213: Chapter 213 King Wu's Treasure

On the Mu Family's martial arts arena, guests at over a hundred banquet tables put down their chopsticks in unison.

Everyone's gaze converged on the main entrance of the manor—a group of people wearing dark green martial attire filed in, their chests embroidered with a black snake clan emblem coiled around a withered tree. Their steps were orderly, and their aura was steady.

Leading them was an old man with an aquiline nose. With his hands behind his back, his gaze swept across the faces of the guests filling the hall, an undisguised arrogance hanging at the corners of his mouth.

"Chen Zhong of the Black Snake Chen Family." The old man cupped his fists toward the Mu Family's Old Ancestor at the main table. While his manners were proper, the arrogance in his tone could not be hidden. "Today is Old Master Mu's grand birthday. The Chen Family has come uninvited to ask for a cup of birthday wine. And while we're here—we would like to spar with the younger generation of the Mu Family."

The guests filling the hall immediately began whispering to one another.

The Chen Family and the Mu Family were both prominent families in Qingshan City. Their strengths were comparable, and they had been competing both openly and secretly for decades.

By choosing to visit on the day of the birthday banquet, the Chen Family was clearly not here to celebrate, but to crash the party.

Without waiting for the Mu Family's Old Ancestor to respond, Chen Zhong directly presented his terms: "The Chen Family and the Mu Family will each field three young prodigies. It will be a best-of-three match."

"If the Chen Family loses—" He clapped his hands, and a Disciple behind him brought forward a brocade box. Opening the lid, inside was a Medicinal Pill the size of a longan, enveloped in a faint silver glow. "This mind-focusing pill will belong to the Mu Family."

"This pill can assist in breaking through to the sixth-grade Pill Dao Realm at the Peak of the fifth grade, refining one's Mental Energy. You all should know its weight."

The entire hall went into an uproar.

A Medicinal Pill like the mind-focusing pill that could enhance Mental Energy was a priceless treasure that could not be bought for any price in all of Qingshan City.

If a fifth-grade Peak Martial Artist obtained it, their probability of breaking through to the sixth grade would increase by at least thirty percent.

The eyes of several young Disciples of the Mu Family lit up, and even the several Mu Family Elders at the main table unconsciously sat up straighter.

The Mu Family's Old Ancestor, Mu Huaiyuan, merely picked up his teacup and took a sip. His gaze fell on Chen Zhong's face, and his voice was unhurried: "And if the Mu Family loses?"

The curve of Chen Zhong's lips deepened slightly: "If the Mu Family loses, you only need to produce the green wood token and join forces with the Chen Family to unlock that ancient mechanism and open the ancient ruins. The things inside will be split equally between our two families."

Mu Huaiyuan's hand holding the teacup paused slightly. The green wood token was an heirloom of the Mu Family, and he was naturally well aware of its specific purpose.

As he pondered and did not reply immediately, the Chen Family Disciples behind Chen Zhong began to jeer sarcastically—"The Mu Family isn't scared, are they?"

"With so many guests watching at the birthday banquet, does the Mu Family not even have the courage to spar a few rounds?"

The surrounding guests also began to whisper among themselves. With the atmosphere built up to this point, the Mu Family was already riding a tiger and found it hard to back down.

Mu Huaiyuan put down his teacup and said in a deep voice, "Very well. The Mu Family accepts."

The Mu Family quickly selected three young prodigies.

The first to go up was a tall, cold-faced woman. She wielded a willow-leaf saber with speed and ferocity, knocking the Chen Family's first male Disciple off the arena in less than fifteen minutes. The entire Mu Family hall erupted in cheers.

But Chen Zhong's expression remained unchanged; he merely clapped his hands gently.

The second Chen Family Disciple to step up was a young man wearing a half-face mask, with a slender build and a restrained aura.

After stepping onto the stage, he remained silent and used only three palm strikes. The first strike shattered the saber light on the willow-leaf saber.

The second strike forced the Mu Family woman to the edge of the arena, and the third strike sent her straight off the stage.

The cheers of the Mu Family Disciples ground to a sudden halt. The Mu Family's third Disciple to enter the arena also failed to last twenty moves. Struck on the shoulder by the masked youth's palm, he stumbled backward out of the arena boundary.

Best of three, the Chen Family won.

