Chapter 170
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Chapter 170: The Dragon Swims Through the Water
Among the noblewomen in the private room, those friendly with Chu Lingluo’s mother treated the naive, pure Lingluo like their own niece. Their advice came bluntly:
“Si Ye, you ought to pay more attention to Lingluo. That man spends her Spirit Stones—seems… unreliable.”
Those who disliked Chu Lingluo’s mother dripped honeyed words instead.
“How bold our Lingluo is! Chasing love so freely—quite admirable!”
“Indeed! The boy she fancies even catches other girls’ eyes. What excellent taste she has!”
“Congratulations, Mrs. Chu! You’ll be cradling a grandchild soon, no?”
“Do invite me to the wedding feast…”
Few spoke with outright mockery, but many relished the thought of Chu Lingluo’s mother’s humiliation. They plotted to spread news of Lingluo dating a cold clan’s disciple, aiming to ruin her reputation and sabotage future marriages within her social class.
Equal in status to Chu Lingluo’s mother, these women couldn’t be silenced. She could only watch, face darkening, hatred for Mu Lin simmering.
Mu Lin sensed the commotion but shrugged it off. His efforts had earned him the power to refuse what he didn’t want.
…
At his seat, Mu Lin devoured food as planned. After gorging, his vitality boiled, his whole body grew hot, and energy rapidly filled inside him. The surge could fuel a third skin shedding—yet he held back.
“If I can push beyond limits, I should. It’ll boost my potential… Pity, though. I’d miss gaining Thunder Breath before the first trial.”
“No use craving perfection.”
Sighing, he resumed cultivation outside the Time Tower. Then an idea struck.
“Wait—could I digest inside the Tower?”
He knew the three-time zone would age him fivefold. But using it briefly?
“Losing three days’ lifespan to evolve before the trial? Worth it.”
He ordered Yan Yunyu to arrange it—entry to the Tower and another feast from the quasi-master-level spiritual chef.
Yan Yunyu delivered. Access to the Time Tower? Secured instantly.
On the other side, the spiritual chefs faced some minor complications.
As crowds gathered in Yuzhou, Master Bao grew busier by the day. Ordinary persons, even those of minor status, couldn’t secure his services.
Yan Yunyu herself lacked the necessary standing. Even name-dropping Master Meng Rui and Teacher Dongfang Ya failed to sway the quasi-master.
“Apologies, but Master Bao’s schedule is full—banquets are booked days ahead.”
“Spiritual meals aren’t whipped up casually. Ingredients must be prepared beforehand, cooking temperatures monitored, and spiritual energy balanced. It’s exhausting work—Master Bao barely manages a few servings daily.”
“The earliest available slot is ten days from now…”
Being business-savvy, Master Bao’s subordinates avoided blunt refusals. They laid out facts, apologized repeatedly, and left Yan Yunyu unable to vent her frustration.
Unnoticed by her, several noblewomen lingered in a private booth, their laughter bubbling through hushed discussions.
“Did you catch Si Ye’s face? Green with rage!”
“Hah! Any mother would combust, her daughter chasing some cold clan’s disciple—utter idiocy…”
“Marrying down drags their status. This generation might cling on, but the next? Their brats will serve ours.”
“Silver linings, though. Si Ye’s been pushing his daughter hard. Chu Lingluo’s innocence charmed many, but now? A cold clan’s castoff ruins her rivalry edge…”
“Let’s cement this. Since the little one loves playing romance, we’ll spread her tale far and wide—”
“Look! Isn’t that Lingluo with Yan Yunyu?”
All eyes turned to see the pair negotiating with the spiritual chefs for Mu Lin’s meal. The noblewomen smirked.
They’d secured reservations through early bookings. Walk-in requests? Impossible. Master Bao wouldn’t risk canceling existing patrons—all influential figures.
True to expectations, Yan Yunyu’s pleas hit stone walls.
Chu Lingluo stepped forward as instructed. “If bookings are beyond you, surely the Chu family’s reputation, combined with the Yan family and Master Meng Rui’s influence, warrants a meeting with Master Bao?”
“…Certainly.”
The three-minute discussion’s contents remained private, but the outcome stunned observers. The elusive Master Bao emerged, personally escorting them out with uncharacteristic deference.
“The meal will arrive tonight without delay. My… son will deliver it personally.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd. The noblewomen who loathed Chu Lingluo’s mother reassessed their rival.
“To sway Master Bao… Her claws reach deeper than we thought.”
Their hatred burned fiercer—Si Ye’s rising competence only sharpened their desire to crush his family’s prospects.
Therefore, the noblewomen, sneering coldly, coincidentally decided to spread rumors about Chu Lingluo and Mu Lin everywhere, aiming to completely tarnish her reputation among noble families.
