Chapter 727: Unsuitable To Be Judged With The Standard System Of Judgment
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
After injecting a stream of his mana into Luo Yao’s body to extract a little bit of the medicinal powers, Lin Feng instantly realized that simply relying on his consciousness was insufficient.
Luo Yao’s soul and essence was not completely balanced.
It was as if something that was not supposed to be there had been inserted into a vessel.
This trace of discoordination was so thin and weak that it could almost be completely disregarded.
The truth was that no matter how closely Luo Yao’s soul and essence were pieced together with almost no leaks, it was ultimately not a complete single entity. This was different from the souls and physical bodies of normal people.
Not many people could detect this tiny difference. The reason was because there were no observable problems from Luo Yao’s physical appearance. Even immortal soul stage cultivators would be unable to detect without careful observation.
The problem was that there would never be an immortal soul stage cultivator with nothing to do but observe a youth that seemed as normal as normal could be. Even if this immortal soul stage cultivator wanted to take him in as a disciple, all he would do would be to sweep Luo Yao’s Innate Ability and Talent values with his consciousness; tiny unusual details such as this was still likely to be missed out.
Even Lin Feng himself very nearly overlooked this. If not for the reaction of the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl, he would not have been to persistent about scrutinizing this young man.
The reason was because Luo Yao’s soul and essence was fused together too well, almost to the point where there were no loopholes at all. The circumstance was extremely similar to other normal people.
"This man’s soul is simple and clear, and he does not seem like the kind with complicated memories and experiences. I don’t think he’s aware of his own anomaly."
"Interesting, very interesting," Lin Feng clucked his tongue in amazement. "What is his connection to the three mountains in the Ying Sea, to the Heavenly Oyster’s Golden Pearl, or the Hades’ Dark Mantra?"
Lin Feng looked up Luo Yao in the system. The system’s explanation was intriguing and this piqued Lin Feng’s interest even more. "This person cannot be judged with the standard system of judgment. This person has already recognized another as master, and only once this master-disciple relationship has been dissolved can he become a disciple of the Host, and only then can his Potential Value be displayed after switching up the system of judgment."
The ‘standard system of judgement’ simply referred to the standards for gauging and allocating the four Talent and Potential Values of humans.
Lin Feng had come across a situation like Luo Yao’s before. When he was assessing Tun Tun and Lin Tong, the system would switch up the system typically used for humans and replace it with a system that was typically used to assess demons or other non-human entities.
The corner of Lin Feng’s mouth curled into a smile. "Could this man’s identity be part-demon or part-monster?"
After flying for a while, the purple light that was directing Lin Feng stopped before a small island before dissipating in the sky as tiny dots of light.
Lin Feng brought Luo Yao down into the island and immediately swept the area with his consciousness. He instantly felt the presence of two nascent soul beginner stage cultivators, along with a few aurous core stage cultivators and a couple of foundation establishment stage cultivators.
They proceeded deeper and deeper into the island and arrived inside a thick patch of forest and vegetation. When they were getting relatively near, Lin Feng released his aura and announced his arrival.
"Who goes there?" The other person appeared relatively tired and exhausted, but was clearly vigilant and aware. Once Lin Feng released his aura, his ‘scent’ was immediately picked up. However this person seemed furious and upset. After all, Lin Feng was only detected when he was already so near to him and his company of people. If Lin Feng harbored any intentions to harm the, the entire company would be endangered.
A male nascent soul stage cultivator was taking point as he walked up to Lin Feng carefully and warily. He watched Lin Feng with vigilant eyes as the other aurous core stage and foundation establishment cultivators followed closely behind him. Everybody was on guard.
Including the nascent soul stage cultivator, everybody had injuries of some sort. Some were heavier and some were lighter, and it was clear that they were part of the continuous bloody conflict with the demon races.
At least they could tell that Lin Feng’s aura was human. If it were the rippling of demonic mana, the other party would not even bother with greetings – it was fight or flight. Either they tucked tail and ran, or they launched their assaults without any further hesitation.
