Lin Mo’s tone was calm—so calm it sent shivers down Jiang Yanran’s spine.

She tried her best to remain composed, but based on the strength Lin Mo had just displayed, she was certain she was no match for him.

“Mo… Brother Mo…”

Jiang Yanran adjusted her expression and looked at Lin Mo with sincere eyes.

“What happened before… I—Jiang Yanran—was in the wrong. I’m here to apologize.”

“You know as well as I do—this world follows the law of the jungle. I just wanted to rise higher. Is that wrong?”

“If you had revealed your talent from the start, Brother Mo, I never would have left you.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yanran loosened her outer robe, revealing only a blue embroidered dudou with plum blossoms beneath.

Her face reddened slightly as she lowered her head and said,
“I was with Nangong Xu only because of his future potential.
But in the end, I couldn’t maintain that distance.
Brother Mo… I’m offering myself to redeem my mistakes.”

Lin Mo hadn’t expected Jiang Yanran to stoop this low.
He frowned. “What is this supposed to mean?”

“I want to reconcile with you, Brother Mo.”
Jiang Yanran spoke with deep sincerity.
“I’m willing to take responsibility for my previous actions.
I’ll personally return to the Lin family and apologize.”

She had, in fact, thought through many things.

Based on Lin Mo’s current talent and strength, there was no doubt in her mind: he would eventually lead the current Lin family back to the Upper Realm.

And the Lin family in the Upper Realm was no less powerful than any top-tier Immortal Sect.

With talent like Lin Mo’s, he would certainly be highly valued once he returned to the Upper Realm’s Lin family.

While Nangong Xu was also talented, he was still ultimately too average.
Even though he was connected to someone from the Tai Palace, the political value of that union wasn’t enough.

Weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Yanran decided she was willing to swallow her pride and beg Lin Mo’s forgiveness.

Zhu Shiyao had previously heard about Jiang Yanran’s broken engagement, but she hadn’t known the one rejected was Lin Mo.

Standing off to the side and listening to this shameless display, even she couldn’t help but admire how utterly brazen Jiang Yanran was.

“Yanyan, was this woman once Brother Lin Mo’s lover?”
Hearing the exchange between Lin Mo and Jiang Yanran, Gu Qingxue panicked.

It felt like a heavy stone pressed down on her chest.

She really didn’t like Jiang Yanran.

This woman had no shame at all—
After being with someone else, she had the audacity to come back and beg Brother Lin Mo for forgiveness.

“I don’t know.”

Qu Ruyan popped a candy into her mouth with her paw and said,
“Anyway, I don’t like her.”

Lin Mo clapped his hands and praised,
“I have to admit, you’re smart. Your character’s also quite good.”

Hearing that, Gu Qingxue’s heart fluttered slightly.
Did that mean Brother Lin Mo was going to forgive her?

But in the next moment, Lin Mo’s words swept away her doubts.

“But don’t you think you’re a little too confident?”

Lin Mo looked at Jiang Yanran with disdain.
“Do you really believe that just because you’re a little pretty, everyone should do what you say?”

“With this attitude, how are you any different from a brothel girl?”

“Even if your body is still clean, your heart is already riddled with holes—
Stuffed full of disgusting, filthy thoughts.
It’s revolting.”

“Saying you’re a courtesan would actually be an insult to them.
Most of them were tricked into it, or at least trying to survive.
They’re doing what they can to earn a living and redeem themselves.”

“But you? You treat your body as currency for profit.
And if I accepted you just because you were pretty,
what’s to stop you from throwing yourself at the next man with more potential?”

This was the first time Jiang Yanran was so viciously insulted that it shook her very core.

Flustered, she quickly took a calming pill her senior sister had given her earlier.

Her face turned ugly. “I’ve already humbled myself this much to beg your forgiveness,
and you still insult me like this?”

“It’s your own shamelessness.”

Lin Mo sneered.

He had finally seen through her.

Jiang Yanran was a person who cared only about profit—
utterly devoid of true emotion.

And people like her… were terrifying in their own way.

“Enough. I’ve wasted enough words on you—time to get to business.”

Step by step, Lin Mo slowly advanced toward Jiang Yanran.

“I already told you—I can give you a new batch of what you want.
As for the pills I’ve already used, the ones infused with your spiritual essence,
how exactly am I supposed to return those?”

“You couldn’t retrieve them even if you tried.”

