"Kid, there's no end to your arrogance!"
"Too arrogant! You look down on us too much!"
"Since he wants to die, we'll send him to his grave!"
"…"
The disciples of the Scorching Sun Sect yelled one after another, all wearing expressions of distaste.
Being disciples of the Scorching Sun Sect, they had never met anyone who dared to look down on them or their sect.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
More than 20 disciples rushed out at once, besieging Su Mo.
"This kid is dead! Even if he doesn't die, he'll surely be crippled!"
"Let's move further away."
The crowd took several steps backward, making space for the fight.
"Senior Brother Su…"
Zhou Xin, Niu Xiaohu, and Li Feng clenched their teeth in anxiety. They were about to rush up to lend Su Mo a hand.
"Stay where you are."
Su Mo growled at his friends to stay and glanced at the disciples of the Scorching Sun Sect before him. "These nobodies aren't enough worth a mention!"
"What arrogance!"
"Let's gang up and kill him!"
"Kill!"
The disciples of the Scorching Sun Sect rose up one after another, breaking the sky with their attacks of fist shadows, saber radiance, palm prints, and the like.
Puff!
When those attacks reached Su Mo, his figure instantly vanished.
It was his residual shadow!
Whoosh!
In the next month, he had already leaped behind several of the disciples. With a punch, he knocked four of them away.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Su Mo's figure flickered in and out of sight. Some of his opponents would be thrown away each time he dashed past them, coughing up blood.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His every punch met his opponents' vital points, causing them to be knocked away in sequence while screaming.
"Damn! This guy is too freaking awesome!"
"That speed! It's peerless!"
The crowd watched in astonishment. No wonder the guy was so arrogant; he had every reason to be.
"Serial Killing Array!"
A Scorching Sun Sect disciple yelled, after seeing his fellow disciples succumb to their injuries and quit the battle.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just then, about eight disciples of the Scorching Sun Sect moved into place and created a magic formation.
Thanks to the formation, their attacks began to complement each other as they watched each other's backs. They struck at the same time formidably in an airtight formation.
"Serial Killing Array! It's their sect's exclusive technique!"
"It's said to be a powerful Joint Attack Method. If performed properly, it won't be a problem to kill opponents who are way stronger."
"This Gale Island boy is in trouble now!"
Recognizing the Joint Attack Method, the crowd began to discuss about Su Mo's impending defeat.
"Senior Brother Su Mo!"
Su Mo's friends watched the arena nervously. Though they wanted to help, their weak strength meant they would only be dragging Su Mo down if they went up.
On the arena, there were numerous traces of Su Mo's residual shadows as he dodged his opponents' attacks. He stopped when he saw the formation.
"Joint Attack Method?"
Su Mo chuckled and calmly added, "In the face of absolute power, everything is a fabrication."
He unsheathed his sword with a clang and the sharp sword Qi intertwining with the sword radiance rose up the sky.
"Break!" Su Mo shouted and did not back down.
His sword radiance scattered everywhere and pierced the sky.
"Sword Essence of Wind Devil!"
The incomparably sharp sword essence swept away all the attacks, tearing them into pieces.
With just one strike, the Joint Attack Method was broken apart.
"Blood Rain of Wind Devil!"
With another flash of sword radiance, countless rays of sword Qi flew to the void as if it was raining swords.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
"Ahhh!"
The sword rain pierced several of the Scorching Sun Sect disciples, creating gaping holes in their flesh. Blood spewed from their wounds as they cried in pain and immediately retreated.
Clang!
Su Mo returned his sword to its sheath and sneered at the fleeing men. "Do you still want to continue?"
No one responded as the disciples exchanged glances. All of them wore incredibly unpleasant expressions and in their eyes was an unconcealed fear.
No one dared to open their mouths.
This man was too strong!
He was completely out of their league.
They could wait for their senior brothers of higher cultivation to defeat Su Mo and rinse all their disgrace.
"Let's go!"
Seeing as no one had anything else to say, Su Mo left with his friends.
Once they disappeared out of sight, the crowd burst into an uproar.
