170: Chapter 170 Breakthrough, Fifth-Order Awakener

"Vice Hall Master, we cannot wait any longer!"

He lowered his voice, speaking at a rapid pace.

"The three border lines are all under heavy pressure simultaneously; the West Federation is playing for real this time.

The northern defense zone had a breach blown open by their heavy firepower overnight, the eastern line encountered a surprise attack by drone swarms and individual mechs, and the Seventh Pier defense zone was even hit by orbital strikes; the casualties can no longer be contained!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many Awakeners who had just stepped out of the secret realm had their expressions shift slightly.

The West Federation?

It was that enemy nation that had always hovered outside the Great Xia border, relying on steel floods and technological weaponry to constantly probe, and it had finally begun a full-scale assault.

The adjutant clearly hadn't finished, and continued:

"Coming to Lingwu City this time was originally to temporarily conscript a batch of top-tier combatants to be sent directly to the northern front."

"Lin Mo, Shen Guhong, Ji Wuchen, Gu Yunting—these people are all on the list."

"Especially Lin Mo; we all saw his performance in the secret realm. If he could immediately..."

"Enough."

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe spoke suddenly. His voice was not loud, but it sounded like an iron plate hitting the ground, abruptly cutting off the rest of the adjutant's words.

The adjutant was stunned and instinctively shut his mouth.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe did not look at him; instead, his gaze landed briefly on Lin Mo, and he frowned almost imperceptibly.

He could tell.

Lin Mo's state was not right.

It wasn't the simple fatigue of physical exhaustion, but rather his Spirit was violently surging, like a deep well being forcibly suppressed, ready to explode at any moment.

After coming out of the secret realm, although Lin Mo appeared calm on the surface, the aftershocks deep within his Sea of Consciousness had already formed a powerful mental shock within him.

In this state, let alone going to the border to kill enemies, even just forcibly traveling could lead to an accident.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe was silent for a moment before finally speaking. His tone was much softer than before as he said in a deep voice:

"Don't rush to mobilize people yet."

"Wait until he stabilizes first."

The adjutant wanted to speak again, but seeing that Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe's expression was completely set, he could only swallow his words reluctantly.

"Yes."

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe did not say anything more, just gave a slight nod to Lin Mo, signaling him to go adjust himself first.

Lin Mo did not try to be brave either.

He knew that the most important thing now was to first stabilize his Sea of Consciousness, which was on the verge of bursting.

He raised his hand to press his glabella and said in a low voice, "Give me some time."

After saying this, he walked alone toward a quiet cultivation room in the city.

Everyone watched him leave, their expressions varied.

Inside the cultivation room, Lin Mo sat cross-legged and slowly closed his eyes.

But as soon as he entered meditation, that surging mental tide within his Sea of Consciousness crashed against him once more.

Boom!

It felt as if an invisible giant hammer was constantly pounding against the boundaries of his Spirit.

His brows were tightly locked, and a fine layer of cold sweat even seeped from his temples.

"Too fast..." Lin Mo thought to himself.

His Spirit had surged to such a degree that it far exceeded the upper limit that his current cultivation could stably carry.

If it were just a simple increase, he could still slowly adapt.

But the problem was that the mental fragments left behind by the Shadow of a Thousand Eyes and a Thousand Tentacles contained too much energy.

The Spirit upper limit of a normal Tier 5 Awakener is usually between 300 and 500 points.

Because of the Azure Dragon Inheritance and the blessing of the mental fragments, he had already far exceeded his peers. Although he was only at Tier 4, Stage 7, his Spirit attribute had already approached 500 before, almost equal to a late-stage Tier 5 Awakener.

And now, his Spirit attribute had surged to a terrifying 800+ points—this was a realm that only Tier 6 or even near-Tier 7 experts could possibly touch.

And his Sea of Consciousness was still a Tier 4 Sea of Consciousness.

It was like a cup that could only hold one liter of water having three liters forcibly poured into it.

Either the cup breaks, or the water overflows.

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, turned around, and retreated into the secret chamber; he didn't even have time to close the door before sitting cross-legged.

He tried to use the Azure Dragon Mark to suppress those fragments again, but this time, the reaction of the Azure Dragon Mark was unexpectedly gentle.

It was not suppressing. It was... guiding.

Lin Mo's consciousness was dragged into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness by an invisible force, and he saw those mental fragments.

They were like polished gemstones floating above the Sea of Consciousness, emitting a soft silver light.

Each fragment was a segment of pure mental origin.

It was the mental power that the Shadow of a Thousand Eyes and a Thousand Tentacles had accumulated for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, and after the Azure Dragon had forcibly stripped away all pollution and will, it was the purest nutrient left behind.

The only problem was that Lin Mo, as the container, could not hold these nutrients!

"Since that's the case, then I will break through my cultivation to Tier 5!"