“It seems you misunderstood my intent,” Lin Mo replied coldly.
“I only plan to take back what never belonged to you in the first place.”

Staring at Lin Mo’s emotionless face, a terrifying thought crossed Jiang Yanran’s mind.

Feeling the pressure from Lin Mo’s aura, she instinctively stepped back and raised her voice:

“Lin Mo, think carefully. You’ve already offended the Nangong family and Xuanming Hall.
If you go any further, even the Jiang family won’t let you off easily—not to mention the Lin family!”

Those words made Lin Mo pause in his tracks.

Seeing that, Jiang Yanran exhaled in relief.

But Zhu Shiyao, standing nearby, could no longer hold back.

“Lin Mo, Nangong Xu lost to you fair and square.
If someone dares use that as an excuse to move against the Lin family,
the Zhu family and the Sword Sect will not sit idly by.”

Her words sent Jiang Yanran’s heart racing.

Zhu Shiyao’s status in both the Zhu family and the Lingjian Sect was no joke.
If she said those forces would intervene, it wasn’t just an empty threat.

Lin Mo gave Zhu Shiyao a grateful look.

“Fellow Daoist Zhu, I’ll remember this favor.
If I have the chance, I’ll definitely repay it.”

Zhu Shiyao smiled faintly.
“No need. Just hurry up and finish your personal matters—
Then come spar with me.”

Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Jiang Yanran and Nangong Xu causing a scene,
she’d have dueled Lin Mo long ago.
Now, this shameless Jiang Yanran’s nonsense was testing her patience to its limits.
Even staying here one more second felt like agony.

Lin Mo didn’t want to drag things out either.

With a flick of the Glazed Sword, he effortlessly broke through Jiang Yanran’s protective talisman.

This time, Jiang Yanran didn’t have the courage to continue fighting.
She activated a movement technique and quickly tried to retreat—

But Lin Mo’s sword was even faster.

With a swift, precise strike, he completely sealed off her escape route.

The next instant, searing pain shot up from her lower back.

Her spiritual energy began to collapse.

“No—Lin Mo—you can’t do this to me…!”

Jiang Yanran cried out in terror.

But Lin Mo didn’t stop.
“I’m just reclaiming the achievements that were never yours to begin with.”

With those words, Jiang Yanran’s Golden Core shattered.
A torrent of spiritual energy burst from her body.

Her cultivation dropped from the Golden Core stage back to late Foundation Establishment.

Jiang Yanran’s face turned pale as she collapsed weakly to the ground,
staring at Lin Mo in silence, eyes wide with disbelief.

The shattering of a Golden Core wasn’t just a downgrade in cultivation—
it destroyed the foundation of her future.

Unless she acquired a peerless-grade pill from a revered expert or a rare opportunity,
it would be nearly impossible for her to ever form a high-grade Golden Core again.

All her rage was buried deep inside.
There was no point in arguing now.
If she pushed Lin Mo any further, he might just kill her on the spot.

Lin Mo, however, had no intention of killing her.

He knew full well that Jiang Yanran would now hold a grudge against him.
But if he killed her here, it would bring all kinds of trouble later on.

He could only blame himself for still not being strong enough.

If he were powerful enough to crush the entire Jiang family or even Ice Palace alone,
he wouldn’t need to hold back like this.

“Master, master, you’re doing it all wrong.”

The little cat spirit batted at Lin Mo’s leg with its paw.

“What should I have done instead?”

Lin Mo looked confused. Was she saying he’d been too harsh?

“You should’ve just killed her.”

Qu Ruyan, still in her cat form, said it casually.

Zhu Shiyao, hearing that, glanced seriously at the cute, fluffy spiritual pet at Lin Mo’s feet.

“Lin Mo… are all your spiritual pets this bloodthirsty?”

Jiang Yanran, off to the side, turned even paler.

“No, no,” Qu Ruyan explained sweetly. “My master taught me.”

She said seriously, “Master once said,
‘If you pull the weeds, make sure to remove the roots—eliminate future troubles at the source.’”

Lin Mo was speechless.

That advice only made sense when the situation truly called for it.

Besides, he wasn’t some bloodthirsty maniac.
The last time he killed the old man from the Mei Poison Sect,
it was only because they’d tried to kill him first.

He didn’t feel like explaining that to Qu Ruyan.
He simply grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and plopped her into Gu Qingxue’s arms.

“Watch her for me.”

Gu Qingxue nodded eagerly. “Got it, Brother Lin Mo!”

