Chapter 127 – Xue Ying of the Spirit Sea Realm: Talent of the Child of Slaughter

Faced with the disciples’ assessment of the Proud Sky Squad, the instructor from Longyou Dao Palace did not refute it but nodded instead, saying:

“This point cannot be denied. According to the information I’ve received, aside from their arrogant name, their ambitions are also immense. This time, they don’t even see us as opponents but are directly aiming for the top three in the Southern Eastern Region Joint Examination.”

“Aiming for the top three? Are they trying to compete with Jade Lake Dao Academy?”

“That’s too arrogant.”

Instructor: “Indeed, it is arrogant, but they have the qualifications to be so. Not to mention their current ranking of forty-third, even Wan Yangyu from Qianyang Dao Palace was defeated by him. So, how do you plan to respond?”

This sparked a discussion among the cultivators below. Eventually, a cultivator who appeared dignified and handsome stepped forward.

“If we gather the people from our Longyou and Heshan Dao Palaces, it’s not impossible to compete with him, but it’s unnecessary. Since he is so arrogant and intends to challenge Jade Lake Dao Academy, let Jade Lake Dao Academy handle it for us.”

Hearing this, the instructor reminded him: “Jade Lake Dao Academy is proud, but not foolish. They may not necessarily take action.”

“They will… With us adding fuel to the fire, their pride will surely compel them to act.”

…

Due to their caution, Longyou Dao Palace chose not to confront Mu Lin directly.

Meanwhile, at Jade Lake Dao Palace, as a responsible teacher, Tian Yi also mentioned Mu Lin’s situation in the palace before the joint examination.

“Everyone, take note. Anping Dao Palace has produced a prodigy this time. He has led his team to forty-third place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings and intends to secure third place in this joint examination.”

Upon hearing this, the prodigies in Jade Lake Dao Academy were not alarmed. Instead, Yan Zhanpeng smiled at Chu Hongxuan.

“Brother Chu, that one openly declared his intention to challenge you. It seems he doesn’t take you seriously. Can you tolerate that?”

Such words did not anger Chu Hongxuan. He shrugged and said, “You’re mistaken. It’s not me he doesn’t take seriously—it’s all of you. At the very least, he holds some respect for me, as he still harbors the desire to challenge me. But as for all of you, he doesn’t even have the will to challenge you. That’s blatant disdain.”

“…”

These words left Yan Zhanpeng speechless, and Yuan Ce beside him also darkened his expression.

He hadn’t expected that while watching the drama unfold, he would become part of it.

However, compared to Chu Hongxuan, who was extremely confident in his own strength, and Yan Zhanpeng, who still held hidden cards, his own abilities were indeed slightly weaker.

Thus, not daring to be careless, he asked the instructor, “What is Mu Lin’s background? How strong is he?”

“Mu Lin comes from a humble background, possesses the Yin Eight Gates inheritance, has a Third-Class Spirit Root, and his current cultivation level is at the Gushing Spring Early Stage…”

Before he could finish, the instructor was interrupted.

“Teacher, are you sure you’re not joking with us?”

Such words bordered on disrespect, but Tian Yi was not angered.

For one, every student in the class came from distinguished families and possessed exceptional talent, and he did not want to clash with them.

Another reason was that even he, while reading the intelligence report, found the situation rather unbelievable.

“I know you’re surprised. When I first heard about this, I also thought it was impossible. But don’t underestimate him. Regardless, he cleared the fifth floor of the Tower of Illusory Heavens with an ‘Excellent’ rating.”

“What you say is true, but I possess a Pure Yang Body.”

“…”

Yuan Ce’s words left Tian Yi silent. As a Qi Refiner, he naturally understood how the Pure Yang Body countered Yin spirits and ghosts.

With such talent, Yuan Ce could even forcefully slay demonic monsters of a higher level, whereas currently, Mu Lin’s mana cultivation was still inferior to that of his own students.

Because he knew so much, Tian Yi truly could not find a reason for his disciple’s failure.

“In any case, be extra cautious…”

He was still offering reminders, but the others had already stopped paying attention.

Yan Zhanpeng shifted his target to Chu Hongxuan:

“In this assessment, third place will definitely be mine.”

“Haha, just bring it on.”

As for the second-ranked pair in the class—the male and female twins—the girl was quite intrigued by Mu Lin.

“Giggle, brother, with Mu Lin’s level of strength, he actually dares to aim for third place. It’s a bit amusing. I feel like playing with him would be quite fun.”

The girl looked delighted, while the boy gazed at his sister with doting affection.

“What do you want to do?”

“Give him some help, let him come close to winning in the competition, and then kick him down just as he’s about to succeed… No, that’s too troublesome. How about this instead—we directly take action and knock him down to last place. Aiming for the top three but ending up dead last—giggle, just thinking about it makes me so happy.”

Such behavior was truly malicious, but the brother of the twins did not object.

Doting on his sister, he cared only about whether she was happy, and he paid no mind to Mu Lin’s fate.

Of course, there was another reason for his thoughts.

“If that’s what you want, let’s give it a try. It won’t take much effort anyway.”

The masters do not care—this phrase best described the twins’ mindset.

From beginning to end, neither of them believed Mu Lin could pose any threat to them, nor did they think dealing with Mu Lin would require any real effort.

Because they felt it could be done casually and easily accomplished, they approached Mu Lin with a playful attitude.

The only opponent they took seriously from start to finish was one person.

  Thinking this, the brother of the twins turned his gaze toward a girl with a somewhat cold and stern expression.

