Chapter 84: Innate Defiance Saint Body! Let the Male Guest Counter-Select!

“Look quick, Chu Wange and Lin Mo have both appeared!”

Inside the tavern hall, Lao Hu and the others immediately grew excited upon seeing these two.

Zhu Hongyuan’s eyes also brightened as he gazed at the prodigies seated in the high seats within the Mirror Moon Reflection.

“Is this the caliber of top-tier prodigies? So cool!”

“The entrance effect is maxed out, haha!”

“…”

The audience enthusiastically applauded the small staging design for this arena battle.

Among the crowd, even some girls said:

“Look at that guy named Lin Mo—he’s even more handsome in person than in the photos; no wonder the Immortal List Top Graduate picked him!”

This remark immediately gained approval from many girls.

“Looks like even the Immortal List Top Graduate isn’t immune to appearances—everyone loves good looks.”

“Trust the Immortal List Top Graduate’s taste!”

“…”

Hearing these words, Li Feng let out a cold snort:

“What’s so impressive about a pretty boy? In the cultivation world, strength speaks louder—just watch, he’ll be knocked off by Brother Chen soon enough; he won’t hold onto a top-ten spot on the Immortal List!”

Yet no one contradicted him.

In the cultivation world, strength is paramount—this was undeniably true.

If Lin Mo were merely a “fake prodigy” who climbed up through luck and parasitic reliance, he’d be swiftly ousted.

On this point, Zhu Hongyuan and the others could only fall silent.

After the top twenty on the Immortal List made their appearances, the host, Brother Li, spoke again:

“You may now begin selecting your challengers—your opponents, of course, also…”

“Include everyone in the top twenty of the Immortal List!”

Though the rules had been known since the first round began, hearing this announcement alongside the debut of the top twenty prodigies reignited the arena’s atmosphere.

Lin Mo, seated in the high seat, twitched his lips—so that’s why they lured us here, to stir up trouble!

That morning, he’d received a group message: new students at the ninth layer of Enlightenment could use a substitution talisman to enter early and enjoy VIP front-row viewing seats.

Now it was clear—this wasn’t a VIP viewing spot at all; they were just display puppets hung out for everyone to see.

If they hadn’t shown up, fine—but now that they’d been pointed out, the dozens of ambitious “big men” waiting in the challenger’s area would surely have their eyes locked on them.

“Now, you may begin selecting!”

As Brother Li’s words fell, the fifty finalists in the waiting area turned their gazes back and forth across the audience seats opposite.

Some weighed their options, others hesitated, then seemed to give up…

In just a moment, Lin Mo already felt over a dozen hostile glances sweep over him.

Among the top twenty on the Immortal List, he appeared to be the easiest to “bully.”

Fine, fine, fine—you want to play like this, huh?

Lin Mo muttered inwardly.

Yet his face still wore a smile, even waving toward the opposite viewing platform.

When his gaze passed over Ye Chen, he deliberately raised an eyebrow—the other’s expression darkened further.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Chen clutched the selection talisman in his hand and hurled it straight at Lin Mo.

The talisman transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting rapidly forward before floating directly before Lin Mo.

【Challenger Ye Chen selects Lin Mo.】

A notification floated up.

Ye Chen made the first move—and with “remarkable boldness”—chose Lin Mo, ranked tenth on the Immortal List.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Mo: “I’m taking your spot!”

His words instantly sent the watching audience into uproar.

“Such a provocative challenge—this guy’s got guts!”

“Only the strong dare be bold—he’s got real substance.”

“He’s a future sword cultivator anyway; being bold is expected.”

“Still… I think he’s just putting on a show.”

“Putting on a show +1”

“…”

The audience’s reactions to Ye Chen were mixed, but the team leaders in the bamboo pavilion offered praise.

Brother Li smiled and said: “Young Ye Chen carries the spirit of ancient cultivators!”

“Yes, yes!”

Others chimed in.

“Exactly! That kind of speech is pure sword cultivator.”

“Yes, yes!”

“The show effect is maxed out.”

“Yes, yes!”

“He might not win, though!”

“Yes… huh?”

Everyone turned to look at Zhuang Weiwang, who had ruined the mood—she was staring at the Mirror Moon Reflection and said:

“As a cultivator, Brother Ye Chen’s desire to compete is too strong. True cultivators value inner harmony and righteous qi.”

Then she pointed to Lin Mo in the reflection: “Lin Mo does this well—even when provoked, he responds with a smile.”

Everyone looked at the image of Lin Mo, eyebrow raised and smiling—was this what you called “responding with a smile”?

Wasn’t that smile even more provocative? It practically screamed “Choose me!”

What happened next seemed to confirm their thoughts: several streaks of golden light shot toward Lin Mo on the viewing platform.

【Challenger Tang Lei selects Lin Mo.】

【Challenger Yu Haocang selects Lin Mo.】

【Challenger Song Hongxi selects Lin Mo.】

【…】

A series of notifications appeared in quick succession.

The team leaders of the Nine Great Academies couldn’t help but turn their gazes toward Zhuang Weiwang.

She, too, seemed puzzled: “That doesn’t make sense—Lin Mo is always approachable and kind to others; why so many want to challenge him?”

You must have a serious misunderstanding of those adjectives… Everyone fell silent.

Fortunately, Brother Li laughed and broke the tension:

“Didn’t expect Lin Mo to be this popular—but it’s not a bad thing! The right of counter-selection now belongs to Brother Lin!”

Hearing this, many finally realized the purpose behind Lin Mo’s earlier provocative smile.

This kid is sneaky!

The team leaders all suddenly understood.

If chosen by more than three opponents, one gains the right to counter-select.

Now it was clear—more than three had chosen Lin Mo?

At least ten!

He Fei and Ye Chen in the waiting area both frowned.

They clearly hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.

Long A in the crowd burst into loud laughter, clapping Lin Mo on the shoulder:

“Haha, Lin Brother, you’ve got the innate Defiance Saint Body—so many people are choosing you!”

Lin Mo fell silent—he hadn’t expected that a simple default move would “taunt” so many opponents.

But then again, perhaps not all of them chose him because of his provocation.

Maybe Ye Chen’s actions had “awakened” them, or maybe they’d already planned to target him and were just using this as an excuse…

In any case, they all realized one thing: if they wanted to reach the ninth layer of Enlightenment Platform, Lin Mo might be the best opening!

A few minutes later, the fifty finalists successfully selected their challengers.

Twenty-three of them chose opponents from the top twenty of the Immortal List; the rest opted for safer targets, avoiding the ninth-layer prodigies.

Of those twenty-three, fifteen chose Lin Mo as their opponent.

He was the only one among the top ten on the Immortal List to be selected; the others targeted only those ranked lower in the ninth layer.

Seeing the golden challenge talismans before him, Lin Mo slowly rose from his seat, a faint smile curling at his lips.

Now—

Let the male guest counter-select!