Chapter 184 – Your Death Star Shines in the Sky

“???”

The sudden attack left Mu Lin stunned; weakened as he was, he didn’t even react in time.

Beside him, Yan Yunyu, Baili Xiuling, and the others were also startled.

“Who’s there!”

“Brother Mu!”

“Your Highness, save His Highness!”

Once they regained their composure, the panicked group quickly formed a circle, trapping Mu Lin and his assailant at the center.

It was only then that everyone noticed a petite little girl had appeared behind Mu Lin at some point.

The longsword piercing Mu Lin’s heart had been thrust from her hand.

Faced with the surrounding crowd, the little girl showed no fear—not even a hint of concern. Instead, she wore a look of delight.

“Hehe, big brother, you really put on quite a show for Hua Meng.”

“Your fight with the Corpse Monster earlier got Hua Meng’s blood pumping.”

“Pfft…”

In her excitement, Hua Meng’s hand trembled a few times. Since her longsword was still embedded in Mu Lin’s chest, the shaking of her wrist inflicted further damage to his heart, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.

This scene immediately pained Chu Lingluo.

“You villain, let go of Brother Mu!”

Ignoring Chu Lingluo for the moment, Hua Meng looked at Mu Lin spitting blood and said with an apologetic tone, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Hua Meng was just too excited just now. I’m sure big brother won’t blame me, right?”

Though her words apologized, there was not a trace of remorse in her eyes—only pure delight. Even as she apologized, her wrist trembled again, further destroying Mu Lin’s heart.

Seeing this, Chu Lingluo, whose eyes seemed to spit fire, could no longer hold back and lunged toward Hua Meng.

But halfway there, she involuntarily stopped.

As she charged, Hua Meng extended a finger and gently shook it, saying, “If I were you, I’d better not attack. Your Brother Mu is still in my hands.”

“You… how despicable!”

Hua Meng’s actions left Chu Lingluo fuming but helpless.

In contrast, Yan Yunyu remained calm all along.

“Let Brother Mu go, and we’ll let you leave. Otherwise, you won’t escape either.”

Hearing this, Hua Meng nodded and said, “A good proposal.”

Before the words had fully settled, seeing Yan Yunyu’s slightly relieved expression, Hua Meng’s tone suddenly shifted as she laughed with malicious glee, “But I refuse!”

Then, before Yan Yunyu could react, Hua Meng flicked her wrist and swung the longsword.

With a “shhhrrk,” under her full-force slash, Mu Lin’s body was severed horizontally at the chest.

“?!?”

This scene left Chu Lingluo, Yan Yunyu, and Baili Xiuling utterly stunned.

They couldn’t understand why Hua Meng would do such a thing.

“Hehe, confused? Wondering why I didn’t take your suggestion?”

As she spoke, Hua Meng gave a swift flick of her wrist, shaking all the blood off the longsword.

While speaking, she also moved from behind Mu Lin to his front, facing Yan Yunyu and the others, whose eyes seemed to spit fire.

“I can tell you the answer to this question for free, because it’s amusing. Hehe, the way you’re burning with rage yet can’t do anything to me… it’s making me tremble all over with excitement…”

That intoxicated expression, along with Mu Lin being cut in half, completely snapped the last thread of restraint in Chu Lingluo’s mind.

Unable to hold back any longer, she charged toward Hua Meng with bloodshot eyes.

“I’ll kill you!”

In her extreme fury, she unleashed her full power with the Scripture of Heavenly Induction – Azure Emperor Scripture.

“Hum!”

As this ability activated, all the plants and trees in the world began to grow wildly. Then, these rampant plants intertwined and combined, quickly forming a giant wooden puppet.

“Swish!”

The puppet swung its arm, causing a willow branch to whip toward Hua Meng like a long lash.

But the willow branch missed.

Hua Meng didn’t dodge; the willow branch actively avoided her, as if Chu Lingluo couldn’t bear to strike her.

“Huh?!”

This bizarre scene made even the furious Chu Lingluo pause in confusion.

“What did you do?”

“Hehe, what I did… I naturally won’t tell you. But there is one thing I can let you know. The first reason I didn’t listen to your advice was indeed to see you burning with rage, but there’s another point—you pose no threat to me.”

At this, Hua Meng added maliciously, “So, your Mu brother’s death is all your fault. If you were strong, strong enough to make me hesitate, your Mu brother wouldn’t have died. Therefore, you should resent your own weakness… Hmm!”

Hua Meng was using sophistry to torment Chu Lingluo’s heart, but before she could finish, her expression suddenly changed.

The next moment, her figure exploded like fireworks.

With a “bang,” after the fireworks burst, her figure vanished without a trace from its original spot, reappearing in another location.

At the same time, her expression, upon reappearing, changed for the first time.

—Since her appearance, Hua Meng had given the impression of a fully mocking, bratty girl. While being infuriating, she also exuded a sense of being completely in control.

But now, her expression shifted from total control to shock and disbelief.

The reason for this change in expression was: “You’re actually not dead!”

