"Did Yin Mianmian send you to give me a warning?"
"Mm. The bounty I took was issued by the Holy Maiden herself."
"Not to kill me, just a warning?"
"Exactly."
Under Shang Wu's piercing gaze, Xu Yi answered without hesitation.
He had no doubt that if he showed even a moment's hesitation, that woman as beautiful as a flower would reduce him to dust with a single punch.
"Even the Holy Maiden has to place a bounty to command someone like you... truly mercenary to the core..."
Li Mo couldn't wrap his head around it:
"What exactly is she warning me about?"
Qian Bufan said gravely:
"Once you enter the Drizzle Pavilion, you can never leave—unless in death."
"So she's telling me... that if I betray the Drizzle Pavilion, they can find me anytime?"
Li Mo finally understood Yin Mianmian's message, his expression turning odd.
He had obtained the Hallfront Swallow by sheer coincidence and never truly considered himself a member of the Drizzle Pavilion.
The Three Evils of Huai Mountain weren’t just him alone.
Why was she targeting him specifically...
"Seems like our precautions weren’t for nothing."
Xue Jing had initially thought that he and Qian Bufan would be enough and hadn’t wanted Shang Wu to tag along.
"Hm? Trying to steal my disciple?"
Shang Wu’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed as she sneered, "Yin Mianmian, was it? Better hope I don’t catch her. If I do, I’ll beat her into a soft, squishy mess!"
"The Drizzle Pavilion sent an Outer Scenery expert this time," Li Mo reminded her.
Shang Wu pondered for a moment before declaring, "So what? I’ll still beat them up!"
"And a Dharma Body."
"Then lure them into the sect... I’ll give it a shot."
Her tone softened slightly as she huffed.
Li Mo was taken aback. He had expected his beautiful master to dodge the topic with a laugh—after all, her principle was never to fight a battle she couldn’t win.
Who knew that within the Qingyuan Sect, she could actually hold her own against a Dharma Body?
The group exchanged uneasy glances, debating whether to summon the sect leader immediately.
Meanwhile, Li Mo’s gaze fell on Xu Yi.
"By the way, where’s the black market in Yunzhou where the Drizzle Pavilion issues bounties?"
"That... I can’t say."
This time, even Shang Wu’s death glare had no effect.
Xu Yi paled, shaking his head repeatedly.
Leaking the Drizzle Pavilion’s secrets? Even a madman would fear the consequences...
"Really won’t talk?"
"You don’t know the Pavilion’s creed? It’s every assassin’s oath—"
"You’re scared of that?"
"Only those of the Drizzle Pavilion can—"
"I have the Hallfront Swallow. It doesn’t break the rules. And... I’ll pay extra."
"..."
And so, Xu Yi spilled everything, even offering to guide them personally.
Watching Xu Yi spill secrets like beans from a sack, Li Mo suddenly felt his earlier act as the "Northwest Hammer King" to extract information had been entirely unnecessary.
Every assassin in the Drizzle Pavilion truly had a deep love for money.
If that was the case...
Young genius Li Mo began scheming.
After securing the unexpected guest Xu Yi, the group at the lakeside tavern turned their attention back to the center of the lake.
The Hidden Dragon Ranking within the Dragon Gate had already listed over half of the prodigies from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 47th: Zhi Duoluo.]
[Martial Arts: Seven Apertures of Divine Insight, Half-Demon Golden Roc physique, Mastery of Qiyun Movement Technique, exceptional blade skills, one perfected supreme art, and mastery over bloodline liberation—capable of summoning the Golden Roc’s divine intent.]
[Achievements: In the Southern Border, beheaded a Divine Insight general amidst ten thousand soldiers. In liberated bloodline form, single-handedly shattered 800 armored foes.]
[Title: Sun-Eclipsing Golden Roc.]
Zhi Duoluo.
Ying Bing had some recollection of this man.
