Chapter 308: Hua Lin, Don’t Cry

　　Hua Lin sincerely wanted to take in the youth called Bai Zhiyuan as his disciple. As a good owner that loved his spiritual beasts and a Demigod practitioner who had focused on the spiritual beast taming business for several hundred years, Hua Lin could not resist a good youth who had a tenacious body akin to a spiritual beast. He was itching to take him in, and wanted to nurture him properly, train him meticulously… Eh, things are starting to sound weird?

　　As for spirit veins, the hell were they?

　　It had been many years since he encountered a good seedling that could stir his heart in such a manner. No matter what, he had to take him in under his tutelage. In order for that to happen, he would not hesitate to do anything, even if it’s taking in his master, or his master’s master under his tutelage as well.

　　In any case, being a master, grandmaster, or great grandmaster was of no concern. He felt that he could still accept those titles.

　　“Daoist Yu, just who is your master? Why don’t you call your master out? Don’t worry, I’m a really good master.” In the world of wandering practitioners, he had a very big say in things.

　　The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. If I call him out, you’re dead meat!

　　Even little tyrant silently turned his head away as well.

　　“Ahem, Sovereign Hua Lin, come over here for a bit.” Zhu Yao sighed, as she waved her hands at him with a darkened face, motioning him to come over.

　　“Mn?” Hua Lin was startled. Could it be that she was troubled with something? Thus, he curiously leaned over.

　　“I say, Hua Lin…” Zhu Yao brought him towards a corner of the stage, and patted on his shoulders. In an instant, she released her Demigod pressure, while restricting it to the area they were standing in.

　　Hua Lin’s legs trembled, and he was this close to kneeling down.

　　Late-stage Demigod!

　　Zhu Yao chuckled. “Who do you think my master could be?”

　　“…” His expression turned deathly pale. When did a late-stage Demigod appear among wandering practitioners? No one had informed him about it!

　　“Do you still want to meet my master now?”

　　He shook his head wildly!

　　“Hoho… Fellow daoist’s master has the blessings of a celestial, and the lifespan of the sky!”

　　“Mn, good boy!” He just had to force her hand. She was a kind person in the first place, you know? “Oh right, this is a secret. You understand, right?”

　　Hua Lin: “I understand.” ┭┮﹏┭┮

　　When Zhu Yao brought him back to the center of the stage, Hua Lin’s legs were still trembling a little. The girls now sure are brutal. As I thought, am I already outdated?

　　“Haah…” He looked at Bai Zhiyuan with a resentful look. If you already have a Demigod practitioner as your master, say so earlier! You made me lose face. “Daoist Bai, an encounter is still a form of fate. Though we do not have the fate of being of master and disciple, why don’t we… become friends?” Is it too late to mend our relationship? 

　　Little tyrant was startled for a moment. He turned to look at Zhu Yao, and when he saw her nodding her head, he nodded as well.

　　Hua Lin instantly revealed a flowery smile. Since they were friends, then let the matter of stealing away a disciple earlier be bygones.

　　“Oh right. Earlier, I saw that you address yourself as Bai Zhiyuan during the tournament. I believe that must be your mortal name. May I know what is your daoist title?”

　　Little tyrant was startled, and then, he turned to look at Zhu Yao.

　　Uh…

　　The hell, why did she forget about this matter?

　　Isn’t it just giving a name? Giving a name or whatever, is something she’s best at.

　　“He’s my disciple, so he naturally has to carry my surname Yu. His name is Yu… Ba!”

　　Hua Lin: “Yu Ba! Mighty and domineering! Such a good name!”

　　Zhu Yao: “Hoho, you have good eyes!”

　　Bathroom Heat Lamp (Yu Ba) Bai Zhi Yuan: “…” Why did he feel something was odd?

　　Hua Lin chatted with the two of them for half a day. Only then did Zhu Yao realize that this Demigod Sovereign, was a chattering box. If she had not interrupted him, she believed that he could have continued on for the entire day, all the way to the next morning. When Zhu Yao finally clearly expressed her intentions to leave, he unwillingly let them off.

　　Presently, the people around the arena had long gone off.

