Battle to Snatch Back and Establish Authority

Li Mo's arrogant and unquestionable words were like cold stones thrown into a lake, creating ripples in the forest.

The air froze instantly.

"What did you say?!"

Shi Lei was the first to react, his honest face instantly filling with rage. He took a step forward, his massive body like an iron tower blocking Lin Xiao and Su Yue, roaring in a deep voice, "You want to snatch our things? Ask my fists first if they agree!"

His joints crackled and popped, and a fierce aura emanated from his body.

Su Yue's pretty face also turned frosty. The soft sword in her hand hissed as it straightened, its tip pointing at Li Mo. Her voice was clear and cold as she said, "Your Excellency, aren't you being a bit too overbearing? The academy assessment is about skill. If you act like this, aren't you afraid of inciting public anger?"

"Public anger?" Li Mo acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world. Wang Chen behind him laughed exaggeratedly.

"Miss Su Yue, haven't you figured out the situation yet?" Wang Chen pointed at Li Mo with a smug look. "This is Brother Mo from the Royal City Li Family! A master at Body Refinement Fourth Level! In this Myriad Beast Mountain Range, strength is the rule! Brother Mo's words are the law!"

"Why waste words with them?" A hint of impatience flashed in Li Mo's eyes. He didn't even look directly at Shi Lei and Su Yue, his gaze fixed on Lin Xiao, who had remained silent the entire time. "I'll count to three. If you're not complying by then, don't blame us for breaking your limbs."

"One."

The cold countdown was like the Grim Reaper's death knell, making the atmosphere extremely oppressive.

Su Yue and Shi Lei's expressions turned incredibly serious. Although they were both geniuses, they were only at Body Refinement Third Level, while Li Mo, their leader, was a solid Body Refinement Fourth Level. The gap of a minor realm was often an insurmountable chasm in actual combat. Moreover, the other party had an absolute numerical advantage.

"Two."

Li Mo's voice rang out again. The four people behind him had already spread out, forming a loose encirclement that blocked all escape routes for Lin Xiao and the other two.

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

Shi Lei also looked back at Lin Xiao, his eyes full of inquiry. Although he had a hot temper, he wasn't stupid and knew the current situation was extremely unfavorable to them.

However, Lin Xiao remained calm.

He didn't even look at Li Mo but turned his gaze to Wang Chen, who was jumping around the most arrogantly, and asked in a calm voice, "I seem to have warned you on the day of registration."

Wang Chen froze, then grinned sinisterly. "Warned? Haha, you call that a warning? Kid, don't think you're amazing just because you're strong! In front of Brother Mo, you're nothing! Today, I'll make you kneel and lick the mud off my shoes!"

"Is that so."

Lin Xiao nodded, as if agreeing with his statement. Then, he turned to Shi Lei and Su Yue beside him and issued instructions in an unquestionable tone.

"Shi Lei, the two at Body Refinement Second Level on the left are yours. Finish them quickly." "Su Yue, deal with Wang Chen. Don't let him escape." "As for this Body Refinement Fourth Level..." Lin Xiao's gaze finally landed on Li Mo, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold arc. "Leave him to me."

The moment he finished speaking, he moved!

Without any warning, his figure disappeared from his original spot like a phantom.

"You're courting death!"

Li Mo didn't expect Lin Xiao to dare to attack him. He roared, and the spiritual energy of Body Refinement Fourth Level erupted within him. He struck out with a palm, the wind whistling, carrying a Tidal Wave-like momentum towards Lin Xiao!

However, Lin Xiao's target was not him at all!

The moment Li Mo struck, Lin Xiao's figure had already bypassed his front at an incredible angle, like a black lightning bolt, rushing towards the two Body Refinement Second Level followers behind him who hadn't reacted yet!

[System Notification: Target's Tidal Wave Art has a momentary stiffness in the right shoulder when exerting force, reducing counterattack speed by 30%!]

