Chapter 221 – Strength Surges: Dongfang Ya Is Shocked

Yan Yunyu had always been decisive and efficient. Now, thanks to Mu Lin, her status within the family had greatly improved, allowing her to mobilize more resources, which in turn accelerated her actions even further.

Not long after Mu Lin’s instructions were given, she brought the resources he needed.

Seeing this, Mu Lin did not hesitate and immediately had the Crimson Wine Gourd swallow these resources to continue refining them.

And so, time slowly passed as Mu Lin focused on his refinement. Soon, two days had gone by.

During these two days, Mu Lin had been in seclusion, diligently cultivating. Thanks to the miraculous Fixation and the powerful Crimson Wine Gourd, his strength improved rapidly.

Of course, the assistance of numerous resources also played an indispensable role.

Like a voracious beast devouring gold, Mu Lin consumed an enormous amount of resources, and their quality was exceptional as well.

This frenzied consumption of resources inevitably drew the attention of some people.

Among them, some were envious and jealous, some watched coldly from the sidelines, some took pleasure in his troubles, while others were filled with concern.

On this day, Chu Lingluo’s mother summoned Dongfang Ya.

“You asked to see me? Let me make this clear first—this Spell Master has no interest in getting involved in your family drama.”

These words made Si Ye raise an eyebrow, her expression turning somewhat grim. Even Dongfang Ya, upon their first meeting, assumed she was here to meddle in a romantic affair, which was enough to show just how much ridicule she had endured and how many strange looks she had received during this time.

However, this woman’s will was truly formidable. In just a few breaths, after closing her eyes and reopening them, her expression returned to calm.

“I did summon you because of Mu Lin, but not because of Lingluo. It’s for his own good.”

At this point, Si Ye’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“Recently, Mu Lin has accepted far too many resources from the Aristocratic Families. This is not good, not good at all.”

These words made Dongfang Ya’s expression turn grave as well.

“Are you sure? I remember Mu Lin being quite steady. He shouldn’t be doing something like this, right? Besides, Yan Yunyu is by his side. Even if Mu Lin didn’t notice, that little girl from the Yan Family should have reminded him.”

Both Dongfang Ya and Si Ye clearly understood that the resources of the Aristocratic Families were never easy to obtain.

For instance, if Mu Lin did not provoke the Aristocratic Families first, and if the scions of these families provoked him instead, Mu Lin could beat them up without consequence. The Demon Suppression Division, the military, and other aristocratic families would protect Mu Lin, preventing certain families from acting recklessly.

However, if Mu Lin accepted numerous resources from the Aristocratic Families and owed them a large amount of Spirit Stones, the situation would be entirely different.

Repaying debts is a matter of course.

This would be considered Mu Lin actively provoking them. If they came to demand repayment, the Demon Suppression Division and the military would find it difficult to show favoritism.

Unless Mu Lin possessed extraordinary talent, making the military or the Demon Suppression Division willing to bear the pain of paying a hefty sum to settle his debts.

In such a scenario, the Aristocratic Families would not demand repayment but would instead maintain a good relationship with Mu Lin.

Originally, this was exactly what Mu Lin had been doing.

But since Si Ye had summoned her and brought up this matter, Dongfang Ya believed that the resources Mu Lin was demanding had exceeded the value of his talent.

What made her heart sink was that Si Ye soon confirmed her suspicions.

“Life Fruit, Earth Marrow Elixir, Dragon-Tiger Qi Blood Pill, Hundred Flowers Celestial Intoxication, Malevolent Ghost Vicious Spirit…”

As a series of resources were listed from Si Ye’s mouth, Dongfang Ya felt a bit dizzy, her face quickly turning pale.

“Fool, I’ve only been gone for two or three days, and he’s already caused such trouble. Utterly foolish!”

Furious, Dongfang Ya didn’t even have time to bid farewell to Si Ye before rushing off to find Mu Lin.

After searching for a while, she spotted Mu Lin’s figure sitting cross-legged before the Time Realm.

Although Mu Lin now looked pale and drained of Qi and Blood, nothing like someone who had consumed vast amounts of resources, Dongfang Ya, blinded by anger, paid no attention to these anomalies.

Approaching him, she first asked Mu Lin a question—clearly, even in her rage, she hadn’t fully believed Si Ye’s words.

“I heard that during this time, you’ve been asking the Aristocratic Families for a lot of resources?”

