Breakthrough Once More

"We won!"

"Good!"

The moment the words fell, the mercenaries erupted in cheers, raising their bloodstained weapons high. This victory had been bought with the lives of more than a dozen brothers. The losses could not be called anything but devastating.

Qing Mo stepped out of the shadows. He had not held back at all in that last strike, exhausting every bit of Dou Qi in his body and leaving his face somewhat pale.

Lin Xiao walked over to Qing Mo and heavily slapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Uh... haha, sorry about that."

Lin Xiao chuckled awkwardly and withdrew his hand.

"Brother Qing Mo, your flying knife technique is truly superb!" Lin Xiao's eyes were filled with amazement. "If not for that knife of yours, Liu Shi and I would not have dealt with them so easily."

"Indeed. Thanks to you, Brother Qing Mo, otherwise this battle might have dragged on for who knew how long. Once those Mujin Snakes went berserk, their venom alone would have been enough to give me hell," Liu Shi said as he stepped closer, praising him as well.

Qing Mo clasped his hands slightly. "You two flatter me. If you had not held them back, I would not have had the chance either."

"Haha, enough. Brother Qing Mo, do not be too modest. We are all straightforward people, and you truly helped us a great deal this time."

"May I ask where you are from, little brother? You are not a local of Stone Desert City, are you?"

Lin Xiao asked curiously. A genius youth like Qing Mo would have long since been fought over by the major mercenary groups if he had lived in Stone Desert City.

"I am indeed not from Stone Desert City. I merely came out to gain some experience because I was bored."

Seeing that Qing Mo did not intend to elaborate on his background, Lin Xiao wisely did not press further.

"Brother Qing Mo, have you joined a mercenary group?" Liu Shi suddenly asked from the side.

"I have. Thanks to the brothers' care, I serve as the third commander of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group," Qing Mo said.

"The Desert Iron Mercenary Group? That mercenary group that only rose to prominence recently?" Liu Shi asked with some surprise. He had heard of it as well. It had risen rapidly and was nearly catching up to their Storm Mercenary Group.

"That is the one." Qing Mo nodded.

"The Desert Iron Mercenary Group is truly fortunate..." A trace of regret appeared on Liu Shi's face. He had originally wanted to invite Qing Mo to join the Storm Mercenary Group. A genius capable of hunting a second-tier magical beast while still a Fighter had limitless potential. What a pity.

While Liu Shi and the others were talking, Lu Sheng had already led the remaining men in briefly clearing the battlefield.

More than thirty people had come, but only around ten remained now.

After counting their numbers and losses, Lu Sheng removed the Mujin Snake's Magic Core and brought it over to Liu Shi.

"Brother Liu Shi, our luck is not bad. The Mujin Snake had a Magic Core."

"Thank you."

Liu Shi nodded and accepted the Magic Core, only to see Qing Mo staring fixedly at it. Liu Shi tossed the core lightly in his hand and said generously,

"It seems Brother Qing Mo is quite interested in the Mujin Snake's Magic Core. We owe this victory to you as well, so this Magic Core should rightfully be left for you to deal with."

A second-tier Magic Core was worth over ten thousand gold coins. Even as a Battle Master, he could not earn that much every month.

But using such a small sum to earn a genius's goodwill was naturally worthwhile. Besides, Qing Mo had contributed greatly to killing the Mujin Snake.

"Then I will accept it with thanks." Qing Mo did not refuse. He had come for this Magic Core in the first place.

"Alright, we will not disturb you any longer, Brother Qing Mo."

"We will head over first."

Seeing Qing Mo's pale face, Lin Xiao and Liu Shi knew that he had overexerted his Dou Qi and needed proper rest.

"Alright."

As dawn broke, Lu Sheng and the others began taking inventory.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Qing Mo returned alone to the temporary gathering site.

The smell here was too strong and would likely attract other magical beasts, so it was better to return somewhere safer.

He had already obtained the second-tier Magic Core. Now it was time to help Qing Lin break through to Fighter.

There were not many supplementary materials needed, so he had kept them on him.

After briefly tidying up the tent, Qing Mo placed the Magic Core before Qing Lin, then took out the supplementary herbs. These materials had already been processed; they only needed to be mixed in the proper proportions to make a medicinal paste.

"Qing Lin, remember this. When you begin absorbing the Magic Core's energy later, you must circulate your Dou Qi entirely according to the Jade Serpent Divine Art I taught you. There cannot be the slightest mistake," Qing Mo said sternly.

"Mm, Brother Mo, I remember." Qing Lin nodded heavily. She had practiced countless times over the past month, but now that the moment had truly arrived, she could not help feeling nervous. Brother Mo had done so much for her. If she failed again, she did not dare imagine how she would face him.

"Do not be nervous. You are cultivating a high-grade Heaven-tier technique. You are destined to become a Battle Emperor in the future. Why worry over something as minor as breaking through to Fighter?"

Qing Mo rubbed Qing Lin's head and comforted her. At worst, they would try again. He refused to believe she could not break through.

Originally, one could only cultivate a technique after reaching Fighter. But to absorb the Magic Core's energy, she had to rely on the Jade Serpent Divine Art, so Qing Mo had no choice but to teach her the technique in advance.

Once the medicinal paste was prepared, Qing Mo evenly applied it to Qing Lin's key acupoints.

Qing Lin sat cross-legged, held the Magic Core in her palm, and quickly entered a state of cultivation.

Guided by Dou Qi, the Magic Core's energy slowly surged into Qing Lin's meridians. Her body suddenly trembled as the immense energy flowed through her meridians, nearly bursting them apart.

Qing Mo watched Qing Lin without blinking. Sensing the unstable energy fluctuations, concern rose on his face. If this breakthrough failed, it would not be as simple as falling back to the eighth stage of Dou Qi. The external energy would erupt within Qing Lin's body and cause severe damage.

Fortunately, Qing Lin possessed a natural suppression over snake-type magical beasts. The Magic Core's energy became docile the instant it entered her body.

As time passed, the Dou Qi within Qing Lin's body began to condense, compress, then condense again, becoming extremely concentrated.

Qing Lin clenched her teeth tightly as bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down from her forehead.

With a muffled sound, Qing Lin's expression suddenly relaxed, and her entire body went limp.

Qing Mo hurriedly pulled her into his arms.

"Success! Qing Lin, you were amazing!"

Qing Mo said happily. Their efforts had not been in vain after all.

"I... I broke through to Fighter!"

Feeling the abundant power within her body, Qing Lin began trembling uncontrollably.

"Thank you, Brother Mo..."

Qing Mo gently rubbed her head, his eyes full of relief.

"This was all your own effort."