Stepping into the Gate of Martial Arts

Hearing Lin Mo's words, Long Tianqi froze. Then, she could not help but frown and ask, "Then why didn't you just make your move right then?"

This question carried a bit of confusion, as well as a trace of urgency that she herself had not even noticed.

Lin Mo unhurriedly stroked his chin, his eyes revealing a playful look. "Doing it now is the same. It is just a soul search. I could even dig up the color of his underwear for you, it is just..."

He changed the subject, his gaze falling on Long Tianqi's face. "Are you sure there won't be any problems if I do this, Director Long?"

A single sentence, spoken lightly, yet it struck Long Tianqi's heart heavily like a weight.

With this one sentence, Lin Mo was actually confirming something. In this one-sided situation, was Long Tianqi standing on his side, or Xu Wendong's?

On a deeper level, it was about the complex and deeply-rooted Xu family behind Xu Wendong.

In terms of strength, the Xu family might be on par with the Chai family, but when it came to how troublesome they were, they surpassed them.

The Chai family were wolves. They were in charge of all military weapons and equipment, aggressive as fire.

The Xu family, however, were vines. They seemed harmless, but they had long since silently planted their roots into every corner of this massive machine.

They were responsible for training and selection. As the old saying goes, their students were all over the world. Their influence was maxed out.

Taking down Xu Wendong could disturb the entire web.

Long Tianqi's chest heaved slightly. After a long while, she met Lin Mo's gaze, speaking every word clearly and forcefully.

"You can make a move on Xu Wendong, but..."

"You need some time and space to deal with the fallout, right?" Lin Mo interrupted her.

He understood completely. Having searched through so many mixed memories, how could he not know what an important role Xu Wendong played in Long Tianqi's camp?

Often, Xu Wendong was her sharpest blade and her most loyal supporter. To personally snap her own blade, such a decision required more than just courage.

This was exactly why Lin Mo had not directly taken action.

After all, Long Tianqi was his ally, and she had some knowledge of the Ancestral Dragon, so Lin Mo gave her some time to buffer.

Mainly, he could genuinely feel Long Tianqi's goodwill toward him. Therefore, he would not throw her under the bus.

Long Tianqi thought carefully and finally nodded. "Right, give me some time to prepare. Most importantly, I don't know who can be trusted and who cannot."

"Oh?" Lin Mo raised his eyebrows, amused. "After all this, you are just using me as a human lie detector?"

Having her thoughts exposed, Long Tianqi did not show the slightest embarrassment on her face. Instead, she met his gaze with self-assurance.

"No matter what... I need to have a group of people I can trust."

"That previous group of people was pretty good..." Before Lin Mo could finish.

Long Tianqi handed over a list. "Those are people from the operations team. I still need to verify more people."

Lin Mo suddenly felt like he was playing a game of Werewolf, holding the Seer card. Except, his version of the Seer was invincible.

Taking the list, Lin Mo did not start working right away. After all, he could not just work for free.

He could not give the system's resources to Yu Ling and the others, but Yanhuang Awakening had quite a few resources in this regard.

Moreover, Lin Mo had already scanned the data of the Yanhuang Awakening headquarters and knew there were many materials here that could be used for artifact forging and alchemy.

This was good. Now he could consider how to fleece Long Tianqi.

Since the message had been delivered, Lin Mo prepared to head straight back to the training base. Whenever Long Tianqi was ready, he would take Xu Wendong's life.

The premise was that Long Tianqi would not alert the enemy.

--System: What are you mumbling about? Go soul search!--

Evening self-study.

Xie Yuling rested her chin on one hand while the other swiped across her phone screen.

On the screen was a photo Lin Mo had just sent.

White walls, rulers, a blackboard bulletin. Lin Mo sat seriously at a desk, with a thick textbook spread open in front of him, its contents unknown.

Chu Miaomiao sat nearby and could see it too, so she leaned over to look together.

"This training base looks like a cram school."

Xie Yuling nodded as well. "I think so too."

Her fingertips flew as she quickly typed a line of text.

"Meow Meow and I both think your place looks like a cram school."

Lin Mo replied very quickly.

"It is actually pretty similar. The teachers here explain ways to solve problems that you wouldn't see in a regular school."

"Then do your best ヾ(◍°∇°◍)ﾉﾞ"

After sending this, Xie Yuling felt that this emoticon seemed a bit inappropriate, so she added another sentence.

"That last one was sent by Meow Meow."

"I totally believe you."

"Believe it or not, I don't care."

Putting away her phone, Xie Yuling hummed softly, her gaze falling on Jiang Yunlu's empty seat.

Ever since Lin Mo went to Tianjing, Jiang Yunlu had applied to skip evening self-study.

Xie Yuling knew who Jiang Yunlu's mother was, so naturally, she guessed that Jiang Yunlu might have started cultivating as well.

So she had to work hard on her cultivation too!

An inexplicable sense of urgency wrapped around her heart like vines.

At this very moment, in the Jiang family's luxury flat.

The flat was completely silent, heavy curtains blocking out the afternoon sun.

Jiang Yunlu sat cross-legged on the soft, large bed, her eyes tightly shut, fine beads of sweat seeping from the tip of her nose.

She could see them.

In the air, those faintly glowing particles, invisible to the naked eye, floated like dust, filling the entire room.

Following her mother's instructions, she carefully extended her senses, attempting to touch one of the strands.

"Focus your mind, calm your breath, don't be impatient."

Situ Yunshu's voice sounded from the side, steady and clear, carrying a soothing power.

She looked at her daughter's tense back, her eyes holding approval, but also a trace of solemnity.

Two days.

In just two days, Yunlu was able to perceive the existence of heaven and earth spiritual energy. This level of talent, even within the Situ family, was considered above average.

But perceiving it and converting it for one's own use were two entirely different concepts.

Jiang Yunlu's consciousness at this moment was like using an invisible, thin thread to guide a swarm of mischievous fireflies.

Those specks of light were agile and lively; the slightest distraction and they would slip away.

Once, twice...

After an unknown number of failures, she finally used her willpower to slowly pull a faint stream of qi into her body.

As soon as that stream of qi entered her body, it rampaged around, bringing a tingling, numbing prickle of pain.

Jiang Yunlu let out a muffled groan, the sweat on her forehead multiplying.

"Guard your mind, circulate your cultivation technique, and guide it!" Situ Yunshu's voice suddenly turned strict.

Jiang Yunlu gritted her teeth, silently reciting the cultivation incantations her mother had taught her, using all her strength to wrap around and tame that disobedient stream of qi.

When this stream of qi stumbled its way through a complete cycle along the technique's meridians, it suddenly sank heavily.

Boom.

It was as if something exploded in her lower abdomen, and a warm current instantly spread to her limbs and bones.

A wisp of warm, gentle aura settled peacefully and steadily into her Dantian's sea of qi.

She succeeded!

Jiang Yunlu suddenly opened her eyes.

In an instant, the entire world transformed.

Wherever she looked, every single vein on the leaves of the potted pothos on the windowsill was impossibly clear. Even the fine specks of dust dancing in the air were vividly distinct.

Situ Yunshu walked over to the bed and handed her a cup of warm water.

"Can you feel it?"

Jiang Yunlu nodded blankly as she took the cup.

Only then did a trace of a genuine smile grace Situ Yunshu's lips.

"This is only the first step."

"From this day forward, you have truly stepped through the gates of a martial artist."