First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 195: Beginning

"To think that one can still fake their disciple identity?"

Zhao Lingyin was surprised when she heard Shen Mo's explanation about the relevant procedures.

Soon, she raised her doubts: "If they can achieve such a level, why not allocate more resources to the two of you?"

The resources Zhao Lingyin mentioned were not just spiritual stones and elixirs.

They also included higher-grade techniques, magical tools, guidance from the peak's experts, and more special treatment.

Shen Mo chuckled.

It couldn't be said that the Star Peak didn't focus on cultivating the two of them.

At least in the past six months, Shen Mo's monthly salary was more generous than other disciples within the peak.

If he sought advice on cultivation matters from the elders within the peak, he would also receive careful guidance.

After all, the ranking in the Tian Shan Grand Ceremony concerned the interests of everyone in the sect.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that everyone would benefit from each other's success.

However, compared to Lu Ming, the support Shen Mo received seemed somewhat insignificant.

From what Shen Mo knew, Lu Ming not only received magical tools, thunder-based immortal arts, and thunder-based treasures, but also received personal guidance from the peak master.

The reason was simple: the ranking of the Tian Shan Grand Ceremony depended on who achieved better results between the two.

Lu Ming was a direct disciple of Zhou Shi Li and possessed the Thunder Spirit Body. He had far more advantages in terms of talent and age compared to Shen Mo. The sect favored him more and invested as many resources as possible in him, which was understandable.

As for Shen Mo, although he had recently risen in power and had impressive combat strength, in the eyes of the peak master Zhou Shi Li and others, he was probably just a helper to assist Lu Ming in achieving better results.

It wasn't just the Linjiang Sect that did this; the other four major sects had made similar arrangements.

Li Chen was the one with high expectations in the Ghost Corpse Sect, not Xun Tian.

Yang Chi was the one in the Seven Star Altar.

Xiao Ling'er was the one in the Yan Yue Sect.

Meng San Chi was the one in the Tian Jian Sect.

The other three newly emerged geniuses, like Shen Mo, were just accompanying runners.

"I still have more faith in Junior Brother Shen. Peak Master Zhou might have misjudged." After pondering for a while, Zhao Lingyin transmitted her voice.

She still vividly remembered the scene when she first met Shen Mo in the Alchemy Domain.

With her cultivation at the Sixth Layer of Qi Gathering Realm, she had no resistance against Shen Mo.

The slight killing intent he unintentionally revealed at that time still made Zhao Lingyin shudder when she recalled it.

"Dang!"

The elder from the Yan Yue Sect struck the Dao Bell.

The disciples on the square quieted down, and the atmosphere became solemn.

Then, the middle-aged woman who presided over the event, as usual, explained the origin and significance of the Tian Shan Grand Ceremony.

She encouraged many disciples of the sect to unite and resist the demonic calamity.

After reading the rules of the Tian Shan Grand Ceremony, she gestured to the powerful figures on the stone platform and struck the Dao Bell again.

"Dang!"

The Dao Bell resounded melodiously.

The voice of the elder from the Yan Yue Sect also reached Shen Mo and the others' ears.

"The Tian Shan Grand Ceremony begins!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Ten figures turned into streaks of light and flew towards the stone steps of Tian Shan.

"I wish Junior Brother Shen the best in this journey!"

Shen Mo caught sight of Zhao Lingyin. She was standing in the crowd, smiling and looking at him with shimmering eyes.

"Thank you, Senior Sister Lingyin."

After saying that, he focused his thoughts and a few middle-grade spiritual stones appeared in his hand, hidden within his sleeve.

Special destiny: [Insight into All Beings]!

As the spiritual stones turned into dust and scattered from his fingertips, detailed information slowly appeared before Shen Mo's eyes.

On the suspended stone platform, there were too many powerful experts in the Linghai Realm, making it inconvenient to extract information about the disciples' battles by using spirit stones.

Now that the competition has begun and they have left the stone platform, Shen Mo no longer has any concerns.

