The betrothal ceremony was not particularly elaborate, but as everyone knew, today didn't seem to be just about a betrothal.
After the series of rituals—bowing in the hall, offering tea—the sky had darkened. Qingyuan's main peak faded into the night, but with drums and music in full swing, the atmosphere grew even more boisterous than during the day.
The "ice block" was escorted to the bridal chamber to wait, while Li Mo made his rounds at the banquet tables toasting guests, the two temporarily separated.
"Young Master Li really deserves to..."
"He's coming over."
"...deserves to be happy! Congratulations, congratulations! I'll finish this cup first."
"When you two decide to have little ones, remember to notify us. I must find out what kind of offspring will be born from the union of your two bloodlines."
The various demon tribes from the Southern Border were still hung up on this matter.
Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, but what about a dragon and a phoenix?
This was no trivial matter. The aquatic tribes and avian tribes had been arguing about it for ages with no conclusion in sight.
Li Mo thought to himself, was there a possibility that the little childish ice block might just be... human?
After toasting his friends from the jianghu, Li Mo moved to the table of the elders.
"You're a man with a family now. You must be more mature and steady."
"Oh, by the way, the Rare Beast Peak plans to reopen, raising some pigs, cattle, and such with delicious meat... Ah, never mind, I'll report this to Little Bing'er later."
"The Autumn Water Pavilion is being renovated. When it's done... alright, let's just drink, Xiao Mo."
"?"
A small question mark popped up above Li Mo's head. "Why aren't you telling me about these matters anymore?"
Elder Qian looked at him with a kindly smile. "Little Bing'er is the Sect Master's disciple. She'll be shouldering the responsibilities of Qingyuan Sect in the future. It's only normal for her to handle more affairs."
Young Li fell silent for a moment. Wasn't he going to take on the responsibilities of Qunyu Peak in the future?
Emmmmmm... alright then, Qunyu Peak didn't really have much say in things anyway.
What could you expect from Shang Wu managing anything? If she were in charge, wouldn't the whole Qingyuan Sect go straight to a "pure prison" aesthetic?
Wait, this doesn't seem to be about which peak it is... Li Mo realized.
Previously, whenever there was something in the sect, the elders would discuss it with him too.
"Elders, actually, I am the head of the household. Elder Qian, what were you saying about the Autumn Water Pavilion?"
Li Mo felt a toothache coming on. The elders seemed to have a misunderstanding about his domestic status.
"Oh, it's about that hot spring you have. Could we channel the water to Luoxia Peak?"
"That's it? No problem. Where on Luoxia Peak?"
"The women's bathing area."
"......"
Li Mo fell into a long silence before finally saying, "How are the arrangements for tonight? The Summoning Demon Cult and the Lingxi Sect..."
The elders watched him down a cup of wine, his eyes quickly clearing as he changed the subject, acting as if he had asked nothing and nothing had happened. They immediately felt their assumptions were probably correct.
Definitely the "little brother" position in the family.
Afterwards, Li Mo went to the tables of Shang Qinqing, Qin Yuzhi, Tian Miao, Tian Xun, and his fellow disciples.
Young Li also took the opportunity to fulfill a promise he had made.
Lan Tian sat next to Huang Donglai, looking at him curiously, while Old Huang was stiff all over, as if facing a great enemy.
"Brother Li."
Old Huang raised his cup, his eyes clearly pleading, "Save me, save me."
"It's fine. I taught you what to do."
"What you taught me was how to chase girls!"
"Then just do the opposite of everything I said."
Li Mo lowered his voice.
Shang Qinqing overheard this, her eyes narrowing slightly as if she had caught the scent of new "sugar" (gossip/fun).
As everyone knew, the methods Young Li taught for chasing girls were fundamentally impossible to succeed; they were wrong from the start.
If one did the opposite, wouldn't that be a double negative making a positive...
But that wasn't important right now. What mattered was that the couple she had been "shipping" for so long had finally gotten together! The fact that today's betrothal banquet had turned into a wedding banquet was at least 80% her credit!
To be honest, seeing the two kissing on the Magpie Bridge today, she couldn't help but think of her own little monk.
"Ah..."
"Clan Leader Shang, why are you sighing on such a happy day?" Li Mo was curious. Clan Leader Shang actually wasn't rolling around on the ground today.
"Just 'shipping' sugar isn't enough. Now that I've gotten something this sweet, what will I have to 'ship' in the future?"
Shang Qinqing felt an inexplicable emptiness and loneliness.
That little monk, Murong Xiao, still had a very long way to go before taking over Huaikong's role.
"Haven't you not seen 'bloodshed' yet?" Li Mo comforted her.
At the mention of this, Shang Qinqing perked up. "Come, you have to drink eight cups with me!"
After they drank, Li Mo suddenly remembered something and looked at Qin Yuzhi beside him. "Sect Master Qin."
"Hmm?" Qin Yuzhi, who was dozing off, opened her eyes.
"Promise me, for the safety of Qingyuan Sect, you won't fall asleep tonight, okay?"
"How did you know I planned to slip into a dream to watch your wedding night?"
Qin Yuzhi was shocked.
Li Mo said speechlessly, "....... I was only a little suspicious before. Now it's confirmed."
...
The night grew deeper. Old Comrade Li, who had boasted he could drink a thousand times his capacity without falling, had been carried back by his colleagues to rest. His mother, taking care of her wife's family relatives, also went down the mountain, a smile on her face from beginning to end.
To be honest, ever since Little Bing'er came to the Li Manor, they had harbored this hope. First, they couldn't bear the thought of Little Bing'er growing up and leaving the Li family. Second, they knew her background well.
So they always thought, what if the two youngsters got along? If Little Bing'er married into the Li family, wouldn't she still be family?
They never expected this beautiful wish to come true so quickly, as if in a dream.
A pity, their son had instructed them not to find excuses to pass by the bridal chamber tonight...
By now, Li Mo had also arrived at the tables in the corner.
Sitting there were people from the demonic sects, the Lingxi Sect and the Summoning Demon Cult.
'They wouldn't be unable to hold back and make a move now, would they?'
Seeing the change in their eyes, Li Mo couldn't help but feel wary, but he maintained a smile on his face.
"You've all come a long way. Your presence is appreciated. Let me toast you all."
"Young Master Li is indeed a master drinker. On your joyous day, I am genuinely happy for you. Come, let me toast you!"
At this moment, Mo Chaozong stood up, holding two jugs of wine.
The others didn't understand, thinking Mo Chaozong was broad-minded and didn't hold a grudge about the Lingxi Sect failing to become a major sect of the province.
"Who would have thought someone so ugly could be so nice..."
"...." Mo Chaozong's face twitched, but he still offered the wine jug.
The gazes of the demonic sect members and the Lingxi Sect all gathered.
"This..." Li Mo could guess with his toes what was in this wine.
What else could it be but a double dose of aphrodisiac?
Seeing Li Mo hesitate, Mo Chaozong laughed heartily, downed the jug he had intended for Li Mo, and said with a smile,
"Does this put Young Master Li at ease?"
"You're too serious. I was just spacing out for a moment, overwhelmed by the drink."
Li Mo had no choice but to take the jug.
Could it be that the wine Mo Chaozong actually drugged was the second jug?
No...
His Heavenly Destiny Divine Eye revealed information. Mo Chaozong's recent experiences clearly stated:
'Having taken a double dose of aphrodisiac himself, he prepared two jugs of wine. To gain the host's trust, he had laced both jugs in advance.'
Li Mo: "......"
You're a ruthless one. It seems I have to drink this wine.
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
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!" "......"
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!
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.
