Chapter Ten: The Brutal Beating

Daniu and Axiu hesitated, but Chen Mu shouted once more, “Go, now!” Helpless, Daniu finally took Axiu and left. At that moment, the henchman with the sledgehammer had regained his senses, his face flushed with shame and anger—two of them had attacked together and still lost a man. How utterly incompetent was that?

Gong Ning’s expression darkened. “Rumor had it that the Chen family’s second young master was sickly, but after seeing your skills today, those rumors are utter nonsense. But don’t get cocky. We were careless and fell into your trap just now. This time, it’s for real.”

With a flick of his fingers, Gong Ning gathered his energy and lunged at Chen Mu. Chen Mu did not back down, his fist blazing with the sun’s attribute starfire as he struck back.

Their energies collided, and Gong Ning was sent flying several meters by the forceful explosion of vitality. Forcing himself to stand, he cursed in disbelief, “What kind of monstrous energy is this? How can it be so powerful...”

The sledgehammer henchman saw an opening in Chen Mu’s defense and swung at the exposed spot in a tricky arc. Sure enough, the blow landed hard on Chen Mu.

Staggering from the impact, Chen Mu spat a mouthful of blood and glared hatefully at the henchman. He retaliated with a series of starfire attacks—a relentless barrage.

Seeing things going awry, Gong Ning rushed to intervene, but Chen Mu zipped forward with a meteor step, pressing his palm directly against the henchman’s abdomen.

With a thunderous boom, sun attribute energy surged. The heavy strike knocked the henchman unconscious.

Gong Ning swallowed hard. He’d never expected Chen Mu to be so ferocious—disciples from sects were truly on a different level than those raised by clan families.

Chen Mu grinned menacingly as he advanced on Gong Ning. Fear crept up Gong Ning’s spine. “You… what do you want?”

“I was only going to tell you to get lost, but since your man gave me a hammer blow, I suppose I should return the favor, don’t you think?”

“D-don’t do anything rash! We’re both from prominent families in Fan City. Spare me, and we’ll meet again on good terms.”

“Spare you? Did you spare Daniu and the others? I won’t make it hard for you. Will you beat yourself up, or shall I do it for you?”

“You… you… Chen Mu! I’ll remember this! My brother won’t let you get away with it!”

Chen Mu didn’t let him finish; he pressed Gong Ning to the ground and gave him a thorough beating.

…

Daniu and Axiu had arrived at the place where the three of them had played together since childhood. Their hearts were uneasy, filled with apprehension.

Axiu tugged at Daniu’s sleeve. “Do you think Brother Mu can handle it?”

“I don’t know, but judging from his stance, he didn’t spend his days in Starchaser Valley for nothing. Let’s hope he can shake off the Gong family thugs.”

During their anxious and seemingly endless wait, a figure approached them.

“Who’s there?” Daniu shouted warily.

“It’s me,” Chen Mu responded, rubbing the spot where the sledgehammer had struck him.

Axiu rushed over, hugging Chen Mu as tears streamed down her face.

“All right, Axiu, see? I’m fine. Don’t cry. You won’t look pretty if you keep crying like that,” Chen Mu patted her head gently.

Blushing and pouting, Axiu wiped her tears. “You’re always patting my head. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

Daniu noticed the blood at the corner of Chen Mu’s mouth and asked with concern, “Are you hurt, Mu? Are you okay?”

Hearing that Chen Mu was wounded, Axiu also asked worriedly if he was in pain.

Chen Mu flashed a grin. “It’s nothing, just a minor injury. There were four of them, after all, but that’s all they amounted to. And by the way, I gave Gong Ning a good thrashing to avenge you.”

Axiu’s heart swelled with gratitude and guilt, while Daniu’s reaction was different—he clapped Chen Mu on the shoulder and laughed, “Ha! Mu, you’ve gotten stronger. I have no talent for cultivation, so my little sister will have to rely on you from now on.”

“Axiu is your sister and mine as well. I won’t let anyone bully her. Besides, now that she’s successfully opened her origin, she’s destined to follow the path of cultivation. Who knows? Maybe one day she’ll become a great figure herself.”

“Brother Mu, I…” Hearing Chen Mu call her his sister, Axiu felt a pang of disappointment, for she harbored feelings for him—especially after he’d stood up for her, furious when Gong Ning threatened to make her a concubine.

