Chapter 154: Mystic Heart Steel
Chapter 154: Mystic Heart Steel
These young people did not have the slightest hint of a decadent or hedonistic vibe. They were completely military in their bearing. The only difference was their strength, which was many times greater than that of ordinary soldiers.
From this, one could also see that the mission Dragon Eye had to shoulder was definitely extremely important, and allowed for not even the slightest information leak. Anyone with a complicated background, even if exceptionally strong, could not possibly be selected for Dragon Eye.
“My requirement is simple. Take three moves from me, and you can stay in Dragon Eye. If you don’t even have that much skill, you should return to wherever you came from!”
Lin Mu narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at everyone and spoke.
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone felt the aura of these young people suddenly become intense. All their gazes focused on Lin Mu, and a massive pressure instantly converged and pressed down on Lin Mu together.
Even Lin Mu found it hard to breathe under such a dense aura. These young people were definitely not just quiet Cultivators; each of them was battle-hardened, a practical faction living by the sword day in and day out. This could be felt from the intense bloodlust emanating from them.
However, Lin Mu did not yield in the slightest. The Zhenqi in his Dantian surged out violently, instantly circulating throughout his body. An extremely fierce Dragon’s Roar, accompanied by the surge of Zhenqi throughout his body, suddenly echoed above the base.
An extremely powerful aura emanated from Lin Mu. With just one long Dragon’s Roar, he forced the twenty to thirty young people before him to step back several paces.
From the number of steps these young people retreated, one could see the difference in their cultivation levels. The strongest young person only retreated one small step, while some others had to step back three or four times before steadying themselves.
The moment Lin Mu’s aura erupted, the two middle-aged men standing beside Elder Zhang immediately changed expression. They simultaneously stepped forward, one on each side, and placed their hands over Elder Zhang’s ears. A faintly visible ball of Zhenqi in their palms sealed his ears.
Even so, Elder Zhang was still dazzled by a burst of stars from Lin Mu’s Dragon’s Roar, and his body staggered uncontrollably. After all, he was quite old; although his body was in good condition, he still couldn’t withstand the soundwave emitted by an Expert like Lin Mu.
“It seems your strength is still somewhat lacking. If this is all the strength you have, then I’m afraid the position of team captain is undoubtedly mine.”
Withdrawing his aura and allowing the Zhenqi to slowly return to his Dantian, Lin Mu said with a faint smile.
After this scene, the way these young people looked at Lin Mu immediately changed. It was no longer the defiant and unruly expression from before, but now held more gravity and caution. Clearly, someone who could repel them with just one roar was definitely not a person of shallow strength.
Lu Shouyang was also somewhat dizzy and disoriented from Lin Mu’s roar. He rapidly circulated his Internal Cultivation Method several times before finally suppressing the feeling of dizziness.
“Alright, I think you all have a rough understanding of Lin Mu’s strength now. Are there any objections?”
Taking two steps forward, Lu Shouyang looked at everyone. After waiting a moment and seeing that no one spoke, he nodded and said, “Normally, you will Cultivate on your own. You will be notified when there are missions. Dismissed for now, you are free to move about.”
After dismissing the group, Lin Mu was called over by Elder Zhang again. They talked for a long time in another room before he finally left alone.
“This Lin Mu is very good. Both his strength and his temperament are of the highest standard. This time, young Lu has really recruited an incredible young man for us!”
Watching Lin Mu’s receding figure, Elder Zhang said with a cheerful laugh.
“You flatter me, Elder Zhang.”
Lu Shouyang smiled modestly. As he watched Lin Mu’s back, a complicated expression flashed in his eyes. Right at that moment, his Mobile Phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Lin Mu, who had just left.
“Hello, Lin Mu, what is it?”
Signaling to Elder Zhang that it was Lin Mu on the phone, Lu Shouyang walked outside the office to take the call.
“I need a cold weapon. I don’t know if you know any masters who forge cold weapons?”
Lin Mu asked as he reversed his Maybach out of the parking space.
“A cold weapon? What kind of cold weapon?”
Lu Shouyang was slightly stunned. In this day and age, those who used cold weapons were absolute Masters. Those with insufficient strength mostly chose firearms, as they were simpler to train with and had great power.
“A Soft Sword, a sword that can bend freely. I don’t know if you know any masters who forge this kind of sword?”
Lin Mu carefully described the requirements for the cold weapon.
“Wait, let me think. Masters who forge swords like this are very rare now. But I do know where such a sword is. If you want it, you can go there and try your luck.”
Lu Shouyang said with a laugh.
“There’s actually a ready-made one? Where is the sword?”
Lin Mu immediately asked with great interest.
“Consider yourself lucky. This Soft Sword is currently in Donghai. Its owner is named Ou Xinghui. He is the owner of a pawn shop in Zhenhai District. You can go ask him, just say I told you.”
