Chapter 139
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Chapter 139: Many People, Strong Power? No, You’re Just a Disorganized Mob to Me
When Mu Lin announced he’d fight them all, Master Meng Rui’s students didn’t cheer. Instead, their faces flushed red, and they erupted in chaos.
The reason was simple—they felt Mu Lin’s words reeked of arrogance, openly disrespecting them.
What Mu Lin truly thought was: *You’re right. I* am *looking down on you. Only by crushing you all can I damage Master Meng Rui’s reputation.*
—If Master Meng Rui’s entire class got beaten by Dongfang Ya’s student, even the dimmest noble families in the city would know whose teachings to choose for their offspring.
To make this happen, Mu Lin had no problem acting cocky.
“Challenge? You’ve got it backwards. Even if you attack together, this counts as *you* challenging *me*!”
“Screw this! I’m done…”
“Same! Let’s rush him!”
“I’m in!”
“Arrogant prick! You’ll regret this…”
After Mu Lin crushed Qiao Huihui—one of Master Meng Rui’s top students—her classmates refused to fight him alone. But ganging up? That they could do.
And since Mu Lin himself had asked for it, they felt zero guilt.
“Never seen someone this full of themselves in my life!”
Strength in numbers erased their fear. With allies around, they even chatted casually.
Dozens of puppets soon flooded the arena—spiders, wolves, eagles, winged serpents, humanoid iron guards, evil ghosts, crystal spheres, and more.
The swarm of puppets made the Puppet Master’s side seem unstoppable. Being surrounded by them, Master Meng Rui’s students felt invincible. How could they possibly lose?
“Nineteen against one! You’re doomed!”
Even spectator Zuo Li gaped at the scene. After a long stare, he muttered, “The leader said Qin Yuan would win, but I thought it’d be a close fight where Qin Yuan countered Mu Lin’s tricks…”
“…Not this madness.”
His teammate nodded. “Right? When that evil ghost appeared, I actually worried it might beat Qin Yuan. Guess I was dumb to doubt.”
Zuo Li snorted. “Obviously. The leader’s predictions never fail.”
…
Everyone saw Mu Lin’s move as sheer insanity. Nobody believed he’d win—not Qiao Huihui, not the noble spectators, not Zuo Li’s group, not even Master Meng Rui. She’d bet on Mu Lin countering Qin Yuan, not this lunacy.
*Dongfang Ya’s lost her touch, backing this arrogant madman… No, ‘arrogant’ is too kind. He’s downright unhinged.*
As Master Meng Rui shook her head, the underestimated Mu Lin finally struck.
Mu Lin tossed a stack of paper figures into the air. As they fluttered downward, he blew a breath of the vitality of the living across them.
"Whoosh…"
The vitality caused the paper figures to puff up and expand mid-air. Within moments, a slightly eerie yet imposing paper army stood arrayed before Mu Lin. Bound by the rules, his paper forces precisely matched the number of puppets summoned by the opposing Puppet Masters.
The sheer quantity of paper figures gave Mu Lin parity against the multiple Puppet Masters. As the paper army faced off against the puppet horde, the jeering from the enemy side gradually died away. The Puppet Masters stared in disbelief – Mu Lin clearly possessed counterattack capabilities after all.
Yet numbers still held advantages. Soon someone noticed the newly summoned paper figures lacked the distinctive markings of the first two warriors. These later units bore neither the mysterious characters nor the coiling dragon-serpent patterns. Without the Vajra Strength talismans, these ordinary paper figures appeared markedly weaker.
Luo Shan’s eyes lit up with realization. "We can take him! Only the dragon-marked paper figures are strong – he’s only got three or four real fighters! The rest are just fodder!"
The Puppet Masters’ morale surged instantly.
"Ha! Had me worried there…"
"Thought all his puppets were tough…"
"Let’s make him pay for bluffing us…"
Emboldened by this perceived weakness, Master Meng Rui’s disciples regained their swagger. Mu Lin’s gaze briefly rested on the triumphant Luo Shan.
The observation held truth – compared to the Vajra Strength-enhanced units, Mu Lin’s standard paper figures were indeed inferior. Yet despite this apparent disadvantage, Mu Lin’s confidence burned brighter than ever.
*Different tactics for different numbers,* he mused. Aloud, he declared: "You mistake quantity for strength. To me, you’re just scattered individuals."
His eyes suddenly gleamed with intensity. "Let me demonstrate true numerical advantage."
BOOM!
The paper army shuddered as one. Every unit’s spiritual energy linked together, merging them into a unified entity. The coalesced power doubled, then redoubled – the very air thickened under the crushing pressure of their combined aura.
A collective gasp rose from the Puppet Masters as breathing became labored. The paper army’s spiritual presence now pressed down like physical weight, their former numerical advantage rendered meaningless against this perfectly synchronized force.
At the same time, they sensed the paper army before them had changed—no longer separate figures, but fused into a mountainous wall as solid as a gigantic city.
Compared to this united force, their own numerous puppets and fighters seemed scattered like loose sand, lacking coordination.
The master-level formation—Heavenly Wall Palace!
This was why Mu Lin dared challenge them all alone.
The Puppet Masters soon discovered to their shock that the spiritual energy-linked fortress wasn’t even Mu Lin’s full strength.
As Divine Light glowed from Mu Lin’s forehead, his energy fused with the paper figures.
A ghostly, solemn shadow of a town slowly materialized over the small courtyard’s arena.
At first sluggish, the phantom town suddenly merged with a terrifying power from the void, accelerating its manifestation.
But as the town solidified, its solemn aura twisted into something eerie and sinister.
“Woooo…”
Paper money rained down as mournful weeping filled the air, plunging the Puppet Masters into unnatural sorrow.
Corrupted by the power of Heaven’s Funeral, the courtyard’s arena, buildings, and soil turned lifeless and strange. Even the air and spiritual energy carried curses.
After a few breaths, the Puppet Masters felt their strength wane, panic rising.
“Poisoned air! Beware!”
“What cursed sorcery is this?!”
“Attack now! Don’t let that town fully form!”
“Strike together—we’re out of time!”
Merely existing in the tainted domain weakened them. Master Meng Rui’s disciples frantically ordered puppets to attack.
“Inferno Blast!”
“Lion’s Roar Cannon!”
“Ape Demon Staff—full power!”
“Wind Blade Barrage—fire!”
BOOM! CRACKLE!
Dozens of puppets unleashed fiery torrents of spells—only to crash uselessly against the paper army’s Heavenly Wall.
Formations are brutally hard to master, but their might justifies the effort. Through this formation, the paper army’s combined power fused with air and spiritual energy into a barrier that could block Spirit Sea Realm attacks.
Their enemies’ chaotic, clashing forces couldn’t breach the defense despite their numbers.
“Weak! Pathetic!”
“You bore me.”
“Bastard…!”
Mu Lin’s jeers turned the Puppet Masters crimson with rage—though anger couldn’t strengthen their blows.
He raised his arm, commanding the Phantom Army.
“Advance! Destroy them all!”
“KILL!”
“ROAR!”
