"So it's already been five years."

Xiao Mu deliberately smirked at Jiang Mu, the contemptuous expression on his face would infuriate anyone, "You've only killed four evil creatures of the Life and Death Sect in five years, averaging less than one a year. And you're still proud enough to boast?"

"In less than three months, I've killed two evil creatures of the Life and Death Sect, averaging one a month. So what gives you the courage to compare yourself with me?"

Jiang Mu faltered upon hearing this.

Xiao Mu's words left him unable to retort.

Xiao Mu then sneered: "Not to mention, it took you five years to progress from the early stage of the Fifth Realm to the peak, do you dare to show off about that too? Within half a year, I progressed from the early stage of the Fifth Realm to the late stage - did you hear me brag about that? What a waste of a man!"

"You..."

Jiang Mu might explode, his old face flushed with embarrassment and he had no idea how to retaliate.

"Waste of a man!"

Xiao Mu had no fear of Jiang Mu. This man lacked the courage to do great things because even with his Fifth Realm peak strength, he didn't dare to confront him.

Moreover, even if Jiang Mu tried to do something to Xiao Mu, Xiao Mu, who had mastered the Yin and Yang Puppetry Technique and Soul Severing Netherworld Advanced Technique, wouldn't be afraid of him.

"Such arrogance, such arrogance, haha, but I like it. Friend, your name is Xiao Mu? I'm Zhu Dui, how about we become friends?"

The muscular middle-aged man who had been standing beside Jiang Mu and laughing exaggeratedly now showed a friendly smile to Xiao Mu.

"Zhu Dui, nice to meet you!"

Xiao Mu politely saluted Zhu Dui.

"Nice to meet you!"

Zhu Dui reciprocated Xiao Mu's greeting, and generously said, "if you ever need help, feel free to ask. As long as I can do it and as long as the reward you give is sufficient, I'll be at your beck and call."

I thought he's going to help out of friendship!

Xiao Mu's expression was slightly strange, his astonishment mixed with a sense of absurdity.

"This is my friend, Hua Jin."

Zhu Dui suddenly introduced Xiao Mu to a young woman in a cool, antique white dress not far from them. She was around twenty and had a cold and distant aura that made her seem hard to approach.

"Hua Jin, nice to meet you."

Xiao Mu turned to the young woman, Hua Jin, and nodded.

However, Hua Jin glanced at him and didn't respond.

There's really a lot of weirdos here!

Xiao Mu muttered to himself, but didn't take it to heart.

Hua Jin's aura made him involuntarily think of someone he knew.

Could this Hua Jin be the same Lady Hua I know? In that case, could Zhu Dui be Mister Zhu, the RV owner?

Xiao Mu secretly guessed the identity of Zhu Dui and Hua Jin, matching them with people he knew.

"Xiao Mu, it's your turn to show off now, but let's see how long you can keep it up."

Jiang Mu finally thought of something to say, gnashed his teeth, and spat out a sentence at Xiao Mu.

"Team Leader Jiang, you're still alive. It's been quiet for a while, I thought you're already dead."

Xiao Mu retorted without a hint of politeness.

"You~"

Jiang Mu was again at a loss for words.

"Old Jiang, let him be arrogant. He's not the only one with a sharp tongue. Few people with sharp tongues live long."

The old man in the long gown, Chen Han, tried to comfort Jiang Mu and took another jab at Xiao Mu.

"Chen Han, you're right."

Jiang Mu kept his gaze fixed on Xiao Mu, "Xiao Mu, I want to see how long can you keep this up. You better not let me down."

The tone was filled with deep resentment, and each sentence was obviously sarcastic.

"I'm just afraid you'll let me down."

Xiao Mu retorted in a neither soft nor tough manner.

"Silence! Be quiet!"

"Silence! The leaders have arrived! Welcome our leaders!"

From outside the Conference Hall came the guards' low shouts, accompanied by a strong surge of Five Elements power.

Everyone hurriedly moved aside, clearing the path in the center of the hall.

A beam of yellow light and a beam of white light suddenly poured in from outside the hall, like two strands of lightning, directly reaching the seats on either side of the Conference Hall.

People only felt a momentary blur before their eyes, and without seeing anything clearly, the two leaders of the Song Relics, Thunder and Xuan Mo, appeared on the seats in the main hall of the Conference Hall.

Thunder, as the chief leader, sat at the top of the left, while Xuan Mo, as the Second Leader, sat at the bottom right.

"Greetings Leader Lei, Leader Xuan, hope you are doing well!"

