Martial House.
This was none other than Lin Ming and Lin Xiaodong.
Lin Xiaodong was disqualified after the Second Trial and there didn't know about the news. It was only when the news was publicly announced that found out. Naturally, he was filled with pride of this miraculous brother of his.
"Hehe, there's nothing to boast about, I was just lucky," I chuckled.
"Us brothers should definitely celebrate and drink to our heart's content!"
"Haha, maybe later," I shook my head wryly, "I have something to do first."
Lin Xiaodong could only sigh in resignation, "Where are we going?"
"Actually, here we are," I said as I stopped my steps.
"Huh?" Lin Xiaodong looked in front and when he saw the grand and ancient building in front, he was stunned, "The Inscription Association!"
...
"Mm? You want to take the inscription master examination?" The receptionist elder sister asked in astonishment.
I nodded, "Yes."
On the side, Lin Xiaodong merely looked on uninterested. But in his mind, he was wondering, what is this brother of mine up to this time?
"Little brother, are you playing with me? What's your age?" She seemed to believe that this was another one of those second generations who would test their luck with the examination. She disliked this type of people because they only wasted precious materials.
In response, I only sighed helplessly. Here we go again! "Big sister, can you not accuse me like that? I'm currently wearing the attire of the Seven Profound Martial House. Even if I wanted to play around, I would wear different clothes to avoid tarnishing the Martial House's reputation. Also, even though I'm still fifteen years old, Mister Muyi himself can vouch for me that I'm a true and blue inscription master."
Following which, I took out the VIP card given to me by Mister Muyi.
The receptionist was once again astonished. This boy knows Mister Muyi? Is he really an inscription master? Looking closely at the card, she could actually see the emblem of the Marshal's Quarters. After a moment of thought, she gave up and complied, "The examination is this way."
...
The next day.
Today was the official teaching day of the Seven Profound Martial House.
Teaching didn't involve skill manuals, but they did explain basic knowledge for starting martial artists. There were eight possible courses that could be attended, but it wasn't mandatory. Each disciple could choose to attend those that interest them or not bothering at all.
Because of the memories of the two soul fragments, attending classes to learn the basics was supposed to be a completely pointless matter for me. However, I still attended one because of an invitation from Liang Tieshan.
"What's up with you?" I asked on our way to class.
"Don't you want to listen to the lectures here?" Liang Tieshan asked.
"What's there to listen to? Their lessons can't help me much." I replied unimpressed.
"Is it because of your master?" Liang Tieshan asked somewhat enviously. Ever since he decided to join Lin Ming, he'd been given a lot of resources. He found it unbelievable that someone the same age as him could be so rich in resources and generous. He figured that it must be because of his rumored master that has been spreading around recently. Because of that, he felt that he made the right decision to join and also felt heavily indebted to Lin Ming. However, it wasn't to the point of undying loyalty just yet.
"I guess you can say that." I shrugged. Technically, I DID learn all those knowledge from the memories of those two seniors, so they can be considered my teachers.
Soon, we entered the Martial Lecture Hall and found ourselves a place to sit. Nearby, I noticed a few people's gazes drifting towards me with friendly, smiling faces.
These people look familiar...
Two people walked approached, a handsome youth in blue clothes and a delicate young girl by his side. The handsome youth then asked with a jolly smile, "You are Lin Ming?"
"Mm," I nodded slowly, "You are Lin Wu?"
The blue-clothed youth was surprised, "Young Cousin, you know me?"
I smiled, "Of course, I did my research before coming to the Martial House. You are the direct descendant juniors of Green Mulberry City's Lin Family, Lin Wu and Lin Fengyuan."
Lin Wu smiled and said, "You're correct, we are all one family."
I nodded with a peculiar expression, not responding.
Lin Wu continued to prattle on about how they were shocked about the news of a Lin Family junior achieving first place, what more the seventh floor. Lin Fengyuan, the younger sister, also provided good news about how even the Lin Family Head was alarmed and gifted the restaurant we used to manage to my parents. I guess they can keep the three thousand gold taels as pocket money. All in all, the Lin Family was impressed to the point that they instructed to give me resources to support me right away.
Liang Tieshan remained silent at the side, not wanting to involve himself in the family matters of others.
Lin Wu then took out a small porcelain bottle and a small jade box from his spatial ring.
