The Hidden Dragon Tournament had only one final round left, but it seemed almost inconsequential now.
Li Mo had become the only participant with a flawless victory record so far. Even if he lost one more match, it wouldn’t affect his guaranteed spot in the top three—and he was practically certain to take the championship.
Crown Prince Jiang Yu had been defeated by him.
Xie Xuan? If they fought seriously, Xie Xuan might not even withstand Li Mo’s opening move—the "King of Brawls Ultimate Technique."
Ying Bing? Well, need we even mention the Frost Fairy?
Before anyone realized it, this "Hidden Dragon Fourth" had already defeated all three of the tournament’s top-ranked contenders.
Outside the Step Cloud Pavilion, a victory banquet had already begun prematurely.
Fame brings trouble, especially when rumors spread—courtesy of certain well-informed imperial advisors—that Li Mo might have blood ties to the Emperor himself.
Otherwise, why would the Emperor praise him so lavishly after his victory over Jiang Yu?
Otherwise, why would Jiang Chulong follow him around?
The implications were terrifying!
Regardless of whether the rumors were true, many came bearing extravagant gifts, hoping for an audience. Most sought out Zhong Zhenyue to arrange introductions.
Old Zhong had initially refused to bring them along.
But their offerings were simply too generous.
"Why is the victory banquet set up in the middle of the street? Like some commoner’s feast—sitting on the roadside to eat? What kind of standard is this..."
"Well, he is of humble origins. Understandable, understandable."
"Hey, don’t knock it—this stuff is actually delicious. What’s it called... barbecue?"
"Sitting right here on the street? Now that’s authentic."
"I’ll have to ask who came up with this recipe later..."
"It was Brother Li," Zhong Zhenyue replied cheerfully, munching on a skewer while patting his noticeably heavier coin pouch.
"Then where is he?"
"The guy at the grill."
"???"
...
At the grill.
The renowned "Idea King" of the Clear Abyss Sect, Best Actor of the inaugural Golden Statue Awards, pioneer of the barbecue strategy, and the one and only "immature brat" personally designated by the Phoenix Heaven Empress—what was his status? Something as trivial as socializing wasn’t worth his time.
He had more important matters to attend to.
"Extra spicy on this one—Frosty’s been craving heat lately."
"Oh, and sour too. Barbecue dipped in vinegar? Hmm... got it, sour plum soup!"
Li Mo wore a solemn expression as he prepared his excuse for later when he barged into Frosty’s chambers. In the meantime, he checked the pending investment rewards.
Two were from Little Jiang Chulong, and one from Ning Que.
Both were of golden destiny, though Jiang’s had grown richer after her sword bone’s rebirth.
[Investment Reward: Secret Silver Tome Seal]
The "Seventy-Two Transformations" technique currently only had its introductory chapter, so the Secret Silver Tome Seal would still be necessary.
[Investment Reward: Lotus-Step Cloud Treads]
"With this, the Great Sage’s battle regalia is almost complete, huh?"
Li Mo shook his head slightly—still missing the most crucial piece.
The staff.
The Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod was part of the set too.
"Not knowing staff techniques isn’t a problem. With my martial insights, my talent for staff arts should surpass my swordsmanship anyway..."
"Though my nickname might take another strange turn."
His thoughts wandered, but he quickly dismissed them as premature. Golden destiny rewards probably wouldn’t drop that easily.
In the end, he’d have to rely more on clinging to Frosty’s jade-like legs.
"Should I go for the black or the white ones?"
With that in mind, he opened the reward from Ning Que—a treasure-tier weapon embryo, similar to a mystic-tier one, capable of replicating a divine weapon in treasure-tier form.
...
Splash—
Soft ripples broke the moonlight in the basin as fair, jade-like toes playfully scattered its reflection.
Ying Bing bit her lip, her gaze lowered to her knees, where pearl-white lotus silk and dark cloud gauze lay neatly folded. She stared blankly, lost in thought.
Why had she agreed to this again?
She couldn’t quite remember, but when that little rascal Li Mo declared he wanted "everything," she’d somehow nodded along...
[Reminder: Next punishment—er, system ranking update in two days.]
[Wait, host, what’s that in your hands?]
"Two very precious materials," Ying Bing replied with icy dignity.
[This system strongly suspects you two might outpace the punishment schedule entirely.]
For the first time, the system sounded almost defeated. After that remark, it fell silent—whether to self-reflect or prepare something truly devastating next time, no one could say.
"Frosty, dinner’s ready."
A knock came at the door, and Li Mo’s head popped in.
"Later, we’re only... touching. That’s what we agreed on."
Ying Bing pressed her crimson lips together, her narrowed eyes tinged with wariness.
"?"
Li Mo blinked, momentarily baffled. What kind of talk was this?
Obviously! What else would they be doing?
"I’m just curious about how the material feels when worn. As a blacksmith, these are my two finest works. Master Du always said, 'Touch with your hands, feel with your heart.'"
"You’d better mean that literally..."
"Just like how you taught me to 'seal' things on your neck."
"..."
Moments later, the speechless Frost Fairy could only shut her eyes as warmth seeped through the pearl-white silk, leaving her mind and heart in disarray.
If he was making socks from pearl-white lotus silk and dark cloud gauze now... what kind of garments might he craft later?
She remembered when even holding hands had been purely for cultivation, when sharing a bed left her heart as still as an ancient well.
But now?
...
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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)
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.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
