Making a cake successfully in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands was no simple task.
After finishing breakfast, Li the Chef crossed his arms and sank into deep thought.
"To make a cake..."
"What is a cake?" Shang Qinqing asked with a serious expression.
Though the Shang Clan leader didn’t yet know the specifics, as a former deity who once presided over love in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, she had a keen intuition.
This thing might very well determine whether she could indulge in sweetness to her heart’s content today.
Li Mo replied earnestly:
"It’s a type of food. Eating cake on birthdays is as important as eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Like mooncakes..."
Shang Qinqing’s eyes widened slightly.
She remembered how Ying Bing had once treated a mooncake like a treasure back in the Qingluan Clan’s territory, even attempting to hang it on the Tree of Matrimony...
If she took part in making the cake, then indulging in something sweet would be perfectly justified.
With determination in her eyes, Shang Qinqing declared:
"Li Mo, as the Qingluan Clan leader, I will spare no effort to assist you. Just tell me what you need!"
"Indeed, there are a few things I’ll need your help with."
Li Mo pondered the basic requirements for making a cake:
"First, I need an alchemy furnace."
"What do you need an alchemy furnace for?"
Shang Qinqing was puzzled—what kind of food required an alchemy furnace?
"Cakes require an oven, but we probably can’t get one on such short notice, so an alchemy furnace will have to do."
"You know alchemy too?" Wu Qing exclaimed in surprise.
As everyone knew, Li the Chef had considerable expertise in alchemy. He nodded and said:
"I once even collaborated with the genius alchemy master, Elder Xue, to refine the Nine-Aperture Dragon-Tiger Golden Elixir, along with many other pills."
"My success rate... was an astonishing one hundred percent!"
Well, of course—when he himself jumped into the furnace, failure was impossible.
"!"
Shang Qinqing clearly knew what that meant, and her gaze toward Li Mo shifted slightly.
That was a divine elixir that the entire Great Shang had once pooled its resources to refine—far beyond the reach of mere alchemy masters. Only a grandmaster could attempt it.
Yet judging by Li Mo’s expression, he didn’t seem to be exaggerating.
"Noted. What else do you need?"
"Some ingredients."
"Go on."
"First... do you have eggs?"
"?"
"Uh, chicken eggs."
And so, an unconventional birthday cake-making endeavor began.
To ensure she could indulge in sweetness without guilt today, Shang Qinqing even personally cracked the eggs, then watched attentively as the young alchemist Li Mo kneaded the dough, stirred the mixture, whipped the cream, and refined the cake in the furnace.
The Shang Clan leader found the earlier steps flawless—she could master them at a glance.
Except for the final step: decorating with cream.
By afternoon, they each set off—Li Mo riding his somersault cloud to traverse thousands of miles, while Shang Qinqing tore through the void.
......
Qingmu City.
The Jiawei Tavern remained bustling, its business thriving as ever, with the smoke from grilled skewers lingering endlessly.
Recently, the number of martial artists arriving in Qingmu City had noticeably increased—after all, the city had witnessed major events, and two young prodigies in the top five of the Hidden Dragon Ranking had risen to fame because of it.
"Is that the Frost Fairy?"
"No wonder she ranks not only in the top five of the Hidden Dragon Ranking but also in the top three of the Hundred Flowers Beauty Ranking, despite being only sixteen."
"Heroine Ning Liushu of the Wen Yu Fort is also dashing and spirited, yet somehow she seems overshadowed in her presence."
"What are they doing?"
At the entrance of Jiawei Tavern.
A group of martial artists were discussing the two fighters about to face off.
Tall trees catch the wind.
Every young prodigy on the Hidden Dragon Ranking had no shortage of challengers—some seeking to test their martial skills and refine their techniques, others convinced of their own brilliance, eager to prove themselves.
After all, defeating a higher-ranked genius on the Hidden Dragon Ranking meant taking their place.
And at this very moment.
Two figures stood at the entrance of Jiawei Tavern.
One was Ning Liushu, ranked in the fifties on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. A jade-colored whip hung at her waist as she stood ready, frowning slightly at the girl opposite her.
The girl standing there seemed detached from her surroundings.
Clad in an ink-black flowing dress, she held a sword in her arms, her gaze cool and distant, as if the clamor of the outside world simply dissipated around her.
She didn’t seem invested in this duel.
As if she had only come out to make a point—to deter future challengers—because she was tired of being bothered.
The twilight cast long shadows, stretching her graceful silhouette, her features half-lit, half-shrouded.
"If I defeat you, Father will never force me into another arranged martial contest again. You—"
"Can we begin?"
"..."
As everyone knew.
Martial artists always exchanged a few words before a fight—whether pleasantries or taunts to unsettle their opponent.
But the Frost Fairy didn’t play by the rules of the jianghu. And yet, it somehow made sense.
She seemed like she didn’t belong to this world in the first place.
"Mm... please enlighten me!"
Whoosh—
Before Ning Liushu could even raise her whip, the figure before her vanished.
Then, a chill crept up her spine.
The blunt edge of a sword pressed against the small of her back.
"That’s it?"
"I didn’t even see anything!"
"Neither side even released their divine intent... No, wait—Ning didn’t even get the chance to."
"How is the Hammer Tyrant Li Mo, who’s the same age, ranked above her?"
Hearing that familiar name,
Ying Bing’s heart stirred. Her eyes instinctively scanned the crowd, but she didn’t see that face. Pressing her lips together, she turned and walked into the tavern.
The Frost Fairy ordered a plate of skewers with Li Mo’s signature sauce.
And neither she nor anyone else noticed.
A lone cloud drifted in the sky, slightly different from the rest.
"That was close. Almost got spotted."
Li Mo let out a relieved sigh.
Birthdays called for surprises.
Exchanging a glance with Shang Qinqing, he quietly slipped into a private room on the second floor to set things up.
Downstairs.
Ying Bing had won effortlessly, leaving onlookers stunned. Yet, she herself felt no particular joy from the victory.
She ate her skewers in silence, her gaze distant.
"Miss Bing, is something on your mind?"
The tavern owner couldn’t help but ask as she delivered the food.
"Not at all," Ying Bing shook her head.
It was just a birthday alone.
She had spent countless holidays by herself—she was used to it. What difference did today make...
"But you seem... different lately."
The owner found it odd.
The Ying Bing of the past had always been aloof, carrying an air of untouchable grace. But now, she seemed even more detached—like an immortal who had lost her connection to the mortal world, on the verge of drifting back to the heavens.
"Oh-ho, eating skewers all by yourself, huh?"
At the sound of the familiar voice,
Ying Bing immediately looked up, only to see Shang Qinqing leaning against the doorframe.
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!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
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)
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.
