Chapter 189 – Solo Battle at Jade Lake Academy

The chain of suspicion in the dark forest has always existed.

Jade Lake Dao Academy did not believe that Mu Lin, who possessed the Curse Art, would hold back in this crucial assessment that determined the future.

Similarly, Mu Lin did not believe that Jade Lake Dao Palace, which had gone to great lengths to organize the assessment, would allow an outsider like him to advance to the top three, let alone claim first place.

That would bring immense trouble to the teachers and examinees of Jade Lake Dao Academy.

The mutual suspicion between the two sides meant Mu Lin had long been mentally prepared for Jade Lake Dao Academy to take action against him.

What he did not expect was that Jade Lake Dao Palace’s move would be so swift and on such a grand scale.

In his perception, everyone from Jade Lake Dao Academy was searching for him, attacking him relentlessly.

It could only be said that Mu Lin had underestimated the threat of his Curse Art. Even more unexpected was that the top-ranked cultivators of Jade Lake Dao Palace would willingly expose themselves to the curse, immediately realizing the danger he posed.

“Being targeted by everyone? That’s a bit troublesome.”

Thinking this, Mu Lin showed no fear. Instead, a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.

“But it doesn’t matter. Sheep flock together, while tigers walk alone. Even if all of you oppose me, I will not be eliminated!”

“Killing me won’t be that easy!”

—Arrogance still influenced Mu Lin. At this moment, he feared no challenge.

Of course, though proud, Mu Lin was not foolish.

Upon realizing that Jade Lake Dao Palace’s disciples were searching for him, Mu Lin immediately ordered the Nether Spirit Coffin hidden underground to conceal itself even deeper and more discreetly.

At the same time, he did not just flee—he also fought back.

Mu Lin took out sheets of paper, and with swift, rustling folds, he quickly shaped them into the likenesses of Yuan Ce, Chu Hongxuan, Yan Zhanpeng, and others.

In addition to their appearances, their True Names were inscribed on the figures.

“Unfortunately, over these past few days, I’ve only managed to gather their appearances and True Names. Their blood, birth dates, and other details were too well hidden—I couldn’t get close to them.”

…

Cursing someone was not as simple as folding a Paper Figure and writing their True Name. Mu Lin also needed to continuously expend his spirit and Mana to establish a deep connection between the Paper Figure and the target.

This limitation meant that, in most cases, a curse master could only curse one person at a time.

Fortunately, Mu Lin was no ordinary curse master.

“Hum!”

With a thought from Mu Lin, several Substitute Paper Figures emerged from his body.

After exchanging a glance with Mu Lin, these Paper Figures instantly understood their task.

Stepping forward, each Substitute Paper Figure soon sat before a Cursed Paper Figure.

By having the Substitute Paper Figures maintain the Mana flow in his stead, Mu Lin managed to curse Yuan Ce, Yan Zhanpeng, Chu Hongxeng, and Hua Meng all at once.

“Since you dare to surround and attack me, be prepared to face my retaliation.”

…

While Mu Lin was casting curses, outside, Yan Zhanpeng and the others were using various methods to locate Mu Lin’s position.

It must be said that Jade Lake Dao Palace truly had talented individuals.

Mu Lin’s location was already well-hidden, and he had not interacted with many people. Yet, under these circumstances, the disciples of Jade Lake Dao Palace still found ways.

Stone-throwing to test the path, turtle-shell divination, mirror-soul guidance, heaven-sight and earth-hearing, spirit-fire eyes… All sorts of detection Spells allowed them to quickly pick up Mu Lin’s aura.

Fortunately, due to the large number of participants, the city chosen by the Jade Lake Dao Palace for this assessment was vast and teeming with Evil Spirits. This prevented the Disciples of the Jade Lake Dao Academy from conducting their search without restraint.

Many areas occupied by Evil Spirits could only be observed from a distance, as they dared not venture in recklessly.

Moreover, numerous Paper Figures controlled by Mu Lin were active outside, each carrying his aura. This led the Jade Lake Dao Academy Disciples to only find those Paper Figures, while Mu Lin’s Main Body remained undiscovered for the time being.

“Boom!”

Casually incinerating a Paper Figure with Pure Yang Flame, Yuan Ce frowned and asked a subordinate beside him, “Have we still not located Mu Lin?”

“No, there are too many Paper Figures outside—they’re all distractions.”

“Then start by clearing out the Paper Figures.”

Once the order was given, Mu Lin’s Paper Figures deployed outside quickly faced devastating attacks. In an extremely short time, half of them were destroyed.

It must be said that there was still a gap in strength between his Paper Figures and the elite Disciples of the Jade Lake Dao Palace. Well, this also had to do with the fact that the Paper Figures Mu Lin had released at this time were not his finest creations.

…

The large-scale operation of the Jade Lake Dao Academy was not concealed, nor could it be hidden. As a result, it was witnessed by Disciples from other Dao Palaces in the city, as well as members of the Foreign Races.

Seeing this, the Disciples of Dragon Roam Crane Mountain breathed a sigh of relief.

“Our plan succeeded. Becoming too prominent made the Jade Lake Dao Academy feel threatened, and Mu Lin has now drawn the fatal attention of the Jade Lake Dao Palace. He’s about to be eliminated.”

Clearly, the people from Dragon Roam Crane Mountain did not believe Mu Lin could evade the full-scale assault of the Jade Lake Dao Palace.

The Foreign Races thought the same way.

At the same time, most of the Foreign Races, like the Jade Lake Dao Academy Disciples, had also gathered together.

