Zhang Mengmeng's face turned awkward, and her heart felt slightly sour. Indeed, she had sent Tong Ling yesterday to see if Fu Shengjie would cause trouble for Lin Mo, but it wasn't because she was worried about Lin Mo. Rather, she feared that if Fu Shengjie angered Lin Mo, things would turn bad.
"He and I are really just ordinary classmates, and Lin Mo has a rather cold temperament. He usually doesn't joke around with girls. He wouldn't even bother with some of the school beauties, so he probably wouldn't take girls to a hotel, right?" As Zhang Mengmeng spoke, she couldn't help but let out a sigh in her heart.
As a student at Tian Nan University and now even ranked among the school beauties, she had once taken the initiative to approach Lin Mo. However, he had shown no reaction to her, which had led her to doubt the power of her own charm at the time.
"If you are really just ordinary classmates, then I'm relieved," said Tong Ling with a twisted mouth. "After all, that kind of guy doesn't seem like he will amount to much in the future. Why not come back to Jiangbei with me this time and I'll introduce you to some young masters who are much better than him."
Zhang Mengmeng merely smiled faintly without further explanation. Lin Mo, despite his teenage years, was respected by many big shots in Imperial City. With his achievements, how many youths could truly surpass him?
...
Jiangbei, Linzhou Railway Station.
Lin Mo and Liao Wen took the bullet train, and after roughly four to five hours, they arrived at the border of Jiangbei. Linzhou was one of the most developed cities in Jiangbei, with a permanent population of three million. Finding someone from the Black Witch Sect in such a large city was undoubtedly as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack for ordinary people.
However, an organization like the Black Witch Sect wouldn't easily make a move, nor would they easily step into the mundane world. Their sudden presence in Jiangbei must have a purpose.
As soon as they got off the train, Lin Mo's Divine Sense spread out like a spiderweb. Even though Lin Mo had yet to reach the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment or even the Innate Realm, he was practicing the most powerful Divine Sense Technique from ancient times. With his current strength, covering half the city with his Divine Sense was not an issue.
As his Divine Sense spread out, in the dark void, a series of flames suddenly lit up.
These flames represented the fire of life; ordinary people's life fire was weak, while the flames of Martial Artists, Magic Users, and Superpower Users were significantly more vigorous, resembling candles floating in the air.
The more vibrantly burning flames represented each person's strength—the brighter the candle, the higher the strength.
Near the train station, there were unexpectedly two slightly glowing candles, and those two seemed completely unaware they were covered by Lin Mo's Divine Sense.
Although Huaxia Land was vast and had a long history full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, the sudden appearance of so many Martial Artists and Magic Users in a single city suggested something unusual was afoot.
"Little girl, you've actually returned!"
Just as Lin Mo and Liao Wen were about to take a taxi into the city, an abrupt voice rang out.
Both Lin Mo and Liao Wen turned their heads and indeed saw two men dressed like ordinary people standing behind them. Both were Magic Users, and the aura they carried was quite familiar—it was indeed from the Black Witch Sect.
"You are people from the Black Witch Sect," Liao Wen said, wide-eyed, not expecting to be found by them just upon arriving in Jiangbei.
"Did you complete the task assigned by the protector?" one of the men asked.
Lin Mo looked at the two men with a cold expression, "Aren't you just looking for me? I'm standing right here, and yet you don't recognize me?"
Hearing Lin Mo's words, the two from the Black Witch Sect's faces suddenly changed.
Before either of the two could make a move, a flash of golden light flitted across Lin Mo's eyes, and their souls were erased by him; the light in their pupils dimmed instantly.
Lin Mo wiped out the two men's souls, and at the same time extracted the memories from their minds. The two were ordinary disciples of the Black Witch Sect, and it seemed that the old Sect Hierarch was not in Jiangbei—only a protector had come to Jiangbei.
This protector seemed to have come to Jiangbei for an item that was to be auctioned off at Jia Auction House tonight.
"Again Jia Auction House, it seems that this auction house is no simple matter, involving items from both the Martial Arts World and the Magic World," Lin Mo murmured to himself.
In the evening, outside Jia Auction House in Linzhou.
Last time, Lin Mo had met Miss Duanmu Xiang from the Jia Family, who had given him a card. He found the card in his Space Ring and handed it to the person in charge at the entrance, who immediately invited him in with great respect.
"Sir, would you like me to arrange VIP suite number one for you?" The attendant, bowing deeply, asked as he walked ahead of Lin Mo.
"No need, I'll just find a spot," Lin Mo said indifferently. With that, the attendant bowed respectfully and backed away, his heart filled with amazement. It was well-known that Jia Auction House had branches in every major city of Huaxia, and the VIP Card that Lin Mo had just presented was rumored to have been issued only ten times in total. Moreover, every recipient was a big shot who could shake a region with a single stomp.
However, the attendant was also puzzled—how could this young man be such an immense big shot? Could it be just something taken from his family for fun?
No matter what, the young man's status was surely beyond his imagination, and this matter had to be reported to the general manager.
"Eh, Lin Mo, what brings you here?" Suddenly, a voice of pleasant surprise came from the side.
Lin Mo turned his head and saw Zhang Mengmeng, Tong Ling, Fu Shengjie, and a few other young men and women sitting nearby. He hadn't expected to run into Zhang Mengmeng in Jiangbei, but given that Jiangbei was her grandmother's home, he guessed she had come for a visit during the holidays.
Tong Ling and Fu Shengjie both frowned slightly.
Why had Lin Mo also arrived in Jiangbei? Could it be that he had followed Zhang Mengmeng here?
But then they saw Liao Wen following behind Lin Mo; perhaps she was from Jiangbei and that was the reason for his visit.
"I think I saw them going to book a hotel room last night," Tong Ling whispered with a slight frown to Zhang Mengmeng. Nevertheless, Jia Auction House catered to society's elite; ordinary people had no access. How could he have gotten in? Perhaps the girl with him had an extraordinary identity? Tong Ling wondered inwardly.
Meeting Zhang Mengmeng in Jiangbei was an unexpected coincidence for Lin Mo, who promptly sat down beside her group.
However, as soon as he sat down, he felt a somewhat chilling gaze from the side—Fu Shengjie humphed coldly.
It was obvious that the other man regarded him as a 'love rival' and thus harbored hostility towards him, a sentiment Lin Mo did not take to heart.
"If I had known you were coming to Jiangbei, we could have come together," Zhang Mengmeng said with a smile, though her expression turned somewhat somber as her gaze flitted stealthily towards Liao Wen.
Liao Wen was the kind of girl who was very delicate and simple, with an air of innocence. In terms of appearance, she wasn't quite on the same level as Zhang Mengmeng, who had not expected Lin Mo to favor such a girl, and felt somewhat disenchanted at his lack of interest in spending more time with her.
The group of young men and women sitting with Zhang Mengmeng were friends from a circle in Jiangbei, some of whom were Zhang Mengmeng's childhood playmates. Perhaps after hearing Tong Ling's 'gossip', they all examined Lin Mo with curiosity.