Chapter 58 – Mu Lin: Guess.

While Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo were analyzing the situation, the constables had already engaged in fierce combat with the beast horde driven by the mountain demon.

Mu Lin also summoned four Yellow Turban Warriors, charging straight toward the mountain demon.

“Roar!”

This time, the might of the Yellow Turban Warriors was fully displayed.

The mountain demon possessed immense strength, and the Yellow Turban Warriors were equally powerful, as strong as oxen. The mountain demon had high defensive capabilities, and the Yellow Turban Warriors were impervious to blades and spears.

Their collision was like two martial arts masters locked in a fierce battle, intense and relentless.

Then, the mountain demon was brutally beaten.

Normally, a single Yellow Turban Warrior would be no match for the mountain demon, as their strengths were evenly matched, with neither able to overpower the other.

Considering that the Yellow Turban Warriors were conjured through Mu Lin’s visualization and thus somewhat diminished in power, it stood to reason that they would not be the mountain demon’s opponent.

However, two fists are no match for four hands, and even a hero cannot withstand overwhelming numbers. There was only one mountain demon, but there were four Yellow Turban Warriors.

Four against one—this was more than the mountain demon could handle.

What made it even more unbearable for the mountain demon was that the four Yellow Turban Warriors were coordinating with each other.

One held a shield, standing at the forefront; two wielded spears, guarding the flanks; and at the rear, an archer continuously fired arrows.

With such a formation, it took only two minutes of fighting for the mountain demon to sustain injuries.

And this was the core essence of the Paper Crafting Lineage—the righteous group beatdown.

This scene also greatly boosted the morale of the constables.

However, just as they thought the mountain demon was about to be subdued, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

“Boom!”

Accompanied by the sound of shattering earth, a yellowish-brown figure suddenly burst out from underground.

What made the constables’ souls nearly flee in terror was that the figure emerged right behind Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo.

“No!”

“Watch out…”

“Thud!” “Thud!”

Completely unprepared, Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo were pierced through the chest by the suddenly appearing figure.

“Bastards!”

This sight filled the constables with rage and a deep sense of foreboding.

As for the mountain demon, it let out a sinister laugh.

Then, just as it relaxed in its triumphant laughter, “Thud!”—the completely unaffected Yellow Turban Warriors slashed off the mountain demon’s arm with a single blow.

Following that, the four Yellow Turban Warriors launched a frenzied assault, putting the injured mountain demon in grave danger.

“???”

“What the hell?”

This scene left the mountain demon, the constables, and the pangolin that had ambushed Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo utterly stunned.

They couldn’t understand why, even though Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo’s chests had been pierced, his summoned creatures remained completely unaffected.

What baffled them even more was that despite suffering such severe injuries, Mu Lin’s expression remained utterly calm.

In fact, he was even murmuring to himself.

“So there are two monsters in the second trial. Not only are there no able-bodied assistants, but both monsters are cunning old foxes. No wonder so many people have fallen in the second trial.”

“Tch!”

Seeing that Mu Lin was completely unaffected and even casually commenting on the situation, the pangolin was provoked. With a furious roar, it exerted force with its claws, tearing Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo to pieces.

“Rip…”

Then, the shattered Mu Lin transformed into scattered pieces of white paper, drifting and falling in all directions.

  By now, the constables finally understood that the Mu Lin they had been protecting in the center had been a Paper Figure all along.

The pangolin, too, sensed that something was amiss.

Instantly, it wanted to burrow underground to escape.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Just as it had pierced Mu Lin’s heart with its claws and let its guard down, an ominous flying sword came flying from behind.

At the very moment it tore Mu Lin’s body apart, the flying sword arrived beside the pangolin and thrust straight toward its body.

“Shhla!”

With its scales providing protection, the demon pangolin’s defense was quite strong.

However, the ominous sword stained with mottled blood was even more terrifying.

Mu Lin, who was controlling the ominous Blood Sword, could clearly see that as the ominous sword made contact with the pangolin’s body, its scales and flesh rapidly rotted and decayed before his eyes.

Such flesh naturally couldn’t withstand the piercing of the ominous Blood Sword.

With a “pfft” sound, a large gash was cut into the pangolin’s body.

Although, in the next moment, it used its innate ability—earth escape—to burrow into the ground and flee.

But the ominous bloodstains had already latched onto it like maggots clinging to bone.

“Even if left alone, it would most likely die, but that would take too long… I’ll give it one more gift.”

Saying this, Mu Lin didn’t bother searching for the pangolin’s trail. Emerging from his hiding spot, he folded something in his hands as he walked to the place where the pangolin had escaped.

By the time he reached the spot where the pangolin had vanished, a vivid and lifelike Paper Pangolin appeared in Mu Lin’s hands.

With a casual gesture, the blood the pangolin had shed when injured was attached to the Paper Pangolin. Then, using the Mana from his fingertips as a brush and the pangolin’s blood as ink, Mu Lin wrote the three characters “pangolin” on the Paper Pangolin.

With all preparations complete, Mu Lin immediately activated the Paper Figure Curse with his Mana.

“Hum!”

In an instant, a mysterious connection formed between the Paper Pangolin in his hand and the pangolin’s Main Body.

As Mu Lin took out a paper cutter and stabbed it into the top of the Paper Pangolin’s head, the pangolin’s Main Body, fleeing underground in the distance, let out a piercing, agonized scream.

Its head had been pierced.

This was no surprise, as after days of cultivation, Mu Lin’s Paper Figure Curse Art had reached the 3rd realm—Expert. With just one of the three—True Name, birth date, or blood—Mu Lin could curse his enemies.

Even more terrifying was his Grandmaster Level Paper Crafting technique: vivid, lifelike, and capable of creating a spiritual resonance… These traits gave the Paper Figures he crafted a special and close connection with their Main Bodies.

Applied to the Paper Figure Curse, this allowed the 3rd-realm Paper Figure Curse to unleash the power of a 4th-realm Master.

And as is well known, the leap from the 3rd realm Expert to the 4th realm Master is a qualitative transformation.

The Master Grade Paper Figure Curse Art could already kill enemies from a distance.

Infusing the Paper Figure with Mana—the vitality of the living—Mu Lin reactivated the connection between the Paper Pangolin and the pangolin’s Main Body. Then, with a swift motion, he stabbed the pangolin’s heart.

This caused the pangolin burrowing through the soil to let out another piercing, agonized scream.

For the third strike, Mu Lin severed the Paper Pangolin’s neck.

This time, the pangolin, having suffered continuous heavy blows, could no longer resist.

With its throat slit from afar, it perished underground.

At the same time, the mountain goblin that drove the tigers and leopards was also surrounded and killed on the mountaintop by the Yellow Turban Warrior.

Thus, Mu Lin smoothly passed the second assessment as well.

Just as his figure began to gradually fade into illusion, a constable within the Illusion Realm spoke with a mix of admiration and fear, “Sir, is this body of yours your Main Body?”

Hearing this, Mu Lin glanced at the somewhat young constable and smiled, saying, “Guess.”

…

(End of Chapter)