Thud~

The battle not far away was completely one-sided.

Shocking—Divine Monk Huaikong, a seventh-realm Palm Mystic powerhouse who commanded a Great Dao, could make the demons of the Southern Border tremble with just a slight move. Yet now, he was being suppressed by a demoness, utterly defenseless!

To be honest.

Little Li was having a hard time right now. He had just used his Heavenly Eye to peek and could understand the two of them, who had been holding back for over a thousand years, finally losing control. He wanted to leave, but he was afraid the movement of standing up would disturb the pair across from him.

He glanced at the ice block (Ying Bing) and noticed a strand of her hair had been playfully blown by the breeze to the corner of her lips.

So he casually brushed it behind her ear.

"Ice block, your ears are a little warm."

Ying Bing lowered her eyes and took his hand—which had just brushed her lips and now rested on her ear—down:

"The weather’s cold. Just a slight chill."

"A chill?"

Little Li really wanted to believe that.

But he still remembered the time when her room was cold enough to freeze popsicles. If she could catch a cold, then ghosts must be real.

Looking at her moist, slightly parted lips, Li Mo felt his own ears were definitely burning now too.

It seemed they had both caught the same "chill."

"Ice block..."

Little Li’s gaze was as firm as Murong Xiao’s vow to quit lust.

"Hmm?"

Ying Bing’s beautiful eyes widened slightly, her frost-like expression frozen in place.

At this moment, the peerless divine techniques and immortal ascension paths in the mind of the Phoenix Heaven Empress seemed to turn into pink bubbles, popping into nothingness.

She could move in the blink of an eye, swift as a fleeting shadow.

But as she watched the boy close his eyes and lean in...

All she managed was to close her own eyes as well...

Thunk—

A crisp sound.

"Ouch..."

Their foreheads had a rather intimate collision.

Li Mo rubbed the spot where they had bumped. His head was tough—of course it didn’t hurt—but why did his heart ache so much he could barely breathe?!

Especially when he saw the girl across from him, her fair forehead slightly reddened, her eyes unfocused, no longer icy but instead looking a little dazed...

"Should we try ag—"

"No."

"......"

Little Li now regretted reading so many novels. If he hadn’t, wouldn’t his first kiss have been successfully delivered?

Who said you had to close your eyes when kissing?!

Those damned novelists ruined everything!

"Must’ve hurt, huh?"

"It’s fine."

"Really?"

The ice block’s expressionless face—no trace of a smile—didn’t look "fine" at all!

Well...

Actually, Ying Bing’s blank expression was first due to being stunned, then because her thoughts were in chaos. She had already recalled the sensation from the last time their lips had touched.

Just thinking about it made her feel...

If what had almost happened just now had actually happened, would she even need to participate in the system’s next ranking?

Facing him, she probably wouldn’t even be able to lift her sword. With the system’s comprehensive combat analysis, could she even win?

Ying Bing suddenly understood.

Why Divine Monk Huaikong, a Palm Mystic Sage, was being so thoroughly suppressed by Shang Qinqing, who had fallen from the seventh realm.

Even with a full realm’s difference, he stood no chance!

The thunk from earlier had been especially loud.

Now, Divine Monk Huaikong and Shang Qinqing could no longer pretend they hadn’t noticed the two of them or act like everyone else was air.

"The kids are watching."

Shang Qinqing shot Huaikong a coquettish glare before reluctantly letting go of him.

Divine Monk Huaikong: "......"

You knew all along, and now you’re shy?

Amitabha, sins, sins.

"This old monk does not recall what just transpired..."

"Hmm?"

"Qinqing, I’m still the abbot."

Huaikong sighed heavily.

As long as no one took over his duties, he could not return to secular life.

"I’ll wait. I’ve waited a thousand years already."

"This karmic bond... perhaps won’t take much longer."

Divine Monk Huaikong’s expression was complicated.

Every corner of the Suspended Temple—even if he didn’t actively probe—was known to him.

He knew about Murong Xiao giving Li Mo the prayer beads. He also knew about the Buddhist scripture Li Mo had given Murong Xiao in return.

A moment later, Huaikong removed his bamboo hat and turned to leave.

No one knew how many glances the two exchanged before Shang Qinqing tucked away the tenderness in her eyes and resumed her usual playful demeanor.

When she approached the young pair, she found them in an awkward silence. Unable to suppress her grin—and apparently not hungry, since she didn’t even take out her melon seeds—she said cheerfully:

"Oh, Little Bing, what are you two doing here?"

"We just arrived, planning to bid you farewell. We were just figuring out which route would be fastest."

Li Mo replied calmly.

Not because he was good at pretending nothing happened, but because he had seen something he shouldn’t have—and assumed their "intimate moment" had also been witnessed.

Those who knew, knew. Mutual understanding.

"Tsk tsk, Shang Wu actually managed to teach a disciple like you. Impressive."

Shang Qinqing looked him up and down, clicking her tongue in amusement.

"Clan Leader Shang knows my master?"

"Know her? When I was only seventh-grade and hadn’t even taken human form, she nearly plucked my feathers to make soup."

"......"

Little Li was momentarily speechless.

He decided then and there to mention his master less when traveling. Her old acquaintances weren’t just powerful—their memories of her weren’t exactly warm and fuzzy.

"Don’t overthink it. With her temperament, it’s not hard to understand..."

Shang Qinqing shook her head, not delving further.

She pointed at the map and traced a line.

"Take this route back to Southern Pass City."

"Isn’t that... a huge detour?"

Li Mo followed her finger, puzzled. This path was twice as long as the one he’d taken to get here, winding in several large curves instead of a straight line.

But Little Li was no fool.

After a brief thought, it clicked:

"Because of the Jade Phoenix God?"

Murong Xiao had warned him too.

The journey home would not be peaceful.

"Not just the Jade Phoenix God. The two of you are also part of the reason."

"I can’t openly help you when the time comes. At most, I can ensure no fourth-grade Calamity Beasts at the Demon King level come after you."

Shang Qinqing smiled, but her words carried undeniable authority.

"Thank you, Clan Leader Shang."

Li Mo caught her implication.

They might encounter Great Demons?

Among demons, first-grade was supreme, while for human martial artists, the ninth realm was the peak—the opposite ranking.

A Great Demon was equivalent to a human Internal Scenery expert, and sixth-grade Calamity Beasts were usually stronger than Internal Scenery cultivators.

But she was already helping. He couldn’t ask for more.

Besides.

What kind of martial artist feared storms?

His thanks lingered in the air, unanswered.

When Li Mo looked up again, not only was Shang Qinqing gone—the Matchmaking Tree, the temple halls, the ancient pagodas—everything had vanished.

Only a barren mountain remained, as if it had all been a dream.

He quickly turned his head, his heart settling into calm.

"Ice block, we’re going home."

Li Mo’s fingers twitched. He wanted to reach out but hesitated, remembering the earlier awkwardness.

"Mm."

A small, cool hand slipped into his palm. He instinctively tightened his grip.

Gazing at the breathtaking landscapes of the Southern Border, all his worries and distractions melted away, leaving only the vast, boundless sky.

The road home was long.

But at least he wouldn’t walk it alone.

Ying Bing gazed at the young man's profile, as if...

she shared the same thought?

......