Lin Lumi was slightly surprised. An exception like this had never occurred before.
“Do you mean I don’t have to take the next three exams and am directly admitted?”
“Exactly! When it’s time to fill out your preferences, you can choose from any of the eighteen sects!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue fell into an uproar, but not a single person dared to object.
After all, everyone had personally experienced how difficult the exam was this time. Anyone who could get a perfect score was definitely not simple.
Lin Lumi quickly thanked him with a smile.
By the time the dusk settled, Mu Heng finally trod back to the sect under the fading rays of the setting sun.
Unlike outer disciples, inner disciples did not have to squeeze into the noisy dormitories. Each of them was allocated a quiet little courtyard, which could be considered a privilege of the sect.
Just as he pushed open the courtyard gate, a familiar figure came into view. Fan Li was sitting leisurely on the bamboo chair in the courtyard—the very spot where Mu Heng usually rested.
Mu Heng’s gaze went cold. Without a word, he pulled out two daggers from his robes. With a flick of his wrist, the blades sliced through the dusk, carrying a fierce, sharp wind straight toward Fan Li’s face!
Fortunately, Fan Li reacted extremely fast, dodging out of the way with a shift of his body. With two dull thuds, the daggers embedded themselves deeply into the veranda pillar behind him.
Seeing this, Fan Li instantly flared up.
“Mu Heng! You are too outrageous! Are you trying to murder your master?!”
Mu Heng, however, lazily crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, a trace of impatience in his voice. “I have said that I do not like others touching my bamboo chair. Get up.”
Fan Li was choked into silence by his attitude. He did not know what kind of origin this bamboo chair had to make this kid treasure it so much.
He stood up begrudgingly and patted his sleeves. “Fine, fine. Your temper is really… Only the people outside are blind, one after another thinking you are gentle, refined, humble, and polite, when in reality, you are just like a demon king.”
He stood up reluctantly, and only then did Mu Heng ask, “It’s almost night. Why are you looking for me?”
“A good thing, of course.” Fan Li leaned in a bit closer. “Don’t you always complain that life in the sect is boring? Your master has a task here…”
“It is boring,” Mu Heng interrupted him, a hint of weariness flitting past the corner of his eyes. “But I’m not idle. The sect missions for the past few days are piling up like a mountain, so don’t come and add to the chaos.”
“But this one is very interesting. Do you know that in this freshman exam, two people actually solved the final big question? One is an outer disciple of our sect named Jiang Yunong. It is almost time for her to choose her inner disciple master, so I have already told Ling Feng to use his good looks to entice her into my hall.”
Mu Heng leaned against the doorframe. “What, the first one requires Wei Lingfeng to sell his looks, and the second one requires me to sell mine?”
Hearing this, Fan Li immediately gave him a thumbs-up. “As expected of my disciple, clever!”
Mu Heng let out a cold chuckle. “I see that Master is still in his prime and retains his charm. It should be no problem for you to go deceive some girls in their teens or twenties, so I won’t get involved. I refuse this mission. Please leave.”
Seeing that Mu Heng was about to drive him out, Fan Li quickly hugged the pillar. “Wait! Listen to my explanation!”
“Nothing to listen to.”
“But this girl is from the same country as you!”
Hearing this, Mu Heng stopped immediately.
“Go on.”
Fan Li cleared his throat. “This other candidate is even more interesting. She was merely a candidate for the outer disciple exam, yet she actually solved the final question of the written exam. Not only that, but her entire paper scored full marks, which is even better than you. I remember that girl seemed to be called… Lin Lumi?”
Hearing this name, Mu Heng subconsciously paused. He turned his head away, the shadow under the eaves happen to hide the slight curl of his lips.
“The State of Yue has no shortage of talents. It is nothing strange for someone to be better than me.”
“Is that so?” Fan Li raised his eyebrows. “Well, your master thinks you are right. Although your master is already twenty-eight, this face of mine is still incredibly handsome. Since you are unwilling, then your master can only handle this personally. In any case, I don’t have a Dao companion. Who knows, maybe this Lin Lumi will take a fancy to your master and we can have a passionate master-disciple romance? I heard she is exceptionally beautiful, so it’s not a loss. I’m leaving first.”
Fan Li lifted his foot to leave.
“Wait!” Mu Heng pressed down on Fan Li’s shoulder, smiling without warmth. “Master already has wrinkles at the corners of your eyes. If you go, you will probably scare her away. It’s better if I go.”
Fan Li’s fists tightened in anger. “You are the one with wrinkles! I am very young, alright! Looking across the entire world, which sect has a Hall Master as young as me? Every other one is at least fifty or sixty! On the other hand, for you to be so proactive, could it be—”
He sized Mu Heng up from head to toe. “You don’t happen to know this Lin Lumi, do you?”
“Yes.” Mu Heng did not hide it either.
Like hearing some juicy gossip, Fan Li immediately perked up. “What is the relationship between you two? Do you have a secret crush on her?”
The corners of Mu Heng’s eyes lifted slightly, and he raised his chin, his voice carrying a hint of hard-to-detect tension. “Don’t speak nonsense. If anything, she has a secret crush on me.”
Fan Li knew Mu Heng well, and with a frown, he muttered, “Stubborn as a dead duck.”
“Anyway, don’t worry about it. Leave this matter to me.”
Fan Li patted his shoulder. “Fine, then I’ll leave this to you. Just don’t forget the goal of our Mystic Law Hall. A talent like this must be recruited.”
With that, Fan Li left.
In fact, eight years ago, Fan Li, Wei Lingfeng, and Mu Heng were all outer disciples of the Spirit Gathering Sect.
All three of them had passed the inner disciple test in the same session.
However, Fan Li did not want to be limited to being an inner disciple; he wanted to climb to a higher position.
According to the sect rules, if one could develop a new cultivation method and complete five high-level missions, they could establish a separate hall.
Yet for a hundred years, no one had ever achieved this.
Setting aside how difficult it was to break through the boundaries of knowledge and create a new cultivation method, just the five high-level missions alone were enough to deter people. Even if the Hall Masters personally took action, there would be a risk to their lives.
But Fan Li refused to believe in such limitations.
He directly dragged the twelve- or thirteen-year-old Wei Lingfeng and Mu Heng to work together. In just five short years, through countless trials of life and death, they forcibly created their own unique cultivation method and completed all five of those high-level missions.
At the same time, the number of low-to-mid-level missions they took on was countless. The five-year total of the three of them was almost equivalent to the workload of an entire hall, utterly eclipsing everyone else.
Seeing this situation, the Sect Master had no choice but to yield and agreed to the establishment of the Mystic Law Hall.
The establishment of the Mystic Law Hall brought benefits to all three of them.
Fan Li got his wish, climbing to a higher position of power to govern a hall.
Wei Lingfeng gained greater freedom of movement through this, allowing him to act chivalrously and live freely according to his own way.
As for Mu Heng, what he wanted was both wealth and power. He took the lion’s share of the rewards from every mission. Not only that, but he also used his achievements to secure more recommendation spots for the State of Yue.
Therefore, rather than a master-disciple relationship, the three of them were more like business partners.
In front of Fan Li, Mu Heng did not even care to put on an act.