novelraw Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26: On the Carriage
The next few days after returning from Drunken Fragrance Tower were the final stretch before Lin Bai set out for Martial Academy.
Lin Bai spent his time cultivating while also going to see Lin Su and Wang Qian. Mainly, his Bear-Heart Medicinal Bath Powder had run out, so he tried to “scrounge” some more from those two places whenever he could. He also found time to eat the Extraordinary beast meat he had promised his grandmother he would finish.
The Extraordinary beast meat tasted quite good, but with his current physique, it did not increase him by much. It was, however, quite beneficial for Mo Ling.
At last, on the morning of the day of his departure, both Lin Su and Wang Qian came to see him off.
Because the autumn chill in Yunmeng City had deepened, the morning before sunrise was wrapped in a thin mist. Even so, breakfast vendors had already begun calling out their wares one after another.
For example, Lin Bai was currently holding one of Yunmeng City’s local breakfast specialties in his hand—Yunmeng Guo, something rather similar to the rice cakes of his previous life, only with dried fruits and such inside.
As he ate while waiting, Lin Bai complained gloomily, “Sis, Auntie, we’ve been waiting forever. Why hasn’t the Martial Academy carriage arrived yet?”
Lin Su and Wang Qian were long since accustomed to his restless nature and chose to ignore his complaints selectively.
Lin Bai felt even more aggrieved, so he could only redouble his efforts at eating in order to comfort his wounded heart.
At that moment, the jade token in Lin Su’s hand began to emit a faint glow. She turned to Lin Bai, who was still locked in battle with his breakfast, and said, “Hurry up and finish eating. The pickup carriage has already arrived nearby. It should be collecting the others right now, so it will probably be here for you soon.”
The moment Lin Bai heard this, he immediately switched into a frenzy of chewing and swallowing, finishing off his breakfast in just a few bites.
Then he got to his feet and began checking the things he needed to bring: his Light-Heavy Saber, little Mo Ling, and the ten packets of Bear-Heart Medicinal Bath Powder he had “foraged” from Wang Qian and Lin Su. Once those ten packets were used up, his Bear-Hide Stage would be nearly complete.
Suddenly, a carriage came to a halt before them as soundlessly as a ghost.
Lin Bai’s eyes sharpened at once. This carriage had definitely been inscribed with some kind of high-tier formation. Not only could it conceal its movements, it could even subtly reduce its own sense of presence among the surrounding crowd.
As expected of Martial Academy. It had already given Lin Bai a surprise the moment they met.
Lin Bai took the token from Lin Su, stepped forward, and prepared to verify his identity before boarding.
He bid farewell to Lin Su and Wang Qian. Neither woman was of a delicate disposition, so they merely told him to take good care of himself.
Lin Bai nodded, picked up his bundle, and walked forward.
Once he drew nearer, Lin Bai discovered that the beast pulling the carriage was a Black Flood-Dragon Horse, a superior breed of the Black-Horn Horse.
Seated upon the carriage shaft was a man in a rain cloak and a broad straw hat. His face was hidden in shadow, and he sat there in silence like a stone.
Lin Bai walked up, took out his proof jade token, and indicated that he was a Martial Academy student.
The man in black glanced at it.
“Lin Bai?”
Then he nodded, signaling for Lin Bai to board.
Master Jinhua had long since submitted Lin Bai’s name and all his relevant information, including the Auxiliary Dao arts he intended to study.
Lin Bai lifted the carriage curtain at the side.
Only after entering did he realize there were already two young men inside, both appearing to be just over twenty.
The man in black was holding a sword in his arms and resting with his eyes closed. He was exceedingly handsome. Only when someone entered did he open his eyes and size up the newcomer. Upon seeing that Lin Bai was so young, he closed them again.
The other man, dressed in blue, wore a faint smile at the corners of his lips and gave off a very approachable impression. His features were mild and gentle.
While Lin Bai was observing the two men, the two men were also observing him.
The boy was extremely handsome, with sharp eyes, though the softness of his facial lines concealed that rather well.
There was a Dark Crow standing on his shoulder? It was hard to say whether it was his contracted beast. He also carried a bundle on his back.
That was what the man in blue, Zhao Rang, concluded from his observations. At the same time, he spoke up, intending to get to know Lin Bai.
“This little brother, my name is Zhao Rang. I’m a member of the Fish-Dragon Gang.”
Seeing the other party take the initiative to introduce himself, Lin Bai naturally understood the proper etiquette.
“My name is Lin Bai. I came here through Benevolent Heart Hall.”
Hearing this, Zhao Rang raised a brow. Benevolent Heart Hall?
But all of them were here to study talisman arts.
For Lin Bai to come learn talisman arts meant that he lacked talent in alchemy, though his spiritual power was at least decent enough, so he had come here to learn talisman arts instead.
Which also meant that Lin Bai most likely was not actually one of Benevolent Heart Hall’s people. More likely, he had a major figure from Benevolent Heart Hall backing him, and that was how he had obtained a Martial Academy Token.
That was the information Zhao Rang pieced together from Lin Bai’s few words.
