The Bully Sect

"As expected of a Body Cultivator. He could still move after taking a whole volley. Gave me a fright."

Lin Jing shook the droplets from the gun's muzzle. Ignoring his fellow disciples' looks of utter disbelief, he turned to the Pineleaf Squirrel as it returned in delight.

"Squeak!!!" This was so much more satisfying than the Inner Gate Examination!!

"You. Fucking. Bastard!" The Snowfield cultivator's lips moved faintly, but no sound emerged. His ravaged body made movement difficult, and his consciousness gradually blurred. He simply could not understand what was going on with this Beast-Taming Cultivator.

Thud.

As the gravely wounded Snowfield cultivator collapsed, the Green-Robed Scholar, the Female Alchemist, and the Young Swordsman all turned their gazes toward Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel.

"Qi Refining Third Layer? Qi Refining Seventh Layer?"

They had all discerned Lin Jing's and the Pineleaf Squirrel's cultivation levels. The squirrel's cultivation at least passed muster, but Lin Jing's was far too low.

Yet despite that low cultivation, he had utterly crushed this Foreign Body Cultivator. It was absurd.

"Is that a Mechanism Construct?!" the Green-Robed Scholar asked. "Wait, are you a Beast Tamer or a Mechanist?"

"Does it matter?" Lin Jing lowered the Mechanism Bamboo Gun.

Staring at the Mechanism Construct in Lin Jing's hands, the other three grew wary. Mechanists were always like this. Their own cultivation might not be high, but their strength... all lay in their Mechanism Constructs!

Even these geniuses from other sects had grown wary. The Beast Taming Sect's own disciples were even more bewildered.

Seeing Lin Jing's composed expression, even the disciples from the Demon Hunting Hall looked slightly shaken. Wait... was Lin Jing planning to compete against them in the Inner Gate Examination with that thing?

What kind of joke was this...?

"Junior Brother, this thing of yours..." Senior Brother Ziran said. "There's no bad blood between us, right? Probably?"

"What are you saying, Senior Brother? Of course not," Lin Jing said. "I prepared this to deal with Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts during the examination."

As he spoke, he aimed the Mechanism Bamboo Gun at the Green-Robed Scholar, the Female Alchemist, and the Young Swordsman. "You three, I got rid of the Snowfield cultivator for you. It's not unreasonable for me to use this Golden Bodhi Tree, is it?"

"I take it you're the true prodigy of the Beast Taming Sect chosen by the Grotto Heaven." The Green-Robed Scholar brushed the dust off his clothes. "Impressive. I never imagined the Beast Taming Sect would produce a genius Mechanist."

"But using Mechanism Constructs requires vast amounts of energy, and low-level constructs aren't very durable. After such a fierce assault just now, your construct... probably doesn't have much energy left, does it? Its Mechanism Structure must be close to breaking down, too."

Lin Jing reached out, swapped in another bamboo magazine, and pulled the trigger straight at the Green-Robed Scholar.

"You and that baldy have been running your mouths from the start." As his words fell, water arrows sprayed out again, making the Green-Robed Scholar's expression change. He had witnessed the Snowfield Body Cultivator's miserable fate and did not dare take this Mechanism Construct's attacks head-on.

"Verbal Spears and Swords!" He parted his lips slightly, and the breath within his mouth transformed into a sky full of spears and swords. They shot forward, intercepting the water arrows in midair. Having learned from the Snowfield cultivator's fate, he intercepted them halfway rather than letting them approach him before exploding.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

The Mechanism Bamboo Gun's attacks still had considerable drawbacks, allowing the Green-Robed Scholar to block them once he reacted. But by the time Lin Jing emptied a magazine, the scholar's mouth and tongue were parched from repeatedly unleashing Verbal Spears and Swords.

He quickly took out a Spirit-Replenishing Pill. Just as he was about to swallow it, he discovered a red leaf already pressed against his neck, drawing a line of blood.

The Green-Robed Scholar looked at the Pineleaf Squirrel on Lin Jing's shoulder.

It was staring at his Storage Bag.

Two against one.

"I concede." The Green-Robed Scholar drew a deep breath. "Thank you for showing mercy. I am Xu Zhizhi of Sacred Fortune City in the Literary Domain."

"Tang Seng of the Beast Taming Sect." Lin Jing removed the bamboo magazine and inserted a fresh one.

Xu Zhizhi's eyelid twitched.

Did you know you'd be entering a Grotto Heaven today? How are you this well prepared?!

Lin Jing turned his gaze toward the Female Alchemist and the Young Swordsman.

Although disgruntled, Xu Zhizhi still walked toward the Silver Bodhi Tree, intending to quit while he was ahead.

As a man of letters, fighting was not his forte!

"An uncouth fellow. A Beast-Taming Cultivator won't comprehend anything worthwhile even with the Golden Bodhi Tree. What a waste."

But unexpectedly, Lin Jing's Pineleaf Squirrel jumped beneath the Silver Bodhi Tree ahead of him.

