"Yan Xing, cripple his cultivation and let him go!"
Yan Qi said to the skinny youth beside him.
The skinny youth, Yan Xing, flashed a sinister grin upon hearing this and struck at Su Mo with his palm.
The crowd shuddered inwardly. How ruthless—just a couple of defiant words, and they wanted to cripple his cultivation.
Everyone's gaze toward Su Mo could not help but carry a trace of pity.
He should have simply given up the seat when someone wanted it. Fighting for a breath of pride only to have his cultivation crippled—what a waste.
Yet just as this thought arose in everyone's minds, an abrupt change occurred.
Slap!
Before Yan Xing's fist could fall, a sharp crack suddenly rang out. Yan Xing immediately felt a burning pain across his face.
A distinct handprint appeared on his cheek.
Yan Xing froze!
Everyone froze!
"Damn it, you're courting death!"
After coming back to his senses, Yan Xing's face turned livid, veins bulging on his forehead. Killing intent surged in his eyes as he looked at Su Mo.
Just now, Su Mo had given him a solid slap across the face.
Yan Xing flew into a rage. True qi burst from his fist as he prepared to strike again.
"Stop!"
At that moment, a thunderous shout rang out like a great bell, and an immense pressure instantly swept through the entire hall.
Everyone looked up to see an old man in green robes emerge from the stairway on the inn's second floor. His face was solemn, and though he was not angry, he exuded an imposing authority.
"Anyone who dares cause trouble in my Laibin Inn, no matter who they are, will have their limbs broken and their cultivation crippled."
The old man's eyes flashed like lightning. Though his voice was not loud, it exploded beside everyone's ears like a clap of thunder.
Su Mo stared intently at the old man. This person's aura was terrifyingly powerful—more than ten times stronger than even his father, Su Hong.
"Senior, I am the young master of the Yan family of Purple Mountain City. This man insulted my Yan family; his crime cannot be forgiven."
Yan Qi cupped his fists toward the old man and pointed at Su Mo.
"The Yan family of Purple Mountain City?"
The old man narrowed his eyes and sized up the group before saying indifferently, "Rules cannot be broken. No one may fight inside the inn. Once you leave the inn, this old man will not interfere in your grudges."
Though the Yan family of Purple Mountain City was powerful, the family behind the old man was no weaker. He did not fear the Yan family in the slightest.
Yan Qi frowned. He had not expected the other party to give the Yan family no face at all.
After pondering for a moment and casting Su Mo a glance, Yan Qi waved to the blue-robed girl and the others. "Let's go!"
"This..."
Yan Xing was unwilling to accept this. He glanced at Su Mo, his eyes filled with venomous resentment.
"Let's go!"
Yan Qi shook his head, strode forward, and left the inn.
Yan Xing and the blue-robed girl followed him out. Though Yan Xing was deeply unwilling, there was nothing he could do.
Outside the inn, Yan Xing asked Yan Qi, "Brother Yan Qi, are we really just letting that guy go?"
"Hmph. We can't make a move inside the inn, but he has to leave it eventually, doesn't he? We can wait for him outside."
The blue-robed girl said with a cold sneer.
Yan Xing's eyes lit up at once.
"Yan Lan, there's no need for such trouble! He should also be here for Wind Ling Island's entrance assessment. If he joins Wind Ling Island, I'll have a hundred ways to deal with him."
Yan Qi narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing through them.
"But what if he fails the assessment?"
Yan Xing asked.
"Hmph! If he fails the assessment, then he won't be a Wind Ling Island disciple. We can kill him on the spot."
Yan Qi said.
Yan Xing and the blue-robed girl nodded. Then the three of them strode away.
Inside the inn's main hall, after the three left, the old man in green robes glanced at Su Mo before turning and departing.
Su Mo sat in his seat and looked through the window at Yan Qi and the other two leaving. Seeing them whispering to one another, he could not hear what they were saying, but he did not need to think to know that they were surely plotting how to deal with him.
However, he was utterly unafraid.
After finishing his meal, Su Mo returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, released his Devouring Martial Soul, and began cultivating.
Su Mo had already cultivated the third layer of the Myriad Manifestations Divine Art to the late stage, and his strength rivaled that of a Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation martial artist.
Therefore, Su Mo decided to set aside the Myriad Manifestations Divine Art for now. His most urgent task was to raise his true qi cultivation.
Su Mo had been at the peak of Qi Cultivation Level Eight for some time already. He felt that it would not be long before he stepped into the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
Time passed swiftly in cultivation, and before long, two days had gone by.
Early that morning, Su Mo washed up, ate breakfast, and headed for the docks outside the city.
The moment he reached the docks, Su Mo could not help but be startled.
The entire dock was packed shoulder to shoulder, a sea of people whose voices shook the heavens. Everywhere he looked was a dense mass of heads.
Su Mo swept his gaze over the crowd and roughly estimated that there were at least ten thousand people gathered at the dock.
Aside from a small number of elders escorting them, all ten thousand were young boys and girls. The oldest were no more than eighteen, while the youngest were only thirteen or fourteen.
Their faces brimmed with youthful vigor as they chatted excitedly among themselves.
Wind Ling Island's ships had yet to arrive, so Su Mo stood by the lakeshore and took in the surrounding scenery.
After roughly half an hour, ten black dots appeared upon the vast lake.
The black dots rapidly grew larger, revealing themselves to be ten enormous warships.
Each warship was a hundred meters long, with huge sails billowing in the wind.
The enormous words "Wind Ling" on the sails were written with iron strokes and silver hooks, dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing.
Wind Ling Island's ships had arrived!
Before long, all the warships docked at the shore.
"All those participating in Wind Ling Island's entrance assessment, board the ships at once!"
A burly middle-aged man on the central warship shouted loudly. His voice contained dense true qi and rolled like thunder, shaking the four directions.
Everyone boarded the ships one after another. Su Mo followed behind the crowd and stepped onto a warship as well.
Soon, everyone had boarded, and the warships raised their sails once more.
Star Water Lake spanned three thousand li in every direction, and countless islands of all sizes lay within it.
Wind Ling Island was located in waters more than four hundred li from Linshui City.
At this time, the warships sailed with the wind, moving as swiftly as galloping warhorses. They would reach Wind Ling Island around noon.
The boundless waters surged with rolling waves as far as the eye could see. Su Mo stood at the bow, his thoughts rising and falling like the lake's waves. The world of sects was surely bound to be extraordinarily brilliant.
Hm?
Just then, the absent-minded Su Mo suddenly sensed several icy gazes.
Turning his head, he saw Yan Qi and the others on a warship beside his, staring coldly at him.
A faint smile appeared on Su Mo's lips. If you insist on courting death, I won't mind turning you into nourishment to increase my cultivation.
Su Mo then ignored them.
The warships rode the wind and broke the waves. After traveling for more than two hours, they finally approached Wind Ling Island.
Standing at the bow, Su Mo saw Wind Ling Island come into view.
It was a verdant little island, lush and green from end to end.
Vaguely, he could see a vast cluster of buildings at the island's center, winding among the mountains in a magnificent sight.
Before long, the warships reached Wind Ling Island's dock. The ships came ashore, and everyone disembarked.
"No one may wander about the island at will. Violators will be killed without mercy!"
The burly middle-aged man came before the crowd and shouted coldly, "Now, everyone follow me onto the island."
With that, the middle-aged man turned and stepped onto the island, followed by ten thousand people.
Before you continue