"They've come out!"
The Beast Taming Sect disciples returned safely, prompting an exclamation from Elder Black Bear, who was dressed in a Daoist robe.
"Everyone's alive! Not a single person or beast is dead, and no limbs are lost," it continued.
"I told you, Lin Jing could handle it!"
"It's good that they're all back." Elder Yu and Elder Mo breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled.
No matter the gains from this grotto heaven experience, as long as they returned safely, it was invaluable experience!
"Why do none of you have any signs of battle?" Elder Li scanned them and asked, "Which grotto heaven did you enter?"
"Did you forgo the competition for opportunities?"
Every disciple looked too clean, as if they went to the dining hall instead of a grotto heaven.
Elder Li couldn't help but suspect that the disciples of his sect were merely going through the motions.
He turned his gaze to Lin Jing, the central figure of this grotto heaven incident.
Confronted by Elder Li's questions, Lin Jing took a deep breath, still somewhat dazed, with his mind filled with the operational methods of "Thousand Transformations" vividly etched in his memory.
"Ahem." Without the golden bodhi tree's enhancement, Lin Jing felt his mind dull, a sensation he was still getting used to.
"Reporting to Elder Li, we entered the Bodhi Grotto Heaven and did not forgo competing for opportunities," he replied.
"Bodhi Grotto Heaven, the one with the three bodhi trees?" Elder Li was startled. "Did you manage to seize them?"
"We did. With the assistance of the senior brothers and the mechanical techniques taught by Elder Yu, I was fortunate to repel other sects' geniuses in Bodhi Heaven and exclusively claim two bodhi trees." Lin Jing began to attribute the credit.
An eyebrow was raised by the Pine Leaf Rat, feeling its contributions overlooked.
"I don't deserve the credit." Senior Brother Ziran quickly chimed in from the back, "We barely participated; it was Junior Brother Lin Jing who single-handedly faced the crowd, using mechanical techniques to intimidate others. We merely added a finishing touch."
"Indeed." The other disciples did not dare to claim credit either.
The words left the elders looking rather perplexed.
Mechanical techniques?
They glanced at Elder Yu, who scratched his head.
Lin Jing's expertise in mechanical techniques had already reached the level capable of suppressing geniuses from other sects?
"It seems you didn't encounter any personal disciples or descendants of those old monsters; otherwise, what use would those mechanical techniques have been... But this means our Beast Taming Sect relied on mechanical techniques to secure quite a number of opportunities from other sects' geniuses within the grotto heaven?" Elder Yu was visibly excited.
"Your mechanical techniques have found their true practitioner." Elder Black Bear remarked, patting Elder Yu's shoulder.
"It's our Beast Taming Sect that's doing well! Are you implying my mechanical techniques are lacking? Go back to Elder Mo's side quickly." Elder Yu retorted.
"I'm just concerned about Lin Jing. I'm not that concerned about the other disciples." Black Bear Monster pursed its lips.
Elder Li listened to their bickering on the side, never expecting that Lin Jing truly had some skills, and Elder Yu's private tutoring didn't go to waste, after all.
Even the four Demon Hunting Hall disciples he brought seemed convinced by Lin Jing.
"As I said before, you few need not undergo the Inner Sect assessment anymore; effective immediately, you are all promoted to Inner Sect Disciples!" he announced to them.
"Thank you, Elder!" Except for Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Rat, everyone else, both people and beasts, were extremely excited.
Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Rat, on the other hand, regretted missing a chance to exchange examination points for resources...
The demon beasts in the Great Wilderness barely survived, this was truly blessed with great fortune.
"We'll talk more about specifics later. Right now, since the Inner Peak Elders are here, you can choose your peak and follow the Peak Elder back." Elder Mo spoke up.
However, with those words, the disciples didn't move.
"Hm?" Elder Yu looked towards these outer sect disciples, "Choose whichever peak you wish and go to that elder. Don't tell me you don't know which elder is in charge of which peak!"
