Chapter 110 – The Situation Settles: Challenging the Tower of Illusory Heavens

The seemingly decent evaluation left Wan Yangyu feeling utterly stifled.

After all, the one giving the evaluation wasn’t an elder, but a youth his own age.

What made it feel absurd to him was that this youth had a Third-Class Spirit Root, while he himself possessed a First-Class Spirit Root. Logically, with a First-Class Spirit Root, he should be countless times stronger than Mu Lin.

Yet in the end, it was Mu Lin, with his Third-Class Spirit Root, who was evaluating him.

Of course, that wasn’t the worst part. What truly pained him was that he couldn’t even refute such an evaluation.

In the clash of auras, he had indeed been at a disadvantage, a completely overwhelming one at that.

‘With only a Third-Class Spirit Root, yet he’s cultivated to the Gushing Spring Realm just like me, and possesses such formidable Divine Soul cultivation. How can there be such an exaggerated person in this world…’

Facing Mu Lin, Wan Yangyu was at a loss for words.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to say anything.

Just as the two were locked in their standoff, an angry shout rang out from the side, followed by the sounds of a scuffle.

When Mu Lin made his move, the lead teacher from Qianyang Dao Palace couldn’t help but intervene. Naturally, Dongfang Ya wouldn’t stand by and watch Mu Lin get bullied, so she joined the fray as well.

In terms of strength, Qi Qiu was no match for Dongfang Ya. Therefore, he could only watch helplessly as Cai Tian’s tongue was torn out, which sent him into a rage.

“Dongfang Ya, what are you doing? Do you want to start a war with my Qianyang Dao Palace?”

“You’re the one preparing for war, daring to attack my student! Do you even have any respect for me?!”

“…That wasn’t an attack; it was to stop him. Besides, it was your student who acted first.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin shrugged. “Teacher, I can’t accept that accusation. Clearly, it was your student who provoked first.”

Qi Qiu: “He only said a few words…”

Before he could finish, Mu Lin interrupted him, speaking calmly, “So, teacher, you think it’s just a minor matter if I call you trash and worthless to your face, then mock your wife and daughter, and that it shouldn’t be punished?”

“…”

These words left Qi Qiu speechless.

Seeing this, Mu Lin said quietly, “It seems the teacher also acknowledges that I was right. Moreover, I did this for Cai Tian’s own good. At least, after this experience, he’ll understand that some words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly.”

With a cold glance at the still-wailing Cai Tian, Mu Lin remarked indifferently:

“I am kind-hearted and only punished you. But if you encounter someone truly cruel, it won’t be just a minor injury.”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

It was Dongfang Ya who stopped Mu Lin.

After silencing his further taunts, she turned to Qi Qiu.

“If I were you, I’d hurry and treat your student.”

“Hmph, I don’t need you to tell me.”

As Qi Qiu took Cai Tian away, the incident finally settled down.

However, while the event itself subsided, it left the disciples in the Training Ground utterly shocked.

Especially Mu Lin’s classmates.

Originally, they thought Mu Lin, with his Third-Class Spirit Root, had fallen behind and was no longer someone to fear.

But today’s events made them realize, to their astonishment, that they were wrong—terribly wrong.

Not only had Mu Lin not fallen behind, but he had become even more terrifying.

With a single word, he silenced Cai Tian and effortlessly tore out his tongue—a scene that terrified countless onlookers.

After all, even though Cai Tian seemed weak in Mu Lin’s hands, he was still at Spirit Awakening Perfection, a Cultivation Level many in the class hadn’t yet reached.

Even Zhou Liang and Jing Yeming dared not claim certain victory over Cai Tian.

Yet such a person had his tongue torn out by Mu Lin with a single word. Witnessing this scene, how could the others not be terrified?

Especially those who had previously provoked Mu Lin with words felt a wave of panic.

“That… Mu Lin, how could he possibly be so strong?!”

“How is this possible? He has a Third-Class Spirit Root…”

“Watch your words, do you want to die…?”

“So, Teacher Dongfang Ya was right—Spirit Roots aren’t everything…”

“Don’t look at me, don’t look at me…”

Mu Lin paid no attention to his classmates’ whispers. At that moment, he turned to Dongfang Ya with a smile and said, “Teacher, I did pretty well this time, didn’t I?”

“Hmph…”

Yan Yunyu, hearing this, placed her hands on her hips in anger. “You rashly attacked a Student from another Dao Palace, and you still think you did the right thing? Have you considered that their Dao Palace’s teacher might seek revenge?”

Upon hearing Dongfang Ya’s furious words, Mu Lin showed no concern. Instead, he grinned and replied, “Isn’t that why I have you, Teacher? I believe in you… Besides, I think the Dao Palace would offer some protection to a prodigy like me.”

“…”

These words left Dongfang Ya speechless. For Anping Dao Palace, Mu Lin would indeed be protected.

After all, his dominant performance just now not only brought face and honor to the Dao Palace but also tangible benefits—when Disciples excel, their teachers’ treatment improves accordingly.

Faced with such concrete advantages, neither the higher-ups nor the ordinary teachers of the Dao Palace would allow anyone to harm Mu Lin.

Thus, Mu Lin’s earlier actions, though seemingly impulsive, were actually calculated.

…

Realizing this, Dongfang Ya fell silent for a moment before speaking earnestly, “Even so, you must not act recklessly. Within the Dao Palace, or even in Anping City, I can protect you. But what if you’re in the wilderness…?”

