Chapter 91

"Array Master?"

When Mu Chen noticed the spiritual seal in the girl's jade-like hand, Zhou Ye also sensed it and a look of surprise flashed across his face, clearly not expecting that the Nine Dragon Fort would have an Array Master.

However, judging from her appearance, it seemed that the girl was only an ordinary first-level Array Master.

"Leave quickly, you people from the Mu Domain, or don't blame me for being impolite," the spiritual seal rotated on the girl's slender fingertips, and she glanced at Zhou Ye and the others, saying in a delicate voice.

"Is this how you treat guests?" Zhou Ye frowned and said.

"Our Nine Dragon Fort isn't familiar with your Mu Domain, so you can't really be considered guests," the girl's lips curled, and then the spiritual seal in her jade-like hand quickly merged into the air in front of her. Immediately, spiritual energy fluctuations spread out, and soon, an ice-blue spiritual array formed in the air, faint coldness emanating from it.

"Since you're lingering here, don't blame me!" The girl let out a light hum, and with a wave of her jade-like hand, the coldness in the spiritual array suddenly swept out, forming ice spears made of condensed ice, shooting towards Zhou Ye and the others, the sound of the wind piercing and bone-chilling.

Seeing this, Zhou Ye's expression turned serious, but just as he was about to act, Mu Chen stepped forward. Without any visible movement, the air in front of him rippled, and a fiery red spiritual array quickly condensed. Then, flames erupted, forming a pillar of fire that shot out, directly evaporating all the ice spears.

"Huh?"

The girl was finally surprised and looked at Mu Chen with her beautiful eyes, "You're also an Array Master?"

"Miss, our Mu Domain's visit this time is also to bring an opportunity to the Nine Dragon Fort. With Chief Lei's spirit, I believe he wouldn't give up such an opportunity. Of course, perhaps I might be overestimating Chief Lei, but if that's the case, the Nine Dragon Fort might never amount to much," Mu Chen looked at the beautiful girl and said calmly.

"You dare to speak ill of my father?!"

The girl's eyebrows immediately furrowed upon hearing Mu Chen's words, but just as she was about to attack again, a voice suddenly rang out, "Yin, stop!"

Mu Chen was taken aback by this voice, as it seemed somewhat familiar to him.

While Mu Chen was frowning, a figure appeared beside the girl. His gaze fell on him, and his eyes widened in surprise, "Brother Lei Cheng?"

Beside the girl stood a tall and strong man with bare arms, who was none other than the captain of the Thunder Squad that Mu Chen had met in the Northern Spirit Plain, Lei Cheng.

"Ha, Brother Mu Chen, it's been a while," Lei Cheng greeted Mu Chen with a smile.

"Mu Chen?" The girl was taken aback by this name, then her beautiful eyes looked at Mu Chen with a curious and challenging gaze, "The Mu Chen who got the seed quota for the Northern Spirit Academy?"

Lei Cheng nodded with a smile, "Open the gate."

"Uncle, but—" The girl hurriedly said.

Lei Cheng waved his hand, "This is your father's wish."

The girl grumbled and then waved her jade-like hand, and someone slowly opened the heavy gate. Mu Chen and Zhou Ye exchanged a glance and then rode in.

"Brother Lei Cheng, why are you in the Nine Dragon Fort?" Mu Chen asked Lei Cheng with some confusion after entering the fort.

"Ha, my brother is the chief of the Nine Dragon Fort, so I'm naturally here. However, I also lead people to hunt spiritual beasts, so we formed an adventure squad," Lei Cheng laughed.

"Hey, you're Mu Chen? I heard you're also an Array Master? When did the Northern Spirit Academy start teaching students to become Array Masters?" The girl, who looked heroic, also sized up Mu Chen, her lips curling as she asked.

Her tone seemed to carry a grudge against the Northern Spirit Academy, which puzzled Mu Chen.

"Hehe, this is my brother's daughter, Lei Yin. This girl is extremely fond of spiritual arrays and has considerable talent in this area. However, we couldn't find experienced Array Masters to teach her, so she has been exploring on her own. Now, she has achieved some small success and can be considered a first-level Array Master," Lei Cheng introduced with a smile.

Mu Chen was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. To reach the first-level Array Master through self-study, her talent in this area was indeed impressive.

"However, although she has talent in spiritual arrays, her spiritual energy cultivation is not very good. She wanted to go to the Northern Spirit Academy, but she didn't meet the standards."

"Uh..." Mu Chen looked at the girl's resentful gaze and understood why she had a grudge against the Northern Spirit Academy.

"Are you here because of the Mangyin Mountain incident?" Lei Cheng looked at Mu Chen and Zhou Ye and asked.

Zhou Ye nodded, "Please help us introduce us to Chief Lei."

"This matter, my brother said we can't get involved. However, since you're here, for the sake of Mu Chen's help in the past, I'll take you to him. Whether you can persuade him is up to you," Lei Cheng said helplessly.

"Thank you, Brother Lei Cheng," Mu Chen smiled.

Lei Cheng smiled and led the way. The girl, Lei Yin, stared at Mu Chen for a few moments, then followed with a pout.

Mu Chen and Zhou Ye followed Lei Cheng into the Nine Dragon Fort, passing by many people training with sweat on their brows. These people were not weak, and they had a faint bloody smell, clearly not to be underestimated. The strength of the Nine Dragon Fort was indeed quite formidable.

The two followed Lei Cheng to the main hall, where a robust middle-aged man, who resembled Lei Cheng, sat at the head of the table. His sharp gaze fixed on Mu Chen and Zhou Ye.

