Chapter 430: The Actions of Mu Ling Palace and the Deceptive Killing

【Master, I've been eliminated.】

After being killed twice by Xu Jin, Mu Ling Palace's seventh-rank genius Hou Ziang was eliminated from the Seven Kill Secret Realm.

Though afraid of his master's scolding, Hou Ziang returned swiftly and, upon reaching the area covered by Zhaixing Tower, reported this matter to his master, Mu Ling Palace's patriarch Chi Lei.

Failing and being eliminated is a matter of ability.

It can also be explained as the enemy being too cunning.

The master will at most ignore him for a while.

But if he conceals and fails to report, that becomes an issue of attitude and intelligence, and will cause the master to completely abandon him from now on.

Upon receiving the starlight message, Mu Ling Palace's patriarch Chi Lei was instantly startled and immediately asked for details.

Hou Ziang naturally gave his master Chi Lei a thorough account of everything, and during the report, to emphasize his own efforts and lack of cowardice, he slightly exaggerated the strength of Qi Tian Sheng he had encountered.

【Qi Tian Sheng? Fifth-rank third layer, nearly capable of instantly killing you—and repeatedly? Minimum full set of Seven-Star Spirit Treasures.】

【Five Element Divine Thunder—you're certain this kid wields the legendary Five Element Divine Thunder?】

At first, Mu Ling Palace's patriarch Chi Lei found it hard to believe.

Fifth-rank third layer instantly killing seventh-rank fourth layer?

That's something from legends—how could it happen in reality?

But when his disciple mentioned Five Element Divine Thunder, he believed it somewhat.

His expression turned grim.

Previously, when he and Xu Mi Palace's patriarch Luo Xian had jointly pressured Da Chen's Wan Yi region, intending to use Emperor Gan'an's name to severely wound or kill Da Chen's State Preceptor Cheng Yuexiao, then have both palaces take control of Da Chen and divide its territory, he had been shocked by Cheng Yuexiao's Thunder Star Art!

Cheng Yuexiao's Thunder Star Art was stronger than his own!

How could this be!

Recently, Mu Ling Palace's patriarch had been investigating this matter both openly and covertly.

Remember, half a year ago, Da Chen's State Academy had exchanged one Heavenly Celestial Will and two Star Domains for a third-rank Thunder Source Star Pattern.

This meant that before then, Da Chen's State Academy had no Thunder lineage.

But how much time has passed? Now Cheng Yuexiao's Thunder Star Art not only matches his own, but even surpasses it?

And now another Five Element Divine Thunder has appeared!

He knew what Five Element Divine Thunder was.

According to Mu Ling Palace's ancestral records, if one could evolve the Thunder Source Star Pattern to eighth-rank upper or even ninth-rank, one could deduce the immensely powerful Five Element Divine Thunder.

But the problem was, despite Mu Ling Palace's decades of accumulation and research, the Thunder Source Star Pattern had only been evolved to eighth-rank middle.

Only those who have attempted it know how difficult it is to evolve an eighth-rank star pattern.

Unfortunately, before Mu Ling Palace's sealing was lifted, disciples of both palaces were ineligible to enter the Zhaixing Secret Realm to harvest Golden Stars.

And harvesting Golden Stars was extremely difficult.

Since the lifting of the seal, Mu Ling Palace has sent numerous disciples into the Zhaixing Secret Realm to harvest Golden Stars, and so far, they've successfully harvested three Golden Stars!

But it's still useless.

If these three Golden Stars were in Chi Lei's hands, he would have absolute confidence in evolving the eighth-rank middle Thunder Source to ninth-rank lower—or even evolving the seventh-rank middle Lei Xiangxing to eighth-rank lower.

But the problem is, they're not in his hands—they're in the hands of a few newly trained disciples.

Most of these disciples are only third- or fourth-rank.

These disciples haven't even successfully comprehended a sixth-rank Thunder Source Star Pattern, let alone an eighth-rank one.

