Li Mo arrived on the roof of Experts Alliance’s headquarters to find 17 buffed guys sprawled on the ground.
Li Mo scowled, went downstairs, and looked for a quiet corner to make a ‘checkpoint’ with low earth qi jade then use a mid earth qi jade to return home in Feng City.
Lodging in the headquarters was simply horrendous. Heading home and relax was a much better option.
In the living room, Mite Snow and Millie Snow were caught in one of their rare moments of sitting on the couch. They and Su Qingyi were watching TV, with the girl in white sitting quietly at the side engrossed in her book.
Ye Xiaolu was lazily floating about, but at least she was civil enough to not disturb the others.
“Master’s back.” The snow people welcomed him.
“Lil’ Mo, where’s the vessel you promised me? I’m so bored staying like this.”
Ye Xiaolu flew over as well.
“When did I promise you a body again?”
“Ahem, you said on that day just as you fell asleep.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Yep, a true fact!”
“Oh, then I will help you when I have the time.”
“Thank you…”
Ye Xiaolu flew in circles from the excitement.
The girl in white nodded at him and resumed reading.
Li Mo said to Ye Xiaolu, “Stand guard tonight. I want to refine a magic weapon.”
“No prob. As long as you promise me a body, I am your most capable Warding Shadow God!”
Li Mo went into the study.
Li Mo turned the soft metal into powder. The ignorant would sprinkle it around, which was such a waste. Its true use was to make talismans.
The powder would be sprinkled over a talisman to make the most of it.
Li Mo finished with pulverizing the soft metal and took out the Hundred Layered Sacred Steel.
He didn’t need tools, only his own two hands to refine the Hundred Layered Sacred Steel into any shape his mind could think of.
Fortune of Heaven and Earth Art could manipulate the world itself, let alone a mere Hundred Layered Sacred Steel.
In the process of refining, multicolored lights started filling the study. Ye Xiaolu peeked inside and the light that hit her made her soul release smoke, scaring her into getting out.
The light show in the study kept up for the better time of the night. Only when dawn broke did Li Mo finally formed a rough shape.
It resembled a jar. Despite all the multicolored lights that shine the entire night, the jar was a dull gray and extremely ordinary.
“Finished? Just a jar?” Ye Xiaolu floated inside.
Li Mo looked beat, straining to even speak, “I want to use the Hundred Layered Sacred Steel to refine a personal magic weapon. How can such an item be refined so quickly.”
“How long will it take? Two-three days?”
“Forty nine days in total. I only gave it form and still need sky fire, heavenly lightning, essence, blood essence, a true soul, spirituality…”
“Ahhhh…” Ye Xiaolu ran around while holding her head.
She never really cared about Li Mo’s magic weapon. She just wanted a body. Since Li Mo would take ages with the magic weapon, wouldn’t her body issue be thrown aside?
“Good luck, I know you can do it.” Ye Xiaolu had a wooden expression.
Li Mo put away the jar and was back to Experts Alliance headquarters through an earth qi jade.
The sky began to brighten but people had long been awake since the rooms were horrible. They were all outside among weeds, training.
“Li Mo, where were you last night? I looked all over for you.” Li Mo went into the yard and Zheng Wufang welcomed him.
Li Mo said, “Is there a need for me to say it?”
Zheng Wufang laughed, “Of course not. The rooms are a bit lacking but the air sure is good.”
“See there?”
Li Mo looked where he pointed to see a fancy red sports car parked next to Lan Tianci’s golden sports car.
“Yesterday I thought it to be young master Lan’s friend’s. Only later I heard the truth. Can you guess whose it is?”
Li Mo said, “Not interested.”
“H-how can you be such a wet blanket?”
“That sports car belongs to Mobei Province base’s leader, Fei Yanlai.”
“Mobei Province is one of the four strongest bases. Their leader, Fei Yanlai, is a woman that ten years ago rose to the fourth level.
“The fourth level!” Zheng Wufang emphasized.
Li Mo eyed the sports car.
He never heard of any Fei Yanlai, but he vaguely recalled the buffed guy from last night saying something about being from the Mobei Province.
“Isn’t the sports car a clear breach of rules here? But do you know why isn’t anyone making a fuss? Power, my friend. Fei Yanlai’s power is so high that no one dared to slight her.
“Xixiang Province and Tiannan Province’s people didn’t come here, you know. They live in a luxurious hotel in the capital. Chuan Province’s people came here but only in formality to report their arrival. They left soon after. Where, nobody knows.”
“There’s only a few days until the testing. Are you saying they can go wherever at such a time?”
“Of course not. The headquarters’ men are making random checks and if they find someone absent without proper cause, they’ll be eliminated on the spot.”
Zheng Wufang whispered, “You better be careful. While you were away last night, they came to our room, but I managed to lie my way out for you.”
“Thanks.”
“No need to be so uppity, we’re from the same base. Who will help us out here if not ourselves?”
Li Mo felt very much put off by Zheng Wufang’s casual laughter.
In the endless war that lasted six centuries and the constant struggles that encompassed, from all the people that left Earth, only seven could call themselves truly strong. And Zheng Wufang was one of them.
‘If only it isn’t him.’ Li Mo hoped.
“Well, well, well. If it ain’t the punk that challenged our spot last night!”
Li Mo looked up to see the buffed guy with birthmark grinning at him.
“You mean he’s the kid from last night?”
“Did you make a mistake perhaps? Did this pipsqueak really had you come running to us in fear?”
Next to the buffed guy, five more equally buffed men came. Mobei Province was barren, and the people there were usually of high stature.
The birthmark guy said, “I only called you then to look at how I mess him up. How should I know this kid was so scared he left?”
Then proceeded to taunt Li Mo, “Kiddie, will you come tonight?”
“No.”
Li Mo left. He still had his magic weapon to concern himself with, not waste time with muscle-bound thugs.
“Ha-ha-ha, he’s a chicken”
“Old Ji, you’re so mean to go and mess with little kids.”
“My bad, my bad, ha-ha-ha…”
Mobei Province’s team left laughing.
This event happened in the open, and the crowd started commenting about Li Mo.
In no time at all, the Shenjing base got famous.
People started to ridicule Li Mo once they found out how easy he earned his spot. Then there was Frozone Sun Wei’s indecency and constant position. Not to mention Shi Zhenqiang and his farts. Everything was now an open secret.
Of the Shenjing base’s four, only Zheng Wufang was normal. But everyone lost interest in him when they found out his level.
A mere mid first level expert was perhaps a tad stronger than average, but that advantage was useless in the headquarters’ testing, where only the strong gathered…
For the next three days, Li Mo spent them in the headquarters, while the nights on refining. He didn’t even care about the taunting remarks floating around him. Others only threw some lines in passing, but something must’ve happened to that birthmark guy since he went out of his way to pester Li Mo every single day. Challenging him and having a blast throwing all kinds of insults.
On the day before the testing was officially started, three more fancy cars were parked near the dilapidated building.
“The capital’s three great clans are here!”
