The next morning.
In the Water Clan’s side hall, within a fleeting heaven.
Amidst the rushing river, a shadow of a dragon surged upstream, creating a torrent of white foam while deftly dodging rocks lurking beneath the water.
The current grew faster and faster, yet the Ming Jiao in the water stubbornly resisted the waves.
Speed had always been Little Ke’s weak point.
Transforming into a Ming Jiao, he easily breezed through the water as if aided by divine assistance.
Splash—
Water exploded, and the dragon shot into the air, morphing mid-flight into a young man with his upper body bared.
In the sunlight, Little Ke’s muscular upper body was robust yet maintained a streamlined beauty, reminiscent of a cheetah and vaguely glowing with a black sheen. Though his build was modest, it made him appear solid and unshakeable.
The dragon shadow behind him added a dash of extraordinary flair to the young man.
You could tell just by looking at the expressions of the nearby female monsters.
“Monsters truly are gifted,” Wu Mo remarked, shaking the water off.
His speed in the water rivaled Huang Donglai’s land speed, give or take a little.
The perks were significant.
But there were downsides too.
Every morning, Chen Bo’s visit seemed to take longer, and his mind raced with restless thoughts…
Whenever this happened, to clear his mind, Little Ke could only visualize the Ice Chunk in his mind… the Immortal Transformation Diagram, aided by the moonlight to calm his heart.
However, his Consciousness Soul didn’t really grow; monsters couldn’t explore other divine ideas any longer.
“No wonder Brother Murong always fails his abstinence attempts.”
Wu Mo had a deep realization of just how soft Brother Murong’s weak spots were.
Soft and hard can sometimes complement each other; if one area is too soft, it can lead to another being overly rigid.
Swoosh—
The rushing river suddenly slowed down, and Wu Qing looked on in satisfaction and surprise, “Not bad, you’ve mastered the Water Manipulation technique of the Ming Jiao Clan.”
“When I was at level seven, I was nowhere near this speed,” Wu Mo replied with clasped hands, “Thank you, senior. I haven’t seen Brother Murong recently. How’s his training at the Floating Temple?”
As he spoke, he pulled out some jerky to fill his stomach.
“He…” Wu Qing’s expression turned complex.
“Xiao’er faces quite a bit of resistance since he joined the Floating Temple as a monster.”
“Yeah… after all, it’s a pure land of Buddhism,” Wu Mo nodded in understanding.
“And the masters said Xiao’er has trouble letting go of worldly desires, especially when it comes to love…”
Wu Mo thought about the male Ming Jiao and sighed, “Brother Murong has always worked hard; it’s just not yielding any results.”
“Hmm, luckily he’s got a great innate ability. Master Heng Yuan insisted on taking him in after much discussion and even gave him a Dharma name.”
“What is it?”
Wu Mo took a bite of jerky and, just thinking about having to call him by his Dharma name next time, couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hidden Love.”
“Pfft…” Wu Mo accidentally spat out his jerky.
The Dharma name might fit, but why did it sound so weird?
Master… Hidden Love?
Nonchalant Monk?
Uh…
Brother Murong becoming a Buddhist disciple with a half-monster body is indeed pretty nonchalant.
Ding—
Just then, a bell rang, piercing the clouds and reverberating through the fleeting heaven.
This was the morning bell from the Floating Temple, reminding every monster within to get ready.
The scramble for the Celestial Divine Jade was about to begin.
Wu Mo and the monsters stepped out of the fleeting heaven, passing the Destiny Tree, arriving at the main hall of the Floating Temple. Despite being called a hall, it didn’t resemble an ordinary temple’s splendor. Rather, it was an ancient structure imbued with rustic charm.
Many monsters had already gathered there.
Aside from the Disaster Beasts, talented youths from major clans in the South Border were all there, accompanied by their elders.
As soon as Wu Mo arrived, his gaze began searching through the crowd, simultaneously activating his Destiny Divine Eye.
