Seeing eight stones hovering in the air, Lin Jin stopped releasing his spirit energy. He still had some strength left but there wasn’t a need to go all out. Being a newcomer, he had to learn how to conceal his prowess a little.
At the same time, Lin Jin was interested in finding out how much spirit energy he had.
Huangfu Ming could tell that Lin Jin hadn’t gone all out.
‘This Lin Jin is a Rank 2 beast appraiser, and already has a strong foundation. His spirit energy must be worth at least ten stones and that’s enough to enter the Friar Association,’ Huangfu Ming mused. Then, he said, “You’ve passed the spirit energy assessment. Next, we’ve to assess your basic knowledge in beasts.”
Right after he spoke, Huangfu Ming came to a realization.
As a Rank 2 beast appraiser, knowledge of beasts was Lin Jin’s forte. The man could even give lectures so this assessment shouldn’t be a problem for him.
After a brief moment of consideration, Huangfu Ming shook his head. “Forget it. We don’t have to assess your knowledge of beasts.”
Indeed, it was unnecessary.
However, the upcoming few assessments on Lin Jin’s personal physique, blood contract, and pet beast quality were still required. But to Lin Jin, the assessments seemed to be done for the sake of formalities.
Clearly, none of these tests posed any difficulty for him.
Relatively speaking, the toughest one among these assessments might just be the spirit energy test. After all, beast appraisers weren’t required to go through this assessment. So as long as his spirit energy volume is enough, entering the association wouldn’t be a problem.
Lin Jin passed the assessments without any major hiccups.
“Lin Jin, this is my letter of recommendation. Take this to the Disciple Court and you can officially join the Friar Association after registration.” Huangfu Ming was quite straightforward. It was obvious that there was a sense of admiration for Lin Jin from him.
Lin Jin skimmed through the recommendation letter then felt puzzled.
It was a little different from what Lu Yunhe had told him. Lu Yunhe said that if he passed, he would simply become Huangfu Ming’s disciple, so the mentor’s column on the letter should have had Huangfu Ming’s name.
However, the mentor’s column on the letter was empty.
When Lin Jin asked about it, Huangfu Ming shook his head. “I have strict requirements and don’t tolerate absenteeism from class. If you can do it, I’ll take you in as my disciple, but I fear that you might not be able to meet the level of discipline required.”
At this, Lin Jin let out a dry chuckle. He saluted Huangfu Ming and excused himself without saying anything else.
This mentor, Huangfu Ming certainly had quite a personality. Knowing that Lin Jin couldn’t attend his classes every day, Huangfu Ming chose not to take him in at all. Thankfully, he didn’t give Lin Jin any trouble despite that fact and still gave him a recommendation nonetheless.
This made it easy to tell his character.
At the Friar Association’s Disciple Court.
After seeking out the person in charge here, Lin Jin handed him the letter of recommendation.
“Mr. Huangfu recommended you?” The representative looked skeptical but didn’t give him any real trouble. After verifying the letter, he helped Lin Jin with his registration and gave Lin Jin a Friar Association’s disciple token and a disciple’s handbook.
“The association’s rules are all in there, read it on your own. Also, the annual membership fee is fifty taels. You can pay for several years at once or renew it on an annual basis,” the representative said to Lin Jin.
Fifty taels a year.
That was a significant sum. It was no wonder young men from poorer families couldn’t afford to enter the association. However, Lin Jin had heard about the association providing scholarship programs as well. If the applicant’s performance was remarkable enough, not only was he exempted from paying fees, he could even earn some cash on the side.
But since Lin Jin was a newcomer, he still had to pay the first year’s fees. Fortunately, he was earning well enough that paying fifty taels was not a real issue.
After handing in the money and taking the token, he was officially considered a member of the Friar Association now.
Members of the Friar Association could choose to learn from a mentor or opt to study on their own. It all depended on the individual himself and for Lin Jin, self-studying suited him the most.
If he were to become an apprentice to a mentor, there were too many rules and limitations so that wasn’t exactly the wisest choice.
