Chapter 442 441: Hero, Spare My Life

Mu Lin cultivated with his eyes closed for a moment before the boat arrived at the shore.

"Brother Mu, thank you so much! Let's find a hotel. I have to treat you to a proper reception!"

Pei Yuliang had already recovered remarkably well. His aura was stable, and his body was at ease.

All that remained was a small white mark on his wrist; otherwise, there were no other issues.

After a moment's thought, Mu Lin politely declined Pei Yuliang's suggestion. "I can only stay for a day at most. I have to head back tomorrow."

Pei Yuliang was a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do. Everyone was busy with their own affairs.

He immediately took the opportunity to give his grandfather the good news, then enthusiastically led Mu Lin to a restaurant.

At the hotel, Pei Yuliang treated Mu Lin to a lavish lunch.

Pei Yuliang then asked Mu Lin, "Brother Mu, you came to the island so early. There should have been many masters trying to stop you. They're all top experts sent by the major organizations, and they're incredibly strong."

Mu Lin smiled. "They did try to stop me, but they couldn't win. I beat them to their knees."

Pei Yuliang said, "Brother Mu, you can't be serious. The experts sent by the major powers are a known quantity. To avoid just sending someone to go through the motions, they have to dispatch forces of considerable strength. If the experts they send are on the weaker side, they just send more of them."

"Because of that, even the very weakest of the island's guardians is a Martial Arts Grandmaster. Could you really beat them? It's not that I don't believe you, it's just… there's no point in this kind of bragging."

Seeing Pei Yuliang's sincere disbelief, Mu Lin wanted to laugh. 'I'm telling you the god's honest truth, so why won't you believe me?'

But he knew Pei Yuliang meant well, so he decided to just accept his concern.

"There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me. But I'm not lying in the slightest. Just remember that."

Pei Yuliang mulled it over for a long while, a bitter expression on his face. Mu Lin's words left him feeling utterly helpless.

'I've been so open and sincere with him,' he thought, 'but it feels like there's still a wall between us. It's kind of sad.'

"Brother Mu, you mentioned before that you'd help treat my grandfather's injuries. Does that offer still stand?"

Mu Lin said, "Of course it does. But I have to get back to business right now. Once I'm finished, I'll go to Di Yang and help treat your grandfather."

Pei Yuliang nodded. "That's fantastic! As long as his old injuries are healed, my grandfather will definitely be able to break into the Great Grandmaster Realm! Then, if Jinren and Zhu Qi come looking for trouble, you can just mention my grandfather. Even if they have Grandmasters in their retinue, they wouldn't dare use them over petty squabbles like this!"

Mu Lin suddenly chuckled. "I think you're wrong about that."

Pei Yuliang was taken aback. "Brother Mu, what do you mean? What was I wrong about?"

"You said no one would bring a Grandmaster along just to settle a petty score."

"Yeah. How could they? Do you know how hard it is for a family to recruit even a few Grandmasters? Why would they waste them on petty squabbles?"

Mu Lin asked, "Then what would you call this?"

Pei Yuliang saw Mu Lin point outside their private room. He followed his gaze.

An arrogant-looking Jinren was striding toward them.

Pei Yuliang hadn't expected Jinren and his group to arrive so quickly.

Then, he saw a middle-aged man in a training uniform following behind Jinren. The man had a powerful aura; a single glance was enough to know he was no ordinary person.

'He might even be a Grandmaster!'

Pei Yuliang realized he had overestimated the scions of these prominent families. He couldn't believe they would actually bring a Grandmaster to pick a fight.

'How absurd.'

Jinren stared coldly into the private room, his venomous gaze locking onto Mu Lin.

Mu Lin said, "Well, well. Look who's here."

"Wipe that smile off your face. Your end is here!" Jinren stepped aside to let the middle-aged man enter, then said:

"Grandmaster Jiao, you see him? That's the one!"

Mu Lin glanced over. "Well now, this Grandmaster looks familiar. I wonder where I've seen him before."

Of course, he knew exactly who this was. This man was one of the more unremarkable Grandmasters who had been guarding the island.

He hadn't caused any trouble, so Mu Lin had let him be.

For him to show up now, acting so provocatively, was just exasperating to Mu Lin.

'You really shouldn't be this arrogant. Not when there's even a sliver of a chance you're wrong.'

