Chapter 58: Young Sect Leader

The courtyard was filling with people, an odd assortment from all walks of life, all looking up. The first wooden building was already riddled with holes and severely damaged.

Finally, the wooden hall master on the top floor was defeated and fell, and the building collapsed with a roar.

Amidst the flying debris, Qin Mu, with the Azure Dragon coiled around him, deflected the pieces of wood flying at him and walked towards the second wooden building.

Bang, bang, bang... The wooden building continuously shook, as if a giant beast were crashing against its walls. Its fate was not much better than the first; walls continuously exploded, and figures were sent flying out.

Qin Mu's advance grew swifter. Clearly, he was continuously absorbing combat experience and sharpening his combat awareness. Whether using sword control, bare-handed combat, saber techniques, hammer arts, or spear skills, he defeated the hall masters guarding room after room!

Rumble. The second wooden building collapsed, and dust rose everywhere.

Then Qin Mu walked towards the third building.

...

As night fell, stone basins on pillars throughout the Heavenly Devil Cult village were filled with lamp oil and lit. Inside the village, light was as bright as day, while outside, it was pitch black. The village's light was swallowed by the darkness the moment it touched it. Inside and outside the village were two distinct worlds.

In the firelight, over three hundred Heavenly Devil Cult hall masters stood in the village, all looking up at the final wooden building.

Heavenly Devil Village had a total of nine wooden buildings. Each building housed forty hall masters, guarding forty rooms. Now, Qin Mu had reached the ninth wooden building and was on the verge of reaching the top.

"Young Master Mu hasn't rested for a day and a night, has he?" the Azure Pavilion Hall Master whispered. "He entered the building and started fighting this morning, and he's been fighting continuously until now, except for lunch and dinner."

The Wind Control Hall Master nodded and said, "It's almost dawn, and he's about to reach the top floor of the ninth building. His energy and vital qi are simply too abundant; it's as if he hasn't consumed any at all, and his physical stamina is frighteningly strong! However, the individuals on the top floor of the ninth building won't be easy to deal with."

The four individuals on the top floor were the four mainstays among the three hundred and sixty hall masters: Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger. As these four halls corresponded to the Four Spirit Bodies, their hall masters were exceptionally talented individuals, carefully selected.

The Four Halls of Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger represented the highest martial strength among the three hundred and sixty halls. While other hall masters had their own specializations and were responsible for various trades or aspects of the cult, these four halls were solely responsible for combat strength.

In the history of the Heavenly Devil Cult, the vast majority of Protector Elders originated from these four halls, and even several Cult Masters had come from them.

Qin Mu had now entered the room of the White Tiger Hall Master. The White Tiger's vital qi was known for its sharpness and ability to pierce through anything.

In the past, when Cult Master Li Tianxing tragically died on his wedding night and the Cult Master's wife disappeared with the cult's Guardian Devil Tome, the four hall masters were all groomed to become the next Cult Masters. The Devil Cult Ancestor personally guided them, hoping they could grow to a level where they could control the cult. While not expecting them to expand the cult, he hoped they could at least prevent it from being annexed by the Eternal Peace Kingdom.

Although the four hall masters had not met the Devil Cult Ancestor's full expectations, their strength had improved astonishingly.

At this moment, although the White Tiger Hall Master had sealed her other divine treasures and only opened her Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, she was still an unprecedented formidable opponent for Qin Mu!

This woman refined her vital qi into incredibly tough vital qi threads. However, she did not practice controlling swords with qi; her vital qi threads *were* her swords.

Her vital qi threads were almost imperceptible. After Qin Mu entered the room, the White Tiger Hall Master wove vital qi threads between her ten fingers, crisscrossing them into every corner of the room, making it impossible for Qin Mu to move an inch.

Her body, however, was as boneless and flexible as a demoness from the Great Ruins, moving freely throughout the room. Vital qi swords shot out from her fingertips, extending like her fingernails or like soft swords of variable length, striking Qin Mu with deadly intent!

This woman moved with the agility of a cat and the stealth of a tiger. In the small room, she was incredibly agile, moving on walls and ceilings as if on flat ground.

This battle was incredibly tough. Qin Mu used his pig-slaughtering knife to sever the almost imperceptible vital qi threads in the room, but each thread was incredibly tough and difficult to cut. Furthermore, the White Tiger Hall Master effortlessly wove new threads, laying them down at will, leaving Qin Mu constantly on the defensive.

The White Tiger Hall Master, meanwhile, moved freely through the room, even using her hands and feet, standing on the vital qi threads she had laid, and darting around like a flying creature.

She used vital qi as her sword, creating bizarre, flexible swords that could bend at any angle, even twisting into eighteen curves. Her swordsmanship attainments were also far from weak!

Qin Mu was repeatedly injured. He had to be wary of both the vital qi threads and her vital qi swords, fighting with extreme difficulty. Neither Old Man Ma's fist techniques nor Cripple's leg techniques could be fully utilized, and Butcher's blade skills were also suppressed by her due to too many obstructions.

Finally, Qin Mu thrust out a sword. Although the wooden sword was split in two by the White Tiger Hall Master's vital qi threads, it still pierced her chest, pinning her to the wall with one strike. Then the wall shattered, and the White Tiger Hall Master was sent flying out of the wooden building!

Qin Mu raised his knife and severed the vital qi threads in the room. He took the medicinal balm from the room, applied it to his wounds, and bandaged them.

