He felt faint waves of scorching heat radiating out, making his palm sting as though it were being burned.
Lin Mo hurriedly put them into his Storage Bag.
Had the Spirit Spring not significantly strengthened his body over the past few days, the heat from these fruits might well have raised several blisters on his palm.
Even with his rather limited knowledge, Lin Mo could tell that these three fruits had definitely reached the mystic tier.
"Two drops of spirit liquid created a mystic-tier spirit plant..."
"Oh, gourd, my gourd, you really are my precious treasure."
Overcome with excitement, Lin Mo planted a hard kiss on the smooth gourd, then walked out the door laughing.
He took the same route as always.
Unlike the previous days, however, hardly anyone bothered to mock him anymore.
Last time, Li Yibo had provoked him only to be reprimanded by Liu Xianzong. Since then, none of those low-ranking outer sect disciples had dared to ridicule Lin Mo to his face.
Today, however, was a little different.
"Senior Brother Li? You again? Why are you blocking my way?"
Lin Mo frowned slightly as he looked at Li Yibo, who stood in his path with a mocking expression.
He had intended not to bother with this man, but Li Yibo clearly had no intention of leaving him alone.
"Well, well, chamber-pot emptier, where are you rushing off to? Got a sweetheart waiting for you somewhere?"
This fellow had been an outer sect disciple for three years, but with his limited talent and his habit of loafing around waiting to die, he had only reached the peak of the first layer of Qi refining.
He ranked near the bottom of the outer sect disciples, barely a hair above the servant disciples.
"No need to concern yourself with me, Senior Brother Li. If you have time... you should spend more of it thinking about how to improve yourself and scrape together the contribution points you owed last time."
After being provoked again and again, even a clay figurine would have flared up.
Cautious though Lin Mo was, he had no intention of continuing to indulge him, and delivered that remark calmly.
Li Yibo had failed his last assessment and received a harsh scolding.
If he failed again, his cultivation would be crippled and he would be driven down the mountain.
That single, casually delivered remark left Li Yibo red-faced with rage.
"You filthy chamber-pot emptier! Y-you actually dare mock your senior brother?"
Li Yibo stared at Lin Mo for a while, his face alternating between livid and flushed. Suddenly, he roared in fury and swung a fist at Lin Mo.
He had actually attacked!
An uproar swept through the watching disciples.
Then they crowded closer to watch the spectacle.
Fighting was forbidden within the Azure Cloud Sect, but that referred to the use of spells.
Ordinary brawls with fists and feet were generally ignored.
Previously, Li Yibo could rely on his status as an outer sect disciple to attack a servant. Now, however, their status was roughly equal, and attacking with spells would violate the sect's rules.
Lin Mo's retort had left him scarlet with anger, and he simply could not hold himself back.
Since when did outer-sect trash promoted from the servants dare mock me?
Lin Mo had not wanted to fight him and instinctively moved to dodge aside.
But people had gathered on all sides, and the spectators kept jeering, refusing to let him leave.
Left with no choice, Lin Mo sidestepped Li Yibo's attack, then lashed out with a kick to his thigh.
The Spirit Spring's strengthening effects extended to every aspect of his body.
Although Lin Mo's cultivation was still only at the middle stage of the first level of Qi refinement, his movements were exceptionally sharp. In that split second, he even anticipated Li Yibo's attack and sent him flying with a single kick.
"Tch!"
"Damn it, I thought we'd get a good show. Who knew this fellow was so useless he couldn't even beat a chamber-pot boy who'd just joined the outer sect?"
The surrounding ridicule grew louder and louder, reaching Li Yibo's ears as he lay on the ground.
He was already so furious his lungs might burst. Goaded by the crowd, he promptly cast the sect's iron laws beyond the ninth heaven.
Scrambling to his feet, he formed a hand seal, and red spiritual light flickered at his fingertips.
A burst of flame shot toward Lin Mo.
The flame streaked like a meteor. It might not take Lin Mo's life, but a direct hit would still inflict serious injuries.
