Qin Mu VS Lijiang Sect Chief Disciple!

The clear ring of a bell drifted through the quiet village, as if it paid no attention at all to the murderous uninvited guests gathered at the entrance.

Mu Beifeng stood on the ancient road, watching the reaction of the village's old, weak, sick, and crippled residents, the cold smile at the corner of his mouth growing more obvious.

He turned his head slightly and gave his chief disciple, Qianqiu, a look, his tone casual.

"Qianqiu, since they've accepted this job, our Lijiang Sect naturally can't break the rules. Go. Pay them the deposit."

Qianqiu understood and stepped forward. A mocking smile hung on his face as he reached into his robe and took out a thick stack of paper money.

It was ghost money, made specially to be burned for the dead.

Qianqiu flicked his wrist, exerting strength through his fingertips.

The stack of paper money instantly scattered in midair, fluttering down toward the yellow dirt road at the village entrance.

The pale paper money spun in the faint breeze and finally covered the ground.

At the sight, the other Lijiang Sect elders standing behind Mu Beifeng immediately burst into roaring laughter.

That laughter was full of contempt and ridicule, sounding especially grating at the empty village entrance.

Yet in the face of such humiliation, Grandpa Ma, standing at the entrance of the blacksmith shop, only gave the paper money on the ground a cold glance.

His only remaining left hand patted the anvil lightly, and his broad shoulders straightened.

"Since you're so generous and gave such a large deposit."

Grandpa Ma's voice was very deep, without the slightest hint of anger.

He turned around and strode over to the coffins that had just been made. Raising his left hand, he struck the pile of Iron Wood beside them three times in succession.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Dull impacts rang out, and wood chips flew.

Three brand-new, solid wooden coffins took shape in an instant under Grandpa Ma's miraculous palm force and landed steadily on the ground.

"Then this old man will throw in three extra coffins for you." Grandpa Ma brushed the wood chips from his hand and spoke expressionlessly.

In the courtyard, Granny Si sat on a small bamboo stool, the bone needle in her hand flashing up and down.

Hearing Grandpa Ma's words, she bit through the red thread in her hand and replied without lifting her head.

"Since he's giving extra coffins, this old woman will give three extra sets of clothes too."

Granny Si neatly folded the burial clothes she had just finished sewing, her voice hoarse.

"Don't worry, everyone. This old woman's craftsmanship is excellent. I guarantee every piece will fit, so you can leave nice and comfortable."

Qin Mu, who had been squatting on the ground nearby, immediately stood up when he heard this.

He raised that innocent little face, stretched out a tender white finger, and began earnestly counting Mu Beifeng and the others in the sky.

"One, two, three..."

After finishing the count, Qin Mu's clear big eyes were filled with delighted surprise. He turned to look at Granny Si and said loudly, "Granny is so thoughtful! There happen to be exactly twelve of them!"

Those innocent childish words fell into the ears of the Lijiang Sect members, and their laughter came to an abrupt halt. Their faces instantly darkened.

At that moment, Cripple, who had been dozing by the low wall, slowly opened his eyes.

He stretched, tapped his single leg against the ground a few times, and spoke in a lazy tone.

"I heard that Yankang Imperial Preceptor, the one called the number one man beneath the gods, casually accepted the surrender of a rather famous sect back when he led troops to unite the southern border. It was called the Lijiang Sect."

Cripple looked at Mu Beifeng with a half-smile and dragged out his words.

"So it was you lot."

"Then if that's the case, those men the dead old woman killed outside some time ago were the fellows known in the martial world as the Five Elders of Lijiang?"

When Mu Beifeng heard this, a chilling killing intent flashed deep in his eyes, but on the surface, he still maintained the bearing of an upright sect.

He cupped his hands slightly, his tone hypocritical.

"I don't deserve such praise. It is only thanks to the respect of fellow daoists in the martial world."

Mu Beifeng looked at everyone in the village and slowly said, "Some time ago, several of my junior brothers said they wanted to come to the Great Ruins to temper themselves."

Hearing this, Qin Mu scratched the back of his head, looking suddenly enlightened, and cut in with a crisp voice.

"Oh! I remember now. Weren't they the bad guys who tried to kill Granny and me that day?"

Beside the large rock, Blind Man leaned on his green bamboo staff and sighed softly, his tone full of compassion for the suffering of the world.

"The Great Ruins are extremely dangerous. There are man-eating monsters everywhere who won't even spit out the bones. I was truly worried for them."

Mu Beifeng gave a cold laugh and followed along with Blind Man's words.

"Indeed. The Great Ruins are full of vicious fiends."

"When I saw that my junior brothers had not returned for several months, I grew worried, so I brought the disciples of my sect to search for them."

