These chicken legs... the names don't look serious at all.
Lin Hui could already imagine what these two types of chicken legs might taste like.
He stared at the chicken leg, trying to pull more information from the Blood Seal's two branches.
But the information stopped there—just two names that required pure guesswork.
"Hurry up and eat. Why are you spacing out?" his mother, Yao Shan, asked from beside him.
"Mn, I know, Mom." Lin Hui finally tore his gaze away and started gnawing on the chicken leg.
His eyes drifted to the chopsticks in front of him. Immediately, the Blood Seal flickered and distorted again.
New dotted lines extended from the edges of the chopsticks.
[Bamboo Chopsticks: Common Tableware, medium wear. Evolvable Branches: 3]
[1 — Heavenly Crystal Bamboo Chopsticks.]
[2 — Violet-Azure Thunder Bamboo Chopsticks.]
[3 — Chopstick Man.]
Lin Hui stared at the final option—Chopstick Man—and fell into thought.
He could guess what the first two meant. But that last one...
He focused his consciousness on the third branch, mentally selecting it.
Hiss.
A faint sound. All evolution branches vanished. The third branch resurfaced, magnified, followed by a string of information.
[Evolve into Chopstick Man?]
[Required Resources: One pair of bamboo chopsticks, one year of reserve energy.]
[Time Required: Five years.]
That long!?
Lin Hui quickly selected 'No.'
If he confirmed it, a year's worth of energy would be burned for nothing. As for what this Chopstick Man would actually become—pure gamble.
After finishing his meal, Lin Hui used the excuse of clearing his head and left the house.
Because of the Door-Breaching Ghosts, government patrol squads constantly came and went outside.
Right at his doorstep was considered safe, so Lin Hui crouched by the entrance, testing what this newly awakened Blood Seal could do.
He crouched down, looked left and right, then plucked a blade of green grass.
[Roadside Green Grass: Common Plant, immature. Suitable for livestock breeding. Evolvable Branches: 2]
[1 — Purgatory Bitter Spirit Grass.]
[2 — Grass Man.]
"Sure enough. Is there any difference between this Grass Man and the Chopstick Man?" Lin Hui selected Grass Man. A waiting time of at least seven years appeared...
He picked up a stone from the ground.
Sure enough, the stone also displayed evolution branches.
[1 — Strengthening Stone.]
[2 — Stone Man.]
This time, he didn't choose Stone Man. He selected 1, Strengthening Stone.
[Evolve into Strengthening Stone?]
[Strengthening Stone: Can consume a fixed amount of stone powder to gain a slight enhancement in constitution.]
[Required Resources: One stone, seven days of reserve energy.]
[Time Required: One month.]
This is okay. At least he could see hope. The previous options were way too long.
Lin Hui breathed out in relief.
He swapped out the stone for many other types of rocks, but they all gave similar evolution branches.
Through constant testing, he gradually understood the function of the Blood Seal.
A Universal Enhancer. It can strengthen anything and even provide analysis. Aside from the consumption being too high, maybe there are other aspects I haven't figured out yet.
Lin Hui shelved his exploration for now. He planned to wait until he went to the Clear Wind Temple and learned real skills. Then he'd try adding other abilities to the enhancement process.
He raised his head, watching the flow of people before him. The sliver of depression and worry from earlier began to fade with the emergence of the Blood Seal's abilities.
…
Early the next morning, his father, Lin Shunhe, took Lin Hui and boarded an ox cart, traveling along the road leading out of town.
After rushing for over an hour, they arrived at a remote fork in the road.
The ox cart bumped along the fork, finally stopping in front of a gray-white Daoist temple with a circular outer wall.
Lin Hui got off and looked up at the temple.
Clear Wind Temple.
The three large characters were upright and straight—neither flamboyant nor restrained, balanced and peaceful.
Two children dressed in pale blue Daoist robes stood at the entrance, leaning on brooms and chatting.
They only put on a show of sweeping when they saw someone approaching.
"Young Master Quanshun, is your master Mingde in?"
Lin Shunhe got off the cart, paid the driver, and told him to leave. Then he stepped forward to greet one of the young Daoist attendants.
"It's Uncle He who gives candied haws! He's here. Master told us to bring you in if we saw you!" The boy on the right—the one without a blue hair tie—immediately recognized the visitor.
"Then I'll trouble you." Lin Shunhe clasped his fists in greeting and led his son into the temple gate with the boy.
Inside was a courtyard. A large incense burner sat on the right, and on the left, several Daoists sat cross-legged, seemingly meditating and chanting scriptures.
Directly ahead, facing the main gate, stood a three-story square building. Statues of winged snakes curved upward from their corners.
The small building was painted pale red, with paint peeling in some places—signs of age.
Footsteps sounded. A burly, tall Daoist with a full beard, dressed in a gray-white robe and black cloth shoes, walked out to greet them with a loud laugh.
"Brother Shunhe, you're here! I've been waiting for you!"
"Brother Mingde, I really have to trouble you this time. This is my son, Lin Hui!" Lin Shunhe pulled Lin Hui forward and patted him on the back with a smile.
