“This young master, I am Zhu Shiyao, a personal disciple of Nascent Soul Elder Xuan Yi from Lingjian Sect, and this is my junior sister, Susu. It seems we have caused some offense just now, and I sincerely apologize.”
Zhu Shiyao reacted swiftly. Upon realizing that the Ice Spirit Fruits were still unsold and belonged to the young man before her, she immediately bowed in apology.
But before Lin Mo could respond, Susu scoffed.
“Senior Sister, with your status, a verbal apology is already more than enough. Why are you even bowing to him?” Susu’s disdainful expression never wavered as she looked at Lin Mo.
In the cultivation world, there were only five first-rank immortal sects.
Lingjian Sect was one of them—the number one sect for sword cultivators in the world.
As a sect elder, Xuan Yi was a renowned figure with significant influence in the entire cultivation world.
Before Lin Mo could even respond, Susu stepped forward, forcibly pushing him forward as she stepped back.
“Alright, hurry up and finish your transaction. The faster you complete it, the faster it’s our turn.”
Even a clay figurine has some temper—let alone a person like Lin Mo.
A simple transaction had been rudely interrupted—and now this girl was physically shoving him forward as if he was in her way.
This wasn’t just spoiled behavior—this was a slap-worthy offense!
Lin Mo’s expression turned cold.
“I’m not selling the fruit anymore.”
Leaving those words behind, he turned to leave.
If not for Zhu Shiyao’s polite attitude, he would have already taught Susu a lesson.
He didn’t believe in some ridiculous moral code like “I don’t hit women”.
Everyone was a person—why should he tolerate being treated like dirt?
“Hey! You can’t go back on your word! You’re not allowed to leave!” Susu quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
Lin Mo laughed in anger.
“Oh? And what exactly did I agree to?”
“You were just about to sell the Ice Spirit Fruits to Xiao Zi!” Susu pointed at the Treasure Pavilion attendant.
“That was before,” Lin Mo replied coolly. “I’ve changed my mind. Problem?”
Susu placed her hands on her hips and huffed. “You already said you were selling them, so you have to sell them! That’s how it works!”
Xiao Zi finally stepped in.
“Miss Susu, this young master never actually confirmed the sale…”
She was also annoyed—if not for Susu’s interference, the deal would have been finalized by now.
Susu was still oblivious to Lin Mo’s cold expression.
“Alright, fine! Just sell the Ice Spirit Fruits to us instead! However much Xiao Zi offered, we’ll pay 30% more!”
Xiao Zi’s expression turned slightly unpleasant.
As a businesswoman, it was different if the sale went through her hands—she would earn commission.
But if these two cut her out, she’d lose that profit.
However, given their background, she didn’t dare voice her displeasure.
Zhu Shiyao noticed her mistake and quickly corrected it.
“Young master, how about this? We’ll have Xiao Zi buy the Ice Spirit Fruits from you at 30% above her original price. After that, we’ll negotiate the rest separately.”
She had no choice but to compromise—after all, her junior sister had already ruined the atmosphere.
Lin Mo’s eyes remained indifferent, saying nothing.
Seeing no response, Zhu Shiyao continued to raise the price.
“Fine, 60% more. Is that acceptable?”
To be honest, Treasure Pavilion’s price was already fair.
At 60% above market value, the price was already exceedingly generous.
Zhu Shiyao wasn’t just throwing money away—she actually needed these fruits.
She had recently broken through to Golden Core, but her obsession with dueling had caused her to injure her foundation.
As a variant Ice Spirit Root cultivator, she needed Ice Spirit Fruits to stabilize her realm.
At this point, Lin Mo finally spoke.
“Ten times the price.”
“…What?” Zhu Shiyao thought she misheard and asked again.
“I said, ten times the price. Pay that, and I’ll sell them.”
“You lunatic! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” Susu snapped.
“Ten times the price?! Why don’t you just go dream? Do you take us for fools?”
Lin Mo sneered.
“Oh? Wasn’t it just now that someone said ‘money isn’t an issue’? If you can’t afford it, then don’t act high and mighty.”
Susu frowned in confusion.
“…What the hell does ‘act high and mighty’ mean?” (She didn’t understand modern slang.)
Lin Mo had lost interest in this nonsense.
He stepped around them and started to leave.
“You’re not leaving!”
Susu reached out to grab Lin Mo’s shoulder.
But before her hand could touch him, a single cold word echoed through the air.
“Roll.”
A wave of true energy exploded from Lin Mo’s body.
Susu had only just reached Foundation Establishment—she had no time to react.