This made Mu Lin laugh.

“If I had to worry about consequences in everything, I’d never get anything done. Take now, for example—I plan to take on the Tower Challenge. In my view, the resentment this will provoke is countless times greater than tearing out a tongue.”

Dongfang Ya still couldn’t refute this.

Merely tearing out a tongue didn’t create deep hatred between Mu Lin and that Dao Palace teacher. After all, Cai Tian was only Qi Qiu’s Student, not his son, so the teacher himself suffered no loss.

Moreover, not all teachers were as responsible and dedicated to their Students as Dongfang Ya.

Qi Qiu had acted earlier out of wounded pride and anger.

Once his rage subsided, the matter would likely end there.

As for crossing regions and traveling thousands of miles to pursue revenge—it was too dangerous and unnecessary. As a Prodigy Student, if Mu Lin were killed, the imperial court would undoubtedly investigate. Once discovered, Qi Qiu would face decades, if not centuries, of imprisonment, even if he avoided execution.

If such a thing happened, his once-promising future would be ruined. Thus, the likelihood of him acting over mere pride was truly low.

But if Mu Lin succeeded in the Tower Challenge, he would seize the leadership of the two Dao Palaces’ alliance, securing a better ranking. Only then would he truly offend the teachers of Qianyang Dao Palace, as this would cause them to lose some benefits—a tangible loss.

Yet, could Mu Lin avoid the Tower Challenge?

Impossible.

If he didn’t challenge the tower, where would his resources come from? Who would provide the resources needed for his Spirit Root’s transformation?

Let alone Yan Yunyu—the very reason she supported Mu Lin was because he performed exceptionally well and could take her through the tower challenges. If Mu Lin hadn’t shown outstanding performance in the past, she wouldn’t have paid him any attention.

Therefore, this tower, Mu Lin had to challenge it.

Dongfang Ya also knew this. After confirming that Mu Lin wasn’t acting impulsively and that offending others was unavoidable as long as he took action, she sighed and said, “Forget it, go ahead and challenge the tower with peace of mind. Leave the matter of safety to me. As long as you remain a student of the Dao Palace, whether inside the Dao Palace or outside, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

‘Indeed, I did the right thing just now by stepping forward to restore Dongfang Ya’s dignity, which increased her favor toward me. In the past, she wouldn’t have explicitly promised to protect me, especially outside the Dao Palace.’

Now, Mu Lin could confidently pat his chest and boldly declare that he had someone backing him up.

Of course, he wouldn’t voice his inner thoughts outright. He simply replied respectfully:

“Thank you, Teacher.”

After speaking, he remembered something and added:

“Oh, by the way, Teacher Dongfang, the resentment I’m incurring from my current actions ultimately stems from working for the Dao Palace. So, Teacher, you don’t have to shoulder everything yourself. You can definitely seek out the Headmaster and have him issue a statement.”

This made Teacher Dongfang laugh:

“You little rascal, you’re not doing this to ease my burden—you want the Headmaster to become your backer too, don’t you?”

“Hehe…”

Seeing Mu Lin laugh awkwardly, Dongfang Ya wasn’t angry but simply reminded him:

“Getting the Headmaster to speak up is no easy task. Are you sure you can achieve a good result in the Southeast Joint Examination this time?”

“Please rest assured about that. If it’s against people, I might not necessarily win, but if it’s against ghosts, I’m certain to secure a spot in the top five!”

With abilities like Ghost Messengers, Yin Soldiers, Civil and Military Judges, and the City God, if Mu Lin couldn’t handle a few minor ghosts, he might as well not have lived at all.

“Since you’re so confident, I’ll speak to the Headmaster about it.”

“Thank you.”

After chatting briefly with Teacher Dongfang Ya, Mu Lin took Yan Yunyu and Chu Lingluo and headed toward the Tower of Illusory Heavens.

He was going to challenge the tower.

And because of his earlier performance, his actions drew countless followers.

Everyone wanted to see how far Mu Lin could go.

This time, although people still discussed Mu Lin’s tower challenge, their tone was no longer dismissive but carried a hint of anticipation.

There were two reasons for this change. First, Mu Lin’s earlier performance had intimidated everyone, making them hesitant to speak recklessly about him.

They didn’t want to suffer the punishment of having their tongues pulled out for “slander and glib talk.”

The second reason was that they now had a common enemy.

Regardless of their previous disputes, Mu Lin ultimately belonged to Anping Dao Palace and was their fellow disciple. Frustrated by their own failures, they wanted Mu Lin to defeat their opponents.

…

While the disciples of Anping Dao Palace looked on with anticipation, the expressions of those from Qianyang Dao Palace were far from pleasant.

If Mu Lin succeeded in the tower challenge, it would mean they were inferior to him—something neither the teachers nor the students wanted to see.

However, not to mention they were currently at Anping Dao Palace—even if they were at Qianyang Dao Palace, Qi Qiu and the others could not openly obstruct Mu Lin from undertaking the Tower Challenge. Though there was rivalry between them, on the surface, they were collaborators.

Fortunately, the team leader, Qi Qiu, soon came up with an idea.

“Let’s go, we’ll also take on the Tower Challenge. I’ll arrange for you to challenge it together. You don’t need to achieve better results—just disrupt him enough to prevent him from earning an ‘Excellent’ rating. That would be our victory.”

(End of Chapter)