After hearing Lu Shouyang’s words, Lin Mu, who was originally heading home, made a sharp turn mid-route, directly spinning the car around at a crossroads, and headed straight for Zhenhai District.
It didn’t take much time to find the pawn shop, as there weren’t many pawn shops in the entire Zhenhai District. Moreover, this pawn shop was simply named Ou’s Pawn.
The pawn shop’s scale wasn’t large, but its introduction was quite bold: they accepted anything of value, regardless of the item’s origin.
Seeing Lin Mu enter, a middle-aged man sitting behind the counter immediately stood up and said with a smile, “Hello, sir. Pawning or redeeming?”
“No, I’m here to see someone. Ou Xinghui. I’m looking for the owner here.”
Lin Mu looked around and said with a light laugh.
“I am Ou Xinghui. You seem unfamiliar, friend. May I ask what you need from me?”
It turned out the person behind the counter was the owner himself, which saved some trouble.
“My name is Lin Mu. Lu Shouyang referred me. I heard Mr. Ou has a Soft Sword. I happen to need a Soft Sword. I don’t know what it would take for Mr. Ou to part with it?”
Lin Mu got straight to the point.
“So it was Lu Shouyang who told you. Yes, I do indeed have a Soft Sword here. It was forged by my ancestor who exhausted his entire life’s effort. It took over forty years in total to complete. The moment the Soft Sword was finished was also the moment my ancestor passed away.”
Ou Xinghui nodded, took a deep look at Lin Mu, and then continued, “This sword is a priceless treasure. Our Ou bloodline are the descendants of Ou Yezi. The one who forged this Soft Sword was the second sword-forging Master of the Ou lineage.”
“My apologies, I didn’t realize Mr. Ou is a descendant of the great Master Ou Yezi.”
Lin Mu’s expression immediately became solemn. He had also heard the great name of Ou Yezi like thunder. In various historical biographies and martial arts novels, this person was frequently mentioned. He was a very legendary sword-forging Master who forged countless famous swords in his lifetime.
“Our ancestors’ sword-forging skills… we, the descendants, are unpromising and haven’t learned much. It’s lost now. I’m just a pawn shop owner and dare not disgrace my ancestors’ reputation.”
Ou Xinghui waved his hand and sighed. “The ancestor who forged this Soft Sword left a few words before his death. To obtain this Soft Sword, one need not exchange it for any monetary item. All that is required is to accomplish one thing.”
“What thing?”
Lin Mu immediately asked curiously. This matter was quite peculiar.
“On a piece of wood, within the span of one breath, make forty marks—front, back, left, right. If the spacing, size, and depth are completely identical, you can take the Soft Sword directly.”
Ou Xinghui stated the condition.
Hearing this condition, Lin Mu’s brow lightly furrowed. He could understand the intention of this Ou ancestor. The use of a Soft Sword was inherently extremely flexible, entirely dependent on the user’s control, and could even achieve all-directional attacks.
The reason he wanted to commission a Soft Sword was also because, before his Cultivation reached great achievement, one of the magical treasures he had used was a Soft Sword. So, he was quite experienced in the use of Soft Swords.
“If you admit you cannot do it, you don’t have to attempt it. Over the years, many people have tried, but no one has been able to achieve this. The ancestor simply did not want this Soft Sword, a pearl, to be covered in dust.”
Ou Xinghui sighed. Ever since this Soft Sword was forged, countless swordsmen had flocked to try, but no one could accomplish this task.
Within one breath, making forty marks front, back, left, right on a piece of wood, with the marks requiring completely consistent spacing, size, and depth. What astonishing control this required! And what incredibly fast sword speed! If applied to Martial Arts, it would be truly terrifying.
“I can give it a try. Perhaps I can meet the requirement of that Ou ancestor.”
Lin Mu smiled slightly, looking at Ou Xinghui. His eyes showed great confidence. This might be difficult for others, but for him, it wasn’t an extremely hard task.
“Since you are so inclined, then come with me to the back.”
Ou Xinghui nodded, not showing any surprise. Everyone who came seeking the sword said the same thing. Even if they knew it was impossible, they still had to give it a try.
The two went to the reception room at the back. Lin Mu sat for a short while, then Ou Xinghui brought out a rectangular brocade box. Inside, on a purple velvet cloth, lay a Soft Sword as thin as a cicada’s wing. One could even vaguely see the velvet cloth beneath through the blade itself. What an astonishing level of forging skill!
The title of Sword-forging Master of the Ou bloodline was truly well-deserved!
Picking up the Soft Sword, except for the hilt, the entire blade hung down limply, like a thin strip of cloth.
Running a finger over the blade, Lin Mu’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he exclaimed.
“It’s actually Mystic Heart Steel?!”