Chapter 402 – Book of Life and Death, Judge's Brush

The Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe, advancing at a leisurely pace, waited with eager anticipation for Mu Lin’s attack.

Only if Mu Lin took the initiative to strike them could the Dragon King of the Dragon Palace justifiably intervene, using his overwhelming power to crush Mu Lin outright.

The local clans within the East Sea Kingdom also hoped for Mu Lin to launch an offensive. They wished for him to become the vanguard, the sacrificial pawn, in resisting the Dragon Clan and the East Sea King.

Others, too, watched Mu Lin closely.

Yet, under the gaze of all, Mu Lin did not act impulsively or recklessly. Instead, he remained seated, as steady as Mount Tai.

His unwavering composure caused the North-South Clans to raise their eyebrows and murmur among themselves.

However, the East Sea Kingdom was not within their sphere of influence, so they could not fully grasp the threat posed by the Dragon Clan.

Thus, they still had the leisure to discuss.

But for the local clans of the East Sea Kingdom, it was different. Once the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe allied with the East Sea King through marriage and settled in the kingdom’s rivers and lakes, their troubles would be immense—these local powers could not suppress the formidable outsiders from the Dragon Palace.

Unwilling to face such a fate, they vehemently opposed the Dragon Clan’s arrival on land.

Yet, they dared not confront the Dragon Palace directly.

In their desperation, they still pinned their hopes on Mu Lin.

“For the sake of the Human Race, we must prevent the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe from coming ashore.”

“Enough with the empty talk. We all want to stop the Dragon Palace from landing, but who will stand in their way?”

At these words, everyone in the meeting room fell silent.

After a long pause, a sigh finally broke the stillness.

“Alas, we are all mediocrities. The solution to this predicament can only lie with Mu Lin.”

“If he takes action, he might indeed prevent the Dragon Palace from landing… Among the prodigies of our Human Race in this generation, Mu Lin’s talent is the most outstanding, and his temperament is the most courageous and domineering. When provoked by the East Sea King, he dared to take on an entire kingdom alone, throwing the East Sea Kingdom into chaos. Someone who acts like this would never fear the Dragon Clan.”

“Mu Lin is indeed strong, but he is unwilling to act.”

The one who spoke these last words was the Elder from the clan in contact with Mu Lin.

However, as soon as he finished, someone refuted him.

“Elder Qu San, you’ve misunderstood something. Mu Lin is not unwilling to act; he simply doesn’t want to act for free.”

“???”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s pool some resources together. Mu Lin is no fool. He won’t act without compensation. As he said, he can leave at any time, but we have our Spirit Fields and mines here—we cannot run. Since we are the ones asking for his help, we should adopt the right attitude… And let’s stop scheming with petty tricks. Playing games when we need him only makes us look foolish.”

“…”

The Clan Head of the Lü family convinced the others in the meeting room with his words.

Or perhaps, the pressure from the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe on the local clans of the East Sea Kingdom was simply too great.

Thus, in the following period, when they contacted Mu Lin, their attitude became much more sincere.

After negotiations, the clans ultimately joined forces to provide Mu Lin with a substantial amount of resources.

This, in turn, satisfied Mu Lin, who nodded in approval:

“My Paper Figures can finally be upgraded.”

In truth, crafting paper figures is a rather tedious affair, especially when using precious materials to create powerful ones—it is an extremely time-consuming process.

Fortunately, this issue does not exist for Mu Lin.

After all, Mu Lin is not alone; he has hundreds of clones. With all of them working together, crafting paper figures has become an assembly-line operation for him.

At every moment, powerful paper figures are being produced by Mu Lin.

What limits the number of his paper figures is instead his divine soul, mana, and materials.

Now, with the support of the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom, the issue of materials has been partially resolved for Mu Lin.

…

Apart from ordinary resources, Mu Lin also demanded a spirit tool from the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom.

Since spirit tools can serve as a family’s foundation, the expressions of those aristocratic families turned pained and reluctant upon hearing Mu Lin’s request.

But in the end, Mu Lin still managed to persuade them.

“The Dragon Palace is powerful. Aside from me, no one will help you withstand the pressure from the Dragon Palace.”

“Moreover, I need a good weapon to repel the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe.”

After some negotiation, the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom ultimately yielded. In the end, they procured a brush-shaped spirit tool for him according to his needs.

Yes, the spirit tool Mu Lin demanded was a spirit brush.

“Having the Book of Life and Death without the Judge’s Brush feels incomplete. Only when the two are combined can the full power of the Book of Life and Death be unleashed.”

