Twice the price.
I'm only worth twice the price?
For a moment, Lin Xiao really did not know what to say...
He did intend to join the Body Sect, but if he agreed now, why did it feel like he was selling himself?
But if he refused... this was twice the price.
He loved money, but he had never planned to sell himself.
After some thought, Lin Xiao shook his head and said, "Senior, I don't want to join the Body Sect just yet."
"But after some time, I'll go to the Body Sect and join."
Before joining the Body Sect, Lin Xiao wanted to make a trip to the Far North. Once he joined, his martial soul would definitely draw Du Busi's attention.
Leaving would be difficult then. There would surely be plenty of people following him, which would make things inconvenient.
He might as well settle his business before joining.
The old man looked at Lin Xiao and considered it. The boy had neither refused nor agreed, instead saying he would join later.
"How am I supposed to trust you?"
The Body Sect was domineering. Even its disciples feared nothing. Once they decided someone belonged to the Body Sect, they would insist that person join.
Back then, Du Busi had personally gone to Shrek to demand they hand someone over, without a trace of fear.
"Heh, Senior, I can't give you any guarantees on that."
"Whether you believe me is entirely up to you."
Lin Xiao spoke calmly. He did not particularly care. At worst, he could run. With Old Medicine around, he could still get away.
The old man studied Lin Xiao closely. There was a hint of pride in the boy's eyes, and he did not look like someone who was lying.
After weighing it over, the old man finally made up his mind and took out a token. "This is a Body Sect disciple token. From now on, you belong to the Body Sect."
Lin Xiao: "??" Did I guess wrong just now?
"Senior, are you an elder of the Body Sect or something?"
"This token..."
The old man smiled. "No, I'm not. This is my disciple token. I'm giving it to you now to keep you from running off. Don't even think about throwing it away. The consequences would be serious."
Lin Xiao was utterly speechless. He had thought the man was some big shot from the Body Sect, but after all that, he was just giving Lin Xiao his own token.
Still, that last threat had no effect whatsoever.
"Senior, if I take your token, I won't end up being hunted down or anything, will I?"
Rather than accept it, Lin Xiao looked at him and asked.
The old man smiled faintly. "That won't be a problem. I'll return to the sect later and let them know."
Hearing that, Lin Xiao promptly accepted the token. He intended to go to the Body Sect anyway, so there was no harm in taking it.
Only after Lin Xiao accepted it did the old man relax.
Old Medicine had already examined it. It was just an ordinary token, so Lin Xiao could safely accept it. Otherwise, he would not have been so decisive.
"Little fellow, I still don't know your name."
The old man took out a card as he questioned Lin Xiao.
"Lin Xiao!"
Lin Xiao answered calmly.
The old man handed him the card. "Lin Xiao, there are 5,000 Gold Soul Coins on this card. These medicinal herbs of yours are worth about 2,500 Gold Soul Coins."
After accepting it, Lin Xiao said goodbye.
The old man watched him leave with satisfaction. He had found another disciple for the sect. Wonderful.
"Ah, how did I forget to ask what his martial soul was?"
The old man slapped his forehead. He had gotten too excited.
Oh well. That boy already belonged to the Body Sect anyway.
Having left the auction house, Lin Xiao certainly did not consider himself a member of the Body Sect. He had only accepted the token to avoid getting tangled up with the man any further.
Soon, Lin Xiao bought some supplies for his trip to the Far North, along with a pill-refining furnace.
With everything ready, Lin Xiao followed the map and headed toward the Far North.
The Extreme North was a long way away, on the northern frontier of the Heaven Dou Empire. Lin Xiao could not reach it without a month or two of travel.
But he was not worried. He still had plenty of time.
Come to think of it, Huo Yuhao should be getting along like a house on fire with Wang Dong by now. I wonder if he's met Ma Xiaotao yet.
Lin Xiao thought as he traveled. He had already given Huo Yuhao a chance. If they became enemies later, he would show absolutely no mercy.
I wonder whether my martial soul can devour evil fire. If it can, I'll have another kind of flame. That would be pretty good.
Rather than take the main roads, Lin Xiao traveled toward the Far North along remote trails.
His reasons were simple: training, Soul Rings, and medicinal herbs.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Now, Lin Xiao stood atop a snow-covered mountain.
The pill furnace he had bought sat before him as he attempted to refine pills using the techniques Old Medicine had taught him.
Over these two months, he had lost count of how many attempts he had made, and his technique had grown increasingly practiced.
But he still could not refine first-grade medicinal pills.
What he produced could not even be called pills, though his technique had improved tremendously.
Once he finished, Lin Xiao put away the furnace and swept his gaze over his surroundings.
The Far North. A boundless blanket of white snow-nothing but snow everywhere. People were few and far between, and there seemed to be no sign of life.
"Teacher, how is your research with Elder Yi coming along?"
Lin Xiao directed his question into the ring.
Old Medicine's voice emerged. "An eighty percent chance."
"Too low, too low. With my approach, there's at least a ninety-nine percent chance."
Electrolux's voice rang out. He seemed even more confident than Old Medicine.
"Yours still requires the other party to take the initiative, and you have the nerve to tell me it's ninety-nine percent?"
Old Medicine challenged him outright, then said to Lin Xiao, "Xiao Xiaozi, for this soul spirit idea to have a ninety-nine percent success rate, we need the other party's cooperation."
"If they refuse to cooperate, I have an eighty percent chance of forcibly turning them into a soul spirit."
Hearing this, Lin Xiao was already stunned by these two masters' ideas.
Teacher, so that eighty percent you mentioned meant forcing them to become my soul spirit.
Forcing them, not getting their cooperation! With cooperation, it's ninety-nine percent!
Wouldn't getting them to cooperate be easy? With you two masters around, forcing a little cooperation wouldn't be out of the question.
Even with such high odds, Old Medicine still felt it was not reliable enough.
As long as they're willing, there's a ninety-nine percent chance. Isn't that practically a hundred percent?
Old Medicine really is far too cautious.
On his way to the Far North, Lin Xiao had begun discussing the matter of hunting soul beasts with the two of them.
As they talked, Lin Xiao brought up soul spirits and took the opportunity to seek their advice, asking whether such an idea could be realized.
Both were masters at working with souls, and the idea immediately piqued their interest.
The concept of soul spirits was still far ahead of its time, but if it succeeded, the benefits would be clear.
After putting their heads together, Old Medicine and Electrolux immediately began researching it.
Before you continue