Chapter 264 – Thirty Percent? Do You Think I'm Begging?

“…”

The moment the phrase “killing innocent civilians to claim credit” was uttered, Lord Seventh Bai truly understood that slaughtering the populace and plunging Ping’an Ancient Town into chaos posed no real threat to Mu Lin at all.

As for why Commander Mi had been afraid before… naturally, it was because he had no one backing him from above.

With backing from above, even consecutive defeats could be spun as “fighting tenaciously despite repeated setbacks.”

Without backing from above, even a victory could lead to false accusations and execution on trumped-up charges.

“…”

Having figured all this out, Lord Seventh Bai no longer wished to speak with an evil man like Mu Lin.

Unfortunately, faced with Mu Lin who had come knocking at his door, he had no choice but to speak.

“What exactly do you want? Let me make one thing clear first: I admit that with Ping’an Ancient Street under your control, we can do nothing to you. But if you completely destroy Ping’an Ancient Street and ruin the foundation we’ve painstakingly built, we will become rogue cultivators. And then, we will act without any restraint whatsoever.”

This was a blatant warning to Mu Lin: if their foundation was destroyed, they would have nothing left to lose and would directly resort to assassinating him.

As for retaliation from the Demon Suppression Division or the noble families—as rogue cultivators who could wander freely—they wouldn’t care much about that.

Realizing this, Mu Lin narrowed his eyes. He also knew he couldn’t push them too far.

Fortunately, he hadn’t come with the intention of uprooting Ping’an Ancient Street entirely—nor could he have done so.

Seeing that the other side was yielding, Mu Lin immediately stated his main objective.

“I want the Spirit Vein. All land under heaven belongs to the king; all people within the realm are his subjects. The Spirit Vein of your Ping’an Ancient Town now belongs to me.”

These words darkened Lord Seventh Bai’s expression, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and agreed.

“Fine. We can split the Spirit Vein seventy-thirty. You can have thirty percent.”

“Thirty percent? Are you treating me like a beggar? I want all of it!”

Such a demand made Lord Seventh Bai and Third Master Hu explode:

“Impossible! If we give you the Spirit Vein, Ping’an Ancient Street will have no reason to exist. We might as well let you destroy it and then seek revenge indefinitely!”

This was indeed a problem, so Mu Lin slightly lowered his demand:

“Then seventy-thirty—seventy for me, thirty for you… This is the final offer. Non-negotiable.”

Mu Lin’s demand made Lord Seventh Bai stare at him intently. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.

“…Fine!”

Seeing the other side yield, Mu Lin didn’t immediately wave his hand to stop the Beiwei Army’s assault. Instead, he commanded, “Release the restrictions on the Spirit Vein. Now!”

“There are many of our belongings within the Spirit Vein. We need some time to prepare…”

The request was reasonable, but before he could finish, ‘Lin Qiu’ waved his hand to cut him off:

“That’s your problem to solve. What does it have to do with me? I only want the Spirit Vein. Now, immediately… The Beiwei Army’s attack will only stop when the Spirit Vein is released!”

‘Lin Qiu’s’ unyielding stance deepened the hatred in Lord Seventh Bai’s eyes, and his teeth ground audibly.

But in the end, he still didn’t attack ‘Lin Qiu.’ Instead, he gathered the other leaders and together, they removed the Wedge, lifting the restrictions on the Spirit Vein.

“Pop!”

“Hum…”

The moment the Spirit Vein’s restraints were lifted, Mu Lin, as the City God, sensed the remaining Spirit Vein and merged with it.

The influx of the Spirit Vein caused Mu Lin’s power as City God to surge once again.

It is important to know that originally, Mu Lin’s City God already possessed the strength of the Gang Condensation Realm. Now, with another increase:

“My City God Clone is heading straight for Gang Sha Unity!”

“Moreover, this isn’t even the limit for the City God Clone. If I fully integrate all the Spirit Veins here and command them as effortlessly as my own limbs, my City God Clone even has the potential to break through Gang Sha and become a Mortal Shedding Adept.”

