Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 560: Quelled

Lin Mo watched the seven heads approaching. It was a formidable technique, certainly the peak of what the Martial World had to offer.

"Not bad," Lin Mo admitted. "But... it's still just a trick of the eye."

He closed his eyes. He didn't need to see the illusions. His refined soul and his [Stillwater Perception] sensed the true flow of energy.

Six of the heads were empty shells of dispersed qi. Only one held the true weight of the steel blade.

He opened his eyes, and they glowed with a brilliant amethyst light.

[Psionic-Tempered Starlight Qi: Soul Shock]!

A pulse of mental energy, sharp as a needle, shot from his eyes, piercing straight into Hei Feilong's mind.

"Guh!"

Hei Feilong flinched. His concentration broke. The six phantom heads flickered and vanished instantly.

Only the real blade remained, thrusting towards Lin Mo's chest, but its momentum had been severed.

Lin Mo stepped to the side, letting the blade pass harmlessly under his arm before angling the tip of his spear straight to Hei Feilong's chest.

STAB!

Despite the strong body of a Transformation Stage martial artist, a heaven-grade spear like his effortlessly pierced through the hardened flesh and bone, burying itself deep into the warlord's right chest.

It missed the heart. A calculated mercy, or perhaps just a desire to keep the conversation going. However, the damage was already catastrophic. If he wasn't tended to right away, he'd bleed out.

Furthermore, the starlight qi infused within the spear didn't just cut into him. It expanded within his body.

Like a miniature galaxy born inside flesh, the energy spiraled outward, shredding the meridians around the wound and shattering the flow of Hei Feilong's martial qi.

"ARGH!"

Hei Feilong painfully roared. His massive hands flew up, gripping the shaft of the spear in a desperate attempt to stop its advance. His palms smoked as they made contact with the divine metal and the coating of starlight.

"You... what... sort of monster..." He grunted as blood bubbled past his lips.

"No. You mistake me for a monster. I am but a simple shopkeeper tending to his store." Lin Mo said, his voice calm amidst the chaos, twisting the spear slightly to ensure the warlord stayed put. "Had you tried a different approach, I would've welcomed you into our fold. Alas, this plane has been running in a dog-eat-dog situation. You will never bow down to an unknown being like me who seemingly appeared out of nowhere."

Hei Feilong's eyes burned with a stubborn, dying fire. He was a 7th Gate Master. He had ruled the Seven Valleys Alliance with fear and an iron hand. He refused to be humbled by a mere merchant.

"I am... the Black Dragon... I do not... kneel!"

With a roar that tore at his own vocal cords, Hei Feilong burned his remaining life essence. His muscles swelled, turning a deep, bruised purple. He ignored the spear skewering his chest and released his grip on it.

He swung a massive, martial qi-coated fist directly at Lin Mo's head.

It was a suicidal strike. A blow meant to trade a life for a life.

Lin Mo sighed. "A futile struggle. Don't you worry. I will incorporate your Seven Valleys in our expansion. Because you see, it's about time to usher in a new age. The Age of Convenience."

Upon saying that, Lin Mo poured in more of his starlight qi, intending to completely shatter the warlord's resistance.

"[Flowing Star Combat Style: Stellar Eruption]!"

He used the spear shaft buried in the warlord's chest and pulled it back until only the pointed tip remained inside before pouring more starlight qi into Hei Feilong's body.

He used all of his constellations, gathering and condensing them until they eventually reached a critical mass.

BOOM!

A pillar of blinding silver light exploded from within Hei Feilong's torso, exiting out his back and his orifices, piercing the sky.

The warlord's desperate punch froze inches from Lin Mo's face, the momentum instantly neutralized by the catastrophic internal destruction.

The purple, bruised skin of the warlord cracked as beams of starlight shot out from every pore. His roar of defiance turned into a silent gasp as his lungs, heart, and meridians were disintegrated by the pure, orderly energy of the stars.

The massive body of the 7th Gate Master, a being who had terrorized the wastes of the Martial World for decades, went limp.

The light in his eyes extinguished, leaving behind only the hollow shell of a man who had refused to adapt.

