Autistic Classmate Li, "Baduanjin"

The wind howled, its origin unknown.

The fire burned, setting the layered clouds ablaze.

This was supposed to be a world entirely under his control, yet now it trembled, slipping beyond the grasp of its master. At the end of the surging winds and clouds stood a figure, its stony exterior shed away, silently awaiting the challenger.

As the weapon known as the Ruyi Jingu Bang fell into his hands, an inexplicable divine aura surged forth.

Li Mo could no longer keep his eyes open. Yet even with them closed, the outline of that divine presence grew clearer and clearer.

He stood as tall as It.

He had already reached the upper echelons of the Hidden Dragon Ranking across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, defeating countless former heroes. With just one more step—observing the Nine Divine Apertures—he might have become one of the greatest in the mortal realm. Yet now, he realized...

How utterly insignificant he was.

Its resolve was called Invincibility.

No enemy it could not defeat, a heart set on shattering the heavens.

This was why the Divine Intent of the Great Sage could only be tempered through the Qi Tian Battle Will—by facing foe after foe, weapon in hand, triumphing over one formidable opponent after another.

To observe the divine through the Observation of Divinity Art was merely to imitate, to learn, to nurture a deity within one's heart and borrow its power.

But the Divine Intent of the Great Sage demanded that you shatter it—shatter the god in your heart, shatter all that was deemed unassailable.

Now, It beckoned to him, as if saying:

"Come, challenger. Let me see if your heart holds such resolve."

"......"

Li Mo's throat felt parched. For the first time in his own world, he felt powerless.

He had already reached the Observation of Divinity realm. And now, his opponent was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?

With great difficulty, he pulled out a flask of Immortal’s Drunkenness, intending—for the first time—to drink for courage.

Ding—

Suddenly, the air around him hardened like divine steel. A faint golden light pinned him in place, rendering him immobile—unable to even blink.

It stepped forward, the long staff scraping against the ground with a crisp sound, each stride crossing immeasurable distance.

The flask was plucked from his hand, given a shake, and held up to Its ear as if listening to the sound of fine wine.

Then, with one last swig, It tossed it back.

The golden light shattered.

"How the hell am I supposed to fight this...?"

Li Mo mustered his courage and tightened his grip on his hammer.

But before he could even summon his strength, the Divine Intent of the Great Sage crashed down like an avalanche from the heavens. The figure that distorted his world filled his vision entirely.

......

The next morning.

At the entrance of the Step Cloud Pavilion.

"Huh? He looks like a dog."

A passing woman giggled.

"Shh... Darling, don’t say that. That’s Xie Xuan, second on the Hidden Dragon Ranking."

Her companion’s expression shifted slightly.

"Ah?"

The couple quickened their steps and left.

Xie Xuan remained curled up, hugging his knees, his face blank and despondent. He had been sitting there all night.

Yesterday, the Divine Hammer Tyrant had taken Cold Fairy’s hand and uttered those words—"She never loved you"—and they still echoed in his ears.

He hadn’t recovered. Not even now.

"How... could I lose so completely?"

Just then, someone sat down beside him.

"Hm?"

Xie Xuan, who had been expressionless until now, blinked in surprise.

The newcomer was none other than Li Mo.

Li Mo, with the same hollow stare and unsteady steps, as if he hadn’t slept all night, propped his chin on his hand and gazed into the distance, murmuring:

"How could I lose so completely?"

Last night, Li Mo had challenged the Great Sage for three hours straight.

And guess what?

He gave it his all—and then nothing. Not once did he survive past the second move. By the end, he was numb.

"Give me back my sunglasses."

Li Mo reached over and plucked the shades from Xie Xuan’s face, putting them on himself.

Xie Xuan: "?"

And so, the sunglasses changed owners. The scene at the Step Cloud Pavilion’s entrance shifted from one dejected dog to a defeated monkey and a broken hound.

"What happened to you?"

"Oh, sparred all night. Didn’t win a single match."

Xie Xuan’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly, as if he’d figured something out.

The Divine Hammer Tyrant must have sparred with Cold Fairy yesterday!

She was even more terrifying than his own master. No wonder Li Mo was left questioning his existence.

"I could tell yesterday—you’d never beat her."

"?"

Li Mo gave him a strange look. Did you misunderstand something?

There was no way Xie Xuan knew he’d gotten beaten up by a monkey.

But it wasn’t something he could explain either...

Seeing Li Mo remain silent and withdrawn, Xie Xuan felt slightly better.

"Want to know why you couldn’t win?"

"No."

"......"

Xie Xuan choked.

This stubborn second-place holder on the Hidden Dragon Ranking had a rebellious streak. The more Li Mo refused, the more he wanted to say it.

"Yesterday, I could see it in your swordsmanship—it had traces of her style."

"You haven’t even mastered her techniques. Winning would’ve been a miracle. Honestly, I doubt you’ll ever beat her in this lifetime..."

"!"

Li Mo froze, a bolt of lightning flashing through his mind.

Right.

Everything he relied on came from the Great Sage’s Heaven-Shattering Diagram.

And his mastery of it was far from complete.

From the very foundation, he stood no chance.

"Then where do I start over?"

Li Mo muttered to himself.

"No way around it. Even if Master Uncle Shi were resurrected, he might not stand a chance against her martial prowess."

Seeing Li Mo’s bewildered scratching and fumbling, Xie Xuan felt a little better—though he wasn’t sure why.

Was it because he realized Li Mo, too, had no hope of surpassing Ying Bing in martial skill?

"If you want to forge iron, you need a strong hammer."

Behind the sunglasses, Li Mo’s eyes reignited with determination.

What he needed now was to land a single hit on the Great Sage’s projection—to shake off that innate fear and oppression.

And to do that, he first needed the strength to swing that hammer.

Otherwise, while the Great Sage’s projection stood invincible, radiating golden light, he’d be nothing but a flickering firefly.

While the Great Sage’s projection towered like a celestial deity, he’d be left with a crippled leg and a mismatched arm.

Without the foundation for victory, where would the resolve and confidence come from?

Physique!

"Thanks. You’re... weirdly nice."

Li Mo clapped his hands together, thanked Xie Xuan, and hurried upstairs.

"??"

Xie Xuan had more question marks floating above his head today than in his entire life.

Meanwhile.

Li Mo had already returned to his room, pulling out several manuals from his system storage.

These were all body-refining martial arts he’d obtained through investment returns.

"Extreme Weapon Tempering Body is already perfected. I need another body-refining technique..."

As he scanned the manuals, his gaze paused on one.

"Second Set of Radio Calisthenics"

...Huh.

This was something he’d created based on the morning exercises from his past life, combined with his current understanding of body refinement—meant for the common folk of the Southern Border.

It seemed to work decently well.

"At the very least, this is my own path."

Curious, Li Mo took out a Heavenly Scripture Imprint Stone and pressed it onto the manual.

The text flowed and rearranged itself.

The title transformed:

"Eight Pieces of Brocade"