Chapter 111

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Chapter 111: Joint Assessment and the Evil Ghosts of Spring Fountain City

“As long as we disrupt him and stop him from getting top marks, victory will be ours.”

After sharing his plan, Qi Qiu frowned upon noticing his students’ low spirits. Even their captain Wan Yangyu seemed shaken. Qi Qiu snorted coldly at their dispirited state.

“Enough! Straighten up. You shouldn’t fear Mu Lin so much. He’s strong, but I checked earlier—his magical cultivation’s only at the early Spring Fountain stage, similar to yours, Wan Yangyu.”

“Similar? That can’t be right…”

Wan Yangyu struggled to believe this. When their eyes had met earlier, Mu Lin’s oppressive aura—like looming mountains and crashing tides—made him feel utterly outmatched.

Qi Qiu clarified, “No doubt about it. He’s Spring Fountain stage, not unbeatable. His intimidating presence comes from superior spirit cultivation. But raw spiritual power means little in early stages without proper magical energy. Avoid eye contact, and he can’t pressure you.”

“Avoid eye contact? That explains it!”

This reasoning calmed the Qianyang Taoist Palace members slightly. Remaining doubts vanished completely when Qi Qiu added:

“Also, I observed Mu Lin’s teammates. One’s a full Qi Practitioner, the other’s late-stage Awakening. Neither carries battle-hardened auras—they’re clearly inexperienced fighters.”

Hearing this, the Qianyang group’s confidence skyrocketed without further encouragement.

“So we’re only fighting Mu Lin?”

“Five against one? We beat Ji Xue before—we can take him!”

“How stupid! Bringing two girls to the Southeast League Examination instead of strong teammates? Is this a picnic?”

“Fan Tie, you’re just jealous! If you had two girlfriends like his, who’d you bring?”

“Obviously both girls…”

Their playful teasing showed restored morale. As they bantered while heading to the Tower of Illusions, Qi Qiu approached Dongfang Ya about combined assessments.

“You want Wan Yangyu’s team to enter the tower with Mu Lin?”

“Naturally. Our alliance means sharing assessments to build teamwork faster.”

Dongfang Ya rolled her eyes. *Collaboration? More like sabotage.*

She recognized this tactic. Last time, joint assessments made Ji Xue score average while Wan Yangyu got good marks, letting Qianyang outrank Anping. If Mu Lin scored average now, Qianyang could challenge Anping’s leadership.

Though tempted to refuse, Dongfang Ya deferred: “Your call.”

“Makes no difference.”

Mu Lin glanced at the Qianyang group. “Let them join.”

After speaking, Mu Lin entered the Tower of Illusions first with Yan Yunyu and Chu Lingluo.

"Buzz…"

As white light flashed, Mu Lin… didn’t immediately collapse. His powerful spirit, combined with the City God status recognized by humanity and the Trait of Transcendence, gave him an inherently strong spiritual essence. Even the Tower of Illusions required three full breaths to finally overwhelm him.

This endurance was partly because Anping Taoist Palace’s tower was merely a subsidiary branch, and hadn’t fully activated its power against him.

……

Not only did he resist longer, but the Trait of Transcendence also made Mu Lin the first to awaken. Upon regaining consciousness, he found himself not in some barren village but within a small city’s walls.

His status here appeared lofty.

This judgment came from seeing three squads of bailiffs and numerous soldiers standing before him. These men kept glancing around nervously, their anxiety only easing slightly when looking at Mu Lin. Their bows of respect deepened as they addressed him.

"Honored A-level cultivator, what are your orders?"

Mu Lin responded lightly, "Describe the situation again. In detail."

"Yes…"

Though confused by the request, neither the bailiffs nor garrison commander dared question him – A-level cultivators commanded absolute authority, and their survival now depended on this young man.

"Sir, in Spring Fountain City…"

As Mu Lin listened to their report…

Outside the tower, Qi Qiu had arranged for Wan Yangyu’s group to enter right after Mu Lin. This caused immediate unrest among Mu Lin’s classmates.

"Why are they going in?"

"I heard they’re offering assistance…"

"You actually believe that?"

"Well…"

"What’s Teacher Dongfang Ya thinking? Why permit this?"

"Mu Lin’s strong enough. He’ll overcome any interference."

"Overcome? Have you forgotten? The Fifth Floor holds Spirit Pool Realm monsters and evil spirits! They outclass him by an entire realm! Fighting those alone would drain him completely, and now he must guard against human sabotage too…"

"Ah…"

The discussion left them uneasy. With each argument, Mu Lin’s chances seemed to wither further.

"We forgot one thing… The Qianyang Taoist Palace has five cultivators. While Mu Lin has three companions, Yan Yunyu—well, you know how she is—and Chu Lingluo doesn’t seem particularly skilled in combat."

"Another five against one… Crap, are we going to lose again?"

"But our Taoist Palace clearly has stronger cultivators…"

Worry and frustration filled the hearts of Mu Lin’s classmates.

What they hadn’t noticed was how their attitudes toward Mu Lin had gradually shifted as he kept pulling off miraculous feats.

When Mu Lin first joined the Formal Class with Level 3 Spiritual Roots, his classmates had met him with mild surprise and disdain.

Later, after he completed Teacher Dongfang’s task and won Chu Lingluo’s favor, they saw him as an easy target and turned hostile.

But when Mu Lin challenged the Tower of Illusions for the first time and reached the fourth layer, their mindset began to change.

Though they’d mocked him publicly after his taunts, privately they’d started to acknowledge him.

Many even wanted to become his teammate—proof of their shifting opinions.

But pride held them back. Aside from Yan Yunyu, whose actions spoke louder than words, no one openly admitted it.

Harassment toward Mu Lin dwindled. Even those who muttered about him "peaking early" or being inferior to Jing Yeming only did so behind his back. Few dared confront him directly anymore.

Now, after a month of closed-door training, Mu Lin had broken through to the Spring Fountain Realm. His single command silencing Cai Tian and his heroic rescue had completely won over his classmates.

Even as he stood surrounded by admirers, enjoying the company of multiple companions, their jealousy faded into mere envy.

This quiet transformation happened gradually, unnoticed by Mu Lin—and he wouldn’t have cared anyway. His focus lay elsewhere.

After hearing the constable’s report, Mu Lin grasped Spring Fountain City’s problem.

"Evil ghosts haunt the city, luring civilians, warriors, even constables and soldiers. The authorities killed a few during raids, but attacks keep happening… They’ve only culled minor ghosts. The source remains hidden."

"So my task is to find and destroy the root cause?"

As he pondered, Mu Lin marveled at the Tower of Illusions’ realism.

"The higher you climb, the more the tower’s illusions mirror reality—and the messier things get."

Yan Yunyu smiled at his observation. "Of course. The court built Taoist Palaces to train Qi Practitioners against monsters and evil spirits."

"Evil spirits warp reality. Monsters scheme. To fight them, Taoist Palace cultivators need more than brute strength—insight, knowledge, diplomacy… The tower tests all these."

"Nobody masters everything. That’s why the Taoist Palace encourages teamwork against supernatural threats."

Mu Lin agreed teamwork helped, but in a world where power ruled supreme, overwhelming strength alone could crush any obstacle.

Like now. He held no expectations for the illusionary constables or soldiers.

After briefing him, Spring Fountain City’s constable chief and military leader stood ready.

"Sir, 47 constables and 295 soldiers await your orders."

Mu Lin remained calm. "No special orders. Continue routine operations."

"Routine?!"

The chief, Gu Quan, gaped before blurting, "But the ghosts—"

"I’ll handle them."