Heavenly Born Cult

The so-called younger generation had no precise definition, but generally referred to martial artists under twenty-five whose cultivation was below the Fourth Rank.

Once someone was over twenty-five, in a world as chaotic and perilous as this one, they were already nearing the average life expectancy. Naturally, they could no longer be counted among the younger generation. As for Fourth Rank Martial Artists, they were equivalent to the inhuman, practically no longer human at all, so they even less qualified as part of the younger generation.

The Eight Great Sects and the Great Yuan Dynasty had an unspoken understanding: barring special circumstances, martial artists above the Fourth Rank would not attack the younger generation. After all, every faction had a Martial Saint behind it. If they all kept their eyes on one another's juniors and descendants, they would only stir the world into chaos.

Moreover, martial artists who could reach the Fourth Rank all possessed resolute Martial Dao Will. They were often disdainful of bullying the weak with their strength.

Even so, in this chaotic age of demons and monsters, in this world where vengeful ghosts ran rampant, danger still lurked everywhere. Only geniuses who could truly grow up could be called geniuses.

Among this younger generation, there might even be future Martial Saints.

But Chen Mu was not particularly concerned.

As long as he worked a little harder and endured a little more hardship, it was impossible for anyone to advance faster than him. This applied not only to the Sorcerer realm, but to the Martial Dao realm as well.

He was already a high-rank sorcerer. Without a doubt, this had greatly accelerated his early Martial Dao cultivation. It would not take long for him to reach the Seventh Rank of the Martial Dao.

Above the Seventh Rank, what was needed was to temper one's Martial Dao Will.

And judging from Chen Mu's assessment, he probably did not need to temper any particular Martial Dao Will, because no Martial Dao Will could possibly be purer than his Heart Sword.

The Heart Sword, taking the heart as a sword, was itself a kind of sword intent—one even purer than sword intent.

Relying on the conception of the Heart Sword, the Martial Dao Will required for the Sixth and even Fifth Rank should pose no difficulty for him. Thus, these two realms only required accumulation and would still come naturally, like water flowing into a channel.

Only upon reaching the Fourth Rank of the Martial Dao might his progress slow somewhat.

Chen Mu gathered his thoughts.

He summoned the system interface.

Name: Chen Mu

Age: 16

Martial Strength: Five Horses Strength

Soulmind: Nascent Spirit lv14 (+)

Soul Points: 32 points

Soul Roaming (Netherworld)—Available

He had just received a new lingering obsession in the Netherworld and had unexpectedly gained some more Soul Points.

Naturally, Chen Mu would not waste them. He quickly added all those Soul Points to his Soulmind.

Whoosh!

Golden light flashed rapidly.

Nascent Spirit lv16!

After raising his Soulmind by two minor levels, Chen Mu could feel the power of his Soulmind swell by nearly a third. Without a doubt, this was another considerable improvement.

"The Fourth Rank of sorcery is the Day Trip Realm. The Soulmind can leave the body during the day and will no longer fear sunlight."

"Moreover, because the Soulmind can leave the body, it is no longer the flesh that contains the Soulmind. Instead, the Soulmind can contain the flesh. Thus, there will no longer be any problem with being unable to lift one's own body, and one can gain the ability to fly with one's physical body."

Chen Mu recalled the descriptions in the books.

He could sense his Soulmind growing stronger step by step, but he could also feel that although his Soulmind was powerful now, it still could not leave his body during the day and remained unable to withstand the sun's radiance.

Without a doubt, the Day Trip Realm was not merely an increase in the power of the Soulmind. It also required another qualitative transformation, making the Soulmind's power more concentrated and its thoughts purer and flawless.

He was not far from the Fourth Rank.

As for his Martial Dao realm, he was currently at the Eighth Rank, not far from the Seventh Rank. With the speed and efficiency at which a Fifth Rank sorcerer absorbed spiritual energy to temper his body, he only needed another five or six days to naturally cross into the next realm. However, if he wanted to catch up to his Sorcerer realm, he was still far behind.

Just as Chen Mu was pondering,

suddenly,

a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Chen Mu looked toward the doorway and spoke calmly.

