Meanwhile, Ye Kai was watching the people of Qingling Sect with a look of deep satisfaction at how they were treating Lin Mo now.

But then, all of a sudden—he felt a cold chill run down his spine and involuntarily shivered.

Wanwan, in her usual teasing tone, commented, “Why are you suddenly shivering? Back pain?”

What men hate most is being told they’re no good—even if it’s a demon saying it, they’ll instinctively snap back: “Saying I’m no good? One move and I’ll knock you down to your stomach, believe it or not?” But the moment those words left his mouth, he felt like his stomach was being squeezed in someone’s hand—pain flaring violently.

He immediately begged for mercy, “Wanwan, I was joking with you, just running my mouth!”

“Joking with a demon—you really have no fear of death,” Wanwan said with a light laugh.

Only then did the pain in Ye Kai’s stomach fade.

He thought to himself, the day I fully become a demon, I’ll definitely put Wanwan in her place and teach her a good lesson.

This inner thought was completely heard by Wanwan.

But she didn’t get angry—demonic beings had very mild emotional fluctuations. To her, Ye Kai was nothing more than a plaything. Observing the mental shifts of her plaything was quite an entertaining thing.

---

Since the Sect Grand Tournament was being held at Canglan Peak, it was naturally being overseen by Canglan Peak’s master, Immortal Fengqing.

When Lin Mo arrived, Immortal Fengqing smiled and asked, “Your master is in seclusion again?”

Lin Mo looked at the white-haired, youthful-faced elder in front of him and nodded, “Yes, Master is currently attempting to break through to the Dividing Spirit stage.”

Immortal Fengqing sighed, “Your master has been stuck at the Nascent Soul stage for a long time because of their inner demons. They reached late-stage Nascent Soul over fifty years ago, but still haven’t made a breakthrough to this day. Without severing those inner demons, I’m afraid it will remain impossible to reach the Dividing Spirit stage.”

From this, Lin Mo gleaned a useful bit of information—Master Yuehua was definitely over fifty years old.

“Your master is obsessed with cultivation, so it must be tough for you as the eldest disciple—managing all the affairs of Qingzhu Peak on your own these years must’ve been exhausting.”

Immortal Fengqing was aware of how unusual Qingzhu Peak’s management was. To this day, there still wasn’t any formal system or delegation in place. But since that was Qingzhu Peak’s business, he couldn’t say too much about it.

“It has been quite exhausting,” Lin Mo replied.

At this moment, Immortal Fengqing sized Lin Mo up.

The last time they met was during the Sect Tournament five years ago. He clearly remembered that Lin Mo had only been at the Foundation Establishment stage back then.

And now—

“Lin Mo, did you have some kind of great encounter? To go from Foundation Establishment to late-stage Golden Core in just five years—besides a lucky chance, I can’t think of any other explanation.”

Lin Mo knew his cultivation level had already been seen through, so he smiled and nodded, “Yes, I had a stroke of luck. I inherited the legacy of a sword cultivator senior.”

He had nothing to hide about this—it’s not like he could avoid using his sword during the upcoming matches anyway. It was better to establish a reasonable backstory now for why he had started cultivating the sword path.

“You really are blessed with great fortune. Master Yuehua is lucky to have such a disciple,” Immortal Fengqing said with a smile.

No elder could dislike a junior who was both capable and grateful. Immortal Fengqing genuinely liked Lin Mo.

Indeed, in the path of cultivation and seeking immortality, talent was only the foundation. Fortune and aptitude were just as important.

He remembered that Lin Mo wasn’t even thirty yet, and supposedly had a dual spiritual root constitution. He didn’t know how high Lin Mo’s pill-condensation grade was, but judging by what he could sense even from afar, even if Lin Mo only had a mid-grade spiritual root, to reach late-stage Golden Core before the age of thirty was still extraordinarily rare—worthy of being called a genius.

Sure, much of it could be attributed to good fortune, but as the saying goes—luck is also part of one’s strength.

The only thing he wasn’t sure of was—how strong was Lin Mo’s sword talent?

Immortal Fengqing thought to himself: this time, the disciple rankings among the thirteen peaks might see more change than ever before.

Having said his piece, Immortal Fengqing nodded and let Lin Mo return to the arena seating designated for Qingzhu Peak.