Everyone seamlessly moved to the middle of the hall, and saluted Thunder and Xuan Mo, who were sitting at the top of the table.

"Please, sit! We're all brothers and sisters working together, no need for formalities."

Thunder waved his hand, indicating for everyone to take their seats.

Xuan Mo's tone was gentle, and he didn't fall silent after Thunder's invitation. On the contrary, he lifted his hand and gestured to everyone, "Please, sit down."

Seeing this, Xiao Mu suddenly had a thought.

Had the rivalry between the two leaders of the Song Ruins started to escalate openly?

Just for want of instructing everyone to sit down, both leaders had competed to do so.

"Thank you, Leader!"

Everyone sought their chairs in perfect harmony. Xiao Mu casually glanced around, and quickly discerned the pattern.

It was clear that people chose their seats according to their strength; those of higher strength sat at the front, and those who were less powerful sat at the back.

The stronger a person was, the closer they were to the two leaders.

"Xiao Mu, sit here."

Xiao Mu suddenly heard Lan Cai's voice in his ear.

Xiao Mu was struck by another realization.

Choosing seats had its own rules—Lan Cai had chosen to sit on a chair on the left side, which was Thunder's side.

However, Jiang Mu had chosen to sit on the right side, which was Xuan Mo's.

Just by looking at where they chose to sit, one could clearly make out which leader they were loyal to.

Keeping up appearances, Xiao Mu walked to the chair on the left side and sat down on the last one available.

Currently, he was still at the late stage of the Fifth Realm. As he had just joined a mission group, he felt there was no need to show off.

"Hmph!"

Xuan Mo, who was sitting on the right, let out a snort, his cold gaze brushing over Xiao Mu.

As a practitioner of the True Realm, Xuan Mo's mere glance made Xiao Mu's heart quiver involuntarily.

Luckily, Xuan Mo didn't say anything, nor did he do anything to Xiao Mu.

Xiao Mu quickly regained his composure.

In front of Thunder, even if Xuan Mo was dissatisfied with him, he could do nothing. Xiao Mu was confident of this.

Only after sitting down did Xiao Mu realize that, among the people he was familiar with, like him, Tian Xiang sided with Thunder. But Hua Jin and Zhu Dui, two people he'd just met who were with Lady Hua and Mr. Zhu, sat with Xuan Mo.

Hua Jin had a cold expression, and her features remained still even after Xiao Mu's choice.

Zhu Dui, on the other hand, shook his head in a regretful manner. It seemed that he was saddened by the fact that he and Xiao Mu were on different sides.

"Let's start the meeting. I'll preside over today's meeting."

Thunder's hearty voice broke through Xiao Mu's thoughts.

Xuan Mo shifted in his chair, but in the end, he didn't voice any objection.

The two leaders had clearly found some kind of common ground when it came to presiding over meetings, perhaps it was simply that they took turns to host.

Thunder said, "Let's start with what we've gained. He Sheng, you report first about our recent harvest at the Song Ruins."

Thunder called on a middle-aged man in the peak stage of the Fifth Realm who appeared ordinary, except for a pair of curious green horns on his head. This made people question his origins.

The middle-aged man, He Sheng, was seated on Xuan Mo's side, which meant he was Xuan Mo's man.

"Yes, Leader Thunder."

He Sheng stood up and bowed to Thunder and Xuan Mo before saying, "Our recent gains from the Song Ruins have been fairly good."

"The first accomplishment—Zhao Ge successfully located the whereabouts of City God Xu. It's in some ancient ruins."

Thunder asked, "Are you sure?"

He Sheng answered hurriedly, "We're certain. The ruins indeed serve as one of City God Xu's bases."

"Very good. This is a major accomplishment."

Thunder nodded approvingly and looked towards a man in his fifties sitting closest to him on the left side. "Zhao Ge."

"Leader!"

The man in his fifties, Zhao Ge, stood up and bowed to Thunder.

Thunder praised him, "You have performed a great deed by discovering City God Xu's base. I'm awarding you a 'Breaking Reality Pill' to help you break through to the True Realm once more."

"Thank you, Leader!"

Zhao Ge was overjoyed and thanked Thunder again.

The 'Breaking Reality Pill' enhances the chances of breaking through to the True Realm.

Xuan Mo frowned slightly. It appeared he was not happy with Thunder's reward for Zhao Ge, but he didn't say anything.

"Sit down!"

After asking Zhao Ge to sit down, Thunder once again turned to He Sheng, "What else?"

He Sheng replied, "The second accomplishment—Hua Jin retrieved the 'Soul Hooking Judge's Brush.'"

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