Tycoon War God

Li Lingqing and the others were stunned, then playful smiles appeared on their faces.

Master is seriously injured?

This person must have misunderstood something.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

One meter!

The long saber was mere inches from Lin Mu’s face, yet he remained perfectly still.

Could it be that Lin Wudi is truly injured? the elders of the Dragon Protection Hall wondered, their expressions filled with suspicion.

Thinking back, Lin Mu’s behavior today had indeed been abnormal. His entire aura had changed, lacking any of the presence of a powerhouse. He didn’t even intervene when his disciples exhausted themselves to their limits, their eyes bloodshot with strain.

Could it be that during the battle at Changbai Mountain, Ao Guang, the Foundation Building Immortal from the Celestial Northern Dipper Pavilion, actually managed to severely wound Lin Mu?

On that day, when the spectating martial artists had looked over, the battle was already nearing its end. Aside from the soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp, no one had truly witnessed the process of the fight between Lin Mu and Ao Guang.

If Lin Mu truly is seriously injured, then…

”Lin Mu, you annihilated my Shen Family! This is a blood feud, and we cannot exist under the same sky! Die!”

Clearly, more than one person shared this thought. A flash of sword light erupted from the alley’s depths, arriving first despite being launched second. The swordsman’s cultivation level was obviously stronger than that of the one-armed man with the saber.

”Shen Cheng! He’s actually broken through to the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm!” someone cried out, recognizing the newcomer.

Normally, a Martial Arts Grandmaster who dared to attack a living myth would be courting death. But today, Lin Mu was still suffering from grave injuries.

Perhaps a sneak attack could succeed.

The swordsman had yet to arrive, but his blade was already there!

A saber and a sword, both mere inches from Lin Mu.

”How dull.”

Lin Mu flicked his fingers, sending two talismans shooting out.

Silently, the saber and the sword froze in mid-air.

THUD!

The two attackers’ heads were pierced through, and their bodies fell to the ground.

Lin Mu had instantly killed both assailants, including Shen Cheng of the Dragon Protection Hall, but this only made the elders’ minds churn with new schemes.

Lin Mu actually resorted to an external tool. He’s no longer as domineering as before. He really *is* seriously injured.

”What coward dares to use Zhenyuan Talismans in the Capital?”

Just then, a voice as majestic as a god’s resounded from a distance.

”Vice-Chief!”

”Chief Jin, hurry and slay this monster!”

The elders of the Dragon Protection Hall were overjoyed.

Jin Shisan.

He rose to fame thirty years ago, having challenged eight of the top ten masters on the Heavenly Ranking in a single day, achieving seven victories and one defeat. After his defeat, he vanished from the public eye. The world believed he had suffered incurable injuries and perished. In truth, he had simply returned to the Dragon Protection Hall.

Thirty years ago, he was a Proud Son of Heaven of the Dragon Protection Hall.

Thirty years later, he was one of the four Vice-Chiefs of the Dragon Protection Hall, commanding a region with his immense power and revered status. Amidst the recent turmoil following the battle on Changbai Mountain, he had been summoned back to the Capital to oversee the center of Huaxia’s power. This alone was a testament to his standing within the Dragon Protection Hall.

At his appearance, all the elders regained their vigor. They immediately went back on their word, completely denying the promises they had just made in defeat. They clamored for Jin Shisan to defeat Lin Wudi. Jin Shisan might not be a match for Lin Mu, but if Lin Mu dared to fight openly in the Capital, any chance of him joining the Dragon Protection Hall would be utterly destroyed.

Li Xiaotian, being the most worldly-wise, immediately saw through their insidious plot and shot a worried glance at Lin Mu.

Lin Mu just gave a faint smile and spoke a single word.

”Scram.”

It was said lightly, without a hint of aggression or worldly emotion. It carried no intimidating presence, no earth-shattering power, not even the domineering aura of invincibility that a living myth should possess. Just one plain, simple word. It was like an old farmer in a field telling his grandson, ”Go fetch my pipe.”

There was a profound silence.

Jin Shisan, the Vice-Chief of the Dragon Protection Hall, said nothing for a long time. Finally, his voice echoed once more.

”As expected of the living myth of our era. To have already reached the state of returning to one’s true nature... I am in awe.”

