Chapter 190: My Lord

"Grandpa Mute!"

Qin Mu quickly ran over, opening his arms wide to hug the elderly man in plain clothes, trying to lift him. But the old man was like the heaviest mountain in the world, impossible to budge.

Qin Mu laughed excitedly, exerting all his strength to try and lift him, but he still couldn't.

Mute made a few "ah-ah" sounds and put down his box. Qin Mu finally managed to lift him, spun around twice, and then plopped the old man down on the ground. Mute sat on his bottom, then got up and patted the dust off his pants, gesticulating twice as if to say, "You're too naughty."

"Grandpa Mute, why are you out of the village too? How did you get here?"

Qin Mu was both surprised and delighted, asking quickly, "You were amazing just now! Were the sword pellets in your box all forged by you? And who else came out with you?"

"Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah!"

Mute spoke and gesticulated simultaneously, furrowing his brows in a bored expression, then patting his palm against his cheek to signal sleep, and finally holding up two fingers to mimic walking.

His hands gestured rapidly, and his facial expressions changed in an instant, dazzling Qin Mu, who quickly said, "Grandpa Mute, please speak slower, I can't keep up. Where's Grandpa Deaf? Why didn't he come with you?"

Mute looked triumphant and gesticulated, indicating that he had secretly slipped out of the village without telling anyone.

Qin Mu blinked, then smiled, "You don't know, I met Grandpa Butcher and Grandpa Blind, and Granny Si. They've all left the village already."

Mute looked surprised, made a few "ah-ah" sounds, and offered his wooden box to Qin Mu, signaling for help carrying it. Qin Mu scoffed and didn't reach for it: "Grandpa Mute, you can't fool me again. Your box is incredibly heavy; it must contain thousands of sword pellets! Your sword pellets are heavy, and the box is even heavier. If I helped you carry it, my shoulders would surely dislocate, and I'd be sprawled on the ground! I fell for it once before, I won't fall for it a second time."

Mute grinned, a silent, mischievous smile, and gave Qin Mu a thumbs-up.

In Disabled Elderly Village, besides Cripple, he was the one who most enjoyed playing tricks on Qin Mu.

Suddenly, Mute raised his eyebrows and looked behind Qin Mu. Qin Mu quickly turned around to see a middle-aged man approaching. The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace Nation calmly walked towards them, stopping about a dozen yards away.

"A figure from the previous era?" he murmured softly.

Mute smiled and made two gestures. The Imperial Preceptor frowned, unable to understand.

Qin Mu explained, "Imperial Preceptor, Grandpa Mute means that he isn't quite a figure from the previous era; he's still relatively young."

The Imperial Preceptor frowned again. Not understanding Mute's words and having Qin Mu translate for him always made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Brother Daoist, your abilities are extraordinary, but what you cultivate is not swordsmanship."

The Imperial Preceptor sighed with emotion, "I've exchanged ideas with a few people from the previous era and gained many insights, thinking I had encountered all kinds of divine arts and spells. But I never expected to see another unique divine ability. Brother Daoist, would you mind showing me your divine ability?"

Qin Mu was surprised. He had seen Mute in action earlier, countless sword pellets rising into the air, transforming into an endless stream of flying swords, even forcing the Heavenly Demon King to defend himself, yet he was still wounded by Mute's swords.

Qin Mu had thought that Mute's entire skill set was focused on swords, but he never expected the Imperial Preceptor to say that Mute did not cultivate swordsmanship. Could it be that Mute's true abilities surpassed the swordsmanship he had displayed?

When he was in the village, Mute had taught him the art of blacksmithing and forging. Qin Mu often carried a large iron hammer, and his hammer techniques were taught by Mute.

"Could it be that Grandpa Mute cultivates hammer techniques?"

Mute grinned, tightened the forging furnace on his back, and set down the wooden box he was carrying. He looked like an itinerant blacksmith now, someone who would stop in any village to rest and forge ironware for the villagers.

His box looked like it contained blacksmithing tools and supplies. What should come out of it should definitely not be sword pellets, but rather hammers, anvils, funnels, ladles, and similar items.

He opened the wooden box and made two more "ah-ah" gestures. The Imperial Preceptor's face stiffened, and he looked at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu said, "Grandpa Mute is saying that his craft is almost lost. If the Imperial Preceptor wants to see it, he can, and he would like the Imperial Preceptor to help him find a successor."

The Imperial Preceptor stood up respectfully and said, "Brother Daoist is willing to impart his lifelong unique skills to others; his magnanimity far surpasses that of the leaders and masters of many famous sects and schools. If fate allows, I will certainly keep an eye out for you."

The wooden box was opened, revealing countless sword pellets, each no bigger than a fingertip.

The Imperial Preceptor looked puzzled. Mute smiled faintly and extended his palm. The sword pellets suddenly ceased being individual silver orbs; instead, they liquefied, like water, yet also like light—giving the impression of light transformed into water.

This box of sword pellets transformed into a box of liquid light. The liquid light slowly rose from the box, climbed onto Mute’s body, and flowed over his entire form, resembling a set of silver armor.

Qin Mu and the Imperial Preceptor immediately saw various strange patterns appear on the surface of the armor, which were peculiar runic arrays designed for defense.

Then, the liquid light flowed off Mute's body and, in mid-air, formed a large bell, over ten yards tall. The bell's wall was very thin, seemingly transparent.

