Chapter 174 – Weakness and Ignorance Are Never Barriers to Survival—Arrogance Is

Revealing his true form was indeed a proposal that could reduce others’ hostility toward Mu Lin.

After all, young men yearn for affection, and they would harbor feelings of jealousy toward peers their own age.

But if Mu Lin were merely a child of eleven or twelve, others would not react this way.

At the same time, by doing so, Mu Lin would also lessen the hostility of the young ladies whose reputations had been affected by the rumors.

—Not everyone knew that their reputations had been tarnished due to the conflict between Chu Lingluo’s mother and some noblewomen.

In the eyes of some young ladies and their suitors, the earlier rumors might very well have been spread by Mu Lin himself, aiming to take advantage of them.

Thinking this way, they were thus furious with Mu Lin.

However, they would be angry with a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old Mu Lin, feeling that he was taking advantage of them.

But if Mu Lin were only eleven or twelve, they would not think this way.

Moreover, Mu Lin being of such an age would turn the rumors from the past few days into an outright joke. At that point, the rumors would likely become something like this:

“Hey, did you hear about the rumors from the past few days? The one about eight or nine noble ladies fighting over a husband.”

“I heard. I always felt that rumor might not be false?”

“You believe such an outrageous rumor?”

“Why not? I’m telling you, there are many outrageous things in this world…”

“But they say the protagonist of that rumor is only eleven years old.”

“???”

“…Eleven years old! How did such an absurd rumor even spread?”

It could be confirmed that even the most steadfast conspiracy theorists, upon learning that Mu Lin’s true form was only eleven years old, would no longer believe the earlier rumors to be true.

However, in the end, Mu Lin did not do this—he felt it unnecessary.

“There’s no need to pay them any mind. Whether they harbor hostility or not, everyone else will be our opponents if we want to achieve a good ranking in this joint examination.”

“Since we’ll have to face them sooner or later, there’s no need to care about their opinions or attitudes toward me.”

The master does not care. Holding such thoughts, Mu Lin failed to notice one thing: after making this decision, the Vow-Power Heart Lamp within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly blazed with intense light.

【Vow-Power Heart Lamp Proficiency +331】

This light shone upon Mu Lin’s Divine Soul, making it more condensed and refined.

But at the same time, the expression on Mu Lin’s Divine Soul also grew somewhat cold and arrogant, with a trace of unconcealed pride.

It must be said that as the foremost of the seven deadly sins, the emotion of pride is not so easily controlled.

In fact, this emotion not only affects individuals but can also impact the survival of an entire race—ignorance and weakness are never the obstacles to survival; pride is.

…

The pride in his heart made Mu Lin indifferent to others’ opinions, so he took no action, merely waiting silently for the competition to begin.

On the other side, the Demon Fox and the Elder of the Merfolk Clan were giving their final pre-competition instructions to the fox maidens and mermaids they had nurtured.

“Remember, achieving the highest ranking in this assessment is not our primary goal, nor is it something we can accomplish. However, this does not mean you can relax. Without sufficient ability, no matter how beautiful you are, you are merely decorative vases. Such vases will never be valued by the powerful among humans, and you will be unable to aid your clansmen. Therefore, once you enter the Tower of Illusory Heavens, you must give your all and demonstrate your capabilities.”

“Understood, Elder. We will strive our hardest!”

Due to the anomalies in the heavens and earth, quite a few Foreign Races had arrived this time. Apart from the Demon Fox, Merfolk, and the Winged People who descended from great heights, there were also Qi Refiners from races such as the Cyclops Clan, Stone Men Clan, and Treant Clan.

At the same time, they differed from the Demon Fox and Winged People.

The latter either were determined to show humans their might, so that humans would treat them as equals or even look up to them when cooperating (the Winged People), or had prepared to attach themselves to humans (the Fox Clan).

As for small clans like the Cyclops and Stone Men, who dwelled in remote wilderness areas, they were indecisive.

They were inclined to cooperate with humans but also feared that humans might collapse too quickly, unable to aid them or even dragging them down.

Unable to make up their minds, they ultimately chose to wait and observe.

That is, they would assess the strength and potential of the human youths through this assessment.

If humans showed signs of decline under pressure, they would sever ties or even take a bite out of them when humans collapsed.

If humans remained strong, they would follow the usual practice and cooperate with them.

  Holding such thoughts, to thoroughly gauge human strength, the Foreign Races had indeed sent quite a few Prodigies.

Simultaneously, the attitude of the Foreign Races and intelligence gathered from higher-ups made the leadership of Jade Province attach great importance to this assessment.

They had no choice but to take it seriously. Although humans were strong, they could not ignore other races.

Moreover, the Great Spirit Imperial Dynasty itself faced natural calamities. Under such circumstances, if subjected to rebellion from vassal races, even humans would suffer significant losses.

