Knock!

When Xiao Lin got to Master Wu's room, he knocked on the door.

Master Wu at the moment was seated in the cross-legged position since he was meditating.

Then he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

"Who's there?" He asked.

But he had a feeling that it was Xiao Lin, since it was only him that usually came to him so that he can use his large yard to train.

"Master, it's Xiao Lin" Xiao Lin answered politely.

"Alright. Come in." Master Wu said.

Then Xiao Lin opened the door and went in.

When he arrived before Master Wu, he sat down in the cross-legged position before him and said with a smile in his face "I am sorry for disturbing your meditation, Master Wu."

"It's okay. I can always resume that anytime you leave." Master Wu said.

He then said further by asking "So, what exactly are you here in my room for, Xiao Lin? It can't be to train, right?"

"Not really Master. I came here to ask a question that suddenly surfaced in my mind" Xiao Lin replied with a smile.

"Oh. I am all ears then" Master Wu said.

Xiao Lin then questioned "Master Wu, is it possible for a cultivator to be able to summon more than one Animal Spirit?"

Haha!

Master Wu laughed.

"Xiao Lin, if it was possible, don't you think that you would have seen or heard of cultivators with two or three Animal Spirits?" He asked while Xiao Lin nodded his head with a light of understanding in his eyes.

"Hmm. That's true. I have never seen or heard of any cultivator capable of summoning more than one Animal Spirit. Thank you, Master Wu." Xiao Lin said with an enlightened gaze in his eyes.

He could recall that his father, even as tremendously powerful as he was, didn't have more than an Animal Spirit.

He then asked with his brows furrowed "But Master, do you think that it would be possible to summon two or three Animal Spirits into one's body?"

Master Wu looked at Xiao Lin and said "Well, I don't know if it's possible. I have just never heard of any cultivator capable of summoning two or three Animal Spirits into their bodies. It's simply an impossible thing to do."

Then still staring at Xiao Lin with an indescribable gaze in his eyes, he said "Xiao Lin, don't bother yourself with these kind of things. Thinking about these kinds of things wouldn't yield fruits and would only be a terrible waste of your time, since you will be pursuing what doesn't exist."

"So instead, you should focus on making your Animal Spirit fuse with your being and bring a change to your form."

Xiao Lin nodded.

But he didn't throw that thought away.

He left it hovering in his head.

Then when Master Wu took a small pause, he asked as he looked at Xiao Lin "Xiao Lin, have you been able to even achieve partial fusion with your Battle Beast Spirit?"

Xiao Lin looked at the the ground with a sad gaze and said with an unhappy tone in his voice "No master, I haven't."

"But sometime in the nearest future, I will be able to do so. I believe."He said further with a resolute tone in his voice

Master Wu nodded his head with a smile in his face.

"That's what I like about you. Your resolves are simply unbendable. Just carry on with that unfaltering resoluteness in your heart, and you will see that the even the sky won't be your limit, but your step into the infinitely vast, starry beyond." He said while Xiao Lin nodded.

"So Xiao Lin, if there's nothing else, you can take your leave" Master Wu said.

Then Xiao Lin stood to his feet to leave Master Wu's room.

He then headed for his own room when he came out of Master Wu's room through the door.

When he arrived in his own room, he sat in the cross-legged position on the ground to calm his mind that was frothing from numerous thoughts, with the prominent one in his heart being about his mother and the horrific things that she probably might be going through in the hands of his evil and callous father, who saw them as nothing but disposable items once they became even slightly useless to him.

***

So, weeks to months passed with Xiao Lin minding his own business as he continued to intensely train his body to develop peak human strength, speed, endurance and agility.

At the moment, due to the constant and heavy training of all of the muscles of his body, he could now lift more than a hundred and twenty kilograms, and could now attain a speed that was many times higher than the one that a human of his age and height could attain.

Also, his fighting skills had greatly improved under the intense, close-quarters combat training by Master Wu, who taught him a whole lot of movement and evasion skills and some stunning fighting techniques, adding tremendously to the little skills that he had acquired when he was still at his father's floating massive palace.

However, he hadn't been able to cultivate spiritual energy or partially fuse with his Animal Spirit, which were the only things that made most of his night haunted and sleepless ones.

Although Xiao Lin was seriously frustrated by all that were happening to him, he however didn't let the frustration get to him, as he had a strong belief in his heart that he would eventually succeed in cultivating spiritual energy and fuse with his Animal Spirit.

But as Xiao Lin improved in strength and honed his fighting prowess, so did the others. Also, their cultivation had gone up from the 1st-Layer Spiritual Ascendant stage to the 2nd-Layer or 3rd-Layer Spiritual Ascendant stage. While Zhang Feng who was their senior had gone from the 3rd-Layer Spiritual Ascendant stage to the 5th-Layer Spiritual Ascendant stage.

***

Seven months later...

Master Wu who was seated on an elevated platform before his disciples said to them "I will be going on a journey that will take me eight to nine months to return."

Zhang Feng's eyes glowed. While a cold smile surfaced in his heart. Same with the others.

"But Master, why that long?" Zhang Feng asked.

"Well, as you already know, this isn't the first time that I will be going on such long journeys. So, you should have developed an ability to be able to predict how long it would take me to return." Master Wu said while Zhang Feng nodded.

"Yes Master." Zhang Feng said while Master Wu nodded.

Master Wu then looked at Xiao Lin and said "Xiao Lin, I usually embark on long journeys from time to time. And this is because I don't have other teachers to assist me at the moment in doing all these. So, I have no choice than to do it myself."

"Then my purpose for going on such journeys is because I want to gather cultivation resources for you all who are my disciples to cultivate without worry. Then when you all have grown more powerful and independent, then you can go out there into the world to gather your own cultivation resources yourselves."

Master Wu then turned his head to look at Zhang Feng and the others with a stern expression in his face "Xiao Lin is your little brother. I don't want you people bullying him because you are cultivators and he is a mortal. If I return and I get news from him that you touched a single strand of hair on his head, you wouldn't want to imagine what I will do to you."

"So, just love your brother and embrace him for who he is with happiness in your heart. If he does something totally vexing, just tell him that what he did is bad and I believe that he would certainly correct himself."

"Then again, don't bully him. I guess that is all I have to say." Master Wu said.

He then left that high stony platform that he sat down cross-leggedly on and walked towards the gate with his disciples following directly behind him.

When he arrived at the large bronze gate of his temple which was wide open, he said to Xiao Lin "You should keep trying to fuse with your Animal Spirit, Xiao Lin. Who knows, something that will delight you could happen. Besides, when I get to where I am going to, I will ask about from experts there on how the damaged dantian of a cultivator can be partially healed. Perhaps I could get healing herbs and elixirs or rare regeneration fruits that might thinly seal the numerous thick cracks that are on your dantian."

Xiao Lin nodded his head.

He then said with sincerity in his tone "Master, thank you. I will definitely repay you for all the kindness that you have shown to me"

Master Wu only shook his head.

'This boy' He said inwardly.

He then took into the air in the next instant and flew away at a shocking speed.

When Master Wu flew away, Zhang Feng clasped his fist and looked at Xiao Lin with a somewhat sinister smile in his face.

"Little brother Lin, we all would take good care of you. That's a promise." Zhang Feng with a cold gaze in his eyes that made current of chills move down Xiao Lin's spine.