Breathing in the earthy fragrance in the air, Lin Mu let out a long sigh of relief.
After all, only progress in strength could give him any sense of security.
However, he didn't let himself beco complacent over the breakthrough.
As Old Ma had said, in this world, appropriate concealnt was wisdom—but if one hid so thoroughly that not a single edge showed, one truly beca mud that anyone could trample.
Monts later, Lin Mu changed into a clean Steward's robe and strode refreshed toward the clan's Martial Arts Hall assessnt center.
That was the place where clansn's cultivation was evaluated and corresponding resources distributed.
Standing before the Assessnt Stone, Lin Mu drew a deep breath, his thoughts stirring.
He forcibly suppressed that vast ink-green sea of Prival Essence within his aperture. The Liquor Worm had long since been sealed away by the Red Mud, hidden completely.
He mobilized only about fifty percent of his surface-level Prival Essence, slowly channeling it into the stone tablet.
Hum—
The tablet lit up, its glow stabilizing in the pale green range, the color rich and full, indicating an extrely solid foundation.
"Rank 1 Middle Stage, consolidation period."
The white-haired clan elder in charge of assessnts raised his eyelids. Looking at the reading on the tablet, a flash of surprise crossed his otherwise indifferent gaze.
"If I rember correctly, it hasn't even been half a year since your aperture awakened?"
The elder looked Lin Mu up and down, clicking his tongue in wonder. "With ordinary aptitude, reaching this level would take at least a year. Your speed is quite impressive."
At these words, the surrounding clansn waiting for assessnt all cast astonished glances his way.
Lin Mu showed no pride. Instead, he revealed a wry smile—part pained, part smug—as he patted the noticeably deflated money pouch at his waist and cupped his hands.
"The elder flatters . This disciple is no genius—I simply... wasn't afraid to spend money."
"Those five hundred Prival Stones the Supre Elder rewarded , plus the savings I'd accumulated from missions—over these past months, I converted them all into pills and spirit materials and poured them in."
"If not for this cultivation, I wouldn't be so broke I can't even afford a drink."
At "five hundred Prival Stones," the surprise in the elder's eyes instantly transford into understanding, then shifted to a kind of "wastrel" sympathy.
"I see."
The elder shook his head, recording in the register with a flourish of his brush.
"Five hundred stones... Anyone else would have used them to acquire Gu worms or saved them for a bride. But you went and dumped it all into this bottomless pit."
"Well, that's your fate."
The crowd around them erupted, discussions rising one after another.
"Tsk tsk, hear that? This is what they call 'money makes the world go round.' If I had five hundred Prival Stones, I could reach Middle Stage too!"
"Give it a rest. He latched onto Young Master Lin Feng's coattails—Supre Elder Lin Zhen personally rewarded him. That's just destiny."
"Still, this Lin Mu is ruthless. Spending that much money without blinking—I could never bear to."
Envy, jealousy, and sour tones filled the hall.
But not a single voice of suspicion.
This was exactly the effect Lin Mu wanted. He had used the labels of "nouveau riche" and "wastrel" to perfectly explain his rapid cultivation progress, concealing the Liquor Worm's existence, and hiding the terrifying truth that he had actually reached Rank 1 Upper Stage with Prival Essence quality at its peak.
Moreover, this posture of "relying on the clan, willing to invest" made him appear more harmless—more like a mber of the clan system, rather than so lone wolf harboring ulterior motives.
"As long as they think they've seen through , I'm safe."
Lin Mu collected his new identity token and departed calmly amid a sea of complicated gazes.
The sun climbed high.
Rather than hurrying back to the Silent Stone District, Lin Mu turned into an open-air tea stall beside the clan's dining hall.
He ordered a refined dicinal dish rare in this world—Spirit Ginseng Black Chicken Soup—and sipped it leisurely while keeping his ears pricked, catching the information drifting through the air around him.
At the tea stall, several young clansn sat together, animatedly discussing the clan's recent major affairs.
"Did you hear? The rules for the 'True Inheritance Grand Competition' rewards have changed! Apparently, first place not only gets a Rank 3 Gu worm but also personal guidance from the Patriarch!"
"Co on, what's that got to do with us?"
A tall, thin youth curled his lip, his face full of resignation. "That's for the senior brothers and sisters eighteen and older."
"Our cohort just awakened not long ago. Even though we have a few strong ones, the hard requirents are set—we'll have to wait another two years before we're even eligible to register."
"Not necessarily."
A well-inford chubby youth nearby lowered his voice, speaking mysteriously. "I heard from my cousin in the Internal Affairs Hall that this ti, Young Master Lin Feng might make a big splash."
"And not just Young Master Lin Feng. That madman Lin Yan from the Punishnt Hall—apparently he's been in secluded cultivation at the 'Copper Fire Mine Cavern' for three months."
"When he ca out, his hair was all burned off, and his cultivation has beco unfathomable."
"There's also Senior Sister Lin Xue from the dicine Hall. Word is she refined a rare healing Gu—even the elders were alerted..."
"dicine Hall, Storage, Punishnt Hall... Looks like this competition will be a battle of immortals from every branch."
Everyone sighed with emotion, their eyes full of longing and awe.
Lin Mu listened quietly, his spoon gently stirring the soup bowl.
"Elder's True Inheritance... a ga of power."
He had little interest in that so-called "True Inheritance disciple" title. While such a position ca with abundant resources, it also bound one too tightly—every move under the spotlight. It wasn't suitable for soone like him who harbored great secrets.
But this grand competition presented an enormous business opportunity.
"With so many people training desperately and fighting for this competition, healing dicines, burst-type pills, even materials for repairing Gu worms—prices will surely rise with the tide."
"Perhaps I can have Lin Ping stockpile so raw materials for 'Hemostatic Grass' and 'Qi Recovery Powder' in advance..."
His comrcial thinking wandered for a mont before Lin Mu reined it in.
He drained the last of his soup, left a few stone fragnts, and rose to leave.
Back on the secluded path in the Silent Stone District, no one was around.
Lin Mu suddenly stopped, casually throwing a knife-hand strike at a blue stone by the roadside.
Boom!
The air released a deep explosion—a sonic boom produced by Upper Stage Prival Essence infusion. The stone split on impact, the cut clean and neat.
The power was formidable, and his Prival Essence reserves were terrifyingly vast.
But looking at his own palm, Lin Mu's brow furrowed slightly.
"A bit stiff."
He could feel it—in that knife-hand strike just now, there had been the slightest hesitation in the flow of Prival Essence through his ridians. Though the power was imnse, it had been achieved through "quantity," not through "skill."
This was the drawback of training behind closed doors.
Practicing moves against air in a small room was entirely different from striking in life-or-death combat.
Over this past month, though his cultivation had surged, his actual combat experience remained stuck at the level of his previous encounter with Green Snake.
New power, new techniques—without tempering through blood and fire, they were castles in the air.
"If I encountered an expert of Green Snake's caliber now, this slight stiffness might cost my life."
Lin Mu clenched his fist. The comfort in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by the sharpness of a hunter about to enter the jungle.
"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."
"My cultivation has reached a bottleneck. Continuing to grind away at ho is aningless. It's ti to go out and stretch my limbs."
He raised his head, his gaze turning toward the Steward Hall where missions were posted.
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