"Mm-hmm, I know. You just like to keep a low profile. If you were serious, you probably could have finished ten minutes earlier. Sigh..."
Upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Xie Chenkun shook his head and sighed, looking like he was lamenting the waste of talent.
But his smug demeanor made Zhou Taiping and Fang Xiuyuan gnash their teeth in hatred, their faces darkening further.
They thought Xie Chenkun was deliberately showing off and putting on airs.
What they didn't know was that although Xie Chenkun was indeed boasting on purpose, he truly believed it in his heart.
For he knew Mu Jinyu had mastered a Divine Mastery Level movement technique. If he used his full strength in the Sword Mountain Fiery Sea, he could have easily finished the first trial even faster.
After sighing, Xie Chenkun looked at Zhou Taiping and Fang Xiuyuan, who were both looking extremely displeased, and smiled as he introduced them to Mu Jinyu,
"Come, come, let me introduce you to these two Sect Leaders, who are also your senior uncles. One is Sect Leader Zhou Taiping from the Blood Sword Sect, and the other is Sect Leader Fang Xiuyuan from the Luoyun Sect."
"They were very impressed with your performance in the Sword Mountain Fiery Sea. So much so that they wished to join the Heavenly Sword Faction as elders to stay closer to you. But I refused on your behalf. They were quite generous though; Sect Leader Fang decided to gift you a Spiritual Treasure after the Four Sects Martial Meeting, and Sect Leader Zhou decided to let you cultivate in the 'Blood Essence Pool' of the Blood Sword Sect's Heaven Cave Blessed land for a month. Go ahead and thank them."
Mu Jinyu heard Xie Chenkun's words, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Of course, he knew it couldn't have been these two sect leaders who wanted to give him gifts out of their own will.
It must have been Xie Chenkun making a bet with them, like Elder Cheng and Lin Feng did, and they lost!
However, he didn't know what they bet on, but it seemed to be quite hefty.
Thinking this, Mu Jinyu smiled slightly and bowed to the highly displeased Zhou Taiping and Fang Xiuyuan, saying, "I humbly accept your generous gifts. Thank you, Sect Leaders!"
Fang Xiuyuan and Zhou Taiping heard these words, and their faces grew even darker.
Among the crowd, except for the elders of the Blood Sword Sect and the Liuyun Sect, everyone else had expressions suggesting they wanted to laugh but didn't dare to.
In the end, Zhou Taiping couldn't hold back and coldly snorted, "Don't be too pleased with yourself, Xie old ghost. This is just the Sword Mountain Fiery Sea trial. The Four Sects Martial Meeting hasn't started yet. At that time, who will give gifts to whom is still uncertain!"
"Now you're bragging big, but don't twist your tongue when the time comes. Let's see how you'll take it!"
Xie Chenkun remained indifferent and smiled, "I'll be looking forward to it."
As they were speaking, suddenly, the Water Screen Mysterious Light Mirror beside them quietly stopped, and the images of the Sea of Fire and Sword Mountain slowly disappeared.
It was apparent that the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Faction had all completed the trial and were emerging one by one.
Seeing this, the crowd did not linger and started to leave, returning to their temporary residences at the Blood Sword Sect.
Mu Jinyu followed Xie Chenkun and Elder Cheng to a courtyard where the Heavenly Sword Faction was temporarily staying at the Blood Sword Sect.
On the way, all the elders and sect leaders constantly praised Mu Jinyu's performance,
and they couldn't stop talking about how Zhou Taiping and Fang Xiuyuan's faces turned green several times while watching Mu Jinyu in the Sword Mountain Fiery Sea.
As they were chatting, everyone suddenly fell silent and stopped walking.
Mu Jinyu sensed the strange atmosphere and felt something was amiss. When he looked up, he saw a stern-looking young man blocking their path, with one hand on his shoulder and the other on his sword hilt.
Despite being alone, his powerful presence completely dominated the Heavenly Sword Faction's numerous elders, not showing the least bit of fear.
Although his strength seemed to be just at the Ninth Layer of the Divine Transformation Realm, the elder's strengths were all at the Fanxu Realm!
With such a disparity in strength, to be able to suppress them in terms of aura showed just how extraordinary this person was!
"Dao Wuming!"
Xie Chenkun's face turned slightly grave, and he said in a low voice.
It was both a greeting to Dao Wuming and a warning to Mu Jinyu.
"Dao Wuming?"
Mu Jinyu, initially suspicious about the young man's identity being Dao Wuming, flashed a hint of surprise in his eyes upon hearing the sect leader's confirmation. Then, a growing sense of battle intent surged within him.
Dao Wuming, a man born with bones like a sword, had a profound understanding of the Way of the Sword. He was ranked first on the Four Sects' Genius Ranking, consistently outperforming Yun Ge of the Heavenly Sword Faction and Lin Tianxue of the Beixue Mountain Villa.
Mu Jinyu had heard many stories about this man in the Heavenly Sword Faction.
On the way to the Blood Sword Sect, he had heard numerous people express their fear and dread of Dao Wuming!
Thus, Mu Jinyu had long been interested in facing Dao Wuming to measure his strength against his own!
He never expected to encounter him on the road, thinking he would have to wait at least until the start of the Four Sects Martial Meeting the next day.
"Boom!"
Mu Jinyu's battle intent surged, colliding with Dao Wuming's intangible Sword Intent, causing the opposing auras to shift dramatically.
Silence erupted in thunderous claps!
Under the mutual pressure of Mu Jinyu's and Dao Wuming's auras, Xie Chenkun and others' faces turned slightly pale.
"Humph!"
Soon, Dao Wuming let out a muffled snort, retreating half a step.
His previously calm, sword-like eyes revealed a hint of surprise.
Then, Dao Wuming steadied himself, his eyes deep as he looked at Mu Jinyu, firmly speaking, "Mu Jinyu? Cleared the Sword Mountain Fiery Sea in half an hour?"
"That's me." Mu Jinyu's face turned paler but he responded calmly.
Upon hearing the confirmation, Dao Wuming gave Mu Jinyu a deep look, didn't say another word, and turned to leave.
Mu Jinyu watched him depart, knowing that tomorrow's Four Sects Martial Meeting would indeed be a grand battle!
"Dao Wuming, that guy, his aura is terrifying. He should be close to the Fanxu Realm, right?"
"With that kind of aura, I wouldn't doubt if someone said he was already at the Fanxu Realm. No wonder Zhou Taiping has so much confidence in him!"
While Mu Jinyu was pondering over Dao Wuming, the elders of the Heavenly Sword Faction started discussing, showing a bit of concern.
Then Xie Chenkun scolded them and gave Mu Jinyu a glance before continuing to their accommodation.
Soon they arrived at their destination.
At this time, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Faction who had failed the Sword Mountain Fiery Sea trial had already been brought here by the Blood Sword Sect disciples.
They were still fearfully discussing the trial's scenarios.
Someone confidently believed that it wasn't a trial meant to be passed by humans, purely a method for the Blood Sword Sect to disgust others!
"How can there be such a disgusting trial? I was crushed into meat paste on the Sword Mountain. Damn it, I can still feel the pain of being shattered!"
Someone complained.
Yun Ge comforted, "That's the second level of the Sword Mountain, testing the challenger's reaction speed and pure physical strength. It is indeed tough. I once came here to try it and was directly crushed to death because I couldn't react in time!"