Chapter 165 – Deal with Mu Lin? No, We Want to Please Him

Buy it if you want, if not, get lost—such a terrible service attitude is naturally not good, especially for a merchant.

But Yan Yunyu’s original intention was not to sell the True Intent Diagram for Clone Cultivation. If it didn’t sell, she would only be delighted.

With such thoughts, it was only natural for her to display such a terrible attitude.

Mu Lin did not stop her in this.

He wasn’t truly heroic, intending to nurture a large number of strong Prodigies to compete with himself. Offering the Clone Cultivation Method was merely to reduce trouble.

In such a situation, as long as the Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram appeared, Mu Lin’s troubles would lessen, and the attention on him would shift.

As for making money… though somewhat counterintuitive, it’s not always true that cheaper things sell better.

The idea that “cheap is no good, expensive things are better” is deeply ingrained in people’s minds.

—Selling it at a high price would instead make others believe that Mu Lin’s Mystical Art was genuine and effective, thereby attracting buyers.

While pondering this in his mind, Mu Lin turned to Yan Yunyu and said, “I don’t know much about buying and selling. I’ll leave the sale of the True Intent Diagram to you.”

Hearing this, Yan Yunyu immediately beamed with joy and assured him:

“Don’t worry, Brother Mu. This humble one will sell your Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram at a price worthy of its value.”

After saying this, she thought of something and added with a feigned smile, “By the way, Brother Mu, rarity increases value. I believe the Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram shouldn’t be produced in large quantities. It’s best if there’s only one in the world at a time—once it’s used up, then another can be drawn. Also, it’s best to release one every year… no, every three months.”

…

It must be said that Yan Yunyu exhausted all her schemes to keep the Clone Cultivation True Intent Diagram within “her own circle.”

Besides using price as a filter, she also planned to limit sales to reduce the chances of others comprehending the Clone Cultivation Method.

Understanding this, Hua Xingyu and Lin Qi both twitched at the corners of their mouths.

However, they couldn’t argue with Yan Yunyu, nor did they dare to pressure her. Mu Lin, protected by the noble ladies Yan and Chu and valued by their teacher, was not someone they could easily bully.

Finding the price unchangeable, the two promptly took their leave.

This wasn’t because they didn’t want to buy it, but because the price was too high, and they needed to go back and gather funds.

Among them, Hua Xingyu’s family was wealthier, so he planned to ask his family for the money.

Lin Qi, however, was different. Not as affluent, he needed help. Thus, he headed toward the cultivation chamber of his squad leader, Yuan Ce.

This was both to borrow money and to report Mu Lin’s situation to him.

However, upon reaching the cultivation chamber, Lin Qi frowned to find that his leader Yuan Ce was not in the room. Instead, the other members of the Pure Yang Squad were all cultivating there.

Seeing this, he immediately asked the others:

“Where has our squad leader gone? I have something to report.”

“He was called to a meeting by the Headmaster.”

After answering, the teammate chuckled and said, “Brother Lin, you’ve investigated that arrogant Mu Lin, right? Do you think we can win without our leader taking action?”

Their habitual disdain for outer court Disciples made Lin Qi’s teammate think they could defeat Mu Lin on their own.

In the past, Lin Qi would have agreed.

But after witnessing Mu Lin’s formidable and lofty performance in the Thunder Pool and sensing his fearless, heroic willingness to share…

As a strong individual, Mu Lin had earned Lin Qi’s respect and awe. Consequently, upon hearing others belittle Mu Lin, Lin Qi’s brow furrowed tightly.

“Show some respect towards Mu Lin. That man is no weakling.”

“?! !”

Upon hearing Lin Qi’s words, the others in the room were immediately stunned.

“Respect? ‘That man’? Lin Qi, what’s wrong with you? Have you been bewitched?”

Some found it unbelievable, suspecting Lin Qi had fallen under a spell, while others were eager to learn what had caused such a shift in his attitude.

To this, Lin Qi did not respond immediately. Instead, he said:

“Let’s wait until the boss returns.”

This statement silenced everyone.

However, their confusion did not diminish; rather, it grew with each passing moment.

Fortunately, just as their bewilderment was about to peak, Yuan Ce’s frowning figure walked in from outside.

Already frowning, his expression grew even more somber upon sensing the tense atmosphere in the training ground.

“What happened?”

“I know! Lin Qi gathered information on Mu Lin, but that Mu Lin must have done something to make Lin Qi idolize him.”

The reply came from a lively youth toying with a throwing knife. Hearing this, Lin Qi immediately shook his head.

“It’s not idolization; it’s respect. Moreover, what I respect isn’t Mu Lin the person, but rather the respect due to a strong individual.”

Throwing Knife Youth: “Pfft, calling Mu Lin a strong individual? And you claim you don’t idolize him. Boss, I think Lin Qi has been bought off and betrayed us. I bet he’s going to say next that we’re no match for Mu Lin and should avoid opposing him, hahaha…”

These words were the throwing knife youth’s teasing and jest, but to his surprise, Lin Qi did not refute them entirely. Instead, he nodded and said, “I do indeed advise our team not to confront Mu Lin. Instead, we should seek friendly relations with him. But I haven’t been bought off; it’s simply because we are no match for Mu Lin.”