”Lin Wudi, once today’s affairs are concluded, I will personally visit your home to offer my apologies and receive your teachings.”

With that said, the voice vanished without a trace, as if it had never been there at all.

Offer apologies!

Receive teachings!

Each phrase was heavier than the last. Even though Lin Mu was a living myth, it was unbecoming for a man with Jin Shisan’s esteemed status as a Vice-Chief of the Dragon Protection Hall to speak of offering apologies. Let alone receiving teachings.

Jin Shisan had shockingly placed himself in the position of Lin Wudi’s disciple.

What virtue or ability did Lin Mu possess to command such respect?

”Returning to one’s true nature...” Zhen Yuanzi murmured, savoring the phrase. Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically.

”Lin Wudi, you... you’ve reached the pinnacle of Qi Cultivation! You’re only a single step away from the immortal realm of Foundation Establishment?”

”Returning to one’s true nature” is a Daoist concept. The Dao De Jing says: ”Reveal simplicity, embrace purity, reduce selfishness, and have few desires.” It signifies embracing the Dao and preserving the truth, nourishing life’s True Yuan so that it is not seduced by material wants or shackled by selfish distractions. When a cultivator reaches this state, they are on the cusp of Foundation Establishment.

In the sects of the Ancient Lands, Foundation Establishment meant becoming an Immortal!

The world knew Lin Wudi as the pinnacle of the Martial Way, but no one imagined his Dao Methods were so profound that he was only one step away from becoming an Immortal. One more step, and he would cross the threshold separating mortals from immortals.

Upon hearing this, the other elders’ faces changed in unison.

Foundation Establishment! Lin Wudi was on the verge of Foundation Establishment!

This meant they had just rejected a future Foundation Building Immortal—one who came from the mortal world, was born in Huaxia, grew up among the common people, held the world’s populace in his heart, and had limitless potential.

”We are all sinners!”

THUMP! Liu Zongyu dropped to his knees, performing a disciple’s formal bow.

”Instructor Lin, please quell your anger.”

Elder Ma knelt.

”We will abdicate our positions! Please, Instructor Lin, quell your anger.”

”Instructor Lin, forgive us!”

All the elders of the Dragon Protection Hall, including Zhen Yuanzi, were kneeling at Lin Mu’s feet. However, their choice of address was intriguing.

”We martial artists do not kneel to heaven or earth, and certainly not to so-called immortals. Your actions prove how antiquated you truly are.”

Lin Mu turned and walked away.

On this day, Lin Wudi graced the Capital with his presence.

His four disciples humbled Zhen Yuanzi, broke Qi Mu’s arm, and defeated four Great Elders. His magnificence at that moment was peerless.

Lin Wudi: with a single word, he made Jin Shisan retreat. Half a step from Foundation Establishment, with Immortality in his future.

First a living myth, and now, a future Foundation Building Immortal.

Another chapter was added to the legend of Lin Mu, ”The Invincible.”

…

”Master, should we head back now, or should we go look around for a while?” Li Linglong asked boldly, perhaps sensing that the Lin Mu who had ’returned to his true nature’ was easier to talk to.

Li Lingqing and even Leng Feng seemed tempted by the idea. After all, they were still just young people in their late teens and early twenties.

Lin Mu looked up at the sky. ”We won’t go sightseeing, but I can take you to witness a true master at the pinnacle of the Martial Way.”

”The pinnacle of the Martial Way?”

”Someone at Ye Kuangren’s level?”

”Even stronger than Thunder God?”

Now that all four were cultivators, they were merely curious about the so-called pinnacle of the Martial Way. In their minds, Ye Kuangren, the Martial Alliance Leader, was a preeminent figure in the Eastern Martial Realm, while Thunder God was the representative of the Western Martial Realm.

”Them?” Lin Mu flicked a finger. ”They are merely at the Peak of Divine Communion. They are still a great distance from the true pinnacle of the Martial Way.”

”Just the Peak of Divine Communion? Still far from the pinnacle of the Martial Way? Master, does that mean there are realms in the Martial Way beyond Divine Communion?” Li Xiaotian, the most experienced of the four, was the first to grasp the implication.

Lin Mu nodded.

The four of them gasped.