Chapter 364: I Want to Kill You, and I Will!
The newcomer seemed to step out of thin air.
His body radiated a cyan light so brilliant it outshone the very colors of the world.
What everyone first saw was a pair of eyes sparkling with an incomparably divine light, looking down on all life with disdain.
"CRACKLE!"
It was as if a cyan lightning bolt streaked across the heavens. Zhao Xi instinctively shut his eyes, not daring to look directly.
At that moment, shock seized his heart, and fear filled his expression. In that fleeting instant, he had felt an incomparably sharp aura lock onto him. If he dared to open his eyes, he would undoubtedly be torn to shreds.
After what felt like an eternity, Zhao Xi slowly opened his eyes to discover the dazzling divine glow was fading, revealing a tall, straight-backed figure.
"Who are you?" Zhao Xi asked, suppressing his fear. He felt a powerful sense of crisis emanating from this person, and his heart trembled in shock.
The person was a young man in casual clothes.
A mane of thick, black hair was draped casually over his shoulders, and a cold, cyan light flickered unpredictably in his eyes. His skin was translucent, like the finest mutton-fat jade in the world.
More crucially, Zhao Xi sensed an extremely mysterious and profound aura about the youth.
Though he stood right before their eyes, he also seemed as distant as the horizon.
It was as if, in his eyes, they were the most insignificant of beings.
The youth was none other than Lin Mu!
"Miao... Miao King?!"
Li Xuan and the Second Elder were initially stunned, then fell to their knees with a thud. They trembled with excitement, tears streaming down their faces.
The Li Clan Elders who had seen Lin Mu before also knelt. Those who were close to Zhao Xi were especially terrified, shaking uncontrollably.
The Miao King has emerged from his seclusion?! And he seems to have become more powerful, more unfathomable!
"Rise," Lin Mu said calmly.
His voice, while the same as before, now possessed a magnetic quality that sounded like the world’s most beautiful music to all who heard it.
This shocked everyone once again!
In just half a year, the Miao King seemed to have become a different person.
He was taller than before and even more handsome. His shoulder-length hair added an air of mystery, and his body looked as if it were sculpted to the golden ratio, flawless in every way, like Apollo, the Sun God of Western mythology.
He appeared like a radiant sun, dazzling and commanding attention.
A complete transformation!
The term simultaneously flashed through the minds of Li Xuan and the others, as it perfectly described the Miao King’s change.
Lin Mu had indeed undergone a complete transformation.
Not only had his cultivation level broken through the Twelfth Level of Qi Refining with the construction of the Twelve-Fold Towers, but his entire body had also been tempered inside and out by them.
At this moment, he possessed an Innate Body. Even without cultivation, he would have a long lifespan and a physique so strong that it was impervious to blades and bullets.
Though he had not reached Foundation Establishment, he was already stronger than those who had!
As long as there was sufficient Spiritual Energy, reaching Foundation Establishment was merely a thought away for him.
This was because, even in the Eternal Immortal Realm, across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, no one had ever managed to construct all Twelve-Fold Towers at once during the Qi Refinement Realm!
"Congratulations, Miao King, on formally entering the Divine Communion Realm!" Li Xuan’s voice carried a hint of excited ecstasy.
The Miao King had been in the Grandmaster Realm before, but now his aura could only be described as something beyond that.
Beyond a Grandmaster is Reaching the Divine!
All the Li Clan Elders and the gathered clan members watched the scene, struck with awe.
Reaching the Divine? What sort of realm is that?
"Congratulations, Miao King, for Reaching the Divine!"
But regardless, the people of the Li Clan revered Lin Mu as a Heavenly God. Like the most fervent of believers, they dropped to their knees in a great wave.
Only a handful of elders remained standing alone, unsure whether to kneel or stand, in an utterly embarrassing predicament.
They had never seen the Miao King and naturally didn’t know that Lin Mu was him.
Even now, their minds were still reeling from the shock of Lin Mu’s aura; they had yet to fully come to their senses.
"Reaching the Divine?"
Lin Mu shook his head. "I have not Reached the Divine."
"You haven’t Reached the Divine?"
Li Xuan and the others were stunned.
If he hadn’t Reached the Divine, how could he exert such immense pressure on them, to the point that they couldn’t even muster a sliver of resistance?
Lin Mu didn’t explain. Instead, he slowly walked to the head seat and sat down.
"Tell me what happened."
Lin Mu had been in seclusion, utterly unable to pay attention to the outside world. He only knew that Li Lingqing had bid him farewell, saying she was going to the Xing Family.
"Miao King, it’s like this..."
The Second Elder eagerly hurried forward, knelt respectfully before Lin Mu, and recounted everything that had transpired in meticulous detail. This included Zhao Xi colluding with several elders to stop them, as well as sending Quan the Elder to pursue the Brothers Li Zhou. He recounted every last detail with perfect clarity.
"Miao King, the Xing Family has gone too far! They used the lives of our Li Clan members to force the Saintess into marriage. This is an outrageous disgrace to our clan!" The Second Elder’s eyes were red. He pointed a furious finger at Zhao Xi and said, "But this man is the most despicable of all! Not only does he feel no shame, but he thinks the Xing Family marrying the Saintess is a blessing for our clan. His words were also utterly disrespectful toward you, Miao King!"
By the end, the Second Elder was silently weeping.
In the past, the Bai Miao Village was nearly obliterated by the High Priest, causing countless casualties. It was the Miao King who had saved their entire clan and preserved the Li Clan’s bloodline.
It was also the Miao King who enabled the Li Clan to connect with the outside world, improving their lives, enhancing their strength, and helping them survive.
Thus, within the entire Li Clan, besides Li Lingqing and a few others, the Second Elder was the most loyal to Lin Mu.
The events of the past two days had wounded him deeply.
That was why he had secretly arranged for the Brothers Li Zhou to be freed, hoping they could catch up to the Saintess and find a way to take her far away from the Southern Sky.
But he never expected that Zhao Xi would notify the Xing Family and ask them to send people to collect the Saintess.
Utterly detestable!
"Is what the Second Elder said true?" After listening, Lin Mu’s expression didn’t change much. He just looked at Zhao Xi and spoke calmly.
"This..."
Zhao Xi’s complexion paled slightly. He didn’t dare to look into Lin Mu’s eyes.
"Not talking?"
Lin Mu smiled faintly and raised a single finger. "If you don’t talk, you die."
"You want to kill me?"
Zhao Xi was horrified and hastily took two steps back. "Miao King, are you going to kill me without even getting the facts straight? I won’t accept this!"
"You won’t accept this?"
Lin Mu smiled faintly. "I am the King of the Li Clan. You colluded with the Xing Family and forced my disciple into a marriage. Isn’t that reason enough?"
Zhao Xi’s face changed, his heart filled with dread. He gritted his teeth and said, "I did this for the good of the Li Clan! If the Saintess doesn’t marry into the Xing Family, our clan will be doomed!"
"Must we grovel and eke out an existence under another’s thumb just to survive?"
Lin Mu’s eyes were filled with mockery. He shook his head and said, "If you enjoy being a dog, why drag my disciple into it?"
"You..."
Zhao Xi sneered, "But you can’t kill me! If you do, the Xing Family will never let you off!"
"Because I have already with the Xing Family..."
"PFFT!"
However, before Zhao Xi could finish his words, a ray of light shot from Lin Mu’s fingertip and pierced straight through his head.
"You..."
"You overestimate yourself," Lin Mu said indifferently. "If I decide to kill you, I simply do."