C2 Force

The maids in the foyer were completely taken aback!

The Lin family's villa had only just undergone repairs the day before, and the handrail had been freshly dismantled!

A fall from there would certainly result in serious injury!

Xing Mo was momentarily taken aback, but without a second's hesitation, he spread his arms and stepped forward to catch him.

Lin Yichen's body crashed into Xing Mo's embrace.

To make matters more awkward, Lin Yichen's soft form pressed perfectly against Xing Mo's arm.

With a hint of embarrassment, Xing Mo released his hold and, without a word, headed straight for the room in the farthest corner of the second floor.

That room, once a cluttered storage space, had been designated for Xing Mo after his engagement to Lin Yichen by the Lin family.

"Miss, are you okay? That young man didn't do anything to you, did he?" The Lin family's maids clustered around her at that moment.

Xing Mo shook his head. In his past life, it was the same story. Despite being Lin Yichen's betrothed in public, he ranked lower than even the maids within the Lin household.

Lin Yichen had taken a tumble down the stairs, yet instead of blaming him for a job poorly done, they suspected he might have used the opportunity to take liberties with her.

Outside, the night was alive with the sound of relentless rain.

In the darkness, Xing Mo sat cross-legged on his bed, attuning to his body.

In his previous life, he had drowned his sorrows in drink and battled addiction, leaving his body a hollow shell.

But now, with the awakening of the Nine Circles Battle Spell within him, even with just the first tier of power, his body was rapidly regaining its former vitality.

"It's a shame that Earth doesn't compare to the Empyrean Continent, with its rich Spiritual Qi. It seems regaining my former level of cultivation here won't be easy," Xing Mo sighed, sensing the sparse Spiritual Qi in the air.

Once, Immortal Venerable Hao Yang had taken him from Earth to explore the Empyrean Continent, and that's when he learned of Earth's meager spiritual energy compared to other lands. But his current strength was insufficient to pry open the gates to the Immortal Realm.

"Regardless, I must reach the Longevity Realm to unlock the door to the Immortal World and venture into the other realms of the Empyrean Continent," Xing Mo resolved inwardly.

Throughout the night, Xing Mo immersed himself in the absorption of the Spiritual Qi from Heaven and Earth.

As dawn broke, sunlight streamed in, illuminating his skin which now had a crystalline, translucent quality, reminiscent of a newborn's.

"It appears I've crossed into the Ascended Stage in just one night. I am no longer bound by mortality," Xing Mo said with a slight smile.

Given his rebirth, he resolved to treasure his current existence.

Upon opening the door, Xing Mo encountered Lin Yichen, who was on her way out.

"Um... could I possibly borrow 100,000 yuan?" Xing Mo asked, approaching her despite his initial hesitation.

"Do you really need that much money for school?" Lin Yichen asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

"Miss, isn't this guy going to spend it on drugs?" interjected a servant, approaching Lin Yichen with a well-intentioned warning.

"Never mind, just forget I asked!" Xing Mo quickly backtracked, not wanting to cause any discomfort for Lin Yichen.

He reassured himself that, as someone who had transcended mortality, making money would be a trivial task.

"The card's PIN is your birthday, and it has 200,000 yuan on it. Please, take it," Lin Yichen offered, extending a bank card from her purse to Xing Mo.

The Lin family's servants looked on, shaking their heads in disapproval.

Xing Mo couldn't help but give a wry smile, feeling like a man dependent on a woman's charity.

"Rest assured, I won't just take your money. I'll repay you manifold in the future," Xing Mo declared before striding out confidently.

He headed straight for the nearest jade market and selected several pieces of top-quality jade.

Regrettably, without any Origin Spirit Stones available, he settled for the jades, hoping to draw out their modest Spiritual Qi.

The 200,000 yuan was quickly depleted. Xing Mo examined his purchases and frowned slightly.

"Now that I've entered the Ascended Stage, each minor advancement requires a significant amount of Spiritual Qi. And the further I progress, the greater the need becomes."

The Spiritual Qi on Earth paled in comparison to that of other continents.

Xing Mo skipped school that day. As a freshman at Hai Lan University, his coursework was light.

Xing Mo had intended to return to Grandpa Zhang's, yet each visit ended with a scolding, driving him back to the Lin family's home by the sea.

With no other choice, he made his way back to the Lin residence, where the vast ocean stretched out before him.

Seeking solitude by the shoreline, Xing Mo laid out the jade stones he'd purchased and commenced his cultivation of the Nine Circles Battle Spell.

The stones blazed with brilliant light in an instant, beams converging on Xing Mo.

As time passed, the radiance waned until, upon opening his eyes, Xing Mo found the light had vanished entirely from the jade.

He sighed, shaking his head at the stones, "The spiritual energy is far too scant. With a millennium-old Cold Jade or an Origin Spirit Stone, my Nine Circles Battle Spell could easily shatter the first barrier."

He reminisced about his past life, honored as the Supreme Immortal Sovereign, capable of piercing the Nine Heavens with a single thrust of his spear. Now, freshly ascended, he was leagues away from immortality, let alone the exalted status of Immortal Sovereign.

Yet, he was undeterred by the prospect of an insurmountable abyss ahead; this was his fated path of cultivation.

As night fell and the moon ascended, Xing Mo rose to his feet and stepped barefoot onto the seaside reef.

With a crisp "Crack," the rocks crumbled beneath him, yet his feet remained unscathed.

"To think, in just one day, I've reached the Second Heaven of the Ascended Stage! It won't be long before I can challenge the Third Heaven."

He mused, "But advancing a realm requires an immense amount of Spiritual Qi, not so easily obtained. Only with a thousand-year Cold Jade or an Origin Spirit Stone is there hope. Yet, such treasures are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in this age. Where could I possibly find them?"

