Gu Mo's layered concealnt technique was so deceptive that even Golden Core cultivators—let alone stronger ones—could be easily fooled if they weren't paying close attention.
After all, most would instinctively assu that the hidden cultivation level was the real one. Very few would suspect there might be yet another level concealed beneath it.
And this wasn't even the technique's limit. If Gu Mo could fully master the Concealnt Technique, he could layer it multiple tis, making it nearly impossible for anyone to discern his true cultivation.
"Now, all disciples, co forward and draw your lots," He Shaogang called out as his gaze swept over the forty or so participants. He then brought out a box.
At his words, the disciples approached one by one to draw their lots.
When Gu Mo stepped forward, He Shaogang's smile remained unchanged, though the killing intent in his eyes never faded. He longed to eliminate Gu Mo—so long as Gu Mo lived, he would always be a threat hanging over He Shaogang's head.
But after today, all of that should finally co to an end.
"Number 1."
Gu Mo glanced at the wooden lot he drew. His expression remained calm, even though the number ant he would be the first to compete—and his opponent was a peak Qi Refining cultivator.
After learning that He Shaogang was presiding over the tournant, Gu Mo had already expected so underhanded tactics. Seeing this confird it.
But in the face of overwhelming strength, all sches and plots were aningless.
Once the drawing ended, the others withdrew from the arena, leaving only Gu Mo and a white-haired outer sect disciple behind. When the crowd saw who was matched for the first bout, many wore looks of disbelief.
Was this a battle between the strongest and the weakest?
If peak Qi Refining was the strongest level in the outer sect tournant, then Gu Mo's displayed second-layer Qi Refining was without question the weakest.
Still, Gu Mo had made it past the initial selection. He couldn't be completely ordinary.
"Begin!"
He Shaogang announced the match's start before stepping back. Indeed, he had manipulated the match-up to make things difficult for Gu Mo.
However, he hadn't conspired with the peak Qi Refining disciple to deliver a fatal blow. The reason was simple—this tournant was being held under the watchful eyes of the Sect Leader and the peak lords. If anything went wrong, the Sect Leader would surely intervene.
With talent already scarce in the sect, they wouldn't risk losing a promising disciple during the tournant.
Since such a plot was dood to fail, He Shaogang wouldn't act rashly. If he ever made a move, it would be a sure kill—he'd never give Gu Mo another chance.
"Junior Brother, show what you've got." Ao Kaifu said as he looked at the young Gu Mo before him.
A peak Qi Refining cultivator going up against soone in early Qi Refining? It was a guaranteed win. Even if Gu Mo had a hidden trump card, could he possibly leap two major stages to defeat him?
"I ask for your guidance."
Gu Mo cupped his hands respectfully and then cast a Small Fla Wave.
When the onlookers saw this technique, many nearly burst into laughter. Using a farming technique in combat—only soone like Gu Mo would think of that.
Ao Kaifu, who had been expecting Gu Mo to unveil so shocking trump card, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in amusent when he saw it was just a Small Fla Wave.
He'd already given Gu Mo the courtesy of striking first to avoid being accused of bullying a junior. Unfortunately, Gu Mo had wasted the opportunity.
"This ends now."
Ao Kaifu summoned his flying sword and unleashed a swift slash using the Sword Control Technique he had trained in for years. The blade transford into a streak of light as it sliced toward Gu Mo. Yet Gu Mo rely tilted his body slightly, dodging the strike with ease. What looked like a lightning-fast blow seed slow as molasses to Gu Mo, whose divine sense had already awakened.
"Huh?"
Ao Kaifu blinked in surprise.
As soone who had spent many years at the peak of Qi Refining, Ao Kaifu had no shortage of combat experience. But Gu Mo had effortlessly evaded his attack.
Was it a fluke?
Everyone watching had that thought flash through their minds.
"It had to be a fluke."
Ao Kaifu took a deep breath and prepared to strike again, but by then, the Small Fla Wave was already barreling toward him with scorching heat.
"Sothing's off!"
As the fire wave neared, Ao Kaifu suddenly realized sothing was wrong. A spell cast by a second-layer Qi Refining cultivator shouldn't pose any threat to soone at the peak of Qi Refining. And yet, this fire wave radiated danger.
