Chapter 38
It was hard to tell whether he had fainted from the impact or if he was simply overwhelmed by the mix of grief and anger at Li Mo's words, which had left him feeling utterly defeated.
Soon, Wang Hu's beastly transformation faded, and he returned to his human form.
His breath came out in a rush, like an old man flickering in the wind, a candle nearing its end.
Not far away, Lin Jiang's mouth hung open wide enough to swallow two eggs whole.
Wang Hu, who was equivalent to a peak-level ninth-grade beast, had been taken down in an instant?
Just one move?
To be honest, Lin Jiang even felt that Li Mo hadn’t used his full strength.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just knocked Wang Hu out; he could have easily killed him.
They had all joined the Qingyuan Sect together.
Why was he so powerful that it left others feeling hopeless?
Moreover, Lin Jiang had been training for a long time in a martial arts school before joining the Qingyuan Sect, while Li Mo had entered without even opening his meridians.
At that time, he was just an ordinary person, completely incapable of even tying up a chicken. He could have easily taken down a hundred Li Mos.
How long had it been since then?
Just as Lin Jiang was questioning his life choices, a wooden box was handed to him.
“Here, for external use.”
At the same time, a bright voice rang out.
“Baihua Ninglu Gao, it works wonders for treating external injuries.”
“This...”
Lin Jiang snapped back to reality and looked up to see a sunny smile.
Without hesitation, he quietly applied the medicine to his wound.
Meanwhile, a notification chimed in his mind.
【Investment successful, half a bottle of Baihua Ninglu Gao invested.】
【Feedback received: One copy of Wuxue Jinzhongzhao, would you like to claim it?】
“Not claiming it.”
He replied to the system in his mind and waved at Lin Jiang.
“Alright, you wait here for the steward.”
“I’m in a hurry, so I’ll be off first.”
With that, he strode away towards Wangyue Cliff.
“Take care, Brother Li!”
As Lin Jiang watched his retreating figure, a sense of awe and admiration welled up within him.
The medicine was incredibly effective; after applying it, his bleeding stopped immediately.
Not only had he saved his life, but he could also continue participating in the trials.
“Saving lives without expecting anything in return.”
“Is it true that real strength comes with humility...?”
Lin Jiang pondered, rising to his feet once more.
---
**Chapter 33: The Future of Qingyuan Sect May Shine as Bright as the Sun and Moon, with Li Mo Surpassing Ying Bing**
At the entrance of the trial grounds, a white-headed magpie perched on Yin Huaxuan's shoulder, chirping softly.
After a moment of contemplation, Yin Huaxuan spoke:
“Wang Hu indeed practiced the Baishou Xuelian technique. He fully unleashed his beast form just now, opening all twelve meridians in an instant, transforming into a creature akin to a peak-level ninth-grade beast.”
“Does that mean my disciple is in grave danger?”
Elder Ruyi Feng stood up abruptly.
He had already thought of intervening when he learned that Lin Jiang had encountered Wang Hu, but he was persuaded by several elders to hold back.
They feared that if he acted rashly, it might scare away the bigger fish behind Wang Hu.
“Elder Lu, don’t be anxious; I haven’t finished yet.”
Yin Huaxuan’s expression turned peculiar as he continued:
“Li Zhenchuan happened to pass by.”
“Wang Hu has already been subdued by him and is currently being escorted back by an inner sect steward.”
Li Mo again?
The elders exchanged glances.
He had defeated a peak-level ninth-grade beast and subdued Wang Hu, who was equivalent to a peak-level ninth-grade beast himself.
The latter even possessed human intelligence, making him more troublesome than a mere beast.
To be honest, although Li Mo and Ying Bing stood at the pinnacle of the Stone Steps to Heaven, the elders still believed that Ying Bing’s talent was far superior in every aspect.
After all, the sect master’s true disciple, Ying Bing’s terrifying progress, had left them numb with shock.
They hadn’t expected Li Mo to truly be on par with her.
Before long, the inner sect steward tossed the unconscious Wang Hu onto the platform.
“Didn’t Li Mo come back with him?”
Xue Jing was the first to ask.
He was worried that Li Mo might have been injured and was pushing himself to continue the trials.
Some injuries, if prolonged, could leave lasting consequences.
“According to Lin Zhenchuan, Li Zhenchuan wasn’t injured.”
“It seems to be true, as he subdued Wang Hu with just one move.”
One move?
