Chapter 157: Accidental Fame

A pitch-black gale suddenly rose, continuously slicing at the bodies of Chen Mu and Luo Zhong. The only difference was that the Flood-Dragon Feather Robe on Chen Mu, though hanging by a thread, still protected him—though to say it protected Chen Mu was more like it guarded the secret of his even more formidable physical body.

Luo Zhong's situation, however, was entirely different. He had originally intended to fight to a mutual destruction just to save his own pride; if the outcome were at least a draw, he wouldn't be sneered at and mocked for losing to a rogue cultivator from the wilderness.

Yet even a draw would leave Luo Zhong mocked and despised, merely differing in severity. Now, however, he didn't even have that choice, because Chen Mu was not heavily injured at all, merely looking a bit disheveled.

Luo Zhong coughed up blood amidst his own Profound Dark Wind Art. He felt utterly exasperated and helpless. He had wanted a mutual destruction, never expecting that the only one injured would be himself—and a grievous injury at that, one that mutilated his skin and flesh until not a single spot remained intact.

Luo Zhong's current state could only be described as miserably tragic. His entire body was a bloody mess, and due to massive blood loss, his consciousness began to blur. His mental faculties and stamina were utterly exhausted, nearing total collapse.

Most importantly, the chaotic wind-attribute power contained within the Profound Dark Wind Art would invade the victim's body through their wounds, wreaking havoc and destruction. Although this power was not fatal on its own, it posed an extremely grave danger to Luo Zhong's current condition.

The chaotic energy rampaged inside Luo Zhong's body, instantly causing him to spew another mouthful of fresh blood before passing out cold. This development shocked everyone present, prompting them to immediately dismantle the barrier and devise ways to rescue Luo Zhong.

After all, Luo Zhong was a direct descendant of the Luo family. If he were to die here, it would be impossible to give a satisfactory account.

The two talented young men from families on intimate terms with Luo Zhong and the Luo family had also been heavily battered by the black gale. Seeing Luo Zhong's current miserable state, they were struck with terror, and an intense wave of fury welled up within them as they glared at Chen Mu and roared, "What on earth did you do? Why were you completely fine after being hit by the Profound Dark Wind Art, while Luo Zhong ended up like this? Did you rig something inside?"

Chen Mu frowned. He had originally intended to teach Luo Zhong a lesson, but Luo Zhong had somehow managed to severely injure himself with his own ultimate lethal technique. This left Chen Mu somewhat speechless, and seeing how wretched the man looked, he decided against pressing the matter further.

Yet while Chen Mu let Luo Zhong off, Luo Zhong's clique of lackeys had no intention of letting him go, a realization that instantly caused a flash of killing intent to cross Chen Mu's mind.

Remembering, however, that this was Kun'an City, where formidable experts far superior to himself could be found everywhere, he knew that committing murder here would land him in deep trouble.

He let out a cold snort and said, "From start to finish, my attacks never touched him. He panicked and recklessly unleashed his ultimate lethal technique in a bid for mutual destruction, which is the sole reason he brought this wretched state upon himself. So don't try to pin unwarranted crimes on me—this is a fact witnessed by everyone present. As for why I am completely unharmed? Heh, because this so-called ultimate lethal technique is mere trash in my eyes, utterly unworthy of even scratching me."

Those two individuals knew full well that Chen Mu had not resorted to any underhanded tricks; they merely wanted to exploit Luo Zhong's severe injury as an excuse to smear Chen Mu and frame his defeat as the result of Chen Mu's foul play.

After all, the pride of prominent aristocratic families could not be lost. If word got out that Luo Zhong had been defeated by a wild rogue cultivator—and that too, after unleashing a supreme lethal technique in a desperate bid for mutual destruction without even managing to inflict a shred of damage on his opponent—not only would the Luo family's reputation be dragged through the mud, but the allied families on good terms with them would also lose face.

Therefore, they intended to use this pretext to rally their allied noble clans to strike together, determined to wash away this humiliation.

Indeed, following their synchronized performance of accusing Chen Mu of despicable methods, several other young prodigies from families allied with the Luo family stepped out and lined up beside the two youths. Their objective was glaringly obvious: to make Chen Mu pay the price for insulting a scion of an aristocratic family.

The onlookers gazed at this group with bizarre expressions. Though they sneered inwardly, none of them stepped in to stop it, for the dignity of the noble clans truly needed defending, and Chen Mu's performance had been so astonishing that it threatened the pride and reputation of all aristocratic disciples.