The door was pushed open, and Ren Yan entered respectfully. After saluting Chen Mu, he immediately reported, "Second Master, last time you instructed me to keep an eye on that Xiao Feng. I watched her whenever I had nothing to do, and this afternoon I noticed something unusual."

"Speak."

Chen Mu looked at Ren Yan.

Ren Yan reported in a low voice, "This afternoon, I saw Xiao Feng leave through the back door, so I secretly followed her. Then I saw her enter a very remote alley. I kept watch outside for nearly two hours before seeing her come out. I don't know what she did inside, and I didn't dare act on my own, so I hurried over to report to you, Second Master."

Ren Yan's expression was solemn as well. If Xiao Feng had merely gone to curry favor with other young masters or misses, that would have been fine. But this time, the situation clearly went beyond that. She might even have been colluding with outsiders.

This was no small matter.

A maid from the Xuanguo Estate colluding with people outside meant that there was a problem even with her origins. Her approaching the other young masters and misses every day might not have been mere flattery. It was even more likely that she had been doing things such as gathering intelligence.

"Oh?"

Chen Mu slightly raised his eyelids.

He was not particularly surprised by what Ren Yan had discovered. After all, the world was chaotic now, and the Xuanguo Estate was so large that it was perfectly normal for some ill-intentioned people to sneak in.

If that was the case, then the ghost he had encountered before might indeed have been connected to Xiao Feng.

At that thought,

Chen Mu's narrowed eyes first closed, then opened again. A glimmer of Netherworld light appeared in them as his gaze passed through the doors, windows, and walls toward the room where Xiao Feng lived.

Ren Yan only dared to sneak one glance, but he instantly felt icy all over, as if an incomparably terrifying sensation had enveloped his entire body, leaving him unable to breathe for a moment.

He hurriedly lowered his head and only then managed to draw breath, but cold sweat had already soaked his back.

Although Chen Mu had never displayed anything too obvious before him, their daily interactions, Xiao Mei's change in attitude, and Chen Yao's behavior when interacting with Chen Mu these past few days, combined with that gaze that made his breathing seize up at a single glance...

There could be no mistake.

His own Second Master was a sorcerer!

Ren Yan had long harbored such a suspicion. Now, he was eighty to ninety percent certain. But since Chen Mu had not said anything and had not publicly revealed his identity as a sorcerer, Ren Yan naturally did not dare ask or speak of it. He simply carried out Chen Mu's orders honestly.

Even though secretly following Xiao Feng today might have been dangerous, he had still braced himself and followed her. He had only lacked the courage to enter that alley after all.

"Heh, they really are everywhere."

Chen Mu stared intently at Xiao Feng's room for a few moments, then let out a soft "heh."

His judgment had been correct.

Xiao Feng did indeed have a problem. She had merely remained extremely cautious and hidden herself well. Not only had she revealed nothing herself, there had not even been anything unusual in her room.

But just now, Chen Mu had finally seen something unusual.

It was a wooden tablet. Xiao Feng had hidden it beneath a floor tile, but it had still failed to escape his gaze.

There was nothing special about the wooden tablet itself, but two lines of eerie writing were engraved upon it:

Heavenly Born Protection, Rebirth Extremely Blissful!

Those two short lines contained a power that bewitched the heart and mind. They were clearly the work of a sorcerer. If an ordinary person saw them, they would most likely lose their senses at once.

But the power had no effect on Chen Mu whatsoever.

Looking at those two eerie lines on the wooden tablet, their origin was unmistakable, practically calling out its name—Heavenly Born Cult!

Chen Mu withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Xiao Mei, go bring her here."

"Yes."

Xiao Mei, who had been standing by the doorway, immediately answered. She then rushed straight toward Xiao Feng's room. A moment later, the sounds of a door being smashed open and shouts rang out.

Before several breaths had passed, Xiao Mei returned, carrying Xiao Feng by the collar.

Although Xiao Feng was slightly taller than Xiao Mei, at that moment, dangling from Xiao Mei's hand, she was as helpless as a child, utterly unable to resist. Her hair was disheveled, and she looked utterly bedraggled.