Star Pestle, Li, Time Management Master, Ink

"That should be all, thank you for your trouble."

"Mmm. Junior Brother, the items you picked are best eaten fresh—don’t store them for too long."

"Oh? You have such insights, Elder Brother? Seems we share similar tastes."

"Not at all, not at all."

"I’ll head back to cook now. Let’s have hot pot together sometime."

Li Mo cupped his hands in salute to the attendant.

And so.

Under the bewildered gazes of the onlookers.

Young Li strolled out of the External Affairs Hall, casually carrying two baskets of exotic beast meat.

"Senior Brother, how do you know which exotic beasts taste good?"

An outer sect attendant mused thoughtfully.

The inner sect attendant who had recommended many choices to Li Mo earlier replied with an inscrutable look:

"You’re asking quite a few questions today."

......

Autumn Water Pavilion.

By the time Li Mo returned, it was already noon.

Time was tight, but his skills were well-honed, and the "ice block" hadn’t returned yet—only Shang Wu was in the pavilion.

After feeding his master, he headed to the waterfall again.

"Profound Weapon Embryo."

Li Mo gazed at the soft, metallic sphere in his palm, jiggling like a slime.

It could replicate weapons based on a template, and the result would undoubtedly be a top-tier Profound Weapon.

If he used the Annihilation Star Hammer as the template, the result would likely be its ultra-nerfed version.

Something like the Crimson Sky Sword compared to the Blazing Void Sword?

But it should still be stronger than the Crimson Sky Sword—from what he’d heard, the Crimson Sky Sword was an upper-tier Profound Weapon.

With that in mind.

Li Mo drew the Crimson Sky Sword and stepped behind the waterfall.

"Fire Crane Thousand Feathers!"

He slashed at the thick rock wall.

His sword technique, paired with the Profound Weapon, was devastatingly effective.

It cut through the stone like tofu, and the carved-out material was swiftly stored in his miniature world. Soon, he had hollowed out a "cave abode."

"Whew..."

"I’m much stronger now than when I first activated the World Seed."

"I should have enough energy to retrieve it after taking it out."

Li Mo took a deep breath.

Unfortunately, the physical enhancements from the miniature world didn’t carry over to the outside.

He couldn’t train with the Annihilation Star Hammer inside the World Seed.

He had to bring it out.

Hum—

The air around him trembled.

In that instant.

The godlike strength that could resent the heavens for lacking a handle returned.

Compared to his first attempt, Li Mo was far more adept now.

The newly carved cave was instantly filled with a razor-sharp aura, leaving sword and blade marks on the granite walls.

Without wasting a second, he immediately summoned the Annihilation Star Hammer.

Gripping the divine weapon again, a powerful surge of emotion welled up in his heart.

Instinct screamed at him to unleash its primordial force.

But Li Mo held back.

Reason told him the consequences of swinging that hammer—he wouldn’t be able to handle them.

He gently placed the hammer on the ground before deactivating the World Seed’s power.

"Whew..."

Sweat poured from Li Mo’s body as he exhaled deeply.

A wave of weakness washed over him, but it was still better than passing out like last time.

Hum—

The Annihilation Star Hammer vibrated twice, like an excited child thrilled to be out playing.

"Hit..."

Once excited.

It just wanted to smash something.

Li Mo wiped his sweat and activated the Extreme Weapon Tempering Art at the Transformation Realm.

"Be good. We must be a civilized divine weapon."

"A civilized divine weapon doesn’t strike recklessly. Hurting people is bad enough, but even hurting flowers and grass is unacceptable."

Hum—

The hammer responded with a short, subdued vibration.

As Li Mo’s cultivation deepened, the area of his miniature world expanded. Aside from lacking living beings, it was far more comfortable than the Divine Edge Cave.

"Don’t move around, okay?"

Li Mo nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he draped the Profound Weapon Embryo over the Annihilation Star Hammer.

Hum—

The mercury-like metallic liquid enveloped the entire hammer, trembling violently.

