Hearing the name, Lin Mu didn't recognize it.
"Lady Kang…" He muttered the name, trying to remember if he had heard it before.
Even the Great Kang Auction house was a new name for Lin Mu. But now that the Crown Prince had spoken about it, there was no way he would be left hanging.
"Lady Kang is the one that will be able to help us figure out which of the spatial planes holds the actual inheritance of the Celestial." Crown Prince Feng Shun explained.
"Oh? There is a tool for that?" Lin Mu was surprised.
"Yes, if it is a Celestial's Inheritance ground, there is bound to be residual energy in there that can be detected through special tools." Crown Prince Feng Shun answered. "Of course, it is not a tool that's easy to get. Even for me with the Imperial Court's resources and Qiao De with the Black Candle Pavilion behind we cannot get it." He explained.
"No wonder, you had to add her to the list too." Lin Mu understood now. "But is she strong enough to endure the expedition?" he asked the other thing that had been bothering him.
After all, having a great auction house behind them didn't necessarily mean that the person would be strong too. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that." The Crown Prince chuckled. "While I haven't met Lady Kang before, I do know she's not weak. With the sheer fortune that she has, cultivating isn't exactly hard." He added.
"That does make sense." Lin Mu nodded his head. "And I supposed she'll be bringing more people with her?" he asked next.
"Highly likely." The Crown Prince responded. "Though the slots to enter the Inheritance ground are limited. We don't know the exact number, but it is at least 10 from what Qiao De informed us." He added.
"Hmm… ten people so that would be Me, You, Crown Princess Shang, Monk Hushu, Daoist Chu, Qiao De, Lady Kang… there's three spots left." Lin Mu counted.
"Lady Kang and Qiao De will likely fill it with their own people. I've already gotten four spots." the Crown Prince replied.
"Hmm… I guess it'll be a meeting to look forward to." Lin Mu said.
"Speaking of that, I think there are a few acquaintances of yours with us too." Crown Prince Feng Baxing suddenly said.
"Oh?" Lin Mu raised a brow. "Who?" he wondered.
"Why don't you go downstairs and take a look?" The Crown Prince smiled.
"Alright," Feeling a bit excited, Lin Mu decided to head down.
While the deck of the ship was quite large, its insides were even bigger. No spatial formations were even needed as the ship could easily accommodate over a thousand people inside it without any issues.
And right now it was barely at ten percent of its full capacity.
Lin Mu descended through the central stairwell and arrived in a wide open hall. The first floor below the deck didn't have any room and was just a hall where meetings could be held easily.
'It can accommodate a thousand people with ease.' Lin Mu estimated before looking at the floating formation screen in the center.
Tens of people were surrounding it, while a man in Daoist Robes was speaking.
'I guess Daoist Chu is assigned to this task.' Lin Mu saw the Crown Prince's companion. But while he was gazing at the crowd, his eyes couldn't help but notice a peculiar pillar in the middle of the crowd.
It was black in color and was nearly two meters tall.
"Hang on, isn't that… Chang Fa?" Lin Mu was surprised to see the man.
The pillar was none other than the tall hat Chang Fa wore on his head to cover his hair. Hearing his name being called, the Inheritor of the Iron Pillar Mane Arts couldn't help but turn around.
"Daoist Mu Lin!?" The man saw his benefactor.
He hadn't forgotten the grace that Lin Mu had shown him by ending their match in a tie. If not for that, there was no way Chang Fa would be able to reach that high in the tournament and let the name of his clan be known. Having fulfilled his aim, Chang Fa was extremely happy. Since he was injured during the tournament, he had to rest for a while and as such he didn't get to thank Lin Mu after. His win had also gotten him noticed by the Crown Prince and was the reason why he was here today. The Crown Prince had offered him to join them on an expedition which was something he would never refuse. Not only would it grant a chance for him to get stronger, but also help his clan as he would have a chance to bring them techniques and resources he might find on the expedition.
His win had also made his clan very proud, and as such they had rewarded him too. And once they learned that he had been invited by the Crown Prince, there was no way they would keep him in the clan.
"So this is what Crown Prince Feng Shun meant by that." Lin Mu muttered and went forward to meet the man.
While they hadn't interacted much, Lin Mu knew Chang Fa was a good man.
"I would like to offer you my heartiest congratulations, Daoist Mu Lin." Chang Fa said right away. "I would also like to thank you personally as well as on behalf of my clan." He cupped his hands and bowed.
"It was nothing." Lin Mu replied. "I just thought you deserved to go farther. And after seeing your last match, I can say for sure it would have been a shame if you lost early on." He added.
"It is by your grace that I am here today and can stand with my head tall and proud." Chang Fa felt quite happy at Lin Mu's words even though he tried to downplay it.
He knew just how big of a thing it was to spare one's foe in an important tournament.
"It's Daoist Mu Lin!"
"Whoa! He's here too!" It didn't take long for other people to notice Lin Mu's arrival too. After all, he was nothing short of a celebrity now having become the winner of the Tournament of the Four guardian beasts.
"Welcome, Daoist Mu Lin." Daoist Chu also greeted him.
"It's nice to see you again, Daoist Chu." Lin Mu replied. "Where's Monk Hushu though?" he asked, not seeing him here.
"In his room doing his daily chanting." Daoist Chu replied. "He's been there since this morning. Though I think he should probably leave." He added.
"Ah, I guess I'll meet him once he's done." Lin Mu knew that being a monk came with a certain responsibility that would not leave them even if they were no longer at a temple.
~step~step~step~
While Lin Mu was talking to Daoist Chu though, a set of footsteps were heard behind him. ~shua~
A cool breeze blew past Lin Mu, catching his attention. It was colder than normal air and certainly wasn't normal.
He turned around, only to see a pale white hand in front of him. The hand was unique though, with its fingertips being painted black.
"Here." A couple of white berries could be seen on the palm as an offering.
"Mei Nienzhen," There was no way Lin Mu would forget another one of his opponents from the tournament as well as someone who had shared a meal with him.
She was a slightly strange woman, whose actions were hard for Lin Mu to understand.
Mei Nienzhen looked at Lin Mu with a calm expression on her face before gesturing to him with her eyes.
"Take," She spoke.
"Alright, thank you." Lin Mu said, taking the Rimed Pearl Berries from her palm.
"Eat." She spoke again.
Lin Mu knew she wouldn't take no and insist that he ate it, which was exactly what he did.
Soon the cold taste of the Rimed Pearl Berries spread in Lin Mu's mouth, which then trailed down into his stomach.
"There." Lin Mu replied, showing that he had finished it.
"Give," Mei Nienzhen spoke next, gesturing with her fingers. "What do you want?" Lin Mu asked in amusement. "Food." Mei Nienzhen replied, using the same ploy she had last time.
"Haha," Lin Mu couldn't help but laugh seeing her actions. "I'll give it to you, but later. You'll have to wait for a while." "Okay. Promise?" Mei Nienzhen responded.
"Promise." Lin Mu gave a nod.
"Mmm." Mei Nienzhen turned around and went further down the stairs. The floor below held the living quarters for the people on the ship and would allow them to stay in comfort as well as cultivate before they reached their destination. After all, if there was one thing that all cultivators wanted was a place to cultivate in place. Content © 2024.
They would have to be in their peak condition for the expedition after all. Which was also why the Crown Prince had specifically gotten this ship.