The Urban Cultivation Grandmaster

Chapter 50: The Ownerless Top-Tier Heritage Stele

What’s there to make such a fuss about!!! Instantly, those words sent a jolt through the Golden Leopard’s mind. In that split second of distraction, Mu Tian seized the opportunity. Without a moment’s hesitation, he launched a punch at him. Spirit energy surged around them, and the Ancient Wild Ox behind him grew even more focused, solid as matter. With a thunderous bellow, it charged toward the Golden Leopard. Wherever the bull’s horns struck, spiritual energy surged, tearing through space and instantly creating a vacuum. Caught off guard, the Golden Leopard had no time to defend himself. In that split second, a chill ran down his spine as an overwhelming sense of danger swept over him. He hurriedly mustered all his strength to fend off this sudden attack. “BOOM!!!” Instantly, the Golden Leopard was sent flying as if an ordinary person had been struck by a heavy-duty truck. He crashed heavily into the Three Lakes Region, sending up a massive wave that sent water splashing in all directions. Immediately afterward, the lake water turned blood-red—the result of the Golden Leopard coughing up blood. Clearly, his injuries were severe. This was the gap between them—this was the true power of a cultivation technique at the Divine Power Realm. Mu Tian watched the scene before him with a sense of satisfaction. Golden Leopard was, in fact, stronger than him—neither the intensity of his attacks nor his combat experience was anything Mu Tian could match. However, Mu Tian had reached the Divine Power Realm, and his body had undergone a qualitative transformation. Although the Golden Leopard’s repeated assaults had indeed inflicted injuries on Mu Tian, thanks to his incredibly powerful and abnormal physique, his combat effectiveness had not waned in the slightest. On the contrary, he had continuously learned from the Golden Leopard during the battle, fighting with increasing ferocity. But when Mu Tian finally counterattacked, the Golden Leopard—whose cultivation far surpassed Mu Tian’s—could not withstand a single blow from him. The showdown between the two closely resembled that of a human versus a spirit beast. The Golden Leopard was the quintessential human cultivator—powerful and versatile in battle, yet with a relatively frail physical body that lacked endurance; Mu Tian, on the other hand, possessed a physique as extraordinary as that of a spirit beast. Of course, Mu Tian himself was even more extraordinary—a fusion of both, a monstrous existence. “Xiao Qing! Don’t kill him—let him go.” Mu Tian stood with his hands behind his back, returning to the Sanjang Pavilion with great dignity to stop Xiao Qing, who was about to strike the Golden Leopard down. The Golden Leopard crawled out of the lake and hurriedly regulated his breath to control the chaotic, uncontrolled spiritual energy surging within him, one hand pressed against his chest and the other wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “Thank you for sparing me! The Jin family admits defeat this time. Ah Feng was indeed in the wrong—she shouldn’t have offended someone of your stature. I apologize to you on Ah Feng’s behalf. Take your anger out on me instead, and I beg you to spare Ah Feng and the Jin family.” The Golden Leopard’s expression was one of complete sincerity, completely devoid of the arrogance and brutality he’d displayed moments earlier. It was only upon his defeat that he fully realized just how terrifying the figure before him was—in an era where the Divine Will Realm was considered the pinnacle, he had actually encountered a being who had reached the Divine Power Realm. This was a legend even rarer than a Super Powerhouse! Mu Tian watched, utterly dumbfounded. He found himself struggling to make sense of this Golden Leopard—did he have a split personality, or was he simply a man of great wisdom disguised as a fool? Arrogant and overconfident when triumphant, yet once defeated, he could effortlessly slip into the role of the loser and contemplate his dire situation ahead. However, the Golden Leopard had clearly miscalculated. Mu Tian said calmly, “If I wanted to take on the Golden Phoenix and the Jin family, would you even have a chance to stand up for them?” Mu Tian’s words were matter-of-fact, but a chill ran down Golden Leopard’s spine. The implication was crystal clear: if Mu Tian had wanted to take down the insignificant Jin family, he would have uprooted them long ago—you wouldn’t even have had the chance to meet any of them. The Golden Leopard gave a wry smile. “I was overthinking it. Master Mu, you’re truly