Childhood Sweetheart is the Future Empress

Eastern Wasteland, Purple Sun Prefecture.

Under the bright daylight, the official road buzzed with the clamor of carriages and horses. A convoy of over a hundred people and more than a dozen horse-drawn carts hurried along at full speed.

A young man dressed in silk lifted the carriage curtain, his pale face craving a few breaths of fresh air.

"Phew..."

"Traveling long distances in ancient times is really torture. Ugh."

Just as he opened the curtain, however, a gust of dust choked him, sending him into a coughing fit.

"Young Master, we still have two more days' journey before reaching the Clear Abyss Sect," the coachman, also the family steward, said with an apologetic smile.

After a pause, he carefully added, "The carriages from our mansion are already the most comfortable for travel."

"Got it."

Li Mo responded with a sigh in his heart.

High-speed trains and planes were so much better...

Two days ago, he had broken through the "mystery of the womb" and awakened memories of his past life.

In his previous existence, he had lived on a planet called Blue Star, a world of advanced modern technology.

Great Yu, however, was different.

This was a world where martial arts were revered, where individuals could attain godlike power.

Now sixteen years old, before he could fully enjoy the leisurely life of a wealthy young master, his father had packed him into a carriage. He was being sent to the Clear Abyss Sect, one of the three great sects of Purple Sun Prefecture, to take the entrance examination.

"Martial arts, huh..."

A look of longing crossed Li Mo's face as he gazed at the three suns hanging high in the sky.

From the chatter of fellow travelers heading to the Clear Abyss Sect, he had learned that in this world, even someone as strong as his father—comparable to a humanoid mech—was merely at the "Stubborn Bronze" level.

Legend had it that the three suns in the sky were the incarnations of two past Great Yu emperors.

This wasn't myth or folklore—it was well-documented history.

An hour later.

Dusk approached.

The convoy, escorted by armed guards, came to a slow halt at a roadside inn.

Just as Li Mo jumped off the carriage, the curtain of the cart behind him was lifted as well.

A young girl stepped out, dressed in indigo cotton robes, her skin as smooth and pale as moonlit porcelain.

Though still in her early teens, her figure already held a budding grace, nearly as tall as Li Mo himself.

Days of travel and illness had left her delicate, aristocratic face tinged with weariness, yet it only heightened her breathtaking beauty.

Exhausted, frail, and clad in plain clothing, she still carried an aura that made even the most extravagant palace beauties pale in comparison.

A name surfaced in Li Mo’s mind.

Ying Bing.

The Li and Ying families had been close for generations, maintaining strong ties since their grandfathers' time.

In their generation, the elders had even hinted at arranging a marriage between the two to strengthen the bond.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat? I’ll have the kitchen prepare it," Li Mo said casually.

The girl ignored him completely. Her ice-cold eyes didn’t so much as glance in his direction as she walked past him into the inn, leaving only a faint trace of fragrance behind.

"Lady Ying has recently suffered a family tragedy, so she’s..."

"No need to explain. I was the one who acted like a brat before."

Li Mo sighed inwardly.

What a mess.

Even after crossing into another world, he still ended up as the troublemaking kid.

Born into wealth and spoiled rotten, he had pulled all sorts of childish stunts—peeking at maids bathing, hiding firecrackers in firewood...

A few years ago, disaster struck when a calamity beast attacked the city. The Ying family was wiped out, leaving only Ying Bing alive. His father had taken her in to stay at the Li residence.

Li Mo, being the little menace he was, had deliberately bullied her—though deep down, he actually liked her.

It was like those middle-school crushes where boys tugged girls' hair just to get their attention...

"As everyone knows, those who lose their entire family tend to be anything but ordinary."

As a former novel enthusiast, Li Mo couldn’t help but make the connection.

"Your soup’s here!"

A cheerful waiter arrived, carrying a tray.

Li Mo’s lips twitched as he muttered,

"After two lifetimes, you’d think I’d at least get a cheat system or something..."

"Hello, you do have one."

"Who said that?!"

Li Mo jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Young Master?" The steward gave him a puzzled look. Was the young master acting up again?

"Never mind, must’ve been tinnitus."

Frowning, Li Mo was just starting to wonder if he’d imagined it when the voice echoed in his mind again:

"Since you’ve asked so sincerely, this System will now make its grand appearance."

Li Mo: "......?"

So if I hadn’t asked, you’d have stayed hidden forever?

Fine, that wasn’t the point.

"What exactly do you do?"

"This System is an Investment Returns System."

"You may invest in any target. The stronger the ‘Destiny’ of the invested individual, the greater the rewards."

"If the invested target achieves a major breakthrough, additional rewards will be granted."

Li Mo raised an eyebrow.

Any target?

"Can I invest in myself?"

"[Destiny’s Eye] has been activated. Whether you are a worthy investment is for you to judge."

So that’s a yes.

As the thought crossed his mind, Li Mo suddenly felt something inexplicable settle into his consciousness—intangible, invisible, yet undeniably present.

He couldn’t grasp its profundity, but he knew how to wield it.

The information, however, was cryptic, neither sound nor text.

Destiny’s Eye?

Li Mo frowned. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Then, a panel materialized before him, seemingly adjusting for user-friendliness.

[Name: Li Mo]

[Age: 16]

[Bone Structure: None.]

