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Blackstone, Yon Village.
The next day, after walking for dozens of miles, Lin Jin finally reached the village marked on the map.
Yon Village was not located on a plateau or surrounded by steep hills. The terrain was relatively stable. Most villagers relied on agriculture, hunting, and smelting for their livelihood.
Lin Jin stood on a small bridge in Yon Village. Beneath the bridge, a brook flowed gently, its clear waters glistening in the sunlight.
"There seems to be a piece of land under that hill," Lin Jin mused as he looked at the land in the distance.
"The terrain seems good—it could be a suitable site for my academy."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he continued to observe the land.
"Who are you?"
Suddenly, a voice called out behind him, startling Lin Jin. The sudden intrusion caused him to lose footing and almost fell into the stream below.
Turning around, Lin Jin saw a young girl at the other end of the bridge. She appeared to be a child—perhaps around ten—and looked at him with surprise and suspicion.
"Xiaozhan... Xiaozhan!"
A voice called from the road, and an elderly woman hurried over. She grabbed the young girl and scolded her gently.
"Don't run around like that! What if you come across something dangerous?"
Then, the old woman looked at Lin Jin, her eyes full of caution.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Lin Jin's mouth twitched slightly.
'Is the danger she's talking about supposed to be me?' he thought wryly.
"Madam—"
"Don't come any closer!" she interrupted.
"Who are you? Are you a spy from the Star Dou Empire?"
The old woman stood protectively in front of the young girl.
Lin Jin felt slightly awkward; this was not how he had imagined things going.
It seemed like they were ready to drive him away before he even had a chance to explain his purpose.
Clearing his throat, he put on a serious expression and said, "I am a Spirit Master. I recently came here to find a suitable land to establish an academy. Could you please inform your village head?"
"A Spirit Master academy?" The older woman looked at Lin Jin with suspicion, clearly not convinced.
Seeing this, Lin Jin released his Spirit rings. Four radiant white rings appeared at his feet, instantly dispelling her doubts.
The Spirit rings were proof enough of his identity as a Spirit Master.
Lin Jin held a measuring stick in his hand, a calm smile on his face. His long robes fluttered in the breeze, giving him an almost ethereal aura.
The change in his demeanor was dramatic.
"Are you a teacher?"
The young girl suddenly jumped out from behind the old woman, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Can you teach me to cultivate Spirit power?"
"Xiaozhan, don't be rude to the Spirit Master!"
The old woman was startled. She quickly pulled the girl back and bowed apologetically to Lin Jin.
"I'm so sorry, Spirit Master. Xiaozhan has always been a bit spoiled and doesn't know proper manners. Please don't take offense."
After a brief pause, she continued, "I am the head of the village. There are plenty of open spaces around. If you find any land to your liking, you are welcome to use it. Everyone here would be happy to have a Spirit Master academy."
Lin Jin pondered for a moment, holding his ruler. The ruler helped him think calmly.
He didn't feel comfortable taking something for nothing. After all, he was a young man who had grown up under the values of fairness and justice.
The idea of taking land without compensation did not sit well with him.
With a smile, he replied, "It's not my style to take without giving something in return. How about this: I'll rent the land. If it belongs to any villagers, I'll pay them in Spirit coins. If it's communal village land, I can help build some infrastructure for the village. How does that sound?"
The old woman's eyes lit up. She quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you, Master Spirit, for your generosity."
Lin Jin smiled casually, then looked at the girl beside the old woman.
"Your name is Xiaozhan?" he asked.
The girl—who looked like she was transitioning between a young child and a teenager—had a round face with a bit of baby fat, giving her a cute and endearing appearance.'"I want to pinch those cheeks,; Lin Jin thought to himself. She reminded him of his little nieces.
The old woman worried that her granddaughter might say something inappropriate, quickly interjected, "Her nickname is Xiaozhan. Her father's surname is Shen, and her full name is Shen Xin. She is my granddaughter. Her parents are also villagers here, making a living through farming and selling ironware."
Lin Jin nodded, then asked with a smile, "Do you want to cultivate Spirit power?"
Shen Xin's eyes lit up, and she looked at Lin Jin excitedly.
"Is that possible?"
"Of course."
Having one more student wouldn't hurt, especially since she was the granddaughter of the village head.
It would make his future work in Yon Village much more convenient.
Before Shen Xin could show her excitement, the old woman scolded her, "Don't trouble the gentleman. The people from the Spirit Hall who oversaw the awakening said your martial spirit is useless. Even if you have Spirit power, you can't become a Spirit Master."
Upon hearing those words, Shen Xin's eyes darkened.
"Hm?" Lin Jin frowned slightly, feeling something was off.
How could she have Spirit power if it were a useless martial spirit?
That Master had once proposed the top ten theories of Spirit Master's competitiveness.
One of them stated that the quality of innate Spirit power is proportional to that of a martial spirit, with some variance.
Though there were still ambiguities due to the limitations of the Master's research, most of those theories held.
"When you first awakened, what was your level of innate Spirit power?" Lin Jin asked.
"Level six!" Shen Xin replied quickly, her memory of that event still vivid.
"Level six?" Lin Jin was astonished.
A level six innate Spirit power couldn't possibly belong to a useless martial spirit!
"Can you show me your martial spirit?" he asked, trying to hide his excitement. It seemed that fate had granted him a lucky encounter after all.
The old woman also noticed something in Lin Jin's demeanor.
Her expression changed, and a trace of hope appeared in her eyes.
She quickly urged, "Xiaozhan, show your martial spirit to the gentleman quickly."
Shen Xin nodded, a spark of hope rekindling in her heart. She extended her right hand, and with a surge of Spirit power, a colorful flower with green stems and leaves slowly emerged from her palm.
"This is my martial spirit. The people at the Spirit Hall called it the Seven-Colored Flower, and they said it's a useless martial spirit."
Lin Jin recognized the Seven-Colored Flower because, on his journey to Yon Village, he had seen similar plants here and there.
It wasn't as common as Blue Silver Grass; it was barely more useful than a common wildflower.
But there was something different about this one.
"Wait, let me see." Lin Jin took out the "Encyclopedia of Martial Spirits" from his Spirit guide and began searching through the plant-type entries. Before long, he found it.
"Seven Aperture Flower, a food-type martial spirit. Each time a Spirit ring is equipped, an unknown enhancement is granted. When consumed, it can provide attribute increases..."
Lin Jin's eyes widened with excitement.
"This... this is a treasure!"
Just then, a voice echoed in his mind.
"Congratulations on finding an SR-level student. Reward granted..."