Such a possibility made Mu Lin’s eyes shine brightly.

But he was not surprised. In the Divine Path cultivation, progress can indeed be faster than the Immortal Path when external resources are available.

After all, the Divine Path can directly harness external forces without fully absorbing them.

Qi Refiners, however, need to refine—to temper external elements into their own. This single step of difference causes Qi Refiners to expend more effort and time.

Furthermore, due to the inherent limits of the human body, Qi Refiners are often hindered by bottlenecks, which further slows their progress.

“However, being slow also has its advantages. Take the City God of Ping’an Ancient City, for example. The Spirit Veins here can be directly commanded by the City God, which is indeed a meteoric rise. But once leaving this place or being stripped of the Divine Position, the City God’s strength would plummet.”

“In contrast, Qi Refiners are different. Although they need to spend an enormous amount of time refining the Spirit Veins of Ping’an Ancient Street into themselves, and during the refinement process, they must continuously elevate their own limits to accommodate the Spirit Veins, once they succeed, their strength will not diminish in the slightest, no matter where they go.”

The Divine Path has its benefits, and the Immortal Path has its merits. As an adult, Mu Lin naturally wanted—both.

…

The surge in strength brought Mu Lin joy, and soon, he discovered another delightful surprise.

The Yin Spirit Vein hidden within Ping’an Ancient Street had been embedded with many things by the cultivators of the Yin Eight Gates.

Coffins, Zombies, Paper Figures, Glossy Ganoderma, ancient lamps, Soul Nourishment Wood, Myriad Souls Banners, ancient Altars… Lord Seventh Bai and the others had used the power of the Yin Spirit Vein to nurture their Mystic Treasures and enhance their strength.

There was nothing wrong with this approach. However, Mu Lin acted too hastily, leaving them no time to relocate these treasures.

Seeing this, Mu Lin showed no courtesy. Relying on the City God’s control over the Spirit Veins, he first connected the Yin Spirit Vein of Ping’an Ancient Street to his City God Domain.

“Boom!”

The moment the two connected, a torrent of Yin Spirit Vein power, like a rushing river, continuously poured into Mu Lin’s Dharma Domain, expanding its area.

As the Yin Spirit Vein poured in, those treasures also flowed directly into Mu Lin’s City God Domain along the Yin Vein.

“Boom!”

Upon seeing those treasures, boundless flames of dominion immediately ignited from the City God and spread toward the treasures.

Soon, all the treasures were branded with Mu Lin’s own mark by his City God, becoming his possessions.

“These treasures are highly compatible with my Paper Figures and can be equipped on them, greatly enhancing their strength.”

“The Yin Eight Gates are such good people…”

While inwardly praising the Yin Eight Gates of Ping’an Ancient Street, Mu Lin’s actions were swift.

While gathering the Yin Vein and enhancing the City God’s strength, Mu Lin, as the High Priest, continuously summoned the arrival of the Shadow Spirits·Beiwei Army.

He was well aware that Lord Seventh Bai and the others, having suffered such a significant loss, would not simply endure it. This matter would not end so easily.

…

Though it was a baseless speculation, Mu Lin’s prediction was spot on.

After he left, looking at the chaos on Ping’an Ancient Street and feeling the continuous loss of the Spirit Vein power under his control, both Lord Seventh Bai and his subordinates turned ashen-faced.

Having their foundation largely destroyed, countless flames of rage surged within them.

“That brat dares to humiliate me like this. This matter won’t end so easily.”

“He must die. Only by cutting him into a thousand pieces can I vent my hatred!”

After returning to their homes with their subordinates, Zombie King Wu, Thousand Faces, and others began cursing ‘Lin Qiu’ vehemently.

As for Lord Seventh Bai, he saw things more profoundly and understood deeply that his situation was extremely perilous.

As a gang leader, he had always known that his team lacked cohesion and that he controlled his subordinates through prestige.

