Chapter 82: The Anomaly of the Heavenly Dao Treasure Scroll

"Me?"

"No way!"

"Am I an innate hatred‑drawing sacred body?"

"I've only just arrived at the Inner Peak, and already this many people want to kill me?"

Because ever since the journey from the past, Li Mu has kept his attention on this Heavenly Dao Treasure Scroll.

Therefore, when a new lucky person joins it, Li Mu can naturally notice it immediately.

But…

What makes Li Mu utterly speechless is the thought that perhaps he was born with a big villainous face.

But that can't be right!

My transmigrated identity is just starting with a bowl, all my gear comes from scavenging as an orphan.

And it's not a villain‑type opening like Gu Sa Ge's.

Since it's not a villain‑type opening, why, wherever I go, are there inexplicably so many people trying to kill me!

I've only been at the Inner Peak for a few days?

Lin Zecheng, Pan Wenbo…

Now I don't even know from which nook a Song Haolin has popped out trying to kill me?

Please!

Are you kidding!

I don't even know this Song Haolin at all!

Looking at the names slowly appearing on the Heavenly Dao Treasure Scroll, Li Mu is truly at a loss for words now!

After silently cursing this bizarre setup in his heart, Li Mu turned his attention to the Inner Peak Dao Hall and began to carefully scan his surroundings.

He wanted to see exactly who was trying to kill him!

After looking around, Li Mu's gaze finally settled on the burly man in a teal outfit he had just seen.

The burly man inspected his own features.

In age, he was clearly older than all the youths present, looking about twenty‑one, maybe twenty‑two.

From afar, he resembled a small mountain, towering and massive.

He had a square, resolute face, a large sword hanging at his waist; even though the blade was still sheathed, the scent of blood was extremely strong!

It seemed even the scabbard couldn't contain it, spreading throughout the hall, giving off an intensely grim, oppressive aura!

He stood in the hall, looking like a crane among chickens!

His spirit and aura were far superior to those Four Peaks Stewards, and the blade qi around him seemed to solidify, flickering like rippling light around him.

At this moment his eyes were slightly closed, as if meditating, and no one in the hall dared to disturb him!

"Could the one scheming to kill me from behind be him?"

Li Mu's gaze lingered, half‑intentionally, half‑unintentionally, at the burly man, while he contemplated whether to approach and test him.

Suddenly, a warm male voice sounded beside his ear, pulling Li Mu's thoughts back.

"Li Mu!"

"You finally made it!"

Seeing Li Mu and Qian Wenyi arrive, a middle‑aged man dressed in a Longtan Peak Inner Peak Steward robe also strode toward them.

He walked while waving enthusiastically to Li Mu.

As for Qian Wenyi standing beside Li Mu, he was subconsciously ignored by the middle‑aged man.

The disparity in treatment between the two was stark!

As for…

Why does this Longtan Peak Steward treat them differently?

No other reason!

Because the Outer Peak elder Sun Qingwu of Longtan Peak once described Li Mu like this!

He said Li Mu is practically the living father of their Longtan Peak!

If we just serve this living father properly!

Then rising through Ziyang Sect and achieving cultivation would be a breeze!

These words were naturally heard and noted by Wu Zhengyong.

During the Inner Peak assessments these past few days, he basically did nothing.

All day long, he just waited anxiously for Li Mu to join!

Meanwhile, they had already sent away several waves of Longtan Peak disciples, yet Li Mu still hadn't arrived.

Now finally seeing this Longtan Peak "living father", could Wu Zhengyong not be excited!

"Steward Wu, hello!"

Facing Wu Zhengyong's enthusiasm, Li Mu gave a helpless wry smile but still politely greeted him.

"Li Mu!"

"You kid, you're actually pretty good!"

"I heard Elder Sun say!"

"In this Four Peaks Grand Competition, you really gave our Longtan Peak a huge boost in reputation."

"Not only at the start of the competition did you decapitate Qin Zhixiang."

"Later, in the Yunshan Secret Realm, you first killed Wu Feiyang, then engaged in a fierce melee with Lin Zehong."

"Finally, stepping on their corpses, after a lifetime, you led our Longtan Peak to win the Four Peaks Grand Competition champion again!"

"Sure enough!"

"Reviving Longtan Peak's former glory still depends on you!"

Wu Zhengyong pounded Li Mu's shoulder vigorously, his eyes full of admiration and praise.

