Chapter 52: Once More! A Secret Realm for One Person! (Request Follows)

“No, who exactly is this Lin Mo?”

The surrounding immortal examinees could no longer sit still—they had now heard this name from Chu Wange for the second time.

Not just them—even the surrounding immortal elders were startled, exchanging glances.

Could he be some relative of Chu Wange’s?

Soon, a cry rang out from the crowd:

“Look! Lin Mo is in the sky!”

At this, everyone was startled and looked up toward the heavens.

Aside from swirling clouds, the Golden Light Immortal List was empty.

“Uh, sorry—I meant on the Immortal List.”

The man added quickly.

Only then did they notice that among the few names still glowing on the Immortal List, one was Lin Mo—

999. Lin Mo, Qi Refining 7th Layer, Five Elements Spirit Roots: 303 points

…

Since most examinees who failed the secret realm had been marked “eliminated,” Lin Mo’s rank jumped thousands of places, entering the top one thousand on the Immortal List.

“He’s Lin Mo? His initial test score’s even lower than mine!”

Someone pouted, speaking with a sour tone.

Not only did those who passed the secret realm have far higher initial scores, even most who failed scored far higher than Lin Mo.

“It’s already the seventh day of the Immortal Exam—why hasn’t he come out yet?”

“Could something have happened to him?”

“Probably not—his name’s still glowing.”

“… ”

The students murmured among themselves.

Meanwhile, Yan Nanfeng and other cultivation experts had learned from the Immortal Masters on the viewing platform who Lin Mo was and roughly understood his relationship with Chu Wange.

“Five Elements Spirit Roots…”

Yan Nanfeng fell silent for a moment—he could accept this.

Though Lin Mo’s talent was poor, he’d still made it into the top one thousand of the Immortal Exam; by past precedent, he’d easily scrape into one of the Nine Great Dao Academies.

After a moment’s thought, Yan Nanfeng smiled and said, “No problem—it’s already the seventh day. We can wait a little longer.”

Gu Ling nodded: “Since Little Friend Chu is willing to wait, we’ll wait.”

At the summit of Great Ming Mountain, in the viewing pavilion.

Everyone had seen the mirage-like scene, their expressions complex.

Meng Xianzhang sighed deeply: “Little Friend Chu is truly a man of feeling.”

Principal Zhu’s face flushed with embarrassment; he turned and glared at Old Li—look what your student has done!

What’s this got to do with me… Old Li was so awkward he dug his toes into the ground.

Who could have imagined this kid Lin Mo would draw so much attention?

Even the examinees were one thing—but now two cultivation giants from the Dao Academies had come? He was officially famous.

Lin Mo, Lin Mo, stop slacking off in there—get out already!

…

…

Immortal Exam Secret Realm.

“Achoo!”

Lin Mo sneezed hard, glancing around in confusion—why did his back feel so chilly?

“Too many late nights? Got sick?”

He muttered to himself—he’d been working harder than ever lately.

He slept less than four hours a day, spending every other moment intensely grinding points.

Thanks to such relentless effort, excluding the first day, he’d accumulated over 1,200 merit points daily, totaling over 8,000.

This rate was significantly faster than before the Immortal Exam.

But…

“Still not enough.”

Lin Mo shook his head slightly—he still had a long way to go before filling his Qi Refining experience bar.

According to his estimate, he’d need at least 34,000 more merit points to reach Qi Refining peak.

That meant he’d have to stay in the secret realm for another half-month.

He could stretch his food supply barely, but the time was too long—and then there was…

So tired~!

To keep up his pace, Lin Mo had barely slept these past few days; dark circles had formed, and his panel’s appearance stat had dropped by two points.

“Need to change strategy—try boosting a technique first.”

After a brief pause, he decided this approach was solid:

“But first…”

His fingers tapped lightly on the panel:

【Ding! You invested 3,846 merit points into a technique. Technique experience +1,500.】

【Ding! Your cultivation has advanced to Qi Refining 8th Layer.】

As the two notifications ended, his cultivation successfully rose to Qi Refining 8th Layer—he instantly felt his true qi grow denser, and the fatigue from sleep deprivation significantly lessened.

“Phew~! That’s better!”

His dark-ringed eyes brightened, his spirit lifted, and he operated again:

【Ding! You invested 2,750 merit points into “Heavenly Thunder Spell.” Technique experience +550.】

【Ding! “Heavenly Thunder Spell” has reached Perfect Level. Bonus acquired: Speed of learning Tier-1 Thunder Techniques increased by 5%.】

A thunderclap echoed in his mind—Lin Mo’s thoughts cleared instantly, his understanding of “Heavenly Thunder Spell” rising another notch.

“One sensation, one response—utterly unified.”

His eyes gleamed; he swiftly formed the hand seals, at least half as fast as when he’d reached Peak Mastery before.

“Heavenly thunder rumbles…”

“Go!”

With a flick of his index finger, a lightning bolt, like a coiling dragon, struck a stone half an arm’s length wide.

“Boom!” The stone shattered into fragments, scattering across the ground.

Whoa!

Lin Mo’s eyes widened slightly—the power of “Heavenly Thunder Spell” had visibly surged.

And most crucially, his hand seals remained unchanged, his fingertips crackling with thunder.

“Go!”

He whispered again, and another bolt shot from his hand.

“Boom!”

Another stone split apart on impact.

Two consecutive strikes!

This was the new ability unlocked by Perfect “Heavenly Thunder Spell”—continuous hand seals allowed two attacks in succession.

The second strike was slightly weaker, but consumed no additional true qi.

“With this power, taking out ‘Tattoo Brother’ should be no problem.”

He stared at the shattered stone fragments—the second strike’s power was nearly equal to his Peak Mastery “Heavenly Thunder Spell.”

Lin Mo hesitated, still felt it wasn’t safe enough, so he invested his remaining merit points into the panel:

【Ding! You invested 1,950 merit points into “Kui Star Stance.” Technique experience +390.】

【Ding! “Kui Star Stance” has reached Perfect Level.】

As the pleasant system chime sounded, his merit points dropped to just a few scattered units—nearly exhausted.

With this, his power increase was temporarily complete.

About half an hour later…

Fully prepared, he awoke from meditation; his depleted true qi had fully recovered.

Lin Mo’s gaze burned as he stared into the dark cave entrance, then directly selected 【Try Again】 on the Immortal Exam prompt.

【Ding! Candidate confirms “Try Again.” Countdown to new secret realm trial begins. Prepare yourself.】

【59, 58, 57, 56…】

Listening to the countdown, Lin Mo showed no trace of the nervousness he’d felt during his first entry—only quiet confidence.

Cultivation↑

Physique↑

Technique damage↑

…

“I’m no longer the man I was seven days ago. That tattooed brat? Hmph.”

Lin Mo snorted in his heart, then, as the final seconds of the countdown ticked away, he began forming the Dao hand seals.

“Heavenly thunder rumbles, earthly thunder darkens. Jia and Ding of the Six Jia...”

“ROAR!!!”

Without the air barrier to block them, the roars of several patterned steel-toothed leopards pierced through the cave entrance.

At that moment, Lin Mo finished reciting the Dao seal incantation:

“Go!”

With a flick of his index finger, two bolts of heavenly thunder struck, one after the other, left and right, directly hitting two patterned steel-toothed leopards.

“Crack! Crack!” The two leopards instantly burst open, skin and flesh torn, let out a shriek, and collapsed whining.

The remaining patterned steel-toothed leopards roared continuously, their eyes scanning everywhere inside the cave.

Who is it?

Who the hell just injured my brothers?!