The Battle to Seize and Establish Authority

Li Mo's arrogant, unquestionable words were like cold stones dropped into a lake, sending ring after ring of ripples through the forest.

The air froze in an instant.

"What did you say?!"

Shi Lei was the first to react. Fury instantly covered his honest face. Taking a step forward, his massive frame stood before Lin Xiao and Su Yue like an iron tower as he roared in a deep, booming voice, "You want to steal our things? First ask whether these fists of mine agree!"

His joints crackled explosively, and a fierce aura burst from his body.

Su Yue's pretty face was frosty as well. With a sharp zing, the flexible sword in her hand stretched taut, its tip pointing at Li Mo from afar. "Aren't you being far too overbearing, sir? The academy assessment depends on one's own ability. Aren't you afraid of provoking public outrage by acting like this?"

"Public outrage?" Li Mo looked as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world, while Wang Chen behind him laughed even more exaggeratedly.

"Miss Su Yue, haven't you figured out the situation yet?" Wang Chen pointed smugly at Li Mo. "This is Brother Mo of the Royal City Li Family! A Body Refinement Fourth Level expert! In the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, strength is the rule! Brother Mo's words are reason!"

"Why waste words with them?" A trace of impatience flashed through Li Mo's eyes. He did not even spare Shi Lei and Su Yue a proper glance, keeping his gaze fixed on Lin Xiao, who had not spoken a word from beginning to end. "I'll count to three. If you still don't comply after three, don't blame us for breaking all four of your limbs."

"One."

The icy countdown was like Death's summons, pressing the atmosphere to its limit.

Su Yue and Shi Lei's expressions both became incomparably grave. They were both geniuses, but they were only at the Body Refinement Third Level, while Li Mo, the leader of the other side, was a genuine Body Refinement Fourth Level. The difference of one minor realm was often an uncrossable chasm in actual combat. What was more, the other side held an absolute advantage in numbers.

"Two."

Li Mo's voice rang out again. The four people behind him had already spread out, vaguely forming an encirclement that sealed off every retreat route for Lin Xiao's group.

"Lin Xiao, what do we do?" A hint of anxiety entered Su Yue's voice.

Shi Lei also turned to look at Lin Xiao, his eyes full of inquiry. Though hot-tempered, he was no fool. He knew the situation before them was extremely unfavorable.

Yet Lin Xiao remained calm.

He did not even look at Li Mo. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Wang Chen, who was hopping about most arrogantly, and asked flatly, "I seem to remember warning you on registration day."

Wang Chen froze, then sneered viciously. "A warning? Hahaha, you call that a warning? Kid, don't think you're impressive just because you're a little stronger! Before Brother Mo, you're nothing but a fart! Today, I'll make you kneel and lick the mud off my shoes!"

"Is that so?"

Lin Xiao nodded, seeming to agree with him. Then he turned to Shi Lei and Su Yue beside him and gave his orders in a tone that allowed no doubt.

"Shi Lei, the two Body Refinement Second Level fighters on the left are yours. End it quickly." "Su Yue, deal with Wang Chen. Don't let him run." "As for this Body Refinement Fourth Level..." Lin Xiao's gaze finally fell upon Li Mo, a cold curve lifting at the corner of his mouth. "Leave him to me."

The instant his words fell, he moved!

Without the slightest warning, his figure vanished from where he stood like a ghost.

"Courting death!"

Li Mo had not expected Lin Xiao to dare strike first. With an angry shout, the Spiritual Energy of the Body Refinement Fourth Level erupted from within him. He thrust out a palm, its wind howling as it carried a wave-layered force toward Lin Xiao!

But Lin Xiao's target was not him at all!

The instant Li Mo struck, Lin Xiao had already circled around his front at an unbelievable angle, pouncing like a black bolt of lightning toward the two Body Refinement Second Level lackeys behind him, who had yet to react!

[System Prompt: When target Tidal Wave Art exerts force, the right shoulder will stiffen for an instant, reducing defensive recovery speed by 30%!]

"Not good!" Li Mo was horrified. He had not expected Lin Xiao's speed to be so fast, much less that his target would be Li Mo's own companions!

But his old force had already been spent while his new force had yet to arise. There was no time for him to defend!