However, they were still on their toes. They were still unsure whether Lin Feng was friend or foe. The other nascent soul stage cultivator had yet to show his face – in fact, he was doing all he could to mask his own aura to remain hidden just in case.
The male nascent soul stage cultivator in front of Lin Feng now was heavily injured. The female nascent soul stage cultivator that was trying to keep herself hidden sustained far lighter injuries. It was clear that the strategy they were trying to employ was to keep the stronger cultivator hidden in the case of unforeseen circumstances, while the weaker one kept the potential adversary busy.
However, no matter how hard she tried to hide herself, it was nothing compared to the penetrating power of Lin Feng’s consciousness.
Still, Lin Feng did not care too much. He shook his sleeves a little and released Luo Yao. Luo Yao’s face immediately lit up when he saw the company of people in front of him. "Thank God you’re all okay!"
The male nascent soul stage cultivator in front of everyone also appeared relieved when he saw Luo Yao.
However, the aurous core stage and foundation establishment stage cultivators’ expressions changed immediately after as their eyes bounced between Lin Feng and Luo Yao.
There was a female cultivator amongst them with light golden locks and was clad in a green robe. Her hair was only tied up with a single silver-colored ring, and her soft hair swayed in the wind.
She shot Luo Yao a look as she began to speak. Her voice was pleasant and sounded sweet, like the chirping of an oriole. However, her tone was overbearing and was the complete opposite of how her voice sounded like. "Who’s this guy, Big Luo? Did you bring him here?"
Luo Yao shook his head. "He found this place all by himself."
A young man beside the pretty female cultivator furrowed his brows. "This senior has yet to form the immortal soul. How can he find his way here just like that?"
Luo Yao laughed sheepishly but said nothing to explain himself. Even now, he was still amazed by Lin Feng’s abilities. He did not want to be misunderstood and distrusted by his old mates, but this wrongful accusation was simply too difficult to be explained.
Lin Feng took everything in at the side. He was musing to himself. "Heh! Big Luo…"
Even though he knew that the way this young lady addressed Luo Yao was most likely due to his height, Lin Feng still found it quite comical.
The original meaning of the two words referred to something that was eternal and omnipresent across all time and space.
This nickname was not something that could be used casually. Still, nobody would call a Qi cultivation stage cultivator out on something like this.
"Jinxi, Zhendong, enough nonsense."
The male nascent soul stage cultivator turned to frown at the young lady and the young man beside her. The two of them were his disciples – the young lady was called Yun Jinxi, and the young man’s name was Cao Zhendong.
After telling off his disciples, he clasped his hands together and greeted Lin Feng. "I am the disciple of Master Huang, who is the second disciple of the Luofu Holy Man. My name is Mu Yu. How may I address you, and what is your purpose here?"
"If you have also been besieged by demons, you can join our company so we can watch each other’s backs and journey towards the Luofu Mystical Island together."
Even though Mu Yu sustained severe injuries and looked a little unkempt, his disposition was free and easy. He gave people a kind of warmth, and spoke with generosity and dignity.
He glanced at Luo Yao as he continued, "Luo Yao is my junior. He’s always been rather blunt and staid, so I shall apologize on his behalf if he has unintentionally offended you. Please don’t blame him."
Lin Feng had a minor revelation. Even though he was not too clear about the details, he had previously received an introduction about the situation on the Luofu Mystical Island from the Kui Cow King.
The cultivators anchoring down the Luofu Mystical Island, besides the Luofu Holy Man whose level of mastery was way off the charts, there were his four main disciples.
The Luofu Holy Man had been alive for a long time, and even though he never established his own sect, the disciples that he took in over his lifetime was surely more than four. Perhaps they perished in battle, or perhaps they simply lived to the end of their lives before they formed the immortal soul. At the moment, there were only four of them.
The eldest disciple was in the immortal soul stage. When the Luofu Holy Man was not present, this individual directed the happenings on the Luofu Mystical Island. He roamed the East Sea as the Luofu Holy Man’s representative and settled things on his behalf.