"How could that guy be so powerful?"
"He's definitely someone important on the Gale Island!"
"He must've hidden his cultivation! He's definitely a Lv 5 Spiritual Martial Realm expert!"
Some disciples of the other sects began questioning the disciples of the Gale Island about Su Mo.
…
"Haha! How satisfying! It feels too good!"
Li Feng couldn't help laughing heartily after they returned to their courtyard.
"Definitely! The guys from the Scorching Sun Sect are so arrogant and tyrannical. Now that they've received such a harsh lesson, they'll probably restrain themselves!"
Zhou Xin and Niu Xiaohu looked excited, too.
The three of them looked at Su Mo, eyes full of reverence.
Though all of them had just joined the Gale Island this year, Su Mo's progression had greatly surpassed the other three.
Even Li Feng, who had always regarded himself as a talent, often lamented how his strength was nothing compared to his friend's.
"That's enough. You should go back and mend your injuries."
With that reminder, the three of them went back to take care of their wounds.
Back in his room, Su Mo released his Devouring Martial Spirit to absorb Spiritual Qi and began to cultivate his Elephant's Strength Skill.
He had never taken cultivation lightly and was always hardworking.
He could only meet Xi'er and challenge Shangguan Hao in the Central Continent if he rapidly improved and progressed within five years.
He didn't know how advanced Shangguan Hao's cultivation was, but it was sure to be unfathomable as he was the successor of a super sect.
He was sure Shangguan Hao's cultivation wasn't beneath that of the Four Talents of the Skymoon Country.
Shangguan Hao, however, was only 16 or 17, much younger than Four Talents of Skymoon Country. How far would he go in five years then?
So he had no choice but to work hard!
While he was making progress, so were others.
The days spent in monotonous cultivation went by slowly.
Three days later, a guard from the Mansion of City Governor came to inform all the disciples from the four sects to gather in the martial practice field.
"Let's go and take a look!"
Su Mo, together with his three friends, once again came to the martial practice field.
There were nearly 400 vigorous young men assembled on the field.
Standing in four different directions, the disciples were visibly divided into their sects.
The Scorching Sun Sect made up the bulk of the disciples there, with about 200 disciples in total. The Sky Yuan Sect came second with over 100 disciples.
The Sky Rapier Sect and the Gale Island had the least amount of disciples, each having only about 40 or 50 disciples.
"Eh?"
When Su Mo glanced at the disciples of the Gale Island, he couldn't help his shock. He had noticed some familiar faces.
First was Luo Qianfan in his usual snow-white robe.
Second was Cao Yuan, one of the five talents among the new disciples.
Third was Yu Xiong of the Fight Alliance.
He didn't expect Luo Qianfan would also come to the Guanwu City.
During the Qingyuan Trial Test, he had once fought along with Luo Qianfan. Luo Qianfan's excellent archery skills were still fresh in his memory.
He never saw Luo Qianfan again after the trial test ended.
Su Mo didn't pay much attention to Cao Yuan.
He turned his gaze toward Yu Xiong, eyes gleaming with coldness.
Yu Xiong had once invited Su Mo to join the Fight Alliance and attacked him when he refused.
Just then, Yu Xiong also spotted Su Mo. When their eyes met, the former harrumphed and looked away.
Su Mo sneered and stopped paying him any mind. He walked toward Luo Qianfan.
"Look, it's him! He's the one who overwhelmed the Scorching Sun Sect disciples a few days ago. The fight was incredibly aggressive!"
"Huh, overwhelmed the Scorching Sun Sect disciples? That was just luck! He just hadn't met any of the sect's experts!"
"That's right! Some of the most outstanding disciples from the four sects had left for the Zhennan City. Only a minority is here."
Whispers came from the direction of the Sky Yuan Sect disciples as they discussed Su Mo.
Those who had witnessed his invincible strength last time admired him a lot, while those who didn't were full of disdain for him.
With his perceptiveness, Su Mo naturally heard what they were saying about him but it didn't bother him.
He didn't care for what others thought of him.
Speech was never a yardstick to measure strength.