“How are you going to escape him? What’s the plan?” the old ghost asked, worry etched in his voice.

“There’s no plan,” replied Lin Mo. “I’ll brawl it out and pray for luck.”

“What?! Brat, you must be crazy,” yelled the old ghost. “You can’t win against someone a realm apart.”

“Aren’t you curious about my new technique?” Lin Mo countered, changing the subject. “I’m going to test it against the expert.”

Although Lin Mo knew the gap between their realms spanned an entire level, he wanted to test himself against an opponent far beyond his capabilities. He said it with conviction, but he also knew this was the only way to buy time for the others. As long as he held the old man here, the others should be able to escape and maybe then, he could think of a way to escape this predicament.

Lin Mo stood in a large open area within the fortress, facing the old man a hundred meters ahead, who waited for his arrival.

“Show me what you’ve got, kid,” the old man commanded. “I’ll let you make the first move.”

Lin Mo took a deep breath, feeling the energy coursing through his newly formed core.

“As you wish, senior.” He unsheathed the sword.

“I thought you were going to use that strange move with your bare hands,” the old man remarked.

“I’ll start with this first.” Lin Mo replied, dashing forward.

He crossed half the distance in a blink.

The old man, eyebrows raised, looked impressed, but didn’t move.

In the next instant, Lin Mo swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc. Unlike with the robust man, he had no intention of stopping as the blade neared the old man.

Just as the sword was about to make contact, the old man raised his palm in defense.

“?!”

Lin Mo couldn’t believe his eyes.

The old man’s palm turned ethereal and halted the sword, effortlessly stopping it despite its speed and force.

“As expected of an expert,” Lin Mo commented, quickly creating distance.

“He’s a nascent soul expert. Why would you think an ordinary swing would work on him?” the old ghost reprimanded from the ring.

“What do you mean?” Lin Mo asked.

“Do you not see that palm? It’s a barrier formed from his nascent force,” the old ghost explained. “You won’t break his defense unless you have some tricks up your sleeve.”

“You’re telling me he can create a barrier over his whole body?” asked Lin Mo.

“Precisely.”

Lin Mo had seen the old man’s palm covered in some sort of ethereal energy. If what the old ghost said were correct, his simple attacks would not work against this expert.

“Finished already?” asked the old man, seeing Lin Mo frozen.

“No,” Lin Mo dashed towards the old man.

This time, he held the sword hilt with both of his hands and swung it heavily.

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The old man, seeing another similar swing, raised his palm to block.

The palm and the sword met, and the sword, as before, could not penetrate the intangible barrier.

“Hmm?” The old man noticed his feet rising off the ground. “What a brute.”

The old man brought his other hand and tapped the sword back.

Pang!

Lin Mo flew a few meters back and landed on his feet.

Seeing the old man as unbothered as before, Lin Mo knew that even with his two-handed swing, he couldn’t penetrate the ethereal barrier. He had to think of another way to break through the old man’s defenses.

“Why aren’t you infusing your Qi into the sword?” suddenly asked the old man.

“Infuse Qi into the sword?” Lin Mo appeared puzzled.

“Oh, I forgot, you’ve recently broken through,”

“It’s a way for a practitioner to coat their weapon with Qi, increasing the overall lethality,” The old ghost in the ring explained.

“You can do that?” Lin Mo didn’t know Qi could be used that way.

He had learned to control his Qi to a certain level, but he hadn’t known Qi could be used in different ways. He wanted to give it a try.

He stood with his sword, focused, and soon a faint aura began to manifest around his palms, slowly climbing up the sword and enveloping it wholly.

Standing not far away, the old man watched Lin Mo infuse the sword with Qi, his brows creased. “This kid...”

“Is this correct?” asked Lin Mo.

“This is great for a first-timer,” replied the old man, still maintaining an aloof aura.

Lin Mo dashed towards the old man, sword in hand.

As Lin Mo closed the distance, he focused all his energy on the blade, feeling the Qi pulsate through the weapon.

He brought the sword down with a powerful swing towards the old man.

The old man, in defense, again raised his palm.

The blade Infused with Qi met the ethereal palm, but this time, the impact was different. The Qi-infused sword clashed with the barrier, sending shockwaves through the air.

The old man’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as he was pushed back a step, his feet sliding against the ground.

“Not bad, kid,” the old man said, straining a bit as he held his ground. “But you still have much to learn.”

Lin Mo didn’t relent. He pulled back and immediately swung again, this time aiming for the old man’s side. The old man moved to block, but the added Qi made Lin Mo’s strikes faster and more unpredictable. The barrier flickered under the relentless assault.

With each swing, Lin Mo’s confidence grew. He could feel the old man’s defense weakening, the barrier starting to waver. He knew he had to keep up the pressure, not giving the old man a chance to recover.

The old man, despite his amusement, started to take Lin Mo more seriously. He countered Lin Mo’s strikes with precise movements, using minimal energy to deflect the blows. Yet, the force behind Lin Mo’s attacks was undeniable.

“You’ve got potential,” the old man conceded, his tone more serious now. “But potential alone won’t win you this fight.”

In a flash, the old man shifted his stance. His ethereal palm transformed, not just a barrier but a weapon itself. With a swift motion, he deflected Lin Mo’s sword and struck back with a palm thrust aimed at Lin Mo’s chest.

Lin Mo barely had time to react. He twisted his body, taking the hit on his shoulder instead. Pain shot through him, but he used the momentum to spin around and deliver a powerful upward slash.

The old man blocked, but the force of the Qi-infused strike pushed him back, his feet skidding across the ground. For the first time, he seemed genuinely impressed.

“Very well,” the old man said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Let’s see how you handle this.”

He raised his hand, and the ethereal energy around his palm intensified, forming a radiant sphere of light.

Lin Mo felt the pressure increase, the air around them crackling with energy.

The old man launched the sphere at Lin Mo, a concentrated blast of Qi.

Lin Mo braced himself, channeling all his Qi into his sword. With a determined cry, he swung the blade, meeting the sphere head-on.

The collision was explosive. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the fortress, shaking the very foundations. Lin Mo gritted his teeth, holding his ground as the energies clashed, his sword cutting through the sphere inch by inch.

Finally, with a roar, Lin Mo broke through, dispersing the sphere in a burst of light.