"Absurd!"
The news that Lin Jing was indulging himself in the outer sect cafeteria spread to many ears, including Elder Li Hai, who established the Demon Hunting Hall.
Upon learning that it was indeed Elder Yu who granted privileges freely, he said, "This Lin Jing must have a special physique; even so, this preferential treatment is too excessive."
"The more gifted the disciple, the more they should grow through immense trials; pampering them too well will only waste their talent. Throughout history, haven't ordinary physiques mostly achieved Great Divine Techniques?"
"Master, there is no choice. There are few geniuses with special physiques willing to join our Beast Taming Sect. Now that someone is willing, the sect definitely needs to treat them well." Beside him, an Eagle Demon said, "Among the few special physiques brought back by Elder Mo, except for this person and Ouyang Hao, all have successfully reached Foundation Establishment and become True Inheritors. If they aren't given preferential treatment, it will surely chill their hearts."
"Preferential treatment is certainly warranted," Elder Li said, "but there should be a limit! The performance of Demon Hunting Hall disciples during their trials in the Great Wilderness further solidifies my belief: in cultivation, one's mental state should come first!"
"Look at Luoyu, his aptitude is average. Nevertheless, through sheer determination, effort, and clever strategies, he incited two Ninth-stage Qi Cultivation Demon Beasts to fight each other. In the end, he, a mere Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator, benefited greatly by obtaining the Body Tempering Demon Beast blood!"
"This won't do, regardless of Lin Jing's situation or what his physique is, he cannot be allowed to fall into such decadence! I will go ask him if he wants to join the Demon Hunting Hall!"
"Master, but he is Elder Mo's person. Can you beat him!" The Eagle Demon looked at the rising Elder Li.
"I can't beat him?" Elder Li's gaze turned icy as he looked at the Eagle Demon, "Besides the Sect Leader and those few Nascent Soul Ancestors, in the same realm, who am I afraid of?"
"You aren't afraid, but it's me who'll get beaten," the Eagle Demon said, "Master, let's wait until after the inner sect examination. In case that kid performs poorly, you'll have a reason to want him over for training, won't you?"
"That works," Elder Li said, "Let's wait until after the examination."
Luckily, Elder Mo and Elder Yu were unaware of Elder Li's thoughts. Otherwise, they would surely smash this old fellow who wanted a Longevity Body to have no hardships.
…
In the courtyard.
Lin Jing patted his belly as he lounged leisurely on a bamboo chair, looking at something.
He was looking at... the announcements of previous years' inner sect examinations.
Over the years, the format of the inner sect promotion exam actually doesn't differ much. The elders are too lazy to come up with new ideas every year; at most, the main rules stay the same with some small tweaks.
"During registration, they will check cultivation; only Beast Masters or Pet Beasts, one of which must be at least at the Seventh Qi Cultivation level, can participate in the survival trial!"
"In the survival trial, the Beast Taming Sect will throw eligible outer sect disciples into the outskirts of the Great Wilderness, requiring them to survive for 3 days."
"During this process, disciples can earn examination points; the stronger the Demon Beasts they hunt, the higher the points. Moreover, disciples are encouraged to compete against each other; eliminating other disciples earns more points than hunting Demon Beasts!"
"But the highest points come from... taming Demon Beasts!"
"If able to make a wild Demon Beast follow and recognize them in the Great Wilderness, they can earn far more points than killing Demon Beasts or eliminating other disciples!" Lin Jing thought of Senior Brother Ouyang's process of taming the Tiger Demon.
"Ultimately... after 3 days, the 8 with the highest points pass the examination."
"And this... is not the end! The 8 who pass must choose the inner peak they wish to join for a 'talent assessment.'"
"If choosing Danxia Peak, the elders of Danxia Peak will let disciples initially touch upon Alchemy. If during this period, their efficiency in learning Alchemy isn't high and they lack talent in this aspect, Danxia Peak won't take them in and they'll be sent to another peak."