Yet this was merely the sentiment of a portion of the crowd. The Nascent Soul realm experts maintained an attitude of detached indifference, treating the unfolding events as entirely unrelated to themselves.

Only a handful of people felt that the Luo family and its allied clans were utterly despicable and shameless, believing that the sparring match had been entirely fair and that losing only to shift the blame onto others was pathetic. Consequently, those individuals began to mock and curse the noble youths in conflict with Chen Mu as unprincipled and base.

However, those aristocratic prodigies who took the Luo family as their lead completely turned a blind eye to these condemnations. Convinced beyond a doubt that Chen Mu had employed despicable tricks to severely injure Luo Zhong, they prepared to strike him down immediately.

Just at that moment, Mo Shouchen let out a cold hoot. "Let's see who dares to lay a hand on Chen Mu! You lot are truly bringing glory to your respective clans, aren't you? So unblushingly turning black into white and reversing right from wrong—are you really that desperate to wash away the humiliation of being defeated by a rogue cultivator? If you want to wash it out, issue an upright and honorable challenge. What kind of ability is it to gang up on someone in a crowd? Everyone present saw this sparring match crystal clear—where on earth was there any trickery? Do you take the entire world for fools? Let me tell you this: earlier, I stated that Chen Mu is neither my disciple nor Senior Xiang's, and that it wasn't because of mediocre talent that he was passed over by the two of us. The exact opposite is true! Chen Mu possesses peerless, monstrous talent, and the two of us are simply unworthy of becoming his master. We feel deeply ashamed and dare not presume to call ourselves his teachers. I can state quite clearly to you all: I have already reported Chen Mu's situation to the branch chamber's chief, Hao Tianyi, earnestly pleading with Chief Hao to recommend Chen Mu as a disciple under Senior Huang Ru. If anything happens to Chen Mu at this moment, I can tell you unequivocally: your families can forget about ever purchasing a single medicinal pill from our Chamber of Commerce! Not even pills of the Origin Meridian realm will be sold to you!"

Mo Shouchen's outburst of fury left everyone frozen in place. They had never expected him to fly into such a rage.

Earlier, when they heard Yao Juanyan mention that Chen Mu merely possessed some talent in alchemy, they hadn't thought much of it, assuming Chen Mu was just an ordinary Origin Pill realm junior alchemist eager to join the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce, and thus hadn't paid him any mind.

Now, hearing the profound implications behind Mo Shouchen's words, they finally grasped Chen Mu's true importance within the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce. Comprehending the warning belatedly, every single person felt a chill run down their spines and their hands and feet tremble.

They never imagined that Chen Mu was held in such high regard by the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce—that even veteran alchemists like Mo Shouchen and Xiang Ming were unworthy of being his teachers? Furthermore, he was to be recommended as a disciple to the renowned Senior Huang Ru? This was an earth-shattering matter!

Though the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce possessed plenty of alchemists whose ranks surpassed those of Mo Shouchen and Xiang Ming—such as the chamber elders in the Soul Formation realm—Mo Shouchen was among the earliest batch of followers to accompany Branch Chief Hao Tianyi, meaning his words carried considerable weight.

They were shocked by Mo Shouchen's declaration, and even more shocked by the prospect that Senior Huang Ru might take Chen Mu on as a disciple. Just how monstrously talented must this Chen Mu be to warrant a recommendation to Senior Huang Ru?

Even if a youth possessed immense talent, catching the eye of a chamber elder was usually the absolute limit. What kind of existence was Senior Huang Ru? Though not quite among the supreme overlords of the cultivation world, she was widely known due to the numerous groundbreaking academic treatises she had published, making her a veritable living legend of the era.

Thus, anyone capable of becoming Senior Huang Ru's disciple had to be an epoch-spanning, peerless prodigy. Yet this Chen Mu was merely a wild rogue cultivator—by what right or virtue was he worthy of being recommended as her disciple?

Yet, upon second thought, everyone realized this was merely a recommendation, not a guaranteed acceptance by Senior Huang Ru. Perhaps this was merely the result of Mo Shouchen's wishful thinking.

These thoughts remained strictly internal, however; none of them dared voice them aloud and offend Mo Shouchen. After all, Mo Shouchen was ultimately one of the earliest loyal followers of Chief Hao in the Kun'an City branch of the Minghuan Chamber of Commerce, and cutting off their aristocratic families' supply of medicinal pills would be an effortless task for him.

