Mu Yun's actions over the past six months have been truly astonishing.
With a single move, he could refine first-grade and second-grade pills; Miao Qing even suspected that if not for limitations in his strength, Mu Yun could refine third-grade pills.
With another move, he produced the superior-grade mortal weapon, the Azure Sword, whose power rivaled that of a top-grade mortal weapon. Again, due to limitations in his strength, he could probably refine even a profound-grade weapon.
What surprised him most was Mu Yun's strength. Dongfang Yu, Diao Yadong, Wang Qingfeng, Mu Fengyuan, and Mu Fengqing—all these people were stronger than him,
yet they all inexplicably fell to him.
Even facing Bei Yiwentian, he remained fearless.
He knew that Bei Yiwentian's status in the Holy Pill Sect was equivalent to that of the young patriarch of a large family like the Mu family, not to mention his strength.
And what kind of divine technique was that wondrous Great Life-Taking Technique?
"Alright, actually, I had a question for you!" Master Miao said helplessly. "I never thought that I, a seventh-grade alchemist, would have to ask you a question one day, hehe..."
"You can ask me a question, but you have to agree to one condition!"
"Oh? You brat, do you know what question I want to ask?"
"The answer is on this piece of paper, as long as you agree to one condition!"
With that, Mu Yun reached out and took out a piece of paper, waved it, and smiled mysteriously.
"No problem, the condition?"
Mu Yun smiled slightly and said, "The condition is simple. I need you to help me take care of Yao'er in the Holy Pill Sect and guarantee her safety for three years."
Hearing this condition, Miao Qing frowned.
"This condition is indeed quite prestigious for a seventh-grade alchemist like me in the Holy Pill Sect, but..."
"Don't rush, you haven't asked your question yet, and you haven't seen my answer yet!"
With that, Mu Yun picked up a chicken leg, smiled, and turned to leave.
Opening the paper Mu Yun had left on the table, the turbidity in Master Miao's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by shock.
"Good lad, he saw right through me long ago."
Miao Qing said with a wry smile. "I didn't expect to be outmaneuvered by him. But three years? Does he really think he can reach the Holy Pill Sect and rescue people in just three years?"
Miao Qing chuckled.
But after laughing, a solemn expression appeared on her face.
"For others, it might be impossible, but for him, who can say for sure?"
...
The next day, early in the morning, carriages and horses moved outside the Mu family gate.
With the Diao and Wang families destroyed, only the Qin and Mu families remained in Beiyun City. These two families undoubtedly controlled all the power in Beiyun City.
On this day, Mu Yun was about to leave Beiyun City. Outside
the Mu
family gate, rows of fiery red Iron Cloud Lions stood majestically.
Nearly a hundred warriors in silver armor stood proudly. Upon closer inspection, most of these warriors were at the Spirit Aperture Realm, and there were even some experts at the fifth level of the Spirit Aperture Realm.
At the gate of the Mu family, a young man in a black robe, his long hair tied up with a strand obscuring his eyes, stepped forward with a wicked smile.
"Greetings, Young Clan Leader!"
A series of thuds rang out as numerous silver-armored guards knelt in unison, bowing their heads.
"Rise!"
Mu Yun waved his hand and walked forward.
Before him stood a golden iron cloud lion, its body entirely crimson.
The golden iron cloud lion was a variant of the iron cloud lion, no longer considered a demonic beast but a spirit beast, possessing a sliver of intelligence.
The golden iron cloud lion was far more powerful than the standard iron cloud lion.
Generally, when a golden iron cloud lion was born within an iron cloud lion clan, it would become the leader of a group of iron cloud lions.
Mu Yun walked forward and noticed that each iron cloud lion was accompanied by a silver-armored warrior, except for this golden iron cloud lion, which stood alone.
"Oh? Trying to test me?"
Looking at the mocking gazes of the silver-armored warriors around him, Mu Yun sneered inwardly. He
walked step by step to the Golden Iron Cloud Lion, its face contorted in a ferocious expression. A chill crept up from his hands hidden within his sleeves.
"Little fellow, don't be afraid!"
Stepping forward, Mu Yun gently stroked the Golden Iron Cloud Lion.
An astonishing scene unfolded.
The Golden Iron Cloud Lion, previously blazing with flames and radiating a fiery, violent aura, suddenly seemed to have taken a dud. A look of terror appeared in its eyes, and its body trembled uncontrollably.
How could this be!
Seeing this, everyone present was stunned.
The Iron Cloud Lion was a level one spirit beast, equivalent to a first-level Spirit Cave Realm warrior, while the Golden Iron Cloud Lion was a level three spirit beast. How could it be afraid of Mu Yun?
They had heard that Mu Yun hadn't even reached the Spirit Cave Realm yet.
"In the future, I don't want such tests to befall me. After all, I am the young clan leader!"
"Yes!"
Mu Yun's words fell, and the scene became solemn.
"Depart!"
With a command, the hundred-strong group marched forward in a grand procession.