Mu Beifeng's gaze gradually turned sharp, like a hawk's, as it locked tightly onto Granny Si and Qin Mu.

"Fortunately, this old man found the place where they lost their lives, and used it to lock onto the murderer who killed them."

"One of them was an expert of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Judging from the traces left by the murder weapon on the corpses, they are exactly the same as the needle and thread in Granny Si's hands."

At this point, Mu Beifeng's gaze shifted to Qin Mu.

"As for the other, he used a wooden staff to execute blade techniques."

"Judging from the pattern of his attacks, it should have been a young man who had not been cultivating for long."

"Looking closely, it rather resembles you, little brother."

Hearing this undisguised accusation, Mute, who was standing in front of the blacksmith shop, immediately refused to stand for it.

His face, roasted red by the furnace fire, was filled with anger. He raised his hand outright, pointed at Mu Beifeng and the others in the sky, and began cursing them furiously.

But because he had been born unable to speak, all that came from his open mouth was a rapid burst of "aba, aba" and choked whimpering sounds.

Seeing this, Painter, who was beside him, stopped the brush in his hand.

Somewhat helplessly, he stepped forward, tugged at Mute's arm, and sighed as he shook his head.

"Enough, stop cursing."

"They can't understand you."

Just then, Village Chief, who was lying on the large bamboo bed, slowly turned his head, his clear gaze falling on Mu Beifeng.

"Brother Mu, since you have already submitted to Yankang Kingdom, I presume you are now also an official of the court?"

Mu Beifeng straightened his back, a trace of pride appearing on his face.

"This old man currently serves as the prefectural shepherd of the Five Miao Prefecture of Southern Border, an official of the associate second rank."

Village Chief's expression remained calm as he continued to ask.

"Then Brother Mu, since you have come to seek revenge today, do you intend to handle this by the rules of the court, or by the rules of the martial world?"

Mu Beifeng stood with his hands behind his back, the corner of his mouth curling into a cruel arc.

"This old man has long been used to being an idle village bumpkin roaming the mountains and fields. The court's rules and regulations are far too cumbersome, so this old man is still accustomed to settling grudges by the rules of the martial world."

With that, he patted the young disciple beside him, the one carrying a sword pouch on his back.

"This old man's disciple, Qianqiu, now also possesses cultivation at the Spirit Embryo realm. Little brother..."

Mu Beifeng looked at Qin Mu, his eyes carrying a sense of coercion.

"Are you willing to display your blade techniques and exchange a few moves with this disciple of mine?"

Hearing that the other side actually wanted to have a sword-cultivation genius challenge ten-year-old Qin Mu, the hot-tempered Heavenly Blade could no longer hold himself back.

His body, which had only an upper half, jolted fiercely in midair, and he roared in a voice like a great bell.

"What kind of ability is it to take your anger out on a little kid! If you've got the guts, fight me!"

However, the moment Heavenly Blade's words fell, Village Chief's steady voice came over.

"Stop."

Village Chief's gaze swept over everyone from Crippled Old Village present, his tone extremely stern.

"He did not use the power of the Yankang court to pressure us, nor did he borrow the strength of the National Preceptor. Since the other party has kept to the rules of the martial world, we are not allowed to break them either."

"No one is allowed to help, and no one is allowed to offer guidance."

After saying this, Village Chief turned his head and looked at Qin Mu, who was crouching on the ground holding the Butcher Knife.

In those eyes, there was now a hint of meaning that was hard to detect.

"Mu'er, go."

Village Chief's voice was very soft, yet it landed heavily on every person's heart.

"The coffin and burial clothes have already been prepared."

"Either he dies, or you die."

As Village Chief's resolute words fell, the image on the Sky Screen slowly froze at that moment.

In that frozen image was Qin Mu's innocent face, even as he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, and opposite him, Qianqiu's cold smile filled with killing intent and mockery.

This scene instantly stirred up an uproar beyond the screen of light, across Douluo Continent.

Not a single person was optimistic about Qin Mu.

In everyone's understanding, this was a duel absurd to the extreme.

One was a green country brat who had grown up playing in the mud in a remote village. Even if he had been born a little stronger and had just opened that so-called Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury;

The other, however, was the eldest chief disciple of a major sect in the Southern Border, a sword-cultivation genius raised with all the sect's resources and already at the perfected Spirit Embryo realm.

The gap between them was even harder to cross than a heavenly chasm.

At the same time, on Douluo Continent.

In the far north, wind and snow raged.

The blizzard that seemed as if it would never cease raged across the boundless ice field.

This was a forbidden zone for humans, yet a paradise for ice-type soul beasts.

