Chapter 141: The Gathering of “Falcon Beak”
“Mm!”
When Mo Lin released the aura of a mid-grade Earth Rank, yet stood on equal footing with the upper-grade Mountain Lord, the latter raised his brows and silently increased his pressure.
“！”
Though the Mountain Lord stood motionless in the distance, Mo Lin suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders sink.
He hadn’t expected this tiger to be so competitive—provoked so easily.
If the Mountain Lord had just stopped there, that would have been fine, but since he insisted on continuing, Mo Lin wouldn’t mind making him lose face.
The so-called aura pressure was a process that exerted force on both the soul and the flesh. If one’s soul or body couldn’t withstand it, they would falter.
Of course, for Mo Lin and the Mountain Lord, there was no such thing as being unable to endure the other’s pressure.
It was merely that neither of these two Demonic Beasts wished to appear inferior in this clash of momentum.
Focusing entirely on suppressing Mo Lin, the Mountain Lord felt as if he were pressing down on a springy ball—no matter how much pressure he applied, the other side absorbed it with ease.
“Should be about enough now, right? It was only a test to begin with,” he thought.
Just as the Mountain Lord prepared to withdraw his pressure—after all, he hadn’t come to Mo Lin for such trivial matters—Mo Lin’s massive body suddenly quivered under the weight. Then, his aura abruptly surged upward.
The Mountain Lord instantly felt his own pressure being forcefully pushed back, to the point he nearly lost his breath for a moment.
“！”
The Mountain Lord was utterly shocked.
It felt as if the spring ball beneath him had been fully inflated.
No matter how he tried to press it down again, it bulged defiantly, refusing to yield.
Hey, hey, hey—his own aura, released with full force, couldn’t suppress a mere mid-grade Earth Rank?
Impossible!
He had cultivated in the mid-grade realm for many years before breaking through to upper-grade Earth Rank in one fell swoop. He was confident that even among upper-grade peers, his combat power was at the top.
Even if his pressure couldn’t harm Mo Lin, it shouldn’t have been so easily countered!
In the Mountain Lord’s perception, though Mo Lin’s aura wasn’t as forceful as his own, there was a strange density to it.
To put it simply, if their pressures were two armies facing off, the Mountain Lord had 100,000 soldiers while Mo Lin had 60,000.
Though the Mountain Lord had the advantage in numbers, Mo Lin’s troops were fully armored and well-equipped—three of his soldiers could fight five of the Mountain Lord’s evenly.
Thus, when the two armies clashed, Mo Lin’s 60,000 could hold their ground against the Mountain Lord’s 100,000, even pushing them back at times.
That was precisely the feeling.
The Mountain Lord narrowed his eyes, slowly retracting his “army,” and Mo Lin tacitly withdrew his own.
“How did you do it?”
Although the Mountain Lord’s question was vague, Mo Lin understood what he meant.
But he had no obligation to answer.
“What?”
The Mountain Lord gave Mo Lin, who was pretending ignorance, a deep look but said nothing more.
“Let’s go. Don’t forget why we’re here. The others are already waiting for us.”
With that, he turned and strode ahead, not caring whether Mo Lin, being a Python Demon, could keep up with his pace.
Clearly, although he didn’t say much, the proud Mountain Lord was far from as calm as he appeared after suffering repeated setbacks at Mo Lin’s hands.
Following behind, Mo Lin flicked his tongue, feeling rather pleased—finally easing the frustration from earlier.
To make an upper-grade Earth Rank like the Mountain Lord take a small loss in an aura contest—such a thing would have been unthinkable back when Mo Lin was a lowly little beast.
And now that it had really happened, how could he not be in high spirits?
As for how a mid-grade like him could contend evenly with an upper-grade in aura—well, the reason was simple.
As mentioned earlier, aura pressure worked upon both spirit and flesh simultaneously.
And in this domain, Mo Lin’s mastery was far from ordinary.
Though the Mountain Lord’s soul had also benefited from the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore and was stronger than that of most beasts, he lacked Mo Lin’s ability to devour that ore freely. Thus, despite guarding it for years, the benefits he gained were still less than Mo Lin’s.
Though he surpassed Mo Lin in rank, Mo Lin had perfected the unity of soul and flesh through the “Soul Refinement” technique, achieving an even smoother integration than the Mountain Lord.
So, while the Mountain Lord’s “quantity” was greater, Mo Lin’s “quality” was higher—losing out slightly was only natural.
Of course, this was merely a minor clash under the condition of “not actually fighting.” It didn’t count as a real victory, since both still had many other means at their disposal.
If they truly fought, the outcome would still be uncertain.
After moving through the mountain forest for some time, the Mountain Lord halted.
Behind him, Mo Lin also stopped slithering.
Their gazes grew solemn. Though both dared to launch the upcoming attack against humans—an act of sheer audacity—they were not fools.
No fool could have survived in the mountains long enough to reach the Earth Rank.
What they were about to do could very well enrage the humans completely, inviting fierce retaliation.
This was no longer on the same level as Mo Lin killing Fei Wu’s group or even Lin Huai before Zhu Dongfeng’s eyes.
No matter how reckless Mo Lin had been, that was merely provoking the organization of the Six Gates. Other humans wouldn’t care much about a single Earth Rank Demonic Beast.
But what they were about to do next could draw the attention of all humans in Yongzhou—perhaps even beyond—prompting direct measures against them.
And that, of course, was precisely the intention of “Falcon Beak.”
They had had enough of swallowing their anger. It was time to let the human world hear their voice—though, admittedly, Mo Lin wasn’t exactly known for “swallowing his anger” to begin with.
The Mountain Lord turned to Mo Lin, his earlier competitiveness gone.
“Soon, you’ll meet the other members of ‘Falcon Beak.’ Before that, I’ll give you a simple introduction—”
Just then, a rippling voice came from nearby:
“Mountain Lord, why so formal? A comrade has come—come join us.”
Mo Lin’s eyes flickered as he glanced at the Mountain Lord, amusement glinting within them.
The Mountain Lord said nothing, though a trace of awkwardness flickered in his eyes.
It wasn’t because his attempt to introduce “Falcon Beak” had been interrupted.
It was because the voice came accompanied by a powerful aura—another upper-grade Earth Rank.
Exactly the same as when the Mountain Lord had approached Mo Lin earlier—an unspoken show of dominance.
“Ahem.”
Pretending not to notice Mo Lin’s teasing gaze, the Mountain Lord raised his head and strode toward the voice.
Since they’d already been noticed, there was no point in further introductions.
When the tiger and the python arrived at the gathering point of “Falcon Beak,” several Demonic Beasts radiating formidable auras appeared before Mo Lin.
This was the first time he had ever seen so many Earth Rank Demonic Beasts gathered together.
Each aura was different, yet every one of them carried overwhelming strength.
For a moment, Mo Lin even felt as though he had once again been surrounded by Dong Li and the others from the Yongzhou Chamber of Commerce.