At noon, the light of three suns cascaded like a celestial canopy, bathing the lakeside tower in a radiant glow. The tiles shimmered with a jade-like luster, transforming the hollowed pagoda into a pillar of glazed glass. A gilded plaque bore three characters:
"Cloud-Stepping Tower"
This place bustled with activity during the Hidden Dragon Assembly, as the tower stood twenty-five stories tall, with four rooms on each floor—a hundred in total. From top to bottom, the rooms were assigned to the highest-ranked geniuses on the Hidden Dragon List down to the lowest.
Merely securing a room here was proof of one's status as a prodigy on the Hidden Dragon List—though the topmost chamber had remained vacant for years.
Yet, despite it being the Hidden Dragon Assembly, the area before Cloud-Stepping Tower was abuzz with murmurs, the crowd packed tightly in layers.
"Who has the audacity to block the entrance at a time like this?"
"Indeed. He doesn’t look old—could he be trying to challenge one of the Hidden Dragon elites to make a name for himself?"
"Unlikely."
"Why do you say that?"
"That’s Xie Xuan, the second-ranked on the Hidden Dragon List."
"......"
The few who had been clamoring to teach him a lesson fell silent, their gazes shifting to the straw-hatted figure clutching a sword, reverence flickering in their eyes.
This was the undisputed second-ranked prodigy of the Hidden Dragon List—the young master of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor.
"May I ask why the young master is blocking the entrance?"
A monk spoke up, likely from the Western Regions’ Nalanda Temple.
"Take one strike from me, and you may enter. I won’t suppress my cultivation."
Xie Xuan’s voice was as cool as his demeanor.
The crowd’s expressions varied—some Hidden Dragon-ranked youths brimmed with eagerness, while sect elders darkened with displeasure.
Then, a figure leaped into the center of the gathering.
"I am Tie Qi. I seek your guidance!"
"Draw your sword... ah, your halberd, then."
A martial artist from the Gangdou Sect, known for their fearless nature, had stepped forward—and it was an old acquaintance.
Among the onlookers, Li Mo watched with amusement and asked,
"Ice Block, how many moves do you think Brother Tie can last?"
"One."
Ying Bing shook her head lightly.
"That strong?"
Li Mo couldn’t help but activate his Heavenly Eye to observe.
[Name: Xie Xuan.]
[Age: 22]
[Constitution: Pure Blade Sword Body]
[Realm: Nine-Aperture Insight.]
[Fate: Blazing Gold (exceptionally dense golden hue)]
[Evaluation: Recognized by the Sword Manor’s ancestral wooden sword in childhood, inheriting the Pure Blade Sword Dao. Yet, he has always deemed himself inferior to Shi Sujun from thirty years ago, refusing the title of Sword Chief. A hopeless romantic, pining fruitlessly for Hua Nongying, the top disciple of the Moonlit Pavilion.]
[Recent Events: Lured by Crown Prince Jiang Yu’s promise, he drove Jiang Chulong away, intending to guide her back to the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor when he finds her.]
"He’s here because of Jiang Yu, yet doesn’t seem like Jiang Yu’s man."
As Li Mo pondered this, Tie Qi had already been defeated—unable to withstand even a single strike.
But when Tie Qi spotted Li Mo upon retreating, he grinned and called out loudly,
"Brother Li!"
Xie Xuan, sheathing his sword, instinctively followed the voice—and his eyes abruptly sharpened.
He saw Jiang Chulong, and beside her, the aloof young woman standing close to the same man.
"Brother Li, you just arrived today?"
Tie Qi clasped his hands in greeting, then nodded at Ying Bing.
"Sister-in-law, hello. Are you two planning to step up for a match?"
"......Mm."
Ying Bing’s gaze drifted elsewhere, but she didn’t let go of Li Mo’s hand.
"Let’s pass."
Li Mo coughed lightly.
Though the world knew him as the "Hammer Tyrant," he wasn’t keen on whipping out his hammers in front of so many young talents.
If possible, he’d prefer his first public display in the imperial capital to be with a sword.
It was the last shred of dignity for a man who thrived on his wife’s glory...
"What about Sister-in-law?"
"The Ice Block follows me."
Li Mo answered without hesitation.
Ying Bing pressed her lips together and nodded. "I... follow him."
Young Master Li grinned, interlacing his fingers with her cold, delicate hand.
By now, many had recognized Ying Bing—after all, she wasn’t just the third-ranked on the Hidden Dragon List but also second on the Hundred Flowers Beauty Ranking.
The aloof Frost Fairy... clinging to a man’s sleeve...
And saying she’d follow him!
"You absolute bastard! This is worse than killing me!"
The sound of shattered dao hearts echoed through the crowd.
Countless gazes burned with envy and despair.
"Ice Block, your hands are so cold."
Li Mo held her openly—he was absolutely doing this on purpose.
Ying Bing tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her cool eyes tinged with resignation.
Childish.
Like a brat showing off a prized toy...
"There are so many people around..."
Jiang Chulong adjusted her sunglasses, her cool facade barely masking her flustered nerves as she instinctively tugged at Li Mo’s sleeve.
"?"
Xie Xuan, who had been maintaining his aloof swordsman act, nearly lost his composure.
Seriously, man...
I’m here holding a trial, and you’re out here flaunting your romance?
Am I even human to you?
"So, Brother Li, where are you planning to stay?" Tie Qi asked.
"Just buy a place, I guess."
Li Mo glanced around, assessing which spot had the best ambiance.
"Finding lodging now won’t be easy—wait, what did you just say?"
"Buy a building. Why cram into Cloud-Stepping Tower?"
"Brother Li, do you have any idea how expensive land is in the imperial capital? It’s worth its weight in gold!" Tie Qi’s eyes bulged.
"Not too bad, then. I should be able to afford enough land to cover ten mountains."
Li Mo exhaled in relief—that had been a close call.
Tie Qi: "?"
His brawny brain had only just mastered a few adjectives.
But Brother Li didn’t seem to be speaking figuratively.
"Brother Tie, if you can’t find a place, you’re welcome to stay once I’ve bought a building."
With that, Li Mo took Ying Bing’s hand and turned to leave.
But before he could take two steps—
A thunderous shout, laced with sword intent, rang out behind him.
"Hammer Tyrant! Halt!"
"?"
Li Mo’s smile froze. His fists clenched.
"Ahem... As the third and fourth-ranked on the Hidden Dragon List, do you truly lack the courage to draw your swords against me? Or are you fleeing the scene?"
Xie Xuan had spoken more than usual.
Clearly, he really wanted to spend a night with Hua Nongying—er, really wanted to bring Jiang Chulong back to the Sword Manor, and also spar with Ying Bing.
Realizing both women deferred to Li Mo, he’d blurted out "Hammer Tyrant" without thinking.
"If we fight seriously, I won’t even need to draw my sword to beat you."
Li Mo stated matter-of-factly.
"......"
Qin Yuzhi mused that Li Mo drawing his sword would be redundant.
But the crowd erupted in uproar.
"What? Li Mo says he can defeat the second-ranked without drawing his sword?"
"What? The Hammer Tyrant claims he can defeat Xie Xuan without attacking?"
"What? The Hammer Tyrant thinks Xie Xuan is utter trash, unworthy of a fight?"
"That’s the Li Mo who humiliated the Crown Prince?"
"So he’s Li Mo? He’s got some nerve!"
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.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
