"Ji Mo, do you want me to explain everything to you?" Dong Hao snickered coldly. "The archive is only open to high-achieving disciples. You? Anybody at Tianyuan Academy knows that you, Third Young Master Ji, are a wimp. You've been here for two years, but you're only on the third tier of body tempering. Even the senior management has nearly given up on you. Do you really think someone like you is fit to enter the archive? Stop fooling around."
"Yeah, we're responsible for guarding the archive. We must take care of it and make sure no one can't enter the archive as they please," Xia Jiaojiao jeered. Her pretty face oozed arrogance and coldness. Obviously, she did not respect Ji Mo.
"Don't make me angry! Both of you are just trying to make things difficult for me!" Ji Mo gritted his teeth and was about to move forward to argue with Nan Hao and Xia Jiaojiao. He knew they were just trying to create difficulties for him.
Mischief appeared in Nan Hao's gaze. "What? Are you trying to use violence? Let me tell you, Ji Mo. Other people might be afraid of your clan, but I, Dong Hao, am not! Get lost! This isn't a place you can enter, or else, I'll break both of your legs! Till then, the senior management won't vouch for you either!"
"Leave now and go be the Young Master you're supposed to be. You think you're capable of cultivating and becoming an Immortal?
"Take a piss and look at my own reflection? Fine, you said it!" When Ji Mo was enraged, he was capable of anything. The instant Dong Hao and Xia Jiaojiao made that remark, he loosened his belt and was prepared to pull his pants down.
"Ji Mo, what are you doing?!" They were taken aback.
"You said that I should take a piss and look at my own reflection! Fine, I'll take a piss for you!" he retorted and unbuckled his belt swiftly.
"You…you scoundrel!" Xia Jiaojiao was a maiden after all. When she saw that Ji Mo was about to remove his pants, she blushed and turned her head to the side at once. Clenching her teeth, a look of disgust crossed her face.
"Ji Mo, how dare you stir up trouble here?!" Dong Hao was exasperated.
"You two are the ones stirring up trouble! I'm fit to enter the archive! How dare you stop me?!" Ji Mo argued.
"You…Fine! Since you dare to make a scene here and taunt me, I'll beat you up until you're crippled!" Dong Hao glared at him angrily. He balled his fists and was about to charge at Ji Mo.
"What are you all quarreling about?!" All of a sudden, a feminine cry was heard as a red figure approached them gracefully. It was Huo Lin'er.
"Senior Sister Huo!" Upon seeing Huo Lin'er, Dong Hao and Xia Jiaojiao greeted her hastily.
"You!" Huo Lin'er recognized Ji Mo and her eyes burned with fury. "Put your pants on!"
"Uh…My pants aren't off yet." Ji Mo pulled his pants up quickly, buckled his belt and chuckled. "I didn't expect to see you here, Senior Sister Huo. I won't disturb you any longer. Excuse me."
Deep down, he was frightened. When he saw Huo Lin'er, he immediately recalled that he had agreed to become her sparring partner. However, when he had cultivated the Celestial Devil Tempering Art in isolation, he had forgotten about the concept of time and Huo Lin'er's order had taken a backseat. No wonder he had an inkling that he had forgotten something.
"Ji Mo, stay where you are!" Huo Lin'er walked towards him, bringing a fresh, pleasant scent with her. She stood in front of Ji Mo and grabbed hold of his neck. Huo Lin'er was half a head taller than Ji Mo, thus it was easy for her to do so. "Speak! Where have you been for the past few days? Didn't you promise to be my sparring partner? I told you not to be late, or else!"
"Senior Sister Huo, I…I've been busy recently," Ji Mo quickly explained.
"Busy? Hmph! What else would you be busy with?" Huo Lin'er snapped. Without any effort, Ji Mo was sent flying to one side. Then, she turned around to Dong Hao and Xia Jiaojiao and asked, "What were all of you quarreling about?"
