Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 561: Arrogant Challenge

"Shopkeeper, your orders." Ling Qiumei said as her sword pressed against the neck of the Seven Valley Elder she just knocked down. Likewise, Ying Sha turned to Lin Mo as her hidden blade jutting out from under her wrist aimed directly at the other elder’s throat.

The two elders, men who had opened six Gates and commanded thousands, were currently trembling.

The cold steel against their skin was terrifying, but the indifferent gaze of the man in the green and white uniform was far worse. It was the gaze of a being who viewed them not as martial masters, but as defective products on a shelf.

"Orders?" Lin Mo repeated, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He looked at the kneeling army, then back at the two defiant elders. Then, he opened his mouth, spouting something nonexistent beforehand, "In our Divine Convenience Store, I have a policy regarding defective goods. We try to repair them. If they cannot be repaired, we discard them. It’s a matter of efficiency."

Defective goods? With how perfectionist the divine beings are, there won’t be any defective goods coming from them. And even if there is, the quality of the product will still surpass what the cultivators in the First Heaven can produce.

But since he’s trying to establish a foundation in this Fractured Plane, there’s no reason not to build up the image of the store.

Lin Mo then took a step closer. His [Stellar Domain], though invisible to their naked eyes, pressed down on the two elders with the weight of a collapsing star.

"You called your fellow elders cowards," Lin Mo said, "You spit on the opportunity I offered. That tells me two things. One, you have loyalty to your dead warlord, which is admirable in a primitive sort of way. Two, you lack the vision to see that the world around you has changed. And blindness... is a severe inconvenience."

"Kill us then!" One of the elders spat, yet the wavering in his voice was undeniable. "We will not serve a merchant who hides behind tricks!"

"Tricks?" Lin Mo chuckled dryly. He raised his hand, and the [Starlit Dragon Spear] materialized in his grip, humming with starlight qi. "I just disintegrated a 7th Gate master from the inside out. The pressure you’re feeling? It came from me. If you think that is a trick, then your perception is truly flawed."

He glanced at Ling Qiumei and Ying Sha. "Sheathe your weapons. Let them stand."

The two women hesitated for a bit but upon considering how invincible he appeared in their eyes, they obeyed instantly, stepping back but keeping their muscles coiled, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

The two elders scrambled to their feet, circulating their inner energy. Their bodies glowed with the faint aura of the Transcendent Stage. They were strong, undeniably.

In this region or perhaps in the entirety of the Martial World, they were only second to Transformation Stage martial arts masters. They could lord over thousands and prey upon the weak.

But here, in front of an incomprehensible power that Lin Mo wields, they looked like children facing a titan.

"I was thinking of letting those who do not want to submit go but I guess I am being too naive." Lin Mo continued. "If I let you go, you’ll definitely muster another strength. Perhaps find another Transformation Stage master or even a Profound Stage to take me on."

His gaze then shifted to the kneeling Valley Elders who expressed their willingness to surrender, "And the same goes for you, you may pretend to submit this time and strike again when I’m not around. I cannot have that."

"Today, regardless of whether you were forced to follow Hei Feilong to attack this city or not, I must etch in your minds that only the Divine Convenience Store is the path forward."

Lin Mo lowered his spear and retracted his [Stellar Domain].

"Those who still have doubts about my strength, come at me. I’ll take you on alone. None of the martial artists of the Sleeping Dragon City will interfere. If you can land a single scratch on me or force me to take a step back, you are free to leave. You can even take a crate of my goods with you as a parting gift."

He gestured to the open space in front of him. "But if you fail... you must throw away any thoughts of defiance and accept the convenience. Your loyalty and your future will be towards our cause. Spreading more convenience."

It was an arrogant challenge. A declaration of absolute superiority.

The two defiant elders exchanged a glance. They saw the opening. The Shopkeeper had dismissed the pressure weighing down on them. He lowered his weapon and sent away his guards.

He was presenting himself as a target.

And it wasn’t just them. The kneeling elders, the ones who had surrendered out of fear, felt a flicker of hope. If these two could expose a weakness, if they could prove the Shopkeeper was mortal... perhaps the balance of power could shift again.