"He's getting older and needs to find work. I heard you were short on accountants who know arithmetic. My son's got no problem with that! I brought him over to try."
"That's easy to say. With our friendship, let him enter first. But whether he can actually do the work depends on his performance. After all, Senior Brother Baohe, the Temple Master, makes the final decision," Mingde laughed.
"Of course, of course."
The two exchanged pleasantries as they entered.
Lin Hui greeted the Daoist politely and followed them through the main entrance.
Enshrined in the temple's main hall was a headless deity statue missing arms and legs. No offerings sat in front of it. This place wasn't a real Daoist temple, but a martial arts hall using the guise of one.
Soon, Lin Hui was settled into a wing room on one side of the main hall to wait.
His father and Daoist Mingde went to handle the procedures for his entry.
The wing room wasn't large, but it contained a bookshelf and a set of tables and chairs.
With nothing to do, Lin Hui asked a passing Daoist and, upon receiving permission to browse, went over and pulled out a copy of the Wuwei Scripture to read.
'Non-action yet action; those who act, do it; not acting is not doing nothing, but acting with intent and restraint, moving in a set direction...'
The scripture went in circles. Bored after a few pages, he closed it and moved to put it back.
Hiss.
That familiar soft sound.
Lin Hui's heart trembled. He pulled the scripture back and looked at it carefully.
[Wuwei Scripture: Written by the Nameless Daoist, the foundational teaching of the Wusheng Daoist Sect. Evolvable Branches: 3]
[1 — Purgatory Wuwei Scripture.]
[2 — Ninefold Compliance Scripture.]
[3 — Formless Wordless Scripture.]
Lin Hui narrowed his eyes and randomly selected the Purgatory Wuwei Scripture.
[Evolve into Purgatory Wuwei Scripture?]
[Required Resources: One copy of Wuwei Scripture, twelve years of reserve energy.]
[Time Required: Fifteen years.]
The longest time on record... Lin Hui shivered inwardly. Shame I can't check what use this scripture actually has.
He put the scripture back and scanned the other books on the shelf.
Apart from scriptures, there were various travel journals. But soon, he pulled out a different book from a gap in the corner.
Sealed Heart Sword.
The book wasn't thick—only nine pages. The bottom right corner of the cover bore an author's mark: written by a Daoist named Mingxin.
Lin Hui flipped through a few pages. It discussed how to achieve enlightenment, sealing the ravines of desire in one's heart, thereby sealing the heart to enter the Dao and pursue immortality.
After roughly finishing it, Lin Hui found quite a few specific details on how to verbally induce and guide others. He was surprised.
This counts as basic hypnotic psychology content, right?
He focused his attention on the book again.
A new dotted line extended from the right side of the Sealed Heart Sword's pale blue cover.
The gray dotted line linked to small details.
[Sealed Heart Sword: The foundational scripture of the once-glorious Fengshan Sect, widely circulated. Written by Daoist Mingxin. Evolvable Branches: 2]
Lin Hui clicked open the evolution branches.
[1 — Sealed Origin Scripture.]
[2 — Sealed Light Art.]
Just looking at the names without specific explanations, he doesn't dare choose them at all. The consumption time was measured in years.
So far, I haven't fully understood what use this Blood Seal actually has.
Maybe when my body is stronger and my energy is more vigorous, the evolution time can be reduced?
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock came from the door.
"Is Brother Lin Hui there? Your father and Martial Uncle Mingde want you to go to the inner hall." A somewhat immature male voice called out.
"Understood." Lin Hui walked over and opened the door. Outside stood a delicate-looking young Daoist attendant with a hair bun.
"First time meeting you. I am Huishen. From now on, I'll be mainly responsible for guiding you to familiarize yourself with the environment and your studies."
The boy was about thirteen or fourteen, quite a bit younger than Lin Hui, but his speech was mature. He revealed a gentle smile—clearly imitated from adults, appearing somewhat overly mature.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Huishen." Lin Hui hurriedly bowed.
"Let's go. I'll be in your care from now on," Huishen laughed, turning to lead the way.
…
Joining the Clear Wind Temple was simple for Lin Hui. The connection used was Daoist Mingde, an expert within the temple who was very familiar with his father, Lin Shunhe.
The structure of the entire Clear Wind Temple was simple. After a few days of exploration, Lin Hui had a rough idea of the specific situation.
At the highest level, there was only one person: the Temple Master, Daoist Baohe.
Then came the various managers. Three in total: Mingchen, Mingde, and Mingxiu. The three took turns managing the temple's logistics, teaching, and external miscellaneous affairs.
Essentially, Clear Wind Temple was a profit-making institution that relied on teaching basic external kung fu for income. Coupled with a small herb garden in the back mountain where a precious herb named Stone Star Root was cultivated, these two sources easily supported all the temple's expenses.
After Lin Hui joined, he quickly familiarized himself with the daily schedule and work under Huishen's guidance.
Mingde assigned him some basic arithmetic tasks and soon found that he completed them with ease, so he gradually began throwing more problems at him.
While familiarizing himself with the environment and work, Lin Hui studied his newly awakened Blood Seal.
In the blink of an eye, a week passed.