The dark and unadorned hammer hung silently at the intersection of ice and fire.
It stood about three hundred paces from the cave entrance.
"Huff..."
Li Mo exhaled a white breath, his forehead drenched in sweat.
After walking a hundred paces, his entire body was soaked, and even his bones itched from the vibrations.
Exhausted, yet the fire in Li Mo's eyes burned brighter than ever.
The divine weapon tempered his bones—each step strengthened his blood and refined his physique.
In just a hundred paces, he had opened another meridian.
Thirteen meridians.
For ordinary martial artists, twelve was the limit, the point where blood would condense into qi and force transform into breath.
Li Mo had already surpassed the boundaries of the Qi-Blood Realm.
And he wasn’t stopping.
One hundred and forty paces.
"The pressure is growing unbearable."
Every step became a struggle as his body reached its breaking point.
Fine blood streaks appeared on his skin.
He had done his best to mitigate the weapon’s killing edge using the techniques of Extreme Weapon Tempering Body, but a divine weapon was still a divine weapon.
"At least I still have some martial insights left."
"Otherwise, I’d have to stop here today..."
Li Mo wanted to push further.
But the moment he took another step, the weapon’s killing aura surged from all directions.
Blood seeped from the cracks in his skin, his body on the verge of collapse. He hastily retreated.
"Fine, no more struggling."
Young Li sighed, finally acknowledging the hammer’s might.
He hadn’t wanted to rely on shortcuts.
But reality left him no choice.
Hard work alone wouldn’t claim a divine weapon.
"Let’s start with twenty years."
Li Mo focused his mind, channeling his insights into Extreme Weapon Tempering Body.
[Ten years of martial insights successfully infused.]
[Year One: Observing the divine weapon Pangu Calamity Meteor Hammer, you gain deeper understanding of body tempering. You ponder the essence of Extreme Weapon Tempering Body.]
[Year Eight: You finally master Extreme Weapon Tempering Body to perfection.]
[Year Ten: You begin exploring the mysteries of body tempering, seeking the pinnacle of mastery...]
Ten years of insights—eight, to be precise—brought the technique to completion.
Li Mo rubbed his face, once again facing reality.
A high-tier sword art, taught personally by the "Ice Block."
A supreme body-tempering method, self-taught.
Yet the former had cost him multiple times more insights than the latter.
"Fine."
Li Mo activated Extreme Weapon Tempering Body at its perfected level.
Instantly, the frenzied killing edge around him grew docile.
With renewed determination, he strode toward the Pangu Calamity Meteor Hammer.
One step, two steps...
Ten steps, a hundred steps...
In no time, only fifty paces separated him from the ice-fire boundary.
But the moment he crossed that threshold—
BOOM!
A thunderous hammer strike echoed.
The killing aura surged violently once more.
It was like stepping into a whirlpool, battered by relentless currents.
"No wonder the Pangu Calamity Meteor Hammer can forge divine weapons."
"A single strike would shatter even famed blades."
Li Mo felt like a weapon himself, being tempered by the hammer.
The founder of the Divine Weapon Peak must have been a true powerhouse.
At least in body tempering, his prowess was undeniable.
No wonder Elder Hanhe left the hammer lying in the depths of the Divine Edge Cave.
Even an expert at the Observation Divine Realm might not qualify to stand before it.
"What kind of monster could wield this thing freely?"
Li Mo shook off the thought.
No time for doubts—he had insights to burn.
He poured another decade of martial understanding into Extreme Weapon Tempering Body.
[Year One: Studying the divine weapon, you grasp the concept of Body as Weapon, learning to emit your own killing edge.]
[Year Three: Your personal killing edge resonates with the hammer’s, complementing each other.]
[Year Twelve: You reach the pinnacle of mastery, your comprehension rivaling the technique’s creator.]
[Insight complete—Extreme Weapon Tempering Body ascends to Transcendent Pinnacle!]
Twenty years total—from mastery to the transcendent pinnacle.
Li Mo raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
After being humbled by sword arts for so long, he wasn’t used to such efficiency.
"Body as Weapon."
He murmured the words.
In the next moment, his own body began radiating the same killing edge used to temper him.
It wasn’t strong—barely surpassing a sharp blade.
Compared to the Pangu Calamity Meteor Hammer, it was like firefly light against the full moon.
But!
Extreme Weapon Tempering Body was a supreme art, and he had pushed it to the transcendent pinnacle.
That meant he could leverage minimal force to shift immense weight.
The pressure dwindled drastically. Now, Li Mo could control how much he endured at will.
The remaining fifty paces?
He sprinted.
In moments, he stood at the ice-fire boundary, finally able to examine the hammer up close.
The weapon seemed forged as one piece—hammerhead and handle seamless, as if nature itself had shaped it.
The hammerhead was blunt at the front, tapered at the back.
Square like an imperial seal—unrefined yet profound.
Pointed like jagged wind-carved stone—a masterpiece of the uncanny.
One side for forging weapons, the other for... forging people.
Li Mo dismissed the dangerous thought.
"I don’t know why you called to me."
"But since you’ve chosen me, today I take you with me!"
He reached out, gripping the handle.
BOOM—
His mind erupted as if the cosmos had birthed anew, a meteor crashing into his consciousness.
Li Mo’s thoughts blanked. His fingers nearly loosened from the shock.
Don’t let go!
He clenched his teeth.
All thirteen opened meridians surged to life.
Every ounce of strength in his body was wrung dry.
The Pangu Calamity Meteor Hammer was being merciful.
Against all odds, it budged—just a fraction—for a mere Qi-Blood Realm cultivator.
RUMBLE—
The earth quaked.
The entire Divine Edge Cave trembled violently.
...And not just the cave.
The Divine Weapon Peak itself shook.
"Earthquake! Earthquake!"
"Is the peak collapsing?!"
"Don’t spout nonsense—it’s just the earth veins erupting early!"
"Wasn’t there supposed to be a dormant period? Today’s only the first day!"
"RUN!"
Those still inside bolted for the exit, not daring to look back.
Fortunately, most had already claimed their weapons.
"Teacher, what’s happening?"
Xiao Qin had exited earlier, but Li Mo was still missing.
The voice of Thousand Forms Martial Venerable turned grave.
"The cave shouldn’t collapse."
"But that... is the aura of a divine weapon?"
Xiao Qin didn’t fully grasp the implications, but his teacher’s tone worried him.
"Master! Junior Brother Li is still inside!"
Murong Xiao couldn’t stay seated. Yet the entire Divine Edge Cave now pulsed with overwhelming pressure.
"So it is him..."
Elder Hanhe’s expression shifted.
He had suspected as much.
The last time the founder’s artifact stirred, he’d guessed Li Mo was involved.
But he never imagined the Pangu Calamity Meteor Hammer would react so violently!
An almost absurd thought suddenly surfaced.
Could it be... that it's about to acknowledge a master?
"Oi, old man."
"You'd better keep your word from earlier."
Shang Wu crossed her arms, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing like a fox that had just pulled off a clever trick.
"If he can truly lift it, then let him take it away!"
Elder Hanhe's eyelid twitched as he flicked his sleeve and strode into the Divine Edge Cave.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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.
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)
'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.
