Chapter 247
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Chapter 247: The Assessment Ends, Chaos Begins
The falling tombstone loomed mountainously, bearing the hallmark Black Mountain technique that summoned a Silent Domain.
"Hum!"
Beneath the massive stone, Mu Lin felt all his powers being sealed and utterly suppressed.
This peculiar sensation left him unable to resist. His body shattered like dry clay under pressure.
The Black Mountain chief guard who had attacked with the tombstone snorted coldly at the sight.
"Remember this, mortal. This is the price of defying us."
"You gutter-dwellers dare insult the divine people?"
His combining Essence and Evil realm strength fueled his contempt for Mu Lin.
But before the echo of his words faded, a panicked voice crackled from his communication device:
"Sir! We’ve spotted Mu Lin! He’s slaughtering our – no, wait-"
The sudden report was a clear slap to his face. Yet the chief guard remained unfazed.
"Doppelgangers? Petty tricks." He sneered, fingers tightening around his weapon. "All your struggles crumble before true power."
"I’ll hunt you down inch by inch. You’ll feel death’s breath on your neck…"
His icy threat hung unfinished as another transmission interrupted:
"Sir! Mu Lin’s here with us!"
The chief guard’s brow furrowed. This new voice came from different coordinates, meaning…
"Two clones?"
Before he could process this, urgent reports cascaded like falling dominos:
"Sir! Spotted at sector seven!"
"Apparition sighting – could be illusion magic!"
"He’s… inside my thoughts?!"
"East escape route confirmed!"
"Western perimeter breach!"
"Casualty report! Mu Lin detonated himself with Captain Xu!"
The barrage of conflicting messages froze the chief guard. Dozens of sightings. Contradictory locations. Multiple deaths.
Cold realization seeped through his combining Essence and Evil realm confidence.
By the time the seventh squad’s death notification chimed, even the arrogant guard understood –
The hunter had become the hunted.
Under the guidance of his subordinates, the Black Mountain chief guard rushed through multiple directions, easily crushing several Mu Lins.
Yet every Mu Lin that appeared turned out to be fake – paper figures, illusions, or substitutes. Not a single one was the real Mu Lin.
"Damn bastard! Did he slip away?"
"Impossible! Others might survive, but Mu Lin who insulted our divine servants must die!"
The chief guard’s murderous intent stemmed from more than wounded pride. He knew their control over humans relied entirely on maintaining an image of invincibility. When Mu Lin slaughtered their kind like stray dogs, it shattered the cultists’ loyalty.
"If humans like Mu Lin are stronger than us cultists, why lick our boots? Better serve human powerful beings instead…"
Once gods bleed, they become mortal. The cultists’ fragile unity would crumble if their fearsome reputation cracked. To prevent this collapse, the chief guard had to eliminate Mu Lin at all costs.
"Kill every Mu Lin you see – real or fake!"
"Yes, sir!"
The cultists launched a sweeping search, catching and killing numerous Mu Lins. Yet all were mere substitutes. The true Mu Lin remained unharmed, evading even the tracking skills of Crazy Hunt’s divine servants.
Mu Lin’s hiding method proved extraordinary. No simple underground hole this time. First, he blanketed the area with Manjusaka flowers, using their Other Shore Flower’s Illusion Ability to mask himself. Then he established the Cycle of Life and Death formation with these flowers as anchors, sealing his presence through interplay of Illusion and Reality, Life and Death.
His Trait of Transcendence completed the defense. Elevated in rank, Mu Lin now stood beyond ordinary detection methods – including divination and prophecy. Between these protections and his maze of Other Shore Flower illusions and paper figure decoys, finding him became nearly impossible.
While hiding, Mu Lin struck back. His activated paper figures assaulted cultists under Substitute Paper Figures’ command. These substitutes also folded paper cranes to spy on enemies, crafting origami replicas of their faces. Through curse techniques, they targeted weaker cultists – the powerful Servants of the gods required more time and power to kill than Mu Lin possessed.
Mu Lin targeted the ordinary cultists.
Then, a terrifying scene unfolded.
In the team searching for Mu Lin and other students, people kept collapsing face-first mid-march, clutching their chest.
Some had tears of blood streaming from their eyes, blinding them completely.
Others suddenly attacked their own teammates—victims cursed with implanted Manjusaka.
“Thud!”
“Bastard! What’re you doing?”
“Killing you, obviously!”
“We’re teammates! Have you lost your mind?”
“No—you’re the insane one!”
Betrayals and ambushes erupted endlessly among the cultists under Mu Lin’s curses.
Soon, few cultists dared trust their comrades.
Those who doubted others often died to surprise attacks—like the man before him now.
“Help! Save me! My teammates went mad!”
“How?”
“They attacked out of nowhere—gah! Like this!”
…
The second wave of cultists descended into chaos from Mu Lin’s curses and traps.
But their numbers and strength overwhelmed him.
His curses only felled weaker cultists; the powerful ones remained beyond his reach.
While Mu Lin picked off stragglers, elite humans and aliens faced relentless hunts by the cultists’ strongest members.
Even Mu Lin’s safety hung by a thread.
Though hidden behind layered defenses, the enemy’s divine-backed search might still expose him.
Luckily, Yuhu Academy wasn’t idle. Shortly after the cultists’ second arrival, the Tower of Illusions reconnected with Mu Lin’s group.
A tremendous pull yanked them into teleportation, returning them to Yuhu Academy.
But the survivors wore grim expressions.
Glancing around, Mu Lin saw at least half their original number missing—trapped forever in the secret realm.
Ordinary students and elites alike, including Yuance and Chu Hongxuan… gone.
Of those who returned, only Mu Lin emerged unscathed. The rest bore wounds and despair.
Even Blood Cherry and the Feather Tribe’s Tian Yun were in disarray, the latter missing one of her wings.
…
“They’re gone!”
The deaths of Yuance and Chu Hongxuan struck Mu Lin deeply, forcing a harsh truth upon him.
Reality wasn’t a game, and this was far from a peaceful era. Even prodigies faced mortal peril unless they forged their potential into true power.
“Death, mishaps, hazards, calamities… these strike without warning. The end looms near. I’m still too weak—I must grow stronger without pause!”
Shaken awake by this realization, Mu Lin’s arrogance crumbled. Around him, relentless weeping echoed.
“My Yuance… my boy… sob…”
“Bastards! What good is Yuhu Academy? Give me back my child!”
As Mu Lin stood numb, wealthy nobles swarmed the area. Parents who found their children dead either collapsed wailing or lunged at Yuhu Academy instructors with accusations. Some clutched surviving youths, trembling with residual fear.
Chu Lingluo found herself crushed in her father Si Ye’s embrace, his body quaking violently. The girl remained bewildered.
Mu Lin had shielded her so completely that she faced little danger and didn’t even see the horrors of the final battle. To her, it felt like she’d just been with Mu Lin briefly before everything ended.
Seeing the injured and absent faces, she asked innocently, “Father, why are you crying? Where’s Cousin Hongxuan and the others? Why aren’t they here?”
Her words ignited the grieving crowd. Dozens of bloodshot eyes turned on Chu Lingluo, making her flinch.
Si Ye hastily muffled her mouth, bowed in apology, then dragged her outside to explain. Meanwhile, Dongfang Ya—her face pale—guided Mu Lin away.
Exiting the Tower of Illusions, Dongfang Ya glanced back at the seething nobles and murmured, “War approaches. Chaos will follow… No, correction—war’s been raging all along. The powerful clans just hid the truth. Now their lies crumble, exposing this broken world to all.”
