Chapter 139 – Strength in Numbers? No, You're All Just Crows to Me

Mu Lin’s declaration that he would take them all on did not bring joy to Master Meng Rui’s students; instead, it flushed their faces with anger and stirred up a clamor.

The reason for this was that everyone felt Mu Lin’s words were excessively arrogant and showed too much contempt for them.

To this, Mu Lin wanted to say: Your guess is correct. I am deliberately looking down on you. Only by doing so can I tarnish Master Meng Rui’s reputation and cause her tangible harm.

—If Master Meng Rui’s students were to gang up and still be defeated by Dongfang Ya’s student, then any noble family in the city with even a shred of sense would know whom to send their children to for training.

To achieve this goal, Mu Lin had no qualms about being a little more audacious.

“Challenge? You’ve got it wrong. Even if all of you come at me together, it’s you challenging me, not me challenging you!”

“Damn it, I can’t take this anymore…”

“Me too, let’s all go at him!”

“Count me in.”

“You arrogant bastard, you’ll regret this…”

Qiao Huihui was among the top-ranked students of Master Meng Rui. After she was soundly defeated, none of Master Meng Rui’s students dared to face Mu Lin alone, fully aware they were no match for him. However, ganging up on him without honor gave them confidence.

Moreover, this righteous group assault was something he had asked for, so they felt no psychological burden.

“I’ve never seen someone so arrogant in all my life.”

Strength in numbers bolstered their courage. The presence of their fellow students around them dispelled their fear of Mu Lin, and they even found the mood to chat idly.

At the same time, the coordinated attack of so many individuals summoned dozens of Puppets onto the Arena.

The Puppets came in all shapes and forms: beast-like spiders, wolves, eagles, flying snakes; humanoid steel guards; and specially designed Malevolent Ghosts, crystal orbs… and more.

The simultaneous appearance of so many Puppets amplified the imposing presence of the Puppet Masters.

Surrounded by Puppets, Master Meng Rui’s students felt utterly secure and believed they held an overwhelming advantage. They couldn’t even imagine how they could possibly lose.

“Nineteen against one—how on earth do you plan to win?”

It wasn’t just Master Meng Rui’s students who believed the Puppet Masters were certain to win; even Zuo Li, who was observing the match, was left dumbfounded.

After staring at Mu Lin for a long while, he shook his head and muttered helplessly, “Although I learned from the leader that Qin Yuan would inevitably win this time, I originally thought Qin Yuan would triumph over Mu Lin after a fierce and evenly matched battle, relying on his ability to counter Mu Lin’s.”

“I never expected Mu Lin to suddenly go mad in the middle of it all.”

His sigh prompted a nod of agreement from his teammate beside him.

“Exactly… To be honest, after seeing that Malevolent Ghost Yaksha in action, I was a little worried. That Malevolent Ghost was so powerful, it had a slim chance of defeating Qin Yuan… But now it seems I was overthinking it.”

Zuo Li: “You definitely were overthinking it. The leader’s predictions are never wrong.”

…

Mu Lin’s decision to take on everyone was seen by the crowd as a sudden fit of madness. Moreover, most of those present did not believe Mu Lin could win.

This majority included Qiao Huihui, who had lost to Mu Lin; the noble family scions who had come to watch; Zuo Li and his group, who had come to find Qin Yuan; and even Master Meng Rui herself—though she was confident of winning the wager, her original expectation was that Mu Lin, who countered Qin Yuan, would be the one to secure victory.

Mu Lin’s sudden madness was not within her considerations.

‘It seems Dongfang Ya’s judgment is indeed flawed, to favor someone so arrogant and conceited… No, Mu Lin’s condition can’t even be described as arrogance—it’s outright madness.’

Just as Master Meng Rui shook her head and sighed, Mu Lin, whom everyone had dismissed, made his move.

A stack of Paper Figures was thrown out by Mu Lin, and as they drifted down in midair, he blew a breath of living energy onto them.

“Hoo…”

The infusion of living energy caused the Paper Figures to swell and enlarge in midair. Soon, a slightly eerie yet solemn and imposing Paper Figure army appeared before Mu Lin.

Limited by the rules, the number of Paper Figures Mu Lin summoned was equal to the number of Puppets summoned by the opposing Puppet Masters.

The multitude of Paper Figures gave Mu Lin a sense of standing on equal footing with the numerous Puppet Masters across from him.

The Paper Figure army and the many Puppets, locked in mutual confrontation and standoff, gradually silenced the mocking voices of the opposing Puppet Masters.

When Mu Lin summoned his Paper Figures, they were startled to realize that he was not without the ability to retaliate.

However, there are advantages to having strength in numbers. Soon, someone noticed that the Paper Figures Mu Lin subsequently summoned were different from the two that had first taken the field.

The latter lacked the inscriptions and patterns resembling characters or coiling dragons and serpents.

Without the enhancement of the Mighty Jiao Dragon – Adamantine Force Talisman Array, the aura of Mu Lin’s Paper Figures was significantly weaker.

This scene excited the perceptive Luo Shan.

“We can win! Not all of Mu Lin’s Paper Figures are strong. Only those engraved with the Jiao Dragon pattern are powerful. The rest are just filler, and he only has three or four of the strong ones!”

