【Proceed with the extraction now?】
The system's text hovered silently in the void above the somersault cloud.
"......"
Ying Bing instinctively lowered her gaze, her eyes reflecting the image of the upright gentleman, Little Li, not far away.
As if sensing her thoughts, the system added:
【Correct, no need for doubt. Since you were the top-ranked in the last round, the penalty conditions will be extracted from the memories of the previous top-ranked individual.】
To put it bluntly—
It was still those... those world-expanding scenes from Little Li's mind... the kind that, once drawn, would...
The icy demeanor she had just cooled down threatened to heat up again.
Still.
Since the extraction was inevitable, it was merely a matter of timing.
Before the Hidden Dragon Ranking's elites gathered in the imperial capital, she needed to break into the top three.
Those ranked higher on the Hidden Dragon Ranking were no pushovers—the Demon-Summoning Saint, the Yantian Miraculous Immortal, the Calamity Heaven Divine Sword, the Penglai Star Child—each a prodigy with negligible gaps in strength, backed by formidable factions of unfathomable depth.
That she and Li Mo were placed among them meant the Yantian Sect considered their abilities nearly on par.
And then there was the one who stood alone above all others—the Crown Prince of Great Yu.
In her past life, she had defeated him at the age of twenty, with nine divine apertures unlocked.
Now, she had three fewer years to prepare.
【Extracting the next penalty condition for the host...】
As the thought settled, the same screen as before appeared, flashing one scene after another.
The scene showed a dimly lit room. There was light, but it didn’t come from above—rather, from... the ground?
And the light was pink...
Was that a bed? But it was filled with water—who in the world would fill a bed with water?
On it lay a woman dressed unlike anyone from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, her eyes veiled with black cloth, unlike Princess Little Jiang’s.
And she was tied up.
In the same style as Senior Brother Ouyang...
"Is the penalty this time... to escape?"
A flicker of curiosity surfaced on Ying Bing’s cool, serene face.
What kind of penalty was this?
"Is the ice block spacing out?"
Li Mo munched on a spirit fruit that nourished the soul—something like a watermelon, crisp and refreshing, though unpardonably not chilled.
Little did the upright gentleman know that the "educational materials" folder in his mind had been exposed to the world...
Well, "exposed to the world" might be an exaggeration—only the ice block had seen it.
Had he known, he might have exclaimed:
‘Holy—cosplay...’
"Hmm?"
Li Mo glanced down and noticed her slender, pale fingers clutching the hem of her skirt, twisting it into a tight ball.
She seemed uncomfortable, even pained.
What the hell was happening?
【Preliminary Penalty One: Do As You Please in the Chamber.】
"......"
Ying Bing’s lashes trembled slightly, ripples stirring in her deep, tranquil gaze. The tree may crave calm, but the wind refuses to cease.
Where had he even seen such things?
Perhaps because they had recently acted together, she instinctively replaced the couple in the system’s scenes with the Best Actor and Best Actress of the Clear Abyss Sect.
Proof that an overactive imagination wasn’t always a good thing...
The scenes continued.
This time, it was a riverside park at sunset, a man and woman sitting on a bench bathed in twilight.
The woman sat in the man’s lap, her face buried in his shoulder, moving with such fervor it sounded like they were fighting, lips smacking loudly.
After a moment, the woman lifted her head and cooed:
"Something’s poking me."
The man’s neck was already covered in red marks.
The ice block’s eyes reflected it all.
The Phoenix Heaven Empress had just received a minor, lovey-dovey shock.
She’d never seen anything like this.
The Moon Palace and the Azure Phoenix Clan’s territory were practically the same—if not more austere. While the phoenixes waited for fate, the Moon Palace’s disciples followed their master in transcending worldly desires.
What use was love when serene detachment led to the Dao?
【Preliminary Penalty Two: Plant Forty-Nine Strawberries.】
"Is... is this normal?"
The Frost Fairy’s gaze wavered slightly—she genuinely didn’t know.
But these were all the thoughts of the upright gentleman, Little Li.
"Ice block, what are you muttering about?"
A light nudge on her shoulder made Ying Bing turn instinctively. Her eyes met his concerned gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if he’d just swallowed something...
And just like that, the suppressed scenes resurfaced in her mind.
A strange itch bloomed in Ying Bing’s chest, spreading through her veins to her fingertips, making them curl involuntarily.
"No wonder the intimate wear you bought was... like that."
"Ahem, those were local Southern Border styles. The proprietress insisted—"
The upright gentleman was still stubbornly denying it.
Ying Bing lifted her eyes, tucking a loose strand behind her ear:
"When I passed by, I heard the proprietress say an upright gentleman from the Central Plains kept saying, ‘When in Rome...’"
"......"
Under her penetrating gaze, Little Li gulped.
Why did it feel like the ice block could see right through him?
He quickly straightened his expression and pointed into the distance:
"Ice block, we’re almost there. Hey, is that our place?"
"Mn."
Though she didn’t recognize the way, Ying Bing nodded lightly.
She wanted to pretend nothing had happened, but the system wasn’t done yet.
【Displaying Preliminary Penalty Three for the host...】
......
At dusk, the somersault cloud traversed countless mountains and rivers, finally leaving the Southern Border and arriving at the Eastern Wasteland Domain, the closest region.
From high above, they could already see the winding rivers and the orderly buildings along their banks.
Ahead lay Qinghe County.
Before the cloud even touched down, an enormous banner came into view:
【Congratulations to the Li Family’s children for ranking in the top five of the Hidden Dragon Ranking!】
Flashy. Way too flashy.
"What ‘Li Family children’?"
Li Mo frowned and turned to Ying Bing. "Ice block, you’re not even surnamed Li."
Ying Bing clutched her plush doll, not looking at him—whether she heard or not was unclear.
"And it’s not even month-end..."
Little Li found it odd.
Was the ice block nervous about returning home?
Spotting the banner, Li Mo decided to head straight home. If he and Ying Bing appeared in public, it’d be troublesome.
He didn’t want to be swarmed, but as a local, he couldn’t brush off well-wishers or requests coldly.
So he and Ying Bing landed directly in his family’s courtyard.
But fate had other plans.
Even avoiding the streets didn’t bring peace—the main hall was packed, the lively dinner resembling a banquet.
"Nephew Dalong, our Li ancestors must be weeping tears of joy! A prodigy on the Hidden Dragon Ranking!"
"We haven’t visited in ages! Ah, Li Mo—I remember when he was a baby, he peed on me while I held him. Now look at him, all grown up!"
"At first, I thought it was just a namesake. Who’d have imagined?"
"Are Little Mozi and Little Binger still the same as before?"
"Do they still fight with each other now?"