Chapter 489 - 481: Full-time Personal Bodyguard

Chapter 489: Chapter 481: Full-time Personal Bodyguard

A grin spread across Mu Chen’s face. He could already imagine the devastating impact of combining Instant Body and Flash Thunder in actual combat. ’Let me ask you, can you perceive a Speed Fist that makes absolutely no sound? If not, you can only rely on your primitive sense of sight! But the dazzling Thunder Light from a Flash Thunder Fist will rob you of your vision, your only way to judge the punch’s direction! With your sight gone and no sound to track, how could you possibly block a strike that moves at the speed of light?!’

Furthermore, the wonders of this Instantaneous Step technique weren’t limited to offense; it could be extraordinarily useful for escaping as well. Through his earlier test, Mu Chen discovered that the secret behind the Instant Body Technique’s teleportation wasn’t Spatial Transmission. In other words, the Instantaneous Step he used didn’t rely on Space Power, but on Thunder Power.

Anywhere Thunder could reach was a place he could instantly teleport to. To move with the thunder—that was Instantaneous Step!

Therefore, before executing each Instantaneous Step, a wisp of the Power of thunder and lightning would always spill from the soles of Mu Chen’s feet. This overflow of lightning didn’t just serve to accelerate and propel him; it also acted as a beacon, marking the destination of his Instant Teleportation! It was precisely because of this that Mu Chen could use the technique even under a clear sky or within a sealed space.

CRACKLE...

A faint, tiny bolt of lightning zipped from the Cultivation Room down to the first-floor hall. A deep Thunder Mark was seared into Mu Chen’s mind. With just a conscious thought to activate the mark, his body could be directly teleported to its location.

’Think about it—how could anyone detect an Instant Teleportation that produces no spatial fluctuations?!’

"Furious Thunder Force is truly worthy of its name. The power of these two third-stage Combat Skills is simply unparalleled." He chuckled, and the slight disappointment from losing the Seven-Color Thunder Armor Secret Skill vanished without a trace.

"...Mmm..."

Suddenly, a soft, alluring moan came from what was originally Mu Chen’s room. Chu Aoqing, who had been in a deep sleep, slowly opened her red eyes. Her hazy gaze sharpened with clarity. She gently pushed aside the blanket and let out a breath. ’I slept a little too soundly. It seems that girl Ziyan was wrong. He’s not some kind of playboy.’

She quickly got up, glanced at the Lady’s Sword by the bed, and after a moment of contemplation, strapped it to her back. As for the Wide Blade Heavy Sword, Chu Aoqing didn’t hesitate at all. With a wave of her fair hand, a Spatial Rift appeared before her, and she neatly stored the sword inside it.

Space Power... She was in the Venerable Realm!

After finishing all this, Chu Aoqing thought, ’On this First Level, the chances of me needing to use Tai’e are slim. As for that guy... I wonder what he’s doing right now.’

She quickly extended her Spiritual Power and, before long, found Mu Chen on a long bench in the main hall. He was sitting cross-legged as the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi surged into his body. The absorption rate was incredibly fast—several times faster than even her own! This discovery made Chu Aoqing’s jaw drop slightly. The Cultivation Method she herself used was at the Peak of Earth Tier. For Mu Chen’s Cultivation speed to be so much faster than hers... what could that possibly mean?

’Could it be a Heavenly Rank Technique?’

But that thought alone wasn’t enough to warrant such an expression from Chu Aoqing. She distinctly remembered that before she fell asleep, she couldn’t sense the slightest fluctuation of Primordial Power from Mu Chen. Yet, when she awoke, it was as if the entire world had changed. Not only could Mu Chen now absorb Primordial Power, but she could also feel an exceptionally potent fluctuation of it emanating from him.

In her experience, such a pure and unadulterated fluctuation of Primordial Power was something she had only ever sensed from true geniuses. And yet, Mu Chen’s age and Martial Artist Realm clearly didn’t qualify him for that title.

Completely baffled, Chu Aoqing suddenly broke into a charming smile. She finally understood why Great Elder Dilaka had given her this special mission. Mu Chen was no ordinary person!

CLACK... CLACK... CLACK...

The sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs entered Mu Chen’s consciousness. Deep in his Cultivation, Mu Chen slowly opened his eyes. A flash of purplish-gold lightning flickered in his ice-blue, snowflake-like pupils for just an instant before he squeezed them shut again. Performing Introspection, he realized that despite cultivating for only a single hour, his Martial Artist Realm had already seen a noticeable improvement. ’At this rate,’ he thought, ’if I were to use the Five Elements Sacred Domain, my Martial Arts Cultivation would experience an incredible surge! Reaching the Emperor Realm in a year?! I might even do it faster than that!’

WHOOSH... After gently exhaling a long breath, Mu Chen turned his head. "You’re awake?"

Chu Aoqing nodded. "Mhm." She walked over to Mu Chen’s side, slowly sat down on the other end of the long bench, and asked, "Why aren’t you asking?"

"Ask what?" Mu Chen countered.