The Ice Chunk had yet to arrive.
A friendly reminder: If you find this book enjoyable, to avoid losing it next time, remember to add it to your shelf!
He promptly took out his little notebook and started jotting things down.
Before long, new information popped up before him, making him pause in surprise.
A young man with golden hair and eyes, clad in golden armor and wings, with a hawkish nose… was none other than the male bird who had blocked his path the other day, leading a gaggle of female monsters.
【Name: Zhi Duoluo】
【Age: 29 (4120)】
【Root: Golden Peng Bloodline】
【Realm: Guan Shen Seventh Layer】
【Fate: Blue with Purple Tinge】
【Evaluation: Son of the Huanmo Sect branch, Hall of Beasts; before the fall of Da Shang, Han Zhen, using his own mastery of the arcane, was born with the divine will of the Golden Peng, having slept for many years in the South Border, practicing the True Summoning Scriptures, and gaining consciousness soul power from the wishes and prayers, ultimately capable of manifesting one of Da Shang’s totems, the Golden-Winged Peng in the mortal realm.】
【Recent Encounter: Aiming to take advantage of when Wu Mo and Ying Bing are at odds.】
No wonder Zhi Duoluo obstructed my path that day.
Clearly, he was after my so-called “True Dragon Bloodline”!
“Why is it always the Huanmo Sect…”
Li Mo glanced around at the half-monsters beside him.
Of course.
They were all Huanmo Sect members, prominent on the Qianlong List with high rankings.
“The Floating Temple is above it all; it never engages in conflicts with other factions.”
“The strong ones inside probably don’t even know; they might not care…”
Withdrawing his gaze, Li Mo’s expression grew peculiar.
At odds?
Him and the Ice Chunk?
Little Li suddenly realized he had been taking himself too seriously; these half-monsters probably weren’t much of a threat to him.
Unless the Huanmo Sect wanted to make a grand show on the Floating Temple’s turf.
A little more caution, and he’d be fine.
“The Qingluan Divine Maiden has arrived.”
“Just by looking at her appearance, you can tell she’s a pure-bl**d Qingluan; a true phoenix in the world, and that’s nothing less!”
“Keep it down; she looks cool and can be ruthless. Since her debut, she’s taken down over a hundred Disaster Beasts, averaging two a day.”
“Is she looking at me?”
“Are you kidding me? She’s looking at Wu Mo!”
“Fated rivals, she must definitely recognize the other’s presence amidst the crowd!”
The monsters whispered and murmured.
Little Li’s gaze shifted downward.
Then he spotted the white anklets peeking out from beneath her long robes, and couldn’t help but smirk.
“Hmph…”
The cold yet elegant Qingluan Divine Maiden let out a light snort.
To outsiders, she seemed genuinely angry. The once dignified and pure figure that people could admire from afar became daunting with that single icy huff, chilling the atmosphere.
Yet in Little Li’s eyes, she was utterly stunning.
To be honest, just a short while ago, he had found her snow-like beauty off-putting, utterly void of approachability.
But who could resist sending her those decorative anklets…
Meanwhile, Zhi Duoluo and his gang of half-monsters couldn’t help but smirk.
A fight was definitely on the horizon.
At that point, they would surely stir things up…
Hehe!
“Amitabha.”
Following a call of Buddhist reverence, a group of monks emerged from the main hall, led by Master Heng Yuan and others in patched-up monk robes.
The elder monk, whose brows were entirely white, looked tattered in his attire. If he stood on the street, people would probably mistake him for a cleaner beggar.
However, all the monsters lowered their heads in deference; no one dared to underestimate this abbot of the Floating Temple.
The Huai Kong Master, Seventh Layer of the Arcane.
This was why all monster clans had to follow the Floating Temple’s rules in the scramble for the Celestial Divine Jade.
At that moment, the gaze of this arcane master suddenly fixated on the pair of young men and women at the front of the monster throng.
Huai Kong paused for a moment.