Besides Elders Yu, Mo, and Li, a few Golden Core Elders were present, drawn by the grotto heaven.
They are the backbone of the Beast Taming Sect and the elders in charge of each Beast Peak, each possessing unique skills.
"You choose first." Elder Yu turned to the outer sect disciple he was most familiar with, who often helped him run errands and post tasks, Ziran.
Ziran hesitated for a moment, then tearfully said, "Elder Yu, I actually don't want to enter the Inner Sect; I want to stay in the outer sect to serve you."
"Ah?" Elder Yu was taken aback.
He Yiming swallowed and honestly asked, "Elder Yu, do you plan to establish a peak specifically to teach your mechanical techniques?"
"I wish to learn them."
Even the four disciples from the Demon Hunting Hall looked eagerly at Elder Yu.
Everyone knew that Lin Jing acquired the mechanical technique inheritance through the Ascension Dragon Festival event, and the mechanical techniques... originated from Elder Yu!
In the grotto heaven, they had witnessed the power of mechanical techniques firsthand; to say they weren't tempted would be a lie.
"Mechanical techniques and Beast Taming do not clash. Mechanical constructs can also be considered a kind of magic treasure, no different from equipping pet beasts with weapons and armor," they thought.
The Pine Leaf Rat with a mechanical gun seemed formidable, and they, too, longed for such weapons.
Elder Yu was once again taken aback.
Elder Li was also dumbfounded, looking at the four demon hunting hall disciples. Why, what did you experience in the grotto heaven? Hadn't you been recommended to the Cloud Gate Peak's Law Enforcement Hall before?
"You all want to learn mechanical techniques???" Elder Yu realized why they were looking at him so strangely. The problem was, Lin Jing's mechanical constructs were bizarre not because they were powerful mechanical techniques, but due to the materials he used, derived from the divine techniques of treasure beasts, unique and peculiar.
Even mechanical experts at the same level would find it hard to emulate. Even if they recreated them through other means, they couldn't achieve the same firepower, and even if the firepower was identical, the resource consumption would exceed that of Lin Jing, making it less cost-effective.
"Since these disciples want to learn mechanical techniques, Elder Yu, why not teach them? Haven't you always wanted to find a disciple to inherit your mechanical techniques?" A voice came from an elder.
She was white-haired and serene, unconcerned about the fate of the other disciples, her focus entirely on Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Rat.
"I am the Peak Elder of Danxia Peak. Child, your Pine Leaf Rat is a wood-element beast, adept at catalyzing the ripening of various herbs. Are you interested in joining my Danxia Peak to learn alchemy skills? It could be a wonderful alchemy assistant for you."
"Why go to Danxia Peak? The Pet Beast Pine Leaf Rat should come to my Cuiwei Peak!" proclaimed a man with a straw hat. "Come to my Cuiwei Peak, and I'll assign you a cave dwelling with superior spiritual fields, more suitable for showcasing the Pine Leaf Rat's racial talents!"
"Pure natural spiritual vegetables and spirit fruit are much more nutritious than pills."
Having been chosen by the grotto heaven and successfully seizing opportunities, Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Rat suddenly became the coveted targets of inner peak elder competition.
All the peak elders wished to take Lin Jing back for cultivation. Besides the elders from Danxia and Cuiwei, other peaks were also thinking of appropriate rhetoric.
The elder from Nine Dragon Peak was racking his brain. He couldn't possibly claim that the Pine Leaf Rat had the potential to evolve into a Dragon Blood Squirrel and was therefore suited for Nine Dragon Peak; that would be nonsense.
After much thought, perhaps the only hope of attracting Lin Jing would be to offer him the best dragon blood demon beast cub from the entire peak.
However, Lin Jing's heart had already made its choice.
But before he could make it, a voice came from outside the sect.
"Hidden Dragon Academy, Cao Zhiwei is here to visit."