Chapter 74

Lin Mo let out a long breath and muttered to himself: “Of course—there’s no such thing as a ruined field, only oxen worked to death.”

No sooner had he spoken than a voice came from beside his ear:

“Lin Mo?”

He turned toward the sound and saw Senior He staring at him in surprise.

Due to yesterday’s sudden incident, the team leaders of the Nine Great Academies had met and arranged shifts to guard the Awakening Platform.

Senior He had volunteered for the first shift, which was why he rose so early.

What he hadn’t expected was that Lin Mo would emerge from Zhuang Weinan’s courtyard—and what did those words mean?

Or had he misheard?

Many questions surfaced in his mind.

Lin Mo forced a pale smile and greeted politely: “Good morning, Senior He.”

“...”

Senior He nodded silently in response, then walked toward the Awakening Platform without a word, lost in thought.

But Lin Mo, exhausted from the night’s labor, didn’t notice this—he stretched, then prepared to head to the Awakening Platform when his foot made another “crack” sound.

His eyes brightened slightly; he squatted down, tied his shoelaces, slipped his hand into his pocket—all in one fluid motion.

As he reached into his pocket, he glanced quickly—

Another ordinary Qi-Boosting Pill.

Again!

Lin Mo felt a surge of joy.

If yesterday’s find of the [Qi-Boosting Pill] had brought him a sliver of guilt, the night’s brutal, inhumane labor had taught him one thing: never let a “heartless capitalist” get the better of him!

Besides, last night he’d learned from Zhuang Sister that [Qi-Boosting Pills], the most basic true-energy recovery elixirs, weren’t even high-end goods.

Why not take them?

He stuffed the pill into his pocket with perfect justification and headed for the Awakening Platform.

After a sleepless night, his whole body felt limp.

The only part still firm was his index finger—slightly bent, then straightened—

【Merit +1】

Staying up all night wasn’t without benefits.

At least his merit points had accumulated several extra hours—since the end of yesterday’s Awakening, he’d gathered 1,062 merit points.

Including the three hours of Awakening aura, twelve hours total, he’d missed fewer than twenty points.

“Perfect. Today I’ll stack it hard.”

After greeting Brother Warwolf, he sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion, determined in his heart.

Three hours later…

【Five-Spirit Body: 2088 → 2510】

【True Ultimate Flame has refined a slight amount; Fire Spirit Root purity increased: 46% → 46.1%】

The Five-Spirit Body had advanced significantly toward perfection—already a quarter complete.

He now clearly felt the change within: the speed of the [National No. 108 Set of Five Elements Qi Refining Scripture] circulating through his meridians had quickened slightly.

Moreover, the five-colored rainbow light that surrounded him during Five-Spirit Body cultivation had grown more radiant than before.

Aside from the Five-Spirit Body’s progress, the refinement rate of the True Ultimate Flame seemed useless.

Not nearly as effective as battling Zhuang Sister until dawn… he mentally evaluated.

After today’s aura session ended, he slowly stood and walked toward the back.

Brother Warwolf, Long A, rose at the same time.

Long A glanced at his pale face and teased:

“Brother, you look awful. Did you sneak off with some rich widow last night?”

At these words, Senior He, who was guarding the Awakening Platform, gave a strange look.

Rich widow?

Zhuang Sister?

Lin Mo thought silently.

He didn’t know if Zhuang Sister counted as a rich widow in the Spirit Realm, but the herbs she’d pulled from her storage pouch last night each looked expensive—her wealth must be substantial.

Even if not a big one, at least a small one?

Thinking this, Lin Mo half-joked: “Yeah, the rich widow said I wasn’t fast enough last night.”

“Hahaha!”

Long A clearly didn’t take it seriously and laughed: “Then that’s perfect—I’ll teach you a minor body technique today. Master it, and you’ll last seven times a night, tireless, fighting till dawn!”

Lin Mo chuckled: “You’d actually share something like that? You’ve got so many goddesses…”

“Hey, we’re brothers!”

“...”

As they chatted about risqué jokes, they walked toward the courtyard.

Meanwhile, Senior He, still seated cross-legged behind the Awakening Platform, seemed to be thinking of something, his expression darkening slightly.

He glanced at the Awakening Platform—Chu Wange still remained in deep enlightenment.

Chen Xuanzhi and Feng Ji had also not left their cushions since yesterday, still in enlightenment.

The other prodigies were all pushing hard—none of them, like Lin Mo, showed up daily like clockwork, sat for exactly three hours, then left.

He watched Lin Mo’s retreating back and sneered:

“Hmph. Wasting time on trivialities!”

…

【Ding! You have learned the Upper-Class Body Technique: [Rising Sun Art].】

Lin Mo stared at the system prompt, momentarily stunned, then turned to Long A: “This is the minor body technique you mentioned?”

Long A shrugged indifferently: “It’s not an offensive technique. Its combat power doesn’t even match your low-grade Standing Post. It’s just for strengthening the body.”

He slapped his chest with righteous generosity: “Besides, this is a printed copy—worth nothing. My family’s got tons of these! And I’ve already perfected it—I can print as many as I want!”

It’s not an offensive technique; its destructive power is even less than your inferior stance training—useful only for strengthening the body.

Lin Mo had fallen into a misconception about Long A.

He’d always assumed body cultivators were all ascetics, and body refinement was the path of poor cultivators.

But he was wrong—here, “poor scholars, wealthy warriors” was a true maxim.

Especially since Long A’s innate constitution was the [Primordial Ancient Holy Body], the most resource-intensive of all body cultivator types.

The resources needed to reach the Meridian Enlightenment realm’s peak were two or three times those of a same-level spell cultivator—no ordinary family could afford it!

Long A waved his hand and said directly: “Brother, come on—I’ll teach you the basics. With your body technique talent, you’ll reach minor mastery fast.”

That wasn’t necessarily true… Lin Mo felt Long A had overestimated something—but he didn’t refuse the offer.

Learning from a body cultivator prodigy was far faster than fumbling alone.

Besides, he was short on merit points right now—no extra to spare on body techniques.

Brother, come on! I’ll teach you how to get started; with your physical martial talent, you’ll surely reach minor mastery soon.

Lin Mo smiled: “Then I’m in your debt, Brother Long!”

Long A waved dismissively: “Too formal—call me Brother Long. Come on! First step: basic Standing Post. You’ve mastered [Kui Star Post], so this won’t be hard for you…”

Besides, he’s been short on cash lately and simply can’t spare any merit points for physical martial arts.

Long A stared at Lin Mo, still stuck on the first step of Standing Post, and frowned: “Brother, how the hell did you perfect [Kui Star Post]?”

[Kui Star Post] was a low-grade standing technique, but not everyone could perfect it by eighteen.

Doing so proved Lin Mo’s insight and roots weren’t bad.

But the result was completely unexpected.

Lin Mo’s insight and roots were barely average.

Remember, this was the Ninth Level of Awakening Cliff—every one of the twenty new students here was a prodigy.

Lin Mo was the odd one out.

Long A recalled the rumors and asked: “Brother, be honest—did you really latch onto Chu Wange?”

Being able to do this proves Lin Mo’s comprehension and innate talent are not too poor.

But the outcome completely surprised Long A.

Lin Mo’s comprehension and innate talent were barely at the level of an ordinary person.

Keep in mind that this is the ninth level of Awakening Cliff—among the twenty new students who made it here, not one lacks exceptional talent.

Lin Mo, in this place, seemed like an oddity.

Long A recalled the earlier rumors and asked:

“Brother, be honest with me—have you really attached yourself to Chu Wange’s leg?”