Chapter 12 : Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Choosing at the Hall of Myriad Beasts
Very soon, Lin Bai caught sight of the Hall of Myriad Beasts’ signature structure: a three-tier floating plaza.
It was completely different from the Hall of Myriad Beasts branch in Anning County, which had nothing more than crude beast pens. The building here in Yunmeng City could only be called a wonder.
Three enormous plazas floated in midair in distinct layers, unsupported by anything, as though held aloft by invisible giant hands. It was clearly the work of some master of formations.
Brilliant light flowed along the edges of the plazas, while the power of formations swirled through the air, making it difficult for those below to glimpse their full appearance. It added several layers of mystery and majesty.
As they drew closer, Lin Bai noticed that the Hall of Myriad Beasts’ architecture was very different from the Benevolent Heart Hall.
The Benevolent Heart Hall’s exquisite seven-story pagoda and rear courtyard carried a delicate ancient elegance, with most of its structures made of wood.
The Hall of Myriad Beasts, on the other hand, felt far more rugged and wild. It made extensive use of massive uncarved stone blocks, giving off a grand, untamed air.
Beneath the floating plazas was a shaded waiting area.
The moment Lin Bai and Lin Su stepped into the Hall of Myriad Beasts’ grounds, several attendants crowded around them, each speaking over the others as they eagerly introduced themselves.
“Young master, young lady, are you here to look at spirit beasts from the Hall of Myriad Beasts? I’ve worked here for years, and I know the Hall’s spirit beasts inside and out.”
“Young master, young lady, don’t listen to his nonsense. Out of all of us, I’m the one with the best service.”
“Honored guests, I can read and write. I understand the traits and habits of the spirit beasts in the Hall of Myriad Beasts.”
They were making so much noise that Lin Bai’s ears began to hurt, so he casually pointed at the one who looked the most pleasing to the eye.
The attendant who had been chosen was overjoyed. He shot his companions a smug look, while those who had not been picked, though unwilling, wisely stepped back and did not dare continue bothering Lin Bai and Lin Su.
These attendants had no fixed wages. All their income came from commissions on completed sales.
Why did they choose this kind of work, where they had to read people’s expressions and swallow whatever treatment they got? Simply because they wanted to save up enough contribution points to exchange for the most basic cultivation inheritance, something that could not even be considered a complete path.
And these attendants were precisely the sort whose families had a little spare money and a few connections, allowing them to take jobs like this.
It could not be helped. In this world, merely staying alive was easy, and living fairly well was not especially hard either.
But anything related to cultivation was tightly controlled. Only once you reached a certain class would obtaining cultivation resources begin to feel easy.
Take Lin Bai for example. After his awakening, he had obtained a full set of path inheritance in less than half a month.
That was certainly due in part to his “tiny bit of talent,” but his elder sister Lin Su’s wholehearted support had been even more crucial.
“This humble one is Wang Qi. Thank you for your favor, honored guests.”
The chosen attendant bowed deeply, his face full of smiles.
“If the two of you need anything, please just say the word. I will do my utmost.”
Wang Qi was secretly delighted. Judging by their bearing and clothing, these two clearly came from no ordinary background. This deal looked promising.
Lin Bai opened his mouth and stated exactly what he wanted.
“I’m looking for a fast flying-type spirit beast, preferably one with Transcendent-Realm bloodline. If it also has some special abilities, all the better. Most importantly, it must be a hatchling.”
Wang Qi’s mind immediately began calculating. Then he bowed again and led the way.
“Please follow me, honored guest. Most flying-type beast hatchlings are kept in the underground section.”
After passing through a broad, brightly lit tunnel, the three of them quickly arrived at the first underground level.
This floor was actually over two hundred feet high and remarkably spacious. Thanks to a wondrous formation simulation, soft light and gentle breezes circulated within, making it feel no different from the outside world and not the least bit oppressive.
There were many buyers below, but they were all regular customers, each shopping on their own without attendants.
Wang Qi led them through several turns before arriving at a relatively deserted area.
The main reason was Lin Bai’s demand for hatchlings. These creatures were not cheap, but demand for them was not especially high.
The truly great clans already had stable channels through which they obtained offspring from fine-blooded spirit beasts. Most of what the Hall of Myriad Beasts put out for sale were ordinary spirit beasts.
As for premium bloodlines, those had to be specially ordered in advance, and the price was astronomical. Fortunately, Lin Bai had his own Metamorphosis ability, so he was not afraid of that.
Speaking of which, the gap in combat power in this world was absurdly large. If the path you cultivated was truly trash, then even after stepping into the Transcendent Rank, you still might not be able to defeat someone else who was only in the Transcendent-Mortal.
Unless, of course, you could step into the Rebirth Realm and open a new chapter atop your old path. That would be an entirely different world.
Lin Bai had arrived fairly early, so there were only a few people in the hatchling area.
The sheer wealth of the Hall of Myriad Beasts left Lin Bai speechless once more. They had actually built multiple independent spaces here, each simulating a different ecological environment. It felt like a gigantic ecological zoo from his previous life rather than a set of simple cages.
Like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time, Lin Bai was full of amazement. At the same time, his sharp eyes swept across the various ecological zones, searching for the target he wanted.
Wang Qi, standing nearby, also showed excellent judgment and began explaining things. He could tell that whether today’s deal succeeded or not depended entirely on Lin Bai’s opinion.