After pondering this, everyone concluded that Mo Shouchen must have been exaggerating. No matter how monstrous Chen Mu's talent might be, it was impossible for him to catch Senior Huang Ru's eye. Thus, they comforted themselves with this thought.

Even so, this matter had to be reported back to their respective clan heads immediately. Since it was a major event and Mo Shouchen had spoken with such certainty, he would undoubtedly submit the recommendation to Senior Huang Ru.

Consequently, it was certain that the powers within Kun'an City, and perhaps even the entire southern region of the Bixiao Continent, were about to undergo a seismic shift. After all, every major faction yearned to have their own scions accepted as disciples by Senior Huang Ru.

Yet Senior Huang Ru had only ever taken in a single maidservant and had never accepted any formal disciples throughout her life, leaving all the major factions feeling utterly helpless.

However, the situation had now changed. Because Chen Mu was a member of the younger generation who possessed the potential to be recommended to Huang Ru as a disciple, these noble families would exhaust every means to win her favor. Why should a wild rogue cultivator be recommended to Senior Huang Ru when their own descendants could not even gain her notice?

The moment this news leaked, it was bound to stir restlessness among the major factions. While it remained unconfirmed whether Chen Mu would actually be accepted as her disciple, he had already become a prized dish on the table of every major power. Whether this dish would be consumed or discarded depended entirely on how those factions chose to play their hands.

Of course, not all factions would be interested in this affair. Such machinations would likely remain confined to the secondary and lower-tier primary powers of the southern Bixiao Continent, playing out as a game of chess among them. Whether they managed to co-opt Chen Mu or secretly destroy him, either outcome was precisely what they desired.

Co-opting Chen Mu to make him one of their own was naturally the best option; the benefits of tying oneself to Senior Huang Ru were immense.

Yet destroying him was also a viable alternative. Since their own descendants could not become Senior Huang Ru's disciples, no one else should be allowed to either. Thus, neither outcome posed any loss to them.

As for the truly top-tier primary superpowers, they remained nonchalant about the affair. Though Senior Huang Ru was famous, her renown was largely confined to the surface society of the cultivation world; hidden, obscure senior alchemists were as numerous as the hairs on an ox, and individuals far surpassing Senior Huang Ru existed in abundance.

For instance, the Brahma Star Sect possessed an elder who dabbled in alchemy out of mere hobby; despite being a pastime, that elder's standard of alchemy and realm of cultivation vastly exceeded Senior Huang Ru's.

This time, Chen Mu had truly made a name for himself across the Bixiao Continent. Of course, this fame was not attained through his own proactive design—Chen Mu was entirely innocent, having arrived in the Bixiao Continent only recently, only to be dragged into such a messy affair through sheer bad luck.

The aristocratic prodigies who had plotted against Chen Mu now realized they had nearly committed an irrevocable blunder. They immediately stepped forward to bow and offer apologies to the veterans Mo Shouchen and Xiang Ming, their expressions dripping with subservience and ingratiation.

When those young prodigies turned their gazes toward Yao Juanyan, however, their eyes held a trace of cold fury rather than the previous adulatory and pursuing demeanor. After all, Yao Juanyan's words had nearly ruined them, pushing their entire families to the brink of absolute annihilation.

Yet, because Yao Juanyan bore the moniker of Kun'an's Little Alchemy Maiden and was moreover Xiang Ming's disciple, no one dared to hold her accountable.

Sensing the drastic shift in everyone's attitude, Yao Juanyan realized she had nearly caused a catastrophe. Struck with sudden terror, she burst into loud, bitter sobs.

The sense of superiority she had once enjoyed—being treated like the stars surrounding the moon, constantly pampered and pursued—was instantly shattered into dust. She never expected that the noble youths who previously chased after her would now cast cold glances her way. She felt profoundly wronged, yet consumed by a searing jealousy toward Chen Mu for becoming an existence far more dazzling than herself—even if Chen Mu cared nothing for such attention at all.

The Luo family and its allied clans wore shifting expressions. Knowing it was impossible to turn the tide, and recognizing the gravity of the situation, they realized they had to notify their family heads immediately. Thus, they silently departed the private courtyard, carrying along Luo Zhong, whose injuries had finally stabilized.