Little Li gave a speech at the Hundred Flowers Grand Ceremony, expressing gratitude to his fellow townsfolk, the Great Yu Emperor, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and even the "ice block." It was all just memories from his past life watching ceremonies—completely devoid of genuine emotion.
As he finished his final words, the Celestial Map of Rivers and Mountains in the sky radiated a dazzling light, dyeing the layered clouds in its glow. Within it, winds rose and clouds surged, as if something momentous was brewing.
"The peace across the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths is all thanks to young talents like you. This brings me great joy," Emperor Jingtai declared as he personally stepped onto the stage, his tone revealing the emperor’s immense satisfaction.
Li Mo hadn’t expected Emperor Jingtai to personally come forward and praise him.
"Come, present Young Hero Li with his honor."
With a wave of the emperor’s sleeve, a Sky Patrol Guard stepped forward, carrying a tray. The red cloth was lifted, revealing a gold-inlaid jade plaque inscribed with the words "Hundred Flowers" in bold, elegant strokes. Judging by the material... it probably wasn’t pure gold?
Symbolically, it was probably the equivalent of an honorary banner from his past life...
Just as Li Mo reached out to take it, Emperor Jingtai extended his hand first, personally placing the golden plaque into his grasp. Then, with a glance toward a nearby eunuch, the latter immediately understood and spoke with a smile:
"Young Hero Li, this is a great honor bestowed by His Majesty. You must carry it with you at all times. Losing it would be a betrayal of the emperor’s grace."
"Thank you very much."
Li Mo couldn’t discern anything special about the plaque, but he couldn’t afford to slight the emperor, so he tucked it into his robe.
"The Celestial City’s trial is about to open, Young Hero Li."
Emperor Jingtai smiled at him.
Li Mo froze.
He knew that—why would the emperor personally remind him?
But His Majesty wasn’t just informing him of the trial’s date. He was asking for something in return.
The Celestial Sword.
Ah, so the golden plaque was meant to shut him up in exchange for the sword.
"In that case, the sword should return to the Celestial City. A true gentleman does not keep what belongs to others—what is borrowed must be returned."
Li Mo nodded and unfastened the Celestial Sword from his waist.
The purple-robed eunuch smiled. This Young Hero Li was quick-witted. He reached out to take the sword, but when he tried to lift it, it didn’t budge.
Young Hero Li wore an expression of utmost righteousness, but his hand had other ideas.
"?"
Let go already!
The eunuch tugged harder.
Emperor Jingtai: "?"
In broad daylight, what kind of spectacle were these two making?
He cleared his throat and said,
"Young Hero Li, your talents shine bright, and you’ve contributed greatly to this grand ceremony. Is there anything else you desire as a reward?"
"Well, now that you mention it, there is one thing."
Li Mo finally released the sword, allowing the eunuch to take it, and chuckled awkwardly. "Your Majesty, we’ve hit it off so well, and you think so highly of me. I feel we share a deep connection. How about you take me as your sworn..."
Emperor Jingtai was momentarily speechless. This young man looked serious, but he had the audacity to play tricks even on the emperor—daring to suggest becoming his adopted...
"...brother."
Emperor Jingtai: "?"
Jiang Yu: "?"
The crowd: "???"
"Hahaha! You truly are a delight, no wonder the Frost Fairy favors you."
After a brief silence, Emperor Jingtai suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
Naturally, he couldn’t possibly agree to such a request. No one would take Li Mo’s words seriously—they’d just assume he was being playful.
The joke would pass, and he wouldn’t have to rack his brains over what else to reward Li Mo with—after all, he genuinely didn’t know what else to give him.
Li Mo was reluctant to part with the Celestial Sword, but he knew it had to be returned.
And if he were to ask for something else, he truly lacked nothing.
Might as well joke his way out of it.
Emperor Jingtai shook his head with a smile, took the Celestial Sword from the eunuch, and turned his gaze skyward.
Pointing the sword toward the heavens, the Celestial Map of Rivers and Mountains suddenly expanded.
Countless profound rays of light cascaded down as this divine artifact of heavenly fortune unfurled in the sky. The gates of the Celestial City emerged within it, swinging wide open, revealing a vast expanse.
The emperor tossed the sword, and it flew back into the Celestial City.
"Coinciding with this momentous occasion, the Celestial Trial shall commence. Let all living beings witness it together."
Emperor Jingtai’s voice boomed like a great bell, resonating from above.
Every sect and wandering warrior present was moved. The Celestial City contained peerless inner-world techniques, and its trials were rarely shown to outsiders—at most, the court would announce the rankings afterward.
Yet now, they were being allowed to witness it firsthand?
"Such is the power of a heavenly fortune artifact..." Murong Xiao marveled, then couldn’t help but ask:
"Divine Monk Huaikong, this seems to contain its own world. How does it compare to your Mustard Seed and Sumeru technique?"
"What Mustard Seed and Sumeru?" Divine Monk Huaikong blinked, feigning ignorance.
Murong Xiao: "..."
Well, the gap between Mustard Seed and Sumeru and the Celestial Map of Rivers and Mountains was probably astronomical.
A pity he couldn’t enter—he’d have to wait for the next Hidden Dragon Tournament.
"So this is the other half of the Phoenix Domain..."
Li Mo glanced back as he stepped down from the stage.
Even through the Celestial Map, he could sense the vast, majestic aura of its inner world. If his own pocket dimension could one day manifest like this, would it achieve such grandeur?
"Brother Li, take these."
Huang Donglai handed him a pouch filled with vials and jars, each labeled with tiny characters describing their uses:
"These are all my finest concoctions. They might come in handy."
"You even have the 'Beyond Recognition Powder'?"
Li Mo accepted the pouch.
"That’s actually the mildest one here."
"..."
In all honesty, Li Mo felt using these items might be a bit... morally questionable.
But after squeezing Ying Bing’s delicate hand, he still tucked the pouch away.
"The Celestial City is changing. Who knows what’s happening inside..."
Ying Bing frowned in thought.
"The person who wrote that letter couldn’t predict the future. Maybe the information was wrong."
Li Mo scanned the sky filled with Sky Patrol Guards and the gathered experts of various sects, all fixated on the Celestial Map. He felt slightly reassured.
With so many powerful figures here, right outside the imperial capital—what could possibly go wrong?
No sooner had he spoken—
A thick, inky black smoke suddenly erupted from the distant imperial palace, like apocalyptic flames shooting into the sky.
BOOM—
The deafening roar of a beast followed, shaking heaven and earth, unleashing a gale so fierce that martial artists below the third realm could barely keep their eyes open.
In an instant, a section of the imperial palace was swallowed. The earth-shaking commotion could be heard throughout the capital.
"Enemy attack!"
"Protect His Majesty!"
The clatter of armor rang out as hundreds of Sky Patrol Guards swiftly formed a protective circle around Emperor Jingtai.
The emperor remained composed. "What’s all this panic? First, determine where the disturbance is! In the imperial capital, no rebel could possibly overturn the heavens."
"The location has been identified."
The purple-robed eunuch was drenched in sweat.
"Such a small matter, yet you’re pale as a ghost. Speak—where is the trouble?"
"Your Majesty... it’s... your harem."
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
