158: The Mu family's upheavals and power struggles for the family headship

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three years, Su Chen continued to stay in Pingyang City.

Mu Qingling had originally prepared to make a Breakthrough to the Body Integration Realm, but after that incident involving Su Pingtian, she abandoned that plan and instead continued to polish her Foundation.

She prepared to solidify her strength to the extreme before continuing to improve.

The consequence of this was that her speed of making a Breakthrough would slow down significantly, but her future would be broader, possessing more possibilities.

Mu Qingling's current mindset was extremely peaceful; she was neither impatient nor restless, and her daily lifestyle felt somewhat similar to Su Chen's.

Very laid-back!

This style did not have any serious consequences; it just meant her cultivation progress would be a bit slower, but it had absolutely no impact on her comprehension of Sword Intent.

Comprehension is a metaphysical matter; it has nothing to do with sitting in meditation to Cultivate.

Regarding Mu Qingling's changes, Su Chen was both amused and helpless, yet he could not find a single reason to criticize it.

It was completely fine.

Sometimes, lying flat is not a form of being unbridled.

In Su Chen's view, this was more of a form of stability.

Take Mu Qingling, for example; although she was lying flat now and the progress of her Realm had slowed down, she was slowly polishing her Foundation.

Of course.

Mu Qingling could also work harder, and the results would certainly be better.

But there was no need.

Being a bit laid-back is not a bad thing at all.

Su Chen himself had a disposition of not being in a hurry, so he did not reject this 'lying flat' mentality; as long as Mu Qingling wasn't completely giving up, it didn't matter.

The inner courtyard of the Ning Family.

Mu Qingling served a cup of tea and then said respectfully, 'Revered Master, please have some tea.'

Su Chen glanced at her, then picked up the teacup and took a sip.

'Speak, what is it?'

Although he had only been in contact with Mu Qingling for about ten years, Su Chen still understood this disciple of his quite well.

Mu Qingling immediately flattered him, 'Revered Master is truly as wise as a god, majestic and extraordinary, shockingly handsome...'

'Alright, just get to the point.'

Su Chen waved his hand and said with a calm expression.

Mu Qingling hesitated for a moment before saying, 'Revered Master, I want to go out and travel on my own.'

She was leaving Su Chen, but not because she wanted to go out for training.

In Mu Qingling's view now, training was not very necessary; she wanted more to walk around, experience different things, and then incidentally pay a visit to the Mu Family.

She had been out for quite a few years, and she wanted to go back and take a look.

Su Chen didn't say much, just nodded indifferently, 'Go.'

Mu Qingling took a deep breath, then knelt before Su Chen and kowtowed three times.

'Disciple takes her leave!'

She was not an overly sentimental person, nor was she overly emotional, so when parting with Su Chen, she was very decisive.

Besides, it wasn't as if they wouldn't see each other again in the future.

Su Chen did not stay long in Pingyang City; he left half a month later and returned to Mount Wangyun.

...

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and Mu Qingling finally arrived at her place of origin.

The Cangyun Empire.

She had not been in a hurry on her journey, walking and stopping, just as she had been when she was by Su Chen's side.

Mu Qingling took a deep breath, her face full of contentment.

'I'm back!'

Although only about ten years had passed, her changes over these years were significant; Mu Qingling had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

Now she was more composed, and her strength was even more powerful.

When she first left the Cangyun Empire, she was only a Nascent Soul Stage Middle Stage Cultivator, but now she had already made a Breakthrough to the Void Refining Stage Perfection.

If it weren't for her desire to polish her Foundation, she would have already made a Breakthrough to the Body Integration Realm.

Before entering the Cangyun Empire, Mu Qingling had been unhurried, but after returning to this familiar place, she suddenly felt a bit anxious in her heart.

She wanted to go back early to see her clansmen.

Although many people in the Mu Family had left a bad impression on her, not everyone was like that.

Moreover, those annoying people from back then had all left the Mu Family, and it was uncertain whether they had returned or not.

'I'm home!'

Mu Qingling had a smile on her face, clearly in a very good mood.

Jinling City.

The Mu Family.

Since the incident of Mu Qingling becoming Su Chen's disciple, combined with the support of the imperial Family, the entire Mu Family had entered a stage of rapid development, becoming the number one force in Jinling City.

However, today, the Mu Family was embroiled in a quarrel.

'Mu Xin, don't go too far!'

Mu Hua said, gritting his teeth. He glared viciously at Mu Xin; if looks could kill, Mu Xin would have died countless times already.

Mu Xin was the Grand Elder of the Mu Family, and he was the one who led the exodus from the Mu Family back then.

Later, after the issues within the Mu Family were resolved, Mu Hua called back everyone who had left, as the Mu Family did not have many people at that time.

As long as the Mu Family wanted to develop, they had to use people.

After calling those people back to the Mu Family, Mu Hua did not restore their positions as Elders; instead, he reduced their former treatment and set some strict rules.

Of course, these rules were necessary, and it was not something Mu Hua did intentionally.

Reducing their treatment was also because many of these people were unreliable and not loyal enough to the Family.

For such people, the Family did not need to vigorously Cultivate them.

However, the problem lay right there; the reduced treatment for those returning to the Mu Family caused much dissatisfaction.

Mu Xin's strength was only slightly inferior to Mu Hua's, so he secretly colluded with those whose treatment had been reduced, lining his own pockets and privately consuming resources that the Mu Family had accumulated for many years.

He used this to make a Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage Late Stage and, without permission, gave those resources to other Elders to use, helping the Second Elder, Mu Geng, and the Third Elder, Mu Li, also make a Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage.

Throughout the entire Mu Family, over these years, only Mu Hua had made a Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage Early Stage.

Other people loyal to the Mu Family were all stuck at the Nascent Soul Stage Peak.

Due to the huge gap in strength, Mu Xin directly joined forces with others and effectively sidelined Mu Hua.

Mu Xin said nonchalantly, 'Family Head, our Mu Family is currently in a stage of rapid development, and a wise Family Head is even more crucial.'

'And you, Mu Hua, are clearly not the suitable candidate.'

'Therefore, I ask you to step down as Family Head and let a suitable person become the head of our Mu Family.'

Hearing this, Mu Hua's eyes were filled with coldness.

At the same time, his heart was filled with regret; if he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have called these people back.

Among those who left the Mu Family back then, most were cowardly and unwilling to share the hardships with the Mu Family, so naturally, the treatment Mu Hua gave them could not be the same as before.

But he hadn't expected this group of people to be so detestable.

But Mu Hua was also very puzzled; whether it was Mu Xin, Mu Li, or the former Second Elder, Mu Geng, their Aptitude was very ordinary.

Even with the help of resources, it was not certain they could make a Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Realm in a few years.

One must know that as the Family Head, he enjoyed quite a lot of resources, but in these few years, he had only just made a Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage Early Stage.

Yet, Mu Li and the others, who were weaker than him back then and were only Nascent Soul Stage Late Stage Cultivators, had all made a Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage now.

This was too strange.

Although he didn't know the specific situation, Mu Hua knew that there must be someone helping them behind the scenes.