After obtaining the spirit brush, Mu Lin vanished from everyone’s sight. He needed some time to refine and master the spirit brush.

While Mu Lin was familiarizing himself with the spirit tool, the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe’s forces continued to advance toward Skysea City.

Although they were not moving particularly fast, because no one was stopping them, they drew closer and closer to Skysea City.

Indeed, no one was stopping them. After obtaining the spirit tool, Mu Lin had not appeared.

It seemed that in just one or two more days, the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe’s forces would enter Skysea City, yet Mu Lin still had not taken action. This caused the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom to grow utterly anxious.

“What’s going on? Why hasn’t Mu Lin acted yet?”

“He already accepted our spirit tool… Wait, could it be that he also dares not oppose the Dragon Palace, and his deal with us was merely to swindle a batch of resources before fleeing outright?”

This speculation sent shivers down the spines of the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom.

Fortunately, in the end, they did not settle on this conclusion.

Clan Head of the Lü Family: “That’s unlikely. If Mu Lin simply left to temporarily avoid the conflict, no one would blame him… After all, it’s an alliance between the East Sea King and the Dragon Palace. The combined strength of these two forces is not something a single individual can oppose. Therefore, if he were to leave, wherever he went, he would be treated as an honored guest by the local powers.”

“But if he deceived us and then fled, that would be different. In that case, his credibility would be utterly ruined. No one would dare trust such a person.”

Credibility is still quite important in this world, though this is not to say it can never be broken.

However, Mu Lin is currently the Human Race’s number one Prodigy. The value of his credibility far surpasses that of a mere spirit tool.

Thus, the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom believed that Mu Lin would inevitably take action. His current inaction was merely because he was preparing something.

“Could it be that he believes the safest place is also the most dangerous, so he plans to wait until the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe enters Skysea City before launching a surprise attack?”

Mu Lin’s anomalous actions sparked widespread discussion among the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe was also debating why Mu Lin dared not attack.

A significant portion of them believed that the Dragon King’s reputation was so formidable that it had frightened Mu Lin away.

Another group, similar to the aristocratic families within the East Sea Kingdom, speculated that Mu Lin might strike when they were most relaxed after entering Skysea City. However:

“Foolish. I understand the principle that the last ten percent of a hundred-mile journey is the hardest. I won’t let my guard down at the final moment.”

Thinking this, as they approached Skysea City, Ao Huan not only remained vigilant but grew even more cautious.

Thus, their procession entered Skysea City with utmost caution and arrived at the East Sea King’s Manor.

Even after the Dragon Palace delegation met with the East Sea King at the manor, Mu Lin… still had not made a move.

This scene caused the local aristocratic families of the East Sea Kingdom to lose their composure and curse angrily.

“Bastard! Treacherous coward! Return my Spirit Tool!”

Their fury was mirrored by the Dragon King Ao Huan and the East Sea King Ji Tianhai, both wearing grim expressions.

At the same time, while annoyed at having spent the entire journey strategizing against thin air, Dragon King Ao Huan also felt a hint of disdain and contempt for Mu Lin.

“Hmph. I’ve always heard that this so-called Mu Lin acts arrogantly, recklessly, and dares to take on an entire kingdom single-handedly. But now it seems he’s nothing special.”

He looked down on Mu Lin, and the Dragon Palace’s Seventh Prince, Ao Yi, also scoffed.

“I thought I’d get to battle Mu Lin, but it turns out that upon hearing of our Dragon Palace’s arrival, he didn’t even dare show his face. What a waste.”

After speaking, he cast a peculiar glance toward the East Sea King.

Though Ao Yi said nothing as he looked at him, the East Sea King could read the contempt in the dragon prince’s eyes.

‘How could such a timid weakling have thrown your East Sea Kingdom into chaos? What have you all been doing?’

Such a dismissive gaze stoked the East Sea King’s anger. However, since the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe had come to assist him, he couldn’t afford to turn hostile.

Just as the East Sea King prepared to swallow his frustration in annoyance, a loud “bang!” echoed as the door before them was violently pushed open.

Immediately after, a panicked and terrified member of the Aquatic Tribe rushed in from outside.

Seeing it and its terrified expression, the East Sea King realized he wasn’t surprised at all.

‘I knew it. Mu Lin could never be that cowardly.’

‘Neither my East Sea Kingdom nor the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe can intimidate him.’

Upon discovering that Mu Lin dared to attack the Dragon Palace Aquatic Tribe, the East Sea King’s initial reaction wasn’t anger but a sense of relief and even admiration.

(End of Chapter)