“Seek friendly relations with Mu Lin? No match for him? Have you lost your mind!”

Lin Qi’s words once again astonished his companions. This time, even Yuan Ce’s gaze held a trace of doubt.

After staring at Lin Qi for a moment, a “hum” resonated as mana fluctuations emanated from Yuan Ce. In the next instant, a golden light shot from Yuan Ce’s hand, illuminating Lin Qi.

Feeling the warm, pure yang energy enveloping him, Lin Qi sighed helplessly.

“Boss, I haven’t been bewitched. Nor would Mu Lin be so bold or foolish as to attack a Dao Academy disciple within the Jade Lake Dao Academy!”

“Then why do you insist we not oppose him?”

“Because he is sufficiently strong!”

Without waiting for Yuan Ce to inquire further, Lin Qi continued, “While I was showing him around the Dao Palace, he challenged the Majestic Thunder Pool once. His final result was 72 meters.”

“That’s impossible!”

Lin Qi’s words left the throwing knife-wielding youth stunned and incredulous. As for Yuan Ce, though his eyes narrowed sharply, he remained composed and said calmly, “Are you certain? I recall Mu Lin practices the Paper Crafting Secret Art. Such yin and malevolent power is inherently countered by the forces of thunder and the sun. To reach 72 meters, an ordinary person might only need a Spirit Pool, but he would require a Spirit Sea—and at its peak at that…”

Lin Qi: “The Dao Palace’s intelligence was wrong. Mu Lin isn’t just from the Paper Crafting Lineage… No, wait—Mu Lin is from the Paper Crafting Lineage, but on top of that, he’s also cultivated a Jiao Dragon Body Refinement technique. With this technique, he managed to traverse 72 meters of the Majestic Thunder Pool.”

After saying this, he added, “Moreover, I wasn’t the only one who saw this. Hua Xingyu under Yan Zhanpeng’s command, as well as others in the Dao Palace, witnessed it too. He even left his name on the stone tablet beside the Thunder Pool. Something like this can be verified with a simple check. Do you really think I’d lie about something so easily exposed?”

“…Indeed, you wouldn’t.”

Some agreed with Lin Qi’s words, but others found it hard to accept.

“How is that possible? Outer court disciples don’t have access to Time Chambers, Essence Pools, or the gradual adaptation provided by the Majestic Thunder Pool. How could he possibly traverse 72 meters in one go?”

“Exactly! Are the Dao Palace masters lying to us? Is the gap between other Dao Academies and ours not as big as we thought?”

This confusion wasn’t limited to the flying dagger youth; Yuan Ce and the others were equally puzzled.

Just as they were racking their brains, Lin Qi spoke again.

“I know the reason behind Mu Lin’s rapid increase in strength. This is also why I advise our team not to offend Mu Lin but instead to curry favor with him.”

Yuan Ce: “What reason? And are you sure the word you just used was ‘curry favor’?”

Lin Qi: “Yes, curry favor. I can explain the reason, but boss, I’ve contributed quite a bit this time. Could you lend me some Spirit Stones? Three thousand.”

“Three thousand? Fine, but I need to make sure the intelligence you gathered is accurate.”

“Don’t worry, I saw it with my own eyes. There’s no mistake.”

As he spoke, Lin Qi suppressed some of his excitement and said with a tone of admiration and respect, “It’s true that Mu Lin comes from the outer court, and their cultivation environment is indeed inferior to ours.”

“But first, Mu Lin possesses extraordinary comprehension. Second, he has the assistance of two noble ladies, so he lacks no resources. This alone ensures his cultivation speed is far from slow.”

“Of course, if that were all, he’d merely be outstanding, not this heaven-defying. What truly makes his strength extraordinary is the Mystical Art: Substitute Paper Figure!”

“Substitute Paper Figure?”

At this point, a voice chimed in from the side.

It was a woman with an intellectual and gentle aura, who asked doubtfully, “I know of this art. It allows Paper Artisans from the Paper Crafting Lineage to substitute death, but what does it have to do with cultivation?”

Lin Qi: “Normally, it has nothing to do with cultivation. But Mu Lin’s comprehension talent is exceptionally high. He cultivated the Substitute Paper Figure to Master Grade and developed a new ability… Clone cultivation. He can have six substitutes cultivate just like him, then gather the Mana and insights from their cultivation into one…”

“Hiss…”

Before Lin Qi could finish his words, tinged with envy and admiration, the room was filled with sharp intakes of breath.

Even the steady Yuan Ce clenched his fists tightly.

Clearly, his emotions were anything but calm.

And how could he remain calm? Sixfold, plus himself makes sevenfold—what Qi Refiner could resist such cultivation efficiency?

At the same time, any remaining doubts about how Mu Lin could be so powerful vanished entirely.

“He can actually make clones cultivate? Damn, no wonder he’s so strong. If I had that ability, I could do it too…”

“Six times, damn it, how can there be such an overpowered ability in this world…”

Envy, jealousy—Mu Lin’s talent made everyone in the room’s eyes turn slightly red with covetousness.

And just as they were scratching their heads in envy, Lin Qi dropped another bombshell.

“You’ve misunderstood one thing. Mu Lin’s current cultivation speed isn’t six times—it’s thirty times!”

“Huh?”

“Huh?!”

(End of Chapter)