Battle Through The Heavens : I Am The Thunder Emperor

Chapter 167: The Bet and the Assessment

"It seems... a bit familiar."

The man named Mu Qing narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness flickering in them as he scrutinized Mo Yu with ill intent.

Hearing this, Mo Yu's brows furrowed slightly. His disguise technique could easily fool ordinary people, but when facing alchemists or weapon masters with strong soul power, they might be able to discern some clues.

Could this guy have figured out his identity?

"Alright, Mu Qing, stop using your tricks to chat up girls. This is my junior brother. I brought him here today to assess an appropriate weapon master rank badge. I don't have time for your nonsense."

At that moment, Lan Yingying wrapped her ample chest tightly around Mo Yu's arm, her beautiful eyes glaring at Mu Qing with annoyance.

"Junior brother?" Hearing Lan Yingying's introduction, Mu Qing and most of the weapon masters present looked at Mo Yu with surprise.

They hadn't expected this seemingly ordinary boy in plain clothes to be the junior brother of Lan Yingying, the president of the branch. This background made many people start to speculate about him.

As the president of the Beast Wilderness City Weapon Master's Branch, Lan Yingying was not only powerful but also had a mysterious background. Many suspected that she had strong backing.

Mo Yu's arrival made people even more curious about the identity of their teacher.

Mu Qing was also taken aback. Unlike the average person, he knew more about Lan Yingying's background. Behind the Weapon Master's Branch was the even more powerful Weapon Alliance, headquartered in Zhongzhou and home to 80% of the continent's top weapon masters. Lan Yingying's teacher was a big shot within the alliance.

Moreover, Lan Yingying's family, the Lan family, was also a significant power in Zhongzhou, a place teeming with strong individuals.

Because of Lan Yingying's strong background and her celestial beauty, Mu Qing had humbled himself to come to Beast Wilderness City and serve as a mere vice president, all to win her over.

However, despite all his efforts and affection, Lan Yingying had always been cold, even disdainful towards him.

Mu Qing had intended to continue using his sincerity to win her heart, but now, a junior brother had suddenly appeared, creating an ambiguous situation. This made Mu Qing's face darken with anger.

"So, this is the president's junior brother? How come I've never heard of him before?"

Suppressing his anger, Mu Qing forced a fake smile as he looked at Mo Yu. For some reason, he felt a vague sense of familiarity with the young man, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

"Hehe, I'm Yu Mo, not from the Mulan Empire, so Vice President Mu might not have heard of me."

Mo Yu subtly pulled away from Lan Yingying's arm. The soft touch against his arm had made his desires flare up, but he quickly calmed his mind. Looking at Mu Qing, his expression remained unchanged.

"Yu Mo?" Hearing the unfamiliar name, Mu Qing frowned slightly. As a weapon master, he had a good memory, but he couldn't recall ever hearing this name.

While he was deep in thought, a hint of impatience flashed in Lan Yingying's eyes. She then pulled Mo Yu by the arm and walked away.

As the two walked off, Mu Qing snapped out of it and watched Mo Yu's back, his face growing increasingly dark.

"Senior Sister Lan, you're using me as a shield and taking advantage of me," Mo Yu said playfully after Lan Yingying let go of his arm once they were away from Mu Qing.

Hearing this, Lan Yingying rolled her eyes at Mo Yu and snapped, "There are countless people in Beast Wilderness City who would love for me to touch them, but I'm not interested. You should be grateful. As for using you as a shield, well, that guy is just too annoying and hard to shake off. I hope you won't blame your Senior Sister for this."

After speaking, Lan Yingying's face took on a playful, almost coquettish expression, but there was a faint hint of a smile in her eyes. If it weren't for that, Mo Yu might have thought she was a completely different person.

"She's such a vixen..." Mo Yu muttered under his breath before asking curiously, "Senior Sister Lan, with your status as president and Old Bing's backing, why don't you just get rid of Mu Qing?"

"Oh, you know about the teacher's impressive background? It seems the teacher was right; you're not so easily figured out." Lan Yingying chuckled and then shrugged helplessly. "I would love to get rid of him, but Mu Qing's background isn't something I can easily handle."

"Oh? What's his background?"

"You're familiar with the name Old Mu, the number one weapon master in the Mulan Empire, right?"

