The tempered iron longsword was something both elders had seen many times before—hardly a rarity. Yet what astonished them about this blade was neither its form nor material.
It was the forging technique.
"The texture is so remarkably even and dense."
"And these layered forging patterns—so elegant, like rippling water converging in one direction..."
Ding—
Elder Zeng extended a finger and lightly flicked the blade, eliciting a clear, resonant ring.
"Excellent, truly excellent. This is undoubtedly a fine weapon—one of the highest grade."
"For a first attempt at weapon-smithing to yield such results... I’ve never seen the like in all my years!"
Elder Zeng was no stranger to famed swords, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from this superior-grade iron longsword, his admiration plain.
"Hand it over."
Elder Hanhe took the sword and examined it meticulously, clicking his tongue in approval.
Mmm, yes. This blade carries a soul.
Every inch bore the marks of painstaking effort. That kid, hammering ten strikes in a single breath—he’d truly done it. And surpassed even their expectations.
"It seems you took my words to heart."
"Hmph, without my Five Elements smelting technique, how could this iron endure five temperings and quenchings?"
Elder Zeng lifted his chin proudly.
The strengths of both masters’ crafts had merged flawlessly in this young man.
The two elders exchanged a glance, as if reading each other’s thoughts.
He’s still young. Full marks might breed arrogance.
Besides, the sword wasn’t perfect.
At the very least, it still fell short of what the two of them could forge.
"Theoretically, iron can be refined into a masterwork. But this blade of yours, though superior-grade, remains a fine weapon."
"There are still areas where you fall short."
"I’m all ears."
Li Mo set down his hammer and listened intently.
This was the accumulated wisdom of seasoned artisans—earned through years of toil, not something martial insights or epiphanies could replicate.
"First, your understanding of ‘swordcraft’ is lacking. Different blade types demand distinct techniques and emphases during forging..."
Elder Hanhe and Elder Zeng took turns critiquing, their comments flowing back and forth.
Finally, Elder Zeng summarized:
"One more thing—this isn’t your fault. The issue lies in the quenching material."
"The quenching oil was reused too quickly, causing its temperature to rise. The final quenching didn’t achieve the intended effect. Otherwise, this iron sword’s quality could’ve reached even greater heights."
"Li Mo... Li Mo?"
Elder Zeng noticed the young blacksmith spacing out and waved a hand in front of his eyes.
Li Mo’s vision swam, his body burning as if swollen.
"Seems like it’s not just the sword that won’t cool down."
"Hm?"
"It’s me too."
"Wha—?! Hiss..."
Elder Hanhe poked Li Mo’s shoulder and recoiled—his skin was scalding, like red-hot metal. The heat of the fire veins had masked it until now...
"Damn, this kid’s like a freshly forged ingot."
"Is he tempering weapons or himself?"
In a way, tempering himself wasn’t far off.
The Divine Refinement technique involved honing one’s own body alongside the metal...
"This can’t go on..."
After a long, grave silence, the master smith and the forging grandmaster reached a consensus.
They had to ‘quench’ young Li.
So...
The two elders lifted the novice blacksmith between them.
Splash—
He was tossed into the frigid pool at the fire vein’s extreme yang point, where the energy shifted to extreme yin.
"Shit, Li Mo’s sinking!" Elder Zeng leaned back slightly.
Leave him in too long, and not even a hair would remain.
Elder Hanhe panicked: "Fish him out! You’re great at slacking—get him up now!"
Elder Zeng bristled: "Bullshit! I call it ‘productive breaks.’ You’re the slacker here!"
"Always coming back empty-handed from fishing, then diving in to grab them and pretending you caught them. Shameless!"
Clearly, neither elder had much experience with this... unconventional quenching method.
......
Evening arrived, the early spring chill biting deep. Withered leaves rustled on the courtyard’s banyan tree as the cold shifted from physical to magical, seeping into the bones.
At this hour, Autumn Water Pavilion was unusually devoid of cooking smoke, amplifying its desolate air.
Because, well... Chef Li was down with an illness.
Carried back by Elder Hanhe, he’d been stiff as a board. Now wrapped in a blanket, he sat shivering, eyes vacant, even his eyebrows frosted over.
Meanwhile, Sect Leader Qin Yuzhi and Shang Wu circled him, baffled.
"Yesterday he was burning up, now he’s an icicle?"
"No idea."
Li Mo was equally confused.
He only remembered using Divine Refinement to temper his body, forging a fine longsword, then blacking out.
Probably... from overheating?
So why was he now covered in ice?
And it wasn’t just the frost—inside, he felt like a furnace was blazing.
Calling himself a ‘cool exterior, fiery heart’ youth wouldn’t be wrong...
"Wait here."
Shang Wu scratched her head, disappeared into a room, and returned with a cup.
The sharp scent of alcohol wafted from it.
"Take it."
"Huh? Some kind of medicinal wine...?"
Li Mo accepted it, puzzled.
"Nope. Alcohol tastes better chilled."
"?"
Of course. Never expect reliability from Master.
"Let me see."
Qin Yuzhi, ever the solemn sect leader, pressed a hand to his wrist like a seasoned physician.
Her brow furrowed slowly.
Given Qin Yuzhi’s vast knowledge, Li Mo tensed at her expression:
"What’s wrong with me?"
"Hiss... Your condition—it’s extreme yang birthing yin!" Her eyes widened.
"!"
Li Mo shuddered, though whether from cold or fear was unclear.
Yesterday you said I was just a bit overheated, nowhere near this! How’d it escalate overnight?
"Just kidding! Scared you, didn’t I?"
"So I’m not at that stage?"
"Couldn’t tell. I don’t know medicine."
"...Are you kidding me?!"
Li Mo’s face darkened.
No wonder no one tried waking Qin Yuzhi during her long slumber in Cloud Dream Palace. Hard to believe the disciples weren’t ‘accidentally’ negligent.
If you two were any less reliable, you’d be outright hazardous.
Staying in Autumn Water Pavilion felt like visiting a hospital in his past life for a cold—likely to leave with actual problems.
He took a deep breath, forced his stiff body upright, and resolved to visit Dan Ding Peak for Elder Xue’s diagnosis. Though it didn’t seem severe, unchecked issues could fester.
But just then, crisp footsteps echoed from the staircase.
Li Mo paused mid-step and turned to see the ethereal, ice-cold beauty of Ying Bing.
Ying Bing's gaze immediately landed on young Li Mo. Sensing something amiss with his condition, her usual detached and otherworldly expression suddenly grew solemn, her delicate brows knitting deeply.
"Li Mo, come here and sit properly."
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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!
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