　　“Remember to come back often to play!” Hua Lin waved his hands at the two of them.

　　Just as Zhu Yao was about to fly off on her sword, from the corners of her eyes, she glanced at the Scaled Dragon which had been crying all day long on the tall stage. Sighing, she could not help but walk over.

　　“Stop crying.”

　　The Scaled Dragon was startled for a moment, and then he raised his head from the spiraling coil. Its large, reddened eyes glanced in her direction, and in an instant, they sparkled. It then let out a frail sound.

　　“Meow~”

　　“Good boy!”

　　The Scaled Dragon’s sadness finally began to dissipate, as it weakly stretch out the tip of its tail.

　　“Not angry?”

　　Finding it funny, Zhu Yao held onto the tip of its tail, and then shook it twice. “Mn, not angry.”

　　Its body instantly shook about…

　　It no longer kept its body in a coiled state, recovering its demeanour as a tyrannical Scaled Dragon, and it began to playfully twist and turn.

　　Hua Lin: (⊙▽⊙)

　　As expected of Daoist Yu! She really had skills in the arts of beast taming! Even this Scaled Dragon of his was no longer throwing a tantrum. As expected of a late-stage Demigod Sovereign.

　　Seeing Zhu Yao who had already flown off on her sword, admiration instantly filled Hua Lin’s heart.

　　Eh, wait a minute. What was that black figure following behind her?

　　The hell, it was his Scaled Dragon.

　　Come back! You’re my spiritual beast, hey!

　　Reputation Establishing Achievement, unlocked!

　　Zhu Yao had initially decided to return to Peaceful Spiritual Forest, but the spiritual energy within little tyrant’s body suddenly began to stir abnormally, and there were traces of him making a breakthrough. She had no choice but to change her plan in an instant and rented a cave residence to settle down in.

　　A week later, little tyrant successfully broken into the intermediate-stage Foundation level. It seemed like this tournament had greatly influenced the growth of his mental state. Just this single trip alone had risen his cultivation. In the future, she had to consider putting study trips and the like into her education plan.

　　“Grandma, let’s return to Peaceful Spiritual Forest tomorrow!”

　　“What’s the rush?” She was planning on going on a study trip now!

　　The corner of little tyrant’s lips twitched, as he shook the storage pouch in front of her eyes.

　　“What does that mean?”

　　“It’s empty!” He let out a long sigh. “Grandma… We don’t have any spirit stones left.”

　　“Uh…” That was a huge problem. “What happened to the spirit stones we brought out?”

　　He silently lowered his head, and looked at her hands.

　　She was holding onto a basket filled with Scentless Fruits.

　　“… Hohoho. Aiya, don’t mind such small details.” It was just that her mouth was itching a little, so she bought a little more than expected.

　　Little tyrant looked at her resentfully. “The spirit stones we brought out were gathered by demonic beasts.”

　　“…” Why did she feel like she was being seen as a prodigal?

　　“Why don’t… I refine some mystic artifacts and sell them?” She was rather confident in her crafting skills.

　　“We don’t have the materials.” (ˇ?ˇ)

　　“Why don’t… I craft a few talismans…”

　　“We don’t have the materials.” (ˇ?ˇ)

　　“Then let’s sell a few formation banners…”

　　“We don’t have the materials.” (ˇ?ˇ)

　　“Alright, let’s go home!” Let’s go and oppress that rich tycoon frog!

　　Just as they stepped out of the cave residence they rented, they bumped into a joyful Hua Lin who came to look for them. His dimples showed when he smiled, as he enthusiastically waved his hands at the two of them from afar.

　　“My dear little sister!”

　　“Little sister?” Who’s your little sister?

　　“Uh… Dear elder sister!”

　　Little spat out a mouthful of flames. She’s my elder sister!

　　“Uh… Dear friend!”

　　Cold air enveloped the surroundings. A certain master: A friend like this will steer my disciple astray.

　　“…” Then what should I address her as?

　　A while later.

　　“Fellow daoists, where are you two planning to go?”

　　“We ran out of money, so we’re returning home.” Zhu Yao replied.

　　Hua Lin was startled. A moment later, he let out a smile again. “So it’s because of such a small matter. Fellow daoists, say so earlier! If you don’t have spirit stones, I do!”

