The Inner Gate Examination!

"Absurd!"

Word of Lin Jing's feasting at the Outer Sect Canteen reached quite a few people, including Elder Li Hai, who had established the Demon Hunting Hall.

After learning that Elder Yu was indeed giving him free rein, he said, "This Lin Jing has a special constitution, doesn't he? Even with a special constitution, this preferential treatment is going too far."

"The more talented a disciple is, the more he ought to grow through tremendous trials. Coddling them will only waste their talent. Throughout history, haven't most of those who attained great divine abilities done so with ordinary bodies?"

"Master, there's nothing we can do. How many geniuses with special constitutions are willing to join the Beast Taming Sect? Now that someone is willing, the sect naturally has to pamper him," an eagle demon beside him said. "Of the people with special constitutions Elder Mo brought back, everyone except this fellow and Ouyang Hao has already achieved Foundation Establishment and become a True Disciple. Denying them preferential treatment would surely chill their hearts."

"Preferential treatment is fine," Elder Li said. "But there must be limits! The Demon Hunting Hall disciples' performance during their training in the Great Wilderness this time only strengthened my conviction. In cultivation... character should come first!"

"Look at Luo Yu. His aptitude is ordinary, but through his own ruthlessness, grit, and cunning, he induced two demon beasts at the qi refining ninth layer to slaughter each other. In the end, a mere mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator like him reaped the fisherman's reward and obtained demon beast blood to temper his body!"

"No, although I don't know what this Lin Jing's situation is or what constitution he has, I can't watch him sink into such depravity! I'll ask him whether he wants to join the Demon Hunting Hall!"

"Master, he belongs to Elder Mo! Can you beat him in a fight?" the eagle demon asked, watching Elder Li rise.

"I can't beat him?" Elder Li turned an icy gaze on the eagle demon. "Aside from the sect master and those few Nascent Soul ancestors, when have I ever feared anyone in my own realm?"

"You're not afraid, but I'm the one who gets beaten," the eagle demon said. "Master, let's wait until after the Inner Gate Examination. If that boy performs poorly, won't you have a reason to take him under your wing then?"

"Very well," Elder Li said. "We'll wait until after the examination."

Fortunately, Elder Mo and Elder Yu knew nothing of Elder Li's thoughts. Otherwise, they would surely have pummeled the old fool who wanted to force needless suffering on someone with a Longevity Body.

In the courtyard.

Patting his belly, Lin Jing swayed his way into a bamboo chair and lay back to read.

He was reading... announcements for previous years' Inner Gate Examinations.

Over the years, the format of the Inner Gate promotion examination had remained much the same. The elders couldn't be bothered to devise new tricks every year; at most, they made minor adjustments while leaving the overall rules unchanged.

"At registration, cultivation will be checked. Only those whose Beast Tamer or pet beast has reached the qi refining seventh layer or higher may participate in the Survival Trial!"

"For the Survival Trial, the Beast Taming Sect will drop eligible outer sect disciples on the outskirts of the Great Wilderness and require them to survive there for three days."

"During this process, disciples can earn examination points. The stronger the demon beasts they hunt, the more points they earn. Competition between disciples is also encouraged. Eliminating other disciples awards more points than hunting demon beasts!"

"But the most points come from... subduing demon beasts!"

"If you can make a wild demon beast follow you and acknowledge you as its master in the Great Wilderness, you can earn far more points than by killing demon beasts or eliminating other disciples!" Lin Jing recalled how Senior Brother Ouyang had subdued the tiger demon.

"In the end... after three days, the eight people with the highest scores will pass the examination."

"And that... isn't the end! The eight who pass must choose the Inner Peak they wish to join and undergo a 'Talent Assessment.'"

"For instance, if a disciple chooses Cinnabar Glow Peak, its elders will give them an initial introduction to the Alchemy Art. If they prove inefficient at learning the Alchemy Art during this period and show no talent for it, Cinnabar Glow Peak will refuse to accept them and toss them to another peak."