The great bell slowly rotated, and ancient characters, various strange beast patterns, and the arrangement of constellations appeared on its wall.

Whoosh—

The great bell transformed into flowing light, and a silver dragon appeared, circling and swimming around them, its body covered in dragon patterns.

Suddenly, the silver dragon ascended into the sky, transforming into a long sword. The sword shot upwards, executing intricate sword maneuvers, then suddenly retracted its light, and a large shield descended from the sky.

Before the shield even touched the ground, it transformed into a silver umbrella, spinning and drifting gently downwards.

The sword pellets in Mute's box were incredibly versatile, capable of transforming into various weapons and treasures with different functions!

The treasures in his box could even take on the form of divine abilities!

This was the first time Qin Mu had seen Mute truly display his abilities, the first time he had witnessed such unparalleled skill!

Mute had not taught him this skill; in fact, he had never even seen Mute use this ability while in the village.

The Imperial Preceptor watched, mesmerized. Suddenly, the liquid light flowed and transformed into a silver boat. Mute tossed his box onto the silver boat, leaped into it, grinned at Qin Mu, and waved his hand. The silver boat broke through the air and vanished swiftly.

Qin Mu opened his mouth, wanting to call out to him, but after a moment's thought, he decided not to try and make him stay.

A moment later, the Imperial Preceptor slowly exhaled a breath, praising, "Excellent skill, truly excellent. There are still abilities in this world that I don't know of and haven't seen. This Brother Daoist is extraordinary. Grand Academician, do you know him?"

Qin Mu said, "He's one of my elders."

The Imperial Preceptor was stunned, not understanding the meaning of this statement: "Could he be a master from the Demonic Cult? Besides the Grand Libation, the Demonic Cult actually has such a master. Truly remarkable, worthy of being the foremost holy land of the demonic path."

Qin Mu shook his head, "Imperial Preceptor, you've guessed wrong. I came from the Great Ruins, so my home is naturally in the Great Ruins."

The Imperial Preceptor's heart tightened. He gave Qin Mu a deep, meaningful look and said, "The Grand Academician actually comes from a prestigious aristocratic family, with a deep scholarly lineage."

Qin Mu was momentarily dumbfounded, then reluctantly nodded.

The Imperial Preceptor said blandly, "So, who summoned this demon god?"

"I don't know either."

Qin Mu stated solemnly, "I had just arrived here when this great chaos occurred. I'm truly wronged and nearly died."

The Imperial Preceptor nodded gently and said, "Gu Lihuan asked you to lead a team of scholars for training. As far as I know, your destination should be Lizhou. This is Tianbo City, and across the river is Wuding Prefecture, two hundred li from Lizhou. Why are you here, Grand Academician?"

"This..."

Qin Mu pulled Fox Spirit out of the satchel on his back and looked at the little white fox. Fox Spirit raised her paw, nibbled her fingers, her eyes darting quickly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she said crisply, "We floated over from the river! We encountered danger in Lizhou, and the remnants of the Hongshan Sect summoned a demon god, so we escaped by river. Can we say that, young master?"

The Imperial Preceptor's expression remained unchanged, "You can say whatever you like. This time, Tianbo City suffered great chaos. The city's defenders died in countless numbers. The person who summoned the demon god performed a great service, and I plan to recommend him to the Emperor for promotion. Such a meritorious deed could at least elevate him to a rank four official."

Qin Mu opened his mouth, and Fox Spirit quickly said, "Our young master did it! Our young master summoned this Heavenly Demon King!"

The Imperial Preceptor ignored her and continued, "Although there is merit, countless civilians in the city also died. This sin is great. Although casualties are unavoidable on the battlefield, destroying an entire city and suffering so many deaths is too much. Even if I wanted to commend this person, the pure-minded officials in the court would criticize me, saying this person caused countless deaths and coerced the emperor into sentencing him. When the war eventually settles, this person will surely be held accountable and purged. While I can't say his entire family would be executed, demotion and exile are inevitable."

Fox Spirit quickly shut her mouth, feeling that whatever she said was wrong.

The Imperial Preceptor revealed a slight smile and said, "Therefore, I intend to suppress this credit and simply say that the perpetrator is unknown. No credit, no fault. What do you think of this arrangement, Grand Academician?"

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, "Imperial Preceptor, your handling is excellent."

Behind them, the Eternal Peace army had already slaughtered the demonic forces in Tianbo City. Several generals walked over.

The Imperial Preceptor turned around and said calmly, "Pure-minded officials kill with words, not knives. Even if one escapes their verbal attacks, one is still covered in disgrace."

Qin Mu said, "Imperial Preceptor, you feel this deeply?"

The Imperial Preceptor nodded, "To implement reforms, I've killed countless pure-minded officials, but they are endless; you kill one batch, another appears. They have no real ability and don't do practical work, yet they find fault with everything and only scold you. Do you know what my fate would be if my reforms failed?"

Qin Mu shook his head.

"I would be infamous for ten thousand years."

The Imperial Preceptor said blandly, "Even if my reforms succeed, I will still be cursed by the pure-minded officials for hundreds or thousands of years. There was once a fellow Daoist who could soothe my heart..."

His expression grew somewhat dim: "But he is gone. I miss him very much."

Today, it's three updates again!