Chapter 108 – The City God's Might: Cai Tian Is Terrified

While listening attentively to Yan Yunyu’s explanation, Mu Lin’s hands never ceased moving. He took out Year-End Paper and continuously folded it into Paper Figures, skillfully adding colors and painting facial features with a masterful touch.

Soon, vivid and lifelike Paper Figures emerged one after another from Mu Lin’s hands.

Just as he had completed most of his work, two figures—one large and one small—entered the training ground.

The petite little girl was naturally Mu Lin’s teacher, Dongfang Ya, while the larger one was an unfamiliar middle-aged man. The two were engaged in conversation.

What made Mu Lin raise an eyebrow was Dongfang Ya’s visibly displeased expression at that moment.

And soon, he learned the reason.

“Teacher Dongfang, your teaching philosophy is too lax. Talented Students should be gathered together to form a team.”

Dongfang Ya: “Hmph, what’s the use of forcing them into a team? If their hearts aren’t united and they don’t trust each other, how can they cooperate effectively? Moreover, the Dao Palace educates them not just to pass examinations, but to face Evil Spirits in the future. You can gather them together in the Dao Palace, but can you still do so once they leave? When that time comes, without familiar teammates, how will they confront Evil Spirits?”

“If their hearts aren’t united and they don’t trust each other, then let them compete fairly and elect a recognized leader. As for leaving the Dao Palace, their current team won’t last a lifetime anyway—some will die or leave for other reasons. When that happens, they’ll still need to find new teammates. I’m just helping them adapt in advance.”

This argument clearly did not convince Dongfang Ya.

“Sophistry.”

“But in the end, my philosophy prevailed. The Prodigies formed a team, and Yangyu and the others outperformed your Students. And with one step ahead, every step follows faster. In this Southern Eastern Region Joint Examination, we can achieve better results, thereby securing more resources. Wan Yangyu and the others will also surpass Ji Xue and her group in strength…”

The defeat of Anping Dao Palace was a fact, leaving Dongfang Ya unable to refute. Consequently, her expression grew increasingly grim.

Just as Dongfang Ya was seething with frustration and the visiting teacher from Qianyang Dao Palace was feeling somewhat smug, a detached voice suddenly rang out beside them.

“So, gathering all the Prodigies of the Dao Palace and then defeating Anping Dao Palace’s second-best makes you that happy?”

“Hmm?”

The abrupt voice brought both Dongfang Ya and the teacher from Qianyang Dao Palace to a halt.

Looking at Mu Lin, the Daoist Practitioner named Qi Qiu frowned and asked, “Who are you?”

“Mu Lin, the Dao Palace First of Anping Dao Palace.”

The one who stepped forward was naturally Mu Lin. Having received so much kindness from Dongfang Ya, he could not stand idly by while she was being bullied.

Of course, Mu Lin acknowledged that stepping forward at this moment carried some risk.

However, he had compelling reasons to do so.

There were two reasons. First, to gain Dongfang Ya’s favor. If he could help her save face during her moment of frustration and anger, it would undoubtedly cause her goodwill toward him to skyrocket.

With a bit of luck, Mu Lin might even gain a true backer.

The second reason was even more important.

A confrontation between Mu Lin and Qianyang Dao Palace was inevitable.

He aimed to claim the title of Dao Palace First and rank within the top five in the Southeast Region, while Qianyang Dao Palace also had its own ambitions regarding the rankings in the Southeast Region examination.

If there were many spots, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but due to the presence of the behemoth that is Jade Lake Dao Academy, the top five spots were actually extremely competitive.

According to Teacher Dongfang Ya, Jade Lake Dao Academy was almost certain to take the top three spots.

Excluding them, the four major Dao Palaces would be competing for just two spots.

In such a situation, if Anping Dao Palace were in a cooperative position, how could he possibly compete?

Therefore, Mu Lin, who aimed for the top five, was inevitably going to clash with Qianyang Dao Palace.