For these harvested Golden Stars to be useful, it would likely take three to five years, or even seven or eight years, until these disciples master the Thunder Source Star Pattern to eighth-rank middle and then use the Golden Stars to evolve further.

So the question arises: how has Da Chen's State Academy managed to rapidly evolve a third-rank Thunder Source Star Pattern to eighth-rank middle or upper?

Chi Lei had pondered this question endlessly without an answer.

Cheng Yuexiao alone couldn't do it.

Even if Cheng Yuexiao devoted every ounce of energy and resource over the past year to evolving the Thunder Source Star Pattern, he could at most reach fifth-rank upper—sixth-rank would be difficult!

To rapidly evolve the Thunder Source Star Pattern to eighth-rank upper, at least four to eight Golden Stars—or four or five Golden Stars plus one Brilliant Star—are required!

Cheng Yuexiao's current cultivation level makes it impossible for him to harvest any more Golden Stars.

Once one breaks through to seventh-rank, they can no longer enter the Zhaixing Secret Realm.

Unless Da Chen's State Academy has an unparalleled genius who can harvest four to eight Golden Stars—or Brilliant Stars—in rapid succession!

The probability of such a thing is extremely low, but not impossible.

Now, Mu Ling Palace's patriarch Chi Lei had his answer.

Qi Tian Sheng, fifth-rank third layer, fits perfectly.

And he wields Five Element Divine Thunder—even Cheng Yuexiao doesn't know it!

The reason and the target were now clear.

Da Chen has produced another unparalleled genius who, using at least four or five Golden Stars—or even Brilliant Stars—has rapidly evolved the Thunder Source Star Pattern to at least eighth-rank upper.

Only this could explain why a fifth-rank third-layer disciple wields Five Element Divine Thunder, something Cheng Yuexiao doesn't know!

【You've done well. This intelligence you reported is of utmost importance. Have you noticed which entrance to the Seven Kill Secret Realm Qi Tian Sheng entered through?】 asked Mu Ling Palace's patriarch Chi Lei.

At this moment, in Chi Lei's eyes, Qi Tian Sheng himself was of immense importance—just as vital as the Thunder Divine Dao Intention.

Acquiring either one would cause Mu Ling Palace's strength to undergo a qualitative leap.

If both were acquired, Mu Ling Palace might truly take flight.

【Master, I didn't see Qi Tian Sheng in the first two stages, but I can confirm he didn't enter through our side's Seven Kill Secret Realm entrance! Master, many combatants from various factions have already been eliminated—investigating from this angle should quickly reveal which entrance Qi Tian Sheng used.】 suggested Hou Ziang.

【I understand. Find a safe place nearby to recover your injuries and await my orders.】

Inside Mu Ling Palace, Patriarch Chi Lei pondered for a few breaths and began making arrangements.

Mu Ling Palace's intelligence network was still being established; this matter required assistance from Tian Yang Star Hall and Cang Ming Star Hall.

But it couldn't be done too obviously.

The true purpose needed to be concealed.

Otherwise, those old foxes, the moment they sensed his extreme interest in Qi Tian Sheng, would, as usual, grab at anything—useful or not.

He still needed to be cautious.

After fifteen minutes, Chi Lei obtained, through various channels, a list—Qi Tian Sheng's name was naturally on it.

In an instant, he knew which entrance Qi Tian Sheng had used.

Mu Ling Palace's patriarch Chi Lei first dispatched three disciples to guard the location.

But after hesitating for a few breaths, he himself left Mu Ling Palace and swiftly headed toward the Seven Kill Secret Realm's star gate deep in the Great Green Mountains of Da Chen's Jinshan County.

Although it would be laughable and deeply demeaning for a patriarch to lie in wait for a junior—violating certain unwritten rules beneath the surface!

But he didn't care anymore!

Whether the Thunder Divine Dao Intention or Five Element Divine Thunder, both were of extreme importance to Mu Ling Palace!

