Lin Mo’s brutality made everyone instinctively swallow hard.

They had clearly seen it—

The middle-aged man was already dead after Lin Mo’s first strike.

Yet, Lin Mo still mercilessly rained down a series of sword slashes, ensuring that there wasn’t even a corpse left intact.

Even the Brow Venom Elder, a known sadist, hesitated for a moment.

“Who’s the real demonic cultivator here…?”

Lin Mo turned back to his junior sisters and taught them a valuable lesson.

“Did you all see that? Whenever you defeat an enemy, always make sure to finish them off properly.”

“Never trust that they’re dead until their corpse is unrecognizable.”

The junior sisters immediately straightened their backs.

“Understood!” they answered in unison.

Now, they finally realized—their senior brother was truly as ruthless as the rumors said.

But at the same time, they also remembered—

He had been nothing but kind to them throughout this entire journey.

Xia He Felt Another Wave of Regret.
She suddenly recalled how she used to look down on Lin Mo and even taunted him.

Now?

She felt only fear and gratitude.

Thank the heavens that Lin Mo was her senior brother and not her enemy.

But at the same time—

She had fallen for him even more.

How could the sect ever say he was weak?

A Foundation Establishment cultivator slaying a Golden Core cultivator?

Even the strongest members of the Qingling Sect wouldn’t be able to accomplish this.

Wang Santun Refused to Believe It.
“Impossible… Impossible…!”

His entire body trembled as he stared at the shredded remains of the middle-aged man.

How could this be reality?

Could that artifact sword truly be this powerful?!

Meanwhile, both the Brow Venom Elder and Chen Huai’s old servant stopped underestimating Lin Mo.

Their expressions turned serious.

“It’s not the sword—it’s his talent.” The Brow Venom Elder narrowed his eyes.

“For a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator to use a mid-tier Profound-grade technique with such force, his talent must be absurd.”

“He’s likely a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator, and even more importantly—he probably has a special sword-related physique.”

Chen Huai’s old servant suddenly recalled something.

“I’ve heard rumors about a female sword prodigy from the Lingjian Sect.”

“She was also able to slay Golden Core cultivators while at Foundation Establishment.”

“After she advanced to Golden Core, she became invincible within her realm—even against Nascent Soul cultivators, she could still fight on even ground.”

“She had a mutated Heavenly Spiritual Root and a special sword constitution.”

“If this boy has a similar talent, then there’s no doubt—he must be from one of the Five Great Clans of the Upper Realm.”

Hearing this, the old servant turned to Chen Huai.

“Young Master, I suggest we retreat.”

Chen Huai felt a chill crawl up his spine.

After witnessing Lin Mo’s strength, he was terrified.

And he was already thinking about escaping.

But Then, Wang Santun Spoke Up.
“You think you can run?” he sneered.

“He already knows who we are. Even if you escape now, do you really think he won’t come for revenge later?”

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.

This idiot actually said something smart for once.

Not bad.

Not that it mattered—he never planned to let any of them leave.

The Brow Venom Elder Laughed.
“The brat from the Wang family makes a good point.”

“What are you all afraid of? I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“As long as we kill him here, the Five Great Clans will never be able to trace this back to us.”

Now that he was sure of Lin Mo’s identity, he had no thoughts of capturing him anymore.

If he kept Lin Mo alive, there was a chance the Five Great Clans could track him down.

But if he killed him outright, then he’d be completely safe.

Chen Huai suddenly realized the same thing.

“Right! We still have Senior Brow Venom here!”

A man who had slain Nascent Soul cultivators—how could Lin Mo possibly fight against him?!

Even if Lin Mo could fight across realms, could he really defeat an enemy two major realms above him?

Chen Huai quickly gave his old servant an order.

“You and Senior Brow Venom will take him on together. We can’t afford to make any mistakes!”

Wang Santun let out a sigh of relief.

If Chen Huai and the Brow Venom Elder had decided to flee, then he would’ve been dead for sure.

The Brow Venom Elder Drew His Weapon.
“Let me show you the blade that once killed a Nascent Soul cultivator.”

