Chapter 331

Chapter 331: The Capable Yan Yunyu and the Spiritual Weapon Void Hidden Chain

“Our southern unparalleled genius… you mean Mu Lin?”

“Right. Talent-wise, he’s definitely the top among southern prodigies. If he fought, he couldn’t flip the whole situation since he hasn’t cultivated long enough to achieve Transformation. But he could dominate the under-eighteen bracket. That record might barely check the northern youths’ advances.”

“Not just under eighteen. I bet he could challenge higher tiers too. With several wins, we’d only be slightly weaker than the North instead of getting crushed.”

At Mu Lin’s mention, the southern leaders visibly relaxed, their confidence in him apparent.

This reaction startled the Earth Immortal who’d sighed earlier.

“Wait – dominating under-eighteens? Those northern maniacs wield forbidden power! Are you certain we have such talent here? And if he’s strong, why hasn’t he fought? Cowardice?”

The Ge family head immediately shook his head.

“Mu Lin doesn’t fear battle. Master You Guang, you’ve been secluded too long. That boy stared down evil gods himself. Every other southern youth might back down from this match, but never Mu Lin.”

He then turned to Chu Tianxiong, envy coloring his curiosity. “Chu Tianxiong! What’s Mu Lin’s deal? Why’s he sitting out? Don’t play dumb – you lucky old fox must know!”

“Hahaha!”

Chu Tianxiong’s laughter boomed at the jealous tone, but soon died down. “Of course I know about my son-in-law. He’s in closed-door training for a breakthrough – no time for petty matches.”

You Guang pressed, “Can’t interrupt his training?”

“Hardly. He claims it’s a critical phase…”

As Chu Tianxiong spoke, another family head snorted. “Training? More like scheming! That common-born brat’s never truly sided with us southern clans.”

The room instantly grasped Mu Lin’s motive.

Their quick understanding stemmed not from mind-reading or sloppy cover-ups, but experience. Many southern prodigies – especially cold clan’s disciples – fought desperately for recognition. The North offered faster glory through combat.

These fighters didn’t mind squeezing more resources from powerful clans anyway. After all, spiritual energy taxes only burdened aristocrats with spiritual fields and mines – commoners owned nothing. Some southern talents had even switched sides mid-war.

…

Several leaders frowned at Mu Lin’s calculated absence. Prince Liang, Chu Tianxiong, and the Yan family head stayed silent due to their connections. Others weren’t so restrained.

You Guang slammed the table. “Foolish! We’d give more if we could! Years of imperial taxes have bled us dry. We should abandon northern territories, focus on defense! Conserve resources!”

This retreat strategy pleased some southern clans but enraged northern aristocrats. Their resistance wasn’t noble – it was practical. Their wealth lay in northern spiritual fields, veins, secret realms, and mines. Withdrawing meant abandoning these assets.

Without these assets, the northern aristocrats would completely decline.

This situation was unacceptable to the northern aristocrats.

Therefore, they refused to surrender under any circumstances, which drove them to confront the southern clans.

Yet not all members of the southern powerful clans supported abandoning northern territories. Voices of opposition rose immediately.

“Abandoning lands is simple, but regaining them would be hard. Worse, if those territories fall to foreign tribes or evil gods, their forces will grow stronger…”

“I meant temporary withdrawal, not permanent surrender. With so many foreign tribes and evil gods, we could make them fight each other – set wolves against tigers…”

As arguments threatened to explode in the hall, Prince Liang stepped forward: “Enough. We should focus on making Mu Lin fight to restore our honor.”

“Why complicate things? Just command him…”

Mocking laughter cut through the unfinished suggestion.

Chu Tianxiong: “Idiot! Should we gift another genius to strengthen our northern rivals?”

The Head of the Yan family added: “Mu Lin’s monstrous talent demands careful handling. We should incentivize him with resources. Let’s pool our rare treasures and craft a spiritual weapon for him.”

“Old Yan, stop favoring your future son-in-law! He’s not our relative!”

Though from humble origins, Mu Lin gained backing through Chu Lingluo and Yan Yunyu. Chu Tianxiong and the Yan family head kept advocating for him during the meeting.

Other clans rejected their proposals.

