The wind chimes under the eaves trembled in the cold morning breeze.
Inside the house, the drying clothes occasionally swayed as stray gusts slipped through the cracks.
Odd—one of the local Southern Border-style garments seemed to have vanished.
Whether it had been spirited away by some nimble-fingered thief or simply misplaced, no one could say.
The ice sculpture remained still, its glow faintly mirroring the jade phoenix’s radiance.
She wasn’t heading to the military camp today, seemingly caught in a critical phase of her training.
"Strange," Li Mo muttered.
"Why can’t I break through?"
Stepping out of the side room, Little Li stowed the Gilded Creation Seal into his system space, lost in thought.
Turns out, in the realm of aloofness, the Monkey King still reigned supreme.
The Creation Seal had failed to imprint yet again.
"Haven’t I already mastered the Somersault Cloud?"
Li Mo walked down the street, casually buying a Southern Border breakfast—a spicy, fragrant flatbread.
As he headed toward the Greenwood Barracks, his mind churned.
His Indestructible Diamond Body was already perfected, though its duration depended on his physical endurance.
The Seventy-Two Transformations needed no explanation.
So it must be the Somersault Cloud?
"The true wonder of the Somersault Cloud lies in traversing a thousand miles in a single step," he mused.
"Right now, I can only fly through the air—far from mastery."
"But ‘lightness’... that’s too abstract."
Lost in his thoughts, Li Mo suddenly collided with a vaguely familiar figure midway.
He froze, barely recognizing the person before him.
Disheveled, clad in tattered and soot-stained clothes, only the burning intensity in their eyes and that familiar wariness—along with an inexplicable air of stealth—gave them away.
Huang Donglai?!
"Donglai, have you expanded your side gigs to the Beggars’ Sect now? Your range is impressive."
"Brother Li? Ah, I didn’t expect to see you in Greenwood City."
Huang Donglai’s eyes brightened before he sighed wryly.
"To be honest, I was entrusted to deliver urgent military intelligence to the Greenwood Barracks. This disguise was for convenience."
Li Mo nodded, the glow of his Heavenly Destiny Eye fading as he smiled.
"Ah, so you’re moonlighting as a courier. I was just thinking of you yesterday—Commander Qu even offered me a prized steed, but I turned it down."
"???"
Huang Donglai had been oddly touched—after all, few in this world remembered him.
Until he heard the reason.
"Donglai, since your report is urgent and meant for Commander Qu anyway, why not come with me into the camp?"
"My thoughts exactly."
Li Mo led Huang Donglai into the Greenwood Barracks, where the patrolling soldiers, recognizing Li Mo, let them pass without question.
The Southern Border teemed with calamity beasts. Yesterday, Li Mo hadn’t even finished showcasing all the forms from his Seventy-Two Transformations, and today he’d planned to continue the military drills.
The training grounds were already alive with sergeants and squad leaders drilling their troops, the entire camp buzzing with fervor.
To Huang Donglai, the scene carried an ominous weight—like the calm before a storm.
"Brother Li, war seems imminent in Greenwood City. You should leave while you can."
"War?"
Li Mo frowned.
The Southern Border hadn’t seen conflict in years. Why now?
A possibility flickered in his mind, but he stayed silent, his brow furrowed.
After a brief wait, an aide delivered Commander Qu’s response and escorted them into the central command tent.
Inside, a sprawling sand table—over ten feet long and wide—displayed a detailed map of Greenwood City. This was clearly classified intel, yet Commander Qu had chosen to meet them here.
Standing before the map, Commander Qu greeted them with a weary but warm smile.
"My aide mentioned that Young Hero Li’s friend carries urgent military intelligence?"
"Commander Qu, this humble one is Huang Donglai..."
Huang Donglai handed over the letter, visibly relieved once it was delivered.
Li Mo burned with curiosity about the contents, but this wasn’t something he could pry into. Still, his heart grew heavy as he watched Commander Qu’s expression darken.
"Sit," Commander Qu offered, pouring tea for them both.
"This letter is vital. Thank you for risking your life to deliver it. No wonder you’re a friend of Young Hero Li."
Then, turning to Li Mo, he took a deep breath.
"Leave Greenwood City."
Li Mo set down his cup. "Is the situation that dire?"
Commander Qu stared blankly at the map, his exhaustion now plain.
"These past days, I’ve used the Art of War Divination to simulate the battle countless times. At first, our chances were thirty percent. Your arrival pushed it past fifty."
"Then this letter arrived."
"Yes, I knew this war was coming. Days ago, I meant to send you and the Young Marquis away, but I held my tongue—for the sake of those slim odds."
"I couldn’t bear to see this city, built from nothing by the Prince and his men, reduced to ashes..."
"..."
Li Mo fell silent.
How had Commander Qu known in advance?
The Celestial Jade.
He wasn’t stupid—just inexperienced in war.
"And you, Commander? If there’s no chance of victory—"
"Pots break at the well’s edge; generals die on the battlefield."
Commander Qu refilled their cups.
"Truthfully, I should’ve died years ago, when the Prince and I slew that cursed crocodile."
"You two are different. Both of you are prodigies, young heroes with boundless futures ahead."
"Go. Any later, and it’ll be too late."
He clasped his hands in a tired salute.
Silence settled over the tent, the wind outside howling like a blade.
Then Huang Donglai spoke again.
"The letter was given to me by a dying scout—likely one of yours."
A bamboo tally slid onto the table.
"Young Hero Li, the person you sought is here. There’s nothing left to tie you to this place."
Outside the tent, Huang Donglai whispered, "Brother Li, are you alright?"
"I... Let’s go. We’ll collect Lu Yi’s death benefits."
Li Mo shook his head, his gaze steady.
He’d once imagined glory on the battlefield—heroic deeds and unmatched might.
But now, faced with that military tally, the reality was stark.
Of course. Pots break at the well’s edge; generals die on the battlefield.
War meant bloodshed. Death was inevitable.
He’d never met this soldier named Lu Yi. Delivering his benefits home would be the decent thing to do, wouldn’t it?
But what if—
This war had begun because of him?
Ten minutes later, they reached the supply tent.
The quartermaster took the tally and counted out a handful of coins.
"Young Hero Li, this is all there is."
"Only this much?"
"The court mandates twelve taels of silver for fallen soldiers, but we’re far from the capital. Even our pay comes from the Prince’s own coffers..."
Thirty-odd coins, each worn smooth, gleamed in the light.
And in their reflection—a young man’s bloodless face.
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)
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
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.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
