Chapter 24 : Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Martial Academy
Night had only just fallen, at roughly seven or eight in the evening, when Lin Bai finally stepped into Yunmeng City while cursing under his breath.
“Damn it, those three main roads outside the city looked like triplets. They made me take the wrong turn.”
That was right. Lin Bai had spent half again as much time as he originally should have. He should have been able to get home in an hour and a half, but because he had taken the wrong road, he had wasted more than half a shichen extra.
In a world resembling ancient times, being bad at reading maps really was troublesome.
Fortunately, Yunmeng City only closed its gates around nine at night, so Lin Bai could still get in now and would not have to spend another miserable night outside.
When he returned to the small courtyard of Benevolent Heart Hall, Lin Bai was delighted to discover that Lin Su had actually come back and was sitting in the courtyard.
“Elder Sister, I’m back.”
When Lin Su saw him return, she raised a brow.
“How was it outside? Nothing happened, I hope?”
The moment Lin Su asked about his condition, Lin Bai immediately began bragging shamelessly.
He spoke of divine aid descending like a heavenly god, and of five-colored light falling from the sky to celebrate his success.
After Lin Su rapped him on the head once, Lin Bai could only cover his head and honestly explain what had happened, cutting out some of the “minor embellishments.”
Lin Su extracted the key point at once.
“So Mo Ling evolved successfully?”
“She did.”
Lin Bai directly took the egg that Mo Ling had become out of the box for Lin Su to see.
“Ah, forget that for now, Sis.”
“My mouth has gotten so bland over the past few days it’s practically about to grow feathers. Living on Fasting Pills every day is unbearable.”
Hearing Lin Bai complain, Lin Su stepped out and had an attendant buy a whole table of dishes from a restaurant outside, including the roast chicken Lin Bai liked.
Lin Bai sat there devouring the food, while Lin Su studied the egg Mo Ling had formed, asking Lin Bai a question from time to time.
“About how many days will it take Mo Ling to finish evolving?”
“Not long. Three days will do it.”
“That’s fine, then. It won’t conflict with the time for you to go to Martial Academy.”
“For the next few days, don’t go running around everywhere. Martial Academy should formally begin in about a week.”
Lin Bai replied vaguely through a mouthful of chicken leg.
“I know.”
Martial Academy was an organization run by the Central Imperial Court on a commandery-by-commandery basis, something similar to a military academy.
The Imperial Court and the great clans of the prefectures contributed manpower and money to select talent.
Its opening schedule was irregular, though there was still a general pattern. A new session would be held roughly once every ten to twenty years, and each session lasted three to five years.
Some people were simply born at the wrong time and would never encounter it in their entire lives. Lin Bai’s luck, however, was not bad.
He had arrived in Yunmeng City one month before this session of Martial Academy began, and by chance Master Jinhua happened to have a Martial Academy Token in hand. Through Lin Su’s connections and his own talent, he obtained that token.
Normally speaking, Martial Academy was divided into three “tracks.”
The Literary Track, the Military Track, and the Auxiliary Dao.
People like Lin Bai, who entered with a Martial Academy Token, generally went into the Auxiliary Dao. After all, everything was for the sake of one’s Dao Path.
Of course, the fact that the Literary Track and Military Track had fewer people did not mean they were inferior. On the contrary, because there were fewer people, the competition for resources was not nearly as fierce.
Generally, those who entered those two tracks were future seeds of civil and military office.
For example, the Commandery Governor, the Commandant, and the Commandery Vice-Governor of Yunmeng Commandery—those three great figures had all once studied at Martial Academy. Even among the principal officials at the county level below them, over half had this sort of “academic background” as well.
If you did not have it, other people would even look down on you.
Of course, it was by no means easy to get in. You had to have either extraordinary talent or a powerful background.
What, you had neither?
Then you should honestly go choose the Auxiliary Dao and become a “high-end drudge.”
In truth, Lin Bai could have chosen either the Literary Track or the Military Track. Although he did not have a powerful background, his talent was high enough.
A Supreme-Grade Spiritual Talent made you a lord no matter where you went.
But Lin Bai did not currently want to enter the “system.” He liked freedom. He liked roaming around.
He still needed to gather the materials for his Bonded Beast’s future evolutions. If he entered the “system” and had to rely on slowly putting in time, who knew how long it would take before he had his own people to search for materials?
He would rather reverse the order of cause and effect. For lower-level materials, he could rely on learning Auxiliary Dao arts and buying them.
As for higher-level materials, once he himself became strong enough, obtaining them would become much easier.
And although Lin Bai did not particularly care for the tightly regulated “officialdom,” he was still willing to join institutions where everything depended entirely on one’s actual ability.
For example, Benevolent Heart Hall, Heavenly Craft Hall, or the Talisman Masters’ Association.
