Chapter 111 You have the final say

"Um, but my alchemy skills are not yet perfect, these Golden Chains still have some flaws, they only work within ten steps, and to activate them, one must exhaust all their Qi. Given my strength, the duration is only about ten breaths," Zhao Sinin explained, not entirely dumbfounded by the little stars in her eyes.

"Ten breaths, such a short time, and it exhausts all the Qi, what use is that?" Upon hearing Zhao Sinin’s words, Fourth Miss Zhao was somewhat disappointed.

"If it were just me alone, of course it wouldn’t be enough, but you could help too. When the time comes, you activate the Golden Chains. With your strength, as long as you can trap them for five breaths, I will be able to seal their bloodline, leaving them unable to exert any strength. At that point, whether to kill or torture will be entirely up to you, dear cousin," said Zhao Sinin with a sinister smile.

"Good," said Fourth Miss Zhao without any hesitation. She dreamt day and night of stepping on Mu Hanyan, using every method to bully and humiliate her, and naturally she wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

"Let’s go wait outside the Mu family now. As soon as Mu Hanyan steps out, we’ll seize the opportunity to strike." Imagining Mu Hanyan groveling at her feet like a dog, Fourth Miss Zhao’s heart raced, unable to delay any further.

With their plan in place, the two headed towards the Mu family.

Meanwhile, Mu Cheng too returned to the Mu family, filled with doubts.

At the Nanmu Auction, he had hidden in the crowd and watched everything from start to finish, except for the incident with the Seven-star Flower Cage Grass, and he had seen it all. As the saying goes, the observer sees clearer—confronted with Mu Hanyan’s various schemes and astonishing moves, his feelings were even deeper than those of Zirong Huayue and the others.

"Is this really the same playboy and fool? No, this is completely wrong; it’s like she’s become a different person altogether. What could have caused such a radical transformation in a playboy?" Mu Cheng racked his brains but could not find an answer.

He only knew one thing—if such a change happened to him, and given his vastly superior talents compared to that fool, his achievements would certainly be boundless.

Excited by his thoughts, Mu Cheng became more resolute and continued to follow Mu Hanyan and the others.

The Long Yan Mountain range was about a thousand miles away from Heishi City—a considerable distance for teenagers. Mu Hanyan first packed her belongings and after briefly bidding farewell to her family, she left the Mu family.

Mu Rui’an’s attitude towards Mu Hanyan was always indulgent on the surface but protective in secrecy. Knowing her current cultivation level and feeling reassured, he was anticipative and hoped she would gain more experience, and thus did not oppose her decision.

Fan Ling, ultimately too kind-hearted, gave Mu Hanyan some careful admonitions at the parting, and even handed over her personal savings of 3,000 taels of silver, fearing Mu Hanyan might suffer any hardship on the road.

"Did I hear you’re going on a journey to train for a few days?" As she walked out the door, she saw Mu Hanfeng, whose expression was as cold as his father’s and seemed to have been carved from the same mold. His face was indifferent, but the flicker of concern and worry in his eyes was instantly caught by Mu Hanyan.

"Um, training is indeed the best shortcut to increase one’s strength," said Mu Hanyan.

Mu Hanfeng was slightly taken aback; the old Mu Hanyan would never talk about such matters aside from indulging in pleasures and causing trouble.

"Your sword is no good; take this one instead," Mu Hanfeng said, handing a longsword to Mu Hanyan.

The sword still sheathed, Mu Hanyan could feel waves of chill emanating from it.

"Cold Sky Sword!" Mu Hanyan blurted out.