"You are a fool," The first elder, a man with thick arms that looked like gnarled roots, growled. He specialized in the [Iron Palm Technique]. His hands hardened to the point where he could crush stone and bend iron effortlessly.

"I, Valley Master Stone, will crush your arrogance!"

"And I, Valley Master Viper, will poison your veins!" The second elder followed suit, drawing two curved daggers that dripped with a noxious green fluid.

Lin Mo looked at that and smiled. He had experienced being in close contact with the connoisseurs of poison from the Poison Demon Cult. Compared to them, this Viper’s poison lacked the potency to poison a cultivator like him.

"Come then," Lin Mo beckoned with a finger. "Show me your worth."

Valley Master Stone roared and charged first.

Despite his size, his figure turned into a blur as his inner energy concentrated entirely in his palms.

"[Shattering Mountain Palm]!"

He leaped into the air, descending upon Lin Mo with both palms thrust out, aiming to cave in Lin Mo’s chest. The air pressure alone cracked the ground beneath him and made those weaker martial artists cower from the pressure.

Unfortunately for him, Lin Mo watched his descent calmly and simply shifted his weight, his body flowing like water.

Instead of retreating, he used it to advance, stepping into the attack.

Just as the palms were about to connect, Lin Mo twisted his torso. The palms passed inches from his chest, the wind of their passage ruffling his uniform.

Simultaneously, Lin Mo brought his shoulder forward, slamming it into the elder’s exposed chest.

It wasn’t a strike powered by starlight qi but just purely physical, augmented by his Perfect Foundation and [Stillwater Body].

THUD!

Valley Master Stone gasped as the air was forced from his lungs. His momentum was halted instantly.

He tried to recover, to bring his knee up for a follow-up strike, but Lin Mo was already moving.

Lin Mo hooked his leg behind the elder’s knee and pushed.

The elder’s balance shattered. He fell backward, but before he could hit the ground, Lin Mo grabbed his wrist and slammed him onto it, face-first.

"Too rigid," Lin Mo commented calmly.

Valley Master Stone screamed as his arm was also dislocated from the impact. Lin Mo spun him around and threw him down.

The elder tumbled, barely maintaining his consciousness. He panted while clutching his useless arm.

"My turn!" Valley Master Viper shrieked, lunging from Lin Mo’s blind spot.

His daggers drew a line of green light, weaving a complex net of slashes aimed at Lin Mo’s arteries.

His technique was fast, treacherous, and designed to overwhelm.

But Lin Mo didn’t bother doing anything more excessive than raising his foot. He swayed left, right and back.

He moved with a minimal motion, his body bending in impossible angles to let the poisoned blades pass by. It was like watching a leaf dance in a storm.

"Too slow." Lin Mo murmured, ducking under a vicious slash aimed at his throat. "You broadcast your strikes before you make them."

Viper snarled in frustration, increasing his speed. His inner energy flared, turning his daggers into streaks of venomous light.

"[Viper’s Thousand Bites]!"

Hundreds of stab illusions filled the air.

Lin Mo finally raised his spear. He didn’t use the blade. He used the shaft.

Clack-clack-clack-clack!

With a speed that defied the naked eye, the spear shaft intercepted every single dagger strike. It was a perfect defense, a wall of spinning wood and divine metal.

Sparks flew as the daggers chipped against the heaven-grade artifact.

Viper’s eyes widened in horror. His arms were going numb from the impacts. He was attacking with everything he had, and this man was blocking it with casual ease.

"Is that it?" Lin Mo asked, boredom creeping into his tone.

He suddenly stopped his defensive spin and thrust the blunt end of the spear forward.

It moved faster than Viper could react.

WHAM!

The shaft slammed into Viper’s solar plexus.

The Valley Elder folded in half, coughing up stomach fluids. He stumbled back, dropping his daggers.

"You... you monster..." Viper wheezed, falling to his knees.

Lin Mo looked at the two defeated elders. He hadn’t used any technique. He had simply outfought them with pure martial skill and superior physical stats.

But the lesson wasn’t over yet.