Chapter 133: The Proposal to Break the Prohibition

After Li Beihang had postured for so long only to fail in breaking the barrier, the crowd expressed their disappointment, casting looks of disdain at him as if he were a fool. This caused his face to flush from pale to crimson, and he was so infuriated that he spat out another mouthful of blood.

Lu Gao, with an expression of disgust, walked toward Li Beihang with Huo Mingyan and the others, then asked, "Weren't you acting so arrogant earlier? Why aren't you continuing now? You shouldn't speak so definitively about things you aren't sure of... Are you alright? Do you need me to help you up?"

Li Beihang, his face dark and gloomy, let out a huff and said, "You all dared to look down on me... I don't need your help, I can get up myself."

Lu Gao retorted angrily, "Hmph, good intentions met with a donkey's liver and lungs. If it weren't for the fact that we are old acquaintances, I wouldn't bother with you at all."

Chen Mu watched this dysfunctional four-member team in silence. As an outsider, he didn't know how to resolve their conflicts; it was evident that they had once been close, though for some reason, Li Beihang had become estranged from the other three.

It was clear that Li Beihang possessed a strong sense of pride, yet there was an underlying sense of inferiority. Perhaps, having suddenly gained the favor of his sect's Grand Elder, he was desperate to prove himself, though he had drifted further and further from his teammates in the process.

These were merely Chen Mu's speculations; he did not know the truth, nor was it his place to intervene.

Chen Mu walked to the edge of the barrier to inspect the formation. Using his spiritual sense, he communicated with Rou'er to ask for her take on it. Rou'er replied, "That boy actually had some ability. Although he didn't break the formation, his Yuan Dan realm cultivation caused the barrier to loosen and develop flaws. It’s just that because their cultivation levels are too low, they didn't notice it."

"Does that mean the barrier can be broken?" Chen Mu asked in surprise.

"Yes. As long as you follow the method I will describe shortly, and with the cooperation of your group, you will definitely be able to break the barrier," Rou'er replied with certainty.

"Tell me quickly, what should we do?" Chen Mu asked excitedly.

Thus, Chen Mu obtained the method to break the formation from Rou'er. If the formation had remained intact without those flaws, breaking it would have been quite troublesome; even with everyone here combined, it would have taken several days.

Having learned the method, Chen Mu pondered for a moment before speaking up: "I have a method to break this barrier, but it requires cooperation from several people. I wonder if you would be willing to let me and my companions attempt it?"

Upon hearing this, the crowd cast skeptical glances at Chen Mu. Given Li Beihang's precedent, they did not hold high expectations for someone as young as Chen Mu. Furthermore, Chen Mu did not let out a shred of his aura, likely having hidden his cultivation, and the crowd held him in contempt for such duplicitous behavior.

After all, why would a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy need to hide his cultivation? Everyone here was at least at the Yuan Dan realm; surely someone this young couldn't be at the Yuan Ying realm? Consequently, everyone viewed Chen Mu as just another posturing cultivator who loved to show off.

One of the cultivators who had previously mocked Li Beihang looked at Chen Mu with malice and said, "Kid, go play the clown somewhere else. We are here racking our brains trying to break the barrier, while you are just trying to stir up trouble and seek attention. Are you trying to make fools of us? You’ve hidden your aura, and I don't know what kind of scheme you're plotting, but I don't believe for a second that you have Yuan Dan realm cultivation. Where have you ever seen a Yuan Dan realm cultivator this young? You must be tagging along with some senior from your sect to see the world. If you don't have the foundation, don't try to act like a big shot. You have no say here; just go hide behind your seniors and watch, instead of making a fool of yourself."

Chen Mu glanced at the man, unperturbed, and said slowly, "I merely offered a proposal to help break this barrier as quickly as possible. Since you don't appreciate it, then so be it. However, as the saying goes, the loudest dog is the one that doesn't bite. I don't know why you feel so self-important to call me an attention-seeker, as if you’ve played any significant role here yourself."

The crowd burst into laughter. It was true; the man had done nothing but cast aspersions, lacking the ability to break the formation himself while pointing fingers at others.

The man's face turned from green to red, clearly incensed by Chen Mu's analogy. He looked at Chen Mu with a dark expression and said, "You brat, it seems you won't learn your place unless you're taught a lesson. Today, I will teach you on behalf of your elders how to behave, so you might learn to be a bit more humble."

Chen Mu sneered, "Being humble toward a dog? I have no such interest."

The man growled, "Originally, I only intended to teach you a lesson, but now I’ve changed my mind. You must die!"

With that, the man curled his fingers into a claw and lunged at Chen Mu's head. Seeing the lethal intent, Chen Mu let out a cold laugh and threw a punch straight at him.