In this age, can face save your life?

At the brink of death, no one will spare you because of face!

Within the Seven Kill Secret Realm, Xu Jin flew ahead, while Zhang Lin chased furiously behind—this had continued for half a minute.

It left Xu Jin exhausted.

This was more exhausting than outright fleeing.

Direct flight: unleash everything, use whatever you have.

But pretending to flee? Extremely troublesome.

Speed couldn't be too fast—you had to give the opponent a chance to catch up.

Moreover, in previous battles, Xu Jin's speed had far surpassed Zhang Lin's; now, due to the Frost Divine Light injury, his speed had slowed.

Yet to make the flight appear more authentic, Xu Jin still had to continuously dispel the effects of the Frost Divine Light.

Normally, eighth-rank lower Fire Xiangxing Star Pattern, fully activated, could instantly dispel it—but now, he had to control its power to dispel it slowly.

He also had to gradually increase speed, yet not let Zhang Lin fall too far behind.

Too difficult!

Xu Jin even mentally cursed Zhang Lin: damn it, why can't you just burst your speed and catch up?

In truth, Zhang Lin had already pushed himself to the limit.

He primarily cultivated Water and Frost Star Force—he was inherently poor in speed.

But as he saw Qi Tian Sheng's speed slowly increasing and the Frost Divine Light's effect on him rapidly weakening, Zhang Lin grew desperate.

In the next instant, Zhang Lin gritted his teeth and pulled out a sixth-rank upper Wind Spirit Wing talisman meant for survival. As he crushed it, a pair of wind-blue star-force wings appeared on his back, instantly increasing his speed by sixty percent.

Within merely ten breaths, Zhang Lin caught up to Xu Jin. From afar, he unleashed another barrage of Frost Divine Light.

Seeing Zhang Lin catch up, Xu Jin was first delighted, then worried.

Because the moment for acting had arrived.

He had to feign struggle, then casually kill Zhang Lin—give him an opening.

Simultaneously, he had to make Zhang Lin believe he had a chance to severely wound or even kill him.

This was far harder than outright bursting.

【Qi Tian Sheng, you can't escape!】

As Zhang Lin roared, he relentlessly bombarded Xu Jin with Frost Divine Light.

Xu Jin dodged repeatedly, but finally, two blasts struck him—suddenly, he felt as if a small mountain had been hung upon him, crushing him with unbearable weight.

His speed plummeted.

In the next instant, he was struck again by multiple blasts of Frost Divine Light.

Though Yu Mu Jin Zhong bore the brunt, his body could not help but plummet toward the ground.

Zhang Lin rejoiced.

In his view, Xu Jin had been controlled.

And that was precisely the nature of his Cold Ice Divine Light.

Once he locked onto his target, victory was assured.

The next instant, Zhang Lin shot up above Xu Jin and unleashed a full-force strike.

At that very moment, Xu Jin landed with difficulty—and knew his first legitimate counterattack opportunity had arrived.

Earth-element star art!

The next instant, Earth's Magnetic Core, Falling Star, and Furious Spear activated simultaneously.

In an instant, Zhang Lin plummeted like a meteor, while a mountain-sized Falling Star crashed down from above.

Originally, a follow-up Five Elements Divine Thunder would have slain him outright.

But he had to make it look hard.

One Falling Star severely wounded Zhang Lin; Xu Jin then unleashed several bursts of lightning, activated Falling Star again, and barely managed to eliminate Zhang Lin in one final burst. Zhang Lin's starlight dissipated.

First kill.

Xu Jin exhaled deeply—too exhausting!

Before him, starlight flickered; the slain Zhang Lin saw a prompt: continue or leave.

Zhang Lin had two resurrection chances—and chose to continue without hesitation.

But Zhang Lin did not immediately choose to continue.

Instead, he paused to reflect.

Why, when victory was certain, had he been killed by Qi Tian Sheng?

He immediately recognized the reason.

Too impatient.