The disciples all had extremely fast sword control speeds and wanted to be the first to climb the stone steps.

There was a trick to it.

If someone considered themselves to be exceptionally strong, they could easily snatch the position of the front runner.

By withstanding the attacks of the later arrivals in the early stages and gradually distancing themselves from the others as they climbed higher on Tianshan Mountain, they would eliminate the biggest variable, which was competition.

As long as they kept climbing upwards, they would succeed.

The disciples who didn't think they could compete for the top spot also wanted to seize a relatively high position.

If they ended up being among the last ten people, even if they had exceptional strength, they would have to face more obstacles when moving forward, resulting in significant energy consumption.

Among the group of disciples, Shen Mo was probably ranked fourth among those who controlled their swords.

Ahead of him were Meng Sanchi from the Tianjian Sect, Li Chen from the Guishi Sect, and Lu Ming from the Linjiang Sect.

If he wanted to, Shen Mo could naturally snatch the position of the front runner.

However, through his ability "Insight into All Beings," he discovered that several people had means to harm him, and being the first to stand out would make him an easy target for focused attacks.

That's why he deliberately took a step back and secured the fourth position.

He would make his move later.

As for Lu Ming, there was no need to worry too much. As long as Meng Sanchi and Li Chen were defeated, it would be enough.

Shen Mo's plan was going well.

But the Tianshan Grand Ceremony was full of variables.

Xun Tian, who was ranked sixth, couldn't wait to climb Tianshan Mountain.

His speed suddenly increased, surpassing Xiao Linger, who was in the fifth position, and closely followed behind Shen Mo.

"Kid, did you think I was just boasting when I said you couldn't even climb a single step?" Xun Tian laughed wildly and directly slapped the black coffin on his back, throwing it in front of Shen Mo.

"Not this move again! Haven't you learned any new tricks in the past six months?" Shen Mo remained unfazed, and his sword, the Demon Slaying Sword, suddenly emitted a brilliant sword light, cutting the black coffin that was in front of him in half.

The Demon Slaying Sword was extremely sharp!

With the support of two powerful Body Refining Immortal Techniques, Shen Mo easily cut the coffin in half with a single sword strike.

Seeing this, Xun Tian's expression changed drastically.

He had always believed that he was only injured by the unknown Shen Mo due to a momentary lapse of judgment.

He had been brooding over this matter for the past six months!

Not only had his body and arrogance been damaged, but more importantly, since leaving the Mountain and River Realm, he had gradually fallen behind Li Chen, who was on par with him.

Although he had obtained a spot in the Tianshan Grand Ceremony, he had gained far fewer resources than Li Chen in the past six months, and his progress in strength had also lagged behind.

Xun Tian blamed all of this on Shen Mo.

He felt that the sword strike from Shen Mo was the beginning of his misfortune!

That's why he disregarded his master's instructions and was determined to trouble Shen Mo from the beginning of the competition.

But to his surprise, after a brief exchange, he realized the gap between the two of them.

While feeling shocked, his resentment grew even stronger.

"Dragon Tiger, come out!"

Xun Tian formed a seal with his hands and shouted in anger.

Immediately, the lid of the half-cut coffin flew off.

A corpse puppet as sturdy as an iron tower, emitting a destructive aura, jumped out of the coffin without any hesitation and swung its iron fist towards Shen Mo.

Xun Tian's cultivation aptitude was inferior to Li Chen's.

During the internal competition in the sect, he could fight Li Chen to a draw and share the first place, so he naturally had something to rely on.

That was this corpse puppet named "Dragon Tiger."

Since leaving the Mountain and River Realm, he had used seventy to eighty percent of the resources he obtained for cultivation on this corpse puppet, making it even more terrifying than half a year ago.

It could be said that most of his abilities were invested in this carefully crafted corpse puppet.

Originally, he had planned to use this corpse puppet to weaken the strength of the strongest competitor.

But now, he couldn't care about that anymore!

"I'll tear you apart and finally ease the hatred in my heart!"