This man was clearly the chief of the Nine Dragon Fort, Lei Shan, the second most powerful figure in the Northern Spirit Region's underworld, after Yang Gui.

"Friends from the Mu Domain, I know why you're here," Lei Shan looked at Zhou Ye and Mu Chen and said calmly, "However, this is a matter between your Mu Domain and Mangyin Mountain. The Nine Dragon Fort will not get involved."

Zhou Ye's heart sank. The Nine Dragon Fort indeed didn't want to help. However, just as he was about to speak, a soft voice came from the side, "Uncle Zhou, let me try."

Zhou Ye looked at Mu Chen with surprise, seeing the serious expression on the young man's face, he hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

"Chief Lei, I've heard that you have built the Nine Dragon Fort with your iron fists, and you are a well-known figure in the Northern Spirit Region's underworld. However, meeting you today is somewhat disappointing," Mu Chen stepped forward after Zhou Ye nodded, and said with a light smile.

Lei Shan's sharp gaze fixed on Mu Chen, but he waved his hand to stop his angry subordinates, and said coldly, "Trying to provoke me won't work on me."

"Do you have the ambition to make the Nine Dragon Fort the true leader of the Northern Spirit Region's underworld?" Mu Chen asked slowly.

Lei Shan's pupils constricted slightly, but he remained silent.

"The current Northern Spirit Region's underworld is dominated by Mangyin Mountain, whose strength is growing. They are expanding and swallowing up other underworld forces. They are now undoubtedly the strongest force in the Northern Spirit Region, and I believe Chief Lei would agree with this."

Lei Shan nodded indifferently.

"Mangyin Mountain's rapid expansion and obvious ambition are clear. Behind them, the Liu Domain is secretly helping. I believe their ambition goes beyond this. It won't be long before Mangyin Mountain consolidates the Northern Spirit Region's underworld. At that time, the Nine Dragon Fort will have only two choices: be swallowed up and become part of Mangyin Mountain, or resist, but clearly, the Nine Dragon Fort is not yet a match for Mangyin Mountain."

Lei Shan's indifferent face gradually changed, and after a while, he said, "This is just your speculation."

"Yes, it is just speculation, but if it's true, would Chief Lei be willing to risk the future and lives of so many people in the Nine Dragon Fort on the chance that Mangyin Mountain won't do this? You know them better than we do," Mu Chen smiled. Before coming here, he had thoroughly researched the situation of the Northern Spirit Region's underworld and Mangyin Mountain's style.

In the main hall, the high-ranking members of the Nine Dragon Fort exchanged glances, their expressions heavy. Clearly, Mu Chen's words made them feel some unease. After all, they were quite familiar with Mangyin Mountain, and if they had the Liu Domain's secret support, they might indeed have such ambitions.

In the Northern Spirit Region's underworld, the only force that could rival Mangyin Mountain was the Nine Dragon Fort. Therefore, if Mangyin Mountain wanted to consolidate the Northern Spirit Region's underworld, they would certainly target the Nine Dragon Fort.

Zhou Ye also sensed the changes in the Nine Dragon Fort's high-ranking members, a hint of joy in his eyes. He quietly gave Mu Chen a thumbs up. This young man, unexpectedly, had such sharp words and insight, targeting the Nine Dragon Fort's weaknesses.

"What do you want?" Lei Shan frowned, his tone finally softening.

"Originally, our Mu Domain didn't want to get involved in the Northern Spirit Region's underworld affairs. However, now that Mangyin Mountain has provoked us, we won't let them off. This is also an opportunity for the Nine Dragon Fort. If we join forces, we can eliminate Mangyin Mountain. At that time, the Northern Spirit Region's underworld will be the strongest, and your development space will also increase," Mu Chen said without hesitation.

"Wouldn't the Nine Dragon Fort offend the Liu Domain? The Liu Domain is the strongest force in the Northern Spirit Region. Offending them for the Mu Domain is not wise," Lei Shan said slowly.

"But you have no choice. The Liu Domain has already chosen Mangyin Mountain. It's not a matter of whether you offend the Liu Domain, but whether the Liu Domain will help Mangyin Mountain eliminate you as an obstacle," Mu Chen said frankly, spreading his hands. If they were clearly trying to destroy you, worrying about offending them was too foolish.

Lei Shan was momentarily speechless, his face turning even uglier. Mu Chen's words were too insulting to his face.

"You only have this opportunity now. If our Mu Domain doesn't eliminate Mangyin Mountain, we will have to retreat, but at that time, the Nine Dragon Fort will also suffer."

Mu Chen smiled, but his eyes turned cold, "So, if Chief Lei has some foresight, don't worry about those outdated rules. Join forces with us and sweep away Mangyin Mountain!"

"This will not only eliminate your potential crisis but also bring you a great opportunity!"

"Chief Lei, what do you think?!" Mu Chen's final words gradually became low and deep.

The atmosphere in the main hall froze. All the high-ranking members of the Nine Dragon Fort, including Lei Cheng and Lei Yin, looked at Lei Shan, whose expression was changing. His next decision would determine the future of the Nine Dragon Fort.

Time passed slowly in the oppressive silence. Mu Chen's heart also grew increasingly tense. He had said everything he needed to say. If this couldn't dispel Lei Shan's concerns, he would have to find another way to deal with Mangyin Mountain.

Sigh.

In the tense silence, Lei Shan finally exhaled, then he raised his head, his sharp gaze fixed on the nervous Mu Chen, and slowly nodded.

"Alright, the Nine Dragon Fort will cooperate with you and eliminate Mangyin Mountain!"

(To be continued)