Gathering the jade stones, Xing Mo made his way back to the Lin family villa. En route, he picked up a box of osmanthus cakes, recalling how Lin Yichen had always savored them.

On the way, a red Porsche pulled over to the side of the road. Lin Yichen rolled down the window and looked at Xing Mo, who was holding a gift of osmanthus cakes.

"These are for you," Xing Mo offered, passing the cakes through the window.

Lin Yichen was taken aback, touched that Xing Mo remembered that osmanthus cakes were her favorite.

"Would you come with me to the hospital?" Lin Yichen asked after a brief hesitation.

"To the hospital? Are you ill?" Xing Mo inquired directly.

"It's not me. It's my grandfather," Lin Yichen replied with a sigh.

Upon hearing that it was Lin Yunshan, Xing Mo immediately got into the car's passenger seat. Lin Yunshan was the patriarch of the Lin family, a man who had once been saved from his enemies by Zhang Tianfeng. In gratitude, he had written a blood oath to repay Zhang Tianfeng. However, Lin Yunshan had been ill recently, leaving Lin Shitian to handle the family's affairs. Xing Mo was well aware that without Lin Yunshan's influence, Lin Shitian would never have acknowledged the blood oath. And if Lin Yunshan weren't still alive, Xing Mo himself would have been ousted from the Lin family by now.

They soon arrived at Luton's premier hospital and entered the VIP ward, where a crowd of people, all dressed in designer brands and exuding arrogance, were gathered. Xing Mo scanned the room, recognizing dozens of relatives from the Lin family.

"Isn't that the guy from rehab? When did he get out?" a voice sneered from among the group.

Lin Yichen's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she responded with a hint of annoyance, "Second Mother, please, let's not dredge up the past."

"Yichen, what's the matter? I mean, it's one thing for him to be a party animal, but to end up in rehab? Now the whole of Luton knows! I'm embarrassed to even admit I'm a Lin when I'm out playing mahjong," the woman said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, Yichen! We all care about you! Your engagement to this young man has fulfilled the old man's promise. Now that he's succumbed to addiction and ruined the engagement, it's only fair," said another woman, her face marked by harsh lines.

"Auntie, I know what to do about my situation with Xing Mo," Lin Yichen replied, her gaze steady on the composed Xing Mo as she took a deep breath.

Xing Mo remained silent. In his past life, these people treated him no better than a dog, hurling insults without a second thought. Now reborn as a Supreme Immortal Sovereign, he could easily erase them with a mere gesture. But he refrained—after all, they were Yichen's family.

"Big sister! Think about how wonderful Qin Tianci of the Qin Family is! This guy doesn't hold a candle to him," a woman, considered beautiful, said with a sneer as she looked at Xing Mo.

"Sister Wen Jing is right. He's an embarrassment to our Lin family," chimed in a young man. Xing Mo recognized him as Lin Wangyue, the son of Lin Yichen's second uncle.

Xing Mo kept his composure, all too familiar with the Lin family's pestering.

Lin Yunshan, lying in the hospital bed, attempted to speak but was muffled by his oxygen mask.

Then, a man in his fifties entered, silencing the room with his presence. He cast a glance at Xing Mo and huffed before addressing everyone, "I've just returned from the Qin Family. They've agreed to help the Lin Family through this crisis, on one condition: Yichen must become engaged to Tianci."

"Engaged?" Lin Yichen's eyes glistened with unshed tears, her slender frame shaking. "I'm a person, not a bargaining chip for the Lin family! I was engaged to Xing Mo out of gratitude, and now, for the Lin family's sake, I'm to be engaged to Qin Tianci! What am I to you?"

Lin Shitian sighed, "Yichen, it was your grandfather's mistake to have you engaged to that boy. He's out of the picture now. In ten days, I'll host a banquet where I'll formally nullify your engagement and announce your new one to Tianci. I'm doing this for your own good."

"You claim it's for my sake! Ever since my mother died, your affections have been with that other woman. Have you ever truly seen me as your daughter?" Lin Yichen's voice was icy as she stared at a flamboyantly dressed woman in the crowd.

With a sharp "Pah!" Lin Shitian's hand struck Lin Yichen's cheek, leaving a vivid red imprint on her face.

The room fell into a stunned silence. After a moment, they began to console Lin Yichen, "Yichen, your father is doing this for the good of the Lin family. Our business is declining, and without the Qin family's support, we're on the brink of collapse."

"For the Lin family? Wasn't it for the family's reputation that I was promised to Xing Mo? And now, for the Lin family again, I'm to be given to Qin Tianci? Why should I accept this?" Lin Yichen's eyes blazed with indignation as she faced the onlookers.

Despair gripped Lin Yichen. In college, she had someone she cherished, but for the sake of the Lin family, she severed those ties and got engaged to Xing Mo. Now, once again for the Lin family, she was expected to leave Xing Mo for Qin Tianci. The pent-up grievances in her heart burst forth.

Lin Shitian's expression was dark, his body shaking uncontrollably. If the Lin family didn't survive this ordeal, he would be reduced to an ordinary man—a catastrophe for someone accustomed to wealth and privilege. Thus, Lin Yichen's happiness seemed trivial in comparison. Besides, Qin Tianci of the Qin family was a man of talent, far surpassing the unworthy lad before them.

Xing Mo's face darkened as he witnessed the mistreatment of Lin Yichen, ready to intervene.

"Damn! Who's causing a racket in this hospital? You're ruining my sleep!" A gruff voice echoed from outside the ward.

"Disturbing someone's rest is a grave offense! Who's got a death wish?" The voice grew louder, and with a forceful kick, the door swung open, revealing a bald man adorned with a thick gold chain striding in.

Trailing behind him were several burly men, each radiating an aura of murderous intent, their eyes fierce and threatening.

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