The midday sun hung high, casting three spotlights upon this open-air feast.
From the mountain gate to the main hall, the Clear Abyss Sect was packed with guests. Elder Qian was entertaining the visitors, his plump face smiling like a meat bun with many folds.
Old Qian was calculating: soon, with the arrival of a little ice block or a little mischief-maker, there would be a full-moon banquet.
Another round of gift money, and your old Qian might become the strongest... well, second strongest elder in the Clear Abyss Sect!
Actually, there was a reason the gift money was so generous.
Almost all of Li Mo's past investment targets were present today.
"The most correct thing I've done in my life is becoming sworn brothers with Young Master Li."
"Grandpa Murong, your grandson is about the same age as Young Master Li, you this..."
"Is there a problem? Is it wrong?"
"Right, right, it's right."
"The Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor and the Horizontal Cloud Sword City actually both sent people, and they haven't started fighting. Young Master Li's influence is truly immense."
"Brother Li, I've brought all the brothers from the Gangdou Sect!"
"Human food is still the best. Ling Yuangou, you bastard, save some for me!"
The gathering of powerful figures attending the engagement banquet was so numerous that faint silhouettes of Sky Patrol Guards had begun to appear in the sky above.
After all, if everyone seated at these tables joined forces, and if Li Mo got a bit drunk later and suggested founding a new 'Great Yu Dynasty', what then?
As disciples of Shang Wu, the Sky Patrol Guards felt this was not an impossibility.
The Sky Patrol Guards never expected that another group was just as tense as they were.
At a corner table, the seats of the Demon Summoning Cult and the Spirit Link Sect, everyone exchanged glances, sweating profusely.
"Deputy Cult Leader, far more factions have come than we anticipated."
"And they all seem closely connected to Li Mo. If we make our move later, will we get mobbed?"
"Righteous factions coming is one thing, but damn it, why are people from the Drizzle Pavilion here too?"
"And they're sitting at the same table as the Yunzhou government officials, drinking together no less."
"Eh? Hall Master Luo, didn't you have another mission? Why are you here too?"
The cult members communicated via tokens, all feeling uneasy.
Despite their vicious nature, they understood the difference between danger and suicide.
Yuwen Cuojin, with a grave expression, reassured everyone:
"No matter. We have a meticulous plan. We're not planning a frontal assault on the mountain gate. We rely on wisdom. If we only depended on brute force, how could our Sacred Cult have survived to this day?"
"Besides, Li Mo has helpers, but we also have the aid of the Black Soil Immortal!"
Situ Ding nodded and added, "Overall, the advantage lies with us!"
Hearing this, the cult members felt slightly more at ease, their expressions not betraying panic.
Indeed, they still had the Immortal's assistance.
"By the way, has the Immortal already infiltrated the Clear Abyss Sect? Why haven't we seen him?"
"Nonsense! If even we could spot him, would that still be considered immortal methods?"
"I think that cook who passed by the kitchen earlier looked a bit like the Immortal."
"I think the one who just descended from the sky, dragging a bald guy, looked like the Immortal's guardian. Definitely a major demon."
"Idiot, that was Shang Wu."
As this table was speculating, the front suddenly fell quiet.
Following Shang Qinqing's call of "The couple arrives!", countless gazes converged. They saw countless rose-red magpies, appearing from nowhere, flying up and forming a 'Magpie Bridge' in the air.
The bridge spanned from the mountain gate to the main hall, a spectacle of unparalleled grandeur.
For what he envisioned as the perfect wedding banquet, Clan Leader Shang had employed all his lifelong skills...
At one end of the Magpie Bridge stood Li Mo, dressed in bright red wedding robes.
Everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of daze, sensing an indescribable difference in him compared to their last meeting.
In people's eyes, he might be the little tyrant of the Clear Abyss Sect, or a swordsman who wielded a hammer remarkably well, or the immensely wealthy philanthropist Li, or a genius who constantly defied expectations...
But today, his expression was gentle, his eyes seeming to hold a galaxy of stars.
And the galaxy in his eyes awaited its moon, cloaked in red twilight.
Ying Bing wore the wedding dress, phoenix coronet and robes of rank, her figure tall and graceful. Though her veiled face was unseen, one could imagine it was the pinnacle of mortal beauty.
After all, even a hero like our Young Master Li couldn't withstand such a beauty's pass.
Ouyang, who had recently stopped updating "The Overbearing Empress Loves Me," had pulled out several clumps of his own hair from frustration. Suddenly, inspiration struck.
He had never been able to figure out how a goddess-like, aloof fairy could show tenderness.
Now, he seemed to have the image.
"So I was just the porter for Junior Brother Li and Junior Sister Ying..." Ouyang said, picking up his brush to paint.
The two stepped across the Magpie Bridge, wordless.
Yet when their hands joined, a thousand unspoken words were conveyed.
"Pop—"
Countless dream butterflies materialized, followed by bursting dreamlike bubbles.
Within these bubbles flashed moments from their first meeting to this day, hazy yet real, the countless trials and journeys they had traversed together.
"At least I predicted correctly that Li Mo brings prosperity to his wife." Tian Miao couldn't help but nod and applaud.
Tian Xun, meanwhile, took out a new little notebook, scribbling furiously. Between Ouyang's painting and the next issue of the "Nine Heavens and Ten Lands Chronicles," even those who missed this scene might feel as if they were there.
"These two kids have finally made it."
The elders of the Clear Abyss Sect couldn't help but feel emotional. Though most of them were solitary, at this moment, they all felt as if their children had suddenly grown up.
"Kiss!" Someone shouted... Well, it was definitely Shang Qinqing again.
"Kiss!"
"Kiss!"
For a moment, the chanting in the venue grew louder and louder.
"Dream butterflies... Hiss, the Immortal's guardian actually infiltrated the wedding procession?"
Yuwen Cuojin also couldn't help but applaud.
"Brilliant move! Why didn't we think of that?" Situ Ding was both shocked and overjoyed.
Realizing they were losing composure, the two quickly coughed lightly and resumed eating and drinking to avoid drawing attention.
"Kiss!"
This shout came from their own table.
"?"
The two deputy cult leaders were stunned for a moment, realizing the shout came from Luo Yexian.
"Luo Yexian, did you develop feelings after getting beaten up?"
"No, Cult Leader! Everyone is shouting. If our table is unusually quiet, wouldn't that make us stand out instead?"
Situ Ding and Yuwen Cuojin leaned back slightly.
Though they felt Luo Yexian was primarily invested in the couple.
But damn it, what he said actually made sense.
And so, atop the Clear Abyss Main Peak, amidst a mixed gathering of various forces, an agreement was reached.
To get the newlyweds to share a kiss.

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.

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)

'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.

iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."