Lin Mo pulled up his attribute panel.

He discovered that the value in the slaughter value column had already reached 108,400 points.

Over one hundred thousand slaughter value points.

This was the harvest from killing thousands of Mimics in the secret realm!

Lin Mo's gaze narrowed.

One hundred and eight thousand?

He was slightly stunned; a six-digit slaughter value was more exaggerated than any accumulation he had had before.

Lin Mo's eyes flickered slightly.

In this battle, he had faintly felt that his cultivation was still too far away from the level of true formidable enemies.

Cao Shen was already extremely difficult to deal with.

And the Shadow of a Thousand Eyes and a Thousand Tentacles was something he shouldn't have been able to face head-on at his stage at all.

If it weren't for the awakening of the Azure Dragon Mark, and if it weren't for bloodline suppression, it would have been difficult for him to even survive.

Let alone the so-called border wars that would follow.

"Since the slaughter value is enough, then I will improve directly."

Lin Mo's eyes darkened, and he immediately made a decision.

Continuously improve cultivation.

"System, improve cultivation."

[Ding, consuming 15,000 slaughter value, host's cultivation improved to Tier 4, Stage 8.]

As the system prompt popped up, Lin Mo's aura instantly climbed a notch.

But this was still far from enough.

"Continue."

[Consuming 16,000 slaughter value, cultivation improved to Tier 4, Stage 9.]

Another muffled sound.

The energy around Lin Mo's body surged again, and his violent blood energy flowed more torrentially through his meridians, even faintly emitting a low booming sound.

Tier 4, Stage 9 peak.

Only one final threshold away from Tier 5.

"Break through."

[Consuming 32,000 slaughter value, cultivation improved to Tier 5, Stage 1.]

Boom—!!!

A wave of spiritual power, more violent than before, exploded from within his body.

The spiritual array inside the cultivation room shook slightly, and the air was pressed until it was almost stagnant.

Lin Mo opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed and vanished in his pupils.

Tier 5, Stage 1.

Lin Mo's strength had officially stepped into another level.

At the same time, the Spirit in his Sea of Consciousness that had been on the verge of going berserk also slowly calmed down the moment his cultivation broke through to Tier 5.

"40,000 slaughter value remaining; I can still improve one more time."

[Ding, consuming 35,000 slaughter value, host's cultivation improved to Tier 5, Stage 2.]

Tier 5, Stage 2.

Lin Mo slowly clenched his fist, feeling the blood energy within his body that was more than a notch stronger than before, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

One hundred thousand slaughter value, conversion complete.

...

Outside the cultivation room, the sky had completely darkened.

The clouds above Lingwu City pressed down heavily, like an iron curtain hanging over everyone's heads.

But the city was not peaceful.

The news of the end of the secret realm's final battle had not fully spread yet, but the group of people who had walked out of the secret realm exit was already enough to let various forces in the city smell an unusual atmosphere.

Especially when Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe arrived in person and directly added Lin Mo and the others to the border conscription list, many people already realized—this city would not be quiet for much longer.

Outside the quiet room, Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe stood with his hands behind his back, his expression steady; he did not seem to be in a hurry.

But the black-armored adjutant behind him was clearly unable to hold back.

"Vice Hall Master, the northern front really cannot wait any longer," the adjutant said in a low, anxious voice.

"The West Federation came prepared this time. They are not just probing, but want to take this opportunity to tear open our Great Xia border line in one go."

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe did not look back, only saying indifferently, "I know."

The adjutant was stunned: "Then why haven't you given the order? Are we, so many people, just waiting here for him alone?"

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe's tone was very calm. "Because his role alone is greater than everyone else's combined!"

The adjutant was stunned and followed Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe's gaze to the door of the quiet room.

But until now, the fluctuations within the quiet room had not completely stabilized; instead, they faintly exuded a very subtle mental pressure.

That was not the common leakage of spiritual power from a cultivator. It was the aftershock naturally formed after the Spirit surged.

The adjutant's expression changed. "His Spirit... how is it so vast? This pressure is almost approaching that of a Tier 7 expert, right!"

"It's not that exaggerated, but it's definitely not simple!" Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe said in a deep voice.

"He just came out of the secret realm, and his Sea of Consciousness hasn't fully calmed down. If he can fully master this power, his combat strength probably won't be much weaker than mine!"

The adjutant then shut his mouth and said no more.

The fact that Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe could personally rush here while suppressing the border military situation already showed just how tight the situation on the front line was.

But even so, he still did not rashly interrupt Lin Mo.

Just at this moment, a very light fluctuation of spiritual energy came from the quiet room.

It was as if something that was originally manic and restless was being pressed back bit by bit.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe's expression shifted slightly, and his gaze slowly landed on the door.

A moment later, the door of the quiet room finally opened.

Lin Mo walked out from inside.