But today’s battle shattered that prestige completely.

Now, his subordinates were utterly demoralized, with no fighting spirit left… This, in itself, wasn’t the worst of it.

If subordinates lacked fighting spirit, they would simply leave, weakening his team’s combat effectiveness.

What truly alerted him to the danger was that some people were already looking at him differently.

Clearly, the defeat—and a particularly humiliating one at that—had made some feel that he was old, no longer capable, and had sparked thoughts of replacing him.

Noticing this, Lord Seventh Bai snorted coldly and said, “Do you think I was cowardly for not taking action when that kid threatened me?”

At these words, those who harbored thoughts of replacing him immediately averted their eyes.

But after some consideration, they still didn’t act immediately. Instead, they smiled and chimed in, “Seventh Lord, you jest. If you didn’t take action, there must have been a reason.”

Lord Seventh Bai nodded at this.

“At least you’re not completely foolish to think that…”

After a sigh, he continued, “To be honest, if today’s enemies were only Mu Lin and the Demon Suppression Division, I wouldn’t have minded going all out to teach that Lin Qiu a lesson.”

“Even if it cost me my life, I wouldn’t have cared. People fight for dignity, and Buddhas fight for incense. As the leader of Ping’an Ancient Street, it’s my duty to show outsiders the backbone of our street and the Yin Eight Gates, to make them understand that Ping’an Ancient Street is not to be trifled with.”

After saying this, he sighed even more sorrowfully, “But with the Grave Lord Inheritance about to begin, more than just the Demon Suppression Division has arrived. Many more Demonic Sects and demonic monster factions have come.”

“To deal with them and preserve the legacy of Ping’an Ancient Street, even if I didn’t want to endure it, I had no choice but to hold back.”

At this, some rolled their eyes, while others stepped forward to pledge their loyalty, saying, “Seventh Lord, we understand. You’ve suffered a great injustice.”

“Alas, it’s all for the sake of Ping’an Ancient Street.”

…

Fear of other factions was indeed one reason Lord Seventh Bai hadn’t taken action, but what he didn’t mention was that he feared not only the external demons and monsters but also his own colleagues, such as Zombie King Wu, Thousand Faces, and others.

As a gang faction, the current leaders of Ping’an Ancient Street were far from united. In fact, they were even in competition with one another.

These leaders were certain that, let alone death, even if they were injured, their ‘teammates’ would seize the opportunity to kick them while they were down, secretly striking to nail their coffin lid shut for good.

It was also due to this third factor that Mu Lin acted so arrogantly. He was confident that with everyone keeping each other in check, even if someone couldn’t bear the humiliation and wanted to take action, they would hold back.

The saying “three monks have no water to drink” perfectly illustrates this principle.

…

After a round of rhetoric, Lord Seventh Bai found a righteous cause and justification for his own cowardly survival, transforming himself into someone who endured humiliation to fulfill a great mission, biding his time for revenge.

Having stabilized the team’s morale, he spoke with deep resentment yet full of confidence: “Also, you don’t need to worry about Lin Qiu. His arrogance won’t last much longer.”

“Those external demons and monsters are not only our challenge but also Lin Qiu’s.”

“We have operated here for thousands of years—we are the local powers. That little bastard would have had a slim chance of obtaining the Grave Lord Inheritance if he hadn’t provoked us.”

“But now, he has brought upon himself the most terrifying and troublesome enemy.”

“I will make sure he has no place to be buried!”

Lord Seventh Bai’s words also made the others’ eyes light up.

“Seventh Brother, you’re right. The worst thing that bastard did was offend us.”

“Hah, we may have no backing and indeed fear him, but the Demonic Sect Saint, the Evil God Scion, and the Demon King’s son—they certainly won’t!”

“With their strength, combined with our covert assistance… Lin Qiu is doomed!”

“Killing him outright would be too merciful. I want him to die a miserable death!”

(End of Chapter)