Li Yibo had previously used this flame to blast apart the bamboo buckets Lin Mo carried water in.
Now he repeated the same trick with roughly twice the force, clearly beside himself with rage and brimming with murderous intent.
Lin Mo frowned.
It looks like there's no settling this peacefully today.
Fine.
When there's no more room to endure, there's no need to endure any longer.
Though he had never practiced spells, he relied on his enhanced reflexes to leap up and evade the stabbing flame.
He planted his foot and rushed toward Li Yibo.
Then he bent his arm and drove his elbow toward Li Yibo's chest.
This was a mortal martial art called Eight Extremes, which Lin Mo had learned from a servant disciple.
To hone himself, Lin Mo had once practiced nonstop for three days and nights, bringing this Heart-Toppling Elbow to the threshold of true proficiency.
Li Yibo's expression changed.
Lin Mo's elbow came at him with ferocious momentum.
Not daring to take it lightly, he formed a seal and summoned a small vine shield, attempting to block it.
Yet the force Lin Mo unleashed was astonishing.
The small vine shield conjured with his meager spiritual power could not withstand that Heart-Toppling Elbow.
Bang!
The tremendous force hurled him backward, sending him airborne before he crashed heavily to the ground.
Li Yibo vomited a mouthful of blood with a strangled cry. He struggled twice but could not get up, and could only glare at Lin Mo, shocked, furious, and filled with bewilderment.
Lin Mo withdrew his arm and stood still, then cupped his hands toward the surrounding spectators. "Li Yibo provoked me for no reason. I only struck back because I had no choice, and I used no spells. When the Discipline Hall disciples arrive, I ask that you senior brothers bear witness for me."
The sect's iron laws were strict, but they still allowed some consideration for circumstances.
Someone like Lin Mo, who had been forced to retaliate and had used no spells, would generally not be punished.
At the words "Discipline Hall," the spectators' expressions changed, and seventy or eighty percent of the crowd immediately dispersed.
Only a handful remained, clicking their tongues and commenting on the scene.
The Discipline Hall oversaw the sect's punishments, and every one of its disciples was skilled at killing. Ordinary outer sect disciples turned pale at its mention. How would they dare remain here and invite trouble?
Those few who stayed all had some backing, to a greater or lesser extent.
"Who dared violate the sect's iron laws and fight within its grounds?"
Before long, a figure came soaring through the air on a sword.
The man was handsome, save for a long scar on his left cheek. He landed before Lin Mo, his piercing eyes seeming to harbor two tiny swords.
Meeting his gaze made one's eyes sting, forcing one to look away involuntarily.
"Senior Brother Zhou Ge actually came in person?"
Among those who had stayed, someone clearly recognized him and could not help regretting lingering there.
But it was already too late to leave.
The sight of that flying sword alone told Lin Mo that the newcomer was an inner sect disciple.
Combined with the reactions of the remaining spectators, it immediately made him much more respectful, and he recounted exactly what had happened.
Then Lin Mo looked at the young man before him with a trace of nervousness.
If the man insisted on enforcing the sect's rules to the letter, Lin Mo would have to visit the Discipline Hall even though he was in the right.
Wouldn't that delay my cultivation?
"This kid's done for."
Someone nearby spoke in a low voice.
"If anyone else had come, there might've been room to talk. Why did it have to be Senior Brother Zhou Ge? He's... famously stubborn in our Azure Cloud Sect. He might well enforce the sect's iron laws to the letter."
"The chamber-pot boy will probably get dragged into it too..."
The speaker's voice was not quiet, and hearing those words made Lin Mo's heart give a jolt.
Seriously?!
But to everyone's surprise, Zhou Ge studied Lin Mo expressionlessly for two or three breaths, then withdrew his sword-sharp gaze and said softly, "You are... Lin Mo?"
"I have already ascertained what happened. Outer sect disciple Li Yibo provoked you first, then suffered humiliation because his skills were inferior. This has nothing to do with you."
"Junior Brother Lin, you may go."
Before you continue