Chapter 363

Chapter 363: Has It Always Been Right Just Because It’s Always Been This Way?

"How dare you?!"

Mu Lin stared in disbelief.

Assassination shattered all rules anywhere, sparking life-or-death feuds. His previous rivalry with the Luo family had been mere clashes over interests, not involving Life and Death – something negotiable. At worst, the Luo family would lose some resources.

It resembled his battles with the northern aristocrats, which hadn’t prevented future cooperation. But assassination changed everything. This escalation mirrored political killings during Lighthouse Nation elections. No sane person would choose this path.

Mu Lin couldn’t fathom why the Luo family would risk this.

‘Or was this not their doing at all?’

A sudden "Whoosh!" interrupted his thoughts. The black-robed old man lunged forward, a snake-like flying sword thrusting toward Mu Lin’s heart.

"Boom!"

Mu Lin reacted instantly. His Central Earth Evil energy surged, forming protective misty robes around him. Useless. Though aged and frail, the assassin’s Cultivation reached the peak of Transformation. Worse, the old man had taken dangerous stimulants or used secret techniques to push his power to quasi-Earth Immortal level – a death sentence for his failing body.

The resulting attack struck like collapsing mountains. Mu Lin’s misty robes disintegrated with a "Poof!" as the serpent blade pierced his chest.

Yet the old man scowled instead of celebrating. The impaled Mu Lin crumbled into a torn paper figure.

Before the assassin could react, thunderous roars shook the surroundings:

"Who dares?!"

"Insolence!"

"Attack our human race’s genius? Seek death…!"

Just as Mu Lin had expected, some might want him dead, but with the calamity approaching, more powerful beings of the human race hoped for his survival to preserve humanity’s strength.

If Mu Lin could endure the assassination attempt and avoid instant death, rescuers would arrive.

At this moment, members of the Yan and Chu families, Prince Liang’s residence, Ji Hongyu from the Demon Exorcism Division, and even northern aristocrats sent powerful beings soaring through the clouds toward Mu Lin’s location.

This eased Mu Lin’s tension.

Keeping his true body hidden, one of his avatars stepped forward.

Without attacking, the substitute coldly addressed the black-robed old man: "Your assassination failed. Who sent you?"

"Failed? No. You’re the one who’ll die."

As the old man spoke, countless powerful beings raced toward them. A flying sword streaked through the air toward the withered assassin. The black-robed old man swiftly drew his snake-like flying sword, carving a vertical ∞ symbol.

Mu Lin realized this wasn’t a simple number—it represented the Ouroboros, the infinite symbol.

Whoosh!

Boom!

Attacks from Transformation and Earth Immortal experts arrived swiftly. Lightning crackled and blades hummed as they closed in—only to veer away in curved paths around the old man. Flames similarly bent around him, revealing the ∞ symbol’s power: it created an infinite cycle domain, deflecting all assaults.

"An infinite cycle…" Mu Lin muttered grimly.

Si Ye, Dongfang Ya, the Yan family elder, and Ji Hongyu frowned deeply as they arrived.

"Hold on, Mu Lin! We’re coming!"

"Don’t attack! Just evade!"

"We’ll handle this relic!"

"Stop now, fool! Harming humanity’s genius means death for you and your offspring!"

Boom!

Mu Lin’s extraordinary talent had earned him allies. Whether seeking friendship or safeguarding humanity’s future, none wanted him dead today.

Along with the Yan family and Chu family who had deep connections to Mu Lin, over a dozen people were desperately attacking at this moment.

“Boom… roar!”

Violent assaults made heaven and earth tremble, air quaking as the night sky lit up with dazzling spells.

Yet the more they attacked, the heavier the chill and dread grew in Si Ye, Ji Hongyu, and others’ hearts.

The infinite domain of the snake-like flying sword proved overwhelming, especially since the old assassin had prepared thoroughly.

He’d not only consumed pills beforehand but also used secret techniques to push his cultivation to quasi-Earth Master level.

The spiritual weapon snake-like flying sword even contained Earth Immortal-level magic power.