Li Mu waved his hand and casually brushed it off, "No, no, reviving Longtan Peak's glory requires everyone's joint effort."

"Li Mu!"

"When do you plan to break through the Concentration Realm?"

"I see your essence, Qi, and spirit have already reached the pinnacle of the Refining Qi Realm; if you're willing, you can take that final step at any time, right?"

At that moment, a steward from Zi Gai Feng also walked over, surveyed Li Mu from head to toe, and asked bluntly.

"Wait until you finish the Inner Peak assessment, okay?"

Li Mu pondered briefly and gave an approximate time.

"Alright!"

"I haven't heard Wu Zhengyong stop talking about your glorious history on the Outer Peak!"

The steward from Zi Gai Feng stepped forward as well, enthusiastically patting Li Mu's shoulder just like Wu Zhengyong.

"I heard you, kid, turned the Ziyang Sect's Outer Peak upside down in less than a month!"

"I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of storm you'll stir up in the Inner Peak after entering the Concentration Realm."

"Will the Inner Peak of Longtan Peak produce a peerless prodigy who, like Ziyuan Zhenren, can dominate all rivals?"

"Young Li Mu, we all have high hopes for you!"

"But, before that."

"Young Li Mu, do you know why, since you entered the Ziyang Sect, the sect—from elders down to stewards—has never restricted disciples from fighting each other?"

"Even during the Four Peaks Grand Competition, Elder Zhao tacitly permitted you to kill outside the rules!"

Speaking so, the steward from Zi Gai Feng glanced again at the massive iron cage in the training ground's center, shrouded in black silk, his tone inevitably heavy.

"That's because, for you youngsters, the Ziyang Sect is merely a starting point on your cultivation path!"

"When you eventually leave the sect and roam the jianghu, you'll see."

"What you experience now, in a cultivation world of survival of the fittest that follows the jungle law, is truly too peaceful and tranquil."

"It's like defeating higher-ranked peers within the sect; that can't be called true bravery!"

"Facing and overcoming demons, monsters, and evil cultivators with composure—that's real courage!"

"And now, you'll confront them for the first time!"

With that, the steward of Zi Gai Feng, Wu Zhengyong, and the stewards of Xiao Tian Feng and Xuan Yue Feng—four stewards in total—stepped forward, each taking the east, south, west, and north positions of the Inner Peak training ground.

Then, the four peak stewards quickly formed a formation.

"Hum..."

"A buzzing sound rose."

A golden formation began to rise slowly beneath the feet of Li Mu, Qian Wenyi, and the other Named Disciples who came for the Inner Peak assessment, the golden light enveloping them.

After the formation was completed, the elder of Zi Gai Feng continued to speak loudly.

"The formation is complete!"

"Now I will announce the first stage of this Inner Peak assessment!"

"The golden formation you stand within is the safe zone."

"If you step out of the golden formation and lose its protection, the real assessment begins!"

After introducing the formation beneath them, the steward of Zi Gai Feng raised his hand and pointed ahead.

And then...

About a hundred meters ahead of the golden formation stood a massive iron cage forged from mysterious black iron.

The cage was draped with a thick red silk, obscuring what inside it was being held, but the occasional "bang, bang, bang…" thuds from the mysterious iron cage made it clear.

At this moment, something heavy inside the cage seemed to be violently smashing against the iron.

The force was so great that the red silk covering trembled, as if it might be ripped away at any instant.

"Goo…"

Although the Named Disciples about to undergo the assessment were currently within the golden formation's protection.

Yet the intense sense of danger still made their Adam's apples bob, forcing them to gulp water laboriously, their nervousness evident on each face.

"Once you leave the formation's protection, you'll be a hundred meters from the Demon Race!"

"The Named Disciples in the assessment will step by step approach the Demon Race!"

"If you can get within eighty meters of the Demon Race without being frightened by its demonic aura, you pass the assessment!"

"During the assessment, the Named Disciples must not stop moving while approaching the Demon Race!"

"Stopping means that's your final assessment result!"

The steward of Zi Gai Feng concisely briefed everyone on the upcoming assessment.

"Oh..."

"So, under that red silk, indeed a Demon Race creature is being held!"

Li Mu stroked his chin, thoughtfully gazing at the massive iron cage in the training ground's center, his mind wandering.

"Boss!"

"The main purpose of this formation is to block demonic aura, so we're absolutely safe inside it."