Gu Mo's spiritual energy had reached a fog-like state, the sa level as Ao Kaifu's own. Which ant that Gu Mo's attack should be considered on par with a peak Qi Refining cultivator's.
That's right—Gu Mo's offensive power had already reached the level of a true peak Qi Refining expert. When he advanced to the late stage of Qi Refining, his already ninefold foundation had surged once again, reaching twelvefold.
With a twelvefold foundation and fog-state spiritual energy, Gu Mo—though only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining—possessed the full combat power of a peak Qi Refining cultivator.
And this wasn't just any peak Qi Refining. Combined with his divine sense, which surpassed his current realm, Gu Mo had compressed and concealed the true force of the Small Fla Wave. On the surface, it appeared to be a weak farming spell. But buried within was a deadly trap.
Boom!
By the ti Ao Kaifu realized the fla wave was dangerous, he had already missed his chance to dodge. He had no choice but to brace for impact.
In an instant, the seemingly ordinary Small Fla Wave exploded with a power that left everyone in the audience dumbstruck.
"Did any of you see what technique that kid used?" Atop the peak, Gao Yunrui turned to the other Golden Core elders beside him.
He had noticed sothing strange about the spell the mont Gu Mo released it. But he couldn't figure out how Gu Mo, with only sixth-layer Qi Refining, had pushed a farming technique's power to such a level.
The other elders all shook their heads in response.
It wasn't that their perception was lacking, but that they'd all fallen into the sa trap. They assud Gu Mo must have used so secret technique or hidden artifact to boost his spell. None of them considered that the power ca from Gu Mo himself.
Thanks to his perfected Concealnt Technique and its layered misdirection, they all believed Gu Mo's true cultivation was sixth-layer Qi Refining. That belief led them away from the truth—making it impossible for them to recognize Gu Mo's true strength.
While Gao Yunrui and the other elders discussed, the battle below drew to a close.
"I—I…"
Ao Kaifu stared blankly at the blade of energy pressed against his throat. He, a peak Qi Refining cultivator, had actually lost to soone supposedly at—
His gaze locked onto Gu Mo. He no longer knew what cultivation level the young man truly possessed.
But one thing was certain: he had lost this match—and with it, his last chance to change his fate. In another decade or so, he'd be dust in the ground. The bitterness welled up in his heart, and murderous intent flared.
"I concede!"
Fortunately, the sharp pain at his throat snapped him back to his senses. Had he made any sudden move, the sword energy would have sliced off his head instantly. He could feel it clearly—the sword energy was even stronger than the fla wave earlier.
"Well fought."
Seeing his opponent admit defeat, Gu Mo withdrew his sword energy and cupped his hands respectfully.
And just like that, the first match of the outer sect tournant ended—leaving most of the crowd in stunned disbelief. But not everyone was surprised. Yuan Niya and Chu Feifei, who were also watching, had expected nothing less.
They knew Gu Mo's true strength. His victory ca as no surprise—if anything, he had held back.
If Gu Mo truly unleashed his full power, even Foundation Establishnt cultivators wouldn't be able to withstand it—let alone soone at peak Qi Refining.
"What just happened?"
He Shaogang, who had originally been looking forward to watching Gu Mo make a fool of himself, now felt no such amusent. The strength Gu Mo had just displayed had far exceeded his expectations.
Given the circumstances, He Shaogang had no choice but to act ahead of schedule—before Gu Mo was officially admitted as an inner disciple.
"[First match of the outer sect tournant: Gu Mo wins!]"
Though his mind was racing, He Shaogang continued to preside over the tournant with steady composure.
"[Now, let the second match begin—]"
"Please wait!"
Just as He Shaogang was about to announce the start of the second match, Ye Yuqi strode quickly into the arena and shouted.
"What's going on?"
Still reeling from the shock of Gu Mo defeating a peak Qi Refining cultivator, the crowd looked on in confusion as the third core disciple, Ye Yuqi, interrupted the outer sect tournant. What now?
"Junior Brother Ye, this is the outer sect competition. Don't cause a disturbance," He Shaogang said with a stern expression.