Inside a magnificent palace of ice and snow carved entirely from ten-thousand-year-old mystic ice, the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress stood shoulder to shoulder before a huge floor-to-ceiling ice window, their gazes fixed through the wind and snow that filled the sky, staring intently at the light screen suspended in midair.

The Snow Empress wore a long dress as white as snow, her head of silver hair fluttering slightly in the cold wind.

On that cold, stunningly beautiful face of hers, there was not a trace of unnecessary expression, as if she were an emotionless ice sculpture.

"Humans are always this hypocritical."

The Snow Empress parted her red lips slightly, her voice so cold it could freeze the surrounding air.

"He clearly came with a heart full of personal resentment and killing intent. He clearly wants to use his advantage in realm and experience to crush a child, yet he insists on draping himself in the cloak of 'martial world rules.'"

"For Mu Beifeng, as the head of a sect and a second-rank official of the imperial court, to act like this is truly contemptible."

The Ice Empress stood beside her, her head of emerald-green hair particularly dazzling.

Hearing the Snow Empress's words, the Ice Empress gave a cold snort, her eyes filled with undisguised disdain.

"Xue'er, haven't humans always been like this?"

The Ice Empress folded her arms across her chest, her tone thick with contempt.

"To seize our soul rings and soul bones, what vile methods would they not use?"

"Now they're merely using those methods on their own kind."

The Ice Empress turned her gaze to the little boy in the light screen who was gripping the butcher knife, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Still, are those old fellows from this place called Crippled Old Village insane?"

"That Village Chief actually let a child barely over ten go fight the Lijiang Sect's chief disciple?"

"Even if that kid got lucky and broke through his realm in the ruined temple yesterday, that Qianqiu is at the perfected Spirit Fetus Realm!"

"The difference in foundation between them can't be made up for with a bit of brute strength."

The Ice Empress turned her head and looked at the Snow Empress.

"In our Far North, even when facing a powerful enemy, adult soul beasts will fight to the death to protect their young."

"But this Village Chief is something else. He directly left him with, 'Either he dies, or you die.' That is clearly sending the child to his death."

The Snow Empress was silent for a moment.

In her ice-blue eyes were reflected the wind and snow filling the sky, and also the tiny figure within the light screen.

"Bing'er, you have only seen the cruelty on the surface."

The Snow Empress's voice remained cold, but now there was a deeper undertone to it.

"You and I have both heard those explorers who entered the Sky Screen speak of the Great Ruins."

"That place is a hundred times harsher than our Far North, and the night is full of monsters that devour anyone they choose."

"To survive in a place like that, kindness and shelter are often the cheapest things of all."

The Snow Empress extended a slender finger and gently touched the cold window lattice before her.

"That Village Chief seems heartless, but in truth, he is using the most extreme environment to force that child to grow."

"Flowers raised in a greenhouse cannot survive in the Great Ruins."

"But..."

The Snow Empress's tone shifted, carrying a sigh that showed she was not optimistic.

"The difference in foundation is indeed a chasm."

"That disciple named Qianqiu is carrying a Crocodile Skin Sword Pouch on his back, so he must have mastered the Lijiang Sect's most exquisite sword formation."

"From a young age, he received systematic instruction from his sect, took all kinds of spirit medicines to improve his blood and qi, and had famous teachers carefully guiding him by his side."

"And what does Qin Mu have?"

"All he has in his hand is a greasy butcher knife. His daily task is to herd cattle by the river."

"All his combat experience may only be instinct gained from fighting wild beasts in the mountains and forests."

The Snow Empress shook her head slightly.

"The instincts of a wild beast are often utterly unable to withstand a true sect's supreme arts."

"In this battle, that child has no chance of winning at all."

"He will be sliced apart by Qianqiu's flying swords in an instant. That is the inevitable result brought about by resources and inheritance."

After hearing this, the Ice Empress also nodded in agreement.

"Looks like Crippled Old Village is going to fall into the hands of that hypocritical sect master today."

"What a pity for that little fellow with such decent strength."

At the same time, in that lofty, cloud-wreathed divine realm.

Inside the towering divine hall, several figures radiating boundless divine might sat upright upon their respective thrones, looking down at the scenes coming through the light screen from the lower realm.

Poseidon held the Sea God Trident, a trace of casual indifference in his azure eyes.

"This world called the Great Ruins is somewhat interesting."

The sea god's voice echoed through the hall, carrying the lofty majesty of a deity.

"However, these so-called rules of the martial world seem utterly laughable in the face of absolute strength."

"That Village Chief of Crippled Old Village is far too overconfident."

"Does he think a few tough words can smooth over the gulf in foundation?"

Asura God sat off to the side, his body exuding a heart-stopping, dark-red aura of slaughter.

He looked coldly at the light screen and let out a contemptuous scoff.

"The stupidity of mortals is always so astonishingly consistent."