"Not good!" Li Mo was shocked. He didn't expect Lin Xiao's speed to be so fast, nor did he expect his target to be his own teammates!

But he had already exhausted his previous strength and hadn't yet mustered new strength. He didn't have time to defend!

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

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

Lin Xiao's figure flashed past the two followers.

The sinister smiles on the faces of the two followers were still frozen, but their movements had stopped. The next second, a thin line of blood appeared on both their necks.

They didn't even have time to cry out before they clutched their throats and fell down in terror. Although Lin Xiao had avoided vital points and didn't kill them, this attack had completely incapacitated them.

Instant kill!

The tide of battle turned in an instant! The five-on-three advantage became three-on-three!

"Kill!"

At the same time Lin Xiao made his move, Shi Lei also roared like a tiger descending the mountain and charged towards the other two followers.

"Mountain Splitting Fist!"

He didn't use any fancy techniques, merely maximizing the advantage of his Innate Divine Strength. With one punch, the air seemed to explode, emitting a muffled sound.

Where had these two Body Refinement Second Level followers ever seen such a savage fighting style? They hastily raised their weapons to block.

"Clang!"

The moment their weapons came into contact with Shi Lei's fist, they were bent forcefully. The immense power vibrated through them, cracking their tiger's mouths, and forcing them to retreat repeatedly. Shi Lei pressed his advantage, like a rampaging war chariot, chasing the two and pounding them.

On the other side, Su Yue also moved.

Her movements were light and agile, like a fairy under the moon. The soft sword in her hand transformed into a sky full of sword shadows, completely enveloping Wang Chen.

Wang Chen's strength was originally inferior to Su Yue's, and he was also terrified by Lin Xiao's lightning-fast move just now. At this moment, he was flustered and chaotic, with no strategy, only able to desperately defend, being toyed with by Su Yue.

The entire battlefield situation had undergone a complete reversal in just a few breaths!

"You... you dare!"

Li Mo finally snapped back to reality. He looked at his two subordinates lying on the ground, his eyes bloodshot with rage. He had never suffered such a humiliating disgrace!

"Tidal Wave Triple Force!"

He roared, circulating his technique to its absolute limit. A faint cyan light flickered on his palms as he once again slammed them towards Lin Xiao!

This time, Lin Xiao didn't dodge.

He met the attack head-on.

[System Notification: Scanning target Martial Skill Tidal Wave Palm Analyzing weaknesses... Weakness 1: Inconsistent force application, a 0.2-second gap between the three forces. Weakness 2: Unstable lower body, high center of gravity.]

Facing Li Mo's powerful palm strike, Lin Xiao's body swayed like a willow in the wind, always managing to avoid the core force at the most crucial moment with minimal movement.

To outsiders, it looked like he was dancing on the tip of a knife, in constant peril. But only Li Mo knew how frustrating it was! He felt like every palm strike landed on empty air, the opponent slippery as an eel, leaving him with nowhere to exert his strength.

"Is all you can do is dodge?!" Li Mo yelled in exasperation.

"As you wish."

Lin Xiao's voice, like the cold ice of the netherworld, echoed in his ears.

Just as Li Mo unleashed his third wave of force, the old power fading and the new not yet arrived, Lin Xiao moved.

He no longer dodged but took a sudden step forward, instantly closing the distance and entering Li Mo's embrace.

This step embodied the essence of "borrowing momentum" and "charging forward" from the Cloak Axe Technique!

Li Mo's vision blurred, and an irresistible force slammed into his chest.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Li Mo was sent flying backward like he'd been hit by a wild bull, crashing heavily into a large tree, shaking leaves down.

He "waaah"-ed and spat out a mouthful of blood, his face filled with disbelief.

He couldn't understand how the opponent, with only Body Refinement Third Level cultivation, could possess such overwhelming strength and speed compared to him, a Body Refinement Fourth Level cultivator?!

Lin Xiao didn't give him time to think.