"Disciple Ye Yuqi has an urgent matter to report to the Sect Master and the elders!" Facing He Shaogang's piercing gaze, Ye Yuqi took a deep breath and bowed toward the peak.
"What is it?"
Gao Yunrui appeared on the square. Normally, he wouldn't bother with reports from ordinary disciples—at most, he'd send a steward to handle it. But Ye Yuqi was a core disciple. When a core disciple spoke, not even the Sect Master could ignore it.
"Sect Master, this disciple has uncovered a group of demonic cultivators within the sect!" Ye Yuqi took a deep breath and recited the lines he'd practiced many tis.
"Are you certain?"
Gao Yunrui fixed his gaze on Ye Yuqi, seeking confirmation.
He had already suspected the sect harbored a traitor after the ambush during the core disciple trials and had secretly investigated the elders and stewards—but turned up nothing. Now, with Ye Yuqi claiming he had found demonic cultivators within the sect, it seed almost certain this was connected to the ambush.
"Absolutely!" Ye Yuqi swallowed nervously under the oppressive aura of a peak Golden Core cultivator.
"Where are they?"
Gao Yunrui frowned slightly. He also felt a twinge of frustration—why hadn't Ye Yuqi reported such a grave matter in private? Now that it had been announced publicly, what if the hidden demonic cultivators caught wind and fled?
"I've already apprehended them," Ye Yuqi said with a bow.
"?"
Ye Yuqi's words stunned Gao Yunrui and the nearby elders. Upon hearing that demonic cultivators had infiltrated the sect, several peak lords imdiately erged, prepared to assist in the capture—even if it ant a major battle.
But Ye Yuqi claid they'd already been captured. Given Ye Yuqi's strength, that suggested the demonic cultivators weren't particularly powerful.
"Bring them forward!"
While Gao Yunrui and the elders were still processing this, Ye Yuqi waved his hand. A mont later, several disciples from the Discipline Hall led a few nial disciples into the square.
Gao Yunrui grabbed one of the nial disciples and used his spiritual sense to examine him. Soon, he confird the truth—this person really was a demonic cultivator.
But if they were just low-level demonic cultivators hiding among the nial disciples, what could they really do? There had to be soone pulling the strings.
"Sect Master, these are just the ones I've apprehended so far. I believe more are still hiding in the sect. According to my investigation, most of them are nial disciples whose cultivation has advanced unusually fast. Their demonic techniques focus on rapid improvent. If we examine the cultivation records of nial disciples with suspiciously fast progress, I'm certain we can root them all out," Ye Yuqi explained in detail.
His words jolted the crowd, who had been stunned by the sudden revelation. They quickly began whispering among themselves, speculating on who the remaining demonic cultivators might be.
Before long, Gu Mo's na began to surface in hushed tones.
After all, among all the nial disciples in recent years, none had achieved more than Gu Mo. Once an unremarkable nial disciple, he had beco an outer disciple and was now on the verge of joining the inner sect—after just a few short years. To rise so teorically, it was hard not to suspect he had used so sort of demonic technique.
Hearing his na echoed through the crowd, Gu Mo finally realized what was happening. He had expected He Shaogang to make a move against him but hadn't known how. Now it was clear.
Though Ye Yuqi was the one who'd made the move, Gu Mo was certain He Shaogang was behind it—or at the very least, they were working together. Otherwise, how could Ye Yuqi have found these demonic cultivators among the nial ranks so easily?
But once the initial shock passed, Gu Mo quickly regained his composure. This plan was dood to fail—after all, he had never practiced any demonic techniques. No matter how much filth they tried to fling at him, it wouldn't stick.
"It's done."
As Gu Mo's na began to circulate among the crowd, He Shaogang knew the plan had succeeded. To ensnare Gu Mo, he had sacrificed every piece he had painstakingly cultivated over the years.
It pained him to see so many years of effort wiped away—but if it ant eliminating Gu Mo, it was all worth it. Let's see how Gu Mo explains this now that he's been branded a demonic cultivator. Hopefully, the Sect Master will crush him with a single slap—nice and clean.
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