Two choices.
I was just offering you two choices.
Lin fell silent for a moment, truly unsure how to answer.
He did indeed plan to join Haotian Sect, but if he nodded now, why did it feel like he was selling himself short?
But if he did not answer, the other option was to refuse.
He was not stupid. Refusing was practically the same as selling himself short.
After thinking for a moment, Lin shook his head. "Senior, this kid does not wish to join Haotian Sect for now."
"However, after some time, I will head to Haotian Sect and join it."
Before joining Haotian Sect, Lin wanted to visit the North Pole. Once he joined Haotian Sect, his martial soul would definitely receive Poison Unkillable's attention.
He would want to leave then, and there would surely be many people following him. That would be inconvenient.
It would be better to resolve everything first before joining.
The old man looked at Lin and pondered for a moment. Instead of refusing or agreeing, he told him to join later.
"How can I trust you?"
Haotian Sect was an evil sect. Even its disciples were the sort to be feared. Once someone was confirmed to belong to Haotian Sect, they had to join immediately.
Back then, Poison Unkillable had personally gone to the History Department to demand people, with no concern for anyone else.
"Heh, Senior, I cannot guarantee that."
"Whether you believe me or not can only be decided by Senior himself."
Lin spoke calmly. He was not worried. At worst, he would run. With Lao Yao around, he could definitely escape.
The old man carefully sized Lin up. The kid's eyes carried a trace of arrogance, and he did not look like someone who was lying.
After some consideration, the old man finally made up his mind. Taking out a token, he said, "This is a Haotian Sect disciple token. From now on, you are one of Haotian Sect's people."
Lin was stunned. Had he guessed right?
"Senior, could you be some sort of elder from Haotian Sect?"
"This token..."
The old man smiled. "Not really. This is my disciple token. I am giving it to you so you do not run away. If you want to throw it away, Haotian Sect is very strict."
Lin was speechless. He had thought this was some major figure from Haotian Sect, but after all that, the old man was merely using his own token to bind him.
Still, the threat from earlier had not been useless.
"Senior, if I take your token, I will not be hunted down or anything, right?"
Lin did not take it. Instead, he looked at the old man and asked.
The old man smiled faintly. "It is fine. When I return to the sect later, I will just speak with the people in the sect."
Hearing that, Lin decisively accepted the token. He planned to head to Haotian Sect anyway, so there was no harm in taking it.
Seeing Lin accept it, the old man finally relaxed.
Lao Yao sensed it as well. The token was just an ordinary token, so Lin could accept it without worry. Otherwise, he would not have been so decisive.
"Kid, what is your name?"
As the old man took out a card, he asked Lin.
"Xiao Xiao!"
Lin answered calmly.
The old man handed over the card. "Xiao Xiao, there are five thousand Gold Soul Coins on this card. The medicinal herbs you bought cost around two thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins."
After Lin accepted it, he bid the old man farewell.
The old man watched him leave with satisfaction. He had found another disciple for the sect. Not bad at all.
"Ah, how did I forget to ask what his martial soul was?"
The old man slapped his forehead and shook his head.
Forget it. That kid was already part of Haotian Sect anyway.
As Lin walked down the street, he did not really think of himself as someone from Haotian Sect. He had only accepted it because he did not want to keep arguing with the old man.
Very quickly, Lin bought the items he would need for his trip to the North Pole, then found a place to refine pills.
After resting for a night, Lin followed the direction on the map and headed toward the North Pole.
The North Pole was far away, located in the northernmost part of the Heaven Soul Empire. It would take more than two months to get there, and Lin could not arrive that quickly.
But Lin was not worried. What he had now was time.
Come to think of it, the conflict between the Dark Rain and Vastsea Academy had probably already been resolved. He wondered whether they had run into Tang Xiaotao.
As Lin traveled, he thought about how he had already offended the Thunderbolt Academy. If they became enemies later, he certainly would not show mercy.
That thunderbolt—could his martial soul devour it? If it could, he would gain another kind of flame. That would not be bad.
Lin did not take the main roads. Instead, he headed toward the North Pole along those remote paths.
What he sought was not speed, but spirit beasts, soul rings, and medicinal herbs.
More than two months passed in the blink of an eye. At this moment, Lin stood on a snow-covered mountain range.
The pill furnace he had bought was placed before him, and he began refining pills according to the method Lao Yao had taught him.
This was already his second month at it. He did not know how many times he had failed, but his technique had become increasingly proficient.
Unfortunately, he still could not refine first-grade medicinal pills.
What he refined was not pills at all, but his technique had improved greatly.
After finishing, Lin put away the pill furnace and swept his gaze over the surroundings.
The North Pole. A vast expanse of snow. Aside from snow and ice, there was nothing else, seemingly devoid of any life.
"Old man, how is your research with Igor going?"
Lin asked toward the ring.
Lao Yao's voice drifted out. "About sixty percent confidence."
"Too low, too low. In my opinion, there is at least a ninety-nine percent chance."
Igor's voice rose, seeming even more confident than Lao Yao.
"You still need the other party to cooperate voluntarily, yet you tell me there is a ninety-nine percent chance?"
Lao Yao retorted directly, then told Lin, "kid, for the Soul Body to have a ninety-nine percent success rate, the other party must cooperate."
"If the other party refuses to cooperate, I have an eighty percent chance of forcibly turning them into a Soul Body."
Lin was speechless. He had already understood these two big shots' thoughts.
Old man, so the sixty percent you mentioned meant forcibly turning the other party into your Soul Body.
It was forced, not cooperation. With cooperation, there was a ninety-nine percent chance.
Wanting cooperation was not difficult, was it? With you two big shots here, intimidating them a little was not a problem.
With such a high success rate, Lao Yao still considered it too low.
As long as the other party agreed, there was a ninety-nine percent chance. Was that not practically one hundred percent?
Lao Yao was simply too humble.
On the way to the North Pole, Lin had discussed the matter of making a Soul Body with the two of them.
As they talked, Lin brought up the Soul Body and asked the two for guidance, asking whether their ideas could work.
Both were masters at playing with souls, and this idea quickly interested them.
The concept of a Soul Body was still far too advanced at present. Once it succeeded, the benefits would be extremely obvious.
After Lao Yao and Igor discussed it, they immediately began researching it.
Before you continue