Chapter 577: Chapter 448: Devil’s Guardian, No One is Spared (1)

Turmoil roiled within Chu Mu’s heart, various questions swirling in his mind that refused to settle.

Even though Chu Mu had no idea why the defecting girl had painstakingly made her way to the human world, and he was still in the dark about her origins, he felt there must be more objectives that she wanted to achieve. It made no sense for her to purposely plunge herself into the disputes of different factions and manipulate everything from the shadows.

The power struggle amongst factions was often orchestrated by individuals wielding great authority. For the sake of gaining an even higher status or more power for themselves, they would rack their brains to acquire certain things, using all manner of underhanded tactics.

As for the defecting girl, she was a humanoid soul pet. She should not be involved in disputes between factions; however, according to Lord Yu’s words, she was the person instigating the conflict between the Elemental Gate and Soul Hall.

“What else has Hao Ting done?” Chu Mu immediately asked.

He wanted to know what actions this person, controlled by the defecting girl, had taken. Only by understanding his actions could he begin to discern the girl’s true intentions.

“During the World Decree years ago, Hao Ting did many shocking things behind the scenes to acquire what he wanted. It was only when I came to know these facts that I realized his nature had completely changed. Based on my observations over several years, his attention always seemed to be focused on the World Decree, even going so far as to spend hefty amounts to recruit strong personnel from major powers, hoping to truly grasp the direction of the World Decree,” said Lord Yu.

“The World Decree… we’re back to that again,” said Ye Qingzi in a soft voice.

“Then, Lord Yu, have you discovered anything else, like perhaps something about this World Decree and the previous one?” Chu Mu continued to question.

“Everything he did was very secretive, so there aren’t any clear leads for now. But one thing is for certain: he aims to obtain the final glory of the World Decree, whether it be from the second tier or the first one.” Lord Yu said.

“What are the rewards for the final glory of the second and first tiers?” Chu Mu asked.

Lord Yu shook his head, his gaze quickly falling onto Teacher De.

Teacher De was a highly respected figure in the soul pet world, and as one of the main judges for the competition, he must know what the rewards for the final glory of each tier were.

Teacher De, with a pleasantly surprised look on his face as though he was an outsider listening in, found the trio staring at him. Clearing his throat, he said, “That’s classified. It’s a matter of principle.”

“Teacher De, throughout my years of investigation, I have found that Hao Ting has indeed done many things behind the scenes. My capabilities are limited, and what I have managed to uncover has merely scratched the surface. I now have an inkling that he might be planning something for this World Decree, and if we’re unable to guard against it, it could have a huge impact. It’s not just the younger generation, but our Soul Hall and even the other powers. Hao Ting’s reach has already extended to all the major powers…”

“Teacher De, we hope you can tell us.” Chu Mu said sincerly.

The two prongs of Teacher De’s mustache always sold out his attempted disguises. After a moment of hesitation, Teacher De slowly spoke, “For the second tier, a High-level Monarch Rank soul pet egg, and a discontinued edition of Spirit Liquid that can enhance the combat power level of any attribute soul pet are awarded. The degree of enhancement depends on the strength of the soul pet.”

“For the first tier, an Emperor-level young pet. That’s all.”

“Teacher De, most of us already knew this,” said Chu Mu.

“I also knew that. What more do you want me to say, have the soul pet egg cracked open to see what’s inside? The Emperor-level young soul pet is yet to be confirmed, how would I know the specifics?” said Teacher De.

Chu Mu glanced at Ye Qingzi and, using Soul Sense, asked Teacher De, “Could it be that bottle of Spirit Liquid? Could it be that the bottle of Spirit Liquid that your teacher left you has some special significance?”

“Well… Teacher De has already shared its effect. Only the contents of the will are unknown to anyone else. You don’t suppose your defected soul pet also wants to gain my teacher’s will? I know Hao Ting; my brother and I have long suspected that he set a trap for our teacher behind the scenes…” Ye Qingzi answered.

“So, was he trying to get your teacher’s will, which is why he has always been trying to find you and your brother?” Chu Mu continued.

“Possibly, but I think finding me and my brother, his main objective was likely the Spirit Liquid I formulated that can quickly restore Soul Power.” Ye Qingzi said.

Lord Yu fell silent, lost in thought. After a while, he began to speak, “It seems that trying to learn what Hao Ting is up to now is impossible. Our only course of action now is to aim for the final glory of both the second and first tiers. As the World Decree continues, their schemes may gradually come to light. Once that happens, we’ll figure out how to counteract them.”

The clues only came up to here, and Chu Mu knew that continuing the search would not yield much. Their task now was to keep advancing through the realms until they reached the last few, where they would meet the extraordinary Shen Yicheng. Only then could they find the right countermeasures.