If Zhao Rang had truly managed to infer all that from a single sentence alone, it would have been nothing short of astonishing.
By comparison, Lin Bai’s judgment of Zhao Rang was much simpler. For a Jianghu gang member from the Fish-Dragon Gang to obtain a Martial Academy Token, there was surely a high-ranking supporter within the gang standing behind him.
After Lin Bai and Zhao Rang each finished their own round of silent speculation, the man in black also spoke to introduce himself.
“Fang Ming. Disciple of the Talisman Masters’ Association.”
A disciple of the Talisman Masters’ Association?
For a disciple of the Talisman Masters’ Association to go to Martial Academy to study talisman arts was perfectly normal. It was similar to further training.
But it also meant that his teacher was not a master-level figure. Otherwise, a master of an Auxiliary Dao teaching him personally would have been far more useful than Martial Academy, not to mention that it also involved the future choice of one’s Auxiliary Dao Core Canon.
As for what an Auxiliary Dao Core Canon was, one could simply think of it as something similar to a Dao Path inheritance.
Just as Master Jinhua had given the Martial Academy Token to Lin Bai instead of Zhou Ling or Lin Su, it was because the two of them had already chosen their inherited core canons.
Of course, the fact that Zhou Ling and Lin Su lacked sufficient talent was also part of the reason.
After the three had introduced themselves, no one tried to continue chatting. Each simply rested quietly in silence.
There was no awkwardness in that silence, of course. After all, they had only just met, so what awkwardness could there be?
Lin Bai closed his eyes and began to summarize what he had gained during the month since arriving in Yunmeng City, while also planning out his short-term future.
First of all, there was his Dao Path. He had obtained a complete inheritance for the 【Beast-Taming Martial Artist】, so at the very least he no longer needed to worry about lacking a cultivation method.
As for cultivation itself, he was already halfway through the Bear-Hide Stage. And over the past month, because he had been busy preparing for Mo Ling’s evolution, there had been at least ten days in which he had not cultivated at all. If there were no further distractions from now on, then after another half month, he would reach the peak of the Bear-Hide Stage.
In terms of weapons, he had received the Light-Heavy Saber sponsored by his aunt, more than sufficient for his use throughout the Transcendent-Mortal Realm.
As for his Bonded Beast, he had contracted Mo Ling, activated his Shared Journey Talent—which boosted speed—and Mo Ling’s bloodline had also already evolved once.
The more Lin Bai thought about it, the more he realized that in this one month since arriving in Yunmeng City, he had already obtained nearly every foundational accumulation a cultivator needed. The only thing still left was the Auxiliary Dao arts, and he was already on his way to study them.
Then again, he also realized that everything he possessed now, aside from Mo Ling, whom he had bought himself, had all been funded by other people.
What was this if not crowd-funded cultivation?
After thinking through what he already had, the next thing he needed to consider was what he ought to do from here on out.
First was his cultivation. That was the foundation of his life and future. He only needed to continue advancing steadily—no, in great strides.
Second was his Bonded Beast. Mo Ling would not be evolving again any time soon, but in another three months or so, his soul ought to have recovered almost completely, at which point he could contract his next Bonded Beast.
Third was to learn Auxiliary Dao arts and earn money. Lin Bai had already checked at the Great Xia Treasure Tower. To purchase a soul pearl from a Transcension-Realm Yin-Faced Fox would cost around eight thousand Spirit Stones.
And of those eight thousand, three thousand would be spent just on upgrading to an intermediate membership at the Great Xia Treasure Tower. Eight thousand Spirit Stones... that was by no means a small number.
Over the course of the journey, the carriage picked up two more passengers. This time, both were women from great families.
The Zhong Family’s Zhong Yuhe looked to be around twenty years old. She wore a pale white ruqun, and her fox-like eyes were extremely beautiful.
The later arrival, Wang Yu, looked to be sixteen or seventeen. She wore a black dress that outlined her graceful figure, and her complexion was fair. The teardrop mole beneath her left eye added several degrees of cold beauty. What was especially striking was that she came from the Shenxiu Wang Family.
The Wang Family?
It should be the Shenxiu Wang Family—his mother’s clan.
Lin Bai did not make much of it. It was only normal for the Wang Family to have a Martial Academy Token. Or rather, the Wang Family probably possessed several of them.
Everyone in this carriage was rather good-looking, Lin Bai thought to himself.
Fortunately, I’m not bad myself.
He reached up and touched his face, feeling rather pleased.
After everyone introduced themselves, the carriage fell silent again. Only Zhao Rang tried to strike up a conversation with the two young women, but Zhong Yuhe responded perfunctorily, while Wang Yu ignored him outright.
Having been thoroughly rebuffed, Zhao Rang could only retreat back to his seat awkwardly.
And with that, the carriage was now truly quiet.
Lin Bai estimated that the five of them were probably all the students this carriage would be taking. Next, it would carry them to the teleportation formation station within Yunmeng Commandery.
With the footing speed of a Black Flood-Dragon Horse, they would certainly arrive within half a day.