1798  Rapid Deployment

Lin Mu picked up Wonder Seeker which had fully refined the Faux Vine Metal ore and could not tell the difference yet.

'The appearance has changed a bit though.' Lin Mu thought looking at the Bowstring.

There was a swirling pattern on the bow string now that had a color similar to the Faux Vine Metal ore. It was clear that the refined ore had been assimilated into the bowstring, having merged with the previous material.

Lin Mu sensed the internals of the bow and could sense a bigger presence in it.

'Its Weapon Spirit has grown stronger too…' Lin Mu sensed. 'It has caught up with Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker just like that.' He understood.

The two swords had their own sword nurturing boxes that were made from Peak Grade immortal stones and precious materials, thus they improved at a fast pace.

But unlike them, Wonder Seeker didn't have anything like that and had been stagnant at its original level.

The addition of Faux Metal Vine Ore had made the bow progress rapidly and reach the same level that Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker were at right now.

"Guess having compatible materials is a rather efficient method… Though for Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker, it won't be as easy." Lin Mu muttered. 'The swords are already made from good materials, so it's hard for them to use other materials. If we forcibly use something, it would cause them to be damaged instead.' He thought.

For the swords, the best way to improve was to simply be kept in the Sword Nurturing Boxes.

"How is it?" The Saintess asked, seeing that Lin Mu seemed lost in the bow.

"It had certainly grown stronger, though it's hard for me to estimate its actual power." Lin Mu replied.

"Well, you have a good opportunity to test it. Just use it in the fight." The Saintess suggested.

"Yes, I'll do that." Lin Mu agreed with her.

~HUMM~

Even Wonder Seeker was in agreement and wished to show its might.

"Alright, alright, just a little while more." Lin Mu calmed the bow down before storing it in the ring. "I'll head out now, Saintess." He stated.

"Sure," The Saintess said waving her hand.

"Let's go Little Shrubby." Lin Mu called to the beast that was doing something with the twins in the garden.

~WHOOSH~

Little Shrubby appeared next to him in a red blur, along with the twins.

"Time to go?" Little Shrubby asked.

"Yep." Lin Mu nodded before looking at the twins that were waiting. "I'll see you two soon as well." He said, while rubbing their heads.

~HISS~

The twins closed their eyes in enjoyment briefly before letting Lin Mu go.

Lin Mu left the courtyard and directly headed to the Tournament grounds. Though he didn't forget to inform his companions.

"You can go on ahead, Brother Mu Lin. We'll watch you." Lu Xu and the others had already guessed this would happen as Lin Mu's match was early, so they didn't mind.

Lin Mu ended up reaching the Tournament grounds about thirty minutes before the start of the round and climbed up the platform.

A familiar face was waiting there, along with three others that Lin Mu recognized to be the 'unlucky' contestants.

"Childe Wildfire, greetings." Lin Mu spoke to the man.

"Likewise." The man said casually.

"Seems like the others have yet to arrive," Lin Mu said, noticing the missing people.

Third Prince Feng Baxing, Dugu Shanhe and one of the other contestants hadn't arrived yet.

The missing contestant that was also the one who Lin Mu was supposed to fight in this match. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"Can't expect much from the Nobles." Childe Wildfire said without much care, making a few others chuckle.

Though the person that was supposed to fight Childe Wildfire was silent, nervousness was apparent on his face. Lin Mu glanced at the man and could guess that the man was already expecting to be defeated.

'He's at the Fifth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm, but his cultivation seems a bit unstable.' Lin Mu noticed. 'Seems like he broke through not long ago.' He guessed.

Childe Wildfire, on the other hand, was as stable as a mountain. In fact, one couldn't even tell he had broken through to the Sixth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm.

Lin Mu glanced at the others and realized that he was the 'weakest' here right now.

'All are at the Fifth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm.' Lin Mu confirmed.

~SHUA~

A few minutes later, the remaining contestants arrived one by one and soon, all eight contestants were standing on the platform.

"All contestants are ready!" The Elder overseeing the match called out. "Be prepared, you'll be teleported soon."

A serious expression appeared on most of the contestants as they braced themselves.

~SHUA~

And sure enough, once the teleportation started, all of them felt their visions turn dark as they appeared within the Teleportation Channel.

Lin Mu was the only one fully aware of it all, and took the time to spread his immortal sense, observing everything. He didn't waste this time either and directly withdrew Wonder Seeker before he even arrived, channeling Qi into it.

~THUD~

A few seconds later, Lin Mu appeared in a barren Spatial Plane, solid ground under his feet.

Without wasting any time, Lin Mu rapidly flew back, the arrow condensing on the bow. He was faster than his opponent, as he was still recovering from the effects of teleportation.

And by the time Lin Mu's opponent saw him, only the sound of a bowstring was heard.

~TWANG~

Lin Mu released the arrow that was charged up by Wonder Seeker, letting it fly free.

What was different this time though, was the fact that this arrow was condensed from pure Immortal Qi. Lin Mu didn't use any skill for it, wanting to test the bow's power.

And sure enough, the arrow was fast enough that Lin Mu's opponent didn't even notice it in time.

~BOOM~

Not even three seconds had passed before an explosion happened.