Her entire body was blown backward, tumbling through the air.
Reacting instantly, Zhu Shiyao flashed forward, catching Susu before she hit the ground.
Her expression darkened.
“Young master, my junior sister may be a bit reckless, but she was only acting for my sake. Your reaction was far too excessive.”
Lin Mo chuckled coldly.
“If you’re her senior sister, then you should teach her how to behave properly—not let her act like a spoiled, unreasonable brat.”
“To be honest, if your junior sister hadn’t repeatedly pissed me off, I would have already sold the Ice Spirit Fruits.”
Zhu Shiyao remained silent, finally realizing her mistake.
However, Susu still refused to back down.
“Senior Sister! How did I ‘piss him off’? He’s just petty and narrow-minded!”
She pouted as if she had done nothing wrong.
In her mind, even though she wasn’t as talented as her senior sister, most of the cultivation world’s noble and sect disciples treated her with courtesy.
Why was this guy so different?
Lin Mo’s expression turned as cold as ice.
“If not for your senior sister, I’d really slap you.”
To be honest, he really wanted to beat the arrogance out of this girl.
Of course… that was just a thought (for now).
Lin Mo wasn’t afraid of Susu herself—but he was wary of the girl named Zhu Shiyao.
He could clearly sense that she was one major realm above him.
As the personal disciple of a Lingjian Sect elder, she undoubtedly possessed numerous powerful artifacts.
If a real fight broke out, his chances of winning were slim.
Suddenly, Susu’s eyes flickered with an idea.
“I heard you’re here to buy a sword. Could it be that you’re a sword cultivator?”
Lin Mo’s expression remained indifferent.
“What if I am? What if I’m not?”
He eyed the arrogant girl, barely reaching his shoulder, wondering what nonsense she was about to spew next.
“I have a proposal—why don’t you have a sword duel with my senior sister? Let’s use the Ice Spirit Fruits as the wager!”
Her face was full of confidence, as if victory was already in the bag.
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
“I wager my Ice Spirit Fruits. And what do you wager in return?”
For once, Susu was stumped.
She had never considered the possibility of losing.
After a long moment, she looked at the sword hanging from her waist, her expression turning reluctant.
“I’ll bet my sword. Is that fair?”
Lin Mo wasn’t an expert in weapon appraisal.
So, he turned to someone who was.
Looking at Xiao Zi, he asked, “Miss Xiao Zi, would you mind evaluating this sword? Is it worth my Ice Spirit Fruits?”
Xiao Zi immediately understood what Lin Mo was doing and flashed him a knowing smile before turning to Susu.
“Miss Susu, would you kindly let me examine your sword?”
Without hesitation, Susu handed over her weapon.
The classification of weapons followed five tiers:
- Mortal Treasures
- Spirit Treasures
- Magic Treasures
- Immortal Treasures
- Divine Weapons
Each tier was further divided into three grades: Upper, Middle, and Lower.
Xiao Zi infused spiritual energy into the sword, sensing its quality before announcing:
“Miss Susu, your sword is a High-Grade Mortal Treasure, valued at approximately 800 mid-grade spirit stones.”
She then turned to Lin Mo.
“Meanwhile, the young master’s Ice Spirit Fruits are worth 7,800 mid-grade spirit stones.”
The 7,800 spirit stones were based on the initial deal—but if they factored in Zhu Shiyao’s additional 60% increase, the price would exceed 10,000!
Susu’s face turned red.
She had never expected that Ice Spirit Fruits were this valuable.
She was essentially offering something worth ten times less than what Lin Mo was wagering!
This was no different from when Lin Mo raised his price tenfold earlier!
She felt her face burn with embarrassment, a mix of shame and humiliation swelling inside her.
[Ding! Detected someone regretting their actions. Absorbed 250 Regret Points.]
Lin Mo: “…”
Why did this 250-point regret value feel like it came from someone cursing at him internally?
Regardless, the Regret Points he gained from Susu were far greater than what he had extracted from his fellow disciples at Qingzhu Peak.
Susu was an inner disciple of a first-rank sect, and their relationship had already turned hostile.
Moreover, she was incredibly prideful—so the humiliation she felt translated into a higher amount of Regret Points for him.
At that moment, Zhu Shiyao unhooked the sword from her slender waist and handed it to Xiao Zi.
“Miss Xiao Zi, could you appraise my sword as well?”
The moment Xiao Zi grasped the sword, she felt a surge of piercing sword intent rush through her body.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“A Magic Treasure-grade spirit sword!”
