"Junior Brother, you mustn’t do something so reckless."
Hearing Li Mo say he wanted to learn painting to create his own works, Ouyang leaned back slightly, his expression shifting dramatically.
"Is there a problem?"
Li Mo didn’t understand why his reaction was so intense.
"Encouraging someone to learn painting is like sentencing them to a thousand cuts—it’s pure suffering!"
Ouyang spoke with grave seriousness, listing the drawbacks of learning painting as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube:
"First, mastering the art of painting requires innate talent. Having the right aptitude for it is even rarer than possessing top-tier martial roots."
"I don’t need to worry about talent."
Li Mo thought to himself that his painting talent couldn’t possibly be worse than his swordsmanship.
He could just rely on accumulated insights.
Besides, he wasn’t aiming to become a grandmaster of painting—just being able to roughly sketch the form would suffice.
The rest could be left to the Creation Seal!
Ouyang twitched his lips and couldn’t help but advise further:
"Painting is also incredibly expensive."
"When I first started learning, my family thought I’d gotten involved in something illegal."
"Honestly, illegal activities aren’t even as costly as high-quality brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones."
At this, Li Mo gave a modest smile:
"I’ve acquired a few sets of scholar’s treasures. They should be enough for practice... right?"
He laid out the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones he’d obtained from investments.
"You’re using these... for practice?"
Ouyang’s mouth hung open.
Li Mo waved his hand. "They’re just sitting there. Might as well use them."
Ouyang: "..."
Are you even hearing yourself?
Jade slips from the Azure Vein... Dustless Brushes... Pine-Grain Purple Smoke Beast Ink... Qilin Incense Inkstone...
Even the greatest scholars of this era couldn’t assemble such an extravagant set.
Take that Beast Ink, for example.
His own teacher had waited over a decade at an auction just to get a single piece, spending nearly half his life savings to acquire it.
His fists clenched. At this moment, he really wanted to punch someone—too bad he couldn’t win.
When he bid farewell to Li Mo, his expression was complicated.
"Oh, Junior Brother."
"Hmm?"
"Next time you come looking for me, just walk in. Don’t shout about Elder Shang Wu arriving—you scared me so much today I didn’t even dare paint."
"Understood."
With polite courtesy, Li Mo handed Ouyang a thousand taels in silver notes, soothing his senior brother’s wounded heart.
"Take care, Young Master! If you have any questions about painting, don’t hesitate to ask me!"
Beaming, Ouyang escorted him down the mountain.
......
Autumn Water Pavilion.
On the stone table lay a shattered statue and a ruined Divine Contemplation Painting.
After returning, Li Mo had attempted contemplation once more.
And then...
Both the Night Ghost Statue and the Flesh Buddha Visualization Painting were ruined.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the Golden Crow Transforms into the Sun Painting.
The painting itself was fine.
But he gained no improvement in his spiritual will, let alone condensing form and intent to break through to the Mystic Core realm.
"Where exactly did I go wrong?"
"Is my foundation at the Mystic Core realm still insufficient?"
"Or is it... because of my Immortal Body?"
Li Mo’s thoughts wandered.
The first possibility seemed unlikely.
That left only the latter.
Even the elders couldn’t fully comprehend his Immortal Body—he’d have to feel his way forward alone.
"For now, I’ll just have to experiment step by step."
"Divine Contemplation Paintings aren’t easy to come by. If you want something done right, do it yourself."
Li Mo took out the book "Marvelous Brushwork: Ink Cleansing Records" and began studying it intently.
Who would’ve thought?
Painting truly wasn’t a simple craft.
Composition, form, and artistic conception had to merge seamlessly.
And to paint a Divine Contemplation Painting, one even had to channel their spiritual will into the brush tip, letting it flow with every stroke.
This undoubtedly multiplied the difficulty exponentially.
A single misstep, and the entire painting would be ruined.
"I suspect my talent in painting isn’t much better than my swordsmanship..."
Li Mo shook his head.
After barely finishing the book, he tried infusing martial insights.
[Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused.]
Good news.
Martial insights could actually be applied here.
This was likely because the "Ink Cleansing Records" itself aimed at painting Divine Contemplation works, classifying it as part of martial arts.
Bad news...
[Thirty years of martial insights fully consumed.]
[Your "Marvelous Brushwork: Ink Cleansing Records" has reached the Beginner level.]
Li Mo: "..."
His mind flashed back to Ouyang’s pained expression as he earnestly advised against learning painting.
"Encouraging someone to learn painting is like sentencing them to a thousand cuts."
Turns out, that saying was absolutely right!
Clearly, the Beginner level only allowed for ordinary ink paintings. To create Divine Contemplation Paintings, he’d need at least Mastery.
[Thirty years of martial insights successfully infused.]
[First year: You recall every scene you’ve ever witnessed, practicing with all your might.]
......
[Thirtieth year: You feel you’ve reached the limit of what technique alone can achieve, yet you still struggle to paint Divine Contemplation works. You realize this is likely your ceiling in the art of painting.]
[In art, if you don’t have it, you just don’t have it.]
[You haven’t even found what you truly wish to paint—how can you pour your soul into it?]
[Thirty years of martial insights fully consumed.]
Countless realizations flooded his mind.
"I was just deducing painting techniques—why the sarcasm?!"
Li Mo slammed his fist on the stone table, sending the scholar’s treasures floating into the air.
Another thirty years wasted, and he hadn’t even reached Intermediate!
Is there no justice?
Is there no law?!
"What’s wrong with you?"
A certain ice block’s puzzled voice sounded by his ear.
Looking up, he saw a girl standing alone under the sunset, her sword in her arms, as if bathed in a layer of soft light.
The evening wind was restless.
It rustled the leaves and lifted the hem of her dress, sending her long hair dancing.
Li Mo froze.
Fresh from learning to paint, he suddenly felt an urge to pick up his brush.
"Ice Block."
"Hmm?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Not the hot springs."
"Well..."
......
Dinner.
The table was set with delicious dishes.
Shang Wu glanced curiously at Li Mo, who sat before an easel, meticulously wielding his brush with fluid strokes.
"What’s he doing?"
"He said he wanted me to help him practice painting."
Ying Bing averted her gaze, feeling a faint sense of strangeness.
Li Mo was unusually focused.
Being carefully rendered on paper gave her an indescribable feeling.
"Painting?"
"You went to Joy Peak and got hooked on that stuff?"
Shang Wu’s almond eyes widened as she rolled up her sleeves, ready to storm over to Joy Peak.
The beautiful master was furious.
Someone was trying to lead her precious disciple astray!
"Master, I wanted to learn it myself."
Li Mo spoke helplessly.
"That’s even worse!"
Shang Wu walked over to him.
Her eyes inadvertently swept over the jade slip, where a painting lay, and her expression froze.
Instantly, her outrage died down.
"Hmm?"
Ying Bing, curious, stepped closer as well.
On the paper, the figure of a girl seemed to leap to life.
Her face wasn’t depicted.
Yet...
It was unmistakably her.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
