Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 513: Three Leaders
Lin Mo flicked his wrist, tossing the Union Master and the Tiger Lord down to the street. They landed with a heavy thud right at the feet of Dojo Master Iron, groaning in pain, his mask cracked to reveal a terrified, ordinary-looking face.
Silence.
Absolute, terrified silence descended on the street.
In less than a minute, Lin Mo had neutralized the leaders and elites of the city’s three ruling factions without drawing a weapon, without moving from his spot, and without breaking a sweat.
He stood on the balcony, the Tiger Lord pinned beneath his finger, the Union Master groaning below, and the Iron Crane Master shaking in his boots.
"Now," Lin Mo said in a pleasant and cheerful voice, cutting through the fear like a warm knife through butter. "Shall we try this again? I believe I was scheduling a meeting. If you’re here to continue interrupting, we may have to see blood."
The threat was spoken softly, almost casually, but to the three leaders lying in the dust, it sounded like a decree from the King of Hell.
Dojo Master Iron was the first to break. His iron-hard skin was already pale like all his courage had shattered along with his disciples’ wrists. He dropped his heavy staff, the metal clanging loudly against the cobblestones.
In a way, despite being the loudest among the three, he’s the one who didn’t even try to charge in and received no injury whatsoever. Tiger Lord and the Union Master looked at him with a hint of disdain but they were probably wishing that they had taken the same caution, even if their dignity suffered a bit. After all, it’s better to have a healthy body than a broken one.
"W-we yield," Dojo Master Iron declared, bowing his head so low it nearly touched the ground. "This humble one... has eyes but failed to see Mount Tai. The Iron Crane Dojo submits to the esteemed Senior’s... business proposal."
The Tiger Lord pushed himself to stand up and did the same. His pride was a small price to pay for his life. The man in front of him was someone so advanced that he handled them like a child’s toy. He didn’t even sweat against them.
"The Crimson Tiger... submits," He choked out as his pained voice sounded like a strained wheeze.
As for the Union Master, he didn’t speak. He simply nodded frantically, his assassin’s creed of survival overriding any thought of resistance.
"Excellent," Lin Mo beamed, clapping his hands together. "Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Please, come up. All of you. And disperse your subordinates. Let the people return to their homes."
He released the pressure on the Tiger Lord and gestured for the Union Master to be brought up.
Minutes later, the private room of the Pavilion of Drifting Clouds welcomed three more guests.
Luo Lanyi and Tie Zha stood by the door, acting as guards, though everyone knew the real guard was the man sitting at the head of the table.
Hu Gan and Ling Qiumei sat on one side, looking like they were in a dream. They were just at each other’s throats three days ago but now, they had just watched the top experts of the Sleeping Dragon City bowing in submission towards Lin Mo.
Opposite them sat the bruised and humbled leaders of Sleeping Dragon City’s underworld.
Dojo Master Iron nursed a bruised shoulder. The Tiger Lord rubbed his neck, his eyes darting warily at the crate of goods. The Union Master, unmasked to reveal the unblemished face of a pretty woman underneath it.
As it turned out, he was actually a she. She sat there with a pale but composed face. Yet her eyes betrayed a deep, simmering regret now that she had to reveal her identity.
Her delicate features clashed with the brutal reputation of her organization, yet the cold killing intent lingering in her gaze was unmistakable.
"A woman," Dojo Master Iron, wincing as he shifted his bruised shoulder. "The Shadowblade who cut the throat of the Northern Warlord three years ago is a woman? No wonder no one ever found him."
"Silence, old iron," The woman scowled, her voice returning to a semblance of the distorted raspy tone she used, though without her mask, it lost its supernatural edge. "Or I will give you the same treatment we received from the Shopkeeper."
"Now, now," Lin Mo interjected, tapping the table with a rhythmic, calming beat. "Let’s not regress. We are here to discuss the future, not the past. And Miss...?"
"Ying Sha," The Union Master replied curtly, deciding that anonymity was a luxury she could no longer afford in front of this supreme being.
"Miss Ying Sha. A pleasure. Now, look at this table." Without wasting any more seconds, Lin Mo gestured to the spread of goods he brought with him from the store.
The colorful packets, the gleaming cans, the small, medicinal bottles and the few pieces of weapons and armor.
"This is not loot to be fought over. This is inventory. And you three have been doing a terrible job of managing this city’s market potential."
The Tiger Lord, whose name was Lei Hu, stared at the crate, his nostrils flaring as the scent of spices wafted from the open packets. His stomach gave a traitorous rumble, loud enough to be heard in the quiet room.
"You humiliated us," Lei Hu growled, yet his hand was clutching his stomach rather than his saber. "You broke our formations, shamed us before our subordinates, and now you mock our rule. What ’business’ could you possibly have with the defeated?"
"Oh, that’s simple, dear customer. The business of elevation," Lin Mo said as he spread his arms wide like an extremely magnanimous man.
He then picked up a can of [Heavenly Dew Soda] and slid it across the table. It spun perfectly, coming to a stop right in front of the Tiger Lord.
"Open it. Drink. It will help with the... bruising on your ego."
Lei Hu eyed the can suspiciously. It was cold, sweating with condensation in the warm room. He looked at Hu Gan, his former subordinate.
Hu Gan nodded frantically, a look of desperate encouragement on his face.
"Do it, Sect Master. It... it changes things. I haven’t tried that myself yet but I believe... it will be as phenomenal as the spicy noodles."
With a grunt, Lei Hu popped the tab. The hiss made Dojo Master Iron flinch again as if it were some kind of prelude to their doom.
However, he saw Lei Hu amazed as he took a chug.
He was prepared for poison or bitter medicine. Instead, his eyes flew open wide. The carbonation danced on his tongue, the sweetness exploded in his mouth, and a rush of pure, cooling energy washed down his throat, settling the roiling pain in his gut.
"This..." He gasped, looking at the can as if it were a holy grail. "What kind of elixir is this? My inner energy... it is calming down. The blockage in my meridians from your pressure... it is dissolving."
"Ah. That’s just our most popular drink. A soda," Lin Mo said simply. "A common beverage in my establishment. And that is just the appetizer."
He turned his gaze to the Dojo Master. "Master Iron. You pride yourself on your ’Iron Shirt’, yet you shatter like glass against a superior force. Your body may be hard, but it lacks resilience. And perhaps, elasticity."
Lin Mo tossed a small, rectangular packet to him. It was a pack of [Stamina Gum]. While it had a simple effect, cultivators didn’t really have that much use of it other than when they wanted to train in their martial arts techniques overnight.
"Chew one. Do not swallow. It will temper your breath and reinforce your stamina recovery."
Dojo Master Iron caught it. He fumbled with the wrapper with his thick, calloused fingers, finding the foreign packaging so needlessly complicated.
As he eventually succeeded, he popped the gum into his mouth and chewed tentatively.
A burst of cool mint and a strange, rubbery texture greeted him. But then, a subtle warmth began to spread from his jaw, flowing down his neck and into his core. His breathing, ragged from the earlier exertion and fear, leveled out instantly. His fatigue evaporated.
"Incredible..." Dojo Master Iron muttered. "I feel... I feel like I could train for another ten hours without rest."
Finally, Lin Mo looked at Ying Sha. "And you, Miss Ying. Speed and stealth are your life, but your focus wavers. You rely on shadows because you fear the light. True stealth is not exactly about hiding. It is to be unperceivable even in plain sight."
He remembered that certain assassin’s game which he played for the first few installments. The Shadowblade Union Master’s technique was quite close to it. She actually had a hidden blade underneath her black clothing.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have a specific product he could give to her as a sample. Instead, Lin Mo slid a small tin of [Clear Sky Mint Mints] towards her. "For the mind. It clears the fog."
Ying Sha hesitated only for a second before taking a mint.
As the clarity hit her, her eyes sharpened to pinpoints. She looked at Lin Mo, and for the first time, she saw not just a powerful expert, but a terrifying abyss of calm. She realized that even if she had struck him from the shadows earlier, she would have failed to cut into him.
