Chapter 141 – Master Meng Rui's Interest

Using the Yin Soldiers as anchors and the Mindscape World – Sky Burial City as a connection, Mu Lin summoned the power of the Land of Sky Burial to descend. This move was executed on a grand scale, with an extremely wide-ranging impact.

The final result was that not only did those on the arena feel the terror of the Sky Burial Domain, but even the spectators nearby were affected.

The first to bear the brunt was Qin Yuan, who was not far away. When that eerie and terrifying Sky Burial Power descended, bloodstains and contamination also appeared on his body.

Fortunately, he was not restricted by the arena, allowing him to distance himself from Mu Lin immediately and avoid being deeply affected.

Although he was unharmed, witnessing the betrayal of his fellow disciples’ puppets and their miserable state after the Sky Burial Domain descended left him feeling numb.

Especially in the later stages of the Sky Burial Domain’s descent, the nearly shattered door and the increasingly close, increasingly ominous crying sounds made his body and mind tremble as if he were falling into an abyss.

It must be said that Mu Lin misjudged the danger of the eerie crying sounds.

He possessed the Transcendence Trait, which allowed his Divine Soul to remain detached from worldly matters, and he held the City God Status, a position of great honor. As a result, his resistance to abnormal states was exceptionally strong.

Even at the very center of the Sky Burial Domain’s descent, with layers of amplification, he only felt a slight sense of sorrow.

But others lacked his status and that transcendent trait.

In the later stages of the Sky Burial Domain’s descent, the crying sounds no longer echoed in their ears but reverberated within their Divine Souls and minds.

The sorrowful cries caused many to weep uncontrollably and filled them with immense fear.

—When the crying sounds echoed in their hearts, many people were horrified to discover a white figure, facing away from them and weeping, appearing in their minds.

The moment they saw that figure, many felt inexplicably sorrowful.

Along with the sorrow, both their bodies and Divine Souls grew colder and stiffer, showing a tendency to transform into corpses that had been dead for several days.

What made it even harder for them to bear was that the stiffness of their bodies and Divine Souls made it difficult for them to resist, leaving them to helplessly watch themselves march toward death.

It could be said that if Mu Lin had allowed the Sky Burial Domain to descend for just one more minute, a large portion of the Puppet Masters on the arena would have been killed by those crying sounds.

This was also the reason why the Puppet Masters feared Mu Lin so much—he could easily kill them.

Terrifying, ominous, eerie, forbidden… Mu Lin had been labeled as such by the Puppet Masters. Even though they suffered heavy losses, they dared not demand compensation from him, nor did they dare harbor any resentment toward him.

…

With the Sky Burial Domain, Mu Lin made most of Master Meng Rui’s Students revere and fear him.

Qin Yuan, however, was not like this. Having lost his family to the Night Demon, he did not fear death much.

Still, Mu Lin’s immense power and terror left him somewhat wary and questioning his own life.

Looking at Zuo Li, he whispered through a transmission, “Are you sure I won today’s assessment? How am I supposed to fight that monster?!”

This time, Zuo Li also fell silent. He, too, had been affected by the earlier Dharma Domain, and experiencing it firsthand made him realize Mu Lin’s formidable power and terror.

The abilities displayed by Mu Lin, whether it was the Celestial Rampart Citadel formed by dozens of Yin Soldiers arrayed together, the Sky Burial Power that eroded everything that followed, or the eerie weeping and the knocking on the door—all of these made even Zuo Li feel that Mu Lin was difficult to deal with.

However, compared to Mu Lin’s terror, he trusted even more in the might of his leader.

Holding this belief, he felt that his leader’s prediction could not be wrong, and in this assessment, Qin Yuan would undoubtedly emerge victorious.

Reasoning backward from the outcome, he truly found reasons why Qin Yuan might win.

“Don’t be too afraid. That Mu Lin is indeed terrifyingly strong, but first, this assessment is about puppets, not about fighting to the death with all your might.”

“So, your danger isn’t actually that high—under Master Meng Rui’s rules, he can only summon Paper Figures equal in number to your puppets. Without the aid of Arrays, he cannot recreate the terrifying scene from earlier.”

“Second, if you look closely, you’ll notice that this terrifying power erodes everything, and it affects him as well.”

“Because of this, when facing you, he won’t be in his complete state. Moreover, summoning such power will also cause him immense exhaustion.”

