"Huh? Where's my ginger?"
Li the Chef had just finished plating the vinegar-glazed potato shreds and was about to start cooking ginger-spiced snake when he realized all the ginger was gone.
Ying Bing snapped out of her daze, her gaze lingering on the young man's now-matured face, then pointed at the plate of potato shreds after a long silence.
"It's right there."
"....."
Li Mo thought to himself, no wonder these two potatoes had yielded such a massive portion.
Turns out it was potato shreds stir-fried with ginger shreds.
The Ice Block's culinary prowess just kept rising.
Half an incense stick later, Li Mo carried a tray and walked into the main hall with the Ice Block, just in time to meet Xie Xuan's gaze.
"Brother Li, about yesterday at the Moonlit Pavilion... thank you."
Xie Xuan forced a smile uglier than a grimace—clearly, he'd moved on, but the aftermath still stung.
"Fellow swordsmen help each other—it's the joy of life. No need for formalities."
Li Mo set down the tray and subtly took the Ice Block's delicate hand in his.
"?"
Xue Xuan felt something off about that statement.
But he couldn't quite pinpoint what.
Seeing Li Mo's bright, carefree smile, he decided not to dwell on trivialities.
"You bounced back so quickly—Brother Xie truly has a free spirit."
Bai Jinghong nodded approvingly. He'd always believed swordsmen ought to be unrestrained.
"I'm not sad at all."
Xie Xuan avoided looking at the couple across from him, downed two gulps of wine, and exhaled deeply with closed eyes.
But the lingering ache still made his nose tingle.
He could only distract himself by grabbing a bite of the vinegar-glazed potato shreds.
"Brother Xie, why are you crying?"
"These potato shreds... are so damn good."
"Huh?"
Princess Little Jiang curiously reached her chopsticks over, wondering just how delicious something had to be to move someone to tears—only to recoil when the ginger shreds' vinegar-spiked heat made her stick out her pink tongue.
Li Mo took a bite too.
How to put it...
Well, this wasn't just a dish—it was a work of art. One could taste sourness, bitterness, and spice, but not a hint of sweetness. It was practically like life itself...
Ying Bing blinked and extended her chopsticks.
"Ice Block, eat this instead."
Li Mo swiftly intervened, feeding her a piece of stir-fried snake meat to prevent her from attempting the dangerous experiment.
"I want to try some of that." Ying Bing's cheeks moved slightly as she chewed.
She wanted to know what their first collaborative dish tasted like.
At the very least, it looked decent...
"Let me describe it for you."
Li Mo said gravely, "This dish's appearance resembles me, but the taste..."
His gaze drifted meaningfully toward Xie Xuan.
Ying Bing glanced at Xie Xuan too, then nodded and abandoned her plan to try the potato-ginger shreds.
"????"
Suddenly, Xie Xuan didn't feel so heartbroken anymore.
Because compared to romantic rejection, the Hammer Tyrant and Frost Fairy's gazes packed a far more devastating punch.
“Truth be told, I came to say goodbye today. After the Arms Forging Assembly, I'll enter seclusion for intensive training. I won't emerge until I've mastered the Pure Jun Sword Intent.”
"Next time we meet might be at the Hidden Dragon Tournament... or perhaps much later."
By the sound of it, he didn't even plan to attend the Hidden Dragon Tournament unless he achieved a breakthrough in swordsmanship.
With that, he stood, took a swig of wine, bid farewell, and turned to leave.
"Brother Xie!" Li Mo called out.
"Don't try to stop me—my mind's made up! No need to see me off!"
Xie Xuan struck a dashing pose.
"I wasn't seeing you off. I'm coming with you."
"?"
"I'm a participant in the Arms Forging Assembly too."
"????"
Watching Li Mo pull out a black iron token from his robes, Xie Xuan froze.
He wanted to flee.
But it seemed... escape was impossible.
Meanwhile, at the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor.
The Heavenly Mountains of the imperial capital stood perpetually snow-capped, untouched by seasons, locked in eternal winter.
The sword forge was the only warm place.
On this day, the renowned forge was in its rest period—fires banked, hammers silent—as preparations for the Arms Forging Assembly in three days demanded all activity cease.
The apprentices here each had at least seven to eight years of weaponsmithing experience.
As they tidied up, they chatted in hushed tones.
"That young man earlier seemed unusual. What's his background?"
"That's Zhong Zhenyu, only son of the Southern Suppressing King, ranked thirty-ninth on the Hidden Dragon list. He's usually stationed at the southern borders—no surprise you haven't seen him."
"He brought lavish gifts. Which master smith is he trying to commission?"
"Probably Grandmaster Huo Bingzi? Many top-performing weapons from past Hidden Dragon Tournaments came from his hands."
"Even among famed weapons, there are hierarchies."
"True. Some famed blades rival mystic-grade arms, even surpass them—lacking only sentience."
"Ah, but those require at least a grandmaster, if not a divine smith."
"Not to mention the materials alone could forge a treasure-grade weapon."
Above common weapons were famed arms, then mystic-grade, treasure-grade, and finally divine weapons.
Using treasure-grade materials to forge a famed weapon was outright sacrilege—possible only with immense wealth and connections.
Thus, from the starting line, prodigies from humble origins already lagged behind their imperial capital counterparts in weaponry.
As the apprentices arranged the assembly grounds while lamenting this reality, sudden commotion erupted at the entrance.
"All hail the Crown Prince!"
Someone announced.
Every passerby promptly lowered their heads.
Jiang Yu entered, flanked by Qingniao and a noblewoman in resplendent crimson robes.
Tall and poised, her hair tips burned like flickering flames against her fair, pampered skin.
The apprentices gulped at the sight.
Princess Yuyang—the Great Yu's youngest princess, beloved by the emperor, and a talent eclipsed only by the elder princess among the imperial siblings.
"Big Brother, you promised me a fine sword for my birthday."
Princess Yuyang cooed.
"Divine Smith Du hasn't lit his forge in years. His return won't disappoint you."
Jiang Yu displayed uncharacteristic indulgence for his status.
Du Wufeng—one of only four remaining divine smiths at the sword forge, specializing in blades.
His masterpiece? The very divine sword now enshrined at Celestial City's zenith.
Overhearing snippets, the blacksmith apprentices and visiting artisans couldn't help but twitch.
Clearly, Jiang Yu and Princess Yuyang sought weapons for the Hidden Dragon Tournament.
Commissioning a divine smith to forge a mere famed weapon?
Under heaven, perhaps only the Great Yu's crown prince could command such influence.
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
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!
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?"
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】