These women firmly believed Master Bao had changed his mind because Chu Lingluo traded the Chu family’s interests.
"Perfect! Now we have another confirmed rumor – a noble young lady using her family’s resources to nurture her lover. Those common fools will surely find this fascinating…"
They refused to believe a Pretty Boy living off a soft meal could persuade Master Bao.
"Trusting that Pretty Boy changed Master Bao’s mind through his own skills is less believable than Chu Lingluo becoming an imperial consort. At least the latter has a sliver of possibility."
…
Neither Mu Lin nor Master Bao knew the noblewomen’s thoughts.
Watching Chu Lingluo and Yan Yunyu depart, Master Bao’s eyes filled with endless shock.
"The Clone Cultivation Method… Such a miraculous technique actually exists! And it was comprehended by a mere youth? Prodigy? No – this boy’s a monster!"
"I must secure Mu Lin’s loyalty through his stomach. Becoming his personal chef means I – and my descendants – can learn this method…"
He immediately ordered the tavern manager: "Designate Mu Lin as top-tier VIP. Notify me personally whenever he requests food. Charge only ingredient costs."
"Yes."
To obtain the Clone Cultivation Method for his lineage, Master Bao resolved to befriend Mu Lin.
As for why a chef commanded the tavern manager? Yan Yunyu had explained before – when masters reach pinnacle skill, establishments beg for their presence rather than vice versa.
This was also why she’d immediately changed her attitude upon recognizing Mu Lin’s potential.
…
Mu Lin ignored Master Bao’s flattery. Poisoned food? Harm transfer rendered that irrelevant.
What chilled his gaze happened that night – Chu Lingluo’s mother sent a rude maid demanding his presence, clearly seeking to vent her daytime humiliation.
Naturally, he refused.
"Go? Busy."
"Tell your mistress this: I’ve never touched Chu Lingluo. Her choices caused this situation. If displeased, she should retrieve her daughter herself."
"Add this – handle your Chu family affairs yourselves. I won’t interfere. Don’t disturb me again."
Blunt and unyielding – Mu Lin’s demeanor had shifted with newfound power. No, truthfully, this was always his nature.
Previous compromises stemmed from weakness. Now empowered, he rejected unwanted demands.
The maid gaped at his defiance.
"You… How dare disrespect the madam!"
Stuttering with rage, she nearly attacked – until Yan Yunyu restrained her.
After signaling Yan Yunyu to handle it, Mu Lin proceeded with his schedule: Time Tower, spiritual meal, then Thunder Pool baptism for his third metamorphosis!
Even with the Time Tower, after Mu Lin digested the spiritual meal, night had already fallen. Few noticed when he ventured into the Radiance of Thunder Pool this time.
Mu Lin didn’t mind the lack of attention. He came here to grow stronger, not to show off. The emptiness around him brought comfort rather than loneliness.
“Boom… roar…”
Electric currents immediately assaulted his flesh upon entering, just like before. But after undergoing two transformations within this very pool, his body now resisted the Bolts of Lightning remarkably well.
This time, he felt no pain until reaching the 24-meter mark—only a soothing numbness lingered on his skin. The sharp stinging began at 36 meters.
Wasting no time, he activated both ultimate moves: Communicating with Spirits · Ancestral Souls and Sky-High Technique Spell · Power of Zi Wei. Like a storm-charged orca, he sliced through the crackling waters. Soon he passed his former limit of 72 meters.
But this Mu Lin—empowered by yang-rich spiritual meals—carried unprecedented vitality. He forced himself nine meters further before halting at 81 meters. Only eighteen meters now separated him from the pool’s deepest point at 99 meters.
Disappointment, not triumph, flooded him.
“Eighteen meters… Not enough. My plan to become a true dragon here has failed. This distance can’t sustain six more transformations—not even the sixth.”
The bitterness faded as reason resurfaced. True dragons—ageless, mighty, peerless—stood equal to gods across realms. Such perfection couldn’t be easily claimed.
The vital blood he’d Refined came from an evil dragon who’d drowned farmlands to amass power for leaping the Dragon Gate.
‘If transformation were simple,’ Mu Lin mused, ‘that creature wouldn’t have chosen violence over bargaining with humans. To become a dragon… must I also traverse raging waters?’
Dragon veins only formed in great rivers—waterways humans inevitably settled near for fertile lands. But when evil dragons gathered floodwaters to breach the Dragon Gate, uncontrollable deluges destroyed crops and drowned millions…
“Damned paradox,” he muttered. “Humans won’t tolerate such disasters, making the path impossible.” The problem defied solution, but today’s priority was his third transformation. Anticipation stirred as he thought of the coming ability.
“How potent will this Thunder Breath be?”
“Boom… roar…”
