Cunning!

Xiao Mu cursed under his breath as strange noises echoed around.

Crack!

A flash of white light surged forward, the power of Creation rushing into Xiao Mu's spiritual consciousness.

Xiao Mu's divine sense immediately shifted, escaping the range of the Sky-catching Net.

Without hesitation, Xiao Mu controlled his spiritual consciousness to flee. In an instant, he left the Heavenly Court's station, returning to the Human World Base. His spiritual consciousness descended and re-entered his own body.

"So close! So cunning!"

Xiao Mu felt lingering fear.

Meng Xuantong had apparently already noticed him, setting a trap to capture him.

It seems that having one's soul leave the body is not invincible; at least a True God has the ability to detect it.

"From now on, I must be cautious when facing True Gods; even the act of soul separation is prone to being discovered."

Although, even if captured, he wouldn't die, suffering injuries would be inevitable.

Xiao Mu quietly made a mental note to be more careful.

"The forces of the Heavenly Court are stronger than anticipated. Preparations for the battle over the Life and Death Seal must be more thorough."

Xiao Mu sat down and consumed energy fruits, continuing to enhance his Realm.

As for the Secret Manual, there was no rush to cultivate it for now—when the time comes to enter an array, he would cultivate whatever was most useful at that moment.

※※※

Alliance, Never-falling Divine Mountain, Floating Sky City.

In the conference hall, ten Grand Elders were present, with four engaged in a meeting.

They were Jin Yuan, Fei Xuan, Yan Ming, and Xiong Jin.

Grand Elder Jin Yuan declared, "Everyone, new information has come in. Over at Twilight Forest Village, Xiao Mu entered the Sealed Land, broke through the Five Elements Sect, killed over ten disciples of the sect, including three True God Realm cultivators, and slaughtered the sect's patriarch, obtaining the Five Elements Divine Token."

"What? Xiao Mu… he killed the patriarch of the Five Elements Sect? How is that possible?"

"Absurd! The patriarch of the Five Elements Sect is a True God; how could Xiao Mu kill him? This information must be incorrect!"

"Impossible! For Zhou Xuanmen and Zun to dare falsely report merits—how outrageous!"

At Jin Yuan's statement, the three elders grew agitated.

While Xiao Mu breaking through the Five Elements Sect was not particularly surprising, slaughtering the patriarch of the Five Elements Sect was utterly unacceptable.

Divine Spirits and True Gods are fundamentally not on the same level. Killing across such a vast gap in rank seemed entirely implausible.

"Everyone!"

Jin Yuan raised his right hand, "I looked into this matter and discovered that Xiao Mu did not rely on his own power but instead leveraged the strength of the Creation Array to slay the patriarch."

"So that's how it happened!"

"No wonder. I was wondering how a Divine Spirit could possibly slay a True God. If it was through the Creation Array, it might indeed have been possible."

The elders calmed down; Xiao Mu using the Great Array to kill the patriarch of the Five Elements Sect was far more acceptable.

"Currently, Zhou Xuanmen and Zun are requesting merits on behalf of Xiao Mu. In the battle, Xiao Mu killed seventeen disciples of the Five Elements Sect, including three True God Realm cultivators, and on top of that, the patriarch himself. How should such merits be evaluated? Everyone, weigh in."

"Furthermore, Xiao Mu not only killed the patriarch but also retrieved the Five Elements Divine Token."

"What? The Five Elements Divine Token? Xiao Mu seized the Five Elements Divine Token? Where is it? Where is the token now?"

"The Five Elements Divine Token—has it been sent to Headquarters?"

Upon hearing about the Divine Token, the three Grand Elders immediately grew restless, all standing up with urgent expressions.

"Everyone, calm down, calm down. The Five Elements Divine Token was gifted by Xiao Mu to Zun. Now, Zun has ascended to become a True God." Jin Yuan pressed his hands downward, quieting the crowd as he disclosed the token's status.

"He gave it to Zun? What a waste!" Xiong Jin lamented.

Fei Xuan sighed regretfully, "Why would he give it to Zun? Did Xiao Mu not realize that spoils of war should be handed over to Headquarters for allocation?"

Yan Ming remarked, "What a pity. Zun is merely at the Early Stage of the True God Realm. Does Xiao Mu not understand the importance of maximizing resource utilization?"

"If Grand Elder Jin Yuan had used it, the Human World could have instantly gained another top-tier True God."

"Such a waste! What a waste!"

Xiong Jin shook his head, sighing deeply.

"To fail to fully utilize an artifact and enhance strength to its maximum—what a shame. If only Grand Elder Jin Yuan had been the one to use it!" Fei Xuan echoed the sentiment with a sigh.

"Everyone, everyone!"

Jin Yuan chuckled, "Xiao Mu's treasures—who he wants to give them to is not something we can dictate. As higher-ups, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to pressure someone into surrendering their possessions, would it? If we did so, it would fracture unity and trust. How would the Human World Alliance continue to exist then?"

Xiong Jin gave a thumbs-up, praising Jin Yuan, "Grand Elder Jin Yuan is magnanimous. But Xiao Mu… it seems his personal motives are far too heavy; he's unable to fully dedicate himself to the Alliance's broader interests. He gifted the Five Elements Divine Token to Zun because of their close relationship. Someone like that… what can I say? Still, as higher-ups, we shouldn't criticize subordinates too harshly. After all, who doesn't have selfish motives?"

"Xiao Mu prioritizing his own allies—it's not something we can overly blame him for."

"True enough!"

Yan Ming nodded in agreement, "Still, his vision seems rather limited."

Jin Yuan smiled, "Everyone, let's focus on evaluating Xiao Mu's merits instead."

Xiong Jin pondered for a moment, "For killing the patriarch of the Five Elements Sect and acquiring the Five Elements Divine Token, ordinarily, it should warrant a great merit."

"However, since Xiao Mu kept the Five Elements Divine Token for personal use, strictly speaking, that act was private, not public."

"If it's private, rewarding him for it would make others distrustful, wouldn't it?"

"If we reward him, wouldn't it set a precedent encouraging everyone to conceal spoils of war instead of contributing them?"

"Well said!" Fei Xuan nodded, rarely agreeing with Xiong Jin, "Elder Xiong, please continue."

Xiong Jin adopted a somber tone, "Other rewards can be given. But as for his achievements in killing the patriarch and obtaining the Five Elements Divine Token, those particular rewards should not be granted."

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