Lin Mo withdrew his spear with a wet slide. Hei Feilong's corpse collapsed to the tiled roof with a heavy, final thud, the massive guan dao clattering beside him.

Silence.

It started from the roof of the Pavilion of Drifting Clouds and spread outward like a ripple in a pond, spreading over the chaotic battlefield below.

The clash of steel ceased. The screams died down. And even the crackling fires seemed to hush.

Thousands of eyes, from the defenders on the walls to the invaders in the streets, turned upwards.

They stared at the lone figure standing silhouetted against the smoke-filled sky, his green and white uniform unstained by blood, a spear of starlight in his hand, and the broken body of the invincible Warlord at his feet. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Lin Mo didn't revel in the kill. He simply flicked his spear, shaking off the blood, and stored it back into his inventory. He then stepped up to the edge of the roof, looking down at the sea of stunned faces.

He tapped into his [Stellar Domain], expanding it to project his presence. His voice, amplified by his spiritual energy, rolled over the city like a decree from the heavens.

"Seven Valleys Alliance. Your Warlord is dead," Lin Mo announced, his tone devoid of triumph, merely stating a fact of business. "He chose the inconvenient path. He chose stagnation and death."

He swept his gaze over the army of the Seven Valleys Alliance. They were hardened martial arts experts of different disciplines who lived under Hei Feilong's lead. But right now, faced with a power that could swat their leader like a fly, they were terrified children.

"Now, the choice falls to you," Lin Mo continued. "You came here to plunder. You came here to steal. If you chose to run away. You can still do that. We lack the hands to capture all of you anyway. But let me offer you something better. I offer you… employment."

A ripple of confusion went through the Seven Valleys' ranks. Employment? They were expecting execution or slavery. The Valley Elders who served as direct subordinates of Hei Feilong had already started planning their retreat. But hearing Lin Mo's words, they were baffled.

Lin Mo didn't mind that, though. Through his spiritual senses, he already pinpointed the location of each of those Valley Elders. Most of them were Transcendent Stage martial artists who opened their Sixth Gate. One of which was even the expert Tie Zha defeated.

"The Crimson Tiger Sect, as you know it, has already accepted my offer. They are no longer bandits. They are reborn as our Harvesters. They earn their keep, they eat food that would make an emperor weep, and they wield power you can only dream of."

He gestured to Hu Gan, who was standing on a lower roof, his [Legionary Armor] glowing with a pale blue light, looking like a god of war amidst the mortals.

"Look at them. Look at that armor and look at his strength. You may not believe this but the man underneath that armor is merely a first-rate martial artist. That is the benefit of being a patron of the Divine Convenience Store. One day, you can also earn it. If you've proven loyal enough to our convenience's cause."

"Hei Feilong offered you scraps and death. I offer you a salary, resources, and a brighter future."

Lin Mo then lowered his voice a bit, changing his tone into a colder one, "Or, you can try to avenge him. You can try to leave and come back another day or rush to this pavilion. But know this… once I deemed you a troublemaker, you cannot be involved in the new age that our store will usher in."

The threat hung in the air, something heavy and suffocating.

CLANG.

A single scimitar dropped to the cobblestones.

It was followed by another. Then another.

A wave of surrender swept through the invading army. Men dropped their weapons, falling to their knees, their foreheads pressing against the dirty street.

"We yield!" A Peak Stage martial artist cried out. "We accept the employment! Please, Senior! Spare us!"

"We wish to follow the Shopkeeper!"

"Give us the noodles!"

The chants began to rise, a chaotic chorus of surrender and hunger.

Lin Mo nodded, satisfied. He turned to the stunned defenders below.

Then, the Valley Elders, for a few of them, dropped to their knees. Their pride as Transcendent Stage experts, martial artists who had opened six of the body's hidden Gates, crumbled under the weight of absolute power and the alluring scent of opportunity.

"T-traitors."

"Cowards! Ptui!"

The two Valley Elders who refused to kneel disdainfully glanced at them before glaring straight at Lin Mo.

"Shopkeeper, is it? This isn't o–"

Before they could finish their statement, two figures clad in Legionary Set swept them off their feet. It was Ying Sha and Ling Qiumei.