Can a Scholar Be Called a Villain

Book 2: Chapter 23: Murong Lin’s arrival

“Xiao Dong! Where is my younger brother!”

Zhou Xuan Tong’s voice reverberated through the hall, carrying a tone of both resentment and sorrow.

The crowd looked up to identify the source of the voice, discovering Zhou Xuan Tong hovering in the air above them, glaring fiercely at Xiao Dong below.

Whispers and discussions broke out among the onlookers. Some appeared confused as they scanned their surroundings, while others observed Xiao Dong and Zhou Xuan Tong with a mixture of curiosity and glee.

“What’s happening? Zhou Xuan Tong’s younger brother? Isn’t that Zhou Xuan Zi?”

“Have you heard about the feud between Zhou Xuan Zi and Xiao Dong? There was even a bounty placed on Xiao Dong’s head by Zhou Xuan Zi.”

“Ah, so that’s the story! Does it mean that Xiao Dong killed Zhou Xuan Zi?”

“It sure looks like it! Zhou Xuan Zi and Xiao Dong went in a passage together, but now, only Xiao Dong walked out.”

The crowd’s gaze remained fixed on Xiao Dong, some of them marvelling at his audacity.

Xiao Dong glanced briefly at Zhou Xuan Tong, then turned his attention excitedly towards the treasures within the palace, paying no heed to Zhou Xuan Tong’s presence.

Dozens of passages from which the people emerged were all connected to one side of the vast hall. On the other side, countless spiritual items were on display.

These items were enclosed in spheres of translucent light, allowing everyone to see them clearly. Those close enough could even sense the auras and grades of these spiritual items.

Items within and below the Earth grade were shielded by ordinary white light barriers, while the lower Sky grade items were covered in green lights, and the higher Sky grade items had blue lights.

Among them, eight items danced in the air, enveloped in a sphere of purple light—they were items of the lower Barren grade!

There were at least ten thousand items in total, eliciting joy from the crowd.

For the few Manifestation realm cultivators present who couldn’t fly and retrieve items from the air, the fact that they had made it here with their limited strength was commendable.

Ignoring Zhou Xuan Tong, Xiao Dong fixed his eyes on an item shrouded in a sphere of purple light. His heart trembled, and his Devourment power began to activate.

It was the ‘Great Annihilation Fruit’ of the lower Barren grade, perfectly aligning with the energy of Xiao Dong’s Abhijñā, ‘Devourment’, it promised a substantial boost to his strength.

Without hesitation, he lunged towards the barrier of light enveloping the fruit.

A growing number of people had also set their sights on these lights by now.

The speed of each light sphere varied, corresponding to the grade of the spiritual items within. The higher the grade, the faster the spheres moved.

The purple light spheres, including the one around the ‘Great Annihilation Fruit’, were incredibly swift, and were capable of effortlessly piercing through any cultivators standing in their path. Yet, those who fell victim to these spheres couldn’t even perceive their movements, meeting their demise without understanding why.

Yue Long Teng pursued the ‘Frost Moon Blade’, also encased in a purple light sphere. It was a lower Barren grade spiritual equipment matching his attribute, and none dared to challenge him for it.

The other two Abhijñā realm cultivators were likewise in pursuit, though the items they chased didn’t precisely align with their attributes. Still, securing these treasures meant they could sell or trade them for more suitable acquisitions.

Zhou Xuan Tong observed Xiao Dong’s blatant disregard, and a simmering undercurrent of killing intent stirred within him.

He closely monitored Xiao Dong’s pursuit of the lower Barren grade spiritual item, attempting twice to intervene and disrupt him. However, after the second thwarted attempt, Xiao Dong’s resentment towards Zhou Xuan Tong transformed into a raging storm.

With a fierce glare, Xiao Dong unleashed the full strength of his Devourment, swiftly engaging in a battle with Zhou Xuan Tong. Now awakened with his Abhijñā, Xiao Dong, at the sixth layer of the Cognizance realm, he was indomitable within the Cognizance realm and faced Zhou Xuan Tong head-on without a shred of fear.

Bai Xiao Mo observed their clash with nonchalance, focusing instead on working alongside Wang Chuang to seize the higher Sky grade spiritual item they coveted.

Soon, they were on the verge of capturing the sphere of blue light.

Meanwhile, at the entrance, Murong Lin belatedly arrived.

He had randomly chosen a passageway in the grand hall and soon discovered that everything had already been claimed. However, the loss of these spiritual items didn’t trouble Murong Lin. Swiftly, he made his way towards the grand palace, his delayed appearance finally occurring in the nick of time.

Inside the vast palace, chaos reigned. Countless spiritual items and numerous cultivators filled the air, engaging in fierce battles within the expansive hall.

In the midst of this tumult, the showdown between Xiao Dong and Zhou Xuan Tong had escalated to its peak. Yue Long Teng had already secured the spiritual item he coveted and was now speeding towards another purple sphere.

Murong Lin’s gaze was naturally drawn towards the spiritual items, recalling the wealth of valuable treasures stored within his memory.

With a swift movement, he materialized before a purple sphere, his outstretched arm reaching towards it.

Contained within was a monk’s prayer bead, seemingly ordinary in appearance, lacking any ostentation. Nevertheless, being a lower Barren grade spiritual equipment encased in the purple sphere, no one dared to underestimate its value.

Several onlookers expressed surprise as they observed Murong Lin targeting this item. Multiple individuals had aimed for it before, but few could persevere. The item’s speed was too formidable, and the time required to capture it was too long. Many believed it more sensible to focus on gathering multiple higher Sky grade spiritual items.

Yet, Murong Lin had different intentions. He wasn’t seeking this item for his personal cultivation but rather for a trade.

In his recollections, a participant with a Buddhism Abhijñā possessed an item that piqued Murong Lin’s interest.

With the lower Barren grade spiritual item in his sights, Murong Lin intended to secure it for a potential trade.

However, in the blink of an eye, multiple attacks were launched towards him. These assaults originated from cultivators who had been in hot pursuit of the prayer bead, maintaining a cautious distance from one another as they vied for the item.

As Murong Lin neared the capture of the coveted item, anxiety set in among the onlookers, prompting them to unanimously turn their aggression towards him.

Being in his own appearance now, Murong Lin went unrecognized by most. Swiftly, he drew his paring knife to retaliate against the incoming attacks.

“Sky Net style!”

“Apocalypse style!”

Two distinct blade techniques were unleashed simultaneously. Not only did they neutralize the attacks aimed at him, but Murong Lin also utilized the energy from these strikes to materialize instantly next to the spiritual item.

With a quick grab, he shattered the purple light sphere with his bare hands and seized the prayer beads. A slight smile adorned his face as he turned to face his attackers.

Observing Murong Lin successfully acquire the prayer beads and nullify their attacks, frustration boiled over among the surrounding cultivators. They quickly formed a circle around him, shouting their demands:

“Hand over that item!”

“You insolent brat! Do you court death? How dare you snatch the item I had my eye on!”

“Everyone, charge! Kill him!”

All of them were Cognizance realm cultivators, and the prospect of relinquishing the lower Barren grade item was simply inconceivable. Witnessing that Murong Lin’s strength wasn’t significantly inferior to theirs, greed took hold.

The leader among the three that matched Murong Lin’s cultivation at the eighth layer of the Cognizance realm, glared at Murong Lin standing silently, nodding with the spiritual item in hand. He demanded, “What the hell are you doing!?”

Done with his nodding, Murong Lin smiled and replied, “I’m counting my kills, so I don’t kill the wrong people.”

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