"I've heard of him. So…"

Back in the territory of the Lizard Serpent Clan, Mo Yu had overheard the Lion-Headed Elder and the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King mention Old Mu, the top weapon master in the Mulan Empire. Now, hearing that Mu Qing shared the same surname, it was clear this wasn't just a coincidence.

"Yes, you guessed it. Mu Qing is related to Old Mu. This Mu Qing was once an orphan, but Old Mu took him in, treating him like his own son and teaching him all his skills. Now, Mu Qing is a fourth-tier weapon master before the age of thirty, with a talent almost on par with mine.

And Old Mu isn't just the president of the Mulan Empire's Weapon Master's Branch; he's also a high-ranking member of the Weapon Alliance. So, even with my teacher as a backer, I have to show him some respect," Lan Yingying explained with some helplessness.

Hearing this, Mo Yu nodded, while also raising his guard.

In the conversation between the Lion-Headed Elder and the Black Lizard Demon Serpent King, it was clear that Old Mu had close ties with Mulan Valley. As Old Mu's disciple, Mu Qing was likely aware of the events that had occurred that night.

No wonder he found Mo Yu somewhat familiar. He had probably seen Mo Yu's likeness many times before.

Shaking his head, Mo Yu was alert but not overly fearful of being exposed. As long as the three elders of Mulan didn't take action, with Uncle Snake's help, escaping wouldn't be too difficult.

While Mo Yu was lost in thought, they had unknowingly arrived at the assessment area.

"Madam President, how can I assist you?" A stern-looking old man in gray robes approached, greeting Lan Yingying respectfully.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your invigilation, Old Wu. My junior brother here wants to take a weapon master badge assessment. Could you prepare an additional assessment stone platform for him?" Despite being the president, Lan Yingying showed respect toward the elder who had worked at the branch for decades.

"Oh? The president's junior brother also wants to participate in the assessment? It's no trouble at all. I'll just add another stone platform for the first-tier weapon master assessment," the gray-robed elder replied, surprised as he glanced at Mo Yu.

"Wait, Old Wu, starting from the first-tier assessment is too troublesome. Just prepare a stone platform for the third-tier weapon master assessment for my junior brother," Lan Yingying called out with a light smile.

"What!?"

As Lan Yingying's words echoed, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Mo Yu, who was standing calmly.

This young man wanted to take the third-tier weapon master assessment directly?

A third-tier weapon master was an achievement that many weapon masters only reached after decades of immersion in the craft. How old was this boy? Did he start training in the womb?

Old Wu was also shocked as he looked at Mo Yu. This suddenly appeared junior brother of the president wanted to directly take the third-tier assessment?

In his decades of work, he had never encountered such a case. This was a first.

"Haha, President Lan, directly taking the third-tier weapon master assessment doesn't seem to follow the rules of the Weapon Master's Branch. Besides, Junior Brother Yu Mo is so young; it would be better not to be so hasty. The third-tier weapon master rank is very challenging; he might not be able to handle it."

Mu Qing had quietly walked over, and upon hearing Lan Yingying ask Old Wu to prepare a third-tier assessment stone platform for Mo Yu, he was first stunned, then mockingly "advised" with fake concern.

Not even Mu Qing, who was not yet thirty, had achieved the third-tier weapon master rank. He couldn't believe Mo Yu could do it either.

Even if the boy was a disciple of a big shot, weapon mastering required a gradual accumulation of skill; there were no shortcuts, unlike Dou Qi, which could be boosted with pills.

"Mu Qing, I'm the president here. What I say goes!" Lan Yingying's beautiful eyes narrowed as she spoke coldly.

Seeing Lan Yingying angry, Mu Qing hesitated, then looked away. When his gaze returned to Mo Yu, it was filled with even more anger and coldness.

"Hehe, I'm only thinking of the branch's reputation, President Lan. I hope you can understand," Mu Qing insisted.

Seeing this, Lan Yingying was about to say something, but Mo Yu stopped her.

"Vice President Mu, as far as I know, this is a rule of the Weapon Master's Guild, and the Weapon Master's Branch has only borrowed it; there's no strict regulation against it. Senior Sister Lan's actions don't violate any rules.

As for whether I'll fail and disgrace the branch, how about this? If I fail the assessment, I won't participate in any weapon master badge assessments for ten years. If I succeed, you apologize to me. How does that sound?" Mo Yu said with a light smile.