Looking at the items on Lin Wu's hand, I could already guess that what it contained was definitely valuable. Unfortunately, that was only if I didn't have infinite system points.
"The Head of the Lin Family sent an urgent message through 12 long-range sound transmitting talismans to the family branch. He hopes that you accept."
Taking the porcelain bottle, I opened it to see ten pills. They were lustrous and round, with a delicate and gentle fragrance. With my collector's eye, I instantly knew what these pills were, high-grade Soul Gathering Pellet.
A Soul Gathering Pellet couldn't directly increase one's strength, but it could enhance one's ability to condense true essence and increase their cultivation speed. Though the effects of increasing strength were slow, they did not have any side effects, and one could take them constantly, unlike pills with diminishing effects. Each pill cost about 20,000 gold taels.
I nodded without a change of expression and closed the bottle. In truth, I already owned this type of pill, but I put it into my spatial ring anyway and took the jade box. Opening it, I could see two layers of neatly places crystal clear stones that looked as if they were carved from ice.
Thirty pure true essence stones. These were of a higher grade in comparison to the previous true essence stone I bought. The one before could be sold for 500 gold taels, but this one was worth 1000 gold taels!
Unfortunately, this wasn't really tempting either. I already made the purest true essence stone just recently with the Absolute Cleansing Pill. What can this even do?
But then again, this also had its uses. Everybody prefers a pure spirit stone, but mine is pure to the point of being impossible, so it can't be traded publically.
I hesitated for a moment. If I accept this, I'd be tacitly approving of becoming a direct descendant of the Lin Family. Even before our fusion, although Lin Ming had no cold feelings towards the Lin Family, he neither had warm feelings towards them. He didn't have any real sense of belonging. How much more now that another guy took his body? Of course, there'd be an even lesser sense of belonging.
Seeing Lin Ming's hesitating expression, Lin Wu had a faint guess in his mind. With some embarrassment, he said apologetically, "Young Cousin, I know that-"
I waved my hand, "No need to say more, I understand your troubles."
"Then..."
I sighed helplessly, "I guess I'll accept these gifts..."
I'll just accept it for now. Besides, if I remember correctly, Lin Ming's parents are the traditional type anyway. They'd definitely be happy with this. If they're happy, then Lin Ming is happy, which means I'm also happy.
Lin Wu's face twitched for a moment. Why do you look so reluctant? These are treasures to the Lin Family! Judging from your expression, it's as if you only accepted these begrudgingly as though you didn't have a choice.
Lin Wu could only smile wryly, but he still felt happy. He was afraid that Lin Ming had a cold and lonely heart towards the Lin Family. After exchanging sound transmitting talisman contact information, he and his sister went back to their seats.
"The elder professor has arrived."
...
One hour passed.
The old professor tidied up his desk as he said, "Class ends here today. All new students may stay and receive your true essence stone."
"Tieshan, you can go ahead and take my share."
Liang Tieshan was pleasantly surprised, "Thanks, Boss!"
Ever since Liang Tieshan experience Lin Ming's generosity, he decided to call him 'Boss' as a sign of respect. However, when the other students heard him say that, they were astonished.
"Did he just call Lin Ming 'Boss'?
"No way, I never saw them interacting before."
"Maybe they just didn't feel like it?"
"Are we just gonna ignore the fact that Lin Ming casually gave him ten true essence stones?"
The instructor had a strange expression on his face, but since he heard Lin Ming personally say so, he gave the ten true essence stones reward to Liang Tieshan as well as his own reward. In total, he got twelve true essence stones.
A few meters away, Wang Yanfeng looked on in bafflement. However, upon remembering Lin Ming's earlier offer to be a lackey, his expression turned sour as he left with his five true essence stones. Hmph! I don't need to depend on anyone!
An hour later, I finally settled in my new residence, it was in a small and secluded space in the back mountains with excellent sceneries and a similarly excellent atmosphere for cultivation. Because of the broadness of the Seven Profound Martial House, it was no problem to provide each disciple of the Earth Hall a room of their own.
Although it couldn't compare to the size of my previous place, beggars can't be choosers. Sitting cross-legged on my custom-made bed, I thought of what to do next.
"Hmm," I began pondering, "What to do, what to do...
"Inscription? Nah, I already made enough of them. Except for an inscription symbol for the soul, I already made all that I could with equipment, pill, and body.
