In a dazed haze, Ke Mo found himself frozen in place, like a deer caught in headlights.
He felt as if he had stepped into a weapon graveyard.
Swords, spears, halberds—there was no end to the collection of mortal weapons, but some of them exuded a chilling aura that made even his heart race.
In the midst of this metallic chaos sat a man dressed in a burlap robe, looking like a dried-up plant. His face was obscured, and scars from countless sword strikes surrounded him.
This guy was radiating a faint vibe of the universe’s essence.
He gazed up at the sky, as if having sensed something important.
Buzz—
A wooden sword landed in his hand, setting off a cacophony of screeching metal as countless blades in the graveyard began to sing, flitting through the void like fish in water.
He swung the sword at the heavens, and his withered body erupted with unmatched sword intent, as if pulling a breathtaking divine sword from an ordinary sheath.
One sword could appear as nine, ten, or even more—it transcended mere swords.
The void shattered.
Ke Mo felt as if his soul was being yanked in every direction.
A tinge of cold light pierced through the endless realms of time and space, stabbing right into him.
No escaping, no dodging—whatever happened, happened.
In the depths of his mind, the overarching concept flowed through Ke Mo’s being.
‘Return Maiden leads to No Falsehood, No Falsehood leads to Harmony, Harmony leads to Great Abundance, Alpha becomes Beta, Beta transforms into Geng…..’
“Whew…..”
His head throbbed with a slight ache.
The system’s way of revealing true meanings had been quite gentle so far, yet it still burdened his mind heavily.
Had he not entered the Observation Realm, he might have lost consciousness like he did when he first tackled the “Fiery Lotus Technique.”
The “Dugu Nine Swords” was a dizzying complexity of transformations.
Its mystery couldn’t be just called a sword technique; it was more like a ‘mystical principle’ that just happened to be expressed through the medium of swords.
No wonder it didn’t have a ranking.
The martial arts rating system of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths couldn’t even evaluate it!
“Who knows if my martial arts insights are burning enough for this…..”
Ke Mo was starting to feel a bit unsteady about this profound truth.
With seven hundred and eighty years of martial arts comprehension tucked under his belt, he surprisingly felt a bit… poor?
But.
For Little Ke, who dreamt of being a swordsman, the “Dugu Nine Swords” was truly a coveted treasure.
However, the catch was just one word.
‘Comprehend!’
Now that it lay before him, he couldn’t just sit there staring.
“Has Ice Chunk woken up yet?”
Every time Ke Mo practiced swordplay with Ice Chunk, it saved him a heap of martial arts insights.
…..
In the next room.
Sitting cross-legged on the Cold Marrow Jade Bed, Ying Bing was busy chiseling away at her Consciousness Soul with Taiyin.
Within the acupoint she had just opened, a small figure carved like crystal was shimmering brilliantly.
As the Taiyin energy flowed and she continued her observation, the divine patterns on the little figure exhibited some weird changes.
Aside from the Taiyin patterns, there were also several traces resembling birds, appearing and vanishing with the fluctuations of energy.
This process had been going on all night.
After a little while, Ying Bing opened her eyes, ready to get up, but she caught sight of some ghostly floating text before her.
【You have an outstanding reward waiting to be claimed.】
Ying Bing was about to ignore it.
After all, her last experience made her not want to…..
Suddenly.
【YOU! HAVE! AN! OUTSTANDING! REWARD! WAITING! TO! BE! CLAIMED!!!!!!!!】
The system’s text expanded tenfold, as if terrified she might miss it.
Ying Bing: “….. No thanks.”
【Detected the host’s response contains the word ‘need.’】
【Reward distributing…..】
Ying Bing was increasingly convinced that the system’s rewards were definitely not anything good.
Fine, let it be.
No matter what it was this time, she would just pretend it didn’t exist.
【This outstanding reward is:
Reward for you to hit Ke Mo’s hand with your rear.】
Ying Bing: “?”
Upon seeing this so-called ‘reward,’ her beautiful phoenix eyes twitched.
Is that what you call a reward?
The Cold and Stunning Phoenix Sky Empress was a bit at a loss for her composure.
If the system had a physical form, it would probably be sliced into bits by her sword right now!
“If I don’t do it, this reward doesn’t exist.”
Ying Bing smoothed her brows.
She had completely lost interest in the system’s evaluation rewards.
Because all evaluation rewards were just ridiculous!
—
Setting aside the rewards.
Just having ranking rewards was enough.
At that moment, a knock echoed on the door.
“Hey, Ice Chunk, are you awake?”
“Time to get up and practice swords.”
Li Mo’s voice came from outside.
Right!
After acquiring the Divine Celestial Heart Sword Manual, she hadn’t had a chance to practice yet.
Hmm, time for sword training!
Ying Bing let go of the strange system reward, her eyes regaining their composure as she took the Tian Shuang and approached the door.
Upon opening it, their eyes met.
That face, illuminated by the morning light with a sunny smile, appeared before her.
After entering the Observation Realm… his aura seemed to have shifted a bit?
One couldn’t deny that Li Mo had the looks, combining the best features of both Li Bo and Li Bi, especially when he smiled—he warmed the heart.
What if he were to strike her—
Wait.
Suddenly, Ying Bing froze in place.
What was that thought that just popped into her head?
Li Mo remained blissfully unaware and asked, “So, uh, are you feeling… better today?”
That certain relative was definitely still around.
Some girls tended to be overly sensitive, feeling pain like the end of the world.
“Hmm? Yeah…..”
Ying Bing instinctively nodded.
What “better” was even about?
Right now, she definitely wasn’t feeling so hot…..
Because that strange sensation seemed to touch more than just her mind.
It tingled.
As if a tiny ant was crawling down her tailbone….
This had to be that so-called reward’s doing!
“Well, if you’re feeling a bit better, let’s go grab breakfast.”
“After breakfast, we can practice swords.”
Li Mo had no idea Ice Chunk was being contradictory and turned to head downstairs.
Only when he was eating breakfast did he notice something felt off.
“Master’s still snoozing, huh?”
In the yard, Li Mo scratched his chin as he sat down with a freshly steamed bun.
He took a bite but realized Ying Bing was still standing.
“Come on, sit and eat,” he said, feeling odd about it.
Ice Chunk’s aura made him feel like he was perching on a bed of needles.
In reality…
Ying Bing felt even more like that!
She remembered how, the moment she sat down, the sensation surged up even stronger.
“No need, I prefer to eat while standing.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Seeing Ying Bing tense up, her neck turning red, Li Mo frowned and asked.
“I….. can!”
Ying Bing took a gentle breath, gripping her sword hilt tightly.
Her ice-mirror-like eyes had become resolute once more.
If she focused solely on this, then… what was it to her?
She had endured far worse!
When she transcended her physical form, it seemingly angered the heavens, and the heavenly tribulation burst forth, threatening to obliterate her into nothingness.
She had weathered that kind of pain!
All because of her unyielding heart!
“Bring it on.”
Ying Bing drew her Tian Shuang, its blade gleaming bright.
Her black hair flew about, failing to obscure her gaze!
Li Mo scratched his head.
What was with this sudden spike in Ice Chunk’s competitive spirit?
Every time they practiced, she was the one lecturing him more!
Hmmmm.
Could it be she wanted to see if he had improved?
“Of course I’ll go all out!”
Little Li Mo stood up with a bun clenched between his teeth.
With the “Dugu Nine Swords” in mind (even if he hadn’t mastered it yet), he was ready to show Ice Chunk just what he had!