It took a Miniature Mechanism Bamboo Gun from its own Storage Bag and mounted it on the ground. Lying prone, it aimed beside the approaching Xu Zhizhi and fired a shot.

Boom!

Its power was undiminished.

Xu Zhizhi stopped in his tracks.

"Sorry, the Golden Bodhi Tree is mine, and the Silver Bodhi Tree is its. The two of us weren't planning to share one," Lin Jing said.

"What?!!!" Xu Zhizhi was furious. Isn't it your pet beast? You two need separate trees?!

"Sir, one shouldn't be too greedy!"

"If we were greedy, you'd already be dead, and you could forget about keeping your Storage Bag. After all, that item has a karmic affinity with my pet beast," Lin Jing said. "Opportunities belong to those capable of claiming them. I think that's perfectly reasonable. If we couldn't beat you, I'd naturally withdraw. Everyone being reasonable and competing fairly, amicably, and harmoniously sounds good to me."

In the Pineleaf Squirrel's eyes, Storage Bags were extraordinarily precious.

Still, Lin Jing had stopped short with Xu Zhizhi. Ninety-nine percent of cultivators from the Literary Domain ultimately entered court service as officials. As a genius of the Literary Domain, this fellow surely had a considerable background. He might even already hold office in some city of the Ancient Kingdom. Unlike the foreign Snowfield cultivator, he was not someone Lin Jing wanted to make an enemy of for the Beast Taming Sect over a single Storage Bag.

"Are you two just going to let him monopolize two Bodhi Trees? This fellow is even worse than that Snowfield cultivator!" The Green-Robed Scholar appealed to the Female Alchemist and the Young Swordsman, hoping to join forces.

The Young Swordsman, who had remained taciturn throughout, still said nothing.

"Let's join forces," the Female Alchemist said. "This squirrel isn't cute at all. How is even his pet beast a Mechanist?"

The Young Swordsman... finally drew his sword, tacitly agreeing to the proposal. He was not confident he could defeat Lin Jing alone.

"What kind of heroes gang up on someone outnumbered?" At that moment, Senior Sister Qin Caixin stepped out from among the Beast Taming Sect disciples. "Don't forget, there are still seven of us from the Beast Taming Sect."

"Senior Brothers, we entered this Grotto Heaven by accident in the first place. With our strength, its opportunities are probably beyond our reach. In that case, we might as well help Junior Brother Lin Jing fight. We can't let outsiders use their numbers to bully us as though the Beast Taming Sect has no one to stand up for it."

"Junior Sister Caixin is right." Senior Brother Ziran stroked his Fire Spirit Sparrow. "During the examination, we're competitors, but outside the sect, we're all disciples of the Beast Taming Sect. Elder Li also said that if these opportunities were beyond our reach, we should give Junior Brother Lin our full support."

"We might not be strong, but everyone here is in the Qi Refinement Realm. These three don't look like they have that Body Cultivator's terrifying defenses. Taking a surprise hit won't feel good for them, either." He Yiming also felt the three Bodhi Trees were beyond his reach, so he had his Battle Ape unwrap the White Cloth, revealing the hoe, intending to put a little pressure on the other three.

"All right." The four Demon Hunting Hall disciples exchanged glances. They, too, understood the situation clearly, and together with their pet beasts, they fixed their sights on the other three.

Since not every disciple could secure an opportunity, they would give their full support to one genius of their sect and make the most of what was available.

Lin Jing's performance had already convinced these fellow disciples. Besides, they had only gotten into the Grotto Heaven by tagging along in the first place.

Sure enough, as the Beast Taming Sect disciples united against their common foes, creating a sixteen-against-three situation, the other three began to feel some pressure, even though they thought none of the others besides Lin Jing were particularly strong.

"What Beast Taming Sect? You're clearly the Bully Sect!" the Female Alchemist fumed. Sixteen of them, humans and beasts combined, and they still accused her side of ganging up on someone outnumbered.

"Thank you, Senior Brothers," Lin Jing said gratefully.

Lin Jing still could not tell what trump cards the other three geniuses held. Having his own side make a stronger show of force could only help. Grotto Heavens were hard to encounter, and opportunities were hard to come by. He did not want to miss out. He wanted to maximize both his and the Pineleaf Squirrel's opportunities as far as their abilities allowed.

As he spoke, under the silent gazes of the Green-Robed Scholar, the Female Alchemist, the Young Swordsman, and the Beast Taming Sect disciples, he took out a Mechanism Bamboo Turtle. "Don't worry, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters. I have another Mechanical Beast. Three against three, my side isn't outnumbered. Just look after your own safety."

The next moment, the turtle, the same color as the Mechanism Bamboo Gun, aimed its cannon muzzle at the enemy. The sight gave the Green-Robed Scholar a slight ache in the balls. He had no doubt whatsoever that this cannon could fire attacks just like the ones from before.

Damn it, this is a Qi Refinement cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect? The Green-Robed Scholar felt as though all his learning had gone to the dogs. This man and this squirrel were nothing like the Beast Taming Sect cultivators he remembered. Whose squirrel carries a Mechanism Construct around?!