Chapter 25: That’s right, it was deliberate.
Facing the aura of the Golden Core stage cultivator.
Lin Mo didn’t even frown.
Although the gap between the Golden Core stage and the Foundation stage is indeed huge.
But that also depends on the person.
Ever since Lin Mo obtained the ‘Sword’ spirit root, it complemented his Sword Heart Clarity physique.
Not only was his cultivation speed more than just a little faster than the original owner’s, but more importantly, the quality of his ‘True’ Qi had changed.
The attribute of ‘True’ Qi is determined by the spirit root.
For example, a ‘Fire’ attribute Heavenly Spirit Root has special bonuses when cultivating fire-element cultivation techniques, and its ‘True’ Qi attribute also carries the characteristics of ‘Fire’.
It is bound to be superior to ‘Fire’ Dual Spirit Roots in cultivating the same ‘Fire’ cultivation technique, both in terms of the power of the moves and the quality of the True Qi.
The same applies to other elemental spirit roots!
This ostentatious cultivator’s realm was Early Golden Core, his aptitude was merely Triple Spirit Root, and the quality of the Golden Core within him was the lowest, Rank 1.
His actual age had long exceeded two hundred years.
Although he was a Golden Core cultivator, if they were to truly fight, he would not be Lin Mo’s opponent.
Lin Mo’s True Qi had long been building up, and he could form his Core at any moment!
However, there were two reasons why he had not chosen to form his Core.
First, it was for Nuanced Nine-Grade Pill Formation, but he didn’t have enough Regret before, so he hadn’t chosen to break through.
Second, although he now had enough Regret, he discovered that the longer he nurtured his True Qi, the higher the chance of forming a high-quality Golden Core and the less Regret value it would cost.
Since he could save a lot here, why would he let the System earn more Regret value?
He wasn’t in a hurry to break through to Golden Core, so he would just nurture it slowly.
Lin Mo glanced sideways at his group of junior sisters.
Seeing that they were all in good condition, he wasn’t surprised.
Xia He approached Lin Mo, shaking a pill in her hand.
“Hey, stop pretending, okay? If you’re uncomfortable, I don’t mind giving you a high-quality ‘An Qi Pill’.”
An Qi Pill, as the name suggests, is a pill to calm the Qi and spirit.
This was why she was able to remain calm and composed in the face of the Golden Core cultivator’s oppressive aura.
Lin Mo wasn’t surprised by this. After all, these junior sisters were all ‘immortal second-generation’, with good family backgrounds. It wasn’t strange for them to have such items.
“I don’t need this. Keep it for yourself.”
“Pretending, don’t bother then!” Xia He felt that Lin Mo was definitely just putting on a brave face. It was impossible for a Foundation stage cultivator to feel nothing under the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator.
After putting the pill away, Xia He suddenly froze in place.
Her gaze fell on a figure in the center of the crowd.
It was an exceptionally handsome man with an extraordinary demeanor.
He slowly walked up to the Golden Core cultivator who was exuding his aura.
The Golden Core cultivator had clearly noticed him as well.
The man slowly spoke, “With so many mortals present, isn’t your approach a bit too heartless?”
“Who are you? I advise you not to meddle!” The Golden Core cultivator saw the man and didn’t dare to make any rash moves, because he could clearly sense that this young man before him was also a Golden Core cultivator.
“This matter, I, Nangong Xu, will handle it!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a fierce True Qi erupted from the man. In just a brief moment, before his long sword was even unsheathed, he repelled the opponent with just the scabbard to the entrance of Jiangyue Building.
“If you want to die, you can try stepping through the gate?”
The Golden Core cultivator outside knew he was no match for the other party. He no longer cared about his dignity and shamefully fled.
In an instant, there was a roar of cheers from the crowd.
Nangong Xu’s actions immediately garnered the favor of many women within the building.
Yes, Xia He was one of them.
Lin Mo took a few steps back, distancing himself from the infatuated Xia He.