After prolonged debate, the Yuqing Sect’s leader Master Wanfa declared: “Cease arguments. No need to force or coax Mu Lin. Northern youths will naturally challenge him – young pride dislikes conceding superiority.”

“Though Mu Lin lacks strategic vision, we must reward his victories. If he checks northern momentum, grant him a Heavenly Technique and premium resources.”

“As you command, Master.”

All accepted this solution. Cultivation methods, though valuable, could be copied endlessly – unlike spiritual weapons which were finite. This compromise satisfied everyone.

…

With matters settled, Master Wanfa’s form burst like a bubble and vanished – only his avatar had attended the meeting.

Tension lifted immediately after his departure. Even powerful family heads felt stifled around the millennium-old strategist.

“Thirteen centuries of wisdom… true masters play the long game,” someone murmured.

As attendees dispersed, Prince Liang walked alongside Chu Tianxiong and the Yan and Ge family heads.

Prince Liang asked curiously: “Is Mu Lin’s closed-door training about combining Essence and Evil? Has that barrier stalled him?”

Chu Tianxiong said, "No, it’s Condensing Essence. He’s searching for essence…"

"Huh??? Wait…"

The mention of essence made Prince Liang shift uneasily.

"Didn’t I already give him essence?"

"Not enough."

"Not enough?!" Prince Liang gaped. "Impossible! I gave three portions of Aurora Essence. Since its quality is supreme, each portion counts as three – that’s nine portions total… Don’t tell me he couldn’t absorb even nine?"

Seeing Prince Liang’s shock, Chu Tianxiong sighed. "Truly insufficient. Mu Lin needs ninety-nine portions, possibly more."

"???"

This statement stunned both Prince Liang and the Ge family head.

"Ninety-nine? More? Ridiculous! No human vessel could hold that much essence!"

Prince Liang added, "Even crafting a soul entirely from essence wouldn’t need ninety-nine portions!"

Facing their disbelief, Chu Tianxiong shrugged. "Don’t ask me. I lack Mu Lin’s talent. But he’s serious – he’ll take any essence type, even Great Luo Merging Heaven and Chaos Origin Essence that nobody wants…"

He fell silent, leaving the others thoughtful. For the first time, the Ge family head considered wedding his legitimate daughter to Mu Lin. Prince Liang abandoned thoughts of making Mu Lin live at his residence.

"With such ability, Mu Lin would never move here. Must we really send Ling Sha to him?"

…

News of Mu Lin’s essence demands spread quickly. After the meeting, powerful clans investigated him. Yan Yunyu and Si Ye’s massive essence collection efforts couldn’t stay hidden.

When ninety-nine portions were reported, disbelief reigned. As Prince Liang noted, essence-forged souls required far less. Some accused Mu Lin of profiteering.

But doubts vanished when they learned he sought even dangerous essences like Calamity Qi.

"He’s truly cultivating ninety-nine essences?"

"Probably more…"

"Is he even human?"

"Something’s wrong here…"

"Enough speculation. Master Wanfa says Mu Lin will clash with northern aristocrats soon. We’ll see if he’s the real deal then…"

…

Unaware of these discussions, Mu Lin stared at Yan Yunyu’s offering – a segmented silver chain.

"A spiritual weapon? Your family parted with this?"

Though spiritual weapons equaled Earth Immortals in rank, they required wielders. For great clans like Yan, such weapons meant endless Earth Immortal cultivators. These family treasures were rarely released.

Yan Yunyu bowed. "This credit’s yours, Mu brother. Without your talent, I’d never have touched it. It’s not our Family Inheritance – we found it damaged in a secret realm. The family stipulated I must reach Transformation within five years to keep it."

"Fair terms." Mu Lin examined the Void Hidden Chain while she explained:

"Forged from Silver Void Stone and Gold Meteorite, engraved with formations. Extends 80,000 meters using vast amounts of mana, splits into hundreds of chains. Its spatial property lets it pierce dimensions. Originally 108,000 meters with sealing powers, but those traits faded."

Mu Lin grinned. "I’ll restore it." He imagined the Void Hidden Chain merging with his True Spirit Domain Chart. Regardless of other changes, the Soul Binding Chains ability would surely improve.