Chapter 79: All Fear Stems from Insufficient Merit Points!

Under everyone’s gaze, Chu Wange walked through the crowd to stand before Lin Mo, tilting her head slightly up, and said:

“I’m hungry, Lin Mo.”

Everyone: “...”

It wasn’t that Chu Wange being hungry was unusual—after a deep enlightenment lasting over a dozen days, and given she hadn’t yet reached full Grain Grain Bigu, hunger was a natural response.

But everyone had expected some grand reaction from her after enlightenment, not this outright dismissal of them all.

Not even He Shixiong from Qingshan Sect so much as glanced at her.

After a moment of silence, everyone silently thought to themselves:

No wonder she’s the Immortal List Top Graduate—she’s got personality!

Lin Mo looked at Chu Wange, whose expression was still dazed, and smiled:

“If you’re hungry, go eat. Come on, I’ll treat you to the cafeteria!”

Chu Wange nodded: “Okay.”

With that, the two turned to leave the crowd, heading toward the living quarters of the Nine-Story Enlightenment Platform.

Ye Chen’s expression darkened as he stepped forward and blocked Lin Mo’s path:

“We haven’t finished talking. You’re leaving already?”

He didn’t want to let Lin Mo go so easily—right now, the leaders and prodigies of the Nine-Story Enlightenment Platform were all here; missing this chance would be a waste.

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow at him, and Ye Chen sneered:

“You said I’m not worthy—then dare you accept my challenge on the arena?”

So that’s what this was about… Lin Mo finally understood why Ye Chen had appeared out of nowhere and started provoking him.

He glanced at He Shixiong beside him, who remained silent—clearly tacitly approving of Ye Chen’s actions.

Notably, even Zhuang Shijie didn’t know how the arena battle would be structured—why had Ye Chen challenged him before the arena battle even began?

Did he know the rules in advance?

…

Everything that had just happened clicked together in Lin Mo’s mind.

It wasn’t that He Shixiong and Ye Chen had conspired to trap him—but Ye Chen’s intent was obvious: he wanted to take Lin Mo’s meditation mat in the arena battle.

He Shixiong ’s silence was an implicit signal.

Lin Mo quickly grasped the whole picture, and was about to speak—when Chu Wange stepped forward, placing herself between him and Ye Chen, and said coolly:

“Fight?”

Before anyone could react, she added:

“Fine. Draw your sword first.”

Ye Chen froze, as if he hadn’t processed what she’d said.

Lin Mo rubbed his chin—why did this scene feel familiar?

Everyone’s expressions turned to eager curiosity—wow, is Chu Wange standing up for her Dao partner!?

Ye Chen’s earlier claim that “Lin Mo and Chu Wange aren’t Dao partners” was instantly disproven by the woman herself.

Ye Chen’s face flushed red and pale in turns.

If Lin Mo was the softest “persimmon” among the Immortal List’s top ten, then Chu Wange was the hardest “thorn.”

Accepting the challenge outright would end in obvious defeat—but refusing…

All the prodigies of this year’s Immortal List and the leaders of the Nine Great Academies were watching him.

Even He Shixiong hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.

For a moment, Ye Chen was trapped in awkward silence.

But after a brief pause, he found a way out, glaring at Lin Mo and sneering:

“Lin Mo, are you only brave enough to hide behind a woman? Are you just a gold-digger?”

Hearing this, everyone glanced at Lin Mo’s handsome face—and fell silent.

Especially Long A, who nearly blurted out the thought he’d long held: If I had this face, I’d eat too!

So when he said this, Lin Mo didn’t flinch—he laughed and said:

“Food can be eaten carelessly, but words shouldn’t be spoken carelessly. We’re just good friends.”

Seeing his bright smile, everyone thought internally: I believe you, ghost!

Lin Mo didn’t let Chu Wange actually fight—he said:

“Of course you can challenge me—but since it’s an arena battle, you must follow the arena battle rules.”

“I’m curious, though—I know the arena battle rules change every year. How are you so sure you’re eligible to challenge me?”

Ye Chen’s rank among this year’s new students of the Nine Great Academies was low to mid-tier—he was on the lowest, seventh-level Enlightenment Platform.

There was still an entire level between him and the ninth level. Under last year’s rules, challengers had to climb one level at a time.