After eating his fill, Lin Bai accompanied Lin Su in the courtyard, admiring the moon and chatting idly. From her, he learned that nothing major had happened during the days he had been away.
A little while later, Lin Bai went back to sleep.
He had gone seven straight days without sleep, all while keeping his mind under constant strain.
Lin Bai’s body was still all right, but mentally, he was truly exhausted.
Over the next few days while waiting for Mo Ling to “break out of the shell,” Lin Bai did not cultivate at all. Every day, he simply ate and drank, and when he had time, he ran out to see what was different about the markets of Yunmeng City.
And sure enough, it really broadened Lin Bai’s horizons. A big city truly was more developed, and information circulated far more quickly.
For example, Lin Bai heard that the harvest season for a kind of Yin-Nourishing Yang-Tonic Herb in Black Dragon Mountain near Yunmeng City had arrived, and that the herb gatherers had recently made a small fortune.
He also heard that while gathering herbs there, people sometimes ran into a kind of White-Masked Human-Faced Snake. No one knew whether it counted as something uncanny or not.
Once this snake discovered a human, it would swiftly approach, hopping about around the person while shouting:
“I’m tall! I’m tall! I’m tall!”
Of course, people had also discovered a way to drive off this Demonic Beast.
You only had to prop up a long pole over your own head and shout back at it:
“I’m tall! I’m tall!”
Then this human-faced snake would flee in utter panic.
On the third day, however, Lin Bai did not go anywhere. Instead, he waited quietly in his room for Mo Ling to break out of her shell.
At last, in the afternoon, cracks began to appear across the eggshell, and there were more and more of them, growing denser and denser.
With a CRACK, a small black-and-crimson bird forced its way out of the shell and beat its wings as it flew free.
Lin Bai observed that little Mo Ling’s outward changes were actually quite large.
First was her size. She had gone from being less than a palm in length to one and a half palm-lengths now.
Then there were her feathers. They had changed from blackish-gray to a pure black, though beneath them one could still glimpse the shadow of crimson patterns. Her tail feathers had grown longer and more numerous, and though she still wore the plumage of a juvenile bird, there was now a sharp, cutting quality to it.
Her claws and beak were still bluish, but the tips had turned so sharp they were nearly black. Her eyes had changed from yellow to red, and within her pupils some shadowy talisman patterns flowed in motion, though their exact shape could not be made out.
Simply put, she still had the basic framework of a Dark Crow, but her “system” had undergone a major overhaul.
As for the exact data, Lin Bai directly cast a Detection Skill.
Name: Mo Ling (Juvenile Form)
Species: Shadow-Murk Owl
Strength: 0.3 → 1.7
Agility: 0.7 → 3.0
Physique: 0.5 → 2.0
Spirit: 0.5 → 2.4
Level: Transcendent-Mortal
Traits: Shadow Affinity, Stealth, Extreme Speed
Skills: Shadow Escape, Shadow Perception, Yin Venom, Foulbone Cry
Evaluation: The promising prospect has begun to pay off. Keep investing.
Not bad, not bad. This was not just an increase in her four core attributes. Even her species had changed, and her potential had grown even stronger.
Mo Ling was still only in her juvenile form. After that, she still had a growth stage and an adult stage ahead of her. By then, the improvement in her four attributes would be even greater.
She had not gained any new Traits, which was a little disappointing, but she had gained one extra skill, and one of her original skills had evolved.
Her former Shadowmeld had been a stealth-type skill that made her difficult to detect when she was inside shadows. Now it had evolved into Shadow Escape.
On top of strengthening the original effect, it had also gained the ability to move through shadows. She could pass through narrow gaps such as door cracks or window slits, with a maximum distance of about three zhang, or roughly ten meters, and she could use it once every five minutes.
The new Foulbone Cry was a control skill. Through a special soundwave, it could disrupt an enemy’s mind and Force. It worked both on a single target and on groups, making it highly practical.
The other two skills had not undergone any qualitative transformation, but their effects and range had greatly increased.
Lin Bai also noticed that Mo Ling’s gaze had grown more agile and spirited, and the information transmitted through their soul link had become increasingly clear as well.
Looking at Mo Ling, whose appearance and strength had both changed so greatly, Lin Bai was extremely satisfied.
After coming out, Mo Ling shook her little head and, upon seeing Lin Bai, immediately flew circles around him.
It was as though she were showing off to Lin Bai, asking whether she was now impressive enough, beautiful enough.
After watching her fly around for several laps, Lin Bai reached out and intercepted Mo Ling with his hand, praising her all the while.
“Beautiful, beautiful. Our Mo Ling is the prettiest and the strongest.”
“Caw, caw, caw!”
“Really? Then I’ll be counting on little Mo Ling to protect me from now on.”
