The Reversal of Heaven Begins with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

In just a few breaths, Lin Mu had drained Xiang Wentian dry, and then with a backhand sword strike, he severed Xiang Wentian's head.

"Cough cough, you bastard, I...I'm going to kill you!"

Ren Woxing lay vomiting blood a dozen meters away, enraged after seeing Lin Mu kill Xiang Wentian.

Lin Mu scoffed: "Save your breath. I've sealed your acupoints with poison needles. Forcing your internal energy will only hasten your death."

"You want to absorb my power?"

Ren Woxing realized why Lin Mu hadn't hit his vital points with the poisoned needle earlier, and knew that he was no match for Lin Mu now. He immediately shouted, "Even if I die, I won't let you get away with it."

As he spoke, Ren Woxing slammed his palm down hard on the top of his head.

He was actually gambling.

I'm betting Lin Mu won't let me die like this.

Once Lin Mu gets close enough to block him, Ren Woxing will launch a full-scale counterattack to try and save his life.

But Lin Mu seemed to see through Ren Woxing's thoughts and did not fall for it. He simply stood there and said coldly, "Ren Woxing, you don't want anything to happen to your daughter Ren Yingying, do you?"

"You guessed right, I do want all your martial arts skills, but you can always commit suicide."

"However, I get very angry if I don't get your power. If Ren Yingying falls into my hands, she'll suffer terribly!"

Lin Mu's words were like daggers to the heart, causing Ren Woxing's hand to stop above his head, and he ultimately didn't dare to strike.

Ren Woxing is in extremely poor condition. His internal energy is surging, and he has been poisoned. His body is gradually becoming numb.

Even if Lin Mu doesn't make a move, he'll have a hard time surviving.

Lin Mu knew of Ren Yingying's existence, and with her martial arts skills, capturing her wouldn't be difficult...

Thinking of his poor daughter, Ren Woxing abandoned the idea of ​​mutual destruction and looked at Lin Mu with grief and indignation: "Cough cough... You win. If you want my power, you can... but you have to swear that you will never hurt Yingying."

“Okay, as long as Ren Yingying doesn’t provoke me, I can let her off the hook.”

Lin Mu spoke slowly and deliberately, waiting for the poison in Ren Woxing's body to intensify.

He dared not be careless towards this ruthless tyrant.

In terms of skill, Ren Woxing had absorbed the power of countless people, giving him a certain advantage over Lin Mu, who had just learned the "Star Absorbing Technique".

"Do it!"

Feeling the poison gas had entered his heart, Ren Woxing, knowing he was powerless to save himself, slumped to the ground and gave up struggling.

"excuse me!"

Lin Mu did not approach rashly. Instead, he took out several steel needles from the system space and shot them into Ren Woxing's hands and feet to disable his ability to move.

After taking precautions, Lin Mu approached the barely breathing Ren Woxing, placed his hand on Ren Woxing's shoulder, and began to use the "Star Absorbing Technique".

Ren Woxing's internal energy surged into Lin Mu's body. After being purified by the reversed version of the Star Absorbing Technique, it transformed into the purest attribute-free true energy and merged into his dantian.

As expected of a top-five expert in the world, Ren Woxing's internal strength far surpasses that of ordinary mid-stage Xiantian masters. Ten Xiang Wentians combined cannot match the strength of one Ren Woxing.

However, Ren Woxing's true energy was relatively mixed, and he had to spend most of his true energy to suppress the different kinds of true energy, so he could not fully exert its power.

After absorbing the power of Xiang Wentian and Ren Woxing, Lin Mu successfully advanced to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm. Moreover, his true energy was compressed and purified by the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, becoming extremely condensed.

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Ren!"

As the words were spoken, a flash of sword light appeared, and a head shot into the sky.

Ren Woxing's eyes were still wide open, his face frozen with resentment and longing.

Lin Mu casually threw the two headless corpses into the burning Plum Manor house.

The flames instantly engulfed the two bodies; the crackling sound of burning clothes and the pungent smell of charred flesh mingled together, making one want to vomit.

