The two stood so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats.
Though it was hardly common knowledge.
The waters of the Mistbloom Eternal Spring flowed endlessly, bubbling up from the spring below while the excess spilled out through a drainage channel.
Li Mo happened to be sitting right by that outlet.
The pool water that had once enveloped Ying Bing now cascaded over him, sending strands of her loose, ink-black hair brushing against his back like teasing fingers.
Having stepped into the Observation Divine Realm, his sixth sense had sharpened.
He could feel Ying Bing’s gaze fixed intently on the back of his head.
Li Mo was, by all accounts, an upright gentleman.
But...
At this moment, a voice seemed to whisper faintly in his ear:
‘Just turn around and look… just once…’
It was unbearable.
Meanwhile, Ying Bing’s heart was wound tight, yet curiosity surged within her.
No one had ever surpassed her in the same realm—let alone twice.
‘How did he do it?’
‘What other strengths does he have that I don’t know about?’
She steadied her breathing, exhaling softly before asking:
"How did you fight Yin Huaxuan?"
"Truthfully, I wasn’t the one who killed him," Li Mo replied, eager to divert his attention.
"After Fu Tu extracted a Blood Pill from Yin Huaxuan’s body, his power skyrocketed. He even survived a direct strike from my hammer."
"Truly bizarre."
If Yin Huaxuan and Fu Tu were here, they’d be pounding their coffin lids in outrage.
Who the hell is more bizarre than you?!
Ying Bing lowered her eyes briefly before murmuring:
"The martial arts of the Summoning Demonic Sect emphasize ‘supplementing form with form.’"
"Truthfully, their techniques aren’t inherently sinister. Used righteously, they are righteous; used malevolently, they are malevolent."
The ice block had opened up.
She seemed quite knowledgeable about the Summoning Demonic Sect.
Li Mo learned that the sect’s foundational martial art was called The Summoning Demonic Scripture.
It was a divine technique.
All of the sect’s martial arts were derived from it.
Any divine technique was an interpretation of martial truth itself, transcending notions of good and evil. Thus, The Summoning Demonic Scripture could just as well be called The Summoning Divine Scripture.
But clearly,
the sect had not employed it for righteous ends.
Li Mo found this unsurprising.
Take their Self-Observation Method, for example.
The righteous path required decades of grueling cultivation, enduring countless trials to "summon oneself as a deity."
The wicked path, however, involved absorbing the beliefs of others to nourish one’s spirit—a shortcut that had become widely popular.
"The Summoning Demonic Sect must have some scheme against Qingyuan Sect," Li Mo sighed.
Yin Huaxuan and Fu Tu had infiltrated the sect for years.
Surely they weren’t just doing it for fun?
"They do," Ying Bing said. "But it doesn’t matter."
Her meaning was clear: there was no need to overthink it.
Strengthening oneself was what truly mattered.
But to Li Mo’s ears, her words carried an unspoken addition: ‘I’ll handle it.’
Dominant. Unyielding. So very her.
"True. With you here, Qingyuan Sect has nothing to fear," Li Mo said, his tone brimming with conviction.
A red-destined talent, the Phoenix Heaven Empress chosen by the heavens themselves.
With her around, no disaster could prevail!
"......"
Her cat ears twitched slightly.
Ying Bing’s lowered eyes caught her reflection in the shimmering water—her current attire, her bare feet, her toes curling slightly in the shallows.
She had once carried the hopes of countless, revered as a goddess, long indifferent to praise and trust.
Yet when he spoke those words...
After surpassing her in the system’s rankings...
She didn’t even know how he’d done it.
That disbelief had now melted into sheer curiosity...
[Ding—]
[Friendly reminder.]
[As everyone knows, scrubbing someone’s back in a hot spring is a very pleasant experience.]
The current tugged at the strands of hair by Ying Bing’s ear.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Scrubbing… his back?
Her, the Phoenix Heaven Empress… scrubbing a man’s back?
This was something she absolutely could not—
[All actions taken by the host during shared bathing will affect the penalty evaluation~]
Ying Bing: "......"
The air hung silent for several seconds.
"Li Mo."
"Hm?"
"Pass me the towel."
"What for?"
"In the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm… thank you for helping me."
Half of her words were sincere.
"Hey, we’re practically family, no need for—"
Li Mo handed it over casually, but his words froze as his body stiffened slightly.
Because Ying Bing hadn’t taken the towel for herself.
Her slender fingers pressed the cloth lightly against his back.
She was scrubbing him.
She took two steps closer.
Now, the warmth of her breath against his ear, the water exchanging their body heat, the rhythmic splashing of the towel—everything became unbearably vivid.
The blush creeping up Ying Bing’s neck threatened to spread further as she added:
"By the way, have you prepared for the Cloud Province Martial Arts Summit?"
"Uh… am I supposed to attend?"
"Each peak selects one representative."
At this, Li Mo understood.
Jade Cluster Peak had only him—its lone seedling.
But that wasn’t the main point.
The main point was... he was a perfectly normal male specimen.
Through the reflection in the water, he seemed to realize that Ying Bing had, at some point, stopped wearing her bathrobe.
Bathrobes had sleeves.
But the ice block currently scrubbing his back was clearly not wearing anything with sleeves.
Could it be...
Who could withstand this?!
...
Ying Bing, as if guided by some unseen force, inadvertently glanced downward.
A certain... thing she didn’t possess was now unmistakably...
A grand spectacle.
A sight even the supreme Phoenix Heaven Empress, towering above all living beings, had never witnessed.
!
"Thwack—"
A delicate hand chopped down on Li Mo’s neck.
Li Mo’s body parts often had a mind of their own.
Right now, Ying Bing’s hand was no different.
Her brows furrowed tightly as she clutched her chest:
"There was... a mosquito on your neck just now."
Li Mo, seeing stars: "..."
Were you killing the mosquito or me?
Sure, it’s summer, but do you think I don’t know whether there are mosquitoes or not?
Of course, he knew why the ice block had whacked him.
But...
Just like the daily, punctual visits from Uncle Chen, what could he do about it?!
"Huff..."
Ying Bing’s chest rose and fell slightly, but her heartbeat refused to slow down.
She wished she could vanish on the spot!
[Countdown: Five... four... three... two... one...]
Finally.
In what felt like an eternity, the countdown ended.
Ying Bing swiftly changed back into her clothes and leaped ashore.
A veil of rosy light enveloped her entire body.
"I’m leaving first."
She didn’t dare look at Li Mo’s expression.
She just wanted to get away from this place as fast as possible...
[Ding! Host, would you like to extend the session?]
[Extending grants additional evaluation bonuses...]
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.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
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."