Pfft! Pfft!

Two soft sounds of blades entering flesh rang out almost simultaneously.

Lin Xiao's figure flashed past behind the two lackeys.

The sneers on the two lackeys' faces were still frozen, but their movements had stiffened. The next second, fine lines of blood appeared on both their necks.

Before they could even scream, they clutched their throats and collapsed in terror. Though Lin Xiao had avoided the vital points and had not dealt killing blows, this strike had completely robbed them of their fighting strength.

Instant kill!

In an instant, the battle turned around! The advantage of five against three had become three against three!

"Kill!"

At the same time Lin Xiao moved, Shi Lei roared and charged toward the other two lackeys like a tiger descending the mountain.

Mountain Splitting Fist!

He used no fancy techniques, merely bringing the advantage of his Innate Divine Strength to its utmost limit. His fist shot forth, and even the air seemed to explode with a dull boom.

How had those two Body Refinement Second Level lackeys ever seen such a savage fighting style? They hurriedly raised their weapons to block.

Clang!

The instant their weapons met Shi Lei's fist, they were smashed crooked by brute force. The tremendous power split the webs between their thumbs and index fingers, forcing them back again and again. Shi Lei pressed his advantage without mercy, chasing them like a rampaging chariot and hammering them relentlessly.

On the other side, Su Yue moved as well.

Her movement technique was light and agile, like a fairy beneath the moon. The flexible sword in her hand turned into a skyful of sword shadows, completely enveloping Wang Chen.

Wang Chen had been weaker than Su Yue from the start. On top of that, Lin Xiao's thunderous methods had frightened the wits out of him. Now he floundered in panic without any pattern to his moves, able only to defend miserably as Su Yue toyed with him until he spun in circles.

The situation across the entire battlefield underwent an earth-shaking reversal in just a few breaths!

"Y-You dare?!"

Li Mo finally came back to his senses. Seeing his two subordinates lying on the ground, he was so furious his eyes nearly split apart. He had never suffered such unparalleled humiliation!

Tidal Wave Triple Force!

With an enraged roar, he drove his technique to its limit. Pale blue light spread over his palms as he struck viciously toward Lin Xiao again!

This time, Lin Xiao did not dodge.

He met him head-on.

[System Prompt: Scanning target Martial Skill Tidal Wave Palm. Analyzing flaws... Flaw one: Force output is not continuous; there is a 0.2-second gap between the three bursts of force. Flaw two: Lower body is unsteady; center of gravity is too high.]

Facing Li Mo's heavy, powerful palm wind, Lin Xiao's body swayed like a willow in the wind, always avoiding the core force by the smallest possible margin at the most critical moment.

To outsiders, he seemed to be dancing on the edge of a blade, danger lurking at every turn. Yet only Li Mo himself knew how stifled he felt! Every palm strike seemed to land on empty air. His opponent was as slippery as a loach, leaving all his strength with nowhere to go.

"Do you only know how to dodge?!" Li Mo roared in exasperation.

"As you wish."

Lin Xiao's voice sounded by his ear like the icy cold of the Nine Netherworlds.

At the instant Li Mo unleashed the third wave of force, when his old strength had faded and his new strength had yet to arise, Lin Xiao moved.

He stopped dodging and suddenly stepped forward, instantly closing in against Li Mo's chest.

That step contained the essence of "borrowing momentum" and "charging" from the Cloak Axe Technique!

Li Mo only saw a blur before an irresistible force slammed into his chest.

Bang!

With a dull crash, Li Mo flew backward as though struck by a wild bull, smashing hard into a tree and shaking leaves down in a shower.

He spat out a mouthful of blood with a wah, his face filled with disbelief.

He could not understand why someone clearly at the Body Refinement Third Level could utterly crush him, a Body Refinement Fourth Level fighter, in both strength and speed!

Lin Xiao did not give him time to think.

Like a shadow following its form, he instantly appeared before Li Mo, the refined steel dagger in his hand already pressed to Li Mo's throat.

"Now, whose rules are reason?" Lin Xiao looked down at him, without the slightest emotion in his eyes.

Li Mo's body began trembling uncontrollably. In those icy eyes, he saw mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He saw true death!

