Chapter 579 - 567: That Is Shameless

Chapter 579: Chapter 567: That Is Shameless

"A Seventh-Ring Martial Emperor?!" Fang Bin shrieked, staring at Mu Chen in astonishment. He couldn’t fathom how a Seventh-Ring Martial Emperor had managed to fight him to a draw, let alone one who possessed such an unknown and terrifying Magical Beast.

To his surprise, Mu Chen simply waved his hand. "Not a Seventh-Ring Martial Emperor. I’m a Seventh-Ring Martial Sect. I wish I were a Martial Emperor, though."

"Are you messing with me?" Fang Bin’s expression soured. He already felt it was utterly humiliating to have lost to a Seventh-Ring Martial Emperor. Now, this guy was claiming to be a mere Seventh-Ring Martial Sect? Wasn’t he just trying to make a fool out of him?

Mu Chen gave a wry smile. "If I don’t say anything, you’re not happy. But if I tell the truth, you don’t believe me. In any case, I’m telling the truth. It’s up to you whether you believe it."

With a dark expression, Fang Bin stared at Mu Chen for a long moment before sighing in resignation. "Fine. What’s your name?"

"Mu Chen."

"You’re Mu Chen?!"

Fang Bin froze, then suddenly pointed at Mu Chen and cried out.

That one shout was powerful enough to stun the entire grand arena. Mu Chen. If no one had mentioned the name, the crowd would have kept it buried in their memories. But once it was spoken, the discussions would flow like an endless, torrential river.

"Wait!" Fang Bin’s expression was odd. "Which Mu Chen are you?"

Mu Chen was speechless. "Is there another one?"

"The Mu Chen I know was only a First-Ring Martial Sect two months ago, but you’re a Seventh-Ring Martial Sect... er..." Fang Bin trailed off, stunned by his own words. He then added awkwardly, "Right. It seems that in our Inner Mountain, you’re the only one in the Sect Realm who gets to live on the first level."

The moment he realized the man before him in the black Concealing Garment was the very Mu Chen who had challenged Shan Tianyu, all of Fang Bin’s frustration vanished. Even Shan Tianyu, a Two-Ring Martial Venerable, had lost to him. In that light, was it not perfectly normal for a mere Nine-Ring Peak Martial Emperor like himself to be defeated?

Once he understood this, Fang Bin felt a sense of sudden enlightenment. At the same time, an indescribable, profound sensation filled his mind and spirit, and a look of ecstasy spread across his face.

"Mu Chen, my apologies! I have something urgent to attend to. I’ll definitely find you to catch up after I’m done!"

After throwing out that sentence, Fang Bin yelled that he was forfeiting and rushed out of the Teleportation Gate, leaving a bewildered Mu Chen and the stunned students of the White Camp to stare at one another.

Meanwhile, Yu Lan, who was presiding over the arena, found her mouth twitching. She was so stunned she forgot to announce the match’s result. It wasn’t until Elder Lei sent a voice transmission to everyone that the final winner of this king-of-the-hill tournament was declared to be Mu Chen.

Looking at the empty dueling platform, Mu Chen exchanged a glance with Xiaohai and said apologetically, "I called you out but didn’t even give you a chance to show what you can do."

Xiaohai shook its head, its voice still deep and detached. "To be honest, I don’t like staying in the Summoning Space. I’m happy to come out for a breath of fresh air, even if I don’t get to fight."

Those words deeply touched Mu Chen’s heart. ’It’s true,’ he thought. ’For the past two months, I’ve been so focused on my own Cultivation that I completely forgot about Xiaohai.’

But just as he remembered what he had neglected, another figure suddenly surfaced in his mind: an old man with a missing palm... Feng Chaoming.

’This is bad.’ Mu Chen’s mouth twitched. The thought of his one-month pact with Feng Chaoming made his heart pound. That man was a terrifying battle maniac; offending him would not end well. ’However, judging by the way he spoke, he doesn’t seem like a completely unreasonable person. I should be able to explain things and gain his understanding.’ At this thought, Mu Chen breathed a small sigh of relief.

With this in mind, Mu Chen asked Xiaohai, "Xiaohai, can you alter your appearance?"

Xiaohai nodded. "I can, but only after my Demon Beast Realm reaches Tier Six. Since my rank is restricted by yours, I won’t be able to transform until you, Master, enter the Emperor Realm."

Mu Chen nodded and said with a wry smile, "I can promise to break into the Emperor Realm within a year, but until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with things as they are."

Xiaohai fully understood Mu Chen’s reasoning, so it dutifully returned to its Summoning Space after he finished speaking. At that moment, the Resource Meter that Lei Yun’Er had given Mu Chen also became useful. A full three hundred days’ worth of Cultivation Resources—it was enough to make anyone feel like they’d struck it rich.

But Mu Chen couldn’t bring himself to be happy. He walked out of the Teleportation Gate listlessly and, under the stares of the crowd, quickly made his way toward Mu Junwu and Chu Aoqing. He didn’t want to be the center of attention.

But as he sat down, he was surprised to see two exceptionally cute girls sitting next to Mu Junwu and Chu Aoqing. More importantly, to Mu Chen, the two girls looked completely identical.

A mortified Mu Chen looked at the two girls and stammered, "Yun Yue? Yueyun?"

Lei Yun’Er hadn’t spoken, but Lei Yue’er said with a delighted gasp, "Brother Mu Chen, you can tell us apart at a glance? That’s amazing!"

Mu Chen subconsciously touched the spot on his mask where his nose would be and gave a wry smile. "How could I possibly tell you apart? Unless one of you speaks, it’s impossible to tell who is who."

Lei Yun’Er, however, pouted. "You really kept a huge secret from us."

Mu Chen paused. "What secret?"

"About the Furious Thunder Force, of course!" Lei Yun’Er bared her teeth, looking like she wanted to eat him alive.

Mu Chen’s expression froze at her words. Glancing around, he noticed many eyes locked onto him. The moment he thought of the words "Furious Thunder Force," the hairs on his arms stood up. He quickly released a Spirit Barrier, enveloping the five of them.

"You know about the Furious Thunder Force?" Mu Chen asked in a low, serious voice.

Seeing Mu Chen release his Spiritual Power, Lei Yun’Er’s face flushed with embarrassment. She had been too impulsive just now, blurting out "Furious Thunder Force" without noticing how many people were watching them. However, the thought of an outsider like Mu Chen using the very technique her Thunder God Hall had coveted for ages made her anger flare up again. She snorted coldly. "Of course, we know. Not only do we know you’re using the Furious Thunder Force, but I also know that your version is missing the Yuzi Technique."

This time, Mu Chen was utterly shocked. If he had any doubts that Lei Yun’Er was just bluffing, he was now completely convinced. The Furious Thunder Force was something his Master had obtained a hundred thousand years ago. Logically, no one in the present day should know about something from that era.

But back when he was heading to the Eternal Holy Domain, Dilaka had warned him to be extremely careful if he ever used the Furious Thunder Force in the Outer Realm. If the people from Thunder God Hall found out, the consequences would be dire.

At the time, he had been too preoccupied with the Eternal Holy Domain and the Dragon Soul Pill to take Dilaka’s words to heart. Now that he thought about it, even Dilaka knew about the Furious Thunder Force.

’Wait!’ Mu Chen suddenly recalled the story the Profound Old Ghost had told him. His Master obtained the Furious Thunder Force from an ambushed man. At the time, the technique was split in half, with two parties each holding one part. His Master had directly obliterated one of the parties, destroying their half of the technique—the Yuzi Technique—along with them. Back then, let alone the Thunder God Hall, even the Nine Hidden Families didn’t exist. So there was no way anyone should know about the Furious Thunder Force. ’But now, not only does someone know, but this person is certain that my version is missing the Yuzi Technique. What does that mean? It means my Master didn’t actually destroy that part of the Furious Thunder Force back then! It survived! And not only did it survive, but it somehow ended up in the hands of the Thunder God Hall! This is all too much of a coincidence.’

Mu Chen’s silence gave Lei Yun’Er and Lei Yue’er plenty of room to let their imaginations run wild. More importantly, they had already confirmed their suspicions from his words and expression.

"You’re from the Thunder God Hall?"

The question that suddenly came from Mu Chen’s lips stunned the two girls for a moment. Then, the Lei Sisters nodded in unison, their movements and expressions perfectly synchronized.

"Are you here to hold me accountable? Or do you want the Furious Thunder Force back?"

Although she had considered many ways to open the conversation, Lei Yun’Er never expected Mu Chen to be so direct. However, despite their youth, the sisters were sharp-witted and could naturally read the hidden meaning in his counter-question.

Lei Yun’Er replied, "We’re not here to hold you accountable. It’s true that we want the Furious Thunder Force back, but you’re definitely not going to give it up."

Without a second thought, Mu Chen rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

’What a joke,’ he thought. ’Never mind the fact that this technique was obtained a hundred thousand years ago, back when the Thunder God Hall wasn’t even a speck on the map. Even if I’d gotten it just now, there’s no way I’d ever just hand it over. What can the Thunder God Hall do about it?’

"You!" Lei Yun’Er was furious, but the thought that he held the Furious Thunder Force forced her to swallow her anger. She said calmly, "The Furious Thunder Force is a core Combat Skill of my Thunder God Hall. Although its status is much lower than our ultimate treasure, it’s still a matter of our Hall’s honor. I won’t force you to return it, but... could you... copy it for me?"

"Absolutely not!" Mu Chen refused without a moment’s hesitation.

"Why not?!" Lei Yun’Er exploded with rage. She had already swallowed her pride and spoken to him so humbly, yet he still refused so decisively!

"Why?" Mu Chen chuckled. "You can go back and ask your Thunder God Hall ancestors when they obtained the Furious Thunder Force, and whether or not it was complete when they did. If they admit it wasn’t complete when they acquired it, then you naturally have no right to demand I hand my part over to you. But if they claim the Furious Thunder Force was complete when your Thunder God Hall obtained it and was only stolen later... well, then I’ll just smile and say nothing. Because I don’t waste my breath on shameless people."

"How dare you call our ancestors shameless!" Lei Yun’Er slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet. Her large, golden eyes were fixed on Mu Chen, glaring as if she could kill him with her gaze alone.

Mu Chen just shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn’t say that," he said calmly. "Don’t jump to conclusions. I said *if* they were to tell such a blatant lie... *then* they would be shameless."