His face was still a bit pale, but the sense of restlessness from when he had just escaped the secret realm had disappeared.

In its place was a deeper, steadier, and more restrained sharpness.

It was like a blade being re-sheathed; it was not visible, but it was more dangerous.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe looked at him, and a trace of almost imperceptible surprise flashed in his eyes.

In such a short time, Lin Mo had actually suppressed that Spirit that was almost out of control.

Moreover, it wasn't just suppressed. His entire aura seemed to have become a bit deeper than before.

"It seems you have stabilized," Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe said.

Lin Mo nodded. "Just about."

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe did not beat around the bush and said directly, "That's good. I knew you kid were a monster!"

...

Outside Lingwu City.

Rows of black armored vehicles were parked in the night, their headlights off, only casting cold, hard silhouettes on the edge of the city wall.

Not far away, several fighter jets were parked on a dedicated takeoff and landing platform, their fuselage shells covered with heavy explosion-proof coatings, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

This was not ordinary transportation, but wartime conscription.

Lin Mo stood in front of the convoy, his gaze sweeping over the armored vehicles and military equipment, his expression calm.

But the calmer he was, the more it showed that he already understood how serious the situation had become.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe stood opposite him and raised his hand to hand over a piece of encrypted battle report.

"See for yourself."

Lin Mo took it. The content on the battle report was not much, but it was shocking enough.

—The three cities in the northern territory have fallen.

—The outer wall of Ironwall City was blown open by orbital strikes.

—The West Federation's drone swarms have conducted airstrikes for seven consecutive nights, and the front line has suffered heavy casualties.

—The enemy is suspected of deploying a new type of individual exoskeleton armor capable of suppressing Tier 6 Awakeners head-on.

—Traces of Mimic infiltration have appeared at several defensive lines on the border.

Lin Mo's gaze darkened slightly. The West Federation. He was not unfamiliar with this name.

It was a powerful federal nation that specialized in technological warfare.

Energy weapons, mechs, fighter jets, orbital cannons, mechanical legions...

There were even rumors that they had mastered some kind of device capable of simulating the combat power of high-tier Awakeners for a short time.

If the news was true, this battle would not be a mere border skirmish, but a full-scale war in the true sense.

"What do you want me to do?" Lin Mo closed the battle report and asked, looking up.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe looked at him and was silent for a moment. Then, he spoke slowly: "They fear ghosts."

Lin Mo paused slightly.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe continued: "The people of the West Federation believe in technology, in weapons, and in steel floods."

"But the more they are like this, the more they fear things that exceed their cognition."

He looked at Lin Mo, his gaze deep. "You go be their ghost."

Lin Mo's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe did not explain much more, just raised his hand and patted his shoulder.

"What the front line lacks most right now is not another general to defend the city."

"But someone who can make them remember fear."

Lin Mo nodded and did not ask again. He just returned the battle report, his voice very calm. "Then let's go."

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe looked at him, and a trace of approval finally appeared in his eyes. "You don't ask why it's you?"

"Is it useful to ask?" Lin Mo asked in return.

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe laughed. "True."

He turned around and waved his hand toward the military vehicles. "Move out."

Just at this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind. "Lin Mo."

Lin Mo paused in his steps and looked back. Shen Yi was standing under the city gate.

She had changed into clean clothes, and although her face was still a bit weak, her eyes had returned to calmness.

She looked at Lin Mo, paused for a moment, and then spoke slowly: "The West Federation's equipment can kill Tier 6 Awakeners."

Lin Mo looked at her without speaking.

Shen Yi took a gentle breath and continued: "Moreover, they are not just invading this time."

"There are shadows of Mimics on the front line."

Lin Mo's eyes darkened imperceptibly upon hearing this.

Shen Yi walked a few steps closer, her voice very low. "They and the West Federation have likely already joined forces."

This sentence was not heavy, but it was like a needle, gently piercing into the air.

Lin Mo did not respond immediately, just watching her quietly.

A moment later, he suddenly asked: "Are you coming with me?"

Shen Yi was slightly stunned.

Lin Mo looked at her, his tone flat, but with a trace of faint sharpness.

"Since you know so much, it means that this trip to the border will sooner or later involve you."

"If you want to come, then come."

Shen Yi looked at him, and after a long while, the corners of her lips actually curled up slightly.

"Are you inviting me, or are you ordering me around?"

"Both." Lin Mo answered without hesitation.

Shen Yi was silent for two seconds, then nodded gently. "Then let's go."

Vice Hall Master Zhao Shanhe stood to the side, watching these two, a trace of a very faint strange look flashing in his eyes, but he said nothing.

The next moment, the car door opened. Lin Mo did not look back again and stepped directly onto the military vehicle heading to the northern territory.

The car door closed. The engine roared.

The armored convoy slowly drove into the night, heading toward that burning battlefield in the north.