4: Killing people in the street

Lin Mu reached out and grabbed Tao Rong's neck, lifting him into the air.

Tao Rong's mouth made a rattling sound, and his feet thrashed continuously in the air.

"Senior, please show mercy. We have Spirit Stones."

The Tao Family woman beside them cried and knelt on the ground, pleading.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu threw Tao Rong to the ground.

"Hand them over."

Lin Mu extended his hand towards the kneeling woman.

"We didn't bring any Spirit Stones with us."

Lin Mu frowned, and said sternly, "Are you playing games with me?"

"No, no, no, tens of thousands of Spirit Stones are not a small sum, how could we carry them around?"

"However, our Tao Family does have tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. If Senior doesn't believe us, you can come with us to retrieve them."

Lin Mu stood with his hands behind his back, not speaking, seemingly weighing the truth of her words.

After a moment, Lin Mu suddenly spoke, asking,

"How far is your Tao Family from here?"

Tao Rong picked himself up and replied, "It's less than a hundred li from here."

"If we leave now, we can definitely arrive before dark."

Lin Mu did not immediately decide whether to go.

He turned and walked to Lao Mo's side, whispering softly,

"Lao Mo, what do you think?"

Lao Mo also replied in a low voice,

"I have no opinion, Young Master. You decide."

"The person I just killed, I could feel the spiritual power on him, it was probably less than one ten-thousandth of mine."

Lin Mu said with considerable surprise.

"It seems that what the System said is still somewhat credible."

"Since that's the case, let's go with them."

Then he turned around and shouted at the three members of the Tao Family.

"You three, lead the way."

Tao Rong responded and then took the lead.

The mountain path was rugged and not easy to walk.

But since they were all Martial Artists, their speed was not slow.

After leaving the mountain range, there was an endless plain ahead.

Tao Rong pointed to the other side of the plain and said, "That's Hancheng City."

Lin Mu looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed, he vaguely saw a city on the other side of the plain.

The group, facing the Xie Yang (Setting Sun), disappeared from their original spot.

As dusk approached.

The Hancheng City gate was still full of travelers waiting to enter.

Lin Mu looked at the long queue and couldn't help but frown.

Tao Rong seemed to notice Lin Mu's displeasure.

He cupped his hands to Lin Mu and said, "Senior, please wait a moment."

Then he walked directly to the city gate and whispered something to the guards.

The guards nodded repeatedly, occasionally looking at Lin Mu.

Before long, Tao Rong returned.

He said with a proud expression,

"Senior, please enter the city."

The people queuing on the side did not show any dissatisfaction when they saw Lin Mu and the others cutting in line.

Apparently, such things were already commonplace.

Hancheng City was a border city in the Yanshan Kingdom. The streets were bustling with pedestrians but didn't seem crowded.

The streets were clean, and street vendors were everywhere.

Lin Mu surveyed the surroundings, as if from another world.

Suddenly, a sarcastic voice, out of place, rang out.

"Oh, isn't this that useless Eldest Young Master of our Tao Family?"

A green-robed young man with a playful expression stood in front of Lin Mu and the others.

He stared at Tao Rong and the others with a mocking and disdainful look.

"Haven't seen you in a few days, you've gotten quite bold. Seeing This Young Master, why aren't you hurrying to get out of the way?"

"Zhao Xin, don't be presumptuous. Today I have important matters, and I'm too lazy to bother with you."

The Young Master named Zhao Xin chuckled disdainfully again.

"What a huge joke, what right do you have to bother with me?"

"You, a good-for-nothing who hasn't reached the Spirit Building Realm, are only clinging to the Young Miss of the Yan Family's prestige."

"However, I advise you to be sensible and stop dreaming of marrying above your station every day."

"The current you is no longer worthy of the Yan Family's Young Miss."

"Zhao Xin, what do you have to be proud of?" Tao Rong said angrily.

"If it weren't for your elder brother begging for a foundation establishment pill for you, with your Aptitude, you would never Breakthrough to the Spirit Building Realm in this lifetime."

Zhao Xin, instead of getting angry, laughed and said, "What, are you envious that I have a good elder brother?"

"Why don't you join my Zhao Family and be my dog? One day, if I'm happy, I'll also beg for a foundation establishment pill for you."

Although Hancheng City was small, it had four great Families.

The Tao Family, the Zhao Family, the Yan Family, and the Jin Family.

The four great Families were similar in strength, with the Tao Family and the Zhao Family slightly stronger than the other two.