Lin Jing looked at the resources that could be exchanged for exam points in past years.
He found there were indeed storage bags, the largest of which... had a capacity of 10 cubic meters!
However, he also noticed that the points required to exchange for such a storage bag were extraordinarily high; even hunting dozens of Ninth-stage Qi Cultivation Demon Beasts likely wouldn't be sufficient.
This is clearly... not intended for disciples to exchange!
"I've already foreseen that the storage bag Elder Black Bear sends later will surely not satisfy the Pine Mouse." With the Pine Mouse's hoarding speed, any storage bag filled with regular Spirit Rice or Spirit Beans will be completely insufficient.
"Before contracting it, since I promised to give it a storage bag, this opportunity is... the most suitable one."
"Two months from now... the inner sect examination!"
Lin Jing's eyes flickered.
"Throughout the yearly promotion examinations, it's hardly heard of any disciple encountering accidents. Unexpectedly, the examination must be under the protection of elders, the outskirts of the Great Wilderness must have been intentionally cleared; given this, perhaps I can be a bit bold."
…
With a new goal, Lin Jing and Pine Mouse continued preparing for the inner sect promotion examination.
Originally, their daily routine should have been cultivating, hoarding, and dining in the cafeteria. However, concerned that Lin Jing and the others always going to the cafeteria to feast would have a negative impact, Elder Yu gave Lin Jing the same privileges as the wild spirit beasts tamed by the sect.
Door-to-door delivery, meal distribution.
Lin Jing and the others no longer needed to go to the cafeteria themselves; at mealtime, the cafeteria would pack and deliver a large number of dishes to Lin Jing's location.
Neither Lin Jing nor Pine Mouse expected that the mundane cultivation could actually be so joyful.
Time flies, years shoot by like arrows.
In a flash, more than two months have passed, and Lin Jing has grown increasingly accustomed to his new life in the Beast Taming Sect. Months of interaction have made he and Pine Mouse more aligned and mutually reliant. Perhaps infected by Pine Mouse, even Lin Jing started wanting to hoard some resources.
Over two months, Pine Mouse's cultivation successfully reached the Seventh Qi Cultivation level, while Lin Jing's cultivation also climbed to the Third Qi Cultivation level, primarily because their daily resources rivaled those for True Inheritors.
Such vast resources, swapped for other talented pet beasts or cultivators, might already be at the peak of Qi Cultivation. Meanwhile, this was purely because Pine Mouse focused most of its energy on hoarding... Although its cultivation hasn't increased much, it stuffed the storage bags Elder Black Bear later sent completely full, without a single gap.
Randomly pulling one out, for other Qi Cultivation Cultivators, it would be an ace, but it... has an entire bag.
In Pine Mouse's view, this is more important than cultivating to the Ninth Qi Cultivation level, full of security and peace of mind.
As for Lin Jing, he is simply constrained by his Longevity Body. Despite having abundant resources and feedback from Pine Mouse, he is still a bit away from reaching the Fourth Qi Cultivation level. Although the transition from early to mid-stage is tougher than breaking through sub-levels, no matter what... he remains in the stage where it's easiest to cultivate among various realms, the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Lin Jing estimated, if he doesn't acquire a complete Beast Taming Cultivation Technique and contract more pet beasts, relying solely on Pine Mouse may not be enough to boost him.
"Let's go."
Today marks the inner sect examination registration day. Once registration is completed, it's estimated they'll head to the examination site.
Lin Jing notified Pine Mouse.
"Squeak!" Pine Mouse stretched its arms, draped in a robe, not the one from Elder Black Bear, but one Lin Jing fashioned himself... hanging the storage bag on the inner side of the robe for easier carrying.
"Right, bring this too." Lin Jing walked to the spirit paddies, picked up a palm-sized Mechanical Bamboo Turtle watering can, which bore a cannon barrel and was spraying water.