The second-eldest disciple was Mu Yu’s master. He was in the nascent soul advanced stage and was named Huang Ming. He was extremely adept in the forging of medicinal items such as magical pills, and was touted as the best in his craft amongst the people under the immortal soul stage within the East Sea. Even some people in the immortal soul stage had pill-forging skills inferior to his.
Even though Mu Yu was only in the nascent soul beginner stage, he was a disciple of Huang Ming after all. There was no wonder that he could forge the Nine Spirals Golden Pill.
Lin Feng did not restrict Luo Yao’s autonomy and let him return to Mu Yu’s side.
Yun Jinxi looked at Luo Yao and asked, "Are you okay?" and Luo Yao answered, "I’m fine. This senior did not do anything to me."
Cao Zhendong grunted at Luo Yao’s reply as he muttered under his breath, "Of course he won’t do anything to you." He was ultimately wary of Lin Feng and Mu Yu’s presence so he kept his voice down. The meaning of his statement was clear that Lin Feng intended for Luo Yao to be his guide.
Yun Jinxi said, "Senior Zhendong, this senior is a powerful nascent soul stage cultivator. Even though we can’t tell his exact capability, it’s definitely beyond Big Luo to do anything about it. Stop picking on him."
Even though she was trying to defend Luo Yao, it was rather conspicuous that she agreed with Cao Zhendong’s judgment.
The other aurous core stage cultivators all nodded their heads upon hearing their exchange.
Luo Yao’s lips trembled a little but said nothing more.
Lin Feng was unfazed by the conniving discussion the youths were having. He turned towards Mu Yu and asked, "I am here to inquire about one thing. Besides the Nine Spirals Golden Pill, have you also forged the Mystical Pill of Clouds and Smoke?"
Mu Yu looked down and contemplated his response. The reason why Lin Feng brought Luo Yao back to them was surely because he detected the medicinal effects inside Luo Yao’s body and discovered the identity to be that of the Nine Spirals Golden Pill. That was nothing too out of the ordinary. If he knew about the Nine Spirals Golden Pill, then he definitely also knew that the Nine Spirals Golden Pill was used together with the Mystical Pill of Clouds and Smoke.
However, Lin Feng’s intentions for asking him about the Mystical Pill of Clouds and Smoke was worth mulling over.
Mu Yu was Huang Ming’s disciple and knew that his master coveted the opportunity to break through to the immortal soul stage but never had the chance. Huang Ming banked his hopes on the birth of the Three Mountains of the Ying Sea. He knew better than to take control of the three mountains, but he did wish to obtain some exotic resources and medicinal materials from the mountains. He also wanted to retrieve some exotic magic treasures from the Ying Sea so that he could ascend to the next level.
As Mu Yu was thinking to himself, somebody passed a message via voice-projection into his head. "Don’t tell him. This is connected to the grand plan of your master and the marquis. Don’t leak the secret to unrelated people."
The person speaking was Lu Ning, the female nascent soul stage cultivator who was hiding in shadows.
Her voice sounded out from within the deep vegetation. "If I may ask, what is your name?"
On one hand, she distracted Lin Feng with her question as she passed another voice-projected message to Mu Yu and the others. "We don’t even know if this man is a human or a demon. I can feel the aura of the Saros Steel Tree from his body."
As soon as this was said, everybody’s expression changed. The entire company turned to look at Lin Feng and they became even warier of this mysterious person in front of them.
They had just emerged from a furious battle with demons, and the Luofu Mystical Island was within the proximity of the connector from the East Sea to the Barren Expanses. They were perennially in conflict with demons even during their day-to-day lives and their blood feuds ran deep. The grudges between the humans of this area and the demons were far sharper than that in other areas.
Mu Yu returned a question. "Lu Ning, are you certain?"
Lu Ning replied with a voice-projected message. "More than a hundred years ago, I have been to the Great Thunderclap Temple and personally witnessed the Saros Steel Tree inside the temple."