Ren Woxing's ambition and dream of dominating the martial arts world were reduced to ashes in this fire.

Chapter 25: The Value of Journey to the West

"The land of lakes and rivers is now a battleground; how can the people find joy in their simple lives?"

"Do not speak of the matter of being enfeoffed as a marquis, for the success of one general is built upon the bones of ten thousand."

After resolving the issues between Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian, no one in this world, except Lin Mu, knows the truth behind the Plum Manor massacre.

Leaving Meizhuang, Lin Mu felt as if the sea was wide enough for fish to swim freely and the sky was high enough for birds to fly freely.

As the saying goes, once you learn how to chase a rabbit with a dog, you embark on a path of no return.

With "shortcuts" available, who would still be willing to work hard?

Anyway, Lin Mu was unwilling.

What's faster or more convenient than a tailwind?

The inner strength that others painstakingly cultivate over decades can be taken by Lin Mu with a mere reach.

The thrill of this rapid increase in power is far more intoxicating than conventional training.

It's immoral, but it feels great!

"They can train again if they lose their inner strength; but if they lose their conscience... I can gain so much more!"

As his strength increased, Lin Mu's mentality gradually changed, becoming more reckless and arrogant, almost as if he didn't want to eat beef anymore.

He set off from Hangzhou and headed west.

In the towns along the way, so-called "heroes of the martial world" and bandits who ruled the mountains, as long as they possessed internal strength, would become Lin Mu's targets.

The process is simple: Lin Mu will use the disguise technique he learned from Xiang Wentian to impersonate Ren Woxing, find the target, grab him, and refine him instantly.

If someone hasn't done anything wrong, drain their power and toss them away, causing them to leave the martial world early and avoid decades of detours.

Those who commit heinous crimes will kill to silence witnesses and then plunder ill-gotten gains.

When Lin Mu occasionally encountered homeless refugees, he would distribute the gold, silver, and grain he had robbed from bandits to the disaster-stricken people.

Seeing the grateful looks in the people's eyes, a faint warmth would sweep through his heart.

Not harming ordinary civilians is perhaps one of the few "bottom lines" that Lin Mu still retains.

Over time, a strange saying began to circulate in the Jiangnan region: "I can commit murder and arson at will, and I am the savior of suffering, the Heavenly Venerable Lin."

No one knows that the two titles actually belong to the same person.

As news of Ren Woxing's return to the martial arts world spread, Lin Mu was getting closer and closer to Mount Hua.

On this day, Lin Mu arrived in Xuzhou, which is within the territory of Kaifeng.

This place is more than 400 kilometers away from Mount Hua and only more than 100 kilometers away from Mount Song.

He stayed overnight at the largest inn in the city and, unusually, did not search for a "target" but instead slept soundly.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Lin Mu finished washing up and had breakfast. He then strolled along, enjoying the scenery along the way.

Occasionally, when I see a river, I can take some time to go fishing or hunt some wild game.

After three days of sightseeing and enjoying the scenery, it was dusk.

Lin Mu rode his horse to the vicinity of Mount Song.

As the setting sun cast its last rays across the fields, several emaciated farmers bent over, holding dark cornbread. They would take a bite, then drink a sip of cold water, and even pick up the crumbs that fell on the ground and stuff them into their mouths.

Lin Mu reined in his horse, watching this scene, and sighed in his heart: "It seems that the promotion of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn is still far from enough."

Lin Mu has been in this world for three years and has done a lot.

Two years ago, after accumulating initial capital, he spent a high price to purchase seeds of high-yield crops such as potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes from overseas through maritime trading fleets, and then purchased fertile wasteland in Fujian to try planting them.

With his vague memory, he guided the farmers on composting and irrigation. That autumn, the yield of sweet potatoes was 2,000 jin per mu, and potatoes and corn were over 1,000 jin per mu, which shocked the local officials.

Subsequently, Lin Mu reported the crops and planting methods to the imperial court through officials. Emperor Jiajing was overjoyed and not only bestowed upon him a "golden certificate" but also a box of so-called "elixirs of immortality".

That imperial edict is now just a decoration in Lin Mu's system space, and it's still somewhat useful for dealing with minor officials.

