The morning's competition concluded as scheduled. From the expressions of the audience, judges, and other participants, it was clear that the matches had left them deeply astonished.
"His... is just too massive!"
"Truly worthy of the title 'Divine Hammer Little Tyrant'—to possess such a terrifying physique!"
"Eep, no wonder they say he's a blessing to his wife..."
"Something's off. No matter how talented he is, how can a seventeen-year-old achieve this? Seventeen and already built like that?"
"Right! And right after the match, he shrank back into a scrawny guy. I suspect he used performance-enhancing drugs!"
"But the organizers already checked. There's no trace of Divine Strength Powder in his system."
The venue of the Armament Forging Grand Competition buzzed with endless chatter.
Not just the judges' panel—the entire crowd was abuzz with discussions. After all, the "Rivers and Mountains Scroll" had projected the scenes across the entire Imperial Capital, even replaying them repeatedly.
After another round of advertisements, the host turned to the judges for their opinions.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, what are your thoughts?"
"In my view, that was not his own power, nor even a strength belonging to the Observation Divine Realm. Merely borrowed might," Jiang Yu remarked, narrowing his eyes at the images in the sky.
He pondered—could Li Mo wield such power consistently?
That physique alone was already on par with a True Dragon Body!
However...
While the True Dragon Body was fearsome in form, its strength wasn't limited to mere physicality—it held many other divine wonders.
Jiang Yu maintained his position atop the Hidden Dragon Ranking not solely through physique. For Li Mo to surpass him even slightly in one aspect was already remarkable.
A pity... that this man dared to bring Jiang Chulong back with him.
"In my opinion, the Divine Hammer Little Tyrant might have cultivated a unique martial art rather than relying on external aids," Du Wufeng unexpectedly countered, despite having agreed to forge an armament for Jiang Yu.
"Many with immensely powerful physiques appear frail at a glance. Why?"
"Because such overwhelming strength constantly weighs upon them. Every movement burns vitality, placing immense strain on the body. Thus, when not in use, they retract their qi and blood."
"For example... take me!"
BOOM—
Thunderous roars erupted as Du Wufeng's qi and blood surged like raging rivers, his presence blazing like a scorching sun.
A pillar of energy erupted from his body, its oppressive might akin to towering divine peaks.
The unassuming old man seemed to shed his mortal shell in an instant, growing two heads taller than an average man. The sheer pressure of his physique far surpassed what Li Mo had displayed earlier.
Du Wufeng—sixth realm, peak of the Law Body stage.
His path was that of Force.
The arena fell into stunned silence.
Though Du Wufeng's aura was far more overwhelming, its nature seemed eerily similar to the scenes replayed in the Rivers and Mountains Scroll.
But... how could someone in the Observation Divine Realm already comprehend the Great Dao?
Yet with Du Wufeng vouching for it, the skeptics gradually quieted.
"We will now announce the results of the preliminary round."
"A total of one hundred artisans have been selected to advance to the second round—the forging of divine armaments."
---
Meanwhile, in the resting area for the craftsmen...
"Brother Li, what kind of... goods were you using?" Lu Zhuang, now back to his scrawny self, whispered cautiously.
"Don't spout nonsense. What goods?" Li Mo, also returned to his normal build, wore the expression of an upright gentleman.
"Everything I've achieved is through sweat and hard work."
"Heh... we're all friends here. No need to keep secrets. You can fool others, but not your own, right? You finally took first place—why not give this old brother a leg up?"
"I've got a niece, quite pretty. Just share your method, and I’ll let you... bless her."
Lu Zhuang pleaded with a mix of sincerity and suggestive eagerness.
"?"
Li Mo had only intended to play hard to get, but Lu Zhuang’s desperation surprised him.
"I can point you to the source. But after the Grand Competition, you’ll take me somewhere."
"Where did you get that enhanced Heavenly Sovereign instant noodles?"
Indeed, Li Mo planned to follow the trail.
Divine Strength Powder was no mere banned substance—it had crossed into territory he couldn’t ignore.
This might yield substantial returns, but that wasn’t his focus.
As Li Mo had long declared—
He stood in eternal opposition to gambling and drugs!
After some hesitation, Lu Zhuang agreed for the sake of Li Mo’s promised "connection."
Another half-hour passed, and the first phase of the Grand Competition concluded. Li Mo, amid some controversy, had defeated master smiths and even forging grandmasters to claim the top spot.
After retrieving the "ice block" (Ying Bing) and Princess Jiang Chulong from the Sword Tomb, Li Mo prepared for the second round.
Before the true forging began, Du Wufeng—as a judge—ignited the sword furnace with the "Falling Star Flame" and took up his hammer. Under the gaze of the entire Imperial Capital, he would forge his first weapon since emerging from seclusion.
A demonstration for all artisans.
And this blade would accompany Jiang Yu into the Hidden Dragon Ranking battles.
"Divine Smith Du once forged a Celestial Sword for Senior Shi Sujun, which still hangs in the Celestial City as a symbol of glory."
"After years in seclusion, surely he’ll surpass his past achievements?"
"With His Highness’s innate sword bones and a masterpiece forged by a divine smith, he’ll be unstoppable!"
"Divine Smith Du is selecting his materials now!"
Standing below, Li Mo also watched the Rivers and Mountains Scroll.
Du Wufeng glanced at him, and a voice rang in Li Mo’s ears:
"Kid, though I admire you, I won’t tarnish my reputation."
"Watch closely—this is how a true divine smith forges a weapon!"
A living divine smith.
In the prestige of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor, his status surpassed even the hall masters, second only to the sect leader.
CLANG!
The hammer shone like a blazing sun.
Though the glare stung, Li Mo refused to look away.
Steel erupted in a shower of sparks—as though the metal had turned pliant, resonating with the hammer’s strikes like a sponge.
Each blow squeezed out impurities like water.
This level of skill, honed through countless strikes, already surpassed Li Mo’s own "Divine Treasure Hundred Refinements" by a margin.
"A divine weapon has a soul. An armament is no dead object—to forge is to temper the heart."
"This is why some famed blades remain mere tools... while those I forge become true divine arms!"
CLANG—CLANG—
Each strike reverberated in Li Mo’s chest.
He didn’t tap into his martial insights, yet the dance of flame and steel, hammer and blade, flowed through his mind.
Over and over, the motions replayed in his thoughts, every detail crystal clear.
Time blurred.
Then—a cool touch on his hand.
Ying Bing held his fingers and whispered, "Divine Smith Du has finished the sword."
Li Mo snapped back to reality and looked up.
A blade, still radiating the furnace’s heat and cradled on silk, was being presented to the judges’ panel.
Into Jiang Yu’s grasp.
Jiang Yu narrowed his eyes, the autumn-water-like blade reflecting his dual pupils.
With a sudden flick of his wrist, he reversed the sword's edge and pointed it toward the stage below.
The sword's hum resonated like the roar of a dragon.
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)
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
