Lin Mo was stunned.
“Sword Heart Clarity? What kind of physique is this?”
[Tip: Sword Heart Clarity—One’s heart is as sharp and unwavering as a sword, capable of seeing through the essence of things at a glance. Insights related to the sword far exceed those of others.]
…What? Was the system forcing him to become a sword cultivator?
The original Lin Mo had practiced swordsmanship before, but he was merely average at it and rarely used his sword in actual combat.
However, such a powerful sword-related physique would be a waste if he didn’t embrace the path of sword cultivation.
With that thought, Lin Mo decided that after greeting his master, he would head to the sect’s library to check out some sword techniques.
Inside the grand hall of Qingzhu Peak, Lin Mo respectfully bowed to the woman seated on the main seat.
“Master, Lin Mo greets you.”
The white-robed woman had a thin veil covering the lower half of her face. Her voice was as calm as a quiet lake, yet the light-colored plain dress she wore did nothing to hide her perfect figure.
From appearances alone, she seemed like a celestial fairy who had descended from the heavens, possessing stunning, breathtaking beauty. However, this beauty was also distant and ethereal, making her feel unreachable and untouchable—like a goddess that could only be admired from afar.
This woman was Lin Mo’s master—Yuehua.
Honestly, since the day he joined the sect, he had never seen his master’s true face.
From what he remembered, Yuehua rarely involved herself in the matters of Qingzhu Peak, focusing solely on her own cultivation. All major and minor affairs of the peak were handled by him, the senior brother.
This was one of the reasons why his authority on Qingzhu Peak was so high.
Yuehua’s veil fluttered slightly as she spoke, her clear, jade-like voice ringing in the hall.
“Disciple, how has your cultivation been recently?”
Lin Mo replied respectfully, “I have encountered no obstacles in my training.”
“You have been at the late Foundation Establishment stage for five years. It is time to attempt breaking through to the Golden Core stage.”
With that, Yuehua retrieved a bottle of pills from her storage ring.
“This is a Juding Pill. Take it when forming your Golden Core. It will help you condense a higher-grade core.”
“Thank you, Master, for your generosity.” Lin Mo bowed, expressing his gratitude.
However, just as he was feeling happy about his master’s support, she retrieved even more high-grade pills and handed them to him.
This… having a real master is way better than that ungrateful junior sister!
But before Lin Mo could fully savor the moment, Yuehua’s next words instantly soured his mood.
“Your Junior Brother Ye was born with deficiencies in his spiritual roots and requires additional medicinal support. Take these and deliver them to him.”
Lin Mo: “…”
…
Around noon, after leaving the Qingzhu Peak main hall, Lin Mo made his way to the outer sect disciples’ quarters.
Using the same trick he had played on Gu Zi, he hustled another batch of disciples, milking Regret Points from them like a seasoned scam artist.
By spending only five mid-grade spirit stones, he successfully racked up over 1,000 Regret Points.
Spirit stones? He wasn’t particularly short on those.
After all, in the back mountains, he had planted a special spiritual tree he had obtained during his past travels. Its fruits were extremely valuable, meaning he had a steady supply of resources.
Now that he had more Regret Points, Lin Mo eagerly returned to the lottery draw system.
Why didn’t he just level up his cultivation or techniques directly?
…Was that even a question?
Gambling was way more exciting!
There was something about the thrill of random draws that made his heart race—it was like playing a high-stakes lottery.
Lottery Results
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: 58 low-grade spirit stones.]
…
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: Yellow Rank, Middle-Grade Technique—’Golden Light Barrier.’]
…
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: High-quality White Jade.]
…
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: Ability +1—Soap Picking.]
…???
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: Gu Zi’s smelly socks.]
…What the actual hell?!
Lin Mo stared at the last two rewards, his face turning as black as the bottom of a pot.
After more than ten consecutive lottery draws, Lin Mo had yet to pull anything truly valuable.
Low-grade spirit stones? Fine, whatever.
Gu Zi’s smelly socks and a soap-picking ability? What the hell was he supposed to do with those?!
Was he supposed to master some kind of soap-juggling technique that sent him flying into the heavens?!
This scam of a system was truly a gambler’s trap—small wins kept things fun, but going all-in only led to pain.
Lin Mo swore to himself—if he ever pulled the lottery again… he would… he would lose a strand of hair!
For now, he headed to the sect’s library to look for sword cultivation techniques.
“Senior Brother Lin, greetings!”
The disciples stationed at the Library Pavilion recognized Lin Mo at a glance. As the Senior Brother of Qingzhu Peak, his presence was well-known, and they quickly bowed in respect.
Lin Mo gave a slight nod in response and proceeded to the second floor of the library.
After browsing for a while, he was disappointed—he could only find a few Profound Rank, lower-grade sword techniques.
The sect’s rules were strict: Outer disciples could only access the first floor (Yellow Rank techniques). Inner disciples could access the second floor (Profound Rank techniques). The third floor, where Earth Rank techniques were stored, was only accessible to the twelve peak masters. Heaven Rank techniques? Those were the core inheritance of top-tier sects and only available to the sect master of the Qingling Sect.
Meanwhile, first-rank sects had plenty of Heaven Rank techniques.
Lin Mo sighed and took the few sword techniques he found before heading back to Qingzhu Peak.
Upon returning, Lin Mo decided to check on his Ice Spirit Fruit tree in the spirit fields.
There, he found Yuan Li, a disciple responsible for managing the spiritual farmland. However, Yuan Li was not tending to the fields—he was cultivating instead.
Noticing Lin Mo’s presence, Yuan Li immediately panicked, stopping his training and rushing over.
