One person: Lu family bodyguard, who shattered Longhu Mountain with a single palm strike.

"Linglong, Lin Mo! Over here!"

Hearing Bai Shixue's call, the two quickened their pace and headed towards the Lu family's camp.

As soon as they approached, Canglong, Bai Shixue, Zhi Jinhua, Xiao Xiao, Wang Ergou, and other young members of the Lu family troupe swarmed around them.

"My dear ladies, why are you two so late? The show's about to start!"

Canglong wiped the sweat from his forehead, his chubby face full of complaints.

Lu Linglong shrugged, casually tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her tone tinged with disdain: "Don't even mention it. I ran into that idiot Wang Bing on the way here, he wasted so much time."

"Wang Bing?"

hope, a man from Shandong, is not tall, but he has the most fiery temper.

Upon hearing this, he immediately rolled up his sleeves, strode forward, and shouted, "That guy dares to cause you trouble? Where is he? I'm going to beat him up right now!"

Wang Ergou, who had a red buzz cut and was pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses, also curled his lip and said, "That Wang Bing is really not fashionable at all. Just looking at his appearance is annoying. He really needs to be taught a lesson."

"That's right! How dare you bully our Lu family troupe! Let's go avenge you two!" Xiao Xiao cracked his knuckles as he moved them.

Seeing everyone's indignant and eager-to-help-get-out-of-jail-free attitude, Lu Linglong felt a warm glow in her heart.

She chuckled and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, alright, I appreciate everyone's kindness. But think about it, with Lin Mo here, do you think we'd be wronged?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, and then they all turned their gazes to Lin Mo, who was slowly chewing gum.

That's true.

The "stress resistance training" that Lin Mo conducted for them at the Lu Family Villa over the past month was nothing short of inhumane.

All the people present combined couldn't even touch a single hem of the bodyguard's clothes.

Zhi Jinhua pushed up her black-rimmed glasses, a hint of gossip flashing in her eyes: "Oh? From what I'm saying, what did you do to him? You must have made him suffer terribly, right?"

Lu Linglong couldn't help but recall the pitiful sight of Wang Cong falling uncontrollably from mid-air off a cliff, howling in terror.

She covered her mouth and chuckled, nodding repeatedly: "Absolutely! It's absolutely awful! It's so satisfying!"

Although she didn't know exactly how Lin Mo did it, that didn't stop her from showing it off.

"It has to be you, Brother Lin!" Xiao Xiao gave Lin Mo a big thumbs up, his face full of admiration.

Lin Mo shrugged, smiled noncommittally, and kept his achievements hidden.

Zanglong then leaned closer, his small eyes sparkling with anticipation: "Brother Lin, are you planning to sign up for the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony this year?"

"I won't participate." Lin Mo refused decisively without the slightest hesitation.

"Huh? Why?" Bai Shixue exclaimed in surprise, her mouth agape. "If you participated, with your skills, you could definitely win easily!"

Everyone present nodded in agreement, and no one thought the statement was an exaggeration.

Lin Mo's strength is obvious to all. If he were to play in the next match, it would be a complete one-sided beatdown, a total stomp on a noob.

Lin Mo rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and said irritably, "Why should I participate? The Celestial Master's Mansion is holding this Luo Tian Grand Ritual to select the Celestial Master's successor."

"I don't want to become a Taoist priest. Wouldn't it be pointless to join in that fun? Besides, what's the point of me going up on stage and bullying a bunch of newbies?"

Upon hearing this, Canglong deflated like a punctured balloon, scratching his head in frustration: "Oh, what a pity! I was hoping to make a fortune from the betting odds, but I feel like I missed out on hundreds of millions."

Bai Shixue sighed repeatedly, "Yes, yes, if Lin Mo, you were to participate, we would all bet our entire fortunes on you. It would be a sure-fire way to make money!"

Lin Mo grimaced as he listened. These rich kids, who usually looked so glamorous, were all such money-grubbers.

At this moment, Lu Linglong's eyes darted around, and she leaned close to Lin Mo, lowering her voice to suggest, "That's right, Lin Mo! You can go and sign up for the competition first."

"Just play normally in the early stages, and act like you're invincible. If you decide you don't want to fight anymore halfway through, just admit defeat on stage!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes shining: "As long as you tell us the surrender dates in advance, we can set up a trap on the sidelines... Hehehe, wouldn't we be able to make a fortune from this?"