Such energy fully awakened the weapon’s traits. “Boom… roar…” No matter how fiercely Si Ye, Meng Rui, and Ji Hongyu attacked, they couldn’t breach this endless domain.

Every strike got deflected or redirected. Though appearing mere steps away, the old man might as well have been on another continent.

“Bastard! Which gutter-rat ordered this? Still assassinating human race geniuses now? You deserve death!”

“Let me catch you and I’ll skin you alive!”

Failing to land blows drove the hot-tempered Ji Hongyu into furious roars.

Soon came a more alarming development.

After stabbing Mu Lin’s paper figure, the decaying elder didn’t flee.

This wasn’t unexpected – the cultivator already neared his lifespan’s end with few years remaining.

Having burned all vitality to hunt Mu Lin, he intended to perish together with his target.

What chilled their hearts was his next move. Instead of pursuing Mu Lin’s true body after the failed assassination, he channeled the paper figure’s aura into the snake-like long sword.

Then he gripped the blade and began an eerie, incomprehensible ritual.

As the ceremony progressed and forbidden energy permeated the air, Ji Hongyu and Si Ye’s dread intensified.

They sensed instinctively – once completed, this ritual would let the old man’s strike reach Mu Lin… and kill him.

“Filthy wretch! You’re destroying mankind’s hope! Stop this now if you’ve any human decency left!”

Ji Hongyu’s profanity-laced shouts changed nothing. When someone recognized the technique, despair gripped them all.

“This… it’s the Devouring Serpent! How could this forbidden power surface?”

Panicked questions erupted immediately, though the askers sought answers for Mu Lin’s sake.

Yan Yunyu: “What’s the Devouring Serpent? How to counter it?”

“No defense exists. Also called Self-Devouring Serpent or Ouroboros, it endlessly consumes itself to cycle power.”

“Once its energy enters a body, it can’t be expelled – an infinite, forbidden power that never ends.”

“Besides that, once touched by the Devouring Serpent’s aura, a cultivator’s power gets endlessly drained… As human strength fades, the serpent’s grows. One day, that Devouring Serpent will burst straight out of their body.”

“No way to remove it completely?” Yan Yunyu’s eyes spilled tears in her urgency.

“None. Though cultivators might borrow forbidden power to temporarily suppress part of the serpent’s strength, its endless nature means it can’t be fully destroyed. Worse, that suppressed power came from the cultivator themselves – damage the serpent, and the cultivator’s own Cultivation weakens.”

“Once infected, they’ll just keep getting weaker… Tragic.”

“You monster!” Si Ye roared, face red with rage. “No human kingdom will shelter you! We’ll slice you to mincemeat and scatter your ashes!”

The black-robed old man chuckled at the threats. “Save your breath. After this fight, I’ll burn myself out completely. No need for your blades.”

His gaze shifted to Mu Lin (the Substitute Paper Figure), eyes glinting with vicious satisfaction.

“Die with me, boy… Blame your own big mouth for crossing the wrong people.”

“Hate? Sure. But right now?” Mu Lin’s voice stayed ice-calm. “I’m more interested in killing. You. Your backers. All of them.”

The old man blinked – where was the panic? The despair? Then he threw back his head, laughter booming.

“Kill my masters? Stupid child! Don’t you get it? The Devouring Serpent’s curse can’t be broken! It’ll eat you alive, drop you from genius to gutter trash!”

“Nothing’s unbreakable.”

“Arrogant fool! No one’s ever done it!”

“Because they were weak.” Mu Lin shrugged. “I’m not.”

That eerie calm finally cracked the old man’s smirk. Memories flashed – this boy summoning multiple Transformation manifestations as a mere high-level resource cultivator. Refining three hundred streams of vibrant energy before even reaching maturity…

Outside, Ji Hongyu froze mid-rant. Yan Yunyu’s tears slowed.

“He… he’s right,” someone whispered. “Regular rules don’t apply to Mu Lin.”

“Three hundred vibrant energies…” another breathed. “Who else could?”

Hope flickered where none should exist.