Chapter 49

The white-haired old man in the middle spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. "The battle in the mortal world should come to an end."

The woman on the left sneered. "A bunch of mortals dare make such a commotion."

The burly man on the right folded his arms and fixed his gaze on Su Mu. "This kid is interesting."

Su Mu looked up at them and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. Three pretentious idiots showed up."

The ninja beside him nearly choked.

These were immortals!

Legendary immortals!

And he just called them pretentious idiots?

The white-haired old man looked at Su Mu, his tone calm. "Young man, do you know who we are?"

Su Mu shook his head. "No, and I don't want to. Are you here to fight or chat?"

The old man frowned.

The woman snorted coldly. "You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

The burly man laughed. "Interesting, truly interesting. In hundreds of years, this is the first time anyone has dared speak to the three of us like this."

Su Mu spread his hands. "So what do you want? Want me to kneel and kowtow? Sure. If you can make me kneel, I won't say another word."

The moment he said that, all three immortals' expressions changed.

The white-haired old man's eyes finally turned cold. "Since you insist on remaining stubborn, don't blame us for being impolite."

He raised a hand, and white mist instantly transformed into a giant palm that came crashing down toward Su Mu.

Su Mu stood where he was without moving an inch.

Just as the giant palm was about to fall, he raised his hand.

One punch.

Boom!

The giant palm of white mist exploded outright, turning into fragments of light that filled the sky.

The entire scene fell deathly silent.

The white-haired old man's pupils suddenly contracted.

The woman's sneer froze on her face.

The burly man's mouth twitched, then he laughed even louder. "Interesting! Too interesting!"

Su Mu withdrew his fist and blew on his fingers. "So this is an immortal's strength? It's not much."

"Pfft—"

Shen Lang sprayed the tea in his mouth.

His eyes widened as he stared at the rows of text before him, his entire face stiffening. "System, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

[Ding! Mission confirmed: Defeat the villain Zhang Sanfeng. Reward: Divine-grade **Nine Yang Manual]

Shen Lang's mouth twitched.

Zhang Sanfeng?

That old monster who had lived for over a hundred years and could shatter a mountain with one slap?

He was only at the third level of Qi Refinement now, and he could barely keep a flying sword steady. "Isn't this fucking messing with me?"

The system fell silent for two seconds.

[Ding! Excessive emotional fluctuation detected in host. The system will provide a beginner's assistance pack.]

[Beginner's Assistance Pack: Temporarily raises combat power to the Golden Core stage. Duration: three minutes.]

Shen Lang took a deep breath.

Three minutes?

What could he do in three minutes?

Would it even be enough time for Zhang Sanfeng to yawn?

"Forget it. I'll deal with what's in front of me first."

He raised his head and looked at the old Daoist in the green robe before him, whisk in hand.

The old Daoist was smiling at him. "Young friend, did you just say you wanted to challenge this old Daoist?"

Shen Lang swallowed. "Um, Senior, I was joking just now."

"Oh?"

The old Daoist raised an eyebrow. "But judging by your expression just now, it didn't seem like you were joking."

Shen Lang's heart tightened.

Why was this old bastard's hearing so good?

"Senior, please let me explain..."

Before Shen Lang could finish, the old Daoist suddenly flicked the whisk in his hand.

A streak of white light slashed straight toward him.

Shen Lang was so frightened that he hurriedly rolled aside. "**!"

The white light grazed his scalp and blasted a huge hole through the wall behind him.

Shen Lang turned to look, and cold sweat immediately broke out.

If that had hit him, there probably wouldn't even be ashes left. "Young friend, your reaction speed is quite good."

The old Daoist still smiled, but his eyes now held a hint of seriousness. "Again."

Shen Lang cursed inwardly.

Again?

This was murder!

[Ding! Host detected in a dangerous state. Use the beginner's assistance pack?]

"Use it, use it, use it! Hurry up and use it!"

[Ding! Beginner's assistance pack activated. Temporary combat power raised to the Golden Core stage. Countdown begins: 2 minutes 59 seconds.]

A surge of heat rose from his dantian.

Shen Lang felt as if something inside his body had suddenly exploded.

Power. Boundless power.

He clenched his fists, and his bones cracked. "Old bastard, come on!"

Shen Lang kicked off the ground and vanished from where he stood.

The next second, he appeared behind the old Daoist and drove a fist at the man's back.

The old Daoist did not even lift his eyelids. He swept the whisk backward. "Bang!"

Shen Lang's fist struck the whisk, and a tremendous recoil sent him stumbling back seven or eight steps. "Interesting."

The old Daoist turned around, and at last there was some interest in his eyes. "Qi Refinement cultivation, Golden Core strength. You have some tricks, young friend."

Shen Lang shook out his numb arm.

This old bastard really was a monster.

His power was at the Golden Core stage now, yet he still could not defeat him.

[Ding! Countdown: 1 minute 23 seconds.]

"Damn it, I'm going all out!"

Shen Lang took a deep breath and mobilized every bit of spiritual power in his body.

He formed hand seals and chanted. "The universe is boundless, heaven and earth, lend me your power!"

"Profound lightning of the nine heavens, heed my command!"

Rumble—

Dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead.