Lin Mo's eyes widened slightly after hearing this, almost shocked by the girl's ruthlessness.

He deliberately put on a stern face, his brows furrowed, and his sharp eyes swept over everyone present. His tone turned cold: "Good heavens, you guys are blatantly rigging this, aren't you? Trying to get me to fight in underground boxing matches?"

Seeing Lin Mo's serious expression, the members of the Lu family troupe felt a sudden jolt in their hearts, and their smiles instantly froze.

"Ah... don't be angry, Lin Mo, I shouldn't have come up with such a bad idea." Lu Linglong shrank her neck and apologized softly like a child who had done something wrong.

The others panicked and tried to salvage the situation.

"Sorry, Brother Lin, we were just saying it casually, just kidding."

"Yeah, yeah, don't take it seriously. If you don't want to participate, you don't have to."

Everyone thought Lin Mo was a principled master, and felt that this kind of match-fixing behavior insulted his martial ethics and displeased him.

However, the next second, Lin Mo's stern face suddenly fell, and a calculating smile appeared on his lips.

"You want me to throw matches to help you make money? Fine." Lin Mo held up three fingers and waved them in front of everyone. "But I have to take a cut."

The audience was silent.

The group looked at each other, wondering if they had misheard.

Canglong stared in disbelief, his mouth agape: "Huh? A... a cut?"

"Of course I get a cut!" Lin Mo straightened his collar matter-of-factly. "Do you expect me to work for you guys on stage for free, doing your menial tasks?"

"Everyone who wins money from the sidelines should get at least 30% from me. That's called contributing your expertise as equity, understand?"

Everyone then realized what was going on.

Goodness, it turns out this bodyguard wasn't angry about being insulted in terms of martial ethics at all; he was simply upset that he hadn't been included in the deal and was trying to find ways to increase the price!

"Pfft—" Lu Linglong couldn't help but burst out laughing first, "You money-grubber, I thought you had so many principles!"

Lin Mo waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, it's only foolish not to make money. Since there's a betting platform where I can profit, I'll reluctantly participate in this grand event."

Actually, Lin Mo had completely forgotten about the peripheral betting scheme.

Now, reminded by Canglong and Bai Shixue, his mind immediately began to make calculations.

With his abilities, whether he wants to win or lose is just a matter of moving his fingers.

If they manipulate the odds through the betting market, wouldn't the money come in much faster than a fixed salary?

This grand Taoist ritual is truly a giant ATM!

Upon hearing that Lin Mo had agreed to participate, the members of the Lu Family Team cheered with joy.

With this Buddha statue backing us up, it would be hard not to make money on this trip to Longhu Mountain.

"Let's go, let's hurry to the registration office!" Canglong excitedly led the way.

Surrounded by a crowd of excited young people, Lin Mo marched in a grand procession toward the registration area deep in the back mountains.

At this moment, at the other entrance on the back side of Longhu Mountain.

Two familiar figures were walking through the bustling crowd and slowly entering this place where extraordinary people from all over the world had gathered.

"Oh my god, there are so many people! Bao'er, slow down, don't get lost!"

Zhang Chulan, dressed in a brown uniform from Nadutong Express, stood with his hands in his pockets, looking around as he called out to the slightly disheveled girl walking in front of him.

Feng Baobao, wearing a baseball cap and sneakers, was wandering aimlessly through the crowd, holding a twig she had picked up from somewhere.

Hearing Zhang Chulan's words, she stopped and turned her head, her large, calm eyes staring straight ahead.

"Zhang Chulan, I smell a familiar scent."

Feng Baobao suddenly spoke, her voice completely flat.

"A familiar smell? What smell? There's nothing but the smell of incense and Taoist priests on this mountain." Zhang Chulan quickly ran forward and followed Feng Baobao's gaze.

Following the bustling crowd, Zhang Chulan's gaze suddenly settled on a young man surrounded by a crowd in the distance.

The man was chatting and laughing with several girls next to him, and he was holding a registration form in his hand.

Upon seeing the person's profile, Zhang Chulan felt as if struck by lightning; his legs suddenly went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

"Holy crap... How come it's this ancestor brother?! What's he doing at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony?!"

……

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