Of course, Mu Chen had no idea how rude he was being. Mu Bingling noticed him staring at her in a daze, and a blush crept up her cheeks. Finally, steeling herself, she pouted, "Mu Chen, how can you just stare at a girl like that?"
Mu Chen was still in a daze. He snapped out of his reverie at the sound of Mu Bingling's voice and immediately realized his gaffe. Awkwardly, he averted his gaze, his face flushing just as red as hers. "Uh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"Heh, you idiot." Mu Bingling had been embarrassed too, but seeing Mu Chen stammer with a beet-red face made her burst out laughing.
"Alright, let's get going. This year's clan competition arena is in Luofeng City Square. I hear a lot of people are going." With that, Mu Bingling didn't give Mu Chen any time to react. She grabbed his hand and quickly ran toward the front courtyard.
Mu Chen gave a wry smile and rubbed his nose, letting Mu Bingling pull him along. After a moment, however, he made an astonishing discovery. Mu Bingling was getting faster and faster—a speed that a Fifth-Ring Martial Disciple could never produce. In his surprise, Mu Chen had forgotten that she had been cultivating for another six months.
"I'm telling you, kid, what are you thinking? 'A Fifth-Ring Martial Disciple?' Are you kidding me?" The Profound Old Ghost's voice ambushed him once again.
Mu Chen almost blurted out the words. He quickly shut his mouth and replied with his thoughts, 'Can you please give a warning first? You keep popping up so suddenly. Don't you know you could scare someone to death?'
The Profound Old Ghost rolled his eyes. 'I've told you many times, I'm not a person. I just wanted to tell you that you'd better start your cultivation as a Martial Artist soon. Otherwise, you're going to be left in the dust by that little girl next to you.'
Mu Chen was momentarily stunned, utterly confused. The Profound Old Ghost snorted. 'I told you, don't underestimate her. She's a hundred times stronger than that bullshit genius of your Mu Family.'
'Then what's her level now?' Mu Chen asked instinctively.
The Profound Old Ghost replied, 'Heh heh, you wanna know?'
Mu Chen nodded again and again.
'I'm not telling you.'
Mu Chen suddenly had the urge to pull the Profound Old Ghost out of the Extreme Spirit Pearl and smash him on the ground a few hundred times. Seeing Mu Chen's silence, the Profound Old Ghost sounded a little dejected. 'You can't be serious. You're getting mad over something like this?'
The Profound Old Ghost said, 'Don't be mad, okay? How about your Master tells you her level?'
Mu Chen retorted, 'I'm not interested in knowing now.'
The Profound Old Ghost sighed. 'Alright, alright, you little brat. If you stop being angry, this Master will teach you a Combat Skill. How about that?' He had no choice but to offer a carrot.
Mu Chen's eyes lit up. A Combat Skill! That was something incredibly rare. Combat Skills were as renowned as Cultivation Techniques, and they shared the same grades: White Tier, Yellow Tier, Profound Tier, Earth Tier, and Celestial Tier. A powerful Combat Skill was enough to give you an absolute advantage over others at the same tier. If the Combat Skill's grade was high enough, even Tier Jumping to kill a stronger opponent wasn't impossible. The Mu Family had many Combat Skills, but their grades were all very low. The highest was only a Yellow Rank Lower Grade.
But despite this extreme temptation, Mu Chen still said coolly, 'It's probably some garbage Combat Skill.'
'He had put up with a lot. He wouldn't back down until he'd thoroughly fleeced this bastard of an old man.'
The Profound Old Ghost had expected Mu Chen to be overjoyed and start sweet-talking him. He never thought Mu Chen would say something like that. He became furious and roared, 'You brat! The Combat Skills in my possession are always treasures! They're from a hundred thousand years ago, how could any of them be garbage?! Hmph! Huh? We've arrived. Forget it, we'll talk about this tomorrow.'
After saying this, the Profound Old Ghost fell silent again. But Mu Chen wasn't discouraged in the least. He knew the Profound Old Ghost would definitely give him the Combat Skill.