　　“…” You’re just here to flaunt your wealth, aren’t you?

　　Seeing that the two of them were not looking too good, he realized the ambiguity in his words. He immediately attempted to save himself. “What I’m meaning to say is, every single small or large establishment belongs to my Wandering City. If fellow daoists wish to stay, putting aside the cost of renting them, it isn’t even a problem to gift a cave residence to fellow daoists.” As he said that, he waved his hand. The formation core at the entrance used to place spirit stones with instantly flashed green.

　　“Thank you, Hua Lin!” Zhu Yao grabbed onto his hand in excitement. “We are friends from now on.”

　　“It’s my honor!”

　　“In that case, can you return me the rent we spent the last few days?”

　　“……”

　　“…”

　　Seeing that Zhu Yao did not look as if she was kidding, Hua Lin pulled out a pouch for storing spirit stones with a darkened expression. From it, he took out a high-grade spirit stone.

　　Before he could even pass it to her…

　　Zhu Yao casually swiped away… the pouch he was holding.

　　“Thank you. You’re truly a good person.”

　　The good person who was left with a single spirit stone: “…”

　　Zhu Yao immediately passed the pouch full of spirit stones to little tyrant, her household finance manager, and winked. Hurry and keep it. If it’s still not enough, we can ask this old man for more. In any case, he’s stupid and has lots of money.

　　“Ahem. Oh right, why are you looking for us?”

　　Hua Lin was startled, and only did he regain his senses. He suppressed the pain from losing a pouch of high-grade spirit stones, and said. “It’s like this. This one has a presumptuous request, which requires the help of daoist’s… disciple. This matter concerns the reputation of all wandering practitioners, and the face of my Wandering City. This is why I have no choice but to seek aid from fellow daoist.”

　　“Oh?” Zhu Yao was a little curious. “Tell me more.”

　　Hua Lin straightened his expression, and said with a stern tone. “Daoist Yu, do you know about the Great Inter-Sect Tournament?”

　　Zhu Yao nodded. “Of course! But what does that have to do with wandering practitioners?” The Great Inter-Sect Tournament naturally involved the participation from various sects and clans, but it did not have any relations with wandering practitioners which did not belong to any faction, right?

　　“In the past, yes. However, it’s different now.”

　　“Mn?” What did he mean?

　　Hua Lin sighed, motioning them to enter the residence. With a wave of his hand, he placed down a few formations before he began to explain. “Us wandering practitioners have always been on the weaker end, and most of us consist of disciples with a terrible mix of spirit veins. This led to us not being fated to enter the various sects, and had no choice but to take the four seas as our home. This was an ill fate in the first place, yet we still had to succumb to the pressure by the various sects and clans, leading to our ever dwindling resources. If we were to start calculating, we are basically worse off compared to heretic practitioners.” At the very least, heretic practitioners could still openly snatch what they wanted, while wandering practitioners had to take care of their own reputation. “When I constructed this Wandering City back then, I merely wanted to provide wandering practitioners a peaceful and safe haven. However, in these few years, though the various sects did not dare to do anything in the open, they had constantly made small movements in the dark. Not to mention, they are always watching my Wandering City. It’s still fine if I’m around, but once my lifespan is depleted, I’m afraid that no one will be able to protect this city.”

　　Zhu Yao frowned. Wandering practitioners were indeed experiencing the worst lives out of all practitioners. Many of them were people who were disqualified by the various sects due to their terrible spirit veins. However, because they did not want to reduce themselves to mere heretic practitioners, they continued to live on without feeling embarrassed. Naturally, they would be oppressed everywhere they went.

　　“Then, what plans do you have?” Could it be that he wanted to seek revenge against the various sects and clans?

　　“I wish to prove the power of wandering practitioners to the various sects.” Hua Lin smiled, his old face seemed to be emitting a radiant glow. “I wish to prove to the various sects, that even with poor aptitudes, we are not just targets that can be bullied easily. So, in this upcoming Great Inter-Sect Tournament, my Wandering City will participate as well.”

　　“You’re thinking of having my disciple, represent Wandering City in the tournament?”