The Profound Weapon Embryo was meticulously replicating the hammer’s shape, aura, and essence.

Of course, only up to the limits of a Profound Weapon.

"Don’t disappoint me."

After watching for a while, Li Mo sat down cross-legged.

He hadn’t practiced the Extreme Weapon Tempering Art in a long time.

Now that he could summon and dismiss the divine weapon at will, tempering his body would become a daily necessity.

Hammer techniques demanded immense physical and blood-qi strength.

Unconsciously.

The sunlight outside the window dimmed.

A figure emerged from behind the waterfall, steam rising from his body as the cascading water evaporated on contact. He looked like a freshly forged blade.

After becoming the master of a divine weapon, training with the Annihilation Star Hammer showed visible progress.

His physique was already advancing toward the next realm.

But after activating the World Seed twice, exhaustion weighed heavily on him.

"Good thing I cooked dinner at noon."

Young Li sighed in relief.

He didn’t stop there, adding drops of Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Vein Spirit Milk to the pool.

Submerging himself, the earth-vein essence soothed his fatigue.

Only after circulating the Fire Heart Lotus Technique did Li Mo have the leisure to examine the newly replicated hammer.

"The shape isn’t too different from the Annihilation Star Hammer."

"The aura is similar too, just much, much weaker."

"Hmm..."

"The Annihilation Star Hammer Youth Mini Edition?"

Young Li felt the name was a bit too long.

Then it hit him—wasn’t this just the Annihilation Star Hammer’s son?

"From now on, you’ll be called the Starlet Mallet."

......

Five days passed in a flash.

Young Li had been busy lately.

Between personal training, body tempering, refining his blood-qi,

and finding time to feed the "ice block" and his beautiful master at Autumn Water Pavilion.

At night, there was no rest either—he had to attend to the ever-enthusiastic Princess Little Jiang.

Occasionally, he also had to engage in... deep discussions about sword arts with the ice block.

"I’m practically a time-management genius."

That evening, Li Mo dragged his exhausted body back to Autumn Water Pavilion.

He poured himself a cup of water and gulped it down.

Slumping onto the stone table, he sighed:

"Don’t wanna move. Really don’t wanna cook today..."

"Man is iron, food is steel. My dear disciple, how can you skip meals when you’re this tired?"

Shang Wu propped her chin on one hand, speaking with righteous conviction.

Li Mo shot her a sidelong glance. Then how about you do it, Master?

Shang Wu lifted her chin proudly. "This master is utterly clueless about cooking."

?

What exactly are you proud of?

At that moment.

The ice block spoke up:

"Then should I..."

"No! x2"

Master and disciple shouted in unison.

Shang Wu jolted as if rising from her deathbed, while Li Mo’s exhaustion vanished instantly as he flashed into the kitchen.

His Gale Shadow Step finally had a practical use.

"Little Bing’er, didn’t you train all day in the Icefire Pool? You should rest," Shang Wu urged, terrified she might actually try.

Ying Bing, sipping tea quietly, frowned slightly:

"I meant we could ask the Internal Affairs Hall canteen to deliver food."

The highest alert in Autumn Water Pavilion was lifted.

Shang Wu exhaled in relief, then studied Ying Bing closely and suddenly noticed something amiss.

"Little Bing’er, your blood-qi has reached perfect harmony."

"You’re about to break through, aren’t you?"

She meant a major realm.

Ying Bing gave a slight nod, her jade-like face betraying no emotion, her tone as calm as the tea in her cup:

"Tonight."

Many martial artists spend their entire lives trapped before the Inner Breath Realm, never able to cross its threshold.

But for her, who had walked this path in a past life, there would be no bottlenecks.

It was merely the twenty-four meridians' grand circulation of qi and blood, borrowing the power of the moon to break into the Inner Breath Realm.

To her, this was but a trivial step forward—hardly worth mentioning.

The reason she chose tonight to advance was simply as a precaution.

On the system's rankings, she had to claim the top spot.