95 CH95

“Wait, one last question……” Lin Yi asked quickly; the guy seemed to be getting impatient.

“Speak.” Jiao Yazi said dully.

“Who are you, exactly? And who’s this mentor you keep talking about?” Lin Yi asked curiously.

“I am Jiao Yazi, as I’ve just told you.” Yazi answered. “My mentor, naturally, is someone of absolute power and ability, though that is not your concern. You also don’t have to fantasize about becoming his pupil just because you picked up a scroll and jade he made when he was bored! It’s impossible!”

“Ugh……” Lin Yi wasn’t sure where this was coming from, but Yazi’s eyes seemed to be asking ‘who do you think you are?’, and Lin Yi didn’t understand what he’d said to piss him off- the guy was obviously calm and neutral just a while ago.

Lin Yi thought about it, and came to a realization- the guy who left the scroll and jade was the master of Yazi’s master: this meant that Lin Yi would be Yazi’s elder if he were to go under that guy’s tutelage! No wonder Yazi was so upset! Lin Yi smiled at Yazi at the thought. “Of course not! Even if I were to become anyone’s pupil, it’d be Elder Jiao before anyone else!”

“Hm… Not bad, kid- you know your stuff!” Yazi said as a smile finally squeezed its way onto his face. “Well, I’ve seen your sincerity, so I guess I’ll teach you for a little bit!”

“Ah…” Lin Yi smiled, deciding to leave it at that. He then sat down cross-legged on the floor, entering a training state.

Lin Yi decided to stop asking about the mentor- Yazi obviously didn’t want to talk about him, and there was no point in forcing it. The time would come eventually, if Yazi deemed it necessary or appropriate to speak to Lin Yi about it.

An overwhelming amount of energy surged into Lin Yi’s body from all directions, taking Lin Yi aback with shock. He’d experienced fast absorptions in the deep mountain forests before, since there was more natural energy there in comparison to the cities… But it was nowhere near as fast as this! It was as if all existing barriers were removed, allowing the wealth of energy to flood in with no restrictions at all! A sensation of overflowing filled Lin Yi’s body up before he managed to control the absorption rate.

“Fuu…” Lin Yi noticed Jiao Yazi looking amused some distance away, and Lin Yi squinted his eyes helplessly. Did the old guy think this was some sort of joke? Couldn’t he at least warn him about something like this beforehand?

The energy from all around continued surging into Lin Yi even after he’d limited the absorption- the only difference was how fast it was going in. It wasn’t long before Lin Yi felt a sensation of the energy filling him up, capping as if his body were at its limit… But the energy never stopped flowing in!

Lin Yi started sweating at the sensation- what was going on? He’d never went through something like this before!! Lin Yi was a bit frightened, but continued to let the energy flow in nonetheless- there wasn’t much more he could do to stop the flow.

He felt like a magnet, pulling everything to him without halt.

“Jiao Yazi…….” Lin Yi said, calling for help- he felt like he’d explode any minute now…

But the guy only looked at him, as if he were watching a show- it was obvious that there’d be no help coming from him.

A rumble sounded, and Lin Yi’s body started breaking down from the pressure- his entire essence seemed to explode as his clothes blackened into crisps, flying away from him.

“Fuu……”

Lin Yi’s eyes fell on his red, naked body just as he thought he’d died. He was standing right in front of Jiao Yazi, and an indescribable sensation permeated throughout the entirety of his body- it was very pleasant indeed.

Was this a breakthrough? Lin Yi was dumbfounded- he’d never experienced a breakthrough before, and the burst of overflowing energy was a strange sensation to him as well. Lin Yi didn’t know what to say.

So that was why Jiao Yazi didn’t do anything about it- he’d expected this to happen from the very start!

“Well, how was the breakthrough? Feels pretty nice, doesn’t it?” Yazi spoke up.

“It does feel nice, but I didn’t expect the energy here to be so overwhelming that I’d make a breakthrough just like that- I thought I’d died, even.” Lin Yi said, smiling bitterly.

“You were on the verge of a breakthrough in the first place, but there were just too many hazardous circumstances in your surroundings outside. There’s simply not enough energy for a one-time burst like that.” Yazi said with a smile. “There’s plenty of energy here, that’s why you had the energy needed to break through instantly.”

The explanation enlightened Lin Yi- So he was on the verge this whole time, and all he’d needed was a supply of energy strong enough for a single burst? It also seemed that an overflowing like that only came about during breakthroughs, and there probably wouldn’t be surges like that during regular training.

“Thank you, Mister Jiao.” Lin Yi gave the old man a genuine bow- the guy had helped him a great deal no matter what, and Lin Yi had only sincere gratitude.

Yazi was a little stunned at the bow- this Lin Yi was acting so solemn and serious all of a sudden. “Okay kid, no need to be so serious. You can call me Elder Jiao or Old Jiao from now on, whichever you want. Actually, let’s stick to Mister Jiao……”

“Then I’ll call you that.” Lin Yi nodded in compliance. “Mister Jiao, so do you think I’m ready to start training the second stage?”

“The second stage? Do you have that?” Yazi asked, startled.

“Huh? Don’t you?” Lin Yi looked curiously at the elder, startled as well.

“Where am I supposed to pull one out for you? You’re supposed to go get that from behind the second set of doors.” Yazi said, a little speechless.

“Doesn’t that belong to your master’s master? Did you not practice it before?” Lin Yi asked, even more speechless than Yazi.

“So I have to train in something just because it’s my master’s master’s?” Yazi said with a roll of his eyes. “My path is different from this one, I train in different things. This one’s for you to master only.”

“Ah… I see... “ Lin Yi scratched his head awkwardly- his mentality seemed to be limited by conventional thoughts. The guy was right: he didn’t _have_ to train in the Art of Dragon Mastery just because his master’s master left it behind.

“You think I’d be asking you to hurry up if I knew that art?” Yazi continued helplessly. “Don’t be expecting too much from me now, I’m just an illusion! My function here’s pretty much just a lecturer: I tell you about the uses of the training space and things like that, also maybe chat with you a bit if you’re feeling down or bored… There isn’t much beyond that! The rest depends on you yourself.”

Lin Yi only blinked speechlessly at the statement. It seemed that even slacking off wasn’t an option anymore, there was no second stage for him to train in yet… It was still a while before the gates opened- what should he do in the meantime?

top 4 isnt going anywhere, ezzzz xD

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap