Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

"Mu Chen."

Dilaka was a little worried. Judging from Mu Chen’s current state, his mood had hit rock bottom. As Mu Chen’s pre-assigned mentor, he felt a wave of powerlessness, not knowing where to start or how to comfort him. After all, they had only met twice.

"Master Dilaka, I’m fine..."

As perceptive as he was, Mu Chen couldn’t have missed the concern others showed him. He smiled faintly. Though still a bit forced, it carried a hint of relief.

Without the sorrow and reluctance of parting, how could one experience the joy and happiness of reunion? This kind of separation, after all, would eventually end.

"Um..." Mu Chen looked a bit embarrassed, rubbing his nose as he asked, "It seems I’m the only one without a mentor. That can’t be a coincidence, can it?"

Dilaka had been struggling to find a topic to discuss with Mu Chen, so he was delighted to hear this. He chuckled. "How could that be? Actually... the insidious old guy Zhu Jiuqian mentioned, the one who’d already claimed you? That’s me. I’m your mentor."

"Huh?"

"What’s with that look?" Seeing Mu Chen’s dumbfounded expression, Dilaka shook his head. "Since they all went through some unnecessary formalities, I might as well follow the trend."

"Dilaka, Holy Domain Ninth Ring, Mountain Guardian Elder of Holy Tomb Mountain, a Gold Attribute Martial Artist."

His words were light, neither boastful nor arrogant, as if stating a simple fact. But when he spoke those three short sentences, Zhu Jiuqian, Shan Qiuhen, and Murong Yan—who had stood silently beside him from the moment Bingli appeared until Nameless departed—all showed profound respect.

"I may not have the strength of the Bingli Valley Master, but there are still a few people on the continent who know the name Dilaka. I wonder if someone like me is qualified to be your mentor."

The three beside them scoffed at this. ’A few people who know him?’ When it came to cultivation in the Martial Artist Realm, Dilaka was indeed inferior to Bingli. But in terms of fame, the name Dilaka was renowned throughout the entire Central State, and even the Extreme Martial Continent. All because of his terrifying individual combat strength! He could probably even hold his own against Bingli!

"Mentor Dilaka."

Mu Chen’s response was a bow and a title. With this, he gave Dilaka his answer. Because of Duan Wang’s Spiritual Impact, the entrance ceremony outside Holy Tomb Mountain had been ruined. Mu Chen had no choice but to follow Dilaka, Shan Qiuhen, Murong Yan, and Zhu Jiuqian to carry the unconscious crowd back to Holy Tomb Mountain.

In the process of doing this, Mu Chen learned a great deal of basic information from Dilaka. But what concerned him the most was the matter of the so-called "factions."

According to Dilaka, whenever new students entered Holy Tomb Mountain, representatives from the factions would come to recruit new blood. However, this was limited to Outer Mountain members. As for Inner Mountain members, they would only be recruited by Inner Mountain factions when they advanced from the Outer Mountain.

For all the classes before them, new students had always started in the Outer Mountain, relying on their own strength to pass assessments and earn their way into the Inner Mountain. But their class was different. They had passed the Inner Mountain assessment directly, so factions would surely be scrambling to invite them upon entry. The final decision, however, was in their own hands.

Seeing Mu Chen pondering with a hand on his chin while simultaneously keeping four people afloat, Dilaka couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you so concerned about the factions? With your talent and ability, you should be recruited by the strongest faction in the Inner Mountain soon enough. You don’t need to worry so much."

Curious, Mu Chen asked, "The strongest faction in the Inner Mountain... which one is it?"

Dilaka nodded. "Specifically, it’s not just one, but three. One is Tianyu, led by Shan Qiuhen’s grandson, Shan Tianyu. The second is Black Rose, a faction founded by a female student named Chu Aoqing. By the way, all the members of Black Rose are women, excelling in both martial arts and looks. And this Chu Aoqing is extremely popular in the Inner Mountain. I’ve heard she and Shan Qiuhen’s granddaughter, Shan Ziyan, are called the ’Peerless Twin Beauties.’"

At this point, Dilaka winked at Mu Chen and joked, "If it were you, Black Rose might just make an exception and recruit a male student."

"Ugh..." Mu Chen’s face darkened. It only confirmed his theory that all old men were really just overgrown kids.

"Haha." With a light chuckle, Dilaka continued, "As for the third, it’s called the Freedom Association. A very cliché name, but it fits their identity well. Because all the members of the Freedom Association are loners."

"Loners?" Mu Chen repeated.

"That’s right, loners. The so-called ’loners’ are those who fail to gain recognition from the major factions but are unwilling to stoop to joining a minor one. These people often have no faction, and thus no safe harbor or protection within the mountain. To alleviate this situation, someone created this completely free faction, the Freedom Association."