These words greatly boosted the morale of the Puppet Masters.

“Whew, that scared me…”

“I thought all his Paper Figures were strong…”

“That’s obviously impossible.”

“Daring to scare me like that—I won’t let him off easy later…”

Believing they had seen through Mu Lin’s true capabilities, Master Meng Rui’s disciples gradually lost their fear of him.

Mu Lin glanced at Luo Shan, who had spoken first.

First, it must be said that Luo Shan’s observation was correct. Compared to the Paper Figures inscribed with the Adamantine Force Talisman Array, Mu Lin’s other Paper Figures were indeed significantly weaker.

However, even though the Paper Figures were weaker, Mu Lin remained fully confident in his victory.

In fact, his confidence was even greater now than before.

‘Small numbers have their own tactics, and large numbers have theirs.’

“Strength in numbers? No, to me, you’re just a disorganized mob.”

At this point, Mu Lin’s gaze suddenly sharpened:

“Let me show you what true strength in numbers looks like.”

“Boom!”

As Mu Lin finished speaking, his Paper Figures trembled in unison, and then the energy auras of all the Paper Figures interconnected.

“Hum…”

With their auras linked, the Paper Figure army, now acting as one, saw its collective momentum surge exponentially. The surrounding air grew stagnant under the overwhelming pressure of the Paper Figures’ intensified presence.

“Hiss…”

Under the influence of this terrifying aura, the Puppet Masters felt their breathing grow labored.

Simultaneously, they sensed that the Paper Figure army standing before them had transformed. They were no longer individual entities but had coalesced into a massive, mountain-like barrier—an impenetrable fortress.

In contrast, his own side, despite having more numbers and stronger puppets, was like scattered grains of sand, lacking any unified command.

Master Grade Array—Celestial Rampart Citadel!

The existence of this ability was precisely why Mu Lin dared to take on everyone alone.

And soon, the Puppet Masters facing Mu Lin were astonished to discover that the interconnected aura, resembling a formidable fortress or a massive city, was not even the full extent of Mu Lin’s capabilities.

As divine light bloomed from Mu Lin’s brow, his aura also became linked with the Paper Figures.

Then, a phantom, solemn and majestic image of a town slowly materialized on the arena within the courtyard.

The phantom town initially appeared extremely slowly, but soon, a strange and terrifying power emanated from an unknowable, distant place, merging with the phantom image of the town.

The infusion of this power allowed the phantom town at Mu Lin’s brow to rapidly manifest into reality.

However, at the same time, the town transformed from solemn and majestic to—terrifying and eerie.

“Woo woo woo…”

Ghost Money began to fall from the sky out of nowhere.

Heart-wrenching yet eerie and chilling cries of sorrow also spread throughout the courtyard. This ominous weeping caused the Puppet Masters facing Mu Lin to involuntarily succumb to grief.

Simultaneously, tainted by the Sky Burial Power, the arena, buildings, and even the ground within Master Meng Rui’s courtyard became lifeless and eerie.

Even the air and Spiritual Energy were corrupted by the Sky Burial Power, tainted with misfortune and curses.

The Puppet Masters facing Mu Lin felt their bodies weaken after just a few breaths, filling their hearts with panic and urgency.

“Be careful, the air is poisoned…”

“Damn it, what is this thing?”

“Never mind what it is, attack quickly! We must not let that phantom town fully manifest!”

“Attack together, we don’t have much time…”

The descending Sky Burial Domain, merely by existing, inflicted harm upon the Puppet Masters.

Realizing they could not linger, Master Meng Rui’s disciples immediately ordered their puppets to attack Mu Lin.

“Blazing Fireball…”

“…Lion King’s Roaring Bullet…”

“Maximum output, Ape Demon Staff…”

“…Wind-Wing Crossbow, rapid fire…”

“Boom…”

“Crackle…”

With dozens of puppets launching their attacks simultaneously, the spectacle was indeed grand. Fireballs, wind blades, thunder… a dazzling array of Spells surged like a torrent toward the Paper Figure army.

And then, they were all blocked outside by the Celestial Rampart formed by the Paper Figure army.

Arrays are difficult to master, but their immense power matches their difficulty.

Powerful Arrays enable Qi Refiners to fight beyond their realms.

Just as now, the power of the Paper Figure army was interconnected through the Array, merging with the air and Spiritual Energy to form the Celestial Rampart. This rampart could even withstand one or two Spells from the Spirit Sea Realm.

In contrast, while the opposing side had numbers and their attacks were spectacular, their only commendable trait was their sheer intensity.

Disorganized and even conflicting forces meant they could not breach the Celestial Rampart’s defense.

“Pathetic! Weak!”

“To be honest, you disappoint me.”

“Bastard…”

Mu Lin’s taunts flushed the faces of the Puppet Masters with anger, their fury boiling over.

Then, in their extreme rage, they grew even angrier—but anger could not enhance their power.

At the same time, Mu Lin did not just stand by idly. After uttering a disdainful “pathetic,” he waved his arm and issued the command to attack the army of Yin soldiers.

“All troops, charge! Crush them!”

“Kill!”

“Roar!”

(End of Chapter)