Lin Jing looked over the resources that examination points could be exchanged for in previous years.

Sure enough, there were Storage Bags. The largest... actually held ten cubic meters!

However, he also discovered that the points required for that Storage Bag were outrageous. Even hunting dozens of demon beasts at the qi refining ninth layer probably wouldn't earn enough.

They clearly... had no intention of letting disciples exchange for it!

"I can already predict that the Storage Bag Elder Black Bear delivers later won't satisfy the Pineleaf Squirrel." Given the Pineleaf Squirrel's hoarding speed, putting even a little ordinary spirit rice or spirit beans in the Storage Bag would leave it woefully inadequate.

"Before I contracted it, I promised to give it a Storage Bag. This opportunity... is the best one."

"The Inner Gate Examination... in two months!"

Lin Jing's eyes flickered.

"I've hardly ever heard of any disciples coming to harm in past promotion examinations. Barring anything unexpected, the examination must be conducted under the elders' protection, and the outskirts of the Great Wilderness must have been specially cleared out. In that case, perhaps I can be a little bolder."

With a new goal, Lin Jing continued preparing for the Inner Gate promotion examination with the Pineleaf Squirrel.

Their daily routine should have become cultivation, hoarding, and meals at the canteen. However, worried that their constant feasting there would create a bad impression, Elder Yu granted Lin Jing the same privilege as the wild spirit beasts the sect had subdued.

Doorstep delivery of meals.

Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel no longer needed to visit the canteen themselves. At mealtimes each day, the canteen would package up a large quantity of dishes and deliver them to Lin Jing's home.

Neither Lin Jing nor the Pineleaf Squirrel had imagined that the dull work of cultivation... could be so joyful.

Time flew like a shuttle, the years sped like arrows.

In the blink of an eye, another two months and more had passed. Lin Jing grew increasingly accustomed to his new life in the Beast Taming Sect. Several months together had deepened his rapport with the Pineleaf Squirrel and their dependence on each other. Perhaps its habits had rubbed off on him, because even Lin Jing wanted to hoard some resources now.

Over those two months, the Pineleaf Squirrel successfully reached the qi refining seventh layer, while Lin Jing reached the third layer of Qi Refining, mainly because the resources they enjoyed every day rivaled those of True Disciples.

With such vast resources, other exceptionally talented pet beasts or cultivators might already have reached the peak of Qi Refining. In their case, however, the Pineleaf Squirrel had simply devoted much of its energy to hoarding... Though its cultivation hadn't risen much, it had packed the Storage Bag Elder Black Bear later delivered completely full, leaving not a single gap.

Any one item taken from it would be a trump card for another Qi Refining cultivator, yet it... had an entire bagful.

To the Pineleaf Squirrel, this mattered far more than cultivating to the qi refining ninth layer. It brimmed with a sense of security, leaving its heart at ease.

Lin Jing, meanwhile, was simply held back by his Longevity Body. Despite the abundant resources and the feedback from the Pineleaf Squirrel, he still fell somewhat short of the fourth layer of qi refining. And this... was still the Qi Refinement Realm, the easiest of all the realms to cultivate through.

Lin Jing estimated that unless he obtained the complete Beast Taming Cultivation Art and contracted more pet beasts, the Pineleaf Squirrel alone might not be able to carry him forward.

"Let's go."

Today was registration day for the Inner Gate Examination. Once registration was complete, they would probably have to head to the examination site.

Lin Jing called to the Pineleaf Squirrel.

"Squeak!" The Pineleaf Squirrel spread its arms and donned its Daoist robe. This was no longer the one from Elder Black Bear, but one Lin Jing had made himself in imitation... Hanging the Storage Bag inside the robe made it easier to carry.

"Oh, right. We're taking this too." Lin Jing walked over to the spirit rice paddy and picked up a palm-sized Mechanical Bamboo Turtle Watering Can, which had a cannon barrel mounted on its back and was spraying water.