Mu Qing was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected the boy to fall into his trap so easily. Quickly nodding, he agreed, "In that case, I suppose it's not a problem."

"Junior Brother, you…" Lan Yingying frowned, worried as she looked at Mo Yu.

But the young man seemed to understand her concern. He gave her a gentle smile, as if everything was under control.

Seeing this, Lan Yingying sighed and nodded to Old Wu.

The old man, seeing the president's signal, glanced at Mo Yu again, still shocked, but went ahead and prepared the third-tier assessment anyway.

Even though he didn't believe someone so young could achieve the third-tier weapon master rank, if Mo Yu succeeded, it would certainly be a memorable event in his career.

With the stakes so high, everyone in the hall watched Mo Yu with curiosity. Some had even started betting on whether he could pass the assessment.

Despite the president's endorsement, most people didn't believe someone of Mo Yu's age could reach the third-tier rank.

As a result, the odds against Mo Yu were rising, with only a few gamblers taking a risk and placing their bets on him, albeit nervously.

Mu Qing, too, stared coldly at Mo Yu, a sneer forming on his lips. He glanced at Lan Yingying's voluptuous figure beside the boy, his eyes filled with desire.

If Mo Yu failed and embarrassed himself in front of everyone, maybe Lan Yingying would realize her mistake and turn back to him.

As the crowd's emotions varied, Old Wu had the stone platform for the third-tier weapon master assessment prepared.

The platform was placed at the center of the hall, with all the first-tier assessment platforms moved back slightly to emphasize its importance.

With the platform set up, everyone turned to Mo Yu, eager to see him step up.

Under their gaze, Mo Yu calmly walked to the center of the platform and picked up the blueprint on the table.

Although the difficulty of a third-tier weapon master assessment was significant, the nature of the test was no different from the first-tier assessment. All Mo Yu had to do was successfully forge the assigned third-tier weapon.

Mo Yu glanced at the parchment on the stone platform. The blueprint was for a weapon called the Bloodthirsty Blade.

The Bloodthirsty Blade allowed its wielder to burn their blood essence to temporarily boost their Dou Qi significantly. Although powerful in battle, it had severe side effects and was only considered mid-tier among third-tier weapons.

But even so, it was still a third-tier weapon, and forging it wasn't easy.

Of course, that was for others. For Mo Yu, forging a third-tier weapon was as easy as moving his hands.

"Done checking? If everything is clear, then... the assessment begins!"

Old Wu's eyes swept over the stone platform, pausing on Mo Yu for a moment. Seeing no objections, he waved his hand, sending a burst of Dou Qi towards the ancient iron bell at the top of the hall.

The crisp chime echoed through the hall, signaling the start of the assessment.

At the sound of the bell, all the first-tier candidates, except for Mo Yu, immediately placed their hands on the fire openings of their forges, their Dou Qi surging out.

With several muffled sounds, flames burst to life inside the forges.

Once the flames were burning, a transparent barrier slowly rose around the stone platform.

The barrier, square in shape, enclosed all the candidates within.

As the barrier activated, the hall fell silent. Everyone focused intently on the candidates, especially on Mo Yu, those who had placed bets on him.

However, seeing Mo Yu still standing there in a daze, many began to curse inwardly.

They had thought he was a mysterious genius, only to discover he was all talk and nothing else!

Lan Yingying clenched her jade-like hands tightly, worry flashing in her beautiful eyes as she watched Mo Yu.

Mu Qing, on the other hand, sneered at Mo Yu. He believed he had seen through the boy, just another arrogant youth who hadn't yet faced the harsh realities of life.

Even if he had some talent, his pride had blinded him, making him overconfident.

Just as Mu Qing was reveling in his apparent victory, the next moment, his face changed drastically when he saw the terrifying lightning flames suddenly appear in Mo Yu's hands. Shocked, he blurted out, "Red lightning? Flames?"

Lan Yingying's beautiful eyes also widened in shock as she recognized the terrifying lightning flames in Mo Yu's hands, even more fearsome than the beast flames she had seen from her teacher!

At that moment, the entire hall fell into dead silence. All eyes were now riveted on Mo Yu within the barrier…

(End of Chapter)

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