“Now that your personal affairs are dealt with,” Zhu Shiyao said,
“shouldn’t you be fulfilling my request?”

She clearly had no intention of waiting any longer.

Sword intent flared from her body,

“Very well. I’ll make sure to satisfy you.”

Lin Mo smiled lightly. Truthfully, he was also looking forward to this spar.

Ever since he had awakened his sword spirit root and successfully formed his flawless Golden Core,
he hadn’t encountered a truly worthy opponent in his realm.

At that moment, the Liuli Sword spoke:

“Master, when Mistress Shiyao meets an opponent she really likes,
her state tends to get… unusual.”

Lin Mo responded telepathically, “I know.”

“Master, unless you use the ‘Nameless Sword Art’,
I doubt you’ll be able to gain much of an advantage.”

The Liuli Sword had gradually come to understand Lin Mo’s current strength during this time—
but it knew Zhu Shiyao even better.

Aside from her sword spirit physique and rare mutated Tianze spiritual root,
she had also honed her combat skills through grueling training,
refined in hundreds of real-life battles.

If she wasn’t defeated swiftly,
she would grow stronger the longer the fight dragged on—
especially in one-on-one sword duels.

Her ability to improve mid-fight was terrifying.

“Alright, I understand what you mean.
I won’t use the Nameless Sword Art against Zhu Shiyao,
so don’t worry.”

“That sword art is a killing move.
Lin Mo had no intention of going all out against Zhu Shiyao.”

After all, this was just a friendly match.

Lin Mo could clearly feel how well the Liuli Sword was syncing with him.
No matter how he adjusted his stance or changed moves,
everything felt fluid and natural.

It was clear—the sword was determined to win this duel as well.

Zhu Shiyao held a spirit sword that was pitch-black in color,
its blade speckled with lights like stars in the night sky—
a miniature galaxy.

“This sword of mine is called ‘Starshatter.’
Although it hasn’t developed a sword spirit yet,
it can already be considered a top-grade Immortal weapon.”

As she gently caressed the blade, affection filled her eyes.

That single motion made the Liuli Sword furious.

“How dare that sword get caressed by Mistress Shiyao!
Once the duel starts, I’m going to hack that thing to pieces!”

Lin Mo was speechless.
This Liuli Sword really was competitive to the extreme.

It was just asking him a moment ago to go easy on his opponent,
and now it wanted to shatter Zhu Shiyao’s sword out of sheer jealousy?

“Thanks to Fellow Daoist Lin’s Icefruit earlier,
I’ve broken through to the mid-stage Golden Core.
Since this is a duel, then I shall—”

Before she could finish, Lin Mo cut in:

“No need to suppress your cultivation.
It’s only a small gap—won’t make much difference.”

It sounded arrogant, sure—
but it was true.

With a flawless Golden Core,
Lin Mo’s raw power and spiritual aptitude were far above Zhu Shiyao’s.
A small realm gap wouldn’t matter much.

“Since you’ve said that, I’ll hold nothing back.”

Zhu Shiyao wasn’t one to fuss over small details,
and she trusted in Lin Mo’s strength.

From how he’d easily dispatched both Jiang Yanran and Nangong Xu just now,
it was clear he wasn’t far behind her in power.

But even so—
Zhu Shiyao’s sword had already reached Lin Mo in a flash.

And yet—it was blocked.

That strike had been lightning fast.
If he hadn’t broken through to the Golden Core stage,
he might’ve lost the match on that very first move.

Zhu Shiyao didn’t let up.
Blades and sword shadows collided in rapid succession—
within mere seconds, they had already exchanged over a hundred strikes.

“As expected, only you are worthy of crossing swords with me, Fellow Daoist Lin.”

Zhu Shiyao grew more and more excited as they fought,
her strikes becoming even faster.

Lin Mo inwardly cursed,
“This woman’s a complete monster.”

He could feel himself slowly being pushed back in close combat,
so he quickly widened the distance.

Facing Zhu Shiyao, he dared not let his guard down.

Channeling his spiritual power, he unleashed his Three Thousand Sword Technique.

Hundreds of sword auras shot forward,
raining down toward Zhu Shiyao like a storm.

Seeing the number and density of the sword attacks,
Zhu Shiyao immediately recognized it:

Lin Mo’s technique wasn’t just powerful—
it was incredibly refined and layered.

“Fellow Daoist Lin, it seems you’ve been hiding your true strength all along.”