[Realm: Mortal.]

[Destiny: Gray (Fraught with Adversity)]

[Evaluation: Born with innate deficiencies, weak and sickly, unfit for martial arts. Aside from being handsome and having a rich father, what else do you have? What are you even?]

[Recent Events: Encountered this System.]

Li Mo: "..."

Too brutally honest.

Rude, but undeniably accurate. There was no investment value here.

Surely among the group heading to the Clear Abyss Sect, there’s at least a few promising talents.

Li Mo lost his appetite and looked up.

A faint glimmer passed through his eyes as he scanned the fellow travelers resting in the inn’s main hall.

[Name: He Yong]

[Age: 16]

[Bone Structure: None.]

[Realm: Qi-Blood Realm (1st Meridian)]

[Destiny: White (Mediocre)]

[Evaluation: Just another face in the crowd, utterly unremarkable.]

[Recent Events: A woodcutter by trade, borrowed travel funds from neighbors, now fretting over repayment.]

...

[Name: Chen Xiaoyan]

[Age: 16]

[Bone Structure: None.]

...

...

After scanning several individuals, most had white-tier destinies, with a few barely reaching green.

It wasn’t until Li Mo’s gaze landed on a corner that a hint of blue-green appeared.

[Name: Wang Hu]

[Age: 16]

[Bone Structure: Tiger Arms, Leopard Waist.]

[Realm: Qi-Blood Realm (3rd Meridian)]

[Destiny: Green (Moderately Gifted)]

[Evaluation: Decent talent. With relentless training, may achieve something in the future. However, narrow-minded, vengeful, and arrogant—prone to extremist paths.]

[Recent Events: Fist technique at a bottleneck, urgently seeks a sparring partner to break through.]

In short, no truly worthwhile investment targets.

The only somewhat decent one, Wang Hu, happened to have a grudge against him.

Just then—

"Sir, your chicken soup, as requested—with a ten-year-old mountain ginseng."

"I'll take this up to the second floor for you."

The inn attendant gave a courteous nod and prepared to carry the food box upstairs.

"Wait."

Li Mo suddenly had a thought and stopped him.

"I'll take it up myself."

Under the attendant’s puzzled gaze, Li Mo took the food box. His eyes drifted toward the room at the far end of the second floor.

What kind of destiny does she carry?

Knock knock—

After a moment of waiting, a soft voice came from inside:

"Enter."

The young woman sat quietly by the window, moonlight spilling through the gauze curtains onto her flowing dark hair, illuminating her faintly glowing eyes.

Noticing that it was Li Mo who entered, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

But Li Mo had no mind to read her expression—he stood frozen in place.

Before his eyes, her details suddenly materialized:

[Name: Ying Bing]

[Age: 16]

[Bone Constitution: Lunar Phoenix Body of the Supreme Yin.]

[Realm: None.]

[Destiny: .....]

At this point, his Heavenly Destiny Eye stuttered, as if the weight of her karmic fate was too immense, causing it to falter.

A few seconds later, the remaining information slowly appeared.

[Destiny: Red (Bearing Emperor’s Bone, with Mystical Ice as her fate and Autumn Waters as her spirit, she holds the bearing of a Heavenly Phoenix.)]

[Evaluation: Though her path is fraught with tribulations, she always turns calamity into fortune. Though her wings are yet unformed, when the winds of fate shift, she shall soar above the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, reigning supreme across all realms.]

[Recent Circumstance: Before her meridians awaken, the Lunar Phoenix Body manifests as a Sealed Meridian Constitution. Until she fully masters the power of Supreme Yin, she suffers unbearable cold every day.]

Li Mo: "…?"

Well, what did I say?

Not even a color—just straight to divine phenomena.

According to the Heavenly Destiny Eye’s judgment, destinies were ranked from lowest to highest as:

Black, Gray, White, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Gold.

Beyond Gold, there was Red Destiny.

Such a destiny could no longer be measured by mere color—it was marked by celestial omens.

The Martial Emperor, who unified the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to establish the Great Yu Dynasty, was recorded in history as being born under the simultaneous radiance of the sun and moon, with the North Star trembling and a divine turtle bearing a stele to bestow his name.

In hindsight, that too must have been a sign of heavenly destiny.

My betrothed… is someone who will rival the Martial Emperor?

Well. That’s… sudden.

Young Li Mo fell deep into contemplation, questioning life itself.

"Uh… chicken soup. Drink it while it's hot."

Click—

The door closed behind him.

"So I've returned on this very day."

"Nirvana and rebirth… this is what it meant."

Ying Bing picked up a piece of chicken and tossed it out the window into the courtyard below.

The guard dog below gobbled it up eagerly. Moments later, it showed no ill effects.

Just ordinary chicken soup?

It wasn’t out of lingering resentment—the distant grudges and affections of the past were long gone to her, save for those involving her closest kin.

But in her memories, Li Mo had always delighted in childish tricks to tease her.

Why would he bring her soup today?

Ding dong—

At that moment, a crisp chime suddenly rang beside her ear.

"Who’s there?"

Ying Bing’s eyes instantly narrowed.

The voice, however, ignored her vigilance and spoke again:

"System binding successful."

"The victorious reign supreme, the defeated lick the dust—are you… ready?"