Flying directly above Qi Tian Sheng gave him the opening to unleash that strange star art in a chain.

If he'd been more cautious, it wouldn't have happened!

And how could he break the deadlock?

The next instant, starlight flickered above Xu Jin's head—Zhang Lin had used his resurrection chance and returned!

Seeing Zhang Lin reappear, Xu Jin followed the same routine: Earth's Magnetic Core, Falling Star, Furious Spear, occasionally combined with a Bing Fire Divine Thunder.

But the instant Earth's Magnetic Core activated, Zhang Lin formed a Cold Ice Seal, instantly freezing himself into an ice mountain, then accelerated downward toward Xu Jin on the ground.

Xu Jin gasped in shock and fled the spot instantly.

Zhang Lin's self-formed ice mountain shattered the Furious Spear, absorbed one Falling Star strike, reeled dizzily, then charged again at Xu Jin.

Cold Ice Divine Light kept hammering into Xu Jin; after a few breaths, he was slammed back to the ground once more.

But as Zhang Lin closed in, Xu Jin repeated his old trick.

Again: Earth's Magnetic Core, Falling Star, Furious Spear.

Zhang Lin had already experienced this move.

He would use his own method against him.

He froze himself into an ice mountain and slammed it back at Xu Jin.

As he fell, Zhang Lin continuously blasted the Falling Star's mountain-form with Cold Ice Divine Light, weakening its power, then suddenly gestured—the accumulated ice on the ground surged into a colossal ice giant that lunged at Xu Jin!

Trapped, Xu Jin was stunned.

As the ice mountain loomed to crush him, he suddenly flung out two Great Sun Talismans.

These Great Sun Talismans, crafted by Xu Jin himself, were below sixth-rank—but after cultivation, their power rivaled sixth-rank upper-tier talismans.

Normally, with his current cultivation base, there was no need to use them.

But to make Zhang Lin believe he still had hope—and to show him how desperate Xu Jin's situation was—he had to use them.

BOOM!

The two sixth-rank upper-tier Great Sun Talismans exploded, instantly filling the battlefield with endless white mist.

Zhang Lin's ice mountain melted like snow poured with boiling water; he was also struck by the residual shockwave of the talismans.

Seizing the moment, Xu Jin "struggled" to break free from the ice giant's grasp. As he slammed Zhang Lin to the ground, the earth itself seemed to awaken—yellow earthlight surged violently, pinning Zhang Lin firmly in place.

Xu Jin instantly seized the opening and unleashed consecutive strikes of Falling Star and Furious Spear.

Again and again.

One breath later, Zhang Lin dissolved into starlight once more.

Second kill.

After completing the second kill, Xu Jin exhaled deeply.

The hardest part was over.

Now, it depended on whether Zhang Lin returned.

If he returned, it meant Xu Jin's acting was convincing; if he didn't, it meant Zhang Lin was simply too cautious.

As for Zhang Lin's resurrection chances, Xu Jin had long since determined them.

Because Xu Jin had seen Zhang Lin use the Seven Kill Dragon Stakes once—only a thousand meters' range.

He must have reached the second level of mastery.

Meanwhile, using Master Dong Zhao as a benchmark.

According to Master Dong Zhao, in his era, Zhang Lin's talent was inferior to his own.

Master Dong Zhao never reached the third level—so Zhang Lin likely couldn't either.

Roughly accurate.

At the same moment, Zhang Lin, shattered again into starlight, was furious and alarmed.

Killed for the second time.

He had only two resurrection chances.

The first time, he could choose to continue without hesitation.

But the second time, he had to be extremely cautious.

Because if he died again after the second resurrection, he would be truly slain!

In a flash, he replayed the entire battle in his mind.

He had a chance to win—but not a great one.

Based on the current battle conditions, his win rate if he fought again was only forty percent.

He had four, Qi Tian Sheng had six!

He had a clear understanding of this.

