Selected as Exclusive Guard (Seeking Follow-up Reads, Seeking Monthly Votes)

Late at night, Lu Lin returned once more to that stretch of jumbled rocks.

With a thought, he sent several Blood Qi Pills into his mouth, then poured cultivation time into the Diamond Art.

With an ample supply of Blood Qi Pills, and relying on Lu Lin's insight from the ninth level of body tempering, the Diamond Art advanced at astonishing speed.

It took only one year to raise the Diamond Art to the fourth level.

The price was that all the Blood Qi Pills on Lu Lin had been completely exhausted.

The Diamond Art was a martial art on the same level as the Iron Elephant Body. It had ten levels and led straight to the peak of body tempering.

After cultivating it to the fourth level, Lu Lin's strength increased by another seventeen hundred-odd jin.

At this moment, Lu Lin's total strength had already reached the astonishing level of around sixteen thousand jin, not far from the "strength of two elephants."

Having cultivated to this point, Lu Lin stopped.

Next, he would wait until the Tendon Refining Pills were in hand before continuing to improve.

Without the assistance of pills, it wasted too much cultivation time.

In the days that followed, Lu Lin returned to his two-point, one-line routine.

Mining, practicing martial arts, resting...

Within the inner space of the Martial Dao Melting Furnace, the number of Inferior Spirit Stones grew rapidly.

One month later, Lu Lin's total number of Inferior Spirit Stones had reached seven hundred.

He had not exchanged any of them for cultivation time. He kept them all in the inner space.

Fortunately, the Xuantian Mineral Vein was vast enough, stretching nearly a hundred li and rising several thousand meters high. Without a hundred years, there was no hope of mining it all out.

This also meant that Lu Lin's frantic digging did not draw anyone else's attention.

Compared to the enormous Black Iron Vein, the portion he had excavated was only the tip of the iceberg.

On this day, it was time for rest again.

Lu Lin got up early, reported to the Goatee Steward, then went to Lingyuan Pavilion in Blood Baleful City. After paying four hundred sixty-five Inferior Spirit Stones, he took away six hundred pills.

Carrying a large bundle on his back, Lu Lin left Lingyuan Pavilion.

"Mm? Someone's set their eyes on me."

Lu Lin had not gone far before he sensed several gazes locked on him the entire time.

"Robbers again."

A cold glint flashed through Lu Lin's eyes. He quickened his pace, turned this way and that, and entered an empty alley. With a thought, the bundle entered the inner space of the Martial Dao Melting Furnace and vanished.

Only then did Lu Lin stroll out at an unhurried, leisurely pace.

"The bundle on him is gone."

"Go check that alley. That man most likely hid the treasure inside."

In the shadows, three figures exchanged words in secret, then quickly ran into that alley and searched carefully, but found nothing.

How could the bundle on that man have suddenly vanished without a trace?

A storage pouch!

In a flash, enlightenment struck all three of them.

Only an immortal master's storage pouch could take in such a huge bundle.

At that thought, all three felt cold from head to toe, cold sweat pouring out.

They had set their eyes on an immortal master?

"Go, quick!"

The three immediately wanted to retreat.

"Gentlemen, are you looking for me?"

At the mouth of the alley, Lu Lin appeared without a sound, his cold gaze carrying not the slightest emotion.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The three burly men dropped straight to their knees and kowtowed like pounding garlic. "Immortal Master, spare us! This lowly one had eyes but failed to see Mount Tai. We had no intention of offending Immortal Master! Please, Immortal Master, spare our lives..."

Huh?

Lu Lin was a little stunned.

But with a quick turn of thought, he understood the crux of it.

They had taken him for an immortal cultivator.

"To offend one above you and attempt to slay an immortal—your crime deserves ten thousand deaths."

Lu Lin imitated the tone of a Demonic Sect immortal cultivator and spoke coldly.

The three burly men were so frightened their bodies trembled like sieves, their faces deathly pale.

"Hand over everything you're carrying."

Lu Lin said.

"Yes, yes..."

The three burly men trembled as they handed over everything they had on them.

A few hundred taels of silver, a few Blood Qi Pills, and that was it.

Paupers!

Lu Lin struck each of them with one palm, beating the three men into serious injuries as punishment, then leisurely left.

He returned all the way to the Xuantian Mineral Vein.

He had only just gotten back when the Goatee Steward came looking for him on his heels.

"Lu Lin, congratulations."

The Goatee Steward said with a beaming smile, his expression subtle.

