Chapter 286 – Mu Lin: You Don't Know You're Wrong—You Just Know You Lost

“???”

Being completely ignored was something Ji Lingsha had never expected. Her status as a princess had always made her the favored daughter of heaven; wherever she went, she was the center of attention.

Even on this Yellow Mud Road leading to the Grave Lord’s Tomb, many people still flocked around her, trying to curry favor.

Don’t laugh at others for being foolish—marrying Ji Lingsha or winning her favor could genuinely save someone three to five hundred years of struggle. In such circumstances, it was only natural that some would grovel.

Even Mu Lin, when he was weak, had once crafted paper products specifically for Yan Yunyu, hoping to obtain some Spirit Stones from her.

Of course, back then, it was Mu Lin groveling before Yan Yunyu. Now, however, it was Mu Lin pressing her little head down, making her kneel and grovel before him.

Having never been ignored before, Mu Lin’s outright dismissal left her somewhat astonished. And after the astonishment came indignation.

“Hey, Mu Lin! Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

The direct call by name finally made Mu Lin turn his head. Then, with an expressionless face, he asked, “What is it? And who are you?”

“…”

The question left Ji Lingsha speechless.

After a long pause, she replied with a hint of suspicion, “You really don’t know who I am? You’re not trying to use this method to deliberately catch my attention, are you? Let me tell you, this won’t—”

“Huh? Why are you leaving again!”

Of course, Mu Lin would leave. He had no interest, nor time, to converse with some random person.

As for Ji Lingsha’s suspicion, it wasn’t entirely unfounded narcissism. In her view, her father’s sudden desire to match her with Mu Lin must have been instigated by someone.

And following the principle of “who benefits, who acts,” she placed the blame on Mu Lin.

In her mind, even if Mu Lin hadn’t personally gone to persuade her father, he must have sent someone to influence him. This was also why she felt so angry upon seeing Mu Lin.

But now, watching Mu Lin turn and walk away without even wanting to speak to her, she awkwardly realized that she might have been mistaken.

This left her silent.

However, while she remained silent, the group of young men following her did not.

Seeing their “goddess” insulted, one of the youths immediately called out to Mu Lin.

“Rude man! Didn’t you hear Her Highness the Princess calling you?”

As he spoke, Spiritual Energy gathered into a large hand, reaching out to grab Mu Lin’s shoulder.

Mu Lin made no attempt to block or defend against this grab.

Thus, he was caught and forcibly turned around.

At the same time, whether out of jealousy or a desire to show off, the youth grabbing Mu Lin used an immense amount of force.

“Crack…”

Even with the foundation of his Jiao Dragon Body and his body now saturated with Central Wuji Sha, under such forceful grabbing, Mu Lin’s shoulder still emitted a series of “crack, crack” sounds.

His shoulder had been crushed.

The ease of this success left the youth stunned, and even Prince Liang outside was taken aback.

Under the East Sea King’s pressing inquiry, and given his own inclination toward Mu Lin, Prince Liang eventually admitted that Mu Lin was the target his beloved daughter had taken a liking to.

As for the earlier rudeness:

“My daughter has been spoiled and pampered by me, always willful and utterly clueless about how to express affection to someone she likes. Her earlier actions were merely an attempt to catch Mu Lin’s attention.”

In addition to explaining his beloved daughter’s actions, Prince Liang also boasted about Mu Lin.

“Fourth Brother, there’s a reason why my Lingsha has taken a liking to Mu Lin. Don’t look down on him just because he’s only just begun Sha Refinement—it’s because he’s young and has only been cultivating for a few years. Once he grows up, he’s bound to become a True Person. Even now, the Demon Suppression Division, the Azure Dragon Legion, and the Kunpeng Legion all hold Mu Lin in high regard…”

To avoid completely severing ties with the East Sea King and to prevent the two families from being bound together, Prince Liang racked his brains to speak highly of Mu Lin, extolling his strength.

This way, the union between Ji Lingsha and Mu Lin would appear reasonable and not deliberately intended to slight the East Sea King.

At the same time, by mentioning that Mu Lin was valued by the Demon Suppression Division and the Kunpeng Legion, he hoped to make the East Sea King think twice.

However, despite his lengthy praise, before he could finish speaking, Mu Lin’s shoulder was crushed, creating an awkward situation.

Just as Prince Liang’s expression turned grim and the Third Prince of the East Sea King wore a mocking smile, the East Sea King himself narrowed his eyes slightly.

After a long pause, this imposing prince looked at Prince Liang with some surprise.

“Seventh Brother, your judgment isn’t bad. You’ve truly found a good son-in-law.”

“…”

After Mu Lin’s shoulder was broken, hearing these words, Prince Liang initially thought the East Sea King was mocking him, so he fell silent.

But soon, he realized that things… didn’t seem to be that way.

“My arm!”

On the Celestial Void Mirror, someone let out a piercing scream, but it wasn’t Mu Lin—it was the young man who had crushed Mu Lin’s shoulder.

…

“Is that all!”

Discovering that Mu Lin’s body was somewhat tough but nothing more, the young man who had “grabbed” him was initially surprised.

After his surprise, he didn’t lessen his force but instead increased it.

People tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. If Mu Lin had been powerful, he might have laughed it off and claimed his actions were just a greeting.

But finding Mu Lin weak was different.

At this moment, he was determined to teach Mu Lin a harsh lesson and wanted to showcase his strength and loyalty in front of Ji Lingsha.

‘With such little ability, how dare you ignore the Princess? You’re asking for death!’

