Having talked to Tian Ning, Lin Mu left the healing pavilion.
While he knew that his talk wasn't fully effective, it was still good in becoming closer acquaintances with Tian Ning. At the very least, he was sure that Tian Ning thought of him to be on the same level as him.
'I should head to the Spring valley restaurant.' Lin Mu thought before making his way to the establishment.
Upon reaching there, he quickly went upstairs without being stopped. In fact, the servants and staff were all stunned after seeing him and no one questioned him.
It was clear that the news of his win against Tian Ning had already spread among the populace.
But just as he was about to get the room, he encountered another acquittance of his.
"Ah, Daoist Mu Lin!" A transfixing voice could be heard.
Lin Mu looked at the woman who was smiling at him.
"Greetings, Countess Xiurong." Lin Mu cupped his hands in salute.
"Oh, you forget the formalities, Daoist Mu Lin." Countess Xiurong spoke. "At least when you are with me." She added.
"Sure." Lin Mu just went with the flow and nodded his head. "It is a pleasure meeting you here. I missed you the last few times." He spoke.
"Indeed. I've been a bit busy with work you see. I apologize for not fulfilling my duties as a host." She replied.
"It is fine countess. Someone of your standing has a lot of work after all." Lin Mu waved his hand.
"Oh, you're so understanding Daoist Mu Lin." The countess smiled. "Though I must congratulate you for your win. I certainly had confidence in you." She praised.
"I am flattered countess." Lin Mu replied to the woman.
"You surely underplay your achievements. Not many can do what you have after all." The countess said in a sultry voice. "Perhaps we should have a meeting in private… later."
"Hmm… I must apologize. But my current time is occupied with the tournament as well as cultivation." Lin Mu rejected calmly.
The countess's expression wavered a bit, her lips trembling.
But in the end, she held up her expression and simply replied, "Of course. A man of your stature has a lot to achieve. I'll be looking forward to your feats." She said. "You should hurry to your companions. I hope I've been a good host to them as well." She said with a little chuckle before taking her leave.
Lin Mu didn't think about the countess's words much before heading to the room where his companions were waiting for him.
~CREAK~
The doors opened up, revealing everyone that had been waiting for him.
"BROTHER MU LIN!" Luo Liqin as well as the others shouted in unison.
"Congratulations on entering the top 32!" Ming Dandan was the first to speak after that.
"Not many can do what you have done, Brother." Qian Wen spoke as well.
"No… You all will be doing the same." Lin Mu said right away. "Or at least that is my goal." He added.
"Of course." Ming Aolian smiled. "If Brother Mu Lin wishes, I think anything is possible."
"Indeed." Lu Xu nodded his head.
They exchanged praises for a couple more minutes before Lin Mu finally changed the topic to the crucial one.
"We should get to work." Lin Mu stated. "Luo Liqin, how are things on the betting pavilion side?" he asked right away.
"Please take a look." Luo Liqin placed the plate in front of Lin Mu, allowing him to check it himself.
"Oh? Twenty two thousand?" Lin Mu was surprised.
"That's only so far." Luo Liqin replied. We still have two more fights to finish in this cycle after all. The final tally would be higher than this." He added before pulling up the two fights that were still running.
"How much are we expected to make from these?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Since we didn't have a guarantee whether you would win or not, I placed about five thousand High Grade immortal stones on them. Half on each." Luo Liqin answered.
"Hmm… I see." Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and glanced at the fights that were running.
In both the matches, the contestants were evenly matched and had been fighting for almost two hours now. And despite that, the winner was still not clear.
Regardless of that though the audience was cheering for them and was clearly excited for it.
"Are you going to… do it, Brother Mu Lin?" Lu Xu inquired.
"I may as well." Lin Mu answered.
He was unsure about infiltrating the Spatial Place before this since Lin Mu didn't know when his own match would end. But now that he was here he could do it, especially since it seemed like there was no clear winner to the fight.
"Who is the most likely to win the fight?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Both of the fights have even odds. It doesn't matter who wins, we can change our bets even now." Luo Liqin answered.
"Then I guess I can experiment a bit." Lin Mu replied before closing his eyes.
A moment later, he activated his spatial perception and looked up at the sky. His vision bypassed the roof of the Spring Valley restaurant and directly gazed at the spatial planes hidden in the void. Once he had locked onto them Lin Mu extended his immortal sense.
It reached the border of the spatial fabric, before passing through the nodes in the spatial array.
Lin Mu's journey through the spatial channel had helped once again here, as he had observed the flawed nodes closely. It allowed his immortal sense to enter effortlessly and reach the limits of the Spatial plane in just ten minutes.
And once it was there, all that was left was for Lin Mu to act.
"I'm in." Lin Mu said with a smile.
"Whenever you wish, Brother Mu Lin." Luo Liqin stated. "I'll be ready to modify the bet."
"Alright." With that said, Lin Mu began his work and started chanting, targeting the first Spatial Plane.
