"Done?" Mu Chen asked.

"Un!" Zhou Mei nodded. 

"You didn't leave any traces?" Mu Chen asked. He was most concerned about this. The Mu Family would definitely investigate the corpse. If there was any discrepancy between what he said and what they found-he might not get into any serious trouble, but it would make his enemy even more cautious. As long he could keep his opponent in the dark about his real abilities, he would be able to catch him off guard.

"The beasts had mauled the body, so it was easy." Zhou Mei shook her head.

"What about the armor?" The armor was also something Mu Chen had asked Zhou Mei to retrieve. Without its existence, it would be easier to convince everyone. Moreover, he also wanted to confirm something.

"I got it. But it's damaged beyond repair. I don't think it would be of any use." Zhou Mei took out the two pieces of armor that the assailant had been wearing. She was curious why Mu Chen wanted something that was damaged.

"It's alright!" Mu Chen said as he took the armor from her hands. It was much lighter in weight than his expectation. "You must be tired. Go and recover your strength, I will see you later." Mu Chen said as he kissed Zhou Mei on her forehead. The situation was urgent, so she had to rush to and fro with all her strength.

"What about your expulsion?" 

"We don't have to worry about it for the time being. I will explain later." Mu Chen chased Zhou Mei into the cultivation room and made way to his own.

Inside his room, Mu Chen cleared his desk and arranged the two pieces of armor on it. Both the pieces were rather clean-Mu Chen guessed Zhou Mei had cleaned them on her way, causing him to smile. He began to inspect the armor carefully.

The material of the armor was soft to touch and light. It was also very thin. Mu Chen didn't know much about armors-he could only tell it was high-quality leather from some monster beast.

The armor had been cut into two parts, diagonally from the left shoulder to the lower waist on right. The cut had passed through the location where the heart would normally be. It was no wonder that the assailant had died without any chance to struggle.

Mu Chen then observed the cut itself. It was smooth and clean. There were no jaggs along the length of the cut indicating any tearing. 

Mu Chen placed the armor piece back onto the table. He unsheathed his sword and stabbed it. 

Clink!

There was a metallic ringing sound and Mu Chen's sword failed to penetrate through the armor. Mu Chen tried to cut the armor but failed.

"It wasn't my imagination that I couldn't penetrate the armor when I stabbed…" Mu Chen muttered as he recalled the scene where he had tried to stab the assailant.

Mu Chen sheathed his sword. He picked up one of the pieces of armor again and tried to tear it apart. He began with little strength thinking it would be enough, but soon he was huffing and puffing. 

"Seriously?" Mu Chen gasped. Even after he exhausted all his strength he wasn't able to tear it apart. The armor was light and thin. But it was very sturdy and durable. 

He couldn't penetrate it with his sword. Even with his newfound physical prowess, he couldn't tear it apart. But he had still managed to cut it into half during that moment between life and death.

"How in the world did I manage to cut through something like this?" Mu Chen tried hard to recall that moment. But the memory was hazy, like trying to recall a dream. "Just what was that light?"

He had never heard any skill or technique like this before. Mu Chen sighed as looked at the two pieces of armor.

"Perhaps, I can use the material to make some gloves or shoes." After testing the durability of the armor, Mu Chen felt it would be a waste to throw it away.

#

"Nothing here." Mu Chen placed the scroll he had been reading back into the shelf and proceeded to pick up another scroll and scan through its contents. 

"Useless." Mu Chen groaned. He was in the Mu Family's library and going through all the techniques that had 'sword' mentioned in it. But although they had the word 'sword' mentioned in it, it wasn't what Mu Chen was looking for. In all those so-called 'sword techniques', the sword was just a treasure that was used to guide the spiritual qi. Or they were about using multiple flying swords and arranging them in exquisite formation. They looked fancy and powerful, but they all relied on spiritual qi and divine sense. None of them relied on the sword itself-they were not what Mu Chen was looking for.

In the end, Mu Chen stopped looking into 'sword techniques' and started looking through the historical records trying to see if there was anything useful. But he was disappointed. The most relevant information that Mu Chen obtained were the anecdotes of cultivators who had made attacks that surpassed their normal limits during dying moments.

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When it became dark, Zhou Mei called Mu Chen for dinner. He had ended up spending his entire day in the library.

Mu Chen came to the courtyard with Zhou Mei. A table had already been arranged. Grandpa Wu and Grandma Jie were present. Mu Chen was surprised to see Ningxue present-it looked like her little play was finally over. But he found it unbelievable that her little tummy still had the space for dinner. She was probably just too embarrassed to admit she finished all the sweets that Grandma Jie had made for her in a single afternoon.

Zhou Mei had recovered all her stamina and spiritual qi. As a cultivator, she didn't need to eat, but she also trained her physical body like Mu Chen and food was essential for developing the body, so she didn't stop eating completely.

Grandpa Wu looked fine and jovial like usual. Mu Chen didn't sense anything unusual. Mu Chen didn't ask about his illness and Grandpa Wu also didn't mention it.

After finishing dinner, everyone chatted for a while. Later, Mu Chen had Zhou Mei and Ningxue come into his room.

"Did you eat enough?" Mu Chen asked Ningxue as he eyed her stomach which had become round.

"Ah?" Ningxue tilted her head and looked at Mu Chen in puzzlement.

"You didn't eat much during the dinner...did you enjoy eating all the sweets Grandma Jie had given?" Mu Chen asked.