“Exhaustion, injuries, the inability to summon numerous Paper Figures, and the inability to wield that eerie Forbidden Power—while you possess the Six-Armed Glazed Buddha, which counters evil energy and Paper Figures…”

At this point, Zuo Li smiled and asked:

“Now, do you still think you’ll lose?”

“No.”

After this conversation, Qin Yuan was pleasantly surprised to find that not only would he not lose, but he actually held a significant advantage.

…

Under Zuo Li’s reassurance, Qin Yuan’s emotions gradually calmed, but others were not so fortunate.

The ordinary Disciples, already frightened out of their wits and chilled to the bone, need not be mentioned.

The gathered scions of noble and wealthy families were all filled with lingering fear.

Looking at Mu Lin, their eyes held wariness and gravity.

—Thanks to the protection of various treasures and the fact that Mu Lin’s summoning of the Sky Burial Domain did not last very long, they did not suffer severe injuries.

However, while there were no serious injuries, minor wounds and fright were unavoidable.

Despite being affected, they had no intention of arrogantly seeking trouble with Mu Lin.

This was not out of kindness or magnanimity, but because the Sky Burial Domain had truly terrified them.

They were uncertain what harm might befall them if Mu Lin, in a desperate struggle, opened the door of the Sky Burial Domain and allowed the ominous entities within to emerge.

‘When I think you have weapons of mass destruction, you’d better actually have them.’

And now, Mu Lin seemed to possess the means to overturn the table. Faced with someone like him, the noble and wealthy families naturally would not risk offending him deeply over mere pride.

“To be able to invoke such terrifying power… if there’s no conflict of interest, it’s best not to provoke him…”

Some were wary, while others considered different possibilities.

“So young, yet possessing such power and able to control it to some extent… this Mu Lin might be worth trying to win over… Actually, never mind. His power remains an unstable factor. If we go to great lengths to recruit him and he loses control, it would be troublesome.”

“However, while he may not be suitable for recruitment, his teacher is worth paying attention to.”

“To make him defend so desperately, his teacher must have genuine talent and ability. We could send Yu’er to study under his teacher…”

Amidst apprehension and vigilance, someone set their sights on Dongfang Ya, planning to send their own child to study under her.

Unaware of this, Mu Lin looked up at Meng Rui at that moment.

And at that moment, Master Meng Rui was also looking at him with astonishment.

When the Sky Burial Domain descended earlier, if anyone present was least affected, it was undoubtedly this master.

Neither the erosion of the Sky Burial Power nor the sorrowful, eerie weeping had caused her the slightest harm.

Even the banging doors hadn’t made her expression change in the least.

However, while she herself remained unharmed, her gaze toward Mu Lin was filled with amazement.

“A domain—to summon a domain at this stage!”

Domains were nothing unusual to Meng Rui; she herself possessed a Dharma Domain. But summoning a domain at the Gushing Spring Realm was rare.

Especially since Meng Rui knew very well that Mu Lin hadn’t been cultivating for long. His ability to summon a domain made it all the more rare and remarkable.

“To have such a trump card, no wonder his confidence in winning was so strong.”

Thinking this, Meng Rui even let out a self-deprecating laugh.

“Looking back now, it wasn’t Dongfang Ya who lacked insight—it was me.”

Realizing her mistake, Meng Rui didn’t react with anger or embarrassment. Instead, she called out to Mu Lin without hesitation.

“Mu Lin, would you be interested in becoming my disciple? My personal disciple!”

“Huh?!”

This left Mu Lin, who had been staring directly at Meng Rui, stunned.

After his victory—a crushing one at that—Mu Lin had looked straight at Meng Rui, expecting her to admit her mistake and apologize for insulting Dongfang Ya.

But no matter what, he hadn’t expected Master Meng Rui to say something like this.

His stunned silence made Master Meng Rui think he was unwilling. Seeing this, she immediately raised her offer.

“Xiao… Dongfang Ya is gentle and kind, but her kindness isn’t reserved for you alone—she treats all young people well.”

“Even if you become her disciple, she wouldn’t, nor would she have the time, to devote herself entirely to you.”

“But I’m different. I don’t have many personal disciples. If you become my disciple, I can guide you in every aspect.”

“Moreover, your path isn’t too different from mine. I can help you more than Dongfang Ya could.”

(End of Chapter)