Over the next two days, Lin Mu did not go out but stayed at home to cultivate.

His mother and Qin Luoli, however, would leave early in the morning and not return until evening. Every time they came home, they would huddle together, writing and drawing as they discussed something in low voices. Sometimes, when Lin Mu tried to eavesdrop on their conversation, Qin Luoli would chase him away.

Lady Su would also ask, "Can you even understand this?" before rattling off a bunch of professional jargon.

The remark left Lin Mu quite flustered, as he truly didn't understand. He had absolutely no interest in business.

The day after returning from the Guan Family, Lin Mu made a trip to the bank to cash the check. The 500,000 was a substantial sum of money. Meanwhile, Ning Xian personally called to inform him that once the company settled its accounts, they would transfer a payment to him within the next couple of days.

Lin Mu wasn't in a hurry. Now that he had money, he no longer needed to worry about it.

For the past two days, aside from focusing on his cultivation, Lin Mu had been studying the scroll he obtained from the Guan Family. On it, a woman stood alone with a longsword on her back. Although rendered in just a few simple strokes, her unique charm seemed to leap off the page.

The following evening, after finishing his cultivation, Lin Mu took out the scroll as usual and gently ran his fingers over it.

The paper of this scroll is clearly very ordinary, yet it can withstand this sword intent. The person who painted it must have been a sword cultivator.

Lin Mu examined the scroll and fell into deep thought. From the first moment he saw it, he knew it contained a faint yet extremely pure sword intent. Moreover, he was certain the artist's Cultivation Level was incredibly high; otherwise, that sword intent could not have been embedded so perfectly into the painting, preserved to this day.

However, what troubles me is that even though I was once Emperor Zun, with a lifetime of vast knowledge, I still can't unravel the secrets of this scroll. Just the sword intent alone makes me feel an inexplicable thrum of excitement. I'm certain that if I can unlock the scroll's secret, I'll obtain a considerable stroke of fortune. In truth, even though I never specialized in the sword, I acquired countless advanced sword cultivation techniques. Back then, my own cultivation was no longer bound by any single school or sect. I knew a great many of the advanced techniques and secrets of the various Immortal sects. To be stumped by a mere painting now... It's quite frustrating. For the past two days, I've tried countless methods—burning it with fire, soaking it in water, infusing it with mana, even attempting to refine it with numerous secret techniques—but the scroll hasn't reacted at all.

Putting the scroll down, Lin Mu adjusted his mindset and assessed his current cultivation.

I'm still at the fourth level of Qi Refining, but I've reached a bottleneck. I estimate I should be able to break through in about a month. This might sound slow, but in the current environment on Earth, where spiritual energy is scarce, it's actually incredibly fast. I'm not in a rush, though. I need to build a solid foundation, to condense and refine my mana again and again.

While Lin Mu was contemplating, he didn't notice that under the moonlight, the female figure on the scroll lying to the side seemed to move slightly, but it was only for an instant before it returned to normal.

The next day, Qin Luoli and his mother left the house as usual. They said they had found a promising storefront; not only was the location excellent, but the interior facilities were also complete and ready for immediate business. However, the owner's asking price was high, and several other competitors were interested, so they hadn't been able to finalize a deal. Today, they planned to try their luck again and see if they could find the owner for a private negotiation.

Although I don't know how great this storefront is, I can guess from their tone that they'll probably come back empty-handed again. Still, I can't be bothered with such things. Qin Luoli knows what she's doing.

After breakfast, Lin Mu began exercising in the courtyard, slowly practicing a set of punches. A short while later, he finished the set, lowered his hands, and looked toward the entrance.

"I didn't expect Master Lin to be a boxing master as well."

A man and a woman walked in. The man in front was tall and powerfully built, carrying himself with an imposing aura. His piercing eyes sized Lin Mu up seriously. The person behind him, a young woman, was petite but fiery, and she glared at Lin Mu with undisguised annoyance.

It was none other than the siblings, Guan Feifei and Guan Jiaojiao.

"Is there something you need?" Lin Mu glanced at Guan Feifei, then nonchalantly found a chair, poured himself a cup of tea, and began sipping it slowly.

"Hey, Lin Mu, you..." Seeing Lin Mu blatantly ignore her, Guan Jiaojiao seethed with such anger that her teeth itched, and she had to resist the urge to bite him.

"Jiaojiao!" Guan Feifei called out sharply. He then stepped forward, offering Lin Mu a fist and palm salute. "Master Lin, please don't be offended. My sister is young and doesn't know any better."

Lin Mu replied indifferently, "If she doesn't know any better, she should be taught. Besides, she doesn't look that young to me."

"You're the one who's old! Do you even know how to talk?" Guan Jiaojiao nearly leaped into the air, brandishing her hands like an angry little lioness.

"Guan Jiaojiao, if you disrespect Master Lin again, I will confine you to the house for three months!" Guan Feifei's tone grew heavy as he scolded her coldly.

"Brother, I... fine. I'll shut up."

Seeing her brother's warning glare, Guan Jiaojiao fell silent, though she still felt wronged.

In our family, I'm not afraid of Grandpa or Dad, only my big brother. He's bullied me since we were little, but he's also incredibly good to me. Whenever I was picked on, I never dared to tell Grandpa, and Dad wouldn't bother with such trivial matters. It was always my brother who stood up for me. He wouldn't even care if he got a bruised and swollen face; he'd just pat my head, tell me not to cry, and promise that we'd go fight them again after he healed. It's been like that for as long as I can remember. The Guan Family has humble origins, so it's normal to be looked down upon in Capital City. But with his bare fists, my brother beat those young masters and princes from the capital until they cried for mercy.

Guan Feifei looked at Lin Mu, a young man about his own age, with a flicker of curiosity in his eyes.

A Martial Arts Grandmaster? A healer with divine abilities? Of course, this was all just what Grandfather told me. I haven't seen it myself, but I saw what happened to that Qi Xiaolong. It was truly tragic. And that Xu Feng... his Dantian was destroyed.

Thinking of this, Guan Feifei suppressed his curiosity and said to Lin Mu, "Master Lin, Grandfather asked me to tell you that we will proceed as you instructed. We will inform you immediately of any news from the Dark Web, but you must promise to keep it confidential."

Lin Mu nodded. "Tell Elder Guan that I will honor my promises."

"Thank you, Master Lin." With that, Guan Feifei turned to leave.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned back. "By the way, is that person named Liu Zijian a friend of yours, Master Lin?"

"What happened to him?"

Guan Feifei said, "While investigating a Dark Web faction in River City, we stumbled upon his name."

Lin Mu's eyes narrowed.

In that instant, Guan Feifei felt as if his very soul had been plunged into an icy sea, a bone-deep chill spreading through him. Even Guan Jiaojiao couldn't help but shiver, a hint of fear now coloring her gaze as she looked at Lin Mu.

I'm not an idiot, I know Lin Mu is powerful... I'm just annoyed.

"Master Lin, please don't misunderstand," Guan Feifei explained hastily, suppressing the unease in his heart. "Of course, Liu Zijian isn't a member of the Dark Web. However, our investigation suggests that he has been targeted by them."

"What exactly is going on?" Lin Mu asked, his gaze turning cold.

"We're not sure of the details yet," Guan Feifei said, "but I've already sent people to protect him secretly. It's just that I'm too busy with other matters right now and can't spare any more men, so..."

Before Guan Feifei could finish, Lin Mu was already on his feet and heading for the door.

"Thanks. I'll go take a look myself!"

The Dark Web... Daring to target a brother of mine? You're courting death!

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