Xue Jing finally took a closer look at Wang Hu, who lay on the ground like a dead dog.
He quickly noticed that Wang Hu’s entire arm was twisted and broken.
It didn’t look like the aftermath of an evenly matched battle at all.
Rather, it resembled...
Being crushed effortlessly by a stronger beast.
Not to mention, just based on this ferocious combat ability, he was already comparable to Ying Bing.
“Could it be that this kid has some powerful beast bloodline hidden within him?”
Qian Bufan couldn’t help but speculate, recalling how dazzled he had been on the Stone Steps to Heaven.
“You can’t be the only one who misjudged; surely we all didn’t get it wrong.”
“He must have achieved great success in body refinement.”
Han He shook his head.
In just half a month since entering the sect, he had reached great success in body refinement.
It seemed his earlier guess was correct...
“Old man, you’re confused.”
Shang Wu chuckled, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing into crescent moons.
Han He recalled their bet, and his face darkened instantly.
He had to admit that while Murong Xiao was also quite exceptional, the gap between him and Li Mo was simply unmeasurable.
A competition?
With some effort, it was uncertain whether he could even withstand a single punch from the current Li Mo.
Moreover, Li Mo would also continue to improve, and his rate of progress would only accelerate.
“With these two, the Qingyuan Sect is bound to thrive.”
Yin Huaxuan’s eyes sparkled with intense excitement.
The other elders nodded in agreement.
The first generation of founders of the Qingyuan Sect had all come from Zhongzhou.
At that time, the Qingyuan Sect, though it only governed the Ziyang Prefecture, was actually a dominant force in the entire Eastern Wilderness.
They hadn’t expected that in their time, two prodigies would emerge, comparable to the founders.
And both of them at that!
Once they grew up, the Qingyuan Sect would surely shine as brightly as the sun and moon!
Xue Jing chuckled, “Li Mo saved his fellow disciples and subdued Wang Hu. Let’s award him points for defeating a peak-level ninth-grade beast. No one has any objections, right?”
No one opposed.
Even if they gave Li Mo a few extra points, it was reasonable.
Thus, the scoreboard changed to:
Ying Bing: 119 points.
Li Mo: 116 points.
Just a short while ago, Ying Bing had also killed a peak-level ninth-grade beast.
So there was still a slight gap of three points between the two.
“The future is long, and we should plan carefully.”
“Right now, there are still those who have their eyes on us.”
Xue Jing spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention back.
“The person behind Wang Hu didn’t make a move in the end.”
“The demons of the Huai Mo Sect are indeed vigilant.”
“It’s possible that Wang Hu was merely a pawn in their game.”
“Hmph, I say we dig three feet into the ground; I don’t believe we can’t find any traces of the demons!”
“That’s not wise. If we act recklessly, we might alert the snake and gain nothing.”
The elders debated, unable to reach a consensus.
In the end, they decided to temporarily send Wang Hu to Ruyi Peak for interrogation.
They would wait for the sect master to emerge from seclusion before making any final decisions.
After all, the other party hadn’t even cared when Wang Hu was killed, so it was unlikely that any trouble would arise from this trial.
The sect’s trials would conclude peacefully, and then they could discuss further.
Just then, another steward returned, dragging two beasts behind him.
One was a scorched-ringed wolf king.
The other was a lion bear.
Both were peak-level ninth-grade beasts.
Before he even got close, the elders recognized that this was undoubtedly another achievement of Li Mo.
With this addition to his record, Li Mo’s score soared to 146.
He instantly surpassed Ying Bing, becoming the top scorer.
“My precious disciple is number one now?”
Shang Wu let out a light snort, took the steward’s pen, and swiftly adjusted Li Mo’s score, placing it at the very top.
With her arms crossed, she lifted her chin.
“Who dares say I can’t teach my disciple?”
The elders were left speechless.
They were utterly baffled.
---
On the other side, at the end of the streamstone forest.
“Senior Brother, save me!”
An outer sect disciple was pinned to the ground by a fierce lion bear, unable to fight back.
He could only look up with pleading eyes at a figure standing on a stone pillar.
That person, though not a steward, was dressed in the attire of a true disciple.
The outer sect disciple never expected that the comrade he had called for help would merely stand by, watching the spectacle with cold indifference, showing no intention of intervening.
In fact...
All he saw in that gaze was mockery and apathy.
It was none other than Yin Huacheng, who had volunteered to take charge of the Wangyue Cliff area.
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