Lin Mo rubbed his forehead. Qu Ruyan not only ruined the enemy’s momentum—she even sabotaged her own side.

The middle-aged man beside Wang Santun exchanged glances with the old man next to Chen Huai.

“Teaming up against a mere Foundation Establishment junior? That’d be giving him too much credit,” the old man scoffed.

“Agreed. The brat talks big, but I’ll handle him myself,” the middle-aged man sneered, glaring at Lin Mo with undisguised contempt.

“I know you’re close to breaking through to Golden Core, but you won’t get the chance today.”

“If you had already broken through, you might last a few moves against me. But as you are now…”

Lin Mo, already bored, interrupted.

“You’re saying all this nonsense. Should I just wait until I break through before fighting you?”

The middle-aged man frowned. “Do I look like an idiot?”

Lin Mo’s expression turned cold. “Then shut up and fight.”

Breaking through to Golden Core wasn’t something he could do instantly.

Unlike minor realm advancements, major realm breakthroughs required secluded cultivation—even with his Regret Points, it would take days or even longer to reach Golden Core.

If he could break through on the spot, he’d have done it already.

The middle-aged man snorted.

“Courting death!”

He released his Golden Core aura, unleashing his full pressure onto Lin Mo.

He expected to see Lin Mo struggling in agony, crushed beneath the weight of his cultivation.

But…

Nothing happened.

Lin Mo stood there completely unfazed.

Awkward silence.

The middle-aged man let out a confused “Huh?”

Even he didn’t understand why his oppressive aura had no effect.

At Foundation Establishment, Lin Mo should’ve been sweating buckets, if not outright collapsing.

“Kid, you must have some protective treasure on you!”

That was the only explanation the middle-aged man could think of.

The girls behind Lin Mo also felt the immense Golden Core pressure, far stronger than what they had experienced at Jiangyue Tower.

They were about to take out defensive pills when—

Lin Mo shifted slightly, stepping in front of them.

The pressure vanished.

Xia He murmured, “Could it be… Senior Brother really has some kind of powerful artifact?”

Xie Zhi’an nodded. “That seems very likely.”

But Qu Ruyan blinked and tilted her head.

“Hmm… why do I feel like Senior Brother is using his own aura to protect us?”

Because of her special lineage, she could see things others couldn’t.

She could clearly sense the invisible field surrounding Lin Mo—

Vastly stronger than the middle-aged man’s pressure.

Not only that, but while Lin Mo’s true energy reserves weren’t as large, his energy was far more refined and condensed.

That’s why, unlike the others, she wasn’t worried at all.

Lin Mo chuckled.

“Artifact? Yeah, I have one.”

He retrieved his Liuli Sword from his storage ring.

‘Little thing, this is the first time I’ll be using you to kill. Don’t disappoint me.’

The sword spirit inside responded immediately.

“Hmph! I, Xiao Li, have slain even Tribulation Crossing cultivators! What’s a measly Golden Core to me?!”

Lin Mo rolled his eyes.

Tribulation Crossing cultivators wield immortal-tier or divine-tier weapons in battle.

This Liuli Sword was just a low-grade artifact weapon.

If it had really been used in such a high-level fight, it would’ve shattered into dust on the first clash.

He figured the sword was just bragging and ignored it.

Meanwhile, the three Golden Core cultivators on the opposing side had their eyes light up when they saw the Liuli Sword.

An artifact-tier sword!

This wasn’t some common treasure—even a low-grade artifact weapon had a market price starting at ten million spirit stones!

Most of their own weapons were just high-tier mortal weapons or spiritual weapons at best.

Even the Brow Venom Elder, who was closest to Nascent Soul, only had a mid-tier spiritual weapon.

The middle-aged man’s gaze turned greedy.

“An artifact-tier sword… Kid, you’re surprisingly well-off.”

Lin Mo smirked.

“Oh? You want it?”

The middle-aged man licked his lips. “If you hand it over, I—”

Lin Mo cut him off.

“If you have the ability, come take it.”

The middle-aged man wasn’t in the mood to play games with Lin Mo anymore.

There were two other Golden Core cultivators here—there was no way he’d get to claim this artifact-tier sword for himself.

But even if they split the profit, a few million spirit stones would still be his share.

Just the thought of it made him eager to end this quickly.

He thrust his palm forward, unleashing a massive surge of spiritual energy, condensing it into a giant, multi-meter-wide hand that shot toward Lin Mo.

The Brow Venom Elder raised an eyebrow.

“You brat, do you really not know how to hold back?”

He had planned to keep Lin Mo alive for his own amusement.

The middle-aged man responded respectfully, “This is only fifty percent of my strength. He has an artifact-tier sword, at most he’ll suffer some internal injuries. It won’t affect your… entertainment.”

Though the Brow Venom Elder was only one minor realm above him, he had already taken half a step into Nascent Soul and had even slain a Nascent Soul cultivator before.

Offending him was not an option.

Lin Mo Didn’t Waste Words.
He gripped his Liuli Sword tightly and swung it once.

The massive energy palm… shattered instantly.

“Impossible…”

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in disbelief.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The two other Golden Core cultivators had sensed it clearly—

Even though the middle-aged man had claimed to use only fifty percent of his power, he was still at Golden Core mid-stage.

How could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator break through so easily?!

Could that artifact sword be that powerful?!

The Girls Were Just as Stunned.
Xia He, Xie Zhiqu, and Xie Zhi’an stood frozen, unable to believe what they had just seen.

Only Qu Ruyan clapped excitedly.

“Senior Brother is amazing! Hurry up and beat him up some more!”

Wang Santun & Chen Huai Were Convinced It Was the Sword.
Both of them coveted the Liuli Sword even more now.

If they could get their hands on it, they’d have at least some self-defense against stronger Golden Core opponents.

Lin Mo Didn’t Like Dragging Things Out.
While the middle-aged man was still in shock—

Lin Mo activated his mid-tier Profound-grade technique—

“Three Thousand Sword Art.”

He had already cultivated it to the eighth layer, just two layers short of perfection.

Most Golden Core cultivators only managed to cultivate their Profound-grade techniques to the fourth or fifth layer.

The middle-aged man’s earlier palm technique had only been at the fifth layer of a mid-tier Profound-grade art.

Lin Mo, however, was a sword cultivator.

With his Sword Heart Clarity constitution, he had a natural advantage in comprehending sword techniques.

Now add in the fact that he had a Sword Spiritual Root and an artifact-tier weapon…

When he unleashed Three Thousand Sword Art, the power it emitted felt as overwhelming as a high-tier technique.

Countless sword energies surged forward like a storm.

The middle-aged man’s expression changed drastically.

He could feel the sheer force behind each sword strike.

Caught off guard, he had no choice but to channel all his true energy into a defensive barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sword energies ripped through his defenses like paper, piercing directly into his body.

A miserable scream echoed—

And then, silence.

The middle-aged man lay motionless on the ground.

Dead.
Silence.

Everyone present stared at Lin Mo, their eyes filled with shock.

A Golden Core mid-stage cultivator…

Defeated.

By a Foundation Establishment youth.

The Girls Had Only One Thought.
“So… Senior Brother is this strong?!”

And Then…
While everyone was still in shock—

More sword energies rained down on the already dead middle-aged man.

Slicing his corpse to pieces.

Lin Mo didn’t react at all.

Only after confirming that the man was so thoroughly shredded he couldn’t possibly be alive did he finally lower his sword.

His Face Remained Emotionless.
He looked at the remaining enemies, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

“You’re next.”