Chapter 3984: Deng Siqi And Old Experts

Lin Mu eventually discovered the final substantial mention of the Hopeful Star Pavilion.

It had been approximately ninety thousand years ago and after that, the name disappeared.

"That is a long time." Lin Mu stared at the record for a moment.

The final document described the Hopeful Star Pavilion as an influential private organization that remained separate from the official structure of the sect. It had maintained connections with numerous elders and disciples and had apparently continued trading information with outside groups.

Then, abruptly, the records stopped.

Lin Mu searched for another mention but there was nothing. He searched for former members and several appeared. He searched for their descendants and more appeared. He searched for references to the organization itself but it ended in broken links.

"It really might have disappeared." Lin Mu tapped his finger against the armrest of the chair.

Yet he still could not shake the feeling that something was missing. The Hopeful Star Pavilion had been involved in the information trade. Junior Elder Zhenyu had been searching for inheritances and greater cultivation opportunities.

Somehow, someone from the pavilion had learned about the Mad Demon Depths and pointed him toward it. Then Zhenyu vanished and the pavilion eventually vanished too. There was certainly a connection. The only question was whether that connection had anything to do with Deng Siqi.

Lin Mu copied the relevant records into one of his own jade slips before moving on. He spent the following days studying the modern structure of the sect. This part was considerably more useful for his immediate plans.

He needed to know who currently held authority, which elders belonged to which divisions, who had influence over whom, and which personalities he might encounter after revealing himself.

The records contained all of it.

Lin Mu learned the names of the current High Elders, their cultivation levels, their positions and their known achievements. He learned which elders were stationed permanently within the Core Court and which frequently traveled outside the sect.

He learned which divisions had conflicts with one another and which elders had formed alliances. He also learned who was considered difficult to deal with.

"High Elder Qian Yue. Severe temperament." Lin Mu memorized the name.

"High Elder Luo Han. Extremely protective of his disciples." Another name.

"High Elder Xuan Xuan. Beast Taming Division. Currently assigned outside the Core Court."

Lin Mu paused as that was the same person whose courtyard he had passed through earlier.

"So the records match." He continued.

The Beast Taming Division apparently had a complicated relationship with several other divisions because of how many resources were required to maintain their beasts. Lin Mu learned which elders specialized in particular beast bloodlines and which ones were considered experts in taming ancient species.

He learned about the Alchemy Division and its current leader. He learned about the Artifact Division. He learned about the Law Division and that section received considerably more of his attention.

The Law Division was responsible for enforcing the sect’s rules, handling disciplinary matters and overseeing many of the prisons. Lin Mu memorized the names of the elders involved in it, including those currently handling the dispute surrounding the Wild Peak.

Then he reached the Wild Peak records and his expression changed.

"Peak Head Mountain Roar." Lin Mu opened the relevant documents.

He already knew that Mountain Roar was powerful, yet the records gave him a much clearer understanding of just how terrifying the man’s achievements were. The number thirteen immediately caught his attention.

"Thirteen Demonic Sects." Lin Mu stared at the record.

Mountain Roar had personally participated in the destruction of thirteen established Demonic Sects throughout his career. Some of those organizations had existed for tens of thousands of years and possessed multiple Peak Immortal Realm experts.

One record described how Mountain Roar had entered a demonic sect alone after its Patriarch refused to surrender. The battle had lasted less than half a day before the sect had been destroyed.

Another record described him leading an expedition against a demonic alliance that had occupied an entire region at the edge of the Eastern Immortal Court. Mountain Roar had fought against three Seventh Tribulation Immortals simultaneously and emerged victorious.

Lin Mu’s eyebrows rose. "He’s stronger than I thought."

He continued reading.

Mountain Roar was described as an extremely aggressive cultivator during combat, yet surprisingly reasonable when dealing with allies. He was fiercely protective of the Wild Peak and had repeatedly refused opportunities to transfer to the Core Court permanently.

There were also records concerning his disciples as several had become elders while others had died during missions. One had apparently inherited a portion of Mountain Roar’s combat techniques and later became an important figure within the Wild Peak before perishing in recent times.

Lin Mu carefully memorized those relationships as he needed to understand the Peak Head as a person too. He found records of Mountain Roar’s disagreements with other elders, his achievements during sect wars, his contributions to the sect’s territory and even several instances where he had physically intervened to protect younger disciples.

One particular report made Lin Mu smile.

Mountain Roar had once destroyed an entire mountain range during a battle because an enemy sect had captured several Wild Peak disciples. The official report had apparently contained several complaints regarding the environmental damage.

Mountain Roar’s response had been recorded as a single sentence. "Send me the bill."

Lin Mu laughed. "That sounds like him."

He continued studying and the more he learned, the more he understood why the Wild Peak had reacted so violently to Little Bull’s disappearance. Their Peak Head was an extremely protective person, and the entire peak seemed to have inherited that attitude.

Then Lin Mu discovered another detail. Mountain Roar had been absent from the sect many times throughout his career, frequently leaving the world to participate in Immortal Court campaigns or investigate threats beyond the sect’s territory.

His most recent departure had been recorded as an urgent summons from the Core Court.

Lin Mu stared at the record. "So that part really happened."