"Mu Chen, Mu Chen, why are you spacing out again?" Mu Bingling waved a slender, fair hand in front of his face. Noticing he had slipped back into a daydream, she asked with concern, "Are you not feeling well?"
"Huh? Ah? What? No, I was just lost in thought. Don't worry about me. My body's perfectly fine now," Mu Chen said with a smile, patting his chest.
He glanced around and saw they had arrived at the front courtyard. The training grounds were packed with Mu Family Disciples. Mu Chen and Mu Bingling had arrived just in the nick of time. Many of the surrounding disciples saw the goddess of their hearts walking over, holding Mu Chen's hand, and their eyes practically shot flames.
However, Mu Chen and Mu Bingling naturally ignored these glares, taking their place in the Mu Family's ranks amidst the jealousy of countless onlookers. But in a spot no one noticed, a cold gaze, like that of a Poisonous Snake, was firmly locked on Mu Chen.
"Hmph. Sooner or later, you will be mine," the owner of that gaze muttered. This person was none other than Mu Rongxuan, whom Mu Chen hadn't seen in six months. His height had shot up again. Though only thirteen, he looked like he was fifteen, standing at five-foot-five. He was also exceptionally handsome, and many of the young women of the Mu Family cast adoring glances his way.
"Everyone, quiet down. Is everyone here?" Patriarch Mu Gu Tian, standing at the very front, asked the steward, Elder Chang, who was beside him. Elder Chang was a capable-looking man in his forties, dressed in a long gray robe. Mu Chen had a decent impression of him, as he was the only one who had never insulted him.
Behind Mu Gu Tian, three Mu Family Elders sat with their eyes closed in meditation, projecting an air of sanctimonious gravity. Hearing Mu Gu Tian's question, Elder Chang glanced at Mu Chen and Mu Bingling before bowing. "Patriarch, all the Mu Family Disciples have arrived."
Mu Gu Tian said coolly, "Good. Then you may lead the children over. We will walk ahead."
Elder Chang acknowledged the order and began leading the group toward Luofeng City Square. In truth, his guidance wasn't necessary, as everyone knew where the square was. However, having a large, magnificent procession simply looked more impressive.
Before long, Mu Chen and the Mu Family Disciples arrived at Luofeng Square. An arena had been erected in the formerly empty space, surrounded by countless Guards. A dignified, square-jawed, middle-aged man came forward to greet them with a smile. "If it isn't Patriarch Mu! Come, please, take your seat."
Seeing the man, Mu Gu Tian quickly cupped his fist and returned the smile. "City Lord Feng, we've troubled you."
This man was the Lord of Luofeng City, Fengze. He waved his hand dismissively. "Not at all. This is all for the sake of finding talent for our Luofeng City. Besides, recruitment only happens once every three years."
Mu Gu Tian exchanged a few more words with Fengze before finding the Mu Family's designated area. He led his people over, but he himself walked to a separate platform with only four chairs. Once all the Mu Family members were seated, five people—three young men and two young women—stood up and went to the contestant waiting area.
Mu Chen opened his eyes and glanced toward the waiting area, immediately realizing he knew all five of them. They were Mu Bingling, Mu Xiaotian, Mu Rongxuan, and Mu Rongxuan's younger sister, Mu Xue'er.
Speaking of Mu Xue'er, Mu Chen felt rather conflicted. In the entire family, her looks were second only to Mu Bingling's, but she was always overshadowed by her, making her seem less outstanding. Looking at her now, the little girl from before had gradually blossomed into a young woman. Her fresh, charming appearance gave off an ethereal air, and she had an excellent figure. In some respects, she was even more developed than Mu Bingling.
But this girl, who was so nice to everyone else, would show open hostility the moment she saw him, often speaking to him with caustic words. Mu Chen shook his head helplessly. 'A gentleman doesn't quarrel with a lady.' For that reason, he generally avoided her as much as possible. He just never expected that the little girl from back then could now represent the Mu Family in the clan competition. This meant her strength ranked in the top five of the entire family.