magnanimous.” Just then, Mu Tian added, “However…” The Golden Leopard’s heart skipped a beat—not for any particular reason, but simply because Mu Tian’s gaze was far too eerie. His eyes were circling around the Golden Leopard, scanning him from head to toe, leaving the Golden Leopard with the bizarre sensation that he was running around naked. “Are there any further instructions, Master Mu?” The Golden Leopard was a man who knew when to back down; he certainly wouldn’t try to put up a fight he couldn’t win. If he were just a lone, naked man, none of this would matter—but unfortunately, behind him stood the Jin family and all those who depended on their protection to make a living. “You’ve damaged my courtyard. How will you compensate me?” Mu Tian pointed at the railing, which had several gaps where it had been struck, and said in a deep voice. “I’ll have it repaired for you later.” The Golden Leopard was a man of simple, brute-force methods and wasn’t particularly skilled at this sort of thing; at that moment, he seemed utterly helpless. Mu Tian flashed a faint smile. “Is that it? Is my residence that easy to smash? If that’s the case, I’ll go to your Jin family estate and smash it every day. After all, I can certainly afford to pay for the damage—it’s just that it wouldn’t be good if someone got hurt by accident.” “Our Jin family is willing to compensate Master Mu. Would fifty spirit stones be enough?” Golden Leopard wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Hmm? That’s fine, but it’s not enough. I want you...” “What?!!!” Golden Leopard cried out in shock. He’d already felt a bit uneasy when Mu Tian had been sizing him up earlier—Mu Tian’s gaze had seemed a bit… gay. He never expected it to actually be exactly as he’d feared: Mu Tian actually wanted him. He swore to heaven that Golden Leopard’s sexual orientation had always been straight—his greatest love had always been his own sister, Feng. He hadn’t had a single eye for any other woman, let alone a man—even if that man was incredibly handsome. “What the hell are you yelling about? I want the stone stele containing the cultivation technique you’ve been practicing.” Mu Tian seemed to have realized the meaning behind Golden Leopard’s outburst; he knew this burly man was a bit slow on the uptake and had gotten his hopes up about something ridiculous, and he immediately felt a wave of disgust wash over him. Fortunately, a sound-blocking formation had been set up around them; if the onlookers nearby had heard that, who knows how the rumors would have spread. The Golden Leopard immediately let out a sigh of relief and laughed helplessly, “That heritage stele isn’t in my possession…” “Wait a moment,” Mu Tian called out to Golden Leopard, then produced several crystal-clear stones. His fingers danced, and spiritual energy shot out, causing the stones to hover in midair as a streak of colorful light shone down upon the two of them. “Go ahead. With the formation in place, no one can eavesdrop now.” To Mu Tian, it was just a casual gesture, but to Golden Leopard, it came as a huge shock. An Array Master!!! He had only ever encountered such a legendary figure once before, while serving as a bodyguard on a mission—mysterious, powerful, and unimaginable; that was the Golden Leopard’s first impression. Mu Tian was actually an array master too! “Huh? Why are you hesitating?” Mu Tian furrowed his brow. During his skirmish with Golden Leopard, he’d sensed that the other’s cultivation technique was no ordinary one—it was on par with the Three-Headed Dragon Visualization Diagram, an extremely high-level heritage stele. This instantly stirred his desire. “It’s not that I’m unwilling to hand it over to you; it’s just that I lack the power to retrieve this heritage stele…” Golden Leopard said with a hint of resignation. “Oh, I see. It’s clear from the level of your cultivation—at your current stage, you truly can’t gain the stone tablet’s recognition!” Mu Tian’s words were quite discouraging, and Golden Leopard felt deeply hurt. “If Master Mu is interested in studying it, I’d be more than happy to give you its location. If you manage to retrieve the heritage stele, could you grant me a spot in the initiation ceremony? After all...” “Sure!” Mu Tian wasn’t afraid of him making demands; as long as he could obtain a complete, top-tier Heritage Stele, this was a minor matter. “What a straight shooter! We’ve sent people to retrieve that Heritage Stele before, but none succeeded. However, with Master Mu taking the lead, it’s sure to be a sure thing.” “To be honest with you, this Heritage Stele is located in the Qinling Mountains...”