Chen Mu didn’t notice Axiu’s change in mood. He and Daniu chatted about the ordinary days in Starchaser Valley and reminisced about the happy times the three of them had shared.

As they walked and talked, Chen Mu suddenly asked Axiu, “Now that you’ve opened your origin, have you thought about which sect you want to join?”

“Could I go to Starchaser Valley?”

“Well… I’m not sure. I only got in because of connections, and I’m just an outer disciple. I think you should choose a sect that suits you. Any others you’re considering?” Chen Mu recalled the evening in Starchaser Valley when someone had been killed. The memory stung, and he hoped Axiu wouldn’t go there, so he tried to deflect.

“I…I don’t know. I’ve only just opened my origin. The origin master in Fan City said that during the upcoming Martial Festival, all the sects and clans will come to recruit outer disciples. I’ll decide then…”

“That’s probably for the best.” Chen Mu nodded, not pressing further.

After escorting Daniu and Axiu home, Chen Mu returned to the Chen family estate.

…

“Brother, I was beaten up! You’ve got to avenge me!” Gong Ning, his face bruised and swollen, clung to the leg of a cold, stern youth.

That youth was Gong Yi, Gong Ning’s elder brother.

“Get up, you disgrace! What do you look like? Who did this to you? Tell me everything.”

“It was Chen Mu, the second young master of the Chen family!”

“Chen Mu? The sickly one? Hasn’t he always been unable to cultivate? To lose to someone like him—how shameful.”

“Chen Mu didn’t look sick at all, and his strength is already above the late-stage Origin Vein level. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have…” Gong Ning dared not admit he’d had three others with him—he’d lose even more face.

“So what if he’s at Origin Vein? What trouble can he stir up? Daring to bully my brother? Hmph! He’ll pay for this!” Gong Yi said coldly.

…

Back at the Chen residence, Chen Mu went straight to his room, determined to begin cultivating the Phantom Veil Aura Technique that Little Dragon Fox Rou’er had given him. With this, he could conceal the powerful sun attribute energy radiating off him. When he returned to Starchaser Valley, even the Valley Master Gu Xingyuan wouldn’t be able to tell he’d changed his cultivation method.

This secret art required immense spiritual strength. Thankfully, since the night in Starchaser Valley when He Silai had almost killed him, Chen Mu’s spiritual power had grown rapidly from the baptism and nourishment of the “black pearl.” Repeatedly using the pearl’s healing to recover from opening his origin veins had only strengthened his spirit further.

By the third hour of cultivating the secret art, Chen Mu finally began to grasp the technique.

The sun attribute energy he emitted gradually contracted, until at last it was completely concealed within his body.

Though he couldn’t yet flawlessly hide his aura within his surroundings, he could at least prevent others from discerning the source of his cultivation method—a testament to his formidable spiritual strength.

Just then, Rou’er jumped out from the spirit beast bracelet, regarding Chen Mu with surprise. “You’ve already grasped the knack of the Phantom Veil Aura Technique? Not bad, your spiritual power is decent. Soon I’ll help you refine the Fiend Pill. By the way, we need to buy a pill furnace. With your spiritual strength, I’ll teach you some alchemy as well. I do have a furnace, but it’s too advanced for you… If you keep opening your fiend veins with just energy cleansing, it’ll take years to finish. You need to use the Fiend Pill to open your veins and strengthen yourself—otherwise, energy cleansing alone will get slower and harder. Once we buy a furnace, you’ll need the core of a tier-two demon beast, blood-melting flowers…”

Having worked two years in the herbal garden, Chen Mu was naturally familiar with these ingredients, but they were all far beyond his means. The thought gave him a headache.

“But I have no money…” Chen Mu admitted weakly.

Rou’er wrinkled her tiny nose, clearly exasperated. “Don’t even think about selling my things. That would be a waste and would bring disaster on your head… Can’t you just ask your father?”

“With such huge expenses, the other elders would never allow it. Especially since it concerns me—they’d only use it as an excuse to criticize my father,” Chen Mu sighed.

“I have an idea! I’ll offer treatment for difficult wounds and ailments to wealthy officials. That should earn money easily enough!” Chen Mu said confidently.

“You? A youngster like you? You know how to heal people?” Rou’er asked skeptically.