Originally, they were discussing how to pass this assessment, but now, with Chu Hongxuan and the others launching their large-scale operation, everyone’s attention was instantly drawn to it.

“Being targeted by the Jade Lake Dao Palace with full force—that Mu Lin is truly unlucky.”

“Everyone, how long do you think Mu Lin can hold out?”

“I bet half an hour. This city is still quite large, and there are many Demonic Fiends. The Jade Lake Dao Palace people can’t act with complete disregard.”

“I bet half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. You’re underestimating the Jade Lake Dao Palace too much.”

Some were watching the spectacle, while others observed coldly.

Amidst the chatter, Bai Zhi of the Demon Fox Clan thought of something and said with a smile to a Merfolk woman beside her, “I remember when Mu Lin appeared, your people seemed quite interested in him. Were you planning to attach yourselves to him?”

“Tee-hee, how do you feel now, seeing him being hunted down?”

The Demon Fox Clan had left early when the Corpse Monsters appeared, so they did not witness Mu Lin’s display of power or the Merfolk Clan’s submission. Bai Zhi’s words now were meant to mock and ridicule the Merfolk… Both Merfolk women and fox women were renowned for their beauty among the Foreign Races and humans alike. As competitors in the same field, these two equally beautiful races often clashed. Seizing this opportunity, Bai Zhi naturally aimed to slander the Merfolk Clan.

Yes, slander. In Bai Zhi’s view, as a member of the Demon Fox Clan, the Merfolk women—her equals—would surely choose a Prodigy from the Jade Lake Dao Academy rather than stoop so low as to side with that unlucky fellow being hunted down.

However, something unexpected soon happened.

Upon learning that Mu Lin was being pursued, the merfolk Baili Xiuling actually showed signs of anxiety, and her subordinates even prepared for battle.

But in the end, they did not charge out. Nevertheless, Baili Xiuling was not idle. She stood up and made a proposal to the gathered foreign races.

“Everyone, I think we should help His Highness… Mu Lin. The enemy of our enemy is our friend. This is the perfect opportunity to weaken the Jade Lake Dao Academy!”

These words left many of the foreign races stunned.

And then, some actually voiced their agreement.

“You’re right. This is indeed a chance to weaken the humans.”

However, while some agreed, others opposed.

“I think we should deal with Mu Lin. The Jade Lake Dao Palace is targeting him. If we act now, it would be the perfect time to build closer ties with them.”

Regarding the predicted Doomsday Calamity, the various foreign races held different views.

Some were determined to rely on humans, depending on their strength to survive this catastrophe.

Others, however, wanted to seize the opportunity to become independent, strengthen their own races, and even replace humanity’s position.

Due to these differing thoughts and intentions, their strategies for action also varied.

Aside from the Merfolk Tribe, those prepared to help Mu Lin were mostly the group seeking independence. They wanted humans to fight among themselves, weakening human power so they could annihilate humanity in one fell swoop.

Although this situation was only occurring within the Tower of Illusory Heavens, because the youths represented the future of their races, what happened in the Tower could, to some extent, reflect the future and greatly boost morale.

On the other hand, the foreign races wanting to help the Jade Lake Dao Palace were those seeking to align themselves with humans.

These differences in ideology led to intense arguments among the gathered foreign races.

And this division was precisely why, despite their numbers, most foreign races could do little against humans—they simply couldn’t unite.

“Cowards! Are you planning to be humans’ servants for life?”

“Hmph! Even being a servant is better than you fools who are about to be wiped out…”

“How dare you insult me!”

“So what if I insult you…”

The disagreement turned into quarrels, and the quarrels escalated further. As it seemed this division was about to erupt into battle, many foreign races felt helpless.

Finally, Bai Zhi of the Fox Clan couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

“Everyone, calm down. Whether you support cooperating with humans or not, starting a civil war now is detrimental to all of us.”

The demon foxes had thoughts of aligning with humans, but these cunning creatures understood even better that only by uniting the foreign races into a formidable force could they make humans wary. Only under such circumstances would they possess significant strategic value and be treated with appeasement by humans.

Thus, while they wanted to align, they also wanted humans to fear them.

Unfortunately, although they had strategies, their lack of power meant that alone, they were far from enough to intimidate humans.

In such a situation, these creatures adept at “borrowing the tiger’s might” naturally did not want the foreign races to split apart.

Bai Zhi’s words had some effect. After her analysis, many foreign races realized that, regardless of whether they intended to align with humans, uniting would allow them to secure greater benefits.

Then, the question returned to the beginning: Should they help Mu Lin?

To this, Bai Zhi chose to refuse, citing the superficial reason:

“You argued for far too long just now. At present, Mu Lin’s aura has nearly vanished—he’s about to be captured.”

“If we act now, we won’t be weakening humanity’s strength but confronting them head-on. Yet this is not the time for a decisive battle.”

As for the real reason, it was naturally to prevent the Merfolk’s scheme from succeeding.

“To think you’d cling to Mu Lin—how foolish of you. Hehe, once your master becomes the last in this assessment, let’s see how you’ll dare to act so defiantly in front of me.”

Bai Zhi was thoroughly pleased with herself at this moment, feeling she had outmaneuvered Baili Xiuling.

At the same time, she believed that Mu Lin, hunted with full force by the Jade Lake Dao Palace, stood no chance of escape.

Now, it was time for Mu Lin to be eliminated.

But was that truly the case?

…

(End of Chapter)