"Cousin, please wait a moment." Seeing Lin Mo about to strike with a punch, Lin Chen quickly intervened.
"What is it now? Do you have something else to say?" Lin Mo's face darkened, spiritual energy surging in his palm. He was clearly ready to strike at Lin Chen at any moment.
Stepping back a few paces, Lin Chen hastily explained, "Cousin, the record on the Star Pillar isn't mine. Last night, I sensed an extremely pure surge of spiritual energy. After absorbing it, I immediately fell unconscious. I only woke up this morning."
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes, giving Lin Chen a disdainful look. Clearly, he didn't believe a single word of it.
"Please, cousin, you must believe me. If you don't, you can check for yourself—I don't have the token on me," Lin Chen hurriedly continued, fumbling through his pockets.
All eyes turned toward him. In front of everyone, a gleaming token appeared in Lin Chen's hand. Upon seeing this, Lin Chen stood frozen in shock.
As for Lin Mo, his rage boiled over. Not only did Lin Chen use him as a stepping stone to flaunt himself, but now he was being made a fool of as well.
Spiritual energy swirled, and a fireball instantly formed in Lin Mo's hand. But just as it was about to strike, a hand reached out and firmly gripped his wrist.
Lin Mo snapped his head around, and the anger in his eyes vanished instantly. The person who had stopped him wasn't anyone else but his uncle, Lin Xinxing.
"What are you all standing around for? Leave now," Lin Xinxing said, casting an irritated glance at the gathering of young disciples.
Hearing this, the others quickly dispersed, leaving only Lin Mo, Lin Chen, and Lin Xinxing in front of the library.
"Uncle, don't stop me. I'm going to finish off this brat," Lin Mo spat, his anger still burning.
"Enough, don't push your luck," Lin Xinxing waved his hand in dismissal. "Do you really think you can still touch him?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Mo's face changed in an instant. He hadn't expected things to take this turn. His eyes widened in disbelief as he glanced at Lin Chen. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and walked away without another word.
"The family head gave you a month. Whether you live or die after that will depend on your own fate." With that, Lin Xinxing left.
Sitting on the ground, Lin Chen gasped for air, despair filling his eyes. While others didn't know whether he had reached the eighth layer of hidden power, he was all too aware. He knew that even if given a month or even a year, he would be unable to produce anything of substance.
But while Lin Chen was drowning in frustration, Lin Tian, the one behind all this, was grinning with delight. After a night of tireless effort and expending six hundred spiritual stones, he now had thirty bottles of spiritual liquid—enough to allow him to break through to the third layer of Qi Refining.
However, Lin Tian still had more pressing matters at hand. Finding a secluded spot, he donned his cloak and headed towards the Dragon City Merchant Guild.
It must be said that Tu Xiaoyao's friends were incredibly efficient. Within just a day, all the parts he needed had been flawlessly crafted. Moreover, the quality of the parts exceeded his expectations by far.
"Manager Tu, I wonder if you could prepare a quiet room for me?" After thoroughly inspecting the parts, Lin Tian spoke.
"Of course, no problem," Tu Xiaoyao replied with a wave of his hand, and a quiet room was swiftly arranged.
Once inside, Lin Tian eagerly began assembling the parts in front of him. In no time, a spirit force gun was assembled. After pouring the spiritual liquid from the jade vials into the gun, a satisfied smile spread across Lin Tian's face.
Although the spirit force gun wasn't of the highest grade, when its power was set to the maximum, it could unleash a force comparable to that of a peak Qi Refining practitioner. At the very least, it would give him enough strength to protect himself in Yunze Township.
"Little brother, is this the spirit weapon you've so carefully crafted?" Tu Xiaoyao, upon seeing the gun, looked at it with a trace of confusion in his eyes.
Generally speaking, spirit weapons, as one of the cultivator's main tools, either possessed powerful defensive capabilities or formidable offensive strength. But the object in Lin Tian's hands seemed to have no defensive abilities and no sharpness. In Tu Xiaoyao's eyes, it looked like nothing more than a useless lump of iron.
"Manager Tu, would you care to give it a try?" Lin Tian smiled faintly upon hearing Tu Xiaoyao's words. Initially, he had planned to test the gun in an open area, but since Tu Xiaoyao had expressed interest, he couldn't miss the opportunity to let him experience the power of the spirit force gun.
"Since you insist, little brother, I suppose I'll give it a go," Tu Xiaoyao replied with a slight smile, agreeing to the challenge.
However, though his words indicated willingness, his true intent wasn't to test the spirit force gun but to learn more about Lin Tian.
When he first met Lin Tian, he noticed that there was no spiritual energy fluctuation coming from him. Despite his own considerable cultivation, he couldn't see through Lin Tian's true level.
And whenever a cultivator used a spirit weapon, they would inevitably channel their spiritual energy. As long as Lin Tian used his energy, Tu Xiaoyao believed he could figure out his cultivation.
"Well then, Manager Tu, you should be careful," Lin Tian said, pressing the switch. A red dot appeared, locking onto Tu Xiaoyao.
Tu Xiaoyao smiled casually, his expression relaxed, but his eyes never left Lin Tian. Clearly, the moment he sensed anything unusual, he would unleash his spiritual energy in response.
Staring at Tu Xiaoyao, Lin Tian showed no hesitation. He pulled the trigger, and in the next moment, a powerful burst of energy erupted from the spirit force gun.
Tu Xiaoyao had been focused entirely on Lin Tian, so he hadn't noticed the anomaly in the gun until it was too late. By the time he sensed the surge of energy, it was already too late.
The distance between them was short, and Tu Xiaoyao's reaction was half a beat too slow. Before he could activate his spiritual energy, he only felt an overwhelming force strike him, sending his body hurtling through the air.
With a loud crash, Tu Xiaoyao slammed into the wall, embedded deep within it.