"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.
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!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