A thick bolt of lightning crashed down directly onto the old Daoist's head.

The old Daoist looked up and gently flicked his whisk.

The lightning bolt was actually scattered with a single strike.

Shen Lang stared in disbelief. "Is this still even human?"

[Ding! Countdown: 29 seconds.]

The old Daoist dusted off his robe. "Young friend, do you have any other moves?"

Shen Lang gritted his teeth. "I do!"

He reached into his robes.

He pulled out a talisman paper. "Are you sure you want me to use this?"

When the old Daoist saw the talisman, his expression finally changed. "That is... a Heavenly Thunder Talisman?"

"That's right."

Shen Lang grinned. "Old bastard, are you sure you want to take this hit?"

The old Daoist fell silent.

After a moment, he suddenly laughed. "Interesting. You truly are interesting, young friend."

"This old Daoist admits defeat."

A group of people had gathered around to watch the show. "Did you hear? That kid slapped three people flat at the testing grounds last time!"

"Three? Your news is outdated. It was five, and every one of them was left lying on the ground, unable to get up."

"I heard he took on an entire squad by himself. Even the instructor was dumbfounded."

Chen Mo stood outside the crowd, his mouth twitching.

He had just finished training and was drenched in sweat. He had not even wiped himself down yet.

What kind of nonsense were these people spreading?

He had only exchanged a few moves with some buddies. When did it become one against a crowd?

"Who told you that?"

He casually grabbed someone and asked.

The man turned around, saw it was the person in question, and his eyes lit up. "**Damn, Brother Mo! You came at the perfect time. We were discussing your battle record!"

"What battle record?"

"Stop pretending, Brother Mo. Who doesn't know about what happened at the outer training grounds?"

Chen Mo's face darkened.

It had just been an ordinary practice match. He had won, true, but it was not nearly that exaggerated. "I fought three people by myself?"

"Yeah, wasn't that what happened?"

"No."

"Then... you took down five of them at once?"

"Even less so."

The man scratched his head. "Then why is everyone saying you were ** to **?"

Chen Mo sighed.

Rumors always got distorted as they spread.

At first, it was "he won," but by the end, it became "he took down an entire team by himself."

Give it a few more days, and it would probably become that he could fly on the spot. "Enough. Stop spreading nonsense."

He waved a hand and headed toward the dormitories.

The group behind him was still muttering. "Brother Mo is low-key."

"Of course. Real big shots are all like that."

"I'd say it's probably true. He's just too embarrassed to admit it."

Chen Mo paused.

Forget it.

They could spread whatever they wanted.

When it came time for a real fight, he would not be the one embarrassed.

Several people blocked the path beside the training grounds.

The leader was called Liu Wei, an older student who usually did not think much of newcomers. "You're Chen Mo?"

Liu Wei had a grass stem between his teeth. He glanced sideways at Chen Mo with a roguish air. "What do you want?"

Chen Mo stopped, his tone calm. "I heard you're pretty good at fighting?"

Liu Wei spat out the grass stem, stepped forward twice, and raised his chin high. "Newcomers should act like newcomers. Don't you know the rules?"

Chen Mo looked at him without speaking.

The people behind Liu Wei began jeering. "Brother Wei is talking to you!"

"A newcomer acting this cocky? Who gave you the confidence?"

Chen Mo swept his gaze around.

Five people.

They were all in decent shape. They had probably trained before.

But he had never been afraid of anyone. "Rules? What rules?"

he asked.

Liu Wei smiled, his grin malicious. "Newcomers have to pay protection money first."

"Just show some sincerity every month, and the brothers won't make things difficult for you."

Chen Mo did not get angry after hearing that. Instead, he smiled. "What if I say no?"

Liu Wei's expression darkened. "Then don't expect to train in peace."

"You'll get beaten every day until you come to your senses."

Chen Mo nodded and rolled his wrists. "Then let's give it a try."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward.

Before Liu Wei could react, a hand was already pressed against his chest.

That hand was not large, but its force was terrifying.

Liu Wei was shoved back three steps, stumbling and nearly falling on his ass. "You—"

"I said I'm not handing it over. Can't you understand?"

Chen Mo withdrew his hand, his gaze falling on Liu Wei's face. "Either leave now, or I'll send you on your way."

Liu Wei's face turned green, then pale.

The few people behind him were itching to make a move, but none dared to go first.

They had seen that shove clearly.

It wasn't fast. It was ruthless.

Liu Wei gritted his teeth and pointed at Chen Mo. "Just you wait."

With that, he turned and left.

The others followed behind him, slinking away in disgrace.

Chen Mo clapped his hands. "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit."

He turned and walked away.

The few new disciples watching had lit-up eyes. "Brother Mo, that was awesome!"

"Those old-timers should've been taught a lesson ages ago!"

Chen Mo did not look back.

Such a small matter was not worth mentioning.

Lu Ren stood at the edge of the arena with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the person opposite him.

That person was looking at him as well, his eyes filled with disdain and the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as though he had already won this match. "You?" he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "A piece of trash who hasn't even awakened a spiritual root dares to come up here?"

Lu Ren said nothing. He merely lifted his chin, signaling for the referee to announce the start.