He moved like a shadow, appearing instantly before Li Mo, his steel dagger already at his throat.

"Now, whose rules are the law?" Lin Xiao looked down at him, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

Li Mo's body trembled uncontrollably. He saw mountains of corpses and seas of blood in those cold eyes, saw true death!

He had no doubt that if he dared to utter a single "no," the dagger would slice through his throat without hesitation.

"I... I lost."

He forced the three words out through gritted teeth.

As he conceded, the other two battlefields also reached their conclusions. Shi Lei had beaten the two lackeys black and blue, leaving them lying on the ground like dead dogs. Meanwhile, Wang Chen was kicked to the ground by Su Yue, his long sword sent flying.

The battle was over.

From start to finish, it had only taken a minute.

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

They knew Lin Xiao was strong, but they never imagined he was this strong! Crushing a genius from the Royal City, who was a whole major realm above him, seemed so effortless for him!

"Hand over all your Beast Cores," Lin Xiao said to Li Mo.

Li Mo dared not defy him and hastily, with trembling hands, handed over a bag full of Beast Cores from his embrace.

Lin Xiao took the bag, tossed it to Su Yue without even looking, and then took out his token.

"And the points."

Li Mo's face turned ashen. Beast Cores could be hunted again, but losing his points meant all their efforts over the past few days were in vain!

But he didn't dare resist and could only humiliatingly take out his token, allowing Lin Xiao to transfer all the points on it to his and Shi Lei's and Su Yue's tokens.

After finishing, Lin Xiao finally withdrew his dagger.

He walked over to the terrified Wang Chen, crouched down, and gently patted his face with the dagger.

"I recall you saying you wanted me to kneel and lick the mud off your shoes?"

Wang Chen trembled like a sieve, a foul odor emanating from his crotch. He had actually wet himself out of fear.

"N-no... I wouldn't dare... Lin... Master Lin, I was wrong, I truly was wrong! Please spare my life!" he begged, tears and snot streaming down his face.

A flicker of disgust crossed Lin Xiao's eyes. He stood up and kicked Wang Chen to the ground.

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

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

Li Mo, Wang Chen, and the others, as if granted amnesty, scrambled to their feet and unhesitatingly crushed the bronze tokens on their chests.

With flashes of white light, the figures of the five people instantly vanished from the spot.

Watching where they disappeared, Shi Lei finally let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground, laughing heartily, "That was exhilarating! Truly exhilarating! Lin Xiao, you're a monster!"

Su Yue also sheathed her soft sword. She walked up to Lin Xiao, her beautiful eyes shining with admiration, "You... how did you do it? That Li Mo was Body Refinement Fourth Level, and his Tidal Wave Palm is quite famous in the Royal City."

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

Too many flaws?

Su Yue and Shi Lei exchanged glances, seeing a wry smile in each other's eyes. To see through the flaws in a Body Refinement Fourth Level cultivator's Martial Skill in an instant was already an unbelievable feat.

They increasingly felt that the young man before them was shrouded in mystery.

"Alright, stop staring." Lin Xiao opened the bag of Beast Cores, and the contents surprised all three of them. Li Mo and the others had clearly robbed quite a few people; the number of Beast Cores inside was several times more than what they had painstakingly hunted for themselves.

"Let's divide these points and leave here quickly," Lin Xiao said. "The fight just now will definitely attract other demonic beasts or... other teams."

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

They quickly divided the spoils of war, and each person's points surged to over a hundred.

After finishing this, the three of them didn't linger at all. They swiftly cleaned up the traces of the battle and then chose a direction, disappearing into the depths of the dense jungle.

What they didn't know was that outside the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, on the academy's light screen, a name that was originally ranked over seven hundred suddenly shot up like a rocket, quickly breaking into the top one hundred!

This name was none other than--Lin Xiao!

At this moment, all the instructors and students who were watching the rankings noticed this unfamiliar name from Qingyang City.