‘The Great Dao requires struggle. Unless I neither strive nor contend, nor desire any resources, conflicts with others are almost inevitable due to interests.’

And since he would inevitably offend them sooner or later, Mu Lin naturally didn’t mind improving Teacher Dongfang Ya’s favorability while offending Qianyang Dao Palace.

…

For Dongfang Ya and himself, Mu Lin spoke up directly.

And as he expected, his words provoked some hostility from the Daoist Practitioners of Qianyang Dao Palace.

“First place? Isn’t that Ji Xue? Also, during the last exchange between our Dao Palace and yours, you didn’t seem to participate.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin shrugged and said:

“For us Qi Refiners, Cultivation Level is the foremost priority. At that time, I was in seclusion for a breakthrough and naturally had no time to participate in the assessment. As for Ji Xue, I have already surpassed her.”

These words caused Qi Qiu’s expression to turn cold, and he looked at Dongfang Ya with some wariness.

“Using the second-ranked Ji Xue to test our strength first, then sending out the first-ranked one. Hah, I never expected Anping Dao Palace to have such a trick up its sleeve.”

“Uh…”

Dongfang Ya didn’t know how to respond to this.

At the same time, her gaze toward Mu Lin held both appreciation and annoyance.

She was pleased that Mu Lin had stepped forward when she was feeling stifled, making her feel that her previous care for him hadn’t been in vain.

But she was annoyed because she didn’t believe Mu Lin had any chance of defeating Qianyang Dao Palace’s team of Prodigies. When that happened, she would have to endure humiliation again.

‘No, there’s no need for a contest. Mu Lin’s situation is widely known, and someone will soon expose him…’

As expected by Dongfang Ya, the arrival of the two teachers had already drawn attention, and Mu Lin’s remarks further focused everyone’s gaze on them.

Then, they all heard Mu Lin’s words.

In response, the people from Anping Dao Palace felt extremely awkward.

They thought Mu Lin was boasting too much and would inevitably face ridicule from Qianyang Dao Palace soon.

Due to their lack of trust in Mu Lin, some even whispered complaints.

“What is that bastard doing?”

“Wanting to vent anger for Teacher Dongfang Ya is fine, but do you have the strength for it?”

“It’s over. We’re going to be mocked again.”

While the people of Anping Dao Palace felt awkward, Wan Yangyu and the others from Qianyang Dao Palace wore peculiar expressions.

“If he hadn’t come over so ostentatiously, and if Sister Shen Ya hadn’t explained everything to us, we might have actually been fooled by him. But now…”

Wan Yangyu had decent character. After learning everything, he simply shook his head and refrained from making any mocking remarks.

However, his good character didn’t mean everyone else shared it.

Especially Cai Tian, who had been harshly rejected by Chu Lingluo and Yan Yunyu. The two girls who had rejected him were now both clinging to Mu Lin’s side, filling him with envy, jealousy, and malice toward Mu Lin.

Previously, with Wan Yangyu keeping him in check, he hadn’t dared to cause trouble for Mu Lin.

But now, he felt this was an excellent opportunity.

Thus, just as his team leader Qi Qiu was feeling apprehensive, Cai Tian ran over and shouted at him, “Teacher, you’ve been fooled by this guy. He’s no prodigy at all—just a Third-Class Spirit Root trash.”

“Huh?!”

These words stunned Qi Qiu, and he looked at Dongfang Ya with astonishment.

To be honest, he could understand Dongfang Ya using some tricks to save face.

But he couldn’t understand why she would employ such a simple, easily exposed scheme.

‘You could have at least had someone with a Second-Class Spirit Root pretend to be a prodigy…’

While he was still in shock, Cai Tian first glanced at Mu Lin, then looked at the two girls beside him. A mocking smile spread across his face.

“Hah, I originally thought you were elegant, refined individuals. I never imagined you could be so blind as to take a liking to such trash.”