The last of the Mu Family Disciples was a short young man; even Mu Chen was half a head taller than him. The young man wore a kind smile. Mu Chen seemed to have a faint impression of him. He thought the boy's name was Mu Jie. He was usually quiet and very low-key, so it was a surprise that he had also met the standard to be in the family's top five.
Just then, three more groups of people approached from three different directions. Mu Chen looked around and saw that they were the other three great families: the Chen Family, the Li Family, and the Wang Family.
After the three Patriarchs arrived, they inevitably exchanged some pleasantries with Fengze before taking their respective seats.
The Head of the Chen Family, Chen Wenfu, chuckled when he saw Mu Gu Tian. "Patriarch Mu, you've arrived quite early."
Mu Gu Tian just snorted and said nothing. The Chen Family had always been at odds with the Mu Family. The two families had clashed in secret many times in Luofeng City, and the Mu Family had always come out on the losing end. Of course, Mu Gu Tian wasn't going to give him a pleasant reception.
But the Head of the Li Family, Li Zongtang, who was sitting next to Chen Wenfu, laughed. "Heh heh, I say, Old Gu, your Mu Family was the first to arrive this time. Don't let it be that you're the last in the rankings again. If that happens, the title of Luofeng City's weakest family will land squarely on your heads."
Hearing this, Mu Gu Tian became instantly furious and was about to lash out, but the Head of the Wang Family, Wang Mo, who was sitting beside him, grabbed his arm. "Old Gu, now is not the time to be reckless. Otherwise, that fellow Fengze definitely won't look kindly on it."
After saying that, Wang Mo smiled. "The Chen and Li families seem to share a common hatred, breathing from the same nostril. I imagine your relationship must be quite close."
Hearing this, Li Zongtang stroked his beard. "But of course."
"Oh? Then who, exactly, is riding whose coattails?" Wang Mo's next words instantly made Li Zongtang's face darken.
It was true. The Li Family was on good terms with the Chen Family, but only because they had shamelessly married off a daughter in a political alliance to latch onto them. For someone to bring it up to their faces—even indirectly—was to poke at the Li Family's sore spot.
"Hmph! Hmph!" Li Zongtang absolutely could not answer that question. Any response would be the wrong one, so he simply snorted twice and fell silent.
Mu Gu Tian shot Wang Mo a grateful glance. To be honest, the only reason the Mu Family was able to hold its position as one of the four great families of Luofeng City was due to the significant help from the Wang Family. From the very beginning, the Wang Family had spared no effort in helping them. Mu Gu Tian was grateful to the Wang Family from the bottom of his heart.
"I say, Old Gu, what do you think of my granddaughter?" Wang Mo asked Mu Gu Tian in a low voice, seeing that the other two patriarchs had fallen silent.
Confused, Mu Gu Tian followed Wang Mo's gaze downward. In the Wang Family's waiting area stood a young woman in a red silk dress. The girl was quite beautiful, with pearly teeth, ruby lips, and bright, almond-shaped eyes. She looked incredibly ladylike and well-behaved. However, this gentle-looking young woman also had a head of fiery red hair that was alluringly beautiful, making her stand out from the crowd.
"She... is truly lovely. But I wonder, what is your intention, Brother Wang?" Of course, Mu Gu Tian didn't believe Wang Mo just wanted him to look at his granddaughter. Besides, what would people think of two old men staring at a young girl?
Wang Mo laughed heartily. "It's like this. I hear you have three grandsons. Your eldest and second grandsons are in the waiting area, are they not?"
Mu Gu Tian was taken aback. He turned to look at Wang Mo and said softly, "Brother Wang, you mean to say...?"
"Heh heh, I'm sure you understand now, Old Gu. What do you think?" Wang Mo said with a grin, rubbing his face.
Mu Gu Tian was in turmoil. He understood, of course, that Wang Mo wanted to bind the Mu Family completely to his own. But considering the Mu Family's current situation, there seemed to be nothing of value for him to covet. 'Just what are his intentions...?'