Just then, Lin Jin noticed a tall tower up ahead bearing the sign ‘Levitation Stone Tower’.
It was the place to assess one’s spirit energy.
Spirit energy was crucial to cultivators. As they were required to learn spell-casting, a considerable amount of spiritual energy would be consumed. Without spirit energy, even the best spells would simply go to waste.
In the assessment he had completed earlier, Lin Jin could levitate eight stones but he had been holding back his powers. Now that he had come across the tower, he was interested in knowing the true volume of his spirit energy.
At the thought of this, Lin Jin immediately headed for the tower with Xiao Huo in tow.
The Levitation Stone Tower had six floors. The first floor housed one set of spirit levitation stones while the second floor housed two sets. Based on this, the sixth-floor should have six sets of spirit levitation stones.
Entry was permitted after flashing his disciple token.
Lin Jin entered a testing room on the first floor.
There was a set of twelve spirit levitation stones on the ground. Lin Jin didn’t hold back this time. Invoking the spirit levitation stone spell, all twelve stones floated up simultaneously.
Twelve stones.
However, this wasn’t his limit.
Because there were only twelve stones here.
‘Let’s try the second floor.’ Lin Jin decided to make his way upstairs.
The assessment rooms on the second floor all housed two sets of spirit levitation stones, bringing the total to twenty-four stones in each room.
The number of people who frequented the second floor dropped significantly as not many disciples had more than twelve stones’ worth of spirit energy, with the exception of the prodigy disciples of course.
One example of such a student was Lu Yunhe. He had once mentioned that his spirit energy was twenty-three stones.
Lin Jin released his spiritual energy and twenty-four stones levitated at once.
The result shocked even himself.
“Who knew that I’d be this amazing?”
Lin Jin truly hadn’t expected it at all. All this while he had only been appraising and treating pet beasts so he had no idea how much spirit energy he had. He assumed passing twelve would be expected but to exceed twenty-four was incredible.
Didn’t this mean his spirit energy volume was above Lu Yunhe’s?
After pondering for a bit, Lin Jin figured that a sizeable portion of his spirit energy might have come from him using the pulse-seeking technique on himself every day to regulate his veins and acupoints.
Who knew that the pulse-seeking technique would bring about such godly results.
Of course, it was also probably thanks to Masterchef Liao’s aged spirit wine.
The assessment limit on the second floor was twenty-four stones. Lin Jin planned to ascend to the third floor just to see how many stones he could get.
The wooden stairway leading up to the third floor was quite narrow, allowing only one person to pass through at a time. Lin Jin glanced up. Seeing there was no one there, he climbed the stairs. But halfway through, a human silhouette could be seen descending from the third floor.
In such situations, the one who entered the stairway last should be the one giving way, allowing the initial occupant to climb the stairs before going down.
However, as if he hadn’t noticed Lin Jin, the man continued making his way downward.
Lin Jin was stunned.
After a careful look, the person descending the stairs was handsome as a jade, dressed in white and emerald robes, and had four cloud patterns on his clothes, representing the level of his cultivation. Wearing a proud expression, this was the publicly acknowledged number one disciple of the Friar Association, Yang Jie.
What a surprise to meet Yang Jie here.
Suddenly, Yang Jie noticed Lin Jin, and with a frown, he said, “Make way!”
It sounded like an order. As if it was only natural for people like Lin Jin to bow down and accept his order.
Lin Jin was annoyed.
He was almost on the third floor so the person making way should be Yang Jie instead. It didn’t make sense for him to go back all the way down the stairs.
‘Even if you have some kind of emergency, if we squeeze a little, we should be able to pass each other.’
So Lin Jin stayed put.
Yang Jie repeated himself, “Make way!”
His tone was heavier this time, carrying disdain in his voice. It sounded like an interrogation, a threat, and a reproach.
Lin Jin was stubborn as a mule. ‘If you really have an emergency, say it nicely. I can let you pass. It’s not a big deal. But if you’re going to be rude and think you’re above everyone else, I’m sorry to say this but not one here is going to spoil you.’
Thus, Lin Jin barked back, “You make way!”
Having said that, he continued forward.