"Why I’m here. And what my purpose is," Chu Aoqing said, her expression calm.

"You’ll tell me when you’re ready. If you don’t want to, you probably wouldn’t answer even if I asked," Mu Chen replied with a faint smile.

To his surprise, after hearing his words, Chu Aoqing nodded very seriously. "That’s right. I don’t want to tell you right now, so can I not?"

"..." Mu Chen felt his face darken. She was probably the most unpredictable girl he had ever met. He sighed. "Alright, you win. My head is full of questions. With your strength, you’re definitely not a student from the First Level. You must be from the Second, or even the Third Level, right?"

"No." Chu Aoqing shook her head and said simply, "The Fourth Level."

"The Fourth Level?!"

Mu Chen swallowed hard. Dilaka had once told him that apart from instructors and staff, only a few special students resided on the Fourth Level. And these special students were, without a doubt, the strongest geniuses whose strength surpassed even those on the Third Level! ’So, who exactly is this girl?!’

Actually, back in the dining hall, many people had been discussing Chu Aoqing’s name. It was just that at the time, Mu Chen had been preoccupied with Master Ling’s cooking and hadn’t paid any special attention. He only knew her name had something to do with "Qing’Er," because Shan Ziyan always called her Sister Qing’Er.

’Qing’Er... the Fourth Level...’

Mu Chen’s pupils constricted. "You are... Chu Aoqing?"

A small smile graced Chu Aoqing’s lips, which curved up perfectly. She nodded. "It seems you’ve figured it out. I am Chu Aoqing. And you’re Mu Chen, right?"

"Mhm." Mu Chen’s mind was in turmoil. ’I can’t believe it. I just got to the Inner Mountain, and I’m already sitting right next to the Power Master of its number one faction. What could she possibly want? Does she find me interesting and want to recruit me? No, that can’t be it. Before she woke up, I hadn’t even recovered my Primordial Power. Even now, my Martial Artist Realm is only at the First-Ring Martial Sect. That’s not nearly enough to warrant this kind of attention.’

"Then why did you seek me out?" Giving in, Mu Chen finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind all day.

"Because of a mission." This time, Chu Aoqing didn’t keep him in suspense, instead answering him directly. "The mission’s objective is related to you."

Mu Chen was stunned. "A mission? One that’s related to me?"

He broke out in a cold sweat. ’I’ve only been in the Inner Mountain for a single day, and someone has already posted a mission centered on me? And it was posted on the Fourth Level, no less! Who did I piss off so badly?’

"What are the mission details?" Mu Chen’s interest was suddenly piqued.

"To protect you for the next year. In other words, to be your full-time personal bodyguard," Chu Aoqing stated, her expression unchanging, revealing the mission details that left Mu Chen utterly stunned.

"What?! Protect me? A full-time personal bodyguard? You?"

A volley of questions burst from Mu Chen, expressing his utter shock. He never imagined the mission would be so... personal.

"What? Do I not look capable?" Chu Aoqing frowned, clearly displeased with his reaction.

"Of course you are. I’m just... are you sure about the ’full-time personal bodyguard’ part?"

"I am," Chu Aoqing affirmed again.

"Can you cook?"

"No."

"Can you do laundry?"

"No."

"Can you warm... ahem, never mind. Can you tidy up the rooms?"

"I can tidy up my own."

"Then what part of this is ’full-time personal bodyguard’?" Mu Chen wiped a bead of sweat from his temple.

Chu Aoqing replied nonchalantly, "For food, the Inner Mountain has a dining hall, and the chefs are excellent. As for laundry, you can do it yourself. If you don’t want to, there’s also a professional laundry service in the Inner Mountain."

"Alright, fine. But I don’t need a bodyguard, so..."

"After what happened today, are you sure you don’t need one?" Chu Aoqing cut him off, getting straight to the heart of the matter. "You can’t survive alone in the Inner Mountain. That holds true even if you join some faction on the First Level. With your current Martial Artist Realm, any faction willing to accept you is either so desperate for members that they’re practically nonexistent, or they just want you as a gopher—running gathering and delivery missions to earn Cultivation Resources for their higher-ups. Do you want to join a faction like that?"

"Obviously not. Your main priority right now is to use the Five Elements Sacred Domain to rapidly increase your strength. But without joining a faction, you won’t have any protection. The Five Elements Sacred Domain isn’t some Independent Space you can enter alone; it’s a public area. Can you guarantee that the group who attacked you today won’t come bother you while you’re cultivating?"

"If I were in their shoes, and I heard someone who was currently weaker than me but had limitless potential swear a Blood Oath to one day repay me a hundredfold... the very first thing I would do is make sure they could never rise up. And the most effective way to do that is to sabotage their Cultivation. As long as your Martial Artist Realm stagnates, you’ll forever be a dragon trapped in shallow waters, unable to make any waves."

"This is the Inner Mountain. No one here truly underestimates someone weaker than themselves. They... are not fools. So, are you sure you want me to turn this mission down? It makes no difference to me. The decision is yours."