As for that "elixir," Lin Mu tried to feed it to the dogs, but they wouldn't eat it.

Now, more than a year later, these high-yield crops are only grown in the Jiangnan and Fujian areas, with few distributed to other regions. People in the heart of the Central Plains are still struggling to make ends meet.

It is estimated that it will take several more years to cover the entire country.

"That's all."

Lin Mu shook his head, putting that feeling out of his mind.

He ultimately lacked a sense of belonging to this world; his true goals were to improve his strength, complete system tasks, and travel to a wider world.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Mu asked around and found that the nearest town was more than 20 miles away. Lin Mu decided to find a farmhouse nearby to stay overnight.

Passing by a farmhouse, dim yellow oil lamps shone from the low thatched huts, amidst suppressed weeping and harsh shouts.

"Stop crying! Being favored by Master Anming is a blessing your family has accumulated over several lifetimes! If you keep crying, the rent will increase by 30% next year!"

A fat monk wearing a monk's robe but with a face full of scars was grabbing an old man by the collar and spitting as he spoke.

Beside them, a ragged girl huddled in a corner, shivering, her face filled with despair.

The old man knelt down and kowtowed: "Master, please have mercy and spare my daughter... She's only fourteen years old... We've already done our best to pay the rent!"

"Try your best? Hmph, I think you just need a beating!"

The fat monk raised his foot to kick him.

Lin Mu's eyes suddenly turned cold.

He was not a compassionate saint, but this horrific scene before him precisely struck at one of the few bottom lines in his heart.

The people have suffered enough, and these scoundrels are pushing them to their deaths. Isn't this bullying honest people?

He went up and kicked her.

With a soft "crack," the fat monk's leg twisted at an odd angle as he kicked out.

"what……"

Before Fatty could even see who it was, excruciating pain overwhelmed his senses. He had barely managed to let out a half-scream when a hand like an iron clamp gripped his throat, silencing him abruptly.

Lin Mu tossed him into the corner like trash, his gaze sweeping over the stunned old man and girl, his voice flat: "What happened?"

The old man was terrified, but the young girl, grasping at a straw, cried out, "It's...it's the monks from the temple...they come often...and if they see a girl who's pretty, they forcibly take her away...saying it's to serve Buddhism, but in reality...if she doesn't comply, they increase the rent and seize her rent, forcing her to live..."

Lin Mu frowned.

Thinking of the solemn and prosperous temple during the day, and then comparing it with the darkness before my eyes, an inexplicable anger rose from the bottom of my heart.

He actually knew some of the dirty secrets of Buddhism.

Buddhism teaches to purify the mind and reduce desires, but how many people can truly achieve this?

Take, for example, the modern abbot of Shaolin Temple. He has dozens of lovers and children, and that's just the one who's been exposed. Who knows how many more he has in secret?

Physiological and psychological needs cannot be suppressed by reciting a few Buddhist scriptures. Monks are also human beings, and men at that.

Have you ever seen a cat that doesn't steal fish?

Normal men, unless they're hung on the wall, won't behave.

Forcing a good woman into prostitution is simply unacceptable!

You can spend some money on this kind of thing!

Shaolin isn't short of money.

They don't want to give money, but they still want the person, and they even prey on minors. That's just too beastly!

Lin Mu's good mood was ruined. After taking the fat monk to a distance and interrogating him, he beheaded him and threw his head into the mountains.

Over the next few days, Lin Mu stayed hidden in the shadows, observing the interactions between Shaolin Temple and the surrounding tenant farmers, and even following some monks who came down the mountain.

The findings of the investigation were shocking.

The Shaolin Temple owns tens of thousands of acres of land, yet it does not engage in any labor. Instead, it makes a fortune through incense offerings, land ownership, rent collection, and lending.

Most of the monks were well-fed and bloated.

The tenant farmers around Mount Song lived in extreme poverty, and it was common for them to go hungry.

Many people couldn't pay their rent, starved to death, and sold their children!

Some of the higher-ranking monks in the temple had long since broken the rules and regulations, and even formed a one-stop service.