Even if he were a prodigy capable of surging upward, he’d need at least the second round of arena battles to challenge Lin Mo.

How did he know he was eligible to challenge Lin Mo this round?

Many wondered this, their eyes turning to He Shixiong beside them.

He Shixiong : “...”

But Ye Chen didn’t notice the flaw in his words—he chuckled:

“You don’t need to know. Just hope you don’t chicken out when the time comes!”

Oh, confirmed.

Everyone suddenly understood.

He Shixiong , stabbed in the back in front of everyone: “...”

Lin Mo raised his right eyebrow, smiling with quiet understanding: “Alright. I’ll wait.”

With that, he ignored the crowd and patted Chu Wange on the shoulder:

“Come on, friend! Let’s go eat!”

“Not fighting?”

“We’ll fight—but eating comes first,” Lin Mo grinned. “Today’s menu probably has Cantonese roast goose—the chef’s from Guangdong, and his roast goose and char siu are legendary, paired with plum sauce—mm…”

“Mm-hmm!”

Hearing his description, Chu Wange involuntarily swallowed, nodding vigorously.

“By the way, your Spirit Blade—has it emerged yet?”

“Almost.”

“Have you named it?”

“Yes. Shan He.”

“...”

The two chatted as they walked along the mountain path, gradually disappearing into the distance.

The crowd stood frozen, bewildered.

Why are we still here?

Oh right—we were waiting to see Chu Wange’s Spirit Blade…

The crowd snapped back to reality—just as Ye Chen turned to He Shixiong and said: “He Shixiong , I still don’t fully understand the Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment Method. Could you guide me further?”

Those who had been leaving paused, all ears perked up.

He Shixiong fell silent for a moment, then said to Ye Chen:

“I have other matters to attend to. Figure it out yourself these next few days—don’t come up again.”

With that, he swept his sleeve and vanished from sight.

Only Ye Chen remained standing alone, utterly confused.

…

…

At dusk, Room 88 of the Pavilion Courtyard.

Lin Mo skillfully channeled True Ultimate Flame into the nearly pure-white flame, which Zhuang Weinan then, with a Dao hand seal, directed into the ancient cauldron.

As steam billowed from the cauldron, Zhuang Weinan nodded in satisfaction:

“Brother Lin’s control over True Ultimate Flame has improved greatly—the efficiency of refining the Dao flame is much faster than just a few days ago.”

Lin Mo smiled: “Thanks to Sister Zhuang’s teaching.”

Then, as if remembering something, he asked: “Sister, have this year’s arena battle rules been released?”

Zhuang Weinan blinked: “Released already?”

You’re asking me?

He tilted his head, a question mark forming above it.

Zhuang Weinan snapped back to reality, quickly pulling out her Spirit Device and opening the work group—only to find a long string of pop-up messages.

“Oh! The team leaders met last night—I missed it!”

She exclaimed, then swiftly swiped across the screen:

“Hmm… found it. The arena battle rules have been preliminarily finalized.”

As expected… Lin Mo pressed on: “Can we skip levels in this year’s arena battle?”

Zhuang Weinan was surprised: “It seems you can. How did you know?”

A Divine Metal told me… Lin Mo mentally grumbled.

Zhuang Weiwán looked at Lingji while speaking:

“The rule is that if you win ten consecutive challenges, you may challenge any opponent—here it is specifically noted: there is no restriction on the level of the Wu Dao Platform.”

“And the time has been set: four days from now.”

The timing of the arena match matched Lin Mo’s prediction—it would indeed be held on July 20.

“By the way! How’s your progress with the ‘Infernal Ashes Burning Art,’ younger brother?” Zhuang Weiwán clenched her fist in encouragement, “Time is short—push harder, okay~!”

Looking at her dark circles, perfectly blended into the night, and her pale, ghostly complexion, Lin Mo’s lips twitched.

Senior sister, you should encourage yourself first—if you keep burning the midnight oil like this, you might not even make it to the arena day.

As for me…

Lin Mo glanced at the panel, where the ‘Infernal Ashes Burning Art’ had already reached perfect cultivation. All his fears stemmed from insufficient merit points—if he had enough merit points…

A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth:

“Ye Chen? A mere flick of my finger and he’ll be reduced to ashes!”

Immediately, he slightly bent then straightened his index finger, and saw the familiar prompt appear on the screen:

【Merit Points +1】