Chapter 44: Ye Linyuan
After hearing everything Ye Lingling had to say, Ye Lingling's face remained expressionless. She merely gave a slight nod and finished writing on the paper.
Then she put down the pen, turned her gaze toward the wall inside the room that was covered by a red cloth curtain, and said in a cold voice,
"My task is done. Next, whether he is accepted as an apprentice is for you to decide."
Lin Mo was not too surprised by this sudden turn of events.
Ever since he entered the room, he had vaguely sensed the sound of breathing behind that curtain. The other party clearly had no intention of concealing their presence.
He followed Ye Lingling's line of sight.
The red cloth curtain was drawn aside, and a white-haired, white-bearded old man with a spirited bearing slowly stepped out from behind it.
The old man wore a gentle smile, and his gaze landed directly on Lin Mo.
"Little fellow, don't take offense," the old man said with a laugh, his voice as resonant as a bell.
"This is a small test our medical hall uses when recruiting apprentices, mainly to see the applicant's Heart-Nature and whether they are honest."
"After all, the first priority in studying medicine is a righteous heart. Otherwise, no matter how great one's medical skill may be, if the mind is crooked, it is all for nothing."
Lin Mo stood up and bowed to the old man.
"Junior understands."
The old man, Ye Linyuan, was quite satisfied with the calm manner Lin Mo had displayed.
He walked to the table, glanced at what Ye Lingling had written down, then said to Lin Mo,
"I heard all of your answers."
"Neither arrogant nor impetuous, and your heart is upright. Very good."
Then his tone shifted.
"However, according to the rules, I still need to confirm your status as a Spirit Master."
"Could you take out your spirit master handbook for me to have a look?"
"I can."
Lin Mo nodded, took the thin spirit master handbook out of his robe, and handed it over with both hands.
Ye Linyuan accepted the handbook and began reading it carefully.
When his eyes fell upon the records of "Age: 7 years old," "Martial Soul: Charmander," and "spirit power Rank: 16," along with the earlier registered information, a sharp glint flashed through his seemingly clouded old eyes.
After arriving in Heaven Dou City and collecting his Spirit Master subsidy at the Spirit Hall there, the information in Lin Mo's spirit master handbook had already been updated once more.
After all, Heaven Dou City and Nuoding City were extremely far apart.
For the sake of caution, the people at Spirit Hall had retested his spirit power Rank and recorded the new information.
"Innate Level 6 Spirit Power... and a Martial Soul that began as an egg and later hatched?"
Ye Linyuan looked up at Lin Mo with obvious interest.
"I have practiced medicine for many years and have seen thousands of Martial Souls, but this is the first time I have seen something this unusual."
"Little fellow, could you release your Martial Soul and let this old man broaden his horizons?"
Hearing this, Lin Mo deliberately showed a trace of hesitation, then nodded after a moment.
"Alright."
With a thought, accompanied by a flash of red light, Charmander appeared at his feet and affectionately rubbed its head against his pant leg.
The moment Charmander appeared, a clear look of surprise surfaced on Ye Linyuan's face.
"An External Beast Martial Soul in a separate form? That is indeed rare."
He carefully sensed Charmander's aura, then looked at the bright yellow spirit ring beneath its feet and nodded.
"The aura is solid, and the spirit power fluctuations are stable. Among First Ring Spirit Masters, your strength is definitely among the best."
"Little fellow, your Martial Soul is a fine seedling for the Power Attack System path."
As he spoke, perhaps because he was genuinely delighted by what he saw, Ye Linyuan reflexively reached out his hand and tried to pat Charmander's head.
Charmander clearly disliked being touched by strangers. The moment it saw Ye Linyuan's hand coming closer, it let out a low whimper from its throat and followed it with a threatening growl.
When that warning failed to stop the old man, it immediately opened its mouth and spat a small stream of scorching fire straight toward Ye Linyuan's palm.
Ye Linyuan did not dodge. The faint smile on his face remained unchanged.
The flames, which would have forced an ordinary Spirit Master into panic, were suppressed by an invisible force the instant they touched his palm.
They were extinguished soundlessly, without even a trace of smoke.
His wrinkled hand landed firmly on Charmander's head, then gently patted its head, back, and tail several times.
Charmander looked as though every scale on its body had bristled. It let out low growls like an irritated little beast, and the flame on its tail flared even brighter, clearly furious.
Lin Mo showed a slightly helpless expression, then slowly soothed Charmander through their mental connection.
Only then did Charmander restrain itself from attacking again. It merely snorted out 2 puffs of white steam laced with sparks from its nostrils to express its dissatisfaction.
Ye Linyuan seemed to be sensing something as he patted it. After a while, he withdrew his hand, and the admiration in his eyes deepened even more.
"Good, very good. The flames controlled by your Charmander Spirit are of extremely high temperature, and the fire attribute is both overbearing and pure."
"At the level of a First Ring Spirit Master, there are definitely no more than a handful of Martial Souls that possess flames of this quality."
He paused, then looked at Charmander's lively eyes and obviously emotional reactions, unable to stop himself from smiling.
"What is even rarer is that your Martial Soul is full of spirituality. Its intelligence seems to far surpass that of Spirit Beasts with comparable combat strength."
"Truly an extremely rare and powerful Martial Soul."
In all his years of experience, he had seen External Beast Martial Souls like Lin Mo's before, but never one whose intelligence reached the level of Charmander.
Had he not personally seen Lin Mo summon it and the spirit ring belonging only to a human Martial Soul appear beneath Charmander's feet, he might have mistaken it for some highly intelligent Spirit Beast based on appearance alone.
Lin Mo stood to the side with a calm expression. Faced with Ye Linyuan's praise, he only gave a slight nod and said nothing more.
Ye Linyuan lowered his gaze to Lin Mo and voiced the greatest doubt in his heart.
"Child, with the Aptitude and potential of your Charmander Martial Soul..."
"...you have every hope of becoming a powerful Power Attack System Spirit Master in the future by relying on it."
"With your talent, whether you joined a great Sect in the future or sought refuge under some major power, it would all be quite simple."
"So why would you choose to come here and learn medical skills, something many Spirit Masters regard as rather thankless?"
Ye Linyuan's slightly clouded eyes stared into Lin Mo's, as though they wanted to peer directly into the depths of his heart.
To Ye Linyuan's surprise, Lin Mo met his gaze head-on without the slightest trace of fear.
.....
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