When Qian Wenyi saw Li Mu deep in thought, he assumed he was pondering the upcoming assessment and whispered.

However, Qian Wenyi, in the middle of speaking,

his words still involuntarily trembled, clearly showing his own anxiety about confronting the Demon Race.

"All right!"

"The assessment now officially begins!"

"This Demon Race's strength is that of a second‑rank Demon General, but it is also limited by this golden formation, its power reduced to less than a tenth of its whole."

"But you must not treat it as the usual demon beasts you encounter!"

"Within this Demon General runs the bloodline of a Demon King; both its strength and its aura far surpass those of ordinary Demon Generals!"

"I hope you can hold fast to your Dao hearts and pass the upcoming assessment!"

After the Elder Zigai Peak finished his instructions, he stepped forward.

As his figure swayed, he arrived before the massive black iron cage.

"A second‑rank Demon General born of the Demon King's bloodline?"

"Now that's something to look forward to!"

Li Mu licked his lips, and a hint of anticipation inevitably appeared on his face.

Although earlier Li Mu had already clashed with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, that second‑rank Demon General, in a white‑blade duel where it was either you die or I perish!

Yet the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, whether in realm or bloodline, was far inferior to the Demon General Li Mu was about to face.

Li Mu's heart grew increasingly eager for the upcoming assessment!

"Wha—..."

At that moment, the Steward Zigai Peak standing before the huge iron cage yanked his right hand down sharply, tearing the red silk cloth away!

"Roar, roar, roar!"

The instant the red silk was torn, a deep, guttural roar like a hungry ghost from hell immediately resonated outward through the cage.

Li Mu fixed his gaze.

He saw that the second‑rank Demon General before him, bearing the Demon King's bloodline, did not appear in any beast form.

Instead, it manifested as a towering man eight chi tall, revealed before everyone.

Although before the assessment, all the Named Disciples present had been told that the Demon Race with the Demon King's bloodline can assume human form!

Hearing is one thing; seeing it with their own eyes is another!

Especially when Steward Zigai Peak lifted the red silk, it seemed as if the suppression targeting this Demon Race began to gradually lose effect!

When everyone stared closely,

they saw the eight‑chi tall middle‑aged man's entire arm suddenly split open, with bluish‑gray flesh scales bursting outward piece by piece!

Under the noon sun, those scales glittered with a grim, metallic bluish‑gray sheen!

Moreover, the man's exposed torso began, at a visible speed, to turn into lizard‑like skin patterns, and his fingernails grew segment by segment until they became ten‑centimeter bluish‑gray claws!

The most chilling aspect was the middle‑aged man's eyes!

The whites of his eyes gradually turned orange‑yellow with tiny speckles, while the pupils swiftly became narrow, vertical black slits.

From his blood‑filled maw, stark white fangs protruded, razor‑sharp as if they could easily crush a human skull!

A lizard‑like long tongue slithered out from the white fangs, constantly writhing and striking the massive iron cage, producing a muffled "clack, clack…" sound!

Even so, beneath this half‑lizard, half‑human Demon Race lay the same golden formation restriction.

Yet that brutal, bloody, ferocious aura still pervaded the arena, making throats tighten and breathing difficult.

Many Named Disciples, upon seeing this, turned pale with terror, their teeth chattering!

Li Mu, watching the lizard‑man thrashing and roaring inside the cage, also wore an expression of extraordinary excitement.

Only…

The reason for Li Mu's striking expression was not fear of the lizard‑man, but because the Heaven Dao Scroll he had just calmed now showed another anomaly.

Moreover, this anomaly differed completely from the previous ones!

He thought up to this point.

Li Mu's consciousness swiftly sank into the Sea of Awareness.

Soon!

Li Mu was shocked to discover that the second page of the Heaven Dao Scroll, which had remained completely still,

had somehow been torn open at a corner!

"Could it be..."

"Is the abnormal change of the Heaven Dao Scroll related to the lizard‑man before us?"

"The Demon Race before us must be the key that opened the second page of the Heaven Dao Scroll!"

Li Mu stared at the Heaven Dao Scroll and at the second‑rank Demon General lizard‑man trapped in the cage, his mind racing at high speed, countless thoughts flooding his heart.

But at that moment, Steward Zigai Peak's voice sounded again beside Li Mu's ear.

"The Inner Peak assessment now officially begins!"

"Who among you will be the first to come?"