At the Chen household.
Chen Wenlin stared darkly at the letter in his hands.
Chen Yuanyuan was standing obediently across him, still terrified of her father. Especially after realizing that her father was genuinely furious, she dared not show any defiance despite her reluctance to surrender.
She had snuck a peek at the letter on her way back so she knew what was going on.
‘This Lin Jin doesn’t know what’s good for him. Just because he became a Rank 2 beast appraiser, he thinks he’s all that. Hmph! To me, he’s still a country bumpkin, a piece of trash! Yang Jie is still more impressive than he is,’ Chen Yuanyuan pondered. At the thought of Yang Jie of the Friar Association, her cheeks flushed.
“You can leave now!” Chen Wenlin waved dismissively, chasing Chen Yuanyuan out.
When Chen Wenlin was left alone in the room, he put the letter down.
Not a single word appeared on that piece of paper.
It was blank.
A wordless letter.
Other people might be puzzled but this was Chen Wenlin we were talking about. A man who had built up his empire from scratch and made the Chen family what it was today. How could a man as experienced as him in society not understand what the letter meant?
Lin Jin’s stance was clear by letting Chen Yuanyuan bring home a wordless letter.
The emptiness meant that he had nothing to say.
In other words, he was speechless.
Lin Jin only had one word to describe the Chen family’s behavior, and it was ‘speechless’.
Just as the saying went, ‘when in the face of an undesired pany, even a single word is considered too many’. What Lin Jin tried to convey in this letter was that they could never regain the friendship they once had.
And Chen Wenlin regretted this.
With a sullen face, he mumbled to himself, “Who knew that this Lin Jin would rise above and make such an impressive eback. I’ve miscalculated. Had I known he was capable of fighting back, I would have extended him a helping hand during his darkest hours. Indeed, it’s near-impossible to remedy that now. But young people are easily excited and ignorant in networking. Once his fury subsides, I just have to pull a few tricks and he would e back in time.”
Then, Chen Wenlin called for his steward.
“Did Yuanyuan go looking for that Yang Jie at the Friar Association again today?” Chen Wenlin asked.
Clearly a confidant of Chen Wenlin’s, the steward nodded at once. “Master, it’s not like you don’t know the young miss’s intentions. She’s so deeply infatuated by that Yang Jie that she even declared that she’s willing to bee his mistress.”
“Nonsense! This is plete nonsense!” Chen Wenlin flared up in anger. “I’ve heard about this Yang Jie. His current predicament is a waste of his talents and someone like him is destined to soar to greater heights. If she can successfully bee his mistress, that’s fine too. But I’m afraid it might just be wishful thinking that would waste away Yuanyuan’s youth without benefiting her. pared to him, Lin Jin is much easier to control. A Rank 2 beast appraiser, tsk tsk. Just this title is enough to promote our family into a prestigious clan. When that time es, we might just be on par with the Gao and Zu family. Go, have someone make a plaque and deliver it to Lin Jin at the Beast Appraisal Association tomorrow. Looks like we’re gonna have to play the long game to boil this frog.”
“Yes, Master. I will see to it right away!” The steward left only to return briefly after.
“What it is?” Chen Wenlin asked with a frown.
The steward answered quietly, “Master, the Shi family’s son-in-law, Wu Chenwei is here!”
Chen Wenlin’s eye lit up and quickly said, “That’s great! Send him in at once. Whether or not our Chen family can soar to greater heights in Maple City depends on this man.”
***
The Friar Association was entirely different from the Beast Appraisal Association.
Just like chefs and street performers, both were pletely unrelated.
The only similarity they had was the reliance on pet beasts.
However, one specialized in research and treating them while the other utilized pet beasts to raise their bat abilities through the study of blood contract cultivation and spell-casting.
After Lin Jin applied for a short leave from Tan Lin, he hurried over to the Friar Association.
This Friar Association was so much larger than the Beast Appraisal Association. Relatively speaking, this place seemed more like an ‘academy’.
The association entrance exam was similar to college entrance exams, being held only once a year. Moreover, it was a unified national exam with many candidates taking part in it.
Should he have waited for the entrance exams?
That wasn’t realistic because it would be too late by then.
Hence, Lin Jin asked Lu Yunhe yesterday if there were any other methods to get him in and Lu Yunhe gave him a suggestion.
That was to get a remendation from one of the association’s mentors.
This was the only way to enter the association without having to take the exams.
The Friar Association didn’t have many mentors but they were all amazing individuals who weren’t exactly lenient. However, with his connection to Lu Yunhe, Lin Jin was hopeful that he would be introduced to Lu Yunhe’s mentor, Huangfu Ming.
Nonetheless, Lu Yunhe had told Lin Jin in advance not to get his hopes up. He had put it bluntly that his mentor was a righteous and stern man who didn’t tolerate everyone. And offering remendations in place of entrance exams were something Huangfu Ming had never done before.
Still, Lin Jin insisted so Lu Yunhe could do nothing but agree to introducing him and putting in a good word for him. If this didn’t work, there was no other way he could help.
Lu Yunhe didn’t understand why Lin Jin suddenly wanted to join the Friar Association. But with a personality just like Lu Xiaoyun’s, he couldn’t contain his curiosity and simply asked.
Lin Jin cut straight to the chase and said it was for the dragon blood pill.
Upon hearing this, Lu Yunhe shook his head. For this Friar’s Tournament, every member of the Friar Association, besides the mentors, was allowed to join the petition. There would be tons of experts peting so it was impossible to win the championship.
“Even I wouldn’t dare to dream it,” Lu Yunhe answered honestly.
But evidently, that wasn’t enough to stop Lin Jin.
Hence, he could only let Lin Jin be as Lu Yunhe mused, ‘The Friar Association is different from the Beast Appraisal Association. pletely different. While it’s true that you’re remarkable in appraising and treating pet beasts, but the Friar Association doesn’t pete in appraisal or treatment skills. We pete in our blood contract cultivation and spell-casting.’
After receiving Lin Jin at the gates, Lu Yunhe led him into a quiet yard inside the Friar Association.
“Brother Lin, I still think this isn’t appropriate. Why don’t you reconsider your plan?” Lu Yunhe was hoping to advise Lin Jin one last time against this ‘impulsive decision’ of his.
Lin Jin smiled and said, “You don’t have to persuade me. I’ve already made up my mind.”
“Alright, then I’ll say no more.” Lu Yunhe had Lin Jin wait outside in the courtyard for a moment before entering the hall. Then, he reappeared and said, “e on in, Brother Lin. I’ve explained to him the current situation. When you meet my mentor, Mr. Huangfu, you have to mind your manners. He’s quite particular about this.”
Lin Jin nodded. “Thanks. e to my house tonight with Lu Ba. I’ll help him evolve.”
Lu Yunhe’s eyes lit up at this.
“That’s a promise.”
“Yeah!”
This courtyard was rather quiet. Along the stone-paved pathway, many young cultivators could be seen studying or practicing their skills.
In an open space up ahead, a group of young cultivators was sitting cross-legged on the floor as an old man gave a lecture with his hands behind his back. The young cultivators were visibly listening to his lecture intently.
Lin Jin noticed a pond not too far away, and there was something inside it.
“My mentor is in the middle of a lesson right now so please wait at the side for a bit, Brother Lin,” Lu Yunhe said quietly.
Lin Jin was curious. “Don’t you have to listen too?”
Lu Yunhe replied with a smug look, “These are the newers and I’m their senior. Whenever he’s busy, I’m the one in charge of teaching them.”
“Oh!”
Lin Jin hadn’t realized that Lu Yunhe was this amazing.
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