"Hisss..." The pale yellow snake suddenly flashed a fierce light in its eyes, its tongue flickering rapidly as if it was about to bite Uncle Jiang, its body strangely enveloped in a faint golden glow.
"It's quite fierce," Uncle Jiang said with a light smile. With a flash of light in his hand, a drop of fresh red blood appeared from the snake's forehead into Uncle Jiang’s hand.
As Uncle Jiang changed the hand signs, Li Lin was astonished to see a mysterious light fill the entire room.
"Hisss..."
Li Lin watched as the light and blood from his own forehead merged with the snake’s blood, then transformed into two beams of light. One was infused into his forehead by Uncle Jiang, and the other into the snake's forehead.
"Huh..."
Li Lin immediately felt an odd sensation, as if an invisible connection had been formed between him and the pale yellow snake, like brothers, as if they were blood-related. This feeling was mysterious and indescribable.
"Uncle Jiang, what kind of technique is this? It's quite magical," Li Lin asked in amazement.
"It's magical, huh? You have a lot to learn. Study well," Uncle Jiang said with a slight smile, somewhat proudly. "Alright, you and it have now formed a blood pact, which is a type of equal contract between a Spirit Master and a Spirit Beast. You can only form an equal contract with it. Otherwise, if its kin finds out you have enslaved it, they will not spare you, and your death will be gruesome."
After speaking, Uncle Jiang once again extracted a drop of blood from the pale yellow snake and handed it back to Li Lin. The snake became much gentler in Li Lin's hand and affectionately bonded with him.
"Take good care of it. It can help you a lot in the future. Feed it meat, preferably demon beast or spirit beast meat, so it can grow quickly," Uncle Jiang advised.
"Demon and spirit beast meat…" Li Lin sighed internally, realizing it would be another expensive undertaking.
"This is a defensive martial technique called Qingling Armor. I used the blood of this Spirit Emperor Beast to guide you. The Qingling Armor's usefulness to you will become clear in time," Uncle Jiang explained, handing Li Lin a jade slip with the Spirit Emperor Beast's blood on it.
"Here’s also a Star-grade offensive technique called Mountain Opener Palm. Its power is decent, so practice it for self-defense. And this other technique, I don’t know its rank, but you’re lucky to have it. Hopefully, you can understand it," Uncle Jiang handed two more jade slips to Li Lin.
"Uncle Jiang, when will you teach me to refine pills and weapons?" Li Lin asked, holding the jade slips. Having practiced the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique, he knew it would be costly. As a powerless young master, he had no financial resources.
"You’re quite greedy. It's almost dawn; come back tomorrow. Remember, keep a low profile. It's not time to reveal your martial artist and spirit practitioner identities yet. The two spirit pills inside you haven't been fully refined yet, but they should be enough to advance you to the ninth level of Spirit Disciple. As for breaking through to the Spirit Warrior level, that depends on luck. And for your martial energy, you must rely on demon pills for advancement. Without them, even if your spirit energy is strong, you can't break through without matching martial energy," Uncle Jiang said with a smile.
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"Ah…" Li Lin sighed lightly, realizing he needed to start earning money to continue cultivating the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique.
Under the cover of night, Li Lin returned to the courtyard gate. It was almost dawn. Back in his room, Li Lin smiled slightly. Regardless, he was now a martial artist, and also an exceedingly rare spirit practitioner. Although the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Technique was expensive to practice, once he had enough capital, his progress would be much faster than others.
"Lucky kid, practicing both spirit and martial arts, and with a Spirit Emperor Beast too. Your future is up to you," Uncle Jiang murmured in the night.
"Lin'er, how have you been these days? Is there something pleasant happening?" Early in the morning, Li Lin's mother, Lady Luo Lan, asked in the courtyard. She hadn't seen her son so radiant and cheerful in a long time.
"Mother, we won't have to live like this for much longer. I'll take good care of you," Li Lin said, his heart aching as he watched his mother heading to the laundry room to work.
Uncle Jiang had said it wasn’t yet time to reveal his identity as a martial artist. The original Li Lin had been sabotaged by the main wife of the Li family, who didn't want him to become a martial artist. If she knew he had become one now, it would probably be the end of him.
So, until he had the ability to protect himself, he couldn't reveal anything, or it would be like signing his own death warrant. For now, he needed to focus on training and earning money.
"As long as you are safe and sound, that's all I ask for," Luo Lan said before heading to the laundry room.
"Earning money, training, gold coins..." Li Lin muttered to himself, gazing up at the sky.
"Young Master, why are you up so early?" Li Xiao Bai asked as he entered the courtyard.
"What’s on the agenda today?" Li Lin inquired.
"There's not much to do today. I heard important guests are coming, and the stewards are already busy in the front hall," Li Xiao Bai replied.
"Who are the guests? Why are they so important?" Li Lin casually asked.
"It's said to be guests from the Du Gu family. The master is personally going to receive them," Li Xiao Bai shared.
"Du Gu family..." Li Lin immediately knew the significance of the Du Gu family. Their single business in Qingyun Town was even bigger than all of the Li family's businesses.
"I heard a Miss Du Gu from their family is coming. I overheard people from the front courtyard saying she’s stunningly beautiful. Do you want to take a look?" Li Xiao Bai suggested sneakily.
"Never mind. If there’s nothing to do today, I’ll go back to sleep," Li Lin said, dismissing the idea of the Du Gu Miss. It had nothing to do with him. Today was perfect for practicing the martial techniques.
"Alright then, I'll sneak a peek and tell you about it later," Li Xiao Bai said, leaving the courtyard.
Back in his room, with no one likely to visit the courtyard, Li Lin prepared to practice martial techniques. Without any techniques, being just a martial artist was like being a strong but clueless ox.
Li Lin took out a jade slip, the Star-grade Mountain Opener Palm technique. Forming hand signs, he infused a faint stream of energy into it, and a light burst forth from the slip, entering his forehead.
This light transformed into information in Li Lin’s mind.
Concentrating, Li Lin committed the technique of the Mountain Opener Palm to memory, starting to gesture in front of him. Invisible energy began to form in his palms, appearing and disappearing intermittently, seemingly uncontrollable.
"It's still not right; this technique is hard to learn," Li Lin practiced in his room. Two hours passed without success.
The Mountain Opener Palm, a Star-grade technique, wasn't as profound as Earth or Mysterious-grade techniques, but it was still complex for someone new to martial techniques like Li Lin.
Li Lin continued to practice in his room, surrounded by a faint aura. Occasionally, streams of energy appeared in his hands but then vanished just as quickly.