The crowd was unsure of Chen Mu's true cultivation, so they watched, eager to see what he was made of. Seeing Chen Mu calmly engage in a direct collision with a late-stage Yuan Dan realm cultivator, they assumed he must have some confidence in his strength.

Fist and claw collided. A crisp sound of breaking bones echoed as the bones in the man's palm were shattered instantly, and his arm fractured under the immense force of the impact.

A scream pierced the air, and the Yuan Dan realm cultivator rolled on the ground in agony.

Although the man hadn't used his full strength, the fact that Chen Mu could disable his arm in one move proved that his strength was at least at the Yuan Dan realm, likely at the late or peak stage; otherwise, he could not have crippled the man so easily.

In truth, Chen Mu's physical strength was capable of contending with a peak Yuan Dan realm cultivator. Previously, he had been relying on his Yuan Qi to fight, comparing his Qi cultivation directly to his enemies, which made him feel his strength was lacking. Now that he fought with pure physical power, he realized he had an advantage. It seemed body cultivation was quite practical; one force could break ten thousand techniques. While not as flashy as using Yuan Qi, it was simple and brutal.

Having guessed Chen Mu's strength, the crowd grew solemn. A late-stage Yuan Dan realm teenager was definitely a monstrous talent from a major sect. He must be a closed-door disciple under some grand elder of a top-tier sect, not someone comparable to those from a second-rate sect like Li Beihang's.

Chen Mu ignored their wild speculations and looked coldly at the man he had just struck, walking toward him to continue the assault.

The man, seeing Chen Mu approach, cried out in a panic, "What are you doing? I am a disciple of the Raging Wave Sect! If you stop now, I can let this go. Don't push your luck..."

Before he could finish, Chen Mu kicked him in the chest, shattering his ribs with the massive force and leaving the man gasping for air.

Chen Mu said slowly, "You just tried to kill me? I hate it when people show me lethal intent. Since you wanted to kill me, I must return the favor with the same intent and action, don't you think?"

With that, Chen Mu beat the man relentlessly. The man immediately shouted, "I was wrong! Spare me, young hero! I won't speak out of turn again. I didn't mean to kill you, I was wrong... I was wrong..."

Chen Mu glanced coldly toward the distance, where four people were preparing to intervene. Judging by their attire, they were likely from the same Raging Wave Sect.

Chen Mu's chilling gaze immediately deterred the four. They found the boy terrifying; his cold eyes seemed to hold the weight of many lives, making them shudder.

The leader of the Raging Wave Sect group signaled the other three not to act rashly, then stepped forward, cupping his hands. "Young brother, my junior brother was ignorant and offended you. I apologize on his behalf. I hope you can show mercy and spare his life. After all, it is better to resolve grudges than to form new ones; having more friends is always better."

"I have no interest in being friends with you. But the fact that your junior brother tried to kill me cannot be ignored. Unless you can keep him on a leash and stop him from mindlessly releasing his killing intent, a fool like him won't live long anyway. If you want me to spare him, leave his storage ring behind, and I will let him go," Chen Mu said, looking at the man with indifference.

The Raging Wave Sect disciples were outraged; this was blatant robbery. Yet, the more the leading senior looked at Chen Mu, the more fearful he became. The baleful aura radiating from Chen Mu was expanding; for a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy to possess such a dense aura of death meant he had killed countless people.

Everyone felt Chen Mu's overwhelming presence and took a step back, puzzled as to why this boy, who appeared to have no aura, carried such terrifying malice.

Even the four-member group that had just met Chen Mu began to lose their read on him. They felt uneasy, realizing this young cultivator might not be as innocent as they had imagined, and they weren't sure if befriending him would be a blessing or a curse.

Under the pressure, the Raging Wave Sect leader pondered and finally agreed. "Very well. As long as you don't kill my junior brother, you can take the storage ring. I assume you are a disciple of a major power; we second-rate sects cannot afford to offend someone with your strength at such a young age. I only hope that this storage ring will settle the matter and that you will let my junior brother go."

The other Raging Wave Sect disciples were resentful, but they also realized Chen Mu's extraordinary nature and knew his background was not something they could challenge.

The onlookers also took note of Chen Mu, deciding that it would be best not to provoke him in the future. His baleful aura was simply too heavy, causing even the Yuan Ying realm cultivators to frown in secret, feeling a sense of alarm.

However, the Yuan Ying realm experts were not intimidated by Chen Mu. If Chen Mu dared to block their path once they entered the cave, they would still wipe him out, as a Yuan Dan realm practitioner was still beneath their notice.

Since the compensation was settled, Chen Mu couldn't be bothered to kill the petty man. He took the storage ring and spoke again, "Regarding my previous proposal, what do you all think? My companions and I are willing to try and break this barrier."