Beast Tamer Ascension

Chapter 29: Inner Sect Examination!

“Ridiculous!”  

Lin Jing’s overindulgence at the outer sect cafeteria quickly spread to many ears, including that of Elder Li Hai, the head of the Demon Hunting Hall.  

Upon learning that it was indeed Elder Yu who had given the green light, Elder Li Hai commented, “This Lin Jing must have a special physique, but even if that’s true, this preferential treatment is too much.”  

“The more talented a disciple is, the more they should be forged through rigorous trials. Coddling them will only waste their potential. Historically, haven’t the greatest cultivators come from ordinary bodies?”  

“Master, there’s no choice. How many geniuses with special physiques are willing to join the Beast Taming Sect? Since someone is willing to join, the sect has to treat them well,” said an eagle demon beside him. “Of the special physique disciples Elder Mo brought back, besides this one and Ouyang Hao, all have successfully established their foundations and become direct disciples. If we don’t give them preferential treatment, it will surely dampen their spirits.”  

“Preferential treatment is fine,” Elder Li Hai said, “but there must be a limit! The performance of the Demon Hunting Hall disciples in the Great Wasteland trial further solidified my belief that cultivation... character must come first!”  

“Take Luoyu for example. His qualifications are average, but through his perseverance, determination, and wit, he managed to instigate two demon beasts at the 9th level of Qi Refining to fight each other, ultimately benefiting as a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator and obtaining the beast blood for body tempering!”  

“No matter what, I can’t let Lin Jing go down this path of complacency! I’m going to ask him to join the Demon Hunting Hall!”  

“Can’t defeat me?” Elder Li Hai’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the eagle demon. “Besides the sect leader and the few Yuan Ying ancestors, has anyone of the same level ever made me afraid?”  

“You’re not afraid, but I’ll be the one getting hit!” the eagle demon said. “Master, let’s wait until the Inner Sect Examination is over. If that kid doesn’t perform well, you can still have a reason to recruit him later.”  

“Fair enough,” Elder Li Hai said, “We’ll wait until after the examination.”  

Fortunately, Elder Mo and Elder Yu didn’t know what Elder Li Hai was thinking. Otherwise, they would surely have hammered the old man who was trying to take advantage of the longevity body.  

---

In the courtyard,  

Lin Jing was lying in a bamboo chair, patting his stomach and leisurely looking at something.  

What he was looking at were the notices for the Inner Sect Examination in previous years.  

The format for the Inner Sect Advancement Examination hadn’t changed much over the years. The elders were too lazy to come up with new ideas, so they usually made small tweaks without altering the core rules.  

“At registration, the cultivation level will be checked. Only Beast Tamers or their spirit beasts who reach the 7th level of Qi Refining or higher can participate in the survival trial!”  

“The survival trial will throw qualifying outer sect disciples into the outskirts of the Great Wasteland, where they must survive for three days.”  

“During this period, disciples can earn points based on the strength of the demon beasts they hunt. The stronger the demon beast, the more points they earn. Additionally, disciples are encouraged to compete with each other. Eliminating others will yield more points than hunting demon beasts!”  

“However, the highest points are awarded for taming demon beasts!”  

“If a disciple can tame a wild demon beast in the Great Wasteland, the points they earn will far exceed those for killing demon beasts or eliminating others!” Lin Jing thought of how Senior Brother Ouyang had tamed a tiger demon.  

“After three days, the eight disciples with the most points will pass the examination.”  

“And that’s not all! The eight successful disciples must then choose an inner peak to undergo a ‘talent assessment’.”  

“If they choose Danxia Peak, the elders of Danxia Peak will introduce them to pill refining. If the disciple’s talent in pill refining is not high, Danxia Peak will not accept them and will send them to another peak.”  

Lin Jing looked at the exchangeable resources based on the examination points.  

He discovered that storage bags were indeed available, with the largest being... a full ten cubic meters!  

However, he also noticed that the points required to exchange for these bags were ridiculously high. Even if one killed dozens of demon beasts at the 9th level of Qi Refining, it would be impossible to exchange enough points.  

Clearly... they had no intention of letting disciples actually exchange for them!  

“I can already predict that the storage bag Elder Hei Xiong sends later won’t be enough for the Pine Leaf Mouse.” With the mouse’s hoarding speed, if the storage bag only contained regular spirit rice and spirit beans, it would quickly be filled.  

“Since I promised it a storage bag before contracting it, this opportunity... is the most fitting one.”  

“Two months until the... Inner Sect Examination!”  

Lin Jing’s eyes glinted.  

“The advancement examinations over the years have never seen any accidents. Barring unexpected issues, the examinations will certainly be conducted under the protection of the elders, and the outer regions of the Great Wasteland will likely be cleared for safety. Given this, maybe I can be bolder than usual.”  

---  

With a new goal in mind, Lin Jing continued to prepare for the Inner Sect Examination with the Pine Leaf Mouse.  

Their daily routine should have been focused on cultivation, hoarding resources, and dining at the cafeteria. However, since Elder Yu was concerned that Lin Jing’s frequent indulgence in the cafeteria would have a bad influence, he gave Lin Jing and the wild spirit beasts the same privileges as the sect’s tamed beasts.  

Food delivery directly to their door.  

They no longer needed to go to the cafeteria themselves. At mealtimes, the cafeteria would deliver large quantities of food to Lin Jing’s place.  

Both Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse didn’t expect that the mundane life of cultivation could actually be so pleasant.  

Time flew by.  @@novelbin@@

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and Lin Jing had become increasingly accustomed to his new life in the Beast Taming Sect. The months of living together had made him and the Pine Leaf Mouse more in sync and reliant on each other. It was unclear whether it was due to the Pine Leaf Mouse’s influence, but Lin Jing had even started thinking about hoarding some resources himself.  

Over these two months, the Pine Leaf Mouse’s cultivation reached the 7th level of Qi Refining, while Lin Jing’s cultivation reached the 3rd level, mainly because they enjoyed resources comparable to those of direct disciples.  

With such vast resources, most spirit beasts or cultivators with exceptional talent would have reached the peak of Qi Refining by now. But for them, the Pine Leaf Mouse had spent so much time hoarding that, though its cultivation hadn’t risen as much, it had filled the storage bags sent by Elder Hei Xiong to the brim.  

Every time it took out a bag, it was as if it had a trump card ready, and the mouse felt it was more important than reaching the 9th level of Qi Refining—it was all about the sense of security.  

As for Lin Jing, his progress was hindered by his longevity body. Even with so many resources and the Pine Leaf Mouse’s assistance, he was still some distance away from the 4th level, even though Qi Refining was one of the easiest stages to cultivate in.  

Lin Jing estimated that without obtaining the complete Beast Taming technique or contracting more spirit beasts, relying solely on the Pine Leaf Mouse wouldn’t be enough to pull him through.  

“Let’s go.”  

Today was the day for registration for the Inner Sect Examination. After registering, they would likely head to the examination site.  

Lin Jing called to the Pine Leaf Mouse.  

“Eeek!” The Pine Leaf Mouse stretched its arms, wearing a robe. It was no longer the one made by Elder Hei Xiong; it was one that Lin Jing had made himself... the storage bag was now conveniently hung on the inside of the robe.  

“By the way, don’t forget this.” Lin Jing walked over to the spirit rice and picked up a palm-sized mechanized bamboo turtle watering can, which was spraying water through its cannon-like nozzle.