As the hour of Zi arrived, an extreme chill once again spread through the air.
This time, however, it permeated Li Mo's room.
Wherever the moonlight touched within the chamber, everything was painted in a snowy hue.
[Punishment for the defeated: Sharing a bed for one month.]
[Completion progress: 1/30.]
[Congratulations, Host, for fulfilling the punishment conditions. Rewards will be distributed in stages.]
[Next reward: Three vials of Emperor’s Nectar.]
Three vials of Emperor’s Nectar.
That would last her a long time, and even after using it, she would still reap the benefits.
The punishment seemed strict, but compared to the rewards, it almost felt insignificant.
At this thought, Ying Bing’s mind momentarily stalled.
If the subject of the punishment hadn’t been him…
Would she still feel the same way?
The steady, strong heartbeat and breathing beside her grew closer, clear and real, and the confusion in her heart seemed to dissipate bit by bit.
One thing was certain—she was definitely not in the midst of a tribulation for immortality.
"He probably isn’t conscious right now…"
Under the moonlight, Ying Bing studied the young man lying just inches away from her.
His features were gentle, his face as fair as jade, tinged with a faint flush from the alcohol.
With his refined and handsome appearance, he would look quite the scholarly type if dressed in Confucian robes.
Yet, the silly grin on his lips contrasted sharply with his usual clever and quick-witted nature.
Even lying beside her, his body radiated warmth, unaffected by the cold.
To speak without bias…
He was quite handsome.
And it was this very person who, through sheer coincidence and twists of fate, had usurped her place at the top.
Having lived two lives, he might be the only one who had ever surpassed her.
Even by Ying Bing’s standards, she had to admit—
Li Mo truly had what it took to stand among the prodigies.
But this would be the last time.
Next time…
Just then—
"Mmm…"
Suddenly, an arm draped over her, resting heavily on her body.
Li Mo had rather poor sleeping habits, often ending up in awkward positions.
"......"
...
This night felt endlessly long.
The next morning.
"Who am I?"
A certain young man surnamed Li blinked groggily as he stared at the ceiling, his mind blank rather than aching.
After a moment of emptiness, his memories finally trickled back.
He recalled drinking with his master last night.
"Alcohol and indulgence are truly dangerous."
"Starting today, I quit drinking!"
Li Mo swore to himself.
Sitting up, the familiar furnishings of the room struck him as odd.
And then there was that faint, familiar fragrance drifting into his nose…
Li Mo: "!"
If I slept here, where did the ice block sleep?
His ears twitched as he caught the sound of swordplay from downstairs.
Peering out the window, he saw that aloof figure, her sword moving in harmony with the falling petals.
The familiar ice block had returned.
[Congratulations, Host, for successfully helping Ying Bing regain her confidence.]
[Investment reward: "Phoenix Cries Over Heaven’s Marsh."]
Li Mo smiled in satisfaction.
Seems like last night’s motivational talk worked.
Young girls in their teens really do love stories—maybe he should tell more in the future…
This martial art, just from the name alone, was clearly no ordinary technique!
Still grinning, Li Mo checked the skill description—then his smile froze.
["Phoenix Cries Over Heaven’s Marsh": A dual-cultivation martial art with profound applications. Allows two individuals of similar cultivation levels to harmonize their spiritual intent. At higher levels, it can even manifest celestial phenomena.]
Li Mo: "......"
Such a dignified name, yet it’s a dual-cultivation technique?!
Who am I supposed to practice this with?! (Throws imaginary object.)
After flipping through the first few pages, however, Li Mo admitted he’d misunderstood.
While it was indeed dual-cultivation, it didn’t follow the path of Yin-Yang absorption. In fact, even individuals of the same gender could practice it, provided their compatibility was high enough.
But who should he practice with?
Li Mo headed downstairs and immediately saw Ying Bing finishing her sword practice, her gaze lifting to meet his.
The ice block?
Wait.
Speaking of which, if he slept here last night, where did she sleep?
"You drank too much last night," Ying Bing said softly.
"......"
Li Mo’s throat tightened.
He must have just gotten up to relieve himself and forgotten he’d changed rooms.
"Uh… I didn’t do anything inappropriate while drunk, did I?" Li Mo asked nervously.
Ying Bing shook her head. "You slept like the dead."
"That’s a relief."
Li Mo exhaled.
Thank goodness it was the ice block in the room—if it had been any other woman, things would’ve been complicated.
"How far have you gotten with those two sword manuals?"
True to form, Ying Bing didn’t dwell on last night’s events.
Li Mo nodded.
"Those two sword manuals were originally one, right?"
This conclusion was courtesy of Princess Little Jiang.
The girl had taken the manuals and, holding one in each hand, started practicing both the "Solar Wheel Sword Manual" and the "Lunar Radiance Sword Manual" simultaneously.
Upon realizing they were parts of a single technique, she’d excitedly rushed to tell him, thinking it was their master’s test.
"You figured it out."
Ying Bing’s tone was casual, but a flicker of emotion passed through her eyes.
"In that case, let’s use this sword technique for today’s sparring."
"......"
Li Mo fell into deep thought.
He hadn’t actually learned it yet.
A peerless sword technique like this would undoubtedly require a significant amount of martial insight. Even with the roughly 230 years’ worth he’d accumulated from acting as a middleman between Ying Bing and Princess Little Jiang, the cost would sting.
But some things were worth spending on.
If his swordsmanship didn’t keep up, he wouldn’t be able to keep earning rewards between the two of them.
"Give me a moment."
[Fifty years of martial insight successfully invested.]
[Year 1: Faced with the peerless sword technique, you made no progress, utterly lost on where to begin.]
[Year 8: You finally grasped the connection between the "Solar Wheel Sword Manual" and the "Lunar Radiance Sword Manual."]
[Year 12: You successfully merged the two sword techniques into the "Sun-Moon Crossed Swords."]
...
[Year 50: Your "Sun-Moon Crossed Swords" reached the initial mastery stage.]
As enlightenment filled his mind, Li Mo sighed softly.
Initial mastery was barely enough to use.
"Ready."
...
Half an hour later, the two sheathed their swords.
"We didn’t achieve spiritual harmony."
"At this rate, achieving perfect synchronization will be impossible in the short term."
Ying Bing lowered her gaze, clearly dissatisfied with their joint practice.
Strange.
Li Mo’s swordsmanship talent wasn’t lacking.
And he had indeed mastered a peerless sword technique in an impressively short time.
So why did their coordination feel so off?
For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether the issue lay with her or with Li Mo.
"Maybe we’re just not in sync enough."
Li Mo scratched his head.
He suspected the problem was mostly his own inadequacy—he just couldn’t keep up with Ying Bing’s level.
What to do?
Come to think of it, mastering this sword technique alongside Ying Bing should count as an investment, right?
The trouble was, even if he poured all his remaining martial insight into the "Sun-Moon Crossed Swords," it still wouldn’t be enough to reach perfection.
"Synchronicity requires spiritual harmony between two individuals…" Ying Bing mused.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Li Mo.
"I have a dual-cultivation technique that might help. Want to give it a try?"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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."
