The sound of footsteps suddenly echoed in the air.
Lin Mu immediately tightened his grip on the knife, looking in the direction of the sound.
However, it wasn't the Demon Path Elder he had anticipated. Instead, it was a middle-aged man wearing the distinctive attire of the Academy.
"There's no need to be tense. The enemies have already been dealt with by me." The middle-aged man smiled faintly, casually tossing a severed head onto the ground.
"Greetings, Elder Lin!"
The originally stunned trio, including Cheng Qingman, immediately stood up and saluted with joy on their faces.
"Elder... Lin," Lin Mu also bowed his head in respect.
He hadn't expected an Academy Elder to be covertly following them on their journey. But after some thought, it made sense. The Academy would not send disciples out on such a dangerous mission without ensuring proper protection. If the Demon Path forces were waiting for them, the casualties could have been heavy.
Moreover, there was another possibility—Elder Lin wasn't just protecting the disciples. He might have been assigned to watch over Cheng Qingman, who was the bloodline of the prestigious Blood Brave Marquis. If anything happened to her, the Academy would surely be held accountable.
Lin Mu thought back to the first time he had met Cheng Qingman. Even without his intervention, perhaps she wouldn't have been in such danger. But after his involvement, her hidden protector had refrained from appearing.
"Mm." Elder Lin nodded slightly, then waved his hand.
The severed arm on the ground flew into the air and landed on Jiang Hai's shoulder. With a mysterious glow, it instantly reattached itself.
"Take this medicine. Within half a month, you will fully recover," Elder Lin said, handing him a pill.
"Thank you, Elder!" Jiang Hai was overjoyed and hurriedly took the pill. As a swordsman, losing his left arm would have been a huge disadvantage.
"Elder Lin, have you been following us the whole time?" Cheng Qingman asked.
Clearly, she was quite familiar with him.
"Of course. If it were a normal mission, I wouldn't have interfered. But this is a Demon Path stronghold, so I had to keep an eye out," Elder Lin said with a chuckle.
He then turned toward Lin Mu and couldn't help but nod in approval.
"I didn't expect a talent like you to come from the Outer Palace this year."
The term "talent" was often used to describe someone of extraordinary ability, and it was clear Elder Lin was impressed. "Two middle-tier Mystical martial arts, one perfected and one in progress."
Lin Mu's abilities caught the Elder's attention. At the True Aperture Realm second level, such deep martial arts cultivation was rare even within the Inner Palace.
"Progressed?" Cheng Qingman and the others were taken aback.
They quickly realized that Lin Mu had also been practicing a body refining martial art, the Xuan Yang Overlord Body Technique. It seemed that Lin Mu had mastered it to the minor success stage.
This was truly unexpected. How long had it been since Lin Mu joined the Academy? Yet, he was already making such significant strides in his cultivation!
Lin Mu raised an eyebrow. Was this the power of an Academy Elder? He could tell at a glance the depth of his martial arts skills.
"This year's Academy Grand Ceremony is bound to be lively," Elder Lin said with a meaningful smile. "Well, let's hurry and leave. I still have some matters to attend to."
With that, Elder Lin vanished in a blur, leaving only a faint trace of energy in his wake.
"Senior Cheng, you know Elder Lin well. Do you know his exact strength?" Jiang Hai asked.
"He's above the Spirit Sea Realm," Cheng Qingman pondered, answering.
Both Jiang Hai and Lin Rufeng gasped. If he was above the Spirit Sea, then that meant Mystic Pill Realm!
The Academy had sent a Mystic Pill expert to secretly protect them, but most likely, it was for Cheng Qingman's safety.
"Mystic Pill?" Lin Mu's eyes narrowed slightly.
Not long ago, reaching the Mystic Pill Realm seemed like an unreachable dream. But now, if he kept improving his martial arts, not only could he reach that level, but the higher realms, such as Heaven-Opening, were no longer out of reach either.
"You really do hide your true strength, Junior Brother Lin!" Cheng Qingman said, walking up to him with admiration in her eyes.
"I just got lucky. I broke through while practicing," Lin Mu smiled faintly.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Qingman rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but find it irritating that Lin Mu always downplayed his own achievements.
"Once again, I must thank you, Junior Brother Lin. If it weren't for your timely intervention, we would have been in real danger!" Cheng Qingman said seriously.
"Indeed," Jiang Hai and Lin Rufeng agreed, nodding. They no longer regarded him with the arrogance they once had. Instead, they looked at him with genuine admiration.
"This is nothing. With Elder Lin around, there was never any danger," Lin Mu shook his head, "If anything, the real key was Elder Lin's presence at the critical moment."
"That's true," Cheng Qingman said, but there was still gratitude in her tone. "However, without you, our mission would have been a failure."
Lin Mu suddenly realized what she meant. If Elder Lin had intervened to kill Mo Luo, the mission would have failed, and there would be no rewards for their efforts.
"Indeed," Lin Mu nodded, understanding. He had nearly forgotten about this. He had been so focused on the rewards from the mission, and now, with Elder Lin's intervention, he knew that it was no longer guaranteed.
"Also, we would have been ridiculed by the Inner Palace disciples," Cheng Qingman added with a chuckle. "They would have mocked us, saying things like 'You couldn't even complete a simple mission. How shameful!'"
Lin Mu couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected Cheng Qingman to have such a playful side.
Jiang Hai and Lin Rufeng exchanged glances, surprised at this side of Cheng Qingman. They had never seen her act so casually before.
"We're not far from Xunyang Ancient City. Let's go there to rest. As your host, I'll cover all expenses!" Cheng Qingman declared generously.
"Senior Sister, you promise?!" Jiang Hai and Lin Rufeng perked up at once.
"Of course, don't hold back!" Cheng Qingman placed her hands on her hips proudly.
Lin Mu glanced at his knife, lost in thought. Perhaps it was time for a new weapon…
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