“Mhm.”

“Foolish, ignorant. You don’t actually think that just because someone says a few nice words, they’re good people, do you? The Aristocratic Families devour people without ever spitting out the bones.”

Pointing at Mu Lin, Dongfang Ya unleashed a torrent of angry words.

What kept Mu Lin from getting angry was that after her outburst, she sighed and said, “Tell me how many resources you asked for. I still have some things on hand. Let’s see if I can help you repay them first. But remember, this isn’t a gift—it’s a loan. From now on, you’ll have to work to help me pay off the debt!”

Dongfang Ya, fierce and stern, wanted Mu Lin to understand the severity of the situation.

Just as Mu Lin was wryly thinking about how to defend himself, Yan Yunyu arrived.

Upon returning, she directed members of the Yan Family to bring a large quantity of resources.

Seeing her, Dongfang Ya’s gaze grew even colder.

Dongfang Ya held some reservations about the Aristocratic Families, which was why she valued Mu Lin, who came from a humble background, even more. Her earlier outburst stemmed from frustration at his lack of ambition.

As for Yan Yunyu, a scion of an Aristocratic Family, Dongfang Ya saw her as deliberately causing trouble and setting Mu Lin up.

Under such circumstances, how could she possibly have a pleasant expression?

Her gloomy demeanor made Yan Yunyu quite concerned and uneasy.

She was well aware of Dongfang Ya’s standing in Mu Lin’s heart—she was the first to protect him and had genuinely fought for countless benefits on his behalf. Her contributions were indispensable to Mu Lin’s early rise.

Because of this, in Mu Lin’s heart, Dongfang Ya’s status was even higher than hers and Chu Lingluo’s.

Unwilling to offend her, Yan Yunyu immediately stepped forward with a playful smile, intending to take Dongfang Ya’s hand.

After being brushed aside, she didn’t mind and said, “Teacher Dongfang, what’s wrong? Who made you angry?”

“You.”

“Huh?!”

Dongfang Ya’s accusation left Yan Yunyu looking genuinely surprised—though there was some pretense involved, most of it was real astonishment.

Thus, she replied with a touch of grievance:

“Teacher, during this time, I’ve been doing my utmost to assist Brother Mu, so busy I haven’t had a moment to spare. I haven’t caused any trouble at all.”

This made Dongfang Ya sneer coldly.

“Helping? Helping him to his death? Don’t tell me you don’t know the true nature of the Aristocratic Families. Asking for so many resources—how do you expect Mu Lin to repay them? With his flesh?”

Such words immediately made Yan Yunyu realize the reason for Dongfang Ya’s anger, which also allowed her to relax and smile.

“So that’s what Teacher Dongfang is worried about. Hehe…”

Noticing that Dongfang Ya’s gaze grew colder as she covered her mouth and laughed, Yan Yunyu toned it down slightly but still smiled as she said:

“Teacher, perhaps you should first assess Brother Mu’s current strength before reprimanding me.”

“Strength? What’s there to assess? Isn’t he at the Gushing Spring Late Stage (Mana realm)? I recall he used a Spirit-Boosting Pill to elevate his cultivation to this level…”

As Dongfang Ya spoke, her words trailed off before she could finish.

To her astonishment, she discovered that after just two or three days apart, Mu Lin’s cultivation had not remained at Gushing Spring but had advanced to Spirit Pool.

Even more bewildering was that his Mana realm was not at the early stage of Spirit Pool but had reached the mid-stage.

“This is impossible!”

Utterly perplexed, Dongfang Ya immediately extended her Divine Sense, conducting a thorough and comprehensive examination of Mu Lin.

Yet the more she inspected, the deeper her shock grew.

She found it unbelievable—even terrifying—to discover that not only had Mu Lin’s Mana aura advanced rapidly,

but his physical strength and soul aura had also made leaps in progress.

Currently, Mu Lin’s physical strength had reached the peak of Spirit Pool, just one step away from a breakthrough.

And his Divine Soul was even more astonishing.

“Sha Refinement! Your Divine Soul has reached the Sha Refinement level?”

“This defies all logic!”

“Have I been busy for not just two or three days, but two or three months?”

“Or… have I made a mistake in my examination?”

The overwhelming reality was so shocking that Dongfang Ya even began to doubt herself.

…

(End of Chapter)