The morning passed by in a blur as Lan Tian's eating show came to an end. The grand Hundred Flowers Banquet was in full swing, with smoke rising from cooking fires and the air thick with mouthwatering aromas.
The imperial kitchen was likely the busiest place in the royal city at the moment, as dish after dish was carried out and served to the banquet tables.
When the palace maid lifted the carriage curtain, Li Mo didn’t even notice.
Right now, he could neither see nor hear.
The renowned Liqun Sword Hero, the so-called "Little Overlord Who Brings Fortune to His Wife," sat with his eyes closed, his usually unyielding body—harder than even the finest mystical weapons—now limp as a fish on a chopping block.
Ying Bing, the "Ice Block," was whispering right into his ear, delivering an immersive, ASMR-like experience.
Who wouldn’t feel dizzy under such circumstances?
"Ice Block."
"Hmm?"
"Your foot… stop moving."
Earlier, Ying Bing had ambushed him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into an embrace.
Wasn’t this basically a cross-arm lock? (Not really.)
Somehow, in the midst of it all, something inexplicable had happened. Perhaps out of habit, while Ying Bing was seriously subduing this childish man, she hadn’t even noticed that her pearl-white silk-clad feet had wandered somewhere they shouldn’t have.
Only when Li Mo spoke up did she snap back to reality.
"We’re outside…"
Ying Bing’s voice softened as her autumn-water-like eyes glanced away. With an expressionless face, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, but when her fingertips brushed against the dampness there, her eyelashes trembled faintly.
Right. They were outside, separated from the lively Hundred Flowers Banquet by nothing more than the thin walls of the carriage.
What had she just been doing?
"Then we’ll settle this when we get back."
Li Mo exhaled heavily, his voice noticeably rougher.
"……"
This time, faced with the childish provocation, Ying Bing parted her lips but found no words.
If he was already this bold outside, what would happen once they returned?
It was his fault. Every time they played punishment games, she ended up seeing strange things, and just now, she had unconsciously followed along without realizing how inappropriate it was…
Well, what was done was done. Time to eat.
She picked up her bowl, ready to sample the imperial kitchen’s delicacies.
Huh?
"This is…"
Ying Bing froze, noticing a small slip of paper hidden beneath the bowl.
"There’s writing on it."
Li Mo took it from her, unfolded it, and frowned as he read the concise message:
[The Empress is acting strangely. The Celestial City has changed—it’s not as it was before. Be cautious. We are even now.]
"Who sent this?"
Li Mo blinked, scanning the surroundings.
But outside, the sea of people stretched endlessly. Finding the sender would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even with his Heaven’s Eye, the flood of information was overwhelming, making it impossible to pinpoint anything immediately.
"The sender likely means no harm."
Ying Bing pondered for a moment before lifting her gaze toward Celestial City.
She tried to recall the events of the Hidden Dragon Tournament in her past life, but after a while, she shook her head.
Back then, she had still been in Purple Sun Prefecture and only knew that Jiang Yu ruled over the Celestials.
Besides, compared to last time, many things had already changed. The butterfly that had once flapped its wings had now stirred a storm.
Take the other half of the Heavenly Phoenix Domain, for example.
"They only say the Celestial City has changed, but not what that change is…"
Most people would be helpless against such cryptic messages, but Li Mo was not most people.
He could just check Ying Bing’s recent encounters!
If nothing had happened to her recently…
Then whatever changes occurred in Celestial City didn’t matter. Let it change however it wanted.
[Name: Ying Bing]
[Age: 17]
[Bone Structure: Lunar Phoenix Body]
[Cultivation: Nine Apertures of Divine Observation]
[Fate: Red (Bears the Emperor’s Bone, with ice as her destiny and autumn waters as her spirit. Possesses the bearing of a Heavenly Phoenix.)]
[Evaluation: A life fraught with trials, yet always overcoming adversity. Though her wings are still tender, when the winds of change come, she will soar above the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, reigning supreme.]
[Recent Encounter: Entered Celestial City but was trapped there due to possessing half of the Heavenly Phoenix Domain. Only broke free four years later after reaching the Fifth Realm.]
"Four years?!"
Li Mo’s expression instantly turned grave.
In four years, their hypothetical "Little Ice Block" and "Little Brat" could already be running around causing trouble!
"What’s wrong?"
Ying Bing didn’t understand why he had such a strong reaction.
"Ice Block, what exactly is Celestial City like? And how does it relate to your Heavenly Phoenix Domain?"
Li Mo shifted into battle mode.
Since both were parts of the Heavenly Phoenix Domain, Ying Bing should have some understanding of Celestial City’s nature.
Clearly, going to Celestial City was unavoidable—once the Hundred Flowers Banquet ended, the Celestial Trials would begin as scheduled.
The only thing they could do was gather as much information as possible before entering.
Ying Bing lowered her head slightly and explained:
"The Heavenly Phoenix Domain is a pocket realm, but unlike any other. It feels more… real, almost like your miniature world, but far more complete. To be precise, it’s a reflection of the Imperial Capital within the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."
"Celestial City is divided into three layers—Heaven, Earth, and Mortal. The inner city is Heaven, the middle is Earth, and the outer is Mortal. Each layer has its own calamities, and beyond the walls, demons and monsters prey on the humans inside…"
"Three layers of the city, dangers outside the walls…"
For some reason, Li Mo’s instincts tingled.
Ying Bing continued, "The longer one prolongs Celestial City’s survival, the higher the Heavenly Phoenix Domain’s evaluation. But… I don’t think that’s the whole truth."
She shared everything she knew, and Li Mo diligently took notes.
Based on her information, he summarized the key points.
Before he knew it, the Hundred Flowers Banquet was nearing its end, and he finally set down his brush.
"Upon entering the Heavenly Phoenix Domain, one forgets their past, retaining only their true nature—like a dream."
"The three cities—Heaven, Earth, and Mortal—are not hierarchical. They compete among themselves and rarely unite against external threats or disasters."
"Heaven City has the fewest inhabitants but the strongest power. Its people are born extraordinary, gifted with innate divine abilities."
"The Celestial Sword is bestowed upon the strongest among them. Historically, Heaven City’s people have almost always wielded it."
"However, the number of Celestials is fixed. Only when one dies can a new Celestial emerge from the other two cities, usually from Earth City."
"If we enter as Earthlings, then what role do the mortals play? Cannon fodder?"
As he pondered, the Hundred Flowers Banquet officially concluded, and the voice of a purple-robed eunuch rang out, summoning Li Mo to deliver the closing speech.
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.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...