"Resources? I've already gotten most of what is available in the Sky Fortune Kingdom and even items from the Huoluo Nation which is a way more prosperous country.
"Cultivation? I already consumed both those a few of those two pills. I'm back to the Peak Third Stage, but I lack the tempering of life and death battles.
"Techniques? I'm already fully stacked here, new techniques can wait.
"Titles? Hmm..." my eyes lit up, "These titles really are too good to be ignored, and I actually know one way to get one!"
...
"Holy Crap! Brother Ming is my life's idol! Dude, First place! You're way too amazing!"
In the streets of Sky Fortune City, a fat black-clothed youth was praising a young man wearing the disciple's attire of the Seven Profound Martial House.
This was none other than Lin Ming and Lin Xiaodong.
Lin Xiaodong was disqualified after the Second Trial and there didn't know about the news. It was only when the news was publicly announced that found out. Naturally, he was filled with pride of this miraculous brother of his.
"Hehe, there's nothing to boast about, I was just lucky," I chuckled.
"Us brothers should definitely celebrate and drink to our heart's content!"
"Haha, maybe later," I shook my head wryly, "I have something to do first."
Lin Xiaodong could only sigh in resignation, "Where are we going?"
"Actually, here we are," I said as I stopped my steps.
"Huh?" Lin Xiaodong looked in front and when he saw the grand and ancient building in front, he was stunned, "The Inscription Association!"
...
"Mm? You want to take the inscription master examination?" The receptionist elder sister asked in astonishment.
I nodded, "Yes."
On the side, Lin Xiaodong merely looked on uninterested. But in his mind, he was wondering, what is this brother of mine up to this time?
"Little brother, are you playing with me? What's your age?" She seemed to believe that this was another one of those second generations who would test their luck with the examination. She disliked this type of people because they only wasted precious materials.
In response, I only sighed helplessly. Here we go again! "Big sister, can you not accuse me like that? I'm currently wearing the attire of the Seven Profound Martial House. Even if I wanted to play around, I would wear different clothes to avoid tarnishing the Martial House's reputation. Also, even though I'm still fifteen years old, Mister Muyi himself can vouch for me that I'm a true and blue inscription master."
Following which, I took out the VIP card given to me by Mister Muyi.
The receptionist was once again astonished. This boy knows Mister Muyi? Is he really an inscription master? Looking closely at the card, she could actually see the emblem of the Marshal's Quarters. After a moment of thought, she gave up and complied, "The examination is this way."
...
The next day.
Today was the official teaching day of the Seven Profound Martial House.
Teaching didn't involve skill manuals, but they did explain basic knowledge for starting martial artists. There were eight possible courses that could be attended, but it wasn't mandatory. Each disciple could choose to attend those that interest them or not bothering at all.
Because of the memories of the two soul fragments, attending classes to learn the basics was supposed to be a completely pointless matter for me. However, I still attended one because of an invitation from Liang Tieshan.
"What's up with you?" I asked on our way to class.
"Don't you want to listen to the lectures here?" Liang Tieshan asked.
"What's there to listen to? Their lessons can't help me much." I replied unimpressed.
"Is it because of your master?" Liang Tieshan asked somewhat enviously. Ever since he decided to join Lin Ming, he'd been given a lot of resources. He found it unbelievable that someone the same age as him could be so rich in resources and generous. He figured that it must be because of his rumored master that has been spreading around recently. Because of that, he felt that he made the right decision to join and also felt heavily indebted to Lin Ming. However, it wasn't to the point of undying loyalty just yet.
"I guess you can say that." I shrugged. Technically, I DID learn all those knowledge from the memories of those two seniors, so they can be considered my teachers.
Soon, we entered the Martial Lecture Hall and found ourselves a place to sit. Nearby, I noticed a few people's gazes drifting towards me with friendly, smiling faces.
These people look familiar...
Two people walked approached, a handsome youth in blue clothes and a delicate young girl by his side. The handsome youth then asked with a jolly smile, "You are Lin Ming?"
"Mm," I nodded slowly, "You are Lin Wu?"
The blue-clothed youth was surprised, "Young Cousin, you know me?"
I smiled, "Of course, I did my research before coming to the Martial House. You are the direct descendant juniors of Green Mulberry City's Lin Family, Lin Wu and Lin Fengyuan."
Lin Wu smiled and said, "You're correct, we are all one family."
I nodded with a peculiar expression, not responding.
Lin Wu continued to prattle on about how they were shocked about the news of a Lin Family junior achieving first place, what more the seventh floor. Lin Fengyuan, the younger sister, also provided good news about how even the Lin Family Head was alarmed and gifted the restaurant we used to manage to my parents. I guess they can keep the three thousand gold taels as pocket money. All in all, the Lin Family was impressed to the point that they instructed to give me resources to support me right away.
Liang Tieshan remained silent at the side, not wanting to involve himself in the family matters of others.
Lin Wu then took out a small porcelain bottle and a small jade box from his spatial ring.
Looking at the items on Lin Wu's hand, I could already guess that what it contained was definitely valuable. Unfortunately, that was only if I didn't have infinite system points.
"The Head of the Lin Family sent an urgent message through 12 long-range sound transmitting talismans to the family branch. He hopes that you accept."
Taking the porcelain bottle, I opened it to see ten pills. They were lustrous and round, with a delicate and gentle fragrance. With my collector's eye, I instantly knew what these pills were, high-grade Soul Gathering Pellet.
A Soul Gathering Pellet couldn't directly increase one's strength, but it could enhance one's ability to condense true essence and increase their cultivation speed. Though the effects of increasing strength were slow, they did not have any side effects, and one could take them constantly, unlike pills with diminishing effects. Each pill cost about 20,000 gold taels.
I nodded without a change of expression and closed the bottle. In truth, I already owned this type of pill, but I put it into my spatial ring anyway and took the jade box. Opening it, I could see two layers of neatly places crystal clear stones that looked as if they were carved from ice.
Thirty pure true essence stones. These were of a higher grade in comparison to the previous true essence stone I bought. The one before could be sold for 500 gold taels, but this one was worth 1000 gold taels!
Unfortunately, this wasn't really tempting either. I already made the purest true essence stone just recently with the Absolute Cleansing Pill. What can this even do?
But then again, this also had its uses. Everybody prefers a pure spirit stone, but mine is pure to the point of being impossible, so it can't be traded publically.
I hesitated for a moment. If I accept this, I'd be tacitly approving of becoming a direct descendant of the Lin Family. Even before our fusion, although Lin Ming had no cold feelings towards the Lin Family, he neither had warm feelings towards them. He didn't have any real sense of belonging. How much more now that another guy took his body? Of course, there'd be an even lesser sense of belonging.
Seeing Lin Ming's hesitating expression, Lin Wu had a faint guess in his mind. With some embarrassment, he said apologetically, "Young Cousin, I know that-"
I waved my hand, "No need to say more, I understand your troubles."
"Then..."
I sighed helplessly, "I guess I'll accept these gifts..."
I'll just accept it for now. Besides, if I remember correctly, Lin Ming's parents are the traditional type anyway. They'd definitely be happy with this. If they're happy, then Lin Ming is happy, which means I'm also happy.
Lin Wu's face twitched for a moment. Why do you look so reluctant? These are treasures to the Lin Family! Judging from your expression, it's as if you only accepted these begrudgingly as though you didn't have a choice.
Lin Wu could only smile wryly, but he still felt happy. He was afraid that Lin Ming had a cold and lonely heart towards the Lin Family. After exchanging sound transmitting talisman contact information, he and his sister went back to their seats.
"The elder professor has arrived."
...
One hour passed.
The old professor tidied up his desk as he said, "Class ends here today. All new students may stay and receive your true essence stone."
"Tieshan, you can go ahead and take my share."
Liang Tieshan was pleasantly surprised, "Thanks, Boss!"
Ever since Liang Tieshan experience Lin Ming's generosity, he decided to call him 'Boss' as a sign of respect. However, when the other students heard him say that, they were astonished.
"Did he just call Lin Ming 'Boss'?
"No way, I never saw them interacting before."
"Maybe they just didn't feel like it?"
"Are we just gonna ignore the fact that Lin Ming casually gave him ten true essence stones?"
The instructor had a strange expression on his face, but since he heard Lin Ming personally say so, he gave the ten true essence stones reward to Liang Tieshan as well as his own reward. In total, he got twelve true essence stones.
A few meters away, Wang Yanfeng looked on in bafflement. However, upon remembering Lin Ming's earlier offer to be a lackey, his expression turned sour as he left with his five true essence stones. Hmph! I don't need to depend on anyone!