“Xue Ying, what level is your mana cultivation at now? Have you broken through to the Spirit Sea?”

“I have.”

…

“Spirit Sea, are you sure?”

At Anping Dao Palace, in Mu Lin’s courtyard, when Yan Yunyu revealed the information about the top-ranked disciple of Jade Lake Dao Academy, Mu Lin was shocked and looked at her as if she were insane.

It was no wonder he reacted this way—advancing from nothing to the Spirit Sea in three or four months was beyond his imagination.

In response, Yan Yunyu sighed and said, “I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Moreover, her breakthrough to the Spirit Sea isn’t surprising.”

As she spoke, Yan Yunyu explained the reason to Mu Lin.

“Xue Ying wasn’t originally named that. She is the legitimate daughter of the Ge Family. The Ge Family worships weapons and possesses countless divine arms. Among them is a legacy artifact, a demon blade named Blood Cherry. The Xue Ying from Jade Lake Dao Palace was naturally compatible with the demon blade and fused with Blood Cherry into her body after coming of age.”

This revelation left Mu Lin silent.

All roads lead to Rome, but some are born in Rome.

Naturally compatible with a legacy artifact demon blade, as long as she wasn’t exceptionally useless, her cultivation level would soar under the guidance of the legacy artifact—Blood Cherry.

Before the envy in Mu Lin’s heart could fade, Yan Yunyu delivered another piece of news that stirred jealousy.

“As a legacy weapon, the Demon Blade Blood Cherry possesses an utterly terrifying ability. When slain by it, whether they be demonic monsters, demon beasts, malevolent spirits, or malevolent ghosts, a portion of their essence is plundered by Blood Cherry and then transmitted to the weapon’s master, enhancing the master’s power.”

“The reason her mana cultivation has advanced so rapidly is likely because the Ge Family has provided her with numerous demonic monsters and demon beasts for her to slaughter.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin was left utterly speechless.

This was essentially the talent of a Child of Slaughter—the ability to level up by killing.

And as anyone knows, in classic novels, “killing to level up” is a highly common and exceptionally powerful golden finger for protagonists.

In other words, Xue Ying was a girl born with a golden finger.

“A natural-born protagonist…”

Thinking this, Mu Lin didn’t feel overly intimidated, nor did he believe he could never surpass her in his lifetime.

“Killing to level up is indeed quite powerful, and with the formidable influence of the Ge Family, they can gather demons and monsters for her to slaughter, allowing her to progress smoothly in the early stages.”

“Reaching the Spirit Sea Realm in three months is clear proof of that.”

“However, Blood Cherry is ultimately just a demonic weapon from this world, not a true Child of Slaughter talent. Advancing through this method inevitably comes with flaws. Like the common predicament in the Northern Nether Divine Palace… absorbing too much foreign energy will cause her mana to become impure. For her to advance to higher realms, she will inevitably need to refine and purify it…”

After some thought, and realizing that the Great Spirit Imperial Family of this world was not the Ge Family, Mu Lin confirmed his speculation.

If a Child of Slaughter could grow infinitely, either the Ge Family would become the supreme power of the world, or they would be branded as a demonic path. The current situation, where they are neither here nor there, suggests that Blood Cherry has flaws and isn’t worth being targeted by everyone.

Of course, Blood Cherry’s flaws are a matter for the future. In the Spirit Sea Realm, she still posed immense pressure on Mu Lin.

At the very least, Mu Lin no longer felt overconfident; instead, he felt an urgent need to cultivate.

“It’s already late in the day, not a good time to seek out Master Meng Rui. I’ll first take a look at the Celestial Fortress Array. Mastering this array will significantly boost my strength.”

“Yin Soldiers, Ghost Messengers, Civil and Military Judges, Jiao Dragon Body, Substitute Paper Figure, Curse: Stabilizing the Seven Po, and now adding arrays… If Blood Cherry’s only advantage is faster cultivation speed, I still have a chance.”

“…”

After comforting Yan Yunyu and Chu Lingluo for a while and seeing them off, Mu Lin immediately began studying the jade scroll of the Celestial Fortress Array.

Upon understanding it, Mu Lin discovered that this military array technique was somewhat unique.

It was both extremely difficult and surprisingly easy to cultivate.

The difficulty lay in the fact that practicing this array required the minds of those setting it up to be in perfect harmony, acting in seamless coordination, and ideally, their cultivation methods and attributes should also be identical. Only then could the array’s full power be unleashed.

If using actual people to set up the array, merely selecting suitable individuals would be an immense effort.

Even after selection, a disciplined regular army would need three to six months to grasp the basics and five to seven years to become proficient.

To achieve true mastery would require living and training together for over a decade.

As for the ease—Mu Lin wasn’t using ordinary soldiers to set up the array. His Yin Soldiers and Ghost Messengers were all imbued with consciousness by him, naturally allowing them to be of one mind.

As for mana attributes, his Yin Soldiers and Ghost Messengers were all catalyzed from his own living human energy, sharing the same origin and flow, making their fusion exceptionally seamless.

Consequently, in cultivating this technique, Mu Lin progressed with astonishing speed, as if he were cheating.

‘No, not just like it—I’m literally cheating.’

“Hah…”

With a single breath of living energy, thirty-six Netherworld Soldiers instantly stood before Mu Lin, beginning their first array drill.

After a few brief attempts, they linked their shared Mana through a special rhythm and vibration.

Celestial Fortress Array, mastered.

(End of Chapter)