The golden crow projection radiated an even more intense sun-like energy, elevating its realm to the Five Apertures of Guan Shen. Yet, it remained expressionless, its presence radiating a newfound gravity, as if sensing the fighting spirit of the young man across from it.
“Brother Li, go for it!”
Little Princess Jiang cheered for him, her voice ringing out with enthusiasm.
In the next second, the sunlight intensified, and a majestic big sun rose in the yin-yang field, illuminating everything to the point where nothing, not even the opponent’s moves, could hide.
Li Mo gripped his sword in one hand and a hammer in the other, shrouded in the pure brilliance of Taiyin. Among countless flickering lights, he pinpointed the existence of the radiant golden wheel.
This mystical weapon, the Radiant Golden Wheel, was formidable because it blended with the light itself.
At that moment, Little Li suddenly recalled his middle school optical physics class.
The fish in the river isn’t actually where you see it with your n*ked eye… it was high time he used his sword with that magical weapon; he had been overly confident in his hammer all along.
The gleaming sword was casually thrust out, appearing to have gaping flaws, yet it precisely struck the center of the Radiant Golden Wheel.
Ding—
Sparks flew.
The golden wheel sank sharply, and the golden crow projection, caught off guard, had no choice but to unleash its true essence to lift the golden wheel back into the air.
However, this immense force was, contrary to expectation, harnessed by Li Mo, allowing him to channel it and bring his hammer down on the protective golden sun projection.
The golden sun projection exploded with radiant light as the crow’s figure split into multiple entities.
The two forms, accompanied by the Radiant Golden Wheel, resembled shimmering fish flaunting themselves under sunlight— breathtakingly powerful yet endlessly variable.
“I lost to that move back then.”
Jiang Chulong nervously pinched her clothing, realizing the crow’s projection was proving to be even more troublesome.
But the opponent had divine intention; he had his own as well.
Li Mo closed his eyes, refusing to gaze at the dizzying two crow figures, generating the Taiyin pure brilliance that slowed down their movements.
He forcefully hurled his gleaming sword, infused with entangled karma, piercing in a spiral strike at the left golden wheel.
With his left hand, forty was swung from bottom to top, distorting the surrounding sunlight.
This swing seemed so light, yet it bore the power to shatter cosmos, causing the very air around the opponent to thicken. It appeared to be aimed at the air, but it was anything but.
Clang—
A hidden golden wheel shot back, launched by the force of impact!
The golden crow, still expressionless, lifted the rebounding golden wheel and absorbed the surrounding light, transforming it into a glaring beam directed at Li Mo.
Yet, illuminated by sunlight, Li Mo’s body did not singe; instead, it burst forth with resplendent golden glory.
Unbreakable!
Forty rose again, causing even the stars in the sky to shake.
The sunlight was still blinding, but a figure cloaked in a Great Sage’s projection held a towering hammer, rising against the light, shooting into the sky.
Boom—
The form of the great sun trembled, visible cracks appearing, unable to maintain its guard over the golden crow, which began to ignite instead.
The golden crow had triggered its own divine will, causing it to explode just before shattering.
The hammer truly was unusable for a short while, yet the appearance of the gleaming sword was just perfect, and the move used was none other than the long-forgotten “Fire Crane, Thousand Feathers.”
The wildfire surged through the gaps opened by the true essence explosion.
Splash—
The golden crow projection was pierced through the chest by the sword, and the other figure instantly solidified, dissolving into motes of light.
“Now that’s some serious burn.”
Li Mo released the forty and the gleaming sword; although his body was impervious to fire and water, it was scorching hot!
A sense of fatigue washed over him, as if his breath were laced with sparks.
No wonder it was an ancient innate golden crow.
In its time, it had once been one of the brightest heroes in the world.
Understanding the opponent’s moves and rhythm of attack, without using divine weapons, he still found himself struggling so hard.
“Brother Li… did you win in just one go?”
Jiang Chulong stared at the silhouette ahead, her eyes sparkling brightly even through the curtain.
That silhouette blocked out the sun with its towering presence.
“…”
In truth, he had fought even more times than Little Princess Jiang.
Li Mo shook his head and sighed:
“This Nine Heavens and Ten Earths truly is full of heroes.”
“Yup, but Brother Li is the strongest!”
“Did Chulong manage to see the golden crow’s