Later, after some unknown opportunity in the Southern Border, he soared to the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
Eventually, he even climbed the Human Ranking and Earth Ranking, securing remarkably high positions.
Even the divine intent he observed later evolved into an ultimate form.
"Did I miss my name while distracted earlier?"
Li Mo turned back to check the ranking.
"No." Before he could finish his thought, the icy voice of the "ice block" chimed in.
Jiang Chulong, hugging an apple, blinked her pale gray eyes:
"Brother Li... no, not yet."
"I’ve been... watching the whole time."
Jiang Chulong had noticed Xu Yi’s odd behavior early on.
People could lie, but swords never did...
Still, she knew that sword could never harm Brother Li. So while others were distracted by the minor incident, she had kept her eyes fixed on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.
Don’t mistake Chulong for slow—most of the time, she was sharp as a tack.
"Past the 40s, and still not here."
Xue Jing took a deep breath.
He felt it was close.
But... Old Xue’s instincts were wrong.
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 35th: Zhang Shier.]
......
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 29th: Jia Tengying.]
......
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 20th: Xie Wanqiu.]
The names appearing on the Hidden Dragon Ranking grew increasingly renowned—most were figures long celebrated across the land.
"I know Jia Tengying. He won the Martial Arts Summit three tournaments ago and created his own supreme finger technique. Incredibly skilled."
"Xie Wanqiu is one of the Sword Manor of Heavenly Mountain’s prodigies, right? How is he only 20th?"
"I’ve seen Ying Bing lecture on swordsmanship—his skill surpasses even Xie Wanqiu’s. Why isn’t he listed yet?"
"Li the Sword Immortal left behind the Horizontal Cloud Sword Scar too!"
"Even if he’s just entered Divine Insight, he should still be ranked..."
As the chatter continued, it dawned on everyone—the top 20 were all capable of facing Inner Scenery experts head-on!
Tang Xiaobao, watching his master and Elder Qian hyperventilate, stirred his finger in his teacup.
Then, the Dragon Gate announced the 19th name:
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 19th: Li Mo.]
[Martial Arts: Divine Insight (Two Apertures), possesses a supreme toughening art, peerless swordsmanship, follows the path of "Skill Approaching the Dao," but suspected to have even more astonishing talent with heavy weapons. Bears an immensely powerful secret technique.
Notably, his physiognomy suggests he greatly prospers his wife...]
[Achievements: Destroyed a crumbling pocket realm, joined Ying Bing in slaying Han Zhen and Yin Huaxuan, disrupted the Drizzle Pavilion’s Endless Trial, and repelled the Heavenly Demoness Yin Mianmian alongside Ying Bing during the Yunzhou Martial Assembly.]
[Title: Lonely Marvel Sword, Wife-Prospering Battle Soul.]
"It’s Li the Sword Immortal! Young Master Li!"
"Divine Insight with two apertures, ranked 19th? Behind him are experts with nine apertures!"
"In the history of the Hidden Dragon Ranking, has anyone ever ranked so high with such a low cultivation level?"
"Wife-Prospering Battle Soul? Might I ask if Young Master Li is married?"
"This old man is the wealthiest in Yunzhou. If Young Master Li would wed my daughter, half my fortune shall be her dowry!"
The lakeside erupted in an uproar.
"???"
Only young Li Mo himself fell into deep contemplation.
"Lonely Marvel Sword" was fitting—he had no complaints there.
But "Wife-Prospering Battle Soul"? What kind of nonsense was this? Huh? Didn’t that sound ridiculous?
Hmm...
Li Mo suddenly realized where this title came from.
Tian Miao!
"Was there nothing else to report? They had to include this?!"
Li Mo rubbed his temples.
While Tian Miao hadn’t exposed his World Seed or divine weapon—avoiding utter ruin—this wasn’t much better.
Next, the Dragon Gate revealed another name:
[Hidden Dragon Ranking, 18th: Ying Bing.]
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