There were only thirty-six participants in total for the Grand Tournament, so the entire competition would wrap up in about three days.

At first, Lin Mo had planned to slack off—just go through the motions, exchange a few casual blows, and quietly get eliminated.

After all, the fame and outcome of this tournament meant nothing to him. He was going to leave the sect soon anyway—what was the point of trying so hard?

But now… that plan didn’t seem so realistic anymore.

On Canglan Peak, Immortal Fengqing seemed able to see through his cultivation. With just a glance, he could discern a cultivator’s level. If Lin Mo deliberately held back, it might arouse suspicion among the other peak masters—and that would be difficult to explain. Besides…

“Brother Lin Mo, you’re definitely going to win first place in the Sect Tournament, right?” Gu Qingxue looked at him, eyes full of hope.

…Well, that made it even harder for Lin Mo to throw the match now.

In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the Sect Tournament officially began. Lin Mo had no interest in watching. To him, these disciples were far too arrogant. From his perspective, not a single one of them was worth fighting. Even Xia Qianqiu and the others were stronger than this bunch.

Before long, it was Qingzhu Peak’s turn to compete.

“Senior Brother Lin, I’ll go up first,” Duan Susu said.

Her opponent was a female disciple from Panyue Peak, also at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

After a few rounds, Duan Susu gradually fell behind. In the end, she lost the match.

“Sorry, Senior Brother… I couldn’t beat her…” Duan Susu said apologetically.

“It’s fine,” Lin Mo replied. “You specialize in alchemy, and you weren’t allowed to bring any magical artifacts into the match. That girl from Panyue Peak is a spell cultivator and has even learned an earth-element technique of Earth-grade quality. It’s no shame that you lost to her.”

“If this were a real battle, she wouldn’t be your match,” Lin Mo added.

And that wasn’t just to make her feel better. Duan Susu had spent a lot of time out adventuring, and she carried many magical tools. With her real combat experience maxed out, killing that Panyue Peak girl wouldn’t be difficult at all.

Duan Susu knew this herself. She gave a helpless smile. “The rest of the tournament will depend on you and Senior Brother Fang.”

A few more matches went by, and it was Qingzhu Peak’s turn again. Fang Bo glanced at Lin Mo and Duan Susu, said nothing, and walked straight up to the stage.

Though his entrance was pretty cool, his defeat came just as swiftly.

Lin Mo wasn’t surprised—after all, his opponent was the senior sister of Dashi Peak, Bai Ling, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. Beating a peak Foundation Establishment disciple was no problem for her at all.

Now that both matches had ended in defeat, the disciples of Qingzhu Peak looked thoroughly disheartened.

“As expected, Qingzhu Peak is going to come in last again this year, huh?”

“Sigh… looks like we’ll be mocked by the other peaks for at least five more years.”

“Senior Brother Lin hasn’t fought yet! You guys should have some faith in him!”

“It’s not that we don’t believe, it’s just… Senior Brother Lin focuses on water and wood techniques. Even if he’s in the Golden Core stage, it’s still going to be hard for him to win a tournament match…”

That last comment reflected what all the junior disciples were really thinking.

It was truly humiliating that Qingzhu Peak always came in last.

Lin Mo thought that before he left the sect, it might be nice to win first place for Qingzhu Peak—just once.

Finally, it was time for Qingzhu Peak’s last match.

As Lin Mo stepped onto the stage, the entire arena atmosphere shifted into something strange.

At first, some female disciples from other peaks had found him attractive, their hearts fluttering at the sight of him.

But after someone told them about the whole “Shen Ke’er” incident, those same girls now looked at Lin Mo like he was trash.

His opponent was Liu Bao from Dashi Peak.

The moment Liu Bao entered the arena, cheers erupted from the crowd.

“Go, Senior Brother Liu!”

“Senior Brother Liu, make sure Lin Mo—the scumbag—gets what he deserves!”

“Yeah, yeah! For someone so ruthless and cold-blooded, Senior Brother Liu, you better beat him to a pulp!”

People began shouting all kinds of things, and the arena instantly turned into a chaotic mess.

Whether they truly knew what had happened with Shen Ke’er, or were just repeating gossip, it didn’t matter—as far as they were concerned, Lin Mo was already branded a heartless scumbag.

Only a small number of people remained silent, not swept up in the mob.