He sat down to regulate his breathing, slowly eating the food provided in the room. Once his body's pain subsided somewhat and his physical strength recovered a little, he broke off several wooden planks and used his pig-slaughtering knife to carve them into wooden swords. He then put these wooden swords on his back before getting up and heading to the next room.

Out of three hundred and sixty rooms, he had fought through three hundred and fifty-seven. Only the last three rooms remained.

His physical endurance and willpower had both reached their limits. He felt a buzzing in his head, as if thousands of people were endlessly bickering.

He had never been so exhausted, wishing he could just lie down and sleep soundly. Even his Spirit Embryo had lost its former vitality and was listless.

He was no longer relying on willpower to endure. Instead, he fought on mechanically, relying purely on instinct.

He had only one belief in his heart: he could not let these people take away Granny Si, who had raised him. His parents gave him life, but it was Granny Si who saved his life, raised him, and poured all her heart into him. Granny Si was his mother, his dearest person!

In the next room, the Azure Dragon Hall Master saw Qin Mu approaching, frowned slightly, and said, "Young Master Mu, your condition doesn't seem right. You don't have to rush; you can rest for a while..."

Before he finished speaking, Qin Mu raised his hand and thrust out a sword. The wooden sword, like lightning, reached the Azure Dragon Hall Master's chest, sending the man flying!

Qin Mu turned blankly, lifted his feet mechanically, and slowly moved towards the next room.

Bang— The wooden wall of that room exploded. The Black Tortoise Hall Master blocked Qin Mu's wooden sword with his Black Tortoise Shield, but failed to withstand the terrifying power contained within the sword and was sent flying!

Qin Mu slowly walked out of the room, his steps incredibly heavy as he shuffled towards the next one.

"Young Master Mu, I can wait for you to rest..."

Bang! Qin Mu thrust out a sword, and the Vermillion Bird Hall Master flew backward.

"It's over?" Qin Mu was stunned for a moment. He suddenly felt his body go weak, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. He heard the clucking of the Chicken-Dragon from Disabled Elderly Village, the sound it made after laying an egg.

But the young man was simply too tired and quickly fell into a deep sleep. At this moment, his Spirit Embryo frantically absorbed the golden light from his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, then also fell into dormancy.

Qin Mu slept for an unknown duration. He woke up hazily, seemingly seeing the Village Chief and the Apothecary. Their voices sounded distant, as if coming from very far away: "There's no big problem, just extreme fatigue..." Then he fell into a deep sleep again.

He woke up several times, sometimes seeing Granny Si, sometimes seeing the Devil Cult's young Ancestor. Many faces flitted around him. He wanted to speak but lacked the strength, and so he fell into a deep sleep once more.

When Qin Mu woke up again, he felt every muscle in his body aching, but his mind was clear. The wounds on his body had scabbed over and begun to peel, suggesting that the Apothecary had come and reapplied medicine for him.

He sat up and looked around, realizing he was still in the room where he had defeated the Vermillion Bird Hall Master. It was quiet all around; there was no sound.

"My Spirit Embryo is asleep again." Qin Mu checked himself and found no major issues apart from his Spirit Embryo being dormant. So, enduring the soreness in his body, he stood up and slowly walked down the stairs, feeling searing pain in his muscles with every step.

When he finally managed to shuffle to the first floor and walk out of the wooden building, he looked up and was suddenly stunned.

Heavenly Devil Village was crowded with people. Most of them were familiar faces; he had met all the hall masters from the three hundred and sixty halls, and they were all among the crowd.

Besides these hall masters, there were also some unfamiliar faces: strongmen dozens of feet tall, white-haired elders, solemn Left and Right Protectors, the Four Guardian Heavenly Kings, and the Eight Supervisory Envoys.

They were either sitting or standing, all waiting silently, without making a sound.

When they saw Qin Mu walk out of the wooden building, one after another, they stood up, their gazes collectively falling upon Qin Mu, their expressions solemn.

The Devil Cult's young Ancestor stood at the village entrance. The Village Chief, Apothecary, Old Man Ma, and others were also there. Granny Si also stood there, her gaze on Qin Mu, her expression somewhat complex.

Suddenly, four old men bowed, their voices loud and resounding through the sky: "The Sacred Cult's Four Guardian Heavenly Kings respectfully greet the Young Cult Master!"

Qin Mu was stunned, at a loss for what to do. Then several more voices rang out in unison: "The Sacred Cult's Left and Right Protectors respectfully greet the Young Cult Master!"

"The Sacred Cult's Eight Supervisory Envoys respectfully greet the Young Cult Master!"

"The Sacred Cult's Twelve Protector Elders respectfully greet the Young Cult Master!"

Then an even louder sound came, the voices of the three hundred and sixty hall masters, speaking in unison, deafeningly.

"The Sacred Cult's Three Hundred and Sixty Hall Masters respectfully greet the Young Cult Master!"

When had Qin Mu ever seen such a spectacle? His mind immediately flustered, and he looked at the Village Chief, Granny Si, and the others as if asking for help. But the Village Chief, Granny Si, and the others did not come forward; instead, they stood watching from a distance.

The cowherd from Disabled Elderly Village composed himself. He surprisingly exuded a calm demeanor. He slowly raised his hands and, unhurriedly, said, "You may rise."

"Thank you, Young Cult Master!"