“Chu Mu, obtaining the final glory of the second tier is extremely difficult. The real experts among the major factions have not fully emerged yet. Be more observant during your upcoming realm challenges. Of course, your main target is to reach the final realms. Only then will you have a chance of finding some clues in their actions. As for the first tier, I’ll ask Teng Lang to keep an eye out for me.” Lord Yu suggested.

Chu Mu recalled the Teng Lang that Lord Yu mentioned, who was indeed the Third Young Master he had met in Soul Hall’s main hall. Because of the way the servant girl referred to him, Chu Mu had responded on the spot.

Teng Lang comes off as a fair and scholarly person, but his straightforward language reveals that he is a decisive and bold individual.

“In the second tier, I will have Fang Ze strive for the ultimate glory. Being proactive always yields better results.” Lord Yu continued.

Fang Ze is the eighth young master. Although Chu Mu hasn’t met him yet, he has heard Ting Lan and Shang Heng mention him many times. Chu Mu secretly wondered if the man he had recently met could be the eighth young master, Fang Ze.

“I want to achieve the second-tier’s final glory.” Chu Mu directly stated his intentions to Lord Yu.

Lord Yu was taken aback, then said, “Young Master Chu, you are still young. It’s better to let Fang Ze handle this. He’s often in the City of the World and understands the power struggles better; he’ll handle it well. Moreover, he is much more powerful than Shen Yicheng. I’m afraid you’re no match for him.”

Lord Yu acknowledged that Chu Mu was indeed an exceptional strong one, particularly the fact that he had managed to complete the realm-crossing task in the Di Sheng Domain showed that he was concealing his true strength.

However, Lord Yu knew far more than Chu Mu. The World Ranking of the early realms really didn’t matter. By the fourth realm, expert fighters from major powers would slowly emerge, and by the seventh realm, those who used to frequently appear in the World Rankings might disappear entirely.

As someone who had been there himself, Lord Yu knew first hand how deeply the water in the City of the World runs. There were still many strong ones in the second tier, and all Chu Mu saw was just the tip of the iceberg.

“Regardless, I will obtain it,” Chu Mu responded without further explanation.

No matter if it were his own goal, fulfilling the will of Ye Qingzi, or uncovering the secrets of the defecting girl, Chu Mu was determined to achieve the second-tier’s glory!

….

Once Chu Mu had a clear direction, he would advance towards it resolutely.

Upon realizing that the defecting girl’s goal also lay in the World Decree, Chu Mu had no reason to retreat or back down. He didn’t waste more time searching for clues, but began preparing Spirit Items to strengthen his Demon Tree Warrior to advance its strength.

Ranking 39th in the first tier earned Chu Mu a reward of 250 million, which added to his previous savings, reached a total of 500 million.

The Twisted Spirit Root could elevate the Demon Tree Warrior from Low-grade Monarch to Intermediate-grade Monarch, and if Chu Mu spent another 400 million, he would be able to enhance the Demon Tree Warrior to the ninth rank. Thus, a Ninth Rank intermediate-grade Demon Tree Warrior would be born!

This process wasn’t overly complicated. After the Demon Tree Warrior’s powers were elevated twice in succession, it seemed to have gained a new skill, making it visibly excited.

Changes in the Blood Tree Crystallization weren’t very noticeable. But it was clear that it was metamorphosing into a higher-grade Wood Type Crystallization. After advancing the Demon Tree Warrior to a High-grade Monarch, its crystallization would also evolve into a stronger form.

….

After the second realm, comes the third realm’s challenge. Chu Mu’s opponent was a powerful member of the Nightmare Demon Palace. The challenge he chose was naturally the one that would earn him the highest glory in the second tier.

In this battle, Chu Mu still didn’t use all his powers, instead fighting through the Ghost Dome King, Ice-Feathered Spirit, and Zhan Ye.

This time around, Chu Mu didn’t manage to achieve the highest honour as he had hoped, but only ranked 5th in the challenge, earning him about 160 million in rewards.

After the third realm, comes the fourth realm.

Rumour has it that every three realms in the World Decree, an obstacle will appear, posing a significantly greater difficulty than the previous realms.

The elimination rate of the first three realms isn’t very high. But when it came to the fourth realm, people realized just how steep and rugged the road of the World Decree was!

The fourth realm, just from the realm-crossing task distribution alone, has caused complaints to arise and many to despair in the plaza of the World Decree. Looking at the mood of the crowd, even without the fourth realm starting, it’s clear that quite a number of people are destined to be eliminated.

As for Chu Mu’s realm-crossing journey, it was somewhat unexpected, yet not entirely!

Because this fourth realm was just what Ting Lan had mentioned – the Guardian!! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes, monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)