112: Suggestion to show weakness

Now, Master Ao had a deeper understanding.

It wasn't because he needed tools.

It was because in his eyes, the entire Linzhou, and even the entire Blue Star, everyone except himself, was a tool.

There was no option for “cooperation” at all.

There was only “use” and “being used”.

Master Ao closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they held a profound, bottomless calm.

“So, what is your suggestion?”

Master Ao broke the suffocating silence by speaking first.

Li Mo picked up the now cold red wine and swirled it gently.

“Show goodwill.”

He uttered two words.

“Before understanding the other party's core objective, any hostile action could lead to devastating consequences.”

“Master Ao, what I'm about to say might be a bit harsh this time.”

Li Mo put down his wine glass and straightened his body, for the first time without that humble posture.

“In Linzhou, you are a king.”

“Looking at the entire Blue Star, yes, you are also considered a figure.”

“But…”

Li Mo's tone suddenly became sharp.

“In the eyes of those who returned from the Abyss Domain, your foundation, your strength, means nothing.”

“Even…”

“You don't even have the qualifications to be a stepping stone under their feet.”

As his words fell.

The air in the private room seemed to instantly solidify.

On the suspended crystal, the two subordinates in front of Old Ghost Hall were still swaggering, their shouts now sounded so grating and foolish.

Master Ao's hand, resting on the table, slowly lifted.

The metal sphere in his hand, composed of several elements, began to flash wildly with light inside, and violent energy surged within it, seeming as if it could explode at any moment.

A terrifying pressure, centered on Master Ao, spread out with a roar!

This was the wrath of the King of Linzhou's black market.

However, Li Mo just stood quietly, as if the pressure that could crush steel was merely a gentle breeze across his face.

“Master Ao, you're angry.”

He stated a fact.

“Bang!”

A muffled sound.

The elemental sphere in Master Ao's hand was forcibly crushed by him!

The violent elemental energy instantly exploded, but it did not spread outwards at all; instead, it was firmly confined within Master Ao's palm by an even stronger force, forming a chaotic energy vortex.

Flames, frost, lightning, wind blades… several forces tore at and annihilated each other in his palm, emitting a grating sizzling sound.

“Li Mo.”

Master Ao spoke each word slowly and distinctly, each one squeezed out from between his teeth.

“Do you think that just because we had a good conversation, you have the right to boss me around?”

Li Mo did not answer.

He merely raised his right hand.

There was no earth-shattering aura, nor dazzling light effects.

He simply opened his five fingers.

The next second.

The violent elemental vortex in Master Ao's palm suddenly stilled.

It wasn't suppressed, it wasn't dispersed.

It just stilled.

As if time in that small space had been paused.

Flames no longer flickered, ice crystals no longer spread, lightning solidified in mid-air, and wind blades ceased their howling.

All the violent energy was like a specimen preserved in amber, maintaining the posture of the last moment before explosion.

Master Ao's body trembled violently.

He could feel that his control over those elements had been forcibly seized by a more advanced, more overbearing power!

How was this possible!

Li Mo!

This man, who had always been cautious and deferential in front of him, more like a senior advisor than a powerful expert!

How could he possess such strength?

Master Ao's face turned pale with shock; for the first time, he truly looked at the man before him.

He had always believed he was a good judge of character.

Li Mo, he thought, was cunning and shrewd, but his strength was mediocre, relying more on Qingyun Pharmaceutical's background.

Now it seemed.

He was wrong.

Terribly wrong!

“Master Ao, you weren't wrong about people.”

Li Mo seemed to see through Master Ao's thoughts, and he slowly closed his five fingers.

The energy vortex in Master Ao's palm also silently annihilated, turning into the purest particles and dissipating into the air.

“I am indeed as you thought, cautious and accustomed to living under others' influence.”

A hint of self-mockery appeared on Li Mo's face.

“You just… never realized the enormous difference between an ordinary Abyss Domain human and a powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of Blue Star.”

“Someone like me…”

Li Mo paused, seemingly searching for a suitable word.

“In the Abyss Domain, I can only be considered a barely surviving worm, constantly scrambling for resources for the next meal, and liable to die in some obscure corner at any moment.”

Worm?

Master Ao's heart twitched violently.

A powerhouse who could easily strip him of his elemental control, was merely a worm in the Abyss Domain?

The impact of these words was far more terrifying than the power display just now!

“A loser who found it incredibly difficult to survive in the Abyss Domain, was eliminated, and had no choice but to flee back to Blue Star…”

Li Mo extended his hand, looking at his palm lines.

“I developed this humble way of doing things, but the power I wield is not something Blue Star humans can easily contend with.”

His words were like a heavy hammer, shattering all of Master Ao's pride as the King of the black market, blow by blow.

Li Mo looked up, gazing at Master Ao once more.

It was a gaze mixed with pity and indifference.

“Master Ao, now, you should think carefully.”

“Even a worm like me, who fled back from the Abyss Domain, possesses such strength.”

“Then…”

“The possibility of the person behind Old Ghost Hall being weaker than you…”

“How great is that possibility?”

In the private room, there was a deathly silence.

Li Mo's casual rhetorical question, however, was like an invisible mountain, pressing heavily on Master Ao's heart.

The possibility of him being weaker than you… how great is that possibility?

Master Ao's body was frozen in place; he could even hear the frantic pounding of his own heart.

Li Mo's strength had completely overturned his understanding.

And such a person, whom he considered a top-tier powerhouse, was merely… a worm in the Abyss Domain?

A struggling, failed survivor?

Then what kind of terrifying existence must the true Abyss Domain powerhouses be?

And was the mysterious person behind Old Ghost Hall truly from the Abyss Domain?

What level did he belong to?

Countless thoughts collided wildly in Master Ao's mind, making his head throb.

His long-held pride, his shrewdness, strength, and status as the King of Linzhou's black market, seemed so ridiculous, so vulnerable at this moment.

After a long while, Master Ao finally found his voice, dry and hoarse.

“Why?”

He stared intently at Li Mo.

“With your strength, why do you live like a dog?”

This was not just a question, but an incomprehensible anger.

A strong person should have a strong person's dignity!

For someone like Li Mo to grovel before the directors of Qingyun Pharmaceutical, and to constantly fawn over him, the King of the black market, was simply an insult to the word “strong person”!

Master Ao could not accept it.