"Where the moonlight ends."
The last trace of consciousness faded away.
Ying Bing opened her eyes to behold the imperial capital beneath a night sky. She stood as the sole moon suspended in the heavens, the divine sigil between her brows now fully formed with four petals, profound and enigmatic.
A faint shattering sound seemed to echo through the void.
It was the final meridian barrier before the Fourth Realm breaking apart. Her spirit surged like a spring tide, overflowing and radiating, illuminating the night.
"Just stepping into the Inner Scenery, yet her presence rivals even those at the ninth layer of the realm."
"And it’s the Divine Lunar Form—unseen by any throughout history!"
"Can she truly succeed in manifesting her Inner Scenery?"
Members of various sects craned their necks to witness the spectacle, awestruck and trembling at the sight.
Breaking through to the Inner Scenery was a process of refining one’s spirit with the power of heaven and earth, a perilous journey of transcendence. Yet Ying Bing’s breakthrough alone already bore the grandeur of an Outer Scenery phenomenon.
Who could fathom how terrifying her heavenly tribulation would be when she finally stepped into the Outer Scenery?
"Phoenix Greeted by a Hundred Birds... Lunar Phoenix Hovering in the Sky... Moonlight Flowing Like Water... Jade Tree in the Chill..."
"She’s manifesting more than one vision? What connects these scenes?"
Tian Miao took a deep breath and pulled out a vial of Celestial Nectar, ready to drink it down.
Snap—
Before she could begin her divination, an aged hand clamped down on her wrist.
"Master?"
"How do you like my coffin?"
"It’s... quite fine. Wasn’t it the one I searched high and low for—"
"Are you planning to use it before me?"
"I was just curious..."
Tian Miao could only sheepishly put away the Celestial Nectar, abandoning her divination and relying solely on observation.
Above, the Lunar Sovereign hung high, surrounded by dazzling phenomena.
Such a complex Inner Scenery—what kind of Inner World would it forge?
No matter how prodigious her talent, surely even she...
Suddenly, a swirling vortex of unfathomable depth appeared over the imperial capital. The myriad visions spun rapidly before converging around the vortex in perfect unison.
Time itself seemed to intertwine within; stars orbited the moon, a silver river flowed, and a phantom world flickered into existence, overlapping with the Inner World.
All forms and meanings unified in this moment.
Boom—
The breathtaking, mystical, and arcane spectacle left countless martial artists spellbound.
Jiang Yu’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
His mother had always claimed he would manifest the strongest Inner Scenery in history.
But after witnessing this, he couldn’t even lie to himself.
Divine Sword and Golden Dragon Guarding the Imperial Realm—even at its peak, it would pale in comparison...
"An Inner Scenery can be formed like this..."
Murong Xiao seemed deeply inspired, only for his vision to be abruptly obscured.
His next step was also the Inner Scenery, and he had hoped to glean some insight.
"Master? Didn’t you teach me to learn from the best?"
"Talk is cheap. Sure, go ahead—learn fast and die young, then go study under the Buddha."
"......?"
Legends spoke of the Buddha manifesting three thousand worlds, yet even his recorded breakthrough paled before Ying Bing’s spectacle.
As for those before the Buddha, most had been lost to time.
But even if records existed, it was unlikely another Ying Bing would ever emerge.
The phenomena grew chaotic, exuding an aura that made most tremble. By now, the majority had lost even the right to observe.
Only those at the Profound Palm Realm could catch glimpses—yet even they couldn’t grasp the full picture.
Moments later.
Rumble—
The visions condensed into one, and daylight returned.
When the crowd looked up again, the celestial figure was gone.
"Where did she go?"
"Immortal of Frost’s breakthrough was so grand, yet she made it seem effortless. Almost as if she was in a hurry."
"Could it be because of Young Hero Li?"
"No wonder. If not for the breakthrough being inevitable, she probably wouldn’t have spared the time."
"We saw Immortal of Frost ascend, but Young Hero Li remains silent..."
The imperial capital, inside and out, lingered in the afterglow of the spectacle.
"Su Jun’s dream... has finally come true." Xie Yiding stood atop the sword manor’s snow-capped cliff, where a lone grave and a nameless stele stood amidst eternal frost.
He laughed, tears streaming down his face, before his expression turned hollow.
"Su Jun loved the snow most. She only smiled like this when it snowed... and when Chu Long was born."
A weary voice spoke. From within the blizzard, a figure appeared—no longer clad in imperial robes but in the simple garb of his wandering youth. The snow had long since bleached his hair white, stripping away any semblance of youth.
"Jiang Yutai... you..."
"Let’s share a drink."
Jiang Yutai raised a gourd of liquor.
"All these years, you never told me where Su Jun rested. But I always knew."
"Every time I came to the sword manor, I left my robes behind, wondering if I should visit her. But I never dared... never could bear it."
"Now that the Celestial City has fallen, you’ve finally found your courage." Xie Yiding took a swig and winced at the burn.
"Couldn’t you have brought better wine? This is just shaodaozi—what washerwomen drink to keep warm!"
"I don’t know why, but I’ve always liked it." Jiang Yutai exhaled a white mist after a sip.
"Then again, there’s much I don’t understand."
Xie Yiding chuckled, a mix of resignation and self-mockery.
"Back then, I never understood why Su Jun chose you. Or why a handsome man like me loses hair, while you—less so—keep yours."
"The moon waxes and wanes." Jiang Yutai shook his head, then smiled.
"Just as I, sitting on this throne, find more things beyond my reach than ever."
"If you hate it, then step down."
"Want to take my place?"
Faced with the emperor’s challenge, Xie Yiding backed down with a rare display of humility.
"Li Mo would do better. He’s got a flair for ceremony—why not abdicate to him?"
"Hah... He’d likely refuse. Better to prepare a grand wedding for him when he wakes."
The two middle-aged men sat in the snow, drinking until the ice between them began to thaw.
After a while, Jiang Yutai stood.
"There are still matters—and people—I must deal with. I’ll take my leave."
He patted Xie Yiding’s shoulder and departed.
Only after the emperor’s figure vanished did Xie Yiding notice the edict left behind.
It declared the sword manor and its surroundings a hereditary fief, passed down through its masters.
Xie Yiding opened his mouth, then closed it, wordlessly finishing the liquor alone.
...
The Celestial Trials had ended.
The climax came with Li Mo’s Law of Heaven and Earth Manifestation, and the finale was marked by Ying Bing’s breakthrough. Yet the echoes of the event still rippled through conversations.
Take, for instance, the scene in the Everbloom Pavilion.
Clack—
The storyteller’s gavel struck.
"Do you know what the current top-ranked genius of the Hidden Dragon Ranking, the Sword Hero Li, did before his rise? How did he become a man who shoulders the sun and moon?"
"Why does the Immortal of Frost remain unwaveringly devoted to him?"
"Is this the distortion of human nature... or rather, its brilliance? The pinnacle of virtue?"
"Welcome to 'His Moon, His Heart'—where the good man is none other than... Li Mo!"
Bravo!
Clap clap clap—
The hall of Wanchun erupted in thunderous applause. Storyteller Huang had masterfully captured the crowd's curiosity, even drawing over the neighbors who were mid-foot-soak to listen in.
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.
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!
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!" "......"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