Lin Mo sneered inwardly. Honestly, human nature really is ugly.

These people clearly had no idea about the actual circumstances, yet still chose to go along with the crowd—cheering without knowing the full story. How was this any different from the mob in his past life, who blindly jumped on internet hate trains and acted with impunity?

And among them were plenty who didn’t even know what was going on, joining in simply to follow the excitement.

Hidden in the shadows, Ye Kai was grinning from ear to ear. He was also hoping Liu Bao would beat the hell out of Lin Mo—give him a good dose of suffering.

However, a few disciples from Qingzhu Peak who were close to Lin Mo began speaking up in his defense. But their cry of “Qingzhu Peak” was more of a mockery directed at the disciples of the other twelve peaks.

Duan Susu gritted her teeth, clearly enraged: “Senior Brother was always good to Junior Sister Shen. He gave his heart and soul. He couldn’t save her—he had no choice! It was clearly Junior Sister Shen who was at fault. She disobeyed Senior Brother’s warning and secretly ran off to hunt in the Dazhou Mountains, and in the end, dragged Senior Brother into it too!”

“And now these people are blindly blaming him without knowing the truth?”

“I seriously want to crack open their heads and see if there’s water sloshing around in there—maybe air them out a bit!”

“So this is what most disciples of Qingling Sect are like?” Gu Qingxue bit her lip and lowered her head.

Having been on Qingzhu Peak for a while, she had come to understand a lot—For example, how Lin Mo would rise early and rest late, managing many of the peak’s affairs, and how he would even supplement Qingzhu Peak’s finances out of his own pocket. She had also heard many stories from Duan Susu and Gu Zi about how kind he had been to Shen Ke’er.

To be honest, when she heard those things, she herself had felt a little bitter inside.

She couldn’t understand what was wrong with Shen Ke’er—Brother Lin Mo was so good to her, yet she had distanced herself from him over a man she’d only known for a year?

She really didn’t know what she had, like an ungrateful parasite. She got herself injured in the Dazhou Mountains out of spite, and then still expected Brother Lin Mo to rub her bruises?

It was like finding a wounded, filthy pigeon on the street—you nurse her back to health, she becomes beautiful, and says she won’t fly away. So you prepare yourself to eventually release her.

At first, when she flew off to roam, she’d still return. Until one day—she didn’t come back.

You searched for her day after day, only to see her being hand-fed by someone else, looking very intimate with her new keeper.

How would that make you feel?

Then, after a while, she got injured again, and only then did she remember your kindness and come back.

Would you still be willing to tend to her wounds?

Thankfully, Brother Lin Mo had seen the light. This sect really wasn’t worth staying in. And that junior sister definitely wasn’t someone worth keeping close.

On the stage, Liu Bao cracked his knuckles as he looked at Lin Mo: “Lin Mo, your reputation really stinks.”

“I wanted to beat you up last time—now I finally have the chance to do it openly and legitimately.”

“If I accidentally cripple you, don’t come crying to me.”

Outside the ring, Bai Ling sent him a voice transmission: “Junior Brother Liu, be careful. I told you before—Lin Mo isn’t as simple as he looks.”

But Liu Bao, brimming with confidence, replied through sound transmission: “Don’t worry, Senior Sister Bai. I’m at the Golden Core stage now too, with a fifth-grade core, and my Firecloud Palm is trained to the seventh layer. Beating Lin Mo is just a matter of lifting a finger.”

Bai Ling frowned deeply. She used to be able to see through Lin Mo somewhat, but now she realized she couldn’t read him at all.

She feared that her foolish junior brother might suffer dearly for underestimating him…

When the match began, Liu Bao wasted no time. He launched a Firecloud Palm straight at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo looked at the incoming attack and simply shook his head. Its power was far weaker than Xia Qianqiu’s Fiery Flame Palm.

He didn’t even bother pulling out his sword. With a casual wave of spiritual energy, he dispersed the fire palm right in front of him.

Then, in a flash, Lin Mo appeared behind Liu Bao—and delivered a brutal kick straight to his kidney.

Liu Bao was still in shock, trying to figure out how his Firecloud Palm had been so easily dissolved, when pain exploded in his lower back.

The next thing he knew, his body flew out of the arena like an arrow loosed from a bow.