The Mu and Qin families had already
become the overlords of Beiyun City, so he had no need to worry. As for Qi Ming and Mo Yang, he already had plans for them.
Master Miao Qing also left Beiyun City with Miao Xianyu; where they went was unknown to others, but Mu Yun knew.
It was time to leave Beiyun City and witness the true powerhouses.
Meanwhile, in Nanyun City, the Mu family.
As one of the four great families of the Nanyun Empire, the Mu family's main branch was located in the capital city of Nanyun City.
Spanning thousands of acres, the Mu family was practically a city within a city in Nanyun City, with imposing and magnificent buildings everywhere.
In the entire Nanyun Empire, the royal family, the Mu family, the Lin family, the Xiao family, and the Gu family were considered the five major powers.
While the royal family supposedly controlled the Nanyun Empire, everyone understood that the Nanyun Empire was actually controlled and restrained by these five behemoths.
At this moment, in a courtyard of the Mu family mansion, two figures sat around a stone table.
One of them was dressed in fine silk and satin, with a hair bun and jade bracelets on her wrist. Her every move exuded an air of elegance and nobility.
Opposite her stood a young man who appeared to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old.
The young man, dressed in blue martial arts attire, was athletic and bore a striking resemblance to the woman opposite him.
"Mother, what does Father mean by appointing that illegitimate son, Mu Yun, as the young clan leader and bringing him back from a place like Beiyun City?"
the young man suddenly asked.
"Shenming, how many times have I told you not to rush when things happen? Look at yourself now! Mu Yun hasn't even arrived at the clan yet, and you're already this anxious. If he really arrives, you'll be like an ant on a hot pan."
"Mother, how can I not be anxious?"
Mu Shenming couldn't help but say, "Father's meaning is very clear. If he appoints Mu Yun as the young clan leader, then the huge Mu clan will be handed over to him. I don't want that."
"You're not the only one who doesn't want that!" the middle-aged woman replied. "The second and third branches are probably already impatient. Why are you in such a hurry?"
"But Mother, you are the First Madam. The position of young clan leader should rightfully belong to me, Mu Shenming!"
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman shook her head and said, "Your father is not the kind of person who is bound by formalities. The reason he was able to become the Mu clan leader was because of his unconventional approach. And in less than twenty years, the Mu family has become one of the five major powers in the Southern Cloud Empire. Your father's insight and decisiveness are indispensable. Remember, never forget your father's strength."
"I understand!"
"I know you're not convinced, but although Mu Yun has been appointed as the young clan leader, he still has a long
way to go to become the clan leader."
The middle-aged woman continued, "If he's mediocre, he won't be able to keep this position. If he's a prodigy, then it won't just be us who want him dead. The Lin family and the others, who allowed one Mu Qingyu to appear, won't allow a second one."
"Hmm!"
...
As they traveled, Mu Yun became quite familiar with the silver-armored guards, and obtained a lot of information he wanted to know from them.
His adoptive father had a large number of wives and concubines, no less than an emperor.
With many women, there were naturally many children. In the entire Mu family, this adoptive father had more than a dozen children, but Mu Yun only paid attention to a few.
The first wife's family, the second wife's family, and the third wife's family.
These three wives all had impressive backgrounds, and their sons and daughters were also remarkable.
"It seems that arriving in Nanyun City will be quite interesting. The internal and external power struggles within the clans will be even more exciting than in Beiyun City,"
Mu Yun smiled. "Moreover, this position of young clan leader should be very useful in the Mu family. It can serve as a warning to those young masters and ladies: I, Mu Yun, will not take this position if I don't want it, but since I have, no one can covet it."
They traveled for ten days straight, escorted by silver-armored guards, without any problems.
On this day, a magnificent city finally appeared ahead of the group.
From afar, the city walls, tens of meters high, resembled a crouching, lurking behemoth, waiting to devour every arriving martial artist.
As they drew closer, Mu Yun discovered that the city walls were actually forged from rare black crystal.
Black crystal is considered an essential material in weapon forging; a palm-sized piece of black crystal is worth ten low-grade spirit stones.
The value of the black crystal stone surrounding the vast Nan Yun City, spanning tens of thousands of acres, was beyond Mu Yun's estimation.
"It's indeed a large place, much better than Bei Yun City," Mu Yun muttered, patting the city wall. "But this black crystal stone is still a bit inferior. If they used black cloud stone, it would be incomparably superior."
"Black cloud stone?"
Hearing Mu Yun's words, the surrounding silver-armored warriors were dumbfounded.
Black cloud stone, worth ten mid-grade spirit stones per piece, how could it possibly be used to build a city wall?
However, having traveled through countless cities and towns, Mu Yun didn't seem like a country bumpkin from a small place like Bei Yun City. On the contrary, he was knowledgeable and experienced, knowing many things clearly without them even asking.
It seemed the clan leader's decision to appoint Mu Yun as the young clan leader wasn't a rash one.