The moment Grandmaster Jiao saw Mu Lin, his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

The image of Mu Lin brutally thrashing a Great Grandmaster was still seared into his memory.

"Sir! Sir! Please, I was so wrong! I didn't know it was you!"

With a THUD, Grandmaster Jiao dropped to his knees in front of Mu Lin, desperately racking his brain for anything to say that might appease him.

Jinren's eyes nearly popped out of his head. This was a Grandmaster! 'What kind of person,' he wondered, 'could make a Grandmaster kneel and beg for forgiveness?'

Zhu Qi and the others trailing Jinren were all completely dumbfounded.

Grandmaster Jiao was a peak expert, just one step away from the Great Grandmaster Realm!

For him to kneel before Mu Lin without a moment's hesitation… The implications were staggering, far beyond anything they could dare to imagine.

"Spare me, sir! Please, spare my life!!"

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes at Grandmaster Jiao. "Spare you? If I weren't the one sitting here, what would you have done to them?"

A wisp of chilling energy emerged from Mu Lin's fingertip. Like a living thing, it forced its way into Grandmaster Jiao's acupoints.

Grandmaster Jiao was instantly wracked with excruciating pain, more than he could bear.

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Mu Lin said, "My friend is here, so I won't kill you. But I think you're better suited to being an ordinary person. This cultivation of yours is more of a burden than a blessing."

Grandmaster Jiao felt his power draining away like air from a punctured balloon. His entire cultivation was regressing at an alarming rate.

In less than half a minute, his cultivation had dwindled to the point where he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person. Even his Inner Strength was gone.

It was utter despair.

Mu Lin paused, then turned to look at Jinren.

Jinren was completely stunned. He had been standing right next to Grandmaster Jiao, so he had a clearer sense than anyone of how rapidly the Grandmaster's aura had vanished.

The terror he felt was far more intense than what the others experienced.

'If my cultivation is crippled,' he thought, 'my future will be visibly bleak.'

He immediately dropped to his knees, head bowed, not daring to look at Mu Lin.

"I'll do anything, anything to appease your anger!" Jinren said desperately.

Mu Lin had no intention of dealing with Jinren. A Cultivator of Jinren's level wasn't even worth his attention.

'Taking action against him would be beneath me.'

Jinren's only real offense was injuring Pei Yuliang. But firstly, the injury wasn't serious. Secondly, it was normal for these young masters and mistresses to get into petty squabbles and suffer minor injuries. Mu Lin couldn't pin all the blame on Jinren.

Mu Lin looked at Pei Yuliang. "Young Master Pei, what do you think?"

Pei Yuliang hadn't expected Mu Lin to toss the decision to him.

'He's helping me raise my standing in the East Sea social circles.'

But Pei Yuliang said, "Just give me my money back, and I won't pursue the matter any further!"

'Money?'

Mu Lin gave Pei Yuliang a long, hard look. He didn't understand what this money Pei Yuliang was talking about was.

Pei Yuliang's eyes darted away, avoiding Mu Lin's gaze. His evasiveness only made Mu Lin more suspicious.

Jinren, also looking very nervous, hastily pulled out a bank card and thrust it at Pei Yuliang.

After getting his money back, Pei Yuliang immediately pocketed the bank card and said to Mu Lin,

"Brother Mu, let's just leave it at that! Please don't pursue it any further!"

Mu Lin, however, fixed Jinren with a sharp stare. "Aren't you all friends? Do friends need to pay each other back? And with a bank card, no less. How much is on it?"

Zhu Qi suddenly pressed her lips together, her expression turning ugly. This caught Mu Lin's attention. "What's wrong? Is there something sordid you're afraid to tell me?"

Zhu Qi snapped, "You're imagining things! There's nothing!"

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes. "Really?!"

Zhu Qi was in a complete panic. Frozen in place, her reaction was a dead giveaway.

Her best friend quickly chimed in, "Why are you so suspicious? Nothing means nothing! Don't you have a dirty mind!"

A smirk played on Mu Lin's lips. "Fine, I have a dirty mind. But I know who's really the filthy one here. I just don't feel like saying it out loud."

His attitude was enough to make the woman choke with anger.

Mu Lin looked at Jinren, his tone icy. "You'd better start explaining. Now. Otherwise, my methods are going to get... unpleasant."

Jinren swallowed hard. He knew there was no escape.