‘But this is perfect. I was just wondering how to win the Princess’s favor. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Mu Lin. I’ll thank you properly… after you die.’

“Crack, crack…”

Under the pressure of his Spiritual Energy giant hand, more and more of Mu Lin’s body broke, until finally, half of his body was crushed by the young man.

Mu Lin’s body collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud, looking utterly wretched.

This scene made the young man laugh even more gleefully, while those gathered around Ji Lingsha felt a pang of regret.

“Damn it, Huang Ru beat me to it.”

“Mu Lin is so weak… I should have acted first.”

No one cared about Mu Lin’s injuries; everyone was envious and jealous of Huang Ru.

However, just as the other young men were filled with regret and Huang Ru was beaming with delight, a “crack” sound—the sound of bones breaking—suddenly echoed from Huang Ru’s body.

Following that came intense pain.

“My arm!”

“Crack… my body…”

The sudden shattering of half his body made Huang Ru let out a piercing scream and filled him with terror.

“Bastard, what did you do to me?”

Fortunately, he wasn’t foolish. Soon, he realized who had brought him to this state.

Especially when he discovered that his injuries were almost identical to Mu Lin’s, he immediately turned his head toward Mu Lin and let out a venomous roar in his direction.

“Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”

Clearly, Huang Ru lacked such noble qualities. As he roared at Mu Lin with a face full of resentment, he obviously never considered that he had struck first.

The torment he was now enduring was well-deserved.

For such a despicable person, it was only natural that Mu Lin had no intention of responding, nor would he concern himself with Huang Ru’s fate.

With half his body crushed, Mu Lin lay quietly on the ground as if nothing had happened.

Throughout this process, he never once relaxed his efforts to refine the Central Wuji Sha.

Because the Baleful Qi Mu Lin had absorbed today had long exceeded his own limits.

Continuing the refinement caused Mu Lin’s body to uncontrollably stiffen and petrify.

If this had happened before, the suffering of petrification would have been borne by Mu Lin alone.

But now, someone was bound to him by karma, sharing this agony and torment.

“Hum!”

On the Yellow Mud Road, the unchanging Baleful Qi was continuously absorbed into Mu Lin’s body. Gradually, his body began to exhibit the characteristics of yellow mud.

Mu Lin paid no attention to this.

However, while he remained indifferent to what was happening, Huang Ru was not the same.

Before the pain of his shattered body had even subsided, the sensation of stiffening and petrification struck him repeatedly. This made Huang Ru feel death approaching, terrifying him.

“Stop! You bastard, I’m telling you to stop!”

He roared in fury, and beside him, his friends spoke up on his behalf.

“Why go this far? We’re all human beings—we should prioritize harmony. Mu Lin, why not just let Huang Ru go?”

“That’s right, it was just a minor incident earlier. Why escalate it to a life-or-death struggle?”

“Mu Lin, what you’re doing is too cruel. For the sake of your reputation, you should spare Huang Ru.”

“More friends mean more paths…”

Faced with these peacemakers who claimed to have his best interests at heart while urging him to be magnanimous, Mu Lin… did not get angry.

He simply said calmly, “Are you sure you want to persuade me, involve yourselves in my grudge with Huang Ru, and stop me from seeking revenge?”

“Mu Lin, we’re not stopping you from seeking revenge. We’re doing this for your own good—excessive killing will surely bring divine retribution…”

“That’s right, Huang Ru was indeed in the wrong, but aren’t you also at fault…”

Occupying the moral high ground and casually pointing fingers at others—this was what these people loved to do most.

In the past, relying on their numbers, they had indeed forced some to swallow their grievances.

Unfortunately, today, they encountered Mu Lin.

By interfering, they also became entangled with Mu Lin through karma.

Thus, unsurprisingly, Mu Lin became connected to them.

Through the Grandmaster-level Substitute Paper Figure, the injuries inflicted on Mu Lin were quickly reflected back onto them via this connection.

This caused the group of young men, who had just been loudly preaching morality and magnanimity, to let out shrill, terrified screams.

“My body… damn it, I didn’t even lay a hand on you!”

“Stop, make it stop!”

“Mu Lin, are you sure you want to make enemies of us all?”

The physical transformations filled them with terror.

At this moment, any thought of playing peacemaker vanished from their minds, replaced entirely by overwhelming fear and… regret.

Some even slapped themselves without hesitation.

“Damn your loose tongue, damn your meddling, damn your preaching of magnanimity…”

“If only I had shut up earlier, it would have been so much better.”

Fear, dread, and regret consumed the hearts of these young men.

Alongside these emotions was a deep-seated hatred for Mu Lin.

Yet, despite their intense resentment toward Mu Lin for injuring them, none of those affected dared to attack him.

Not only did they refrain from attacking, but they also felt compelled to plead with Mu Lin to take care of his own health.

“Mu Lin, stop refining the Baleful Qi! If this continues, we might die, but your body won’t be able to withstand it either!”

“Even for your own sake, you should stop!”

Their pleas fell on deaf ears. With half his body shattered and the other half stiffened, Mu Lin lay on the ground, continuing his refinement.

This sight drove some to utter despair, while others fell to their knees in terror, begging Mu Lin incessantly.

“I’m sorry, Mu Lin. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have intervened or meddled in your conflict. Please, spare me.”

These words finally made Mu Lin open his eyes. However, he offered no forgiveness nor severed his connection with them. He simply stated calmly, “No, you don’t realize you were wrong—you just realize you’re about to die.”

(End of Chapter)