His Gold-Cutting Sword Formation remained incomplete, still lacking a good deal, but his Divine Sense had already been depleted.
Moreover, Cheng Mo was nearly at his limit.
Even though he practiced Body Cultivation and had exceptional physical talent, it was impossible to endure such beatings endlessly.
For today, it was best to take a step back.
Mo Hua walked to the edge of the forest and scattered some foul-smelling flesh. Sure enough, within moments, a monster beast resembling a hyena, standing as tall as a man, with its mouth foaming a rancid stench, appeared.
The monster beast let out a roar toward the group, its eyes flashing with savage intent.
Cheng Mo felt a surge of alertness and immediately knew it was time to retreat.
The armor on his body was nearly in tatters, his flesh bore multiple wounds, and if the fight continued, he might truly have reached his breaking point.
Cheng Mo swung his axe, knocking back Song Jian, who wielded the Gold-Cutting Sword, then deliberately said with exasperation:
"This beast is causing trouble; let’s battle another day."
Song Jian was unwilling to let the matter rest. He sensed that he was only a step away from defeating Cheng Mo. Then, he would be able to trample over Cheng Mo, mock the incompetence of the Taixu Sect, and wash away the humiliation he had suffered before.
But right at the critical moment, Cheng Mo decided to stop fighting, muttering something about battling another day.
Battle another day my ass!
How could Song Jian accept this? He immediately shouted in anger:
"Coward! If you have the guts, don’t run! Let’s determine a winner here and now!"
Cheng Mo sneered coldly, saying, "Idiot! The monster beast is here—if you don’t run, are you planning to die?"
Without waiting for a reply, he quickly turned and bolted.
Song Jian, fuming with rage, chased after him while cursing:
"You bastard! Coward! If you run, it counts as your loss!"
Cheng Mo, thick-skinned as ever, retorted while fleeing:
"You’re full of shit! According to the rules, I haven’t surrendered nor fallen motionless to the ground. That doesn’t count as a loss. And as for your Sever Gold Sect’s vaunted swordsmanship, it’s nothing impressive. To me, it’s barely tolerable—I can’t even be bothered to dodge it..."
His words were bold, but with his patched-up broken armor and body covered in injuries, they lacked much credibility.
Song Jian cursed repeatedly, calling him "shameless."
With the hyena-like beast closing in rapidly, Cheng Mo remarked, "This time it’s just bad luck. If it weren’t for this meddlesome beast, I guarantee in another twenty rounds, I’d beat you to your knees, calling me ’Grandpa.’"
"If you’ve got the guts, let’s fight again next time."
Song Jian’s gaze turned dark and cold. Realizing he had no other recourse, he gritted his teeth and said:
"Fine! Next time, I’ll slice you into ribbons!"
Cheng Mo laughed coldly. "Such bragging."
Then, with a quick turn, he darted off to the left.
Covered in wounds and reeking of blood, the hyena-like beast didn’t hesitate and instantly gave chase.
Left with no alternatives, Song Jian returned to regroup with the disciples of the Song family within the Sever Gold Sect.
"Young Master, how did it go?" The disciples of the Song family, noticing that Song Jian’s Spiritual Power was greatly depleted, asked in concern.
Song Jian’s face darkened. "A mere Taixu Sect disciple—not worth mentioning."
"This time they got lucky. Next time, I’ll definitely cut them down with my sword!"
The disciples chimed in flattering remarks:
"Young Master is heroic and unparalleled!"
Song Jian took a deep breath, his fury clearly not yet spent.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Mo Hua had set up a formation to lay a trap. Together with several others, they joined forces to dispatch the pursuing hyena-like beast.
Cheng Mo slumped onto the ground, waving his hand weakly. "Junior Brother, I’m done for—it’s no use continuing; I can’t take any more beatings."
Even if his body was wrought of iron, he couldn’t withstand such a relentless onslaught of Gold-Cutting Sword Qi.
To last two hours was already commendable.
Mo Hua transferred two hundred merit points to him, then patted his shoulder. "Hang in there; next time I’ll get you upgraded armor—it should make a big difference."
The Gold-Cutting Sword Formation wasn’t fully calculated yet.
Mo Hua estimated that another two rounds of Cheng Mo being pummeled and they should have enough data.
Mo Hua remarked, "The next armor will be much tougher."
Cheng Mo sighed, "Fine."
Mo Hua instructed the team to skin the hyena-like beast and collect materials to exchange for merit points.
Half of the points were allocated to Cheng Mo as compensation for "taking the beatings."
That made Cheng Mo feel much better.
Upon returning to the sect, Mo Hua wasted no time heading to the Disciple’s Residence. He opened the Formation Paper and delved into the study of the Gold-Cutting Sword Formation.