"Their numbers are, without a doubt, the largest of all factions in the Inner Mountain; more than three times the size of Tianyu and more than six times that of Black Rose. This is the reason the Freedom Association managed to squeeze into the ranks of the top-tier factions. However, because the members’ strength is so uneven, even with their large numbers, they can only rank third among these top-tier factions."

After speaking, Dilaka glanced at Mu Chen and said, "In reality, the gap between these three factions is very small. If you absolutely had to rank them, it would be Black Rose first, Tianyu second, and the Freedom Association third."

Mu Chen was taken aback. He asked in surprise, "Black Rose has the fewest members and they’re all women, yet they still rank first?"

Meanwhile, the Freedom Association, with the most members, was only third. It was a completely inverse relationship between size and ranking. But because of this, Mu Chen grew even more interested in the woman named Chu Aoqing.

"Indeed. Because every woman in Black Rose is the elite of the elite." Dilaka sighed. It seemed that for a long time now, the female students of the Inner Holy Tomb Mountain had consistently overshadowed the male students. He had studied this phenomenon for a long time without any results and eventually gave up.

’Wait a second... maybe if I put this guy in there, the situation might change.’ At this thought, a strong sense of anticipation for Mu Chen grew within Dilaka.

"Mentor Dilaka, may this student ask one more question? Is it possible for someone to survive without joining a faction, or even the Freedom Association?" A glint flashed in Mu Chen’s eyes as he asked. Then, fearing he might have been too abrupt, he quickly added, "I just don’t like being constrained."

"Not join a faction? Not even the Freedom Association? And still survive? Don’t like being constrained? Well..." Dilaka’s mouth twitched. He thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with an answer. He finally said, "Mu Chen, you have to understand. Although you have terrifying Tier-Jumping combat abilities, you’re still lacking a lot compared to the current Inner Mountain members. Perhaps members of small factions won’t pose a threat to you, but a mid-tier faction could suppress you severely. And according to the rules of Holy Tomb Mountain, mentors are not allowed to interfere in the power struggles between students, unless there’s a threat to life."

"Meaning, until your life is directly threatened, even I, your mentor, cannot interfere if a faction decides to suppress you. So, in Holy Tomb Mountain, it’s basically impossible to survive without a faction. Unless..." Dilaka trailed off, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Unless what?" Mu Chen asked hurriedly.

"Unless you can create your own faction and recruit a certain number of people! Then you can set your own rules! That’s the only way to satisfy your three conditions. However, if this were the Outer Mountain, creating a top-tier faction with your strength would be no problem at all. But you’ve passed the Inner Mountain assessment. Here in the Inner Mountain, any random member’s strength surpasses that of the strongest person in the Outer Mountain. To establish a foothold with your current strength... it’s just not possible yet."

Mu Chen was stunned. He had been so focused on the issue of factions that he’d forgotten they had passed the Inner Mountain assessment. Based on his current strength, a Fifth-Ring Martial Emperor could defeat him. The members of the Inner Mountain had probably all surpassed that realm. What did he have to face them with? What resources could he possibly use to create his own faction?

SIGH...

He thought it over and over. Without relying on the Profound Old Ghost, it was a hopeless situation. Long Xiaotian’s original plan had been to avoid being bullied in the Outer Mountain while gaining some fame to build a foundation for entering the Inner Mountain. But now, they had skipped the Outer Mountain stage entirely and gone straight to the Inner Mountain. So, the matter of creating a faction could be temporarily set aside.

"You’re right, Mentor. It seems I was being too stubborn." With an awkward smile, Mu Chen changed his tone. "I’ll just observe for a few days and find a faction to join then."

Dilaka nodded. "That’s for the best. Don’t be impulsive if you run into trouble in the Inner Mountain, but don’t be timid either. My only requirement for you is this: remember that your mentor is Dilaka. Also, I’m very protective of my own. While I can’t interfere if others try to suppress you, I can still give you a few things now and then, hehe..."

"Also, I really do hope you join Black Rose. Setting aside their strength, their Cultivation Resources are incredibly abundant—so abundant they can’t even use them all."

As Dilaka finished, he broke into a completely unexpected, toothy grin. To Mu Chen, the smile was a bit comical, but mostly, it was kind of cute. It reminded Mu Chen of Elder Mu from the Xuanling Imperial Academy. That last sentence, in particular, made Mu Chen’s heart feel very warm. He became even more determined not to cause any trouble for Dilaka during his time at Holy Tomb Mountain.

What Mu Chen didn’t know was that if anyone else saw Dilaka with this expression, they would definitely report that an imposter Grand Elder was flying toward Holy Tomb Mountain.

After all, the impression Dilaka gave everyone at Holy Tomb Mountain was one of being cold-blooded and merciless. Such a humane display of emotion couldn’t possibly be from him. *Our Grand Elder can’t be this cute~*