"Nothing, just a small matter," Dong Hao replied at once. He dared not tell Huo Lin'er that he had stopped Ji Mo from entering the archive. In fact, Ji Mo was qualified to enter the archive, but Dong Hao had stopped him from doing so simply because he did not like him.
"Hmph!" Huo Lin'er glared at Ji Mo again and said, "I'm going to look something up in the archive. Follow me and don't even think about running away. After this, you'll be my sparring partner!"
"Alright!" This time, Ji Mo agreed to it swiftly. Regardless of what happened, at least, he could follow Huo Lin'er into the archive now. As long as Huo Lin'er was present, there was nothing Dong Hao and Xia Jiaojiao could say.
Under the duo's furious gaze, Ji Mo followed Huo Lin'er into the archive with his head held up high. Soon, he disappeared within the depths of the archive's hall.
"Damn it! If not for Senior Sister Huo's presence, I would've taught him a lesson." Glaring at Ji Mo's back, Dong Hao clenched his teeth and squeezed his fists tightly.
"Hmph! That scoundrel is an embarrassment to Tianyuan Academy! He doesn't even have the talent, but he got sent here by his clan to learn about cultivation. What a joke!" Xia Jiaojiao muttered angrily, her hatred for Ji Mo obvious.
"Don't worry. There's not much time left for this fellow to be bossy. After a few months, his time at Tianyuan Academy will be up. Judging by his capability, he'll be expelled. The Tianshan Sword Sect will never recruit a wimp like him." Dong Hao chuckled coldly.
…
In the archive, Huo Lin'er glanced at Ji Mo and a look of surprise crossed her face. She asked, "Have you achieved the fourth tier of body tempering?"
Huo Lin'er was already an inner disciple of the Tianshan Sword Sect and an expert at the Qi Plundering Boundary. Naturally, she could detect changes in people and noticed something different about him.
"Mm-hmm." Ji Mo nodded and did not bother to answer Huo Lin'er's question. Instead, he selected books that were useful to him from the surrounding bookshelves.
In this archive, there were many books about martial arts and solutions about problems faced while cultivating at the Acupuncture Point Unblocking Phase stored. Apart from some miscellaneous items, there were also a number of regular titles from the Mortal Realm. However, most of these books were untouched.
Huo Lin'er regarded him thoughtfully. Earlier, she blamed him for standing her up. Now, she believed that Ji Mo must have been using the time to prepare himself to break through to the fourth tier instead of being flaky on purpose. When she thought of this, she felt a bit better. All this while, no one dared to stand her up.
Ji Mo continued to search for items that benefited him in the archive. Meanwhile, Huo Lin'er stood aside and looked for the things she wanted.
"The Eight Clouds Palm. Extremely supple aura and uses delicate forces to subdue strong individuals. Hmm, doesn't really suit me.
"The Goshawk Strike, lightning-fast and thunderous and uses swiftness for victory. However, it's just an intermediate-level martial arts technique. I'll take it and have a look.
"The Spiral Pill…Eh, no, my mistake, the Spinning Top Punch. Another fist technique that relies on swiftness for victory, but is just so-so at that."
Ji Mo filtered the various types of martial arts techniques that were categorized according to their levels. Like the Body Tempering Arts, they were classified according to three different levels, which were beginner-level, intermediate-level, and advanced-level. The techniques that Ji Mo had selected just now were intermediate-level ones. Although they dealt decent damage, they did not really suit him.
The Celestial Devil Tempering Art tempered a physique that was brutal and oppressive. The Celestial Devil Power was very powerful, and Ji Mo hoped to find a set of martial arts techniques that allowed him to fully utilize his innate power. By doing so, he could emerge victorious by landing a single blow and not give his opponent a chance to retaliate.
"Total Annihilation, a blade technique that has extreme Yang and is remarkably accurate. Three strikes in a row, and each one thunderous, but dealing each attack requires one to rest for three minutes. Huh…Am I seeing things? I seem to notice something wondrous."
"Have you chosen the books you want?" Huo Lin'er came forward with a stack of books in her arms.
"Not yet," Ji Mo answered without lifting his head.