Seeing Emperor Xue Ye's high regard for Lin Mu, Salas, the Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall, frowned deeply.
Several months ago, Lin Mu single-handedly stormed the Supreme Pontiff's Palace, severely injuring not only His Holiness the Pope but also knocking several Titled Douluos unconscious. This act greatly diminished the prestige of Spirit Hall.
Although he didn't know why Lin Mu was able to escape punishment or execution, he was certain that Lin Mu was an enemy of Spirit Hall.
As the Platinum Bishop stationed in Heaven Dou City, Salas naturally didn't want Lin Mu to collude with the Heaven Dou Royal Family, thereby affecting Spirit Hall's influence in the region.
However, Lin Mu's strength was astonishing, rumored to be comparable to a Super Douluo of Level 96 or higher, far beyond what a Soul Douluo like Salas could handle personally.
Since a direct confrontation was impossible, he could only try to disrupt their relationship through politics.
At this moment, Ning Fengzhi on the other side suddenly stood up. He cupped his hands to Lin Mu and said in a gentle tone, "It's been a while since we last met. Teacher Lin Mu's strength has grown even stronger, truly admirable."
Upon hearing this, the guests in the VIP seats all turned their heads.
Judging from his words, Ning Fengzhi seemed quite familiar with Lin Mu. Could it be that Lin Mu was colluding with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as well?
'This matter must be reported to the Pope immediately,' Salas thought to himself, his eyes fixed on Lin Mu.
At the same time, Emperor Xue Ye gave Xue Qinghe a pointed look. They had to win over Lin Mu as soon as possible and not let Ning Fengzhi get there first.
Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had always supported the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, as an emperor, he did not want to see one side become too powerful or monopolize the strongest independent soul master on the continent.
Seeing this, Xue Qinghe's lips curled up slightly. Just as she thought, as long as she could control Lin Mu, the throne of the Heaven Dou Empire, and perhaps the entire continent, would be within her grasp.
"Sect Master Ning, you flatter me. I wonder if the Sword Douluo accompanied you this time?" Lin Mu looked up at Ning Fengzhi and asked.
As the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi did not have much personal combat power as a support-type Soul Master. He usually took either the Sword Douluo or the Bone Douluo with him when he went out for protection.
"Teacher Lin Mu, Uncle Sword didn't come this time."
"So, it's Senior Bone Douluo who came to Heaven Dou City?"
Lin Mu's eyes flashed, and he said thoughtfully, "My battle with him last time wasn't enough to satisfy me. Since I haven't fought a Titled Douluo in a long time, I'll take this opportunity to spar again later."
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
Prince Xue Xing and the Three Educational Board Members looked at Lin Mu with utter disbelief.
From this casual conversation, it was clear that Lin Mu had already sparred with both the Sword Douluo and the Bone Douluo. Furthermore, it wasn't hard to infer that Lin Mu likely held a certain advantage or at least held his own, given his confidence.
It was simply incomprehensible that a Soul Douluo could repeatedly defeat or challenge Titled Douluos.
Hearing that Lin Mu wanted to "spar" again, Ning Fengzhi's eye twitched. He couldn't help but silently mourn for his Uncle Bone for a second; if anyone was to blame, it was Uncle Sword for bragging about Lin Mu's prowess.
"Teacher Lin Mu, the pills you gave me last time were quite effective. Uncle Sword and Uncle Bone's cultivation has improved somewhat. I wonder if you have any extra pills? I'm willing to pay handsomely for them."
As he finished speaking, a hint of urgency flashed in Ning Fengzhi's eyes.
In fact, the pills Lin Mu gave him weren't just effective for Titled Douluos; they even worked on him. He had been stuck at Level 79 for many years, without any progress due to the limitation of his martial soul.
Even the slightest improvement was enough to drive him mad with hope.
If he could get enough pills, he might be able to break through to Level 80, which was his lifelong dream.
"Sect Master Ning, I'm not short of money. However, if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has any rare herbs, I can exchange pills for them."
Lin Mu didn't directly refuse Ning Fengzhi's request but offered a form of barter.
Currently, Lin Mu had over a million Gold Soul Coins. Although he couldn't compare to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's immense wealth, it was more than enough for his needs. Besides, truly valuable cultivation resources couldn't be measured in coins.
