Chapter 71

Lin Mo reached down and picked up the “hard object,” holding it in his palm—only to realize it was a black, sooty elixir—

【Qi-Boosting Elixir (White): Restores a small amount of true qi】

Blank elixir?

Yet it was a type he had never seen before—clearly not an elixir from the mortal realm.

“Is this from Sister Zhuang?”

Lin Mo turned and glanced at the closed gate of the courtyard, whispering: “Sister Zhuang, did you drop this elixir?”

After a long silence, a breeze brushed lightly against his cheek.

“Fine, since no one wants it, it’s mine then.”

Lin Mo casually slipped the Qi-Boosting Elixir into his robe and walked toward his own courtyard, his pace quickening.

…

…

The next morning, atop the Nine-Layer Awakening Cliff.

To catch the Awakening Radiance, Lin Mo rose early; after eating breakfast delivered to the front courtyard of his residence, he hurried to the cliff’s peak.

Each year, the Awakening Radiance occurs between 6 and 8 a.m.

To keep pace with the crowd, Lin Mo arrived before 5:30 a.m.

Yet he never expected he’d still be the last to arrive.

Even Long A, who had claimed last night he’d return home and stay up chatting with his goddess, sat already on his meditation cushion.

Upon seeing him, Long A turned and waved, smiling: “You’re here, brother!”

The surrounding prodigies stared curiously at the two—when had these two become so close?

If among this group of the top twenty prodigies there was anyone utterly out of place…

The first was naturally Long A, the only body cultivator among them.

Ordinary cultivators call their first stage Qi Refining; body cultivators call it Meridian Unblocking.

From the names alone, it’s clear their cultivation paths are entirely different.

The other was naturally Lin Mo.

There was no help for it—he was too famous.

Especially in this year’s Immortal List, Lin Mo’s fame surpassed even Chen Xuanzhi, ranked second.

Of the thousand-plus Immortal List candidates who passed, they had waited over half a month just for him.

Most crucially, Lin Mo’s initial test score was only three hundred, yet he rose to tenth place on the Immortal List.

Such a story was legendary—but also deeply suspicious, especially with his nickname “Chu Wange’s kept man…”

Lin Mo noticed the expressions around him; several eyes carried clear traces of hostility.

Before yesterday, he wouldn’t have known why—but now he understood.

Besides Long A, many on the Nine-Layer Awakening Platform had set their sights on his position.

Those ranked outside the top ten had a high chance of challenging him.

After all, just glance at the top ten: Chu Wange, Chen Xuanzhi, Feng Ji, Cang Qianhao…

All were either Celestial or Variant Spirit Roots, all at least Qi Refining Level Nine—none easy to provoke.

In comparison, Lin Mo, barely at Qi Refining Level Eight, was clearly the easiest to “crush.”

Yesterday, busy with learning alchemy, he’d forgotten the main matter.

Lin Mo silently vowed to gather as much intelligence as possible from Zhuang Weinan today.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll win every battle.

He walked over and nodded with a smile at Long A: “Long brother, good morning.”

Long A waved his hand:

“Call me Long brother? Just call me Big Long from now on—don’t be so formal!”

Then he winked at Lin Mo:

“Brother, your method’s brilliant—last night I sent Xiao Hua a red packet of 1314, and she actually replied! Sent me a goodnight emoji too.”

Over a thousand in red packets—for one message.

Lin Mo fell silent: “Glad you’re happy.”

Long A grinned: “Last night I dreamed sweetly. Decided—I’m sending red packets to A Cui and Xiao Li, and Meng Meng and Meng Meng too…”

Lin Mo grew more confused: “Wait, how many people are you talking about? Are these all your goddesses?”

“How many?” Long A frowned, thinking. “Thirty-something? Or forty-something? I never counted.”

My apologies—I thought you were a lickspittle. Turns out you’re a war wolf!

He mentally scoffed, then sat on his cushion, gazing ahead.

Chu Wange’s back was just as yesterday—alone at the very front, not turning even at the sound of Lin Mo’s voice.

He had just raised his hand to greet her when a voice came from behind:

“I advise you not to call out to her.”

Lin Mo instinctively turned—saw a new student seated two spots beside Long A say:

“Chu Wange has been meditating there for a full day and night. She’s currently in a state of sudden enlightenment—this state is rare and must not be disturbed lightly.”

Sudden enlightenment!?

Lin Mo’s heart jolted.

He hadn’t eaten pork, but he’d seen pigs run.

Sudden enlightenment was a state countless cultivators could only dream of.

If successful, one’s cultivation base or technique would surge dramatically in a short time.

Usually, only those with extremely high comprehension values experienced it.

Lin Mo recalled Chu Wange’s 95-point comprehension value—it wasn’t entirely unbelievable…

“Sudden enlightenment on the first day? Chu Wange truly deserves this year’s Immortal List Top Graduate!”

The student’s tone held a trace of envy.

Who among those seated on the Nine-Layer Awakening Platform wasn’t exceptional?

Yet only Chu Wange had entered sudden enlightenment on the very first day of the Awakening Radiance.

Even Chen Xuanzhi and Feng Ji, both geniuses, now gazed at Chu Wange, who held the lead, their expressions carrying both battle intent and reluctant admiration.

Immortal List Top Graduate—deservedly so!

Long A now patted Lin Mo’s shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up: “Still not as good as you, brother! Even all my goddesses combined couldn’t match Chu Wange in one punch!”

Hearing this, the other cultivators looked at Lin Mo with even stranger expressions.

Lin Mo: “…”

No, bro, I’m not a kept man! Well, unless free barbecue counts…

He sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, as the dawn glow drew nearer, everyone gradually quieted and entered meditation.

Lin Mo did the same—and soon, warm radiance bathed his body.

【Ding! Exposed to Awakening Radiance: Comprehension +1, Comprehension +1, Comprehension +1…】

【Ding! Awakening Radiance bonus: Comprehension +20】

As meditation deepened, the comprehension bonus rose further to 20 points.

Lin Mo reached out and spent 100 merit points on the panel:

【Ding! You spent 100 merit points on the technique “Five-Spirit Dao Body.” Experience +40 (10×40%)】

As the merit points were spent, five-colored rainbow light shimmered across his skin, gradually merging with the radiant hues surrounding him.

Though the arena battles disrupted some of his plans, boosting the 【Five-Spirit Dao Body】 remained his top priority.

Six hours later…

【Ding! Awakening Radiance has faded. Comprehension bonus ended.】

With the system alert, Lin Mo ended his meditation, his expression satisfied as he viewed the panel’s data:

【Five-Spirit Dao Body: 1626→2086】

【True Ultimate Flame has refined slightly; Fire Spirit Root purity increased: 43.2%→43.3%】

The 【Five-Spirit Dao Body】’s progress was highly encouraging—stable gains of over 450 proficiency points daily.

At this rate, he’d max it out in under eighteen days; if he devoted the remaining time to cultivation…

“I might even reach Qi Refining Level Nine!”

Lin Mo’s eyes gleamed—this gave him greater confidence in the arena battles.

He glanced at the surrounding prodigies, a smirk curling his lips.

Even geniuses can’t match my pace. Little Chu Wange—I’ll take you in my grasp…

Just as this thought arose, a whisper came from behind:

“Holy shit, Chen Xuanzhi and Feng Ji just entered sudden enlightenment too!”

“No, not just them—look at Chu Wange! Her sword intent is growing denser—is she entering deep-level sudden enlightenment?”

“…”