He had no doubt that if he dared say the word "no," the other's dagger would slit his throat without hesitation.

"I... I lost."

He forced out those three words through clenched teeth.

With his surrender, the other two battlefields also reached their conclusions. Shi Lei had beaten the two lackeys until their faces were bruised and swollen, leaving them sprawled on the ground like dead dogs. Wang Chen, meanwhile, had been kicked down by Su Yue, and his longsword had been knocked from his hand.

The battle was over.

From beginning to end, it had taken less than a minute.

Shi Lei and Su Yue looked at Lin Xiao, who held his dagger to Li Mo's throat, their eyes filled with shock.

They knew Lin Xiao was strong, but they had never imagined he was strong to this extent! Crossing a major realm to crush a genius from the Royal City was as effortless for him as writing with a flowing brush!

"Hand over all your beast cores," Lin Xiao said to Li Mo.

Li Mo did not dare disobey in the slightest. He hurriedly took out a bag filled with beast cores from his robes and handed it over with trembling hands.

Lin Xiao accepted the bag without even looking inside, then tossed it directly to Su Yue. After that, he took out his own token.

"And your points."

Li Mo's face instantly turned deathly pale. Beast cores could be hunted again, but having their points cleared meant all their efforts over the past few days would go down the drain!

But he did not dare resist. He could only humiliatedly take out his token and allow Lin Xiao to transfer all its points to his own, Shi Lei's, and Su Yue's tokens.

Only after finishing all this did Lin Xiao withdraw his dagger.

He walked over to Wang Chen, who had been frightened senseless, crouched down, and lightly patted his face with the dagger.

"I remember you saying you would make me kneel and lick the mud off your shoes?"

Wang Chen shook like a sieve. A foul stench rose from his crotch—he had been frightened into wetting himself.

"I... I won't dare again... Master Lin, I was wrong, I was really wrong! Please, spare this dog's life!" he begged, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Disgust flashed through Lin Xiao's eyes. He stood and kicked Wang Chen onto the ground.

"Take your people, crush your tokens, and get out of my sight."

"Otherwise, my dagger won't be so steady next time."

Li Mo, Wang Chen, and the others felt as though they had been granted a pardon. Scrambling up from the ground, they crushed the bronze tokens hanging at their chests without hesitation.

White light flashed one after another, and the five figures instantly vanished from the spot.

Only after watching them disappear did Shi Lei let out a long breath. He dropped onto the ground and laughed loudly. "Refreshing! That was truly refreshing! Lin Xiao, you freak!"

Su Yue sheathed her flexible sword and walked to Lin Xiao's side, her beautiful eyes shining with strange light. "How... how did you do it? Li Mo is at the Body Refinement Fourth Level, and his Tidal Wave Palm is somewhat famous even in the Royal City."

Lin Xiao wiped the blood from his dagger and said flatly, "His palm technique had too many flaws."

Too many flaws?

Su Yue and Shi Lei exchanged a look, seeing a trace of bitter amusement in each other's eyes. Being able to see through the flaws in a Body Refinement Fourth Level cultivator's Martial Skill in an instant was itself an inconceivable thing.

They felt more and more that this youth before them was shrouded in mysteries.

"Alright, stop standing around." Lin Xiao opened the bag of beast cores, and the haul inside startled all three of them. Li Mo's group had clearly robbed quite a few people as well; the number of beast cores inside was several times greater than what they had painstakingly hunted earlier.

"Split these points. We need to leave this place as soon as possible," Lin Xiao said. "That fight just now will definitely attract other demon beasts or... other teams."

Su Yue and Shi Lei's expressions sharpened, and they immediately nodded.

They swiftly divided the spoils, and each of their point totals surged past a hundred.

After finishing everything, the three did not linger at all. They quickly cleared away the traces of the battlefield, chose a direction, and vanished into the depths of the dense forest.

What they did not know was that outside the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, on the academy's light screen, a name that had originally ranked in the seven hundreds suddenly began rising crazily at rocket-like speed, swiftly charging into the top hundred!

That name was none other than—Lin Xiao!

At that moment, every instructor and student watching the rankings noticed this unfamiliar name from Qingyang City.