"No problem! I will send someone to retrieve the rare medicinal herbs from the sect's collection right away, but it will take some time for them to arrive."
Ning Fengzhi readily agreed.
Since keeping those rare herbs would only be marginally useful for the younger generation's medicinal baths, it was far better to exchange them for pills that could enhance the sect's top-level strength.
At this moment, Emperor Xue Ye's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
He hadn't expected Lin Mu, besides his unparalleled combat talent, to possess such remarkable alchemy skills that even the wealthy Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Sect coveted.
It seemed he had to spare no expense to win Lin Mu over.
Seeing Lin Mu and Ning Fengzhi reach an agreement right in front of him, Salas said with displeasure, "This is the opening ceremony, not a marketplace for you to discuss private business."
"None of your business."
Lin Mu retorted simply and directly.
Hearing this, Salas immediately flew into a rage; this guy was simply not taking him seriously at all!
But thinking of the opponent's terrifying strength, he could only suppress his anger and say coldly, "Hmph. I tried to advise you kindly, but you are so arrogant. You are truly young and impetuous!"
"If a young person isn't impetuous, what kind of young person is he?"
Lin Mu glanced at Salas with a cold gaze, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm, which made Salas so angry that he felt like his lungs were about to explode.
At this moment, Emperor Xue Ye spoke up to diffuse the tension: "Alright, gentlemen. The opening ceremony is about to begin."
As dozens of teams from advanced soul master academies entered one after another, the opening ceremony finally commenced.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Emperor Xue Ye solemnly announced: "I, Xue Ye, Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Empire and also on behalf of the organizers of this competition, hereby declare the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament open!"
Immediately afterward, Emperor Xue Ye said some polite words of encouragement, wishing the contestants to display their full strength and achieve good results.
Next, it was Ning Fengzhi's turn to give a speech as the representative of the upper sects.
Similar to Emperor Xue Ye, it was mostly just polite talk. However, when asked by the host which team he supported, Ning Fengzhi unhesitatingly said, "The Royal Fighting Team."
After Lin Mu's training for over a year, the Royal Fighting Team's strength had undoubtedly increased significantly, making them a strong contender for the championship. The only question was how they would fare against the Spirit Hall Golden Generation Team in the finals.
Just when Lin Mu thought he had nothing to do but watch, the emcee suddenly announced loudly:
"Besides Sect Master Ning, we have an even more distinguished guest today!"
"This guest is about the same age as many of the contestants, yet he is already a renowned powerhouse across the continent. I'm sure you've all guessed who it is!"
As soon as the words were spoken, all the spotlights focused on Lin Mu in the VIP box.
The moment the audience saw Lin Mu's face on the magical screens, the entire arena erupted in cheers. Compared to Ning Fengzhi, Lin Mu's fame as a young, rogue powerhouse was clearly much greater among the populace and students!
Most importantly, Lin Mu was incredibly young, even meeting the participation requirements (under 25), making him an idol and a goal for most of the contestants.
Hearing the cheers from the crowd, Lin Mu felt slightly uncomfortable with the fanfare.
However, he still stood up from his seat, slowly took a few steps forward, and scanned the participating teams below.
Godwind Academy, Blazing Academy, Skywater Academy, Thunderclap Academy, and so on.
Suddenly, Lin Mu's gaze fell on the captain of the Godwind Academy team, clearly Feng Xiaotian.
Despite possessing innate full soul power and a mutated martial soul, Feng Xiaotian had wasted a great deal of time developing his self-created soul skills, squandering his raw talent on techniques. At twenty-four, he was only a Soul Ancestor.
If he had focused all his energy on cultivation, he would be at least a Soul King by now, definitely stronger than the Spirit Hall Golden Generation Team, and perhaps even approaching the Soul Emperor realm.
His self-created soul skill, the Stormwind Demon Wolf's Thirty Six Successive Chops, wasn't particularly strong in the grand scheme of things, barely reaching the utility of a ten-thousand-year soul skill. The benefits were completely disproportionate to the years of effort required to master it.
Noticing Lin Mu's gaze fixed on him, Feng Xiaotian looked puzzled. 'Why does this senior, who is roughly my age, seem to be looking at me with... pity?'