“What are you doing?” Xia He snapped back to reality and frowned slightly when she saw Lin Mo’s ‘disgusted’ face.
“I’m just afraid your drool will get on my clothes.” Lin Mo told the truth.
“Don’t talk nonsense, I didn’t, [slurp].” She quickly wiped away the evidence, Xia He would not admit her embarrassment.
“Xia Xia, I saw it, you know!” Qu Ruyan said with a piece of osmanthus cake in her mouth, laughing, “I also drool when I see delicious food, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about admitting it.”
“She’s different from you!” Lin Mo corrected, “She drools over men!”
Qu Ruyan tilted her head and curiously asked, “Xia Xia, I drool over delicious food because I’m greedy, why do you drool over men?”
Of course, it’s because she’s greedy too!
Looking at the innocent and naive Qu Ruyan, Lin Mo couldn’t help but chuckle.
This girl is a true assist!
“Yes, yes, yes, I just like Young Master Nangong, so what? Not only is he handsome and talented, but he’s also a renowned prodigy among the younger generation in the entire cultivation world. He reached Foundation at ten, successfully formed his Core at twenty, and now at twenty-five, he’s already showing signs of breaking through to the Mid Golden Core stage. How can he be worse than you, an old man still in Foundation stage?” As she said this, Xia He’s ears turned as red as if they were about to bleed, and her attention was once again directed at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo twitched his lips. He was also twenty-five!
This girl was clearly a love-struck fool.
Why was she arguing with him?
Lin Mo turned around, out of sight, out of mind.
He thought the person named Nangong Xu looked hypocritical.
If he were truly such a righteous person, why didn’t he intervene when that middle-aged Golden Core cultivator made his move?
He had to wait until the guests present were injured by the middle-aged Golden Core cultivator’s aura, and a large portion of them had already left, before running out to play the hero.
If not for hypocrisy, what else could it be?
For such a simple matter, Xia He couldn’t even see it.
Wasn’t this pure love-struck foolishness?
“The first round of competition has begun!”
The hostess has already set the theme, and that theme is none other than herself.
“All young masters present are requested to compose suitable verses based on what you have seen and thought within the time it takes one stick of incense to burn.”
The old madam held a thick stack of paper and had the girls in the building distribute them.
Looking at the white paper in his hand, Lin Mo did not immediately start writing like the others.
Seeing this, Xia He, who had already finished writing her poem, felt she had seized an opportunity and couldn’t help but sneer, “You don’t even know how to compose a poem, and you still have the nerve to bring us to this Talents Assembly?”
Lin Mo ignored Xia He’s words.
He truly didn’t know how to compose poetry.
But, he knew how to copy!
His gaze lingered on the beautiful figure on the upper floor for a long time, until time was almost up.
Only then did he start writing.
Seeing that Lin Mo had only written his verses in the last few rushed seconds, Xia He had already confirmed in her heart that this guy definitely hadn’t written anything good and couldn’t pass the first round of the competition.
Seeing that the answers were finished, Yan Ruyu did not send anyone to collect the papers.
Cultivators were not like mortals; they didn’t need to flip through the contents of the paper one by one. With a scan of her spiritual sense throughout Jiangyue Building, Yan Ruyu had already made her decision.
With a light wave of her hand, the answer sheets from a very small portion of the people present were collected.
“I have read all the works. Young masters whose works were not collected by me may leave.”
Xia He looked at the paper still in her hand, then at Lin Mo, whose hands were empty.
She wondered if she had misheard.
“Hooray, I passed too.”
“Huh? Xia Xia, you didn’t pass?”
Looking at Qu Ruyan’s clear eyes, Xia He’s face was very ugly.
Not to mention Lin Mo’s work, which she had never seen, she had seen Qu Ruyan’s work.
It consisted almost entirely of food.
It could even be said that it wasn’t even a poem.
She truly couldn’t understand how she passed this competition.
Yan Ruyu, observing everything from the upper floor, indeed tilted the corner of her mouth slightly.
That’s right, she did it deliberately.
…