"Big-big Brother! I-That…" Ningxue began to panic. 

But Mu Chen simply stared at her with a questioning glance.

"I-I did…" Ningxue lowered her head.

"It's good you enjoyed it." Mu Chen nodded his head in approval.

"Eh?" Ningxue looked at Mu Chen in surprise. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Her big brother wasn't angry at all and was instead supportive.

"It's a good thing you enjoyed eating sweets to the fullest." Mu Chen said. "Because you won't be getting any, starting tomorrow!"

"Big-Big Brother!" Ningxue felt as if the ground beneath her had sunk three feet.

"From tomorrow onwards, you will focus only on your cultivation. I will not tolerate any excuses!" Mu Chen said in a stern voice. "You will not get any more sweets unless I see any improvement after a month."

"B-Big Brother!" Ningxue wailed. "How can you be so cruel?!" She just had a taste of her favorite dainties after a long time. But now she was going to be prohibited from eating them. Tears began to build up at the corner of her eyes, as she pleaded with her big brother.

Seeing her cry, Mu Chen felt very uncomfortable, but he couldn't always pamper her, or else she would never grow up. So he remained unmoved.

"Big Sister!! You tell Big Brother!" Ningxue turned towards Zhou Mei after she saw Mu Chen ignoring her.

"Mei'er will be the one who will supervise you." Mu Chen said before Zhou Mei had an opportunity to speak.

Ningxue despaired. Not only did her big brother forbid her from eating sweets, but he also assigned Big Sister to keep tabs on her. Now the only ones who could back her was…

"Don't even think about going to Grandpa Wu or Grandma Jie!" Mu Chen read Ningxue's mind. "If you complain to them, I will have them go back."

"Bad Big Brother!! You are such a big bully! I hate you!" Ningxue cried and ran out of the room, her eyes red.

Zhou Mei ran behind Ningxue to console her. Since Mu Chen was the bad elder brother, she had to play the part of the good elder sister.

A while later, Zhou Mei returned into the room.

"How is she?" Mu Chen asked.

"She locked herself in her room." Zhou Mei shook her head. "Was it really necessary?" She asked after a pause.

"Who knows?" Mu Chen shrugged. "Although I think the situation should be stable for the next few months, it's not a guarantee."

Mu Chen told Zhou Mei about what had happened in the Elder Hall, including his conclusions, which he didn't have time to share before.

"So it was Mu Changshou?" Zhou Mei's eyes began to flicker with murderous intent. Mu Chen grabbed her hand to restrain her.

"Does Sister Fengying know?" Zhou Mei asked after she had calmed down.

"She doesn't. I also confirmed everything just today." Mu Chen asked. "What are you thinking? Don't do anything stupid!" He asked when he noticed her frown.

"The secret realm." Zhou Mei said. "I think it is a good opportunity. If Sister Fengying and I join hands, it will be easy to get rid of him..."

"No! Forget about it-we don't even know what cards he has." Mu Chen shook his head. "It's better to focus on the opportunities in the secret realm. I only told you about him, so you are aware of who the enemy is."

"So you are going to just let him go? After what he did?" Zhou Mei asked. She felt frustrated. If Mu Chen wasn't holding her hand, she would have already set off to kill.

"It's not that. It's just that we can't touch him for now." Mu Chen said. "Besides, I don't need you to take revenge for me-I will do it myself."

"Hmph! If he falls into my hands, I won't show any mercy." Zhou Mei said. Mu Changshou had already entered into her kill list. "But why does he want to kill you?"

Indeed. Why? Why did Mu Changshou want to get rid of him?

"I don't know." Mu Chen thought hard for a while but couldn't think of a motive. Mu Changshou couldn't have felt threatened by his rise? Even if he had been very talented, he was still from the branch family. The Ancestral Bloodline he had was so thin, he couldn't even awaken it. So he couldn't have threatened Mu Changshou's position-only those who had awakened their Ancestral Bloodline could qualify for the seat of the Patriarch.

Mu Chen looked at Zhou Mei. "Maybe, he fell for you?" He teased.

"Not funny." Zhou Mei glared at him. Although she was very beautiful and especially eye-catching with her silver-white hair; someone in Mu Changshou's position didn't lack beautiful women. 

Moreover, Mu Changshou had only seen her once, and it was a couple of years ago when they had entered the inner sanctum. Her current appearance couldn't be compared to hers at that time.

"No matter the reason, since he has been so ruthless, I will definitely settle the account." Mu Chen said as he leaned back onto the bed.

"Un." Zhou Mei mumbled as she too laid onto the bed beside Mu Chen. 

"What are you planning?" Zhou Mei asked.

"I am going into the Dark Forest for training." Mu Chen said, causing Zhou Mei to frown. "You stay here and focus on your cultivation, and keep an eye on Ningxue."

"You will be gone for the rest of the month?" Zhou Mei asked. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow." Mu Chen looked at Zhou Mei. "So stay here tonight." He added.

"Grandpa Wu and Grandma Jie are also here." Zhou Mei blushed. "What if they hear something?"

"Then don't make any noise." Mu Chen whispered as he got closer to Zhou Mi. "Besides, their room is far away…"

"But…" Zhou Mei was about to say something but Mu Chen had already made his move.

"Umm~ah!"

Since the night was short, Mu Chen didn't waste any more time. Soon passionate moans reverberated within the room.