A blood-red curved saber appeared in his hands, exuding a terrifying aura.

Chen Huai’s old servant also unleashed his full power, pushing his spiritual energy to its absolute limit.

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes.

He knew he couldn’t be careless.

The moment the Brow Venom Elder moved, his blood-red saber was already at Lin Mo’s neck, aiming to decapitate him in a single slash.

But Lin Mo Reacted Instantly.
He twisted his wrist, flipping his Liuli Sword upside down.

With a swift movement, he redirected the saber’s trajectory, turning the attack into an elegant sword arc.

At the same time—

“Three Thousand Sword Art!”

A barrage of sword energies surged toward the Brow Venom Elder.

The elder’s expression remained calm.

He infused his true energy into his blood-red saber, slashing forward—

A crescent-shaped blood-colored blade aura erupted, colliding directly with the sword energies.

A moment later—

Both forces canceled each other out.

Chen Huai’s old servant saw an opportunity and lunged at Lin Mo’s back, attempting a sneak attack.

But before he could strike—

Lin Mo twisted his body in an eerily unnatural motion, stabbing directly toward him!

A deep gash appeared on the old servant’s shoulder as he stumbled backward, quickly channeling spiritual energy to stop the bleeding.

His sneak attack had completely backfired.

Lin Mo, on the other hand, glanced at his Liuli Sword, slightly startled.

The sword spirit inside huffed, its voice sounding a little smug.

“Hmph! It’s not like I wanted to save you! I just don’t want to end up in the hands of these disgusting men if you lose!”

So… the sword had acted on its own?

Lin Mo hadn’t expected a spirit-possessed sword to be this intelligent.

The Liuli Sword continued, “If you really want to thank me, just send me back to my rightful owner!”

Lin Mo internally responded, “Fine. Consider me owing you a favor. But as for returning you? Not happening. You were a prize I won, so if anything, I should just melt you down and forge a better sword.”

The sword spirit shrieked in horror.

“Y-YOU MONSTER! YOU’RE GOING TO MELT ME DOWN?!”

Lin Mo ignored its protests.

The Situation Was Getting Worse.
While Lin Mo’s sword techniques allowed him to temporarily match the Brow Venom Elder—

He was still only at Foundation Establishment.

His spiritual energy reserves couldn’t compare to a Golden Core cultivator’s.

Once his energy ran out, defeat was inevitable.

And Chen Huai’s old servant was still lurking, waiting for an opportunity.

There was no way around it.

Lin Mo had to rely on the system.

“System, is there a way out of this?”

【Response: The host may draw for elixirs or enhance their martial techniques.】
【Remember, you can always trust in the power of Pay-to-Win!】

…
Drawing a random reward?

Too risky.

Lin Mo’s eyes locked onto a particular technique in his arsenal—

The Nameless Sword Art.

A Heaven-tier sword technique that he had never used before.

To maximize his chances, Lin Mo immediately spent 15,000 Regret Points to upgrade the technique to the third level.

Even after this expenditure, he still had over 40,000 Regret Points left.

【Congratulations! The Nameless Sword Art has been upgraded to the third level.】

The moment the system notification rang out, Lin Mo’s understanding of the sword art deepened—

And something strange happened.

He could see things he hadn’t seen before.

A shadowy mist surrounded the Brow Venom Elder—

It wasn’t spiritual energy—

It was karma.

Or more precisely—

The lingering resentment of the countless souls who had died by his blade.

It felt as if the sword art itself was guiding Lin Mo—

If he killed the Brow Venom Elder, he would obtain something valuable.

For a brief moment, Lin Mo’s eyes flashed red.

His Liuli Sword became engulfed in a blood-red aura, radiating an unsettling malice.

The Brow Venom Elder’s instincts screamed at him.

A chill ran down his spine.

For the first time in years, he felt fear.

“I need to run—NOW!”

But the moment he turned his body to flee—

A massive blood-red sword energy descended from the sky.

The blade aura seemed alive, latching onto the Brow Venom Elder and devouring his life force.

In mere seconds, his body shriveled up, his flesh and blood drained dry—

Until only a mummified husk remained.