When the Lin family revealed the dowry, Nangong Xu could no longer hold back.

As long as Lin Mo agreed to annul the engagement, he could legitimately marry Jiang Yanzhen.

More importantly, as a disciple of Xuanming Hall, if he were to wed Jiang Yanzhen, this would not just be an alliance between the Nangong and Jiang families—it would also forge a bond between Xuanming Hall and Cold Ice Palace.

The benefits of such an arrangement far outweighed the conditions the Lin family had proposed.

“Tomorrow, my Nangong family will deliver everything as promised, without a single item missing.”

At this point, no one could fail to see the unusual relationship between Nangong Xu and Jiang Yanzhen.

Clearly, this entire annulment revolved around Nangong Xu.

No one in the audience saw Lin Mo as a laughingstock anymore.

The man who was supposed to be humiliated had, with his calm demeanor and sharp words, completely turned the tables on Jiang Yanzhen, making a mockery of her instead.

And on top of that, he profited handsomely from the situation.

Who among them could have handled the situation better?

However, at this moment, the elders of the Lin family were not pleased.

The more outstanding Lin Mo became, the greater their sense of crisis.

Even the white-clothed girl was now rethinking whether her “disciple” had made the right decision in coming here to annul the engagement.

Unfortunately, Lin Mo was merely a dual spiritual root cultivator.

If he had a Heavenly Spiritual Root, his future would have been limitless.

But in this cruel world of cultivation, both intelligence and strength were essential.

Just look at today—Nangong Xu’s performance was far inferior to Lin Mo’s.

Of course, Lin Mo was unaware that a certain big shot was quietly admiring him.

For him, this matter was far from over.

There were still things he needed to say—things that the original Lin Mo had never been able to voice.

“Since everything has been settled, I’ll be taking my leave.”

Just as Jiang Yanzhen was about to lead her people away, Lin Mo stopped her.

“Hold it right there. The engagement may have been settled, but there’s still another debt between us.”

Jiang Yanzhen frowned and turned back. “What else do you want?”

Lin Mo’s expression turned cold. Gone was his earlier amused demeanor.

“Since you keep insisting that you’ve always seen me as an older brother, let me ask you this—why didn’t you propose to annul the engagement years ago?”

Jiang Yanzhen hadn’t expected Lin Mo to suddenly bring up emotions and responded impatiently.

“I was still young back then. I didn’t fully understand my feelings toward you.”

Lin Mo’s gaze grew icy.

“Oh? So conveniently, you failed to realize your feelings early on, and only had this grand epiphany after successfully forming your Golden Core and becoming a ‘heavenly prodigy’?”

Jiang Yanzhen was at a loss for words.

Lin Mo didn’t let up. He continued to stare directly into her eyes and said,

“Since Miss Jiang can’t answer, allow me to do it for you.”

“The truth is simple. Once you broke through to the Core Formation stage and became a ‘pride of heaven,’ and even more so after joining Cold Ice Palace, you started looking down on me—your ‘childhood fiancé’ with dual spiritual roots, tied to a mere second-grade sect. Isn’t that right?”

The white-clothed girl frowned, stepping in to defend Jiang Yanzhen.

“I’ve already told you before. Marriage should be between equals. Right now, you are indeed unworthy of Yanzhen.”

Lin Mo clapped slowly, sneering.

“Unworthy? Very well.”

“But tell me this—over the past ten years, haven’t I sent Jiang Yanzhen countless spiritual plants and elixirs?”

“Would I have given away my own cultivation resources so freely if not for the fact that she was my fiancée?”

“The reason you were able to achieve Core Formation so quickly, and even form a seventh-grade Golden Core—tell me, at least half of that wasn’t because of the pills I provided, was it?”

Jiang Yanzhen, however, remained defiant.

“I can return those pills to you.”

Lin Mo’s smile vanished, and a terrifying aura erupted from his body.

Word by word, he coldly enunciated,

“Return them? With what?”

“Every pill I gave you bore the mark of my sect.”

“Every spiritual herb you received was nurtured by my own spiritual energy and carries my imprint.”

“If you can return every single pill and herb to me in its original, untouched state, then I’ll consider this matter settled.”

“Can you return them?”

Lin Mo’s voice turned icy cold.

Facing this version of Lin Mo, Jiang Yanzhen actually felt a flicker of fear…

And she wasn’t the only one.

Aside from the Nascent Soul cultivators present, everyone else felt an overwhelming pressure—as if they could barely breathe.

Lin Nantian was shocked.

Why did his grandson’s presence feel so sharp and oppressive?

This was absolutely not the kind of aura a mere early-stage Golden Core cultivator should possess.

The white-clothed girl standing beside Jiang Yanzhen was thinking the same thing.

She was close enough to feel Lin Mo’s pressure directly.

This young man definitely harbored an extraordinary secret…

Had they made a mistake in annulling this engagement?

But Jiang Yanzhen—what could she do?

How could she possibly return the pills and spiritual herbs?

She had used them all up long ago.

Yes, she was a Heavenly Spiritual Root genius and was treated well within the Jiang family.

But without Lin Mo’s pills, she would have taken at least three more years to form her Golden Core.

And without those rare spiritual herbs, forming a seventh-grade Golden Core would have been almost impossible.

Seeing Jiang Yanzhen remain frozen in place, Lin Mo scoffed inwardly.

Truly, the original owner of this body had been surrounded by the most ridiculous women.

“Since you can’t return them, then it’s clear—your current success is built on my generosity.

And yet, here you are, shamelessly demanding an annulment.

You deliberately chose my grandfather’s birthday celebration, bringing your new lover along, humiliating me in front of all these people.

Jiang Yanzhen, you are truly an ungrateful, heartless wretch.”

The moment Lin Mo finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.

The expressions of the people present shifted drastically.

Even though no one knew exactly how many pills or herbs Lin Mo had provided, Jiang Yanzhen’s deathly pale face said it all.

Those resources had clearly been invaluable to her cultivation.

To give so much to a fiancée who wasn’t even married in yet—wasn’t that excessive?

Lin Nantian was livid.

His grandson’s Golden Core lacked spiritual energy, and if those resources had been used for himself, forming a seventh-grade Golden Core would have been easy.

Yet despite this, his grandson had freely handed over those cultivation resources to this Jiang family girl.

And now, she had the audacity to ask for an annulment?

Jiang Yanzhen was no longer standing proud.

Lin Mo’s sharp words had rattled her Dao Heart, and in her unstable state, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The white-clothed girl frowned and quickly retrieved a pill from her storage ring, forcing it into Jiang Yanzhen’s mouth.

Only then did Jiang Yanzhen gradually recover.

But Lin Mo wasn’t finished.

Seeing that Jiang Yanzhen had steadied herself, he continued:

“You want to have it both ways? You must be delusional.

You even had the audacity to bring your little lover along and demand an annulment.

Truly, you have no shame.”

“Just looking at you makes me feel nauseous, as if I’m standing in a filthy latrine.”

“Even the spiritual energy around you stinks.”

“Get lost.”

“A slut and a dog—may the two of you live happily ever after.”

Jiang Yanzhen didn’t fully understand some of the modern phrases Lin Mo had used.

But even without knowing the exact words, she felt the insult deep in her bones.

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

Lin Mo suddenly turned to Nangong Xu, sneering.

“To be interested in someone like her… your taste is really something else.”

“Lin Mo!

You must have a death wish!”

Nangong Xu, his rage boiling over, unsheathed his life-bound sword, determined to fight for his beloved.