Thus, the leadership of Jade Province wanted to pacify these vassal races.

“Foreign Races fear power, not virtue. They must be struck painfully for them to realize that even if humans face disasters, dealing with them remains effortless. Only then can they be subdued and pacified!”

With this mindset, the leadership of Jade Province hoped that in this assessment, the Human Prodigies would overwhelmingly crush the Foreign Prodigies, shattering them completely and breaking their spirits.

This stance was clearly and unequivocally communicated downward.

Naturally, they relayed the message to the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy.

And the Headmaster only informed the Prodigies within Jade Lake Dao Academy.

Weakness and ignorance are never obstacles to survival; arrogance is—as the foremost of the seven deadly sins, the concept of arrogance was not only held by Mu Lin, who cultivated the Vow-Power Heart Lamp, but also by the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy.

In his view, only his own Disciples were capable of accomplishing the task; others were insignificant.

Holding this belief, he never passed the command further down.

Even though the elder guarding the Majestic Thunder Pool had witnessed Mu Lin’s strength and reported it to the Headmaster, that Headmaster still did not change his mind.

As for the idea of recruiting Mu Lin into Jade Lake Dao Academy, he certainly had it, but his method of recruitment was not what the old man expected—using resources to entice him:

“Simply offering resources is unlikely to attract Mu Lin to the academy, and it shouldn’t be used. Don’t rush—I know you want to say that the Dao Palace has abundant resources, and indeed, our Jade Lake Dao Academy has plenty. However, we have many geniuses to nurture and many people we wish to recruit. If we tried to win them all over with resources alone, we simply couldn’t afford it.”

“While Anping Dao Palace and Longyou Dao Palace may have fewer resources compared to us, they also have fewer geniuses, allowing them to focus on individual cultivation. Therefore, forcefully recruiting with resources is a terrible move.”

“Rather than relying on resources, I prefer to attract them with the caliber of our Dao Palace disciples… Dragons do not dwell among snakes. As long as our disciples demonstrate exceptional strength and we promote the idea that prodigies gather and compete with one another, their abilities will advance rapidly. Ambitious prodigies will come of their own accord.”

This explanation did not convince the old man guarding the Thunder Pool.

Thinking of Mu Lin’s lofty and noble status, along with his Jiao Dragon Body, which had the potential to transform into a True Dragon, he spoke excitedly:

“Headmaster, your method is indeed reasonable for ordinary prodigies. And even if ordinary geniuses don’t come, it wouldn’t affect our Dao Palace. But Mu Lin is different!”

“How is he different? Could he possibly affect the status of our Dao Palace? Hahaha…”

The speaker was Vice Headmaster Ji Guan, who controlled the Dao Palace’s finances. Unwilling to allocate so many resources, his tone was somewhat unfriendly, and he even used the Dao Palace to mock the idea.

At the same time, Ji Guan believed that after saying this, the Elder guarding the Thunder Pool would have nothing more to say. However, something unexpected happened:

“Yes, he could. Mu Lin is a peerless prodigy and a monster. In my opinion, his talent is no less than Xue Ying’s, perhaps even greater. Such a prodigy truly has the potential to shake our Dao Palace’s supreme position in the Southeast Region all by himself.”

“…”

“…”

These words left both the Headmaster and Vice Headmaster stunned. But instead of accepting the old man’s words, they grew suspicious.

“Elder Huo, is that Mu Lin perhaps a relative of yours?”

“You!”

This infuriated Elder Huo. Looking at the Headmaster and Vice Headmaster, his eyes turned red with anger.

After a long moment, he waved his sleeve in frustration and said, “Fine! Since you think Mu Lin is insignificant, I won’t bother anymore. Just don’t regret it later!”

Watching Elder Huo storm out and considering his furious demeanor, the Headmaster of Jade Lake Dao Academy began to doubt.

“Could Mu Lin truly be a once-in-a-generation prodigy?”

Just as he was pondering this, Ji Guan beside him shook his head: “Headmaster, our Jade Lake Dao Academy is supported by the Jade Purity Sect. The idea that one person could shake our academy’s position is utterly laughable.”

“As for Elder Huo, I think his excitement likely stems from discovering that Mu Lin’s talent aligns with the Thunder Pool, making him a suitable successor. That’s why he’s so eager to bring Mu Lin into Jade Lake Dao Academy.”

“However, the Thunder Pool only focuses on body tempering. Training there doesn’t represent the entirety of one’s strength or talent.”

These words convinced the Headmaster.

“You’re right. The status of our Jade Lake Dao Palace is indeed not something that can be shaken by just one or two individuals.”

“Moreover, even if his talent truly is exceptional, we can always recruit him afterward. There’s no rush for now.”

(End of Chapter)