“Now that I think about it, your rejection back then was actually a blessing for me. Such foolish women, unable to distinguish right from wrong…”

Being scolded and rejected like dogs had left Cai Tian harboring deep resentment toward Chu Lingluo and Yan Yunyu. Now, thinking he had found their weakness, he mocked them relentlessly, seeking revenge.

However, halfway through his tirade, he suddenly stopped.

His eyes met Mu Lin’s.

The moment their gazes locked, his heart seemed to freeze, as if it had stopped beating, and his entire body stiffened abruptly.

It was as if a tiny human was gazing up at towering mountains, or a ferocious beast stood towering before him.

At that moment, Cai Tian felt Mu Lin was lofty and boundless, possessing divine majesty and an unassailable dignity.

As for himself, he felt insignificant and lowly, like an ant.

Moreover, he was overwhelmed with guilt.

Under Mu Lin’s gaze, he felt as if everything about him had been laid bare. His mind flooded with memories of all the wicked deeds he had committed in the past.

His guilt stirred his emotions, and his emotional turmoil only deepened his guilt. Under Mu Lin’s imposing stare, his aura grew weaker and weaker, more and more submissive. In the end, cold sweat even dripped down the face of this Qi Refiner, and his complexion turned deathly pale.

Merely being stared at by Mu Lin was enough to scare him into kneeling.

This was the majesty of the City God.

In ancient societies, the authority of the government was immense. Commoners entering a government office, whether guilty or not, would tremble with fear.

Although Cai Tian was a Qi Refiner and not as vulnerable as an ordinary person, the City God was no ordinary magistrate—he was the guardian deity of a region.

Moreover, as a Deity of the Netherworld, the City God’s primary function was not to reward virtue but to punish evil.

How should evil people be treated?

Different people have different views on this. The Netherworld’s approach was to be even more ruthless than the wicked, subjecting them to endless torment.

Tongue-ripping, ice mountains, bronze pillars, boiling oil cauldrons… the terrifying Eighteen Levels of Hell and the Avici Hell represented the Netherworld’s stance toward evildoers.

Because they advocated using evil to suppress evil and were constantly capturing Malevolent Ghosts and evil spirits, the Netherworld’s City Gods naturally possessed a unique, stern divine majesty.

Although Mu Lin’s position as City God had not been officially conferred by the imperial court using national fortune, the Human Dao had acknowledged it. Thus, his status as City God was genuine, and his majesty was real.

Although his majesty could not be fully manifested in reality, it was still possible to reveal a portion of it. Moreover, the eyes are the windows to the soul, and Mu Lin’s City God Domain was situated within the Mindscape of his heart. All these factors combined meant that Cai Tian, who had been staring directly at Mu Lin, had his Divine Soul shaken by the divine might of the City God.

Well… this also had to do with the vast gap between their Divine Soul Realms. Cultivating the Vow-Power Heart Lamp along with the Mindscape – Sky Burial – City God Art, Mu Lin’s Divine Soul Realm was already at the peak of the Spirit Pool stage. In fact, since both Cultivation Methods were of Heaven Grade, the quality of his Divine Soul could rival that of the Spirit Sea Realm.

In contrast, Cai Tian, whether in terms of Divine Soul or Mana Cultivation, was only at the Spirit Awakening Realm—a full two major realms below Mu Lin. Given such a disparity, it would have been strange if he hadn’t been completely overwhelmed.

Shaken by the divine might of the City God, Cai Tian was already on the verge of collapse, but Mu Lin did not let him off so easily.

“You think a Third-Class Spirit Root is trash?”

“C-crack… c-crack…”

Under Mu Lin’s intimidation, he could barely even speak.

Seeing this, Mu Lin snorted coldly, causing the City God within his heart to roar with power.

“Speak!”

“Yes.”

Instinctively, Cai Tian obeyed.

This, too, was the Authority of the City God.

(End of Chapter)