The rain never came.
But the atmosphere was now unbearably awkward.
Li Mo’s laughter gradually died down as he realized something was off.
The sensation in his hand wasn’t right.
Puzzled, he gave it a squeeze—firm yet soft, with an unsettlingly perfect elasticity...
Nine out of ten, no, ten out of ten, this was very wrong!
His gaze stiffly trailed downward.
“!”
“This is… a misunderstanding…” Li Mo’s throat went dry.
Ying Bing’s neck flushed crimson, her face an icy mask, her eyes glazed like mist-covered pools.
Go on. I’m listening.
“Ahem…”
Under that gaze, Li Mo’s confidence withered.
He was now seriously reconsidering whether the Autumn Water Pavilion was still a safe place to stay.
From now on, sleeping with his eyes closed would be impossible—once shut, they might never open again, forever frozen wide like brass bells.
“Well… it’s like ‘skill bordering on the Dao,’ you know? The Great Dao has forty-nine aspects, but one escapes its grasp…”
“That ‘one’ just… happened to be right there.”
Li Mo wasn’t sure if the ice block would buy this explanation.
He’d just been too focused on training!
And who could’ve guessed that the flaw in Ying Bing’s defense would be her… rear flaw?
Ying Bing’s jade-like face turned even frostier.
The silence thickened. She said nothing.
Instead, she pulled out a large-headed doll from her robes.
Huh?
Li Mo blinked. Why did that doll look familiar?
Crack—
The ice block twisted the doll’s head clean off, putting considerable force into it.
Li Mo: “!”
His neck suddenly felt drafty, a phantom pain creeping in.
Was this some kind of voodoo doll made from his hair or something?
But then, he watched as Ying Bing stowed away her Frostblade and drew a ruler instead.
“Good thing this is a spatial treasure…”
“Again.”
“Huh?”
A cold sweat dripped down Li Mo’s back.
Ying Bing’s voice was glacial. “That last round was my loss. I’ll honor the wager—think about what you want.”
“Now. Again.”
“Again?!”
Before Li Mo could protest, the ruler was already whistling through the air.
Strange.
This time, Ying Bing’s swordplay—that elusive “one”—was gone, replaced by an even more domineering, relentless force.
Even with his Nine Swords of Dugu, he couldn’t find an opening. At least, not at his current level of mastery.
And so, for the next hour, Li Mo’s backside endured a tempest of disciplinary strikes.
Thwack…
“What’s all that noise so early in the morning?”
Shang Wu peeked down from the upper floor.
The sight in the courtyard jolted her awake, her drowsy beauty sharpening into alertness.
She scratched her head and yawned.
“What fresh mischief is this…?”
---
Before long, the “sparring” concluded.
Ying Bing stored the ruler and returned to her room.
Li Mo wanted to collapse onto a lounge chair, but the ruler’s strikes had left his backside tender—no visible injuries, yet even the slightest pressure stung.
Sigh.
The gap between him and the Heaven’s Chosen in swordsmanship was still vast.
Even if he was already among the top of his generation.
So what had happened earlier? Why had she suddenly left such a glaring… opening?
Had she gone easy on him?
And…
Back then, he’d been too fired up, thinking, I just mastered the basics of Nine Swords of Dugu—how dare she humiliate me like this?
And then he’d lost his cool.
“She even helped scrub my back yesterday… She’s definitely mad now.”
Li Mo rubbed his temples.
Ying Bing was his top investor, after all.
His sugar mommy, so to speak.
What to do?
“The ice block doesn’t really have any hobbies or preferences…” Li Mo scratched his head, genuinely stumped.
Just then, a system notification chimed:
[Congratulations, Host! Successful investment in ‘Ying Bing’—helping her identify flaws in her swordplay.]
[Investment Reward: One Drop of Primordial Frost Nectar]
[Primordial Frost Nectar]: “The oldest essence of ice in the world, condensed over ten thousand years into a single drop. A sacred treasure for nourishing the soul and refining spiritual intent!”
---
Meanwhile, in her room…
After shutting the door, Ying Bing slowly walked to her Frostbone Jade bed and sat down.
Yet the moment she made contact, a tingling sensation—like an electric current—shot through the very spot that had been struck earlier.
The composure she’d maintained for so long finally shattered.
“Hah…”
She wanted to erase the memory of what had happened.
But the system notification rudely popped up again:
[Congratulations, Host! Reward successfully claimed!]
“Tch.”
Ying Bing pressed her lips together and flicked her sleeve, dispelling the irksome text.
Only after several deep breaths did the strange fluttering in her chest begin to fade.
Every time she ranked below Li Mo, not only did she suffer the “loser’s penalty,” but she also received these absurd rewards!
She could not, under any circumstances, lose to him again.
Truthfully, Ying Bing still didn’t understand how Li Mo had outranked her last time.
“How did he… manage to hit me?”
“His swordsmanship suddenly became… bizarre.”
“Did he touch the threshold of ‘skill bordering on the Dao’?”
Her eyes flickered with contemplation.
After a moment, she shook her head.
No.
He had brushed against that threshold, but only barely.
Once she’d shaken off external distractions, his strange swordplay couldn’t exploit any more loopholes.
He hadn’t been practicing the hammer recently, so what had caused it?
The answer eluded her for now.
“All I can do is grow stronger.”
Ying Bing took a deep breath.
After all, Divine Skyheart Sword Art was a transcendent martial art, profound and boundless, representing the pinnacle of combat in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Mastering it wasn’t something she could achieve overnight—it demanded relentless refinement and practice.
But earlier…
Sparring with Li Mo had exposed certain shortcomings in her technique.
“The first stance still lacks seamless fluidity…”
Yet as she reflected, her thoughts inevitably circled back to Li Mo’s final strike—that move which barely qualified as a “sword technique.”
The memories she’d tried to suppress now replayed relentlessly in her mind…
---
In the days that followed, Li Mo’s routine became simple.
Observing divine forms. Tempering his soul. Practicing the sword.
Since that day, Ying Bing’s ruler had made daily contact with his backside.
Still, there were benefits.
His Nine Swords of Dugu was steadily progressing toward the “small mastery” stage.
One morning, Li Mo sank his consciousness into his dantian.
Under the glow of his Mystic Core, the avatar of his soul flickered with intricate, ever-shifting divine runes—each one painstakingly carved through his observations of the divine.
In just a few days, the newly unlocked acupoints had stabilized completely!
Much of this was thanks to the daily drops of Primordial Frost Nectar and the Phoenix Empress’s Ascension Diagram.
“Every person’s soul can bear different divine forms.”
“The ice block observes more than one. I wonder what other forms mine will manifest…”
Li Mo exhaled softly.
Soon after, a knock came at the Autumn Water Pavilion’s door.
A few expected visitors had arrived.
“Junior Brother Li, we’re heading out to Cloud Province!”
Ouyang, lugging a hefty bundle of painting supplies, waved cheerfully.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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!
