Opportunity

Less than three months after being reborn on the Dou Qi Continent, Mo Tang had finally become a genuine Dou Zhe.

This still left his heart far from calm, despite his original belief that nothing would ever stir it again.

Of course, aside from Mo Tang himself, there was someone else who was even happier about his becoming a Dou Zhe—Chen Lin!

To support Mo Tang's cultivation, Chen Lin had used nearly half of the savings he had accumulated over the past decade or so.

Though it was only a few thousand Gold Coins, one should not forget that he had a large family to support. Being able to come up with so much had already required him to tighten his belt.

But now, it seemed that it had all been worth it!

He truly had not misjudged Mo Tang. This boy was undoubtedly an unpolished gem rarely found in the Mo Clan.

And he had actually been the one to discover him!

For this reason, Chen Lin had gone out of his way to loudly spread Mo Tang's name throughout Iron Refining City, making sure the entire city knew about him.

The reason for doing so was also for the sake of their future development.

They had no background and no capital. All they could do was spread their reputation as widely as possible, hoping to draw certain people's attention with this simplest—and clumsiest—method.

Unfortunately, this was not Salt City...

The Mo Clan's higher-ups would never turn their eyes toward such a small place, while the commander above them was a useless lump of mud who only knew how to indulge himself and had no ambition whatsoever.

In the end, Mo Tang's breakthrough only caused a few ripples within Iron Refining City before being swallowed once more by the lake's stagnant surface.

Mo Tang was not too anxious about this. At worst, when the end of the year came, he could submit a request to his superiors for a rank promotion.

But after waiting so long, Chen Lin was growing impatient!

No one knew what methods he had used, but he had somehow learned that Mo Ran, the commander of the Mo Clan's Second-Class Guards, was preparing to have a pair of gauntlets forged that could enhance Earth Attribute dou qi...

Chen Lin immediately found an opportunity to push both himself and Mo Tang forward!

"Ha ha ha, Brother Mo Tang, our chance has come!"

That day, Chen Lin barged straight into Mo Tang's small courtyard, his face flushed red with excitement.

Mo Tang frowned at the man, who was clearly a little too worked up, and asked doubtfully, "What chance?"

Chen Lin did not notice Mo Tang's expression at all. He said excitedly, "You don't know. A few days ago, I spent a great deal of effort finding out that Commander Mo Ran wants a pair of gauntlets as a weapon. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us!"

"Mo Ran?" Mo Tang raised a brow.

He had seen this man before, during the guard examination.

However, since the other party was a Strong individual at the Dou Shi level and the commander of the Second-Class Guards, he had merely swept his gaze over them before leaving.

But as Mo Tang knew, Mo Ran was not only the commander of the Second-Class Guards, but also one of Great Elder Mo Cheng's trusted confidants. He was one of the few Strong individuals in the Mo Clan who might break through to Da Dou Shi before the age of forty, and he held considerable influence within the clan.

If they could truly establish a connection with him, then the two of them might actually leave this little puddle in a short time and head for the great river that was Salt City!

"What do you plan to do?" Mo Tang asked.

A shrewd glint flashed through Chen Lin's eyes. "Heh! I'm not the only one who knows about this. The other stewards in Iron Refining City have heard about it too. But what they don't know is that I have a trump card they could never imagine!

"Three days. At most three days, I can have someone forge a pair of gauntlets that will absolutely meet Lord Mo Ran's requirements.

"When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you, little brother, to personally deliver them to Rock City and place them in Lord Mo Ran's hands..."

Chen Lin truly did not trust anyone else with such a task. Since Mo Tang's interests were now tied to his own, he was the most suitable candidate.

Mo Tang fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "All right! I'll set out immediately in three days!"

It looked like nothing more than delivering an item, but there was no telling what unexpected events might occur along the way.

After all, there was only one opportunity, yet quite a few people wanted to seize it...

But for the people of Iron Refining City, even if they wanted to resort to some trickery, the strength they could mobilize was limited. At most, there would only be a few Dou Zhes.

If that was all the strength they had, Mo Tang truly had nothing to fear.

And so, three days later.

Chen Lin handed Mo Tang a wooden box wrapped in brocade, and also provided him with an Azure Cloud Horse that possessed one-quarter Demonic Beast bloodline.

With no flying Demonic Beast and no Storage Ring, Mo Tang could only travel in this most primitive manner!

Dou qi turned into a horse—terrifying indeed!

For some reason, Mo Tang suddenly thought of that line after mounting the Azure Cloud Horse, then immediately spurred it out of Iron Refining City.

With the Azure Cloud Horse's endurance and speed, so long as nothing unexpected happened, he could return to Salt City in three days at most.

But accidents always came without warning...

Night shrouded the land. In the silent wilderness, a dim yellow fire flickered in the darkness.

Beside the campfire stood a small one-man tent...

Inside, Mo Tang, who had traveled all day, was already lying down to rest. Beside him lay the package he was escorting and his long blade.

"Srrrip."

A flash of cold light easily tore through the tent. A shadow darted inside, and the icy blade swept mercilessly toward Mo Tang's throat.

The sudden attack did not leave the sleeping Mo Tang separated from his head.

Instead, as though he had anticipated it long ago, he rolled swiftly across the ground and shot out of the torn tent, narrowly evading the incoming blade.

The first strike failed, but the sword did not pause. It slashed horizontally, its cold gleam passing over the nearby fire before chasing after the evading Mo Tang and carving a shallow bloody wound across his chest.

Ignoring the wound, Mo Tang's face remained cold and impassive. The Sharp Spirit Blade, which had somehow already appeared in his hand, carried a resolute killing intent as it instantly pierced the attacker's chest.

Pfft!

The sharp blade passed straight through his body. The attacker had no chance to evade and was directly pierced through the heart by Mo Tang.

Thud!

The corpse fell to the ground.

Mo Tang walked over and pulled away the black cloth covering the man's face, only to find an unfamiliar face beneath it.

"They actually sent a Two-star Fighter to assassinate me. It seems Chen Lin's actions this time have indeed touched certain people's nerves..."

Finding nothing on the man that could prove his identity, Mo Tang shook his head. Looking at the tent that had been torn in half, he decided that it would be better to travel through the night.

By the time the dust-covered Mo Tang entered Salt City's gates again, it was already noon the next day.

He returned to his residence, had the astonished cook prepare him a hearty lunch, and after washing away the dust of travel, Mo Tang headed straight for Mo Family Fortress.