“Senior Brother Lin, w-why are you here?” he asked nervously.
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes. “Am I not allowed to be here?”
“N-no! You’re always busy overseeing the disciples’ training and handling all the affairs of Qingzhu Peak… I just felt bad that you’re always working so hard!” Yuan Li stammered, forcing a smile.
Lin Mo did not believe a word of his nonsense.
Ignoring him, Lin Mo stepped into the spirit fields.
What he saw made his expression turn cold. Withered spiritual herbs. Pest-infested spirit rice. A half-dead Ice Spirit Fruit tree, practically begging for mercy.
Lin Mo’s voice turned icy. “Yuan Li!”
This wasn’t the first time Yuan Li had neglected his duties because he was too focused on his own cultivation.
The original Lin Mo’s memories contained several similar incidents.
“Senior Brother! Senior Brother, I was wrong!” Yuan Li immediately knelt and begged for forgiveness.
He assumed Lin Mo would do what he always did—scold him, then clean up his mess.
However, this time…
Lin Mo kicked him straight into the air.
“Yuan Li, do you understand your mistake?” Lin Mo’s voice was cold and emotionless.
“I-I was wrong, Senior Brother!” Yuan Li spat out blood, his face full of fear and panic.
“I swear, I will never slack off again! I will live in the back mountains, eat with the Ice Spirit Fruit tree, and sleep among the fields—I will never neglect my duties again!”
Lin Mo scoffed. “No need. If you can’t restore the spirit fields, then pack your things and leave the mountain.”
With that, he turned and left.
Arriving at the disciples’ quarters, Lin Mo handed over the pills that Yuehua had given him for Ye Kai.
Ye Kai didn’t even pretend to be embarrassed—he smiled, accepting the pills with ease.
“Thank you, Senior Brother Lin.”
At that moment, Shen Ke’er appeared, bowing slightly.
“Senior Brother Lin…”
Even though Ye Kai had been poisoning her mind, creating distance between her and Lin Mo, she still felt a sense of awe toward him—the years of his authority over her were not so easily erased.
Lin Mo calmly looked at this ungrateful junior sister. “Your leg has healed?”
Shen Ke’er nodded lightly. “I can walk again this afternoon.”
“So, what do you want?”
She blinked in confusion—something felt off, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Temporarily pushing her thoughts aside, she adopted her usual playful tone and said, “Senior Brother Lin, I want to go down the mountain to train with Junior Brother Ye!”
She even emphasized that it would be just the two of them, as if she were afraid Lin Mo would come along.
Lin Mo ignored her and turned away, heading back to his room.
If it were the original Lin Mo, he would never have agreed.
In the past, he always accompanied them for their safety.
The original Lin Mo had been overly cautious, knowing that the world was dangerous—with demonic cultivators running rampant, their strength and experience were far from enough to handle threats.
But Shen Ke’er and Ye Kai never understood his concern.
Every time he followed them, they acted as if he was a nuisance.
What they didn’t know was that, behind the scenes, he had secretly dealt with numerous threats to protect them.
But that wasn’t his problem anymore.
Why should he waste his time protecting them, only to be resented for it?
Seeing Lin Mo’s indifferent attitude, Shen Ke’er pouted, her face full of childish frustration—she expected him to argue or refuse.
But Lin Mo didn’t care.
He simply walked away.
Just as Lin Mo was about to leave, Ye Kai blocked his path.
“Senior Brother Lin,” he said, his voice calm yet carrying a hint of provocation.
“Senior Sister Shen only wants to accompany me because she’s worried about my safety. After all, my spiritual roots are flawed, and I struggle in some areas…”
He smirked slightly.
“But, as you know, the sect allows disciples to train outside as long as at least one senior with a higher realm accompanies them.”
“Unless… Senior Brother Lin plans to ignore sect rules?”
Lin Mo’s expression grew cold.
This bastard was outright provoking him now.
Ye Kai wanted to go to the master and use her authority to suppress him?
So even though Lin Mo hadn’t refused, he was already painted as the one in the wrong?
“Shen Ke’er!”
Lin Mo suddenly turned around, his icy gaze locking onto the girl who was still pretending to look pitiful.
Shen Ke’er flinched—she had never seen her senior brother like this before.
In the past, even when he was strict, he had never been this cold and indifferent.
Now, it was as if he was looking at a complete stranger.
“You’re already sixteen years old. In the mortal world, women at your age are already getting married and having children.”
Lin Mo’s tone was flat and emotionless, completely different from before.
“Since you already have your own plans, why are you asking me?”
“From now on, wherever you go and whatever you do—tell Master. There’s no need to report to me.”
The meaning was clear: your affairs have nothing to do with me anymore.
At that moment, Shen Ke’er finally realized what was wrong.
Her senior brother had changed.
His eyes, once filled with warmth and familiarity, were now completely detached—as if she no longer existed.
If this were before, even though he was strict, he always had patience for her, always encouraging her.
But now?
What happened to her senior brother?
“Senior Brother Lin, then we’ll be heading down the mountain.”
Ye Kai quickly grabbed Shen Ke’er’s arm and dragged her away before she could say anything else.
He still couldn’t believe it—Lin Mo’s reaction had been so calm.
He had expected Lin Mo to lose his temper—that would have made it easier to push Shen Ke’er further away from him.
But instead, he had been completely indifferent.
Still, no matter. There was plenty of time.
When Lin Mo was no longer visible, Ye Kai’s expression twisted, his eyes flashing with viciousness and greed.
“Sooner or later… I’ll make sure Lin Mo is kicked out of Qingzhu Peak in disgrace.”
