He chuckled and shook his head, but Mu Jinyu's eyes were cold as he asked Mu Hongchen, "Then, Aunt Mu, could you tell me the location of this True Martial Hall, as well as the specific information on their hall master? I'm worried that by the time I get there, they would have already run away."
"Alright," Mu Hongchen, upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, knew that he was planning to settle accounts with True Martial Hall later on. She had already prepared for this and sent all the information she had gathered to Mu Jinyu's phone.
"Beep beep."
Hearing the notification sound, Mu Jinyu took out his phone and unlocked it to look at the information, learning about the exact location of True Martial Hall, which was on a mountain in Capital City, just like Guang Buddha Temple.
Their hall master was named Chen Yunxiao. Before the revival of spiritual energy, he was merely a minor grandmaster at the early stage of Energy Transformation.
Such strength naturally couldn't rank among the top tiers of the world's strongest, but domestically, it still afforded him a bit of status.
Yet with the revival of spiritual energy, somehow his power surged rapidly, notwithstanding the mere ten plus days since the dark unrest.
In those ten-odd days, he transformed from a minor grandmaster at the early Energy Transformation stage into a grandmaster at the peak of Energy Transformation, once the hottest commodity in the country.
Mu Hongchen speculated that he might have obtained some heavenly materials and earthly treasures to advance his strength so rapidly. However, his foundation and aptitude were not great; otherwise, taking this opportunity, he might well have soared into the heavens and become a warrior of the God Realm!
After reading the information investigated by Mu Hongchen, Mu Jinyu knew that this was the limit of her abilities. For the time being, she could not find out what heavenly materials and earthly treasures Chen Yunxiao had consumed.
In the past, members of Dragon King Hall were numerous, omnipresent across the globe, if not quite. But within the country and in some major foreign nations, there were members of Dragon King Hall.
Mu Hongchen, as the Sub-hall Master in charge of intelligence, was indeed a smaller version of "omniscient."
But now, with so many dead and destroyed, her ability to collect information on Chen Yunxiao in such a short time was already quite remarkable.
"If the spiritual energy has revived…"
Pocketing his cell phone, Mu Jinyu pondered Mu Hongchen's guess that Chen Yunxiao had advanced so dramatically, and found it plausible.
As the spiritual energy between heaven and earth grew from dilute to gradually dense, the cultivation speed for martial artists and other cultivators increased, and it was unreasonable that some herbs wouldn't turn into spirit grass or heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Maybe one day, the creatures on Earth would become much like those in Kunlun Ruins, where even a sparrow could be fiercer than a hawk!
"Let's go have a look and see if the hall master of True Martial Hall has toughened up enough!"
Mu Jinyu was no longer interested in speculating. He lifted his head and smiled at Mu Hongchen, "Then, Aunt Mu, I'll be going now. Contact me if there's anything important!"
"Yeah, go ahead." Mu Hongchen, now familiar with Mu Jinyu, was no longer as reserved as before. She smiled and said a word before lowering her head to watch a TV drama while continuing to handle some odds and ends.
From her demeanor, it seemed that Dragon King Hall indeed didn't have as much to handle anymore.
Not like a few days earlier when Mu Hongchen was constantly tapping away at the keyboard all day long.
...
Having left Dragon King Hall, Mu Jinyu drove toward the mountain where True Martial Hall was located.
On the way, he could see that the once empty streets were now starting to bustle again.
Of course, it was nowhere near its former prosperity.
But once the thick, pitch-black fog overhead dissipated, Mu Jinyu believed that the streets of Capital City would eventually return to the busy scenes of traffic and bustling crowds.
Half an hour later.
Mu Jinyu had arrived at the foot of Qingyuan Mountain, where True Martial Hall was located.
He casually parked the car.
Then he dashed up the mountain stairs like an arrow released from its bow, hurtling toward the opulent building at the summit.
...
In the meeting room of the main hall of the True Martial Hall atop Qingyuan Mountain,
a delicate-looking scholar sat in the chair of honor, frowning in silence as he listened to the discussions of his subordinates.
He was indeed the Hall Master of True Martial Hall, Chen Yunxiao.
Strangely enough, although the sub-hall masters and other subordinates all looked like robust, strong men, he appeared quite out of place with his fair, scholarly demeanor.
"Hall Master, the Vice Hall Masters have been gone since yesterday to request protective talismans from Dragon King Hall and haven't returned. In my opinion, something has definitely happened. I've said it before — Dragon King Hall is still Dragon King Hall, even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. We shouldn't have tested them."
"Exactly, Elder Li is right. I also think the Vice Hall Masters must have run into trouble. Moreover, I fear the retaliation from Dragon King Hall will soon reach us. We should hurry up and pack our valuables and flee."
"Tsk, a bunch of cowards," one of them jeered. "The sub-hall masters of Dragon King Hall are almost all dead, and their new Dragon King, whom we knew to be at the peak of Energy Transformation and a martial arts Grandmaster, just recently died once. That he barely came back to life is lucky enough, let alone if his strength hasn't declined. Our Hall Master is at the Half-Step Divine Realm, only stronger than that sickly ghost; what's there to fear?"
"Yeah! Don't think that just because they've killed one of our Vice Hall Masters at the Complete Energy Transformation Stage, they can stamp out our True Martial Hall. If they dare come to our True Martial Hall, the Hall Master could eradicate them with just one hand!"
Opinions among the crowd were divided; some feared Dragon King Hall, while others, with their strength having surged from Dark Energy Warriors to Energy Transformation Warriors within a few days, were brimming with confidence. They didn't consider Dragon King Hall a threat and even thought it possible to replace them.
"Bang, bang!"
Chen Yunxiao, hearing their increasingly loud arguments, raised his hand and gently tapped the table a few times. He then shouted, "Enough, stop arguing."
Everyone immediately fell silent and turned their gaze to Chen Yunxiao, awaiting his decision.
Chen Yunxiao played with his teacup, took a sip, and then exhaled satisfactorily, "Dragon King Hall is really nothing special. Of their Seven Sub-Hall Masters, some are dead, others missing. Only one Dragon King and two Sub-hall Masters remain. I have seen their recent moves; both Sub-hall Masters are merely at about the Complete Energy Transformation Stage in strength. What's there for us to fear?"
He looked up, his eyes defiant as he gazed at the others and asked loudly, "Even if that half-dead Dragon King brings over both Sub-hall Masters to pick a quarrel, what have we to fear?"
"If it were Dragon King Hall's heyday, and the Vice Hall Master went missing, I might indeed be wary and choose to avoid their sharp edges and leave."
"But Dragon King Hall now is really not worth us fleeing at the mere sight of them!"
"Besides, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With nature's spiritual energy now fully reviving, there are probably not a few lucky ones like us, whose strength increases dramatically in the blink of an eye."
"If we don't take advantage of this opportunity early to replace Dragon King Hall, we may be washed away in the waves of the era again. Only by taking Dragon King Hall's position while they're injured in chaos can we seize all the advantages in the country and rise with the wind!"
Upon hearing Chen Yunxiao's words, even some elders who were originally fearful of Dragon King Hall's status were moved by the grand vision he described for True Martial Hall.
However, just then.
"Boom!"
A thunderous explosion shook their very hearts, painting their faces with fearful expressions.
Everyone quickly scrambled to the side. The ceiling collapsed with that loud boom, and bricks and dust kept falling!
After finding safety to the side and looking up,
they saw a handsome young man suspended in mid-air, hands behind his back, looking down at them indifferently with a hint of a cold smile on his lips.
It was Mu Jinyu.