Therefore, the two Families often had friction and conflicts in their struggle for the title of Hancheng City's number one Family.

This Zhao Xin in front of them was the Second Young Master of the Zhao Family Head.

His elder brother, Zhao Qingfeng, was exceptionally talented.

At the age of ten, he joined the Qingyang Sect, the Yanshan Kingdom's top Sect, and became a True Disciple.

Relying on his elder brother's status as a True Disciple of the Qingyang Sect, Zhao Xin also obtained a foundation establishment pill and reached the Spirit Building Realm ahead of others.

In the past, whenever he saw a Tao Family Disciple, he would inevitably humiliate them repeatedly, and he was even more difficult towards Tao Rong.

This was simply because Zhao Xin also admired the Yan Family's Young Miss.

At this moment, Tao Rong's veins bulged on his Face, as if he had the urge to kill at any moment.

However, he quickly calmed down, and said with cold eyes,

"I will obtain a foundation establishment pill with my own hands, not through charity from others."

Tao Rong's words sounded good, but he also understood that the hope of achieving it on his own was slim.

foundation establishment pills were exceptionally precious.

Even within the Qingyang Sect, not all Disciples could possess them.

Although their Tao Family was one of Hancheng City's four great Families, there were only a few foundation establishment pills within the Family.

Tao Rong admitted that his Aptitude was not enough for the Family to bestow a foundation establishment pill upon him.

Zhao Xin seemed to have heard the biggest joke ever.

"By yourself? Don't be silly, your entire Tao Family doesn't even have one."

"And they certainly wouldn't use it on a good-for-nothing like you."

Although Zhao Xin kept mocking them.

His eyes, however, kept scrutinizing Lin Mu and the other person.

Lin Mu and the other person gave him a rather unfamiliar feeling.

One was a refined Young Master with an extraordinary bearing, and the other was a white-haired Old Man with piercing eyes.

He politely raised his hand in greeting.

"This Young Master looks unfamiliar. May I ask your name?"

Lin Mu was expressionless, and said faintly, "Lin Mu."

Lin Mu?

There was no Lin Family in Hancheng City, so he must be an outsider. The Lin Family?

Could it be the Yunzhou Lin Family?

Zhao Xin's expression became tense.

"Is Young Master Lin from Yunzhou?"

Lin Mu was clearly a bit impatient: "Where I'm from, what concern is it of yours?"

His tone and expression were utterly disdainful.

Zhao Xin felt a bit annoyed in his heart, and for a moment, he was unsure how to respond.

Suddenly, a person behind Zhao Xin reprimanded, "Brother Zhao is giving you Face by calling you Young Master, don't be ungrateful."

The speaker was merely a direct Disciple of a second-rate Family in Hancheng City, who had recently formed a connection with Zhao Xin.

Seeing Zhao Xin suffer a setback, he thought it was his chance to show off.

"In Hancheng City, anyone who dares not give Young Master Zhao Face will not come to a good end."

The speaker looked at Lin Mu arrogantly.

Just as he was about to continue shouting.

A sudden change occurred.

A faint sound of air being torn reached him, and he immediately felt a chill in his chest.

His body uncontrollably slumped to the ground, losing consciousness.

This scene made everyone present involuntarily gasp.

Killing someone on the street without a word!

Everyone's gaze collectively turned to the person who had just made the move.

Lao Mo's expression remained unchanged at this moment.

The palm-sized bronze mirror in his hand was still spinning rapidly.

As if he had just casually crushed an ant.

Zhao Xin retreated a few steps in fright.

He hadn't even clearly seen when this Black-clothed Old Man had made his move.

If it weren't for the rapidly spinning bronze mirror, he wouldn't even know what weapon the Old Man had used to kill the person.

Tao Rong was equally shocked beyond measure.

This Black-clothed Old Man was not only powerful, but his actions were also completely unrestrained.

He regarded human life as grass.

From now on, he had to treat this person with even greater caution and prudence.

He now had no doubt that if the Family could not produce Spirit Stones.

The fate of their three siblings would be no better than the person lying on the ground in front of them.

Lin Mu was not surprised by Lao Mo's actions.

Having undergone ten lifetimes of tempering, Lao Mo was no longer the honest and amiable person he once was.

Lin Mu glared coldly at Zhao Xin.

"This is a lesson for you. If you dare to say another word, your fate will be the same as his."

"Did you hear that clearly?"