"Achoo..."
"Why does my philtrum feel so itchy?"
Li Mo sneezed, rubbing the spot beneath his nose in confusion before refocusing on his painting.
The wind was strong at this height, and autumn had just begun.
The crisp breeze made the Cyan Vein Jade Paper flutter noisily.
Yet, with every stroke Li Mo made, the turbulence on the paper settled slightly.
The Seven Stars guided his brush!
Each stroke was infused with immense mental effort. Had he not already unlocked the Three Divine Orifices and glimpsed the divine forms of the Great Dao, his spirit would have long been exhausted.
When the final stroke was laid down, the paper became as heavy as lead, utterly motionless.
"Finally done."
Li Mo wearily opened his eyes. Before him, the peculiar stone now vividly leaped onto the paper, its weathered textures almost tangible to the touch.
Judging by the divine essence radiating from it, this was likely a Mid-Grade Divine Insight Painting.
But to be honest, the young painter Li Mo felt a flicker of pride.
A High-Grade Divine Insight Painting would have been beyond his ability to complete in one go. Moreover, replicating this peculiar stone required an unbroken flow—any pause would mean starting over.
Even Ouyang, his senior brother, might not have managed it.
"Though it’s derived from the stone, I’ve added something of my own..."
Li Mo was beginning to understand why painting was a talent-driven craft.
Even when copying the same subject, different hands would produce entirely different works.
For instance, if he and Ouyang were to replicate the same object, their results would be worlds apart.
"You actually pulled it off?"
Wei Zhaoliu leaned in for a look, letting out a soft sound of surprise—both impressed and slightly taken aback.
"Such a profound stone, yet only Mid-Grade?"
Within the Hengyun Sword City, there were naturally many High-Grade, even Supreme-Grade Divine Insight Paintings preserved.
Yet the city’s foundation had always been this peculiar stone.
"Though it’s only Mid-Grade, its effects surpass even some High-Grade ones."
"That’s true..."
Wei Zhaoliu’s gaze swept over the painting.
She noticed that while Li Mo had copied the stone, his rendition differed slightly from the real one nearby.
Moreover, at first glance, the painting seemed unremarkable. But gradually, it evoked a sense of enlightenment—clear and transcendent.
This feeling only grew stronger with time...
Lately, she had been training diligently with the sword. Now, gazing at this painting, countless insights surged in her mind.
[Congratulations, Host. Successful investment in ‘Wei Zhaoliu,’ aiding her in ‘accumulating strength for a leap forward.’]
[Investment Reward: Ancient Bronze Creation Seal.]
"Accumulating strength for a leap forward?"
Seeing Wei Zhaoliu swiftly sit before the stone, Li Mo understood.
It wasn’t that the freshly painted, still-wet Divine Insight Painting possessed miraculous effects, capable of triggering sudden enlightenment at a glance.
Rather, Wei Zhaoliu’s foundations were already solid.
The painting merely provided that final spark—the tipping point.
"Perfect timing. Just obtained the Ancient Bronze Creation Seal."
"And I also have the Mystic Silver Creation Seal."
Li Mo held the Divine Insight Painting.
The Seven Stars within him continued to spin ceaselessly, conveying a budding anticipation to his heart.
When it came to comprehension, he had insights from martial arts. Aside from the occasional struggle with swordplay, he rarely found himself at a loss.
Thus, he wasn’t worried that the painting would lose its original effect after further refinement.
"Let’s use it."
Li Mo made his decision, retrieving the small seal shimmering with ancient bronze hues.
Without hesitation, he pressed it onto a corner of the painting.
Instantly, the tiny tadpole-like patterns on the seal swam onto the canvas, swiftly covering it.
The image began to transform, rapidly evolving.
Before long, the flow of ink slowed.
In a daze, Li Mo seemed to see the painted stone absorbing the tadpole patterns, cracking apart until it was covered in fissures.
Something was about to emerge...
Hum!
The next moment, as the last tadpole pattern vanished into the painting, the stone exploded.
[Congratulations, Host. Successful use of the Ancient Bronze Creation Seal to upgrade the Mid-Grade Divine Insight Painting to High-Grade.]
[Spirit Stone Divine Insight Painting has evolved into: Monkey King’s Birth Painting!]
"??"
Li Mo stared intently.
The original stone in the painting was gone.
In its place stood a small, naked monkey—a macaque—poised against the vastness of heaven and earth.
Though it was just a painting, one could vividly see it picking wild fruits in the mountains, soaring through the skies, diving into the seas, even joyfully sprinting along the shore...
"A Monkey King actually popped out?"
Li Mo muttered to himself.
A realization dawned on him.
He took out another small seal, this one gleaming with mystic silver.
As the seal neared the paper, he pressed it down gently.
The moment it touched, the tiny figure within his acupoints trembled violently!
His body began radiating an obscure aura, forming an energy field that enveloped him, intertwining with the tadpole patterns from the Mystic Silver Creation Seal as they merged into the painting.
It was his Celestial Physique!
Li Mo finally understood.
His Celestial Physique was guiding the evolution of this Creation Seal!
Allowing something that should never exist across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to manifest on the canvas!
Li Mo abruptly looked up.
The ever-shifting painting now swirled with ink, sketching something he couldn’t tear his eyes away from.
His spirit, his divine intent, surged forth, enveloping him in a serene, mysterious glow that merged with the painting.
Before him, the ink had formed a flight of azure stone steps.
The surroundings were indistinct, but one detail stood out vividly—a plaque inscribed:
"Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave."
Beneath it, the macaque from the High-Grade painting now wore pristine Daoist robes.
The robed monkey stood on the steps, looking back.
Its gaze traversed endless years, spanning immeasurable time and space.
In the dead of night, with no one around,
man and monkey locked eyes.
In that moment, Li Mo knew—that gaze was meant for him.
Through unfathomable barriers, the monkey saw him, its fur glistening under the moonlight like flowing dawnlight.
Anyone would instinctively recognize:
This robed monkey was the embodiment of the world’s spiritual essence.
Hum—
The resonance of his Celestial Physique grew more intense.
It seemed to forge a connection through that gaze.
A heartbeat later,
the robed monkey gave an almost imperceptible nod.
It raised a hand,
pausing mid-air,
then gently tapped downward three times—
aimed at someone’s forehead across the distant void.
Thud—
Thud—
Thud—
Li Mo’s heartbeats echoed those taps with startling clarity.
In an instant, his mind flooded with brilliance.
Cloud-Somersault.
Indestructible Diamond Body.
Seventy-Two Earthly Transformations.
...
The revelations were too vast, flashing chaotically before him.
Li Mo felt like a frog at the bottom of a well, or a mayfly glimpsing the sky—awestruck and utterly unable to grasp the depth of what he saw.
These were no mere martial techniques.
They were divine abilities!
As his mind reeled, adrift like a leaf in a stormy sea, the Moonlight Radiance within his spirit blazed once more, pulling him free.
Gradually, the energy of his Celestial Physique settled, imprinting these insights—along with the Creation Seal’s power—onto the painting.
[Congratulations, Host. Successful use of the Mystic Silver Creation Seal to upgrade the High-Grade Divine Insight Painting to Supreme-Grade.]
[Monkey King’s Birth Painting has evolved into: Wukong Seeks the Dao Painting!]
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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?!
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!" "......"
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!