"Congratulations? Steward, where does this joy come from?"

Lu Lin was puzzled.

"You've caught the eye of an immortal master, who personally appointed you as his exclusive guard."

The Goatee Steward said.

"Caught the eye of an immortal master and been chosen as an exclusive guard?"

Lu Lin was extremely surprised.

Wasn't it said that only those with a cultivation at or above the seventh level of Body Tempering would catch an immortal master's eye and become an exclusive guard?

He was only at the "third level of Body Tempering." Which immortal master was this blind?

"That's why I'm congratulating you. Once you become an immortal master's exclusive guard, you'll no longer be a menial worker. You won't need to do menial tasks anymore and can focus on martial training. And if that immortal master is easy to talk to, he may even provide you with ample resources for your training. Your cultivation speed will surely advance a thousand li in a single day."

The Goatee Steward said.

Lu Lin's heart turned bitter.

He didn't want to become an immortal master's exclusive guard. He liked mining.

If he didn't mine, where would his cultivation time come from?

"May I ask, Steward, I'm only at the third level of Body Tempering. Why would an immortal master choose me?"

Lu Lin asked.

Generally speaking, one had to be at least at the seventh level of Body Tempering to be chosen by an immortal master.

For someone below the seventh level of Body Tempering to be chosen, there was only one possibility: they were a martial arts prodigy.

Once a martial arts prodigy appeared, they didn't need to have a high cultivation level; a crowd of immortal masters would fight over them, then cultivate them with all their might, turning them into a capable guard.

The usefulness of a martial dao prodigy was far greater than that of an ordinary martial artist.

Could it be that I've exposed too much lately, and that's why I caught someone's eye?

Lu Lin secretly pondered.

But going from the first to the second level of Body Tempering in three months, then from the second to the third in two months, was fast, but it wasn't too outrageous. It was still far from qualifying as a martial dao prodigy.

"I don't know about that."

The Goatee Steward shook his head.

"Then, Steward, do you know which immortal master it is?"

Lu Lin continued asking.

"I don't know. Tomorrow morning, someone will come to pick you up. Just prepare yourself."

The Goatee Steward said.

With a bellyful of doubts, Lu Lin returned to the shared bunkhouse.

Late at night, Lu Lin once again arrived at that pile of rubble.

No matter what changes occurred, improving his own strength was never wrong.

"First, I'll raise the Diamond Art to the sixth level."

Lu Lin took several Tendon Refining Pills from his inner space and stuffed them into his mouth, then poured his cultivation time into the Diamond Art.

With ample Tendon Refining Pills, Lu Lin progressed at divine speed. In total, he only used four years to raise the Diamond Art from the fourth level to the peak of the sixth level.

However, there were also not many of the two hundred Tendon Refining Pills left.

Lu Lin focused his mind. Above the Martial Dao Melting Furnace, the panel information had already updated:

Martial Dao Melting Furnace, Level 2: Owner, Lu Lin.

Cultivation: Ninth level of Body Tempering.

Cultivation time: One hundred twenty-five years and two months.

Martial arts techniques: Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art (sixth layer), Iron Elephant Body (sixth layer), Spirit Cat Art (ninth layer), Diamond Art (sixth layer).

Killing moves: Savage Elephant Charge (perfected); Spirit Cat Step (perfected), Spirit Flower Shadow-Flitting Step (not yet initiated); Demonic Ape Palm (perfected); Diamond Finger (not yet initiated)

Mining Essentials: perfected.

Spirit-Restraining Art: perfected.

Inner space: three feet.

Among them, Spirit Flower Shadow-Flitting Step was a killing move from the seventh layer onward of the Spirit Cat Art. It could mobilize the power of blood qi, sinews and flesh, and bones at the same time, twisting the three forces into one strand and unleashing them in an explosion. Its might far surpassed that of the first killing move.

For instance, the second killing move of the Demonic Ape Blood Qi Art was "Demonic Ape Dragon-Capturing Hand," and its power was tyrannically mighty.

Of course, the difficulty of cultivating it was also greater.

As for "Diamond Finger," it was the first killing move of the Diamond Art.

Lu Lin thought for a moment and decided to improve Iron Elephant Body first. After all, the first killing move of Iron Elephant Body had already been perfected. Once his cultivation rose, the power the killing move could unleash would be even stronger too.

The killing move of the Diamond Art, however, was still not yet initiated.

With a thought, a round, smooth pill appeared in his hand.

It was none other than a Bone-Protecting Pill.