“But how is that possible? You’re only at the Spirit Pool stage. At this stage, we Qi Refiners shouldn’t be much different from ordinary people… With your heart shattered and cut in half at the waist, such fatal injuries—how did you survive?”

Looking at Mu Lin, who had stood up again, Hua Meng was filled with disbelief and curiosity.

Yes, Mu Lin had stood up again.

Not only had he stood up, but the injuries on his body had nearly vanished without a trace.

This unbelievable scene not only left Hua Meng stunned and speechless but also astonished the onlookers outside.

“What the hell? I know Qi Refiners become strong and lose many weaknesses, but Mu Lin is only at the Spirit Pool stage, right?”

“Fighting at Spirit Pool against Spirit Sea, surviving with a shattered heart… Goodness, is this guy even human?”

“To be honest, I originally thought that although Mu Lin was powerful, he was somewhat too arrogant and overbearing, making him prone to an early demise. But now it seems I was being narrow-minded. With such abilities, it would be difficult for him to die young.”

Unimaginable and incomprehensible—the crowd outside couldn’t understand how Mu Lin possessed such formidable strength alongside such incredible immortality.

While marveling at this, they also firmly resolved in their hearts… they must befriend Mu Lin.

‘Prodigies are easy to win over, but compared to established powerhouses, they have a fatal flaw—they are prone to early death.’

‘Once a prodigy dies, all my investments will come to nothing.’

This risk meant not everyone dared to invest in prodigies.

But now, Mu Lin’s existence shattered this notion.

His terrifying immortality made many certain that Mu Lin was difficult to kill, greatly increasing his chances of reaching maturity.

On this side, wealthy nobles and influential figures viewed Mu Lin more favorably, while the noblewomen felt complex emotions.

Mu Lin’s frequent displays of ability stirred their hearts, and some even considered marrying their daughters to him.

At the same time, their gazes toward Chu Lingluo’s mother grew increasingly peculiar.

“For the Chu Family, Mu Lin was like a gift from the heavens, yet she managed to kick it away…”

Beyond the noblewomen, the Headmaster in the sky felt a pang of panic. Seeing Mu Lin unscathed, he realized for the first time that things were slipping beyond his control.

“Could Mu Lin truly influence Jade Lake Dao Academy all by himself? Impossible, absolutely impossible. We still have Xue Ying!”

“Yes, Xue Ying will surely defeat him.”

…

The thoughts and discussions of those outside couldn’t reach the Tower of Illusory Heavens, and Mu Lin had no mind to pay attention to them at the moment.

He didn’t even acknowledge Hua Meng’s curiosity, instead reflecting with a sense of dread.

‘Arrogance, underestimating others, intolerance of the slightest provocation, relying solely on overwhelming force to suppress everything—such recklessness and tyranny is not my way of acting!’

‘The Vow-Power Heart Lamp—this thing actually influences my mind.’

Hua Meng’s sword through his chest took one of Mu Lin’s lives but also jolted him awake from his arrogance.

Now, feeling the flickering lamp in his mind, Mu Lin felt unsettled.

But soon, he breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Being influenced by a cultivation method—this likely isn’t just my problem.’

Viewing the issue from a dialectical perspective of his past life, Mu Lin realized that a person’s character is never static.

In his previous world, there were sayings like “one’s temperament changes with their environment” and praises like “emerging unstained from the mud.”

Both sayings pointed to one truth—status and environment can alter a person’s disposition.

The former stated it outright, while the latter implied it indirectly.

“Emerging unstained from the mud” was a noble quality, but the reason it was praised was precisely because it was so easy to be tainted and assimilated when immersed in filth.

This undoubtedly demonstrated how environment could influence a person’s character.

‘If environment and status can affect one’s character, cultivation methods, being more fundamental, exert an even greater influence.’

‘Thus, the Vow-Power Heart Lamp isn’t terrifying—what’s terrifying is failing to control it.’

After reflecting, Mu Lin understood that he could have pride—in a way, this could be called ambition, lofty aspirations.

But pride must never cross the line and turn into outright arrogance.

Having sorted out his thoughts, the furious rage from being ambushed gradually faded from Mu Lin’s heart.

With his anger gone, he no longer felt the urge to immediately fight Hua Meng to the death.

Of course, this didn’t mean Mu Lin intended to let this little brat off the hook. He wasn’t magnanimous enough to let an unprovoked attack go unpunished.

Besides, having his body pierced earlier had been excruciatingly painful.

Such pain, he would repay a thousandfold.

His decision to retreat now was partly due to his poor condition—the confrontation with the Corpse Monster had taken a significant toll on him.

Another reason was that, as a Paper Artisan within the Yin Eight Gates tradition, direct confrontation was never something Mu Lin should engage in.

Thinking this, Mu Lin cracked a smile, though it was a cold one.

“Hua Meng, is it? Thank you for waking me up. And since you seem to enjoy games of pleasure so much, as a token of my gratitude, let me play a game with you.”

“A game of pursuit and counter-pursuit—a hunting game!”

“Oh, and a friendly reminder: your death star is already shining brightly in the sky.”

(End of Chapter)