“My lord, these are Windfeather Sparrows. They’re extremely fast. People have tested them before. A Windfeather Sparrow with excellent bloodline can cross the entirety of Yunmeng City in less than three quarters of an hour.”
Lin Bai looked at the tiny birds with cyan feathers and sparrow-like bodies, then shook his head with little interest.
Wang Qi carefully read his expression and immediately moved on to the next area.
“My lord, what do you think of these Stone-Scaled Eagles? This type of spirit beast has extremely high defense and great speed. Once fully grown, ordinary Transcendent-Realm cultivators won’t be able to get close to them.”
Lin Bai was still not satisfied, so Wang Qi could only continue leading him onward, screening one section after another.
To be honest, Lin Bai was starting to feel numb. The beasts Wang Qi considered outstanding looked merely average to him. Most importantly, not one of them had a single trait.
Still, that was normal. The Hall of Myriad Beasts definitely had its own talented people who could roughly sense a spirit beast’s potential. Though their methods were not as convenient or detailed as Lin Bai’s Detection Skill, years of experience could make up for a great deal.
But Lin Bai simply refused to believe that the Hall of Myriad Beasts’ selections would never miss anything.
Those rare and valuable talents who could vaguely sense beast potential could not possibly all be assigned to appraise these low-end spirit beasts.
Especially not in a major city like Yunmeng City. There had to be oversights here. Lin Bai was absolutely certain of that.
Effort was not wasted on the determined. After passing through area after area, just as Lin Bai was nearly ready to give up, his gaze suddenly sharpened and locked onto a relatively secluded ecological simulation zone that imitated a dim woodland swamp.
Jackpot.
And not just any jackpot, either.
Wang Qi also noticed the interest in Lin Bai’s eyes and excitedly began introducing it.
“My lord, this is a Dark Crow. It’s a very intelligent spirit beast. It also flies very quickly, and its claws and beak are sharp, carrying a certain sinister venom. Its attack power is not weak at all.”
Lin Bai nodded. He did not bother playing any games and simply asked the price directly.
“How much is a Dark Crow?”
“My lord, because this is a spirit beast with Transcendent-Realm bloodline, although it isn’t rare, it still costs forty-five spirit stones. Equal value in gold or silver is also acceptable.”
What “Transcendent bloodline” meant was simple: as long as this bird grew up without incident, it would definitely reach the Transcendent-Mortal.
As for its strength and future potential? Don’t ask. The answer was always the same: throw money at it. If it was not strong enough or could not evolve, then clearly you just had not spent enough.
“I want the one in the corner. I like the look of it. Help me take it out.”
And just as expected, there were no surprises. Lin Bai paid readily and smoothly obtained the Dark Crow he wanted. During the whole process, no one competed with him for this spirit beast.
After all, birds like Dark Crows were as common as stray dogs by the roadside. Run into any gloomy forest or damp swamp, and there would be plenty of them.
Even at the Transcendent-Mortal, they were still only so-so and not particularly rare.
After successfully obtaining the Dark Crow, Lin Bai did not linger and immediately headed back, intending to prepare for the contract.
Unfortunately, his little purse was nearly empty now. Lin Su had originally wanted to pay for him, but Lin Bai saw that he had enough money in his own purse, so he did not let her.
Although Lin Bai still wore a calm expression, Lin Su could tell he was very excited.
Wang Qi was excited as well. After all, completing a sale was no small matter. For attendants like them, it was not unusual to go more than half a month without making a single deal when luck ran bad.
He had almost given up hope, only for the situation to turn around at the last moment.
The money was secondary. What really mattered was that extraordinary inheritances were also tied to sales volume.
Once he learned that Lin Bai had no desire to keep browsing, he led the siblings back up. Aside from promoting himself a little, he did not speak unnecessarily at all. He was a very clever man.
On the way back, Lin Bai’s expression was unchanged, though his steps had become much lighter.
Only after returning to his room did Lin Bai finally show a trace of excitement.
He began preparing the contract ritual, while Lin Su studied the hatchling inside the cage with great interest.
The little thing was not even as large as her palm. Its entire body was covered in blackish-gray down, while its beak and claws were a distinctly blue-black color, flashing with a sharp, cold gleam.
Its pair of golden-yellow eyes were as keen as a hawk’s, and its tail feathers seemed somewhat longer than those of an ordinary Dark Crow, making it look rather spirited as a whole.
Most interesting of all, there was an intelligence in its eyes. It seemed far smarter than other spirit beasts. Generally speaking, beasts only acquired intelligence comparable to humans once they reached the realm equivalent to the human Rebirth Realm.
But after watching for a long time, Lin Su still could not see anything especially remarkable about it.
As for being somewhat clever, that could only be called icing on the cake. Without powerful combat strength or support ability, all of that was meaningless.
So Lin Su asked Lin Bai directly. She had not asked outside because she trusted him. Asking now was simply to satisfy her curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
“Little Brother, I don’t see anything special about this bird. It doesn’t seem rare either. When this little thing grows up, will it be able to beat me?”
She asked half-jokingly.
“Haha, Sis, this Dark Crow really isn’t very strong in combat, but it’s extremely useful to my path. And besides, some vague heavenly will told me this was the one to choose!”
Those two reasons were enough to convince Lin Su, because they were more than sufficient in this world.
There was no need to say anything more about the path. It was the fundamental law of one’s own cultivation. If something was beneficial to the path, then nothing about it could be considered excessive.
As for heavenly will, the people of this world truly believed in it.
Because it genuinely existed.
It was the ability to sense the will of heaven above.