At that moment, Lin Bai’s Shared Journey Talent also took effect.
Agility: 11.5 + 3.0 (14.5) (Lin Bai had also been growing, so his own base Agility was now 11.5.)
Lin Bai also noticed that the Mo Ling emblem in his Sea of Consciousness had changed from the old Dark Crow pattern into her current appearance.
It was still adorable, though.
When he saw this, the corners of Lin Bai’s mouth spread even wider.
Wonderful.
Thinking that he was in such a good mood, Lin Bai decided to take a look at what the requirements were for Mo Ling’s next stage of evolution.
Then his smile froze.
There was one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that none of the materials this time were controlled goods.
The bad news was that these materials would either cost an enormous amount of money or not be available for purchase at all.
Metamorphosis, tell your father this: what exactly was the aura of a Zhixu Beast, and what on earth was a Transcension-Realm Yin-Faced Fox Soul Pearl?
This time, only two materials were needed: a Zhixu Beast Aura and a Yin-Faced Fox Soul Pearl.
But were these two materials something a tiny nobody like Lin Bai could possibly obtain right now?
The Zhixu Beast was a descendant of the divine beast Bai Ze.
As for the Yin-Faced Fox, once it reached adulthood, it would already be at the Extraordinary Realm. And if its bloodline was strong enough, it was not unusual for it to step into the Rebirth Realm as well.
Lin Bai raised a hand and slapped his own face lightly, forcing himself to calm down.
Once he had calmed himself, he began to analyze things.
Even if the Yin-Faced Fox is at the Transcension Realm, as long as I place an order with the Great Xia Treasure Tower, they should always have one. At worst, it will just cost money.
Lin Bai trembled slightly as he silently tried to reassure himself.
But as for the Zhixu Beast, Lin Bai truly did not even dare think about it right now, even if what he needed was not blood essence or a soul, but merely a single strand of aura.
Lin Bai took a deep breath, signaling himself to calm down a little more.
I’m still young. What seems difficult now, when I look back on it later, will be nothing more than an ordinary little pebble.
At the side, seeing Lin Bai’s expression change again and again, Mo Ling sensed through their soul link that Lin Bai was anxious, though she did not know why he had suddenly become anxious.
All she could do was keep rubbing her little body against him, soothing him through their soul link and telling him not to be sad.
Mo Ling knew nothing.
She only wanted Lin Bai to be happy.
When he looked at Mo Ling beside him, the anxious thoughts in Lin Bai’s mind gradually settled down.
That was right. Anxiety was useless. Only by improving his own strength and quietly waiting for fortune’s turn could he move forward.
After letting out a breath, Lin Bai said to Mo Ling beside him, “Thanks, little one.”
“Caw?”
Just now, because Lin Bai had been overly worried for a moment, he had nearly fallen into an early form of a heart demon—a Perceptual Hindrance.
What was Perceptual Hindrance?
It was a mental obstruction formed by the limits of one’s own understanding or by an obsession.
Such Perceptual Hindrances were extremely common along the path of cultivation. Some people would develop one simply because another person had carelessly looked at them the wrong way.
This time, Lin Bai’s Perceptual Hindrance concerned both Mo Ling and himself. Mo Ling’s evolution was not only what would allow her herself to become stronger; it was also tied to the later stages of Lin Bai’s Dao Path.
After a Beast-Taming Martial Artist contracted a Bonded Beast, he could obtain that Demonic Beast’s Traits, and later on could even obtain the beast’s Innate Divine Power.
As for Demonic Beasts with ordinary bloodlines, whether they even possessed an Innate Divine Power at all was hard to say.
So on a matter that concerned the very foundation of his own cultivation, it was only too normal for Lin Bai to develop a Perceptual Hindrance.
Now that his inner knot had been untied, and Mo Ling had just been reborn as well, it could be called a double happiness.
Lin Bai immediately decided that tonight he would take Mo Ling out to a restaurant to celebrate properly. He had been in Yunmeng City for so long, yet had still never seriously tasted the local cuisine.
Of course, he would wait for Lin Su to return from work and go together with them.
“Little Ling, I’ll take you out for a big feast later.”
Mo Ling was still somewhat confused, but seeing that her master’s mood had improved, nothing else mattered.
She happily chirped in agreement with Lin Bai.
That evening, just after Lin Su returned to the courtyard, she saw Lin Bai and Mo Ling waiting eagerly for her at the gate.
“Mo Ling has finished evolving?”
“That’s right.”
Lin Bai told Lin Su about wanting to go out for a celebratory meal.
“You want to treat me at a restaurant to celebrate?”
“That’s right, Elder Sister.”
Lin Su understood at once.
“Then wait for me to get ready.”
After Lin Bai explained the situation to Lin Su, she agreed, though she needed some time to prepare first.