If he followed his previous combat style and his master's advice to always proceed with caution, he should withdraw now.

A win rate of forty percent—or even less—was gambling.

And he was gambling his life!

But Zhang Lin was no fool.

Ever since his first defeat by Qi Tian Sheng, he had been searching for a sure-win opportunity.

Or rather, creating one!

To create this sure-win chance, he had even sacrificed himself a second time, using two consecutive deaths to lull Qi Tian Sheng into complacency!

Now, he felt this opportunity was fully mature.

Still, Zhang Lin prepared contingencies.

This time, he must use all his survival treasures: the Seven-Star Spirit Armor, the Spatial Teleportation Talisman.

But his killing move was the Ten-Thousand Refinements Cold Star Pearl—three months of his own refinement, then personally enhanced for seven days by his master, the True Person of Heavenly Sun.

The very treasure that had severely wounded Song Shoujie and Dong Zhao.

He still had one left.

He had kept it hidden all this time.

He hadn't used it before because he thought he had a chance to kill Qi Tian Sheng outright—and because it wasn't yet guaranteed lethal.

Now, he could use it.

And it would have the advantage of surprise.

Almost the instant he chose to continue, a single cold star appeared in Zhang Lin's hand—he would strike Qi Tian Sheng with a devastating blow the moment he reappeared!

Then, the Seven-Star Spirit Armor—this time, he would activate it!

The Star Tower would be pushed to its limit; if necessary, he would sacrifice it entirely.

The next instant, starlight flickered.

Zhang Lin's figure appeared above Xu Jin!

Almost instantly, multicolored divine thunder rained down upon Zhang Lin.

BOOM!

Zhang Lin's protective starlight had barely formed when the multicolored thunder crashed down, shattering it outright.

In haste, Zhang Lin activated his top-grade Seven-Star Spirit Armor.

But he was still scorched by the terrifying lightning—electricity crackled wildly over his body, causing him to tremble uncontrollably.

Caught off-guard, the Ten-Thousand Refinements Cold Star Pearl he had been clutching slipped from his trembling hand.

Zhang Lin was utterly stunned.

But at that same moment, shoo!

The sonic barrier shattered.

Fivefold Flowing Radiance.

Yellow Dragon Sword.

The Star Art of Moving Mountains activated simultaneously.

Amid the roar, Zhang Lin suddenly saw his Seven-Star Spirit Armor shatter into pieces, his body exploding like a watermelon, blood spraying everywhere!

"How could this happen?"

He suddenly realized—he was dead!

He hadn't even used his full strength, and he was already slain!

How could this happen?

He was utterly bewildered!

Suddenly, Zhang Lin realized—he had been tricked, deceived!

No!

He couldn't die!

He had a glorious future ahead!

A wonderful future!

How could he die here!

There was still a chance!

In the next instant, Zhang Lin's Nascent Soul shot out, darting toward the rolling Ten-Thousand Refinements Cold Star Pearl.

Even if only his Nascent Soul returned, his Master would surely find a way to rebuild his body!

Now, he must kill Qi Tiansheng!

Watching Zhang Lin's Nascent Soul surge toward the Ten-Thousand Refinements Cold Star Pearl, radiating immense icy energy, Xu Jin was already activating his Divine Soul force and Star Power, preparing to bind and capture the Nascent Soul alive.

Even if not valuable as a rare commodity, he might extract many useful secrets through interrogation.

But this fool's Nascent Soul had rushed straight for the Ten-Thousand Refinements Cold Star Pearl.

Xu Jin instantly realized what was happening and unleashed the Five Elemental Divine Thunder circling above his head at maximum speed.

Boom!

Five-colored lightning instantly crashed down!

With a sizzling sound, the Nascent Soul, unprotected by its body, was obliterated into nothingness by the thunder.

Only the Ten-Thousand Refinements Cold Star Pearl remained, plummeting rapidly from the sky.

As expected, it landed squarely in Xu Jin's hands.

(End of Chapter)