“Senior Sister, it’s me. Where have you been all this time?”

Jiang Yanran tightly grabbed Gu Qingxue’s hand, speaking anxiously.

“What are you doing? Let go of me. I told you, I don’t know you.”

Gu Qingxue tried to pull her hand away, but the other party clearly had no intention of letting go.

“How could you not know me? Weren’t you the one who asked me to assist you, Senior Sister? Have you forgotten?”

Jiang Yanran looked utterly confused by Gu Qingxue’s reaction.

When she had first entered the secret realm, this senior sister was nowhere to be seen.

She’d assumed that perhaps due to certain restrictions, her senior sister hadn’t made it into the realm.

But now she sees that not only had her senior sister entered, she even took the initiative to speak with her—only to claim she didn’t recognize her.

Most importantly, why had her personality changed so drastically?

She distinctly remembered her senior sister being a cool and aloof beauty…

Nangong Xu observed Gu Qingxue for a moment before suddenly saying,

“Jiang Yanran, have you noticed? Your senior sister is now just an ordinary person.”

“An ordinary person?”

Reminded by Nangong Xu, Jiang Yanran finally began to closely examine her senior sister.

She had been too excited to notice it earlier, but now that she looked carefully, she realized her senior sister didn’t have a trace of spiritual energy in her body—not even at the Qi Refining stage.

What in the world had happened?

Gu Qingxue looked distressed. Jiang Yanran was gripping her hard enough to make her eyes well up from the pain.

When Lin Mo arrived, the first thing he saw was Gu Qingxue in this state.

His expression instantly turned cold.

Seeing this, Jiang Yanran felt a jolt in her heart and reflexively let go of Gu Qingxue’s hand.

“Brother Lin Mo…”

Seizing the moment, Gu Qingxue threw herself into Lin Mo’s arms, and the tears she had been holding back started pouring down.

What made her cry so hard wasn’t just the pain in her wrist, but also the surge of emotion after finding comfort in Lin Mo following the injustice she’d suffered.

At that moment, she realized that she had long since come to regard Lin Mo as the most important person in her heart.

Lin Mo could see that clearly too. He gently took her injured hand and softly stroked the swollen red mark on her wrist.

A murderous aura that was nearly tangible erupted toward Jiang Yanran from the red and swollen spot on Gu Qingxue’s wrist.

Jiang Yanran was still in shock from seeing her senior sister dive into Lin Mo’s embrace and even call him “Brother Lin Mo.” The sudden killing intent from Lin Mo froze her in place. Her heart began to pound uncontrollably.

Even she couldn’t believe her own state.

“Am I… scared?”

Only after circulating her spiritual energy did she feel a bit more strength return, and she forcibly pushed down her fear. She then questioned, “Is my senior sister like this because of you?”

“What exactly did you do to her?”

Before Lin Mo could speak, Gu Qingxue, still in his arms and with tears in her eyes, said,

“I know I’ve lost my memory, but Brother Lin Mo saved my life.”

“As for what you’re saying—that I’m your senior sister—even if that’s true, I really don’t like you.”

“Compared to Brother Lin Mo, you’re nothing.”

Those words made Jiang Yanran’s face flush red.

But she couldn’t bring herself to be angry at her senior sister. After all, once her memory returned, they would still see each other every day in the Ice Palace.

In the end, she chose to direct her anger toward Lin Mo instead.

“You must be a despicable liar who tricked my senior sister while she was suffering from amnesia.”

“Senior Sister, come over here quickly. Don’t let this scumbag fool you. Let’s go into the secret realm—I’ll take you back to the Ice Palace and ask Master to restore your memory.”

“No way!”

Gu Qingxue’s response was firm as she clung tightly to Lin Mo’s waist.

Seeing this, Jiang Yanran reached out again, intending to forcibly drag Gu Qingxue away.

But the moment her hand moved, Lin Mo struck it away with a single palm.

“Don’t touch her with your filthy hands.”

Jiang Yanran cried out in pain. Looking down at her hand, it was already red and swollen. She was stunned that Lin Mo had actually broken through her protective spiritual aura.

“Seems you’ve got more to answer for.”

Nangong Xu began walking forward. “You brat, today I’ll settle both old and new scores with you.”

“This is the secret realm. If you die here, it only means your strength wasn’t enough. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

Nangong Xu stepped forward, making no effort to conceal the pressure of his mid-stage Golden Core cultivation. His eyes were like those of a predator ready to devour Lin Mo alive.

“Why all the shouting?”

A calm voice drew everyone’s attention. From behind Lin Mo, Zhu Shiyao slowly walked over, face cold and expressionless.

Nangong Xu panicked the moment he saw her, hastily withdrawing his previously arrogant demeanor and forcing a smile.

“Fellow Daoist Zhu, what brings you here?”

Jiang Yanran also looked at Zhu Shiyao with confusion.

“And why shouldn’t I be here?”

Zhu Shiyao’s face was visibly dark. She had intended to speak with Lin Mo alone, but was clearly annoyed to be interrupted by these two.

Nangong Xu noticed her mood and sensed that something was off. He hesitated, then lowered his voice.

“Then, Fellow Daoist Zhu… I have a personal matter to settle with Lin Mo. Would you mind if I—”

“A personal grudge?” Zhu Shiyao looked toward Lin Mo. “Fellow Daoist Lin, do you have a feud with him?”

Lin Mo nodded. “Something like that.”

“Alright then. Settle your personal matters first. Just don’t kill him.”

Zhu Shiyao was a rational person. If Lin Mo really killed Nangong Xu, that would escalate things into a clan-level conflict. She was quite fond of Lin Mo and didn’t want trouble for the Lin family.

But Nangong Xu completely misinterpreted her meaning and nodded eagerly.

“Since Fellow Daoist Zhu has spoken, I won’t take his life. But swords have no eyes. If I accidentally injure him a little—break an arm or a leg, or maybe cripple his cultivation—I can’t make any promises.”

Zhu Shiyao frowned, silently cursing, Idiot.

She’d originally intended to say more, but after hearing that, she gave up. It seemed Lin Mo already had a plan and knew how to deal with Nangong Xu.

Just as she had this thought, Lin Mo indeed prepared to repay Nangong Xu with the exact punishment he threatened.

He gently patted Gu Qingxue’s head and said softly, “Stay behind that sister. I’ll finish this quickly.”

Gu Qingxue obediently moved behind Zhu Shiyao. She believed in Lin Mo’s strength.

On Nangong Xu’s side, he also told Jiang Yanran to stand back. Jiang Yanran nodded and stepped aside.

He said confidently, “Just watch. Within three moves, I’ll have that brat groveling on the ground.”

Jiang Yanran nodded again, fully confident in Nangong Xu’s strength.

Before the fight started, Nangong Xu began to bluster again. “Brat, if you hand over everything I gave you, and break your arms and legs yourself, I might consider sparing your cultivation.”

“Idiot.”

Lin Mo was irritated. Why did the Nangong clan always love to spout nonsense before a fight?

“You really don’t know what’s good for you!”

Nangong Xu activated his spiritual energy, pointing his spirit sword at Lin Mo’s hands, planning to cripple him first.

But just as he moved, a sharp pain shot through both his hands.

Clang! His sword fell to the ground. Both of his hands were clearly fractured, blood beginning to flow down.

Nangong Xu stared in disbelief, gritting his teeth through the pain, and questioned Lin Mo:

“What… what did you do to me?”

He hadn’t even seen Lin Mo’s sword move.

Lin Mo’s expression remained calm. He had no intention of answering. The glazed sword in his hand gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight.

A flash of white blinded Nangong Xu’s eyes, and before he could react, Lin Mo’s sword qi pierced through both his legs.

“How… how is this possible…”

Nangong Xu collapsed, his legs ruined. This time, the look he gave Lin Mo was no longer one of fury—but of pure fear.

Lin Mo wasn’t the type to drag things out when they could be dealt with swiftly.

Zhu Shiyao finally spoke up, reminding him, “Fellow Daoist Lin, that’s enough.”

Others might not have been able to follow Lin Mo’s sword, but Zhu Shiyao could see it clearly.

Lin Mo’s sword was not only razor-sharp—it was unimaginably fast. So fast, in fact, that even she had to focus intently just to follow the trajectory of his sword aura.

“I’ve only made two moves. According to his own terms, I still owe him a third strike.”

Lin Mo’s expression was ice cold—and his sword was even colder.

The sword spirit within the Glazed Sword was surging with intensity, something Lin Mo was quick to notice.

He could feel his grip tightening with instinct, his body more attuned than ever. What used to be just coordination now felt like perfect synergy—the Glazed Sword was clearly cooperating with him.

He also understood the reason. This time, the mistake hadn’t been his. The sword must’ve wanted to prove it was stronger than him—perhaps to make Zhu Shiyao regret having cast it aside.

As Lin Mo aimed the third sword aura directly at Nangong Xu’s face, Nangong Xu finally abandoned all pretense. His right hand formed a tight seal, activating a life-saving talisman his master had left him.

But Lin Mo’s sword aura had already been released.

Just as it struck Nangong Xu’s position, the man’s figure abruptly vanished.

“He ran?”

Lin Mo muttered with some disappointment. He had hoped to slice open Nangong Xu’s smug face.

But that method of escape… it felt strangely familiar.

Then it struck him. During a past training mission he’d led, a guy surnamed Tang had escaped in exactly the same way. And that Tang fellow was one of the Night Raid members.

Could it be… the Xuanming Hall and Night Raid are connected?

For now, Lin Mo pushed the thought aside and turned his cold gaze to Jiang Yanran.

Jiang Yanran stood there stunned, her mind overwhelmed with confusion.

She clearly remembered that Lin Mo cultivated a body-tempering technique. So why was his swordsmanship so fierce and ruthless?

Even if he’d been hiding his true cultivation technique, the aura he gave off couldn’t lie.

Lin Mo was clearly still at the early Golden Core stage. Even if he had some special talent in swordsmanship—even if he had a sword-type technique like Zhu Shiyao—it still shouldn’t have been this easy to defeat Nangong Xu.

Which meant… Lin Mo’s Golden Core was not ordinary. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she’d never have believed he might possess a dual spiritual root constitution.

But what baffled her the most was: why would Lin Mo go to such lengths to hide his power? Why pretend to be weak, to the point of joining a third-rate sect as a miscellaneous disciple?

What was the point of doing all that?

If Lin Mo had shown this level of talent and strength from the beginning, she would never have gone to the Lin family to call off the engagement.

Be it Nangong Xu or even someone like Lin Mo, she admitted she only ever felt a little affection—but what she really cared about were future benefits.

Nangong Xu had the powerful Xuanming Hall, a top-tier Immortal Sect, behind him. Even compared to disciples of sacred lands, his future seemed guaranteed. Marrying him had seemed like a smart move—aligned in status and potential benefit.

And now? Lin Mo’s actions had turned her entire worldview upside down.

Completely.

No wonder. No wonder Lin Mo had shown no fear when she came to break off the engagement—why he’d even dared to curse Nangong Xu as trash.

Now, it all made sense.

He wasn’t just powerful—he was a monster. A sword cultivator. A monster on the same level as Zhu Shiyao.

“Why? Why did he hide it all?”
That was the question Jiang Yanran couldn’t get out of her head.

“Do I owe you an explanation?”

Lin Mo’s voice was calm, almost indifferent.
“Anyway, things have come to this—I’ll be taking back what was never yours to begin with.”