"How much is 'a little bit'?"
The white-haired youth and the elder with a childlike face exchanged glances, then couldn't help but chuckle wryly.
As everyone knew, swordsmen were men of grandeur.
Roaming the martial world, they prided themselves on living freely and unrestrained, never shying away from splurging.
From elders to disciples, extravagance was the norm.
As a swordsman sect without other sources of income like alchemy or artifact forging, the Hengyun Sword City wasn’t exactly wealthy.
But that was only relative to provincial-level powers.
Even if Li Mo emptied the Qingyuan Sect’s treasury, it wouldn’t amount to much in their eyes.
The Sword City owed Li Mo a favor, and since the divine technique he’d comprehended wasn’t a sword art, they couldn’t very well make things difficult for him.
Li Mo cleared his throat and said,
"Both of you, esteemed seniors, are masters of the Dharma Body, with unyielding sword spirits. Naturally, you regard wealth as mere dust."
"The first proposal is mainly to express my sincerity—just a token of goodwill."
He knew how to humor old men.
The white-haired youth puffed out his chest. "Indeed, how could we swordsmen ever care for mere gold and silver?"
This kid was a man of grandeur.
Swordsmen loved dealing with such people.
The elder stroked his beard and asked with a smile, "In your opinion, what would be a reasonable price to observe the sword marks once?"
Li Mo gestured with his fingers again.
"Two thousand taels of gold?"
Li Mo shook his head.
"Twenty thousand?"
Young Li shook his head again.
"Two hundred thousand?"
The white-haired youth maintained a calm expression, but inwardly, he was slightly stunned.
Did this kid have a gold mine at home?
Two hundred thousand taels—of gold, no less—was enough to fund the Sword City disciples’ "carefree wanderings" for a year.
Yet Li Mo still shook his head.
Could it be two hundred taels? That really would be just a token.
Shaking his head slightly, the white-haired youth asked again,
"What’s your second proposal?"
"Ah..."
Li Mo had been about to state his price, but since the senior had asked about the second option, he had no choice but to say,
"The second proposal is to wait for me for a while."
"Once my strength grows enough to meet the conditions for fully executing the divine technique, I’ll return to record it."
"I’m confident I can fulfill this promise within three years."
The Heaven-Overturning, Earth-Shaking, Humanity-Slaying Hammer didn’t just have requirements in cultivation realm.
It also imposed conditions that would be considered harsh by ordinary standards.
Li Mo said solemnly, "If the two seniors have any concerns, we could also set a three-year..."
The three-year pact request failed.
When it came to hammer technique talent, no one doubted him in the slightest.
"I believe you." ×3.
Out of the four present, three agreed without hesitation.
The ice block didn’t speak, but her expression made her thoughts clear.
Li Mo: "..."
First time feeling so conflicted because of trust, huh.
"The second proposal is reasonable enough."
The elder pondered, then asked again,
"And the third?"
"The third is for me to leave a complete sword art in the Sword City."
"The sword art I used during the Sword Testing Assembly—the two seniors must have witnessed it. It’s no less than a divine technique."
Li Mo didn’t feel the slightest bit of reluctance.
He’d be thrilled if the two elders chose the third option.
"That sword art that could break all techniques, turning the mundane into the divine?"
The two Dharma Body experts straightened up.
"Yes." Li Mo nodded.
Seeing his earnest expression and clear gaze, they couldn’t help but silently praise him.
This kid had once said he wished "every swordsman under heaven could become a Sword Immortal"—those were truly heartfelt words.
His magnanimity was more befitting of a true swordsman.
Ahem...
In truth, Young Li’s reasoning was simple.
First, it would fulfill the Hengyun Sword City’s rules. Second, there might be unexpected returns on investment.
The Nine Swords of Dugu was extremely difficult—only those truly extraordinary could gain anything from it.
The two Sword City Dharma Body experts didn’t hesitate.
After exchanging glances, the white-haired youth nodded and said,
"Then let’s proceed with the third proposal."
"Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider the first one?"
Li Mo double-checked.
After all, that was also a form of investment... and an immediate one at that.
"For us swordsmen, wealth is but fleeting clouds."
"You’re looking down on us now."
The white-haired youth shook his head with a smile.
"Alright then." Li Mo scratched his head.
Swordsmen roamed the martial world, often throwing money around without a second thought.
He’d always been curious where they got all that money from.
Shaking his head, he took out brush and ink and began writing the Nine Swords of Dugu’s general principles.
Once finished.
The two Dharma Body experts examined it together, their faces filled with awe.
This sword art’s conception was incredibly profound!
But it was also incredibly, incredibly difficult.
It was hard to imagine how Li Mo had managed to master it to such a degree...
"It truly is no less than a divine technique."
"Indeed. If one could refine this sword art to perfection, they might even grasp a sword Dao."
Li Mo—what an honest lad.
Without hesitation, he left the complete sword art principles in the Hengyun Sword City. One must remember, the sword arts left behind by Ying Bing and Jiang Chulong were merely one or two moves from divine techniques.
A complete divine technique was enough to make Dharma Body experts covetous and even tempt Sage-level figures.
"In that case, we’ve taken quite the advantage of you."
"Is there anything else you need? Feel free to ask!"
"I’ve studied painting and would like to sketch the Strange Stone. I hope the seniors will permit it."
Li Mo didn’t beat around the bush—he’d had this in mind for a while.
The two Dharma Body experts felt they were all men of grandeur.
Such a trivial matter—was it even worth mentioning?
"Ahem, just one thing to note."
"Hm?"
"Absolutely do not take out your hammer in front of the Strange Stone."
"...Understood."
One more imprint, and the Strange Stone wouldn’t have another side left.
Both hosts and guest were thoroughly satisfied.
As they were saying their goodbyes.
The elder, still studying the Nine Swords of Dugu, casually asked,
"Oh, by the way, what exactly was that gesture of yours earlier? How many taels did you mean?"
The white-haired youth also looked up.
Not two thousand, not twenty thousand, not even two hundred thousand.
Such a straightforward kid like Li Mo—surely he didn’t mean two hundred.
"Taels?"
Li Mo paused at the doorway.
He didn’t even use that unit of measurement anymore.
"I meant two golden mountains."
"...Come again?"
"Two golden mountains. Like... mountains as big as the sect gates."
Li Mo gestured for emphasis.
The three walked away.
The white-haired youth and the elder stood frozen in place, silent for a long, long time.
They’d even forgotten about the Nine Swords of Dugu, their minds occupied by a single burning question.
This unit of measurement...
Who the hell taught you that?
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.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