A satisfied smile appeared on Chen Zhong's face, and he cupped his hands to Mu Huaiyuan. "Old Master Mu, thank you for the match."

Mu Huaiyuan remained silent for a moment, then took out a palm-sized green token from his robes and placed it on the table. Chen Zhong picked up the token, inspected it repeatedly, and nodded. "The item is correct."

He returned the token to Mu Huaiyuan and raised his voice slightly, as if deliberately speaking for all the guests present to hear. "You all must be curious—what exactly is inside this ancient ruins?"

"Very well, since everyone is here today, I might as well speak plainly. This ancient ruins is a mechanism Secret Realm left behind by that Senior Martial King of Qingzhou hundreds of years ago. It requires the Chen Family's Black Snake Token and the Mu Family's green wood token to be simultaneously embedded into the mechanism to open the entrance. The Martial King's Treasure Trove is right inside."

The eyes of the guests filling the hall instantly turned red with greed.

A Martial King—that was a legendary existence. In the entire Qingzhou, only one had ever emerged in hundreds of years.

What did a Martial King's Treasure Trove mean? High-grade Cultivation Techniques, top-grade Medicinal Pills, and long-lost martial arts Secret Manuals—picking up any of them at random would be an Opportunity one couldn't earn in several lifetimes.

Someone immediately shouted, "Elder Chen, can we go in too?"

Chen Zhong shrugged and smiled generously. "Once the gates of the ruins are open, anyone who wants to go in can do so.

The Chen Family will absolutely not stop anyone. Everyone will claim items based on their own abilities.

As for the Mu Family—" He smiled and glanced at Mu Huaiyuan, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness. "The Mu Family is the holder of the green wood token. Surely you won't refuse to let everyone participate in this grand event?"

With things having reached this point, what else could Mu Huaiyuan say? He slowly nodded.

The guests filling the hall immediately erupted in cheers, and many began calling their friends and discussing forming teams on the spot.

Su Xiaoyue sat in the VIP section, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She tugged at Lin Tian's sleeve and said repeatedly, "Senior Brother Lin, did you hear that? The Martial King's Treasure Trove! Let's go too!"

Lin Tian did not speak. He had been silent ever since Chen Zhong took out the mind-focusing pill, and at this moment, his brow was furrowed even deeper.

The Wanling Seal vibrated gently in his Sea of Consciousness, and an indescribable warning sign was slowly rising from the bottom of his heart.

He had been cultivating the Wanling Seal for a long time. His Mental Energy far surpassed others of his level, making his intuition for danger sharper than anyone else present.

This warning sign was not unfamiliar to him—it was the same feeling he had in his Sea of Consciousness when he was pursued by the Demonic Sect in the Taixuan Mountain Range last time.

"You had better not go," he whispered, his tone much more solemn than usual.

Su Xiaoyue was taken aback, her almond eyes widening. "Why not go? It's the Martial King's Treasure Trove! Do you know what could be inside? There might be Cultivation Techniques above the sixth grade, or Medicinal Pills to break through to the Pill Dao Realm! It's an Opportunity that others would fight to the death for, and you're actually not going?"

Lin Tian's brow furrowed even deeper. "It is precisely because no one knows what is inside that it is even more dangerous.

An ancient mechanism Secret Realm from hundreds of years ago was not designed for people to enter casually. The mechanisms and Restrictions inside would have no trouble trapping hundreds of people.

Moreover, even if there are no mechanisms, once they actually see the treasures, these people will all go mad with greed. When a chaotic battle breaks out, weapons will have no eyes. If something happens to you going in alone, who can protect you?"

Su Xiaoyue turned her face away, crossed her arms, and snorted, "What is there to fear? This Young Miss has seen fights before. Who wants your protection? If you want to leave, then leave. In any case, I am going."

Just as she took a step, her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly by a hand like an iron vise.

Lin Tian stood up, his fingers clamping around her wrist with just enough force to keep her from breaking free.

Su Xiaoyue struggled twice but couldn't break free. She turned her head and glared at him. "What are you doing?"

Lin Tian said nothing, dragging her by the wrist as he walked toward the exit of the manor.

Furious, Su Xiaoyue reached out to pry his fingers open, but she couldn't. She then used her other hand to slap the back of his hand, but Lin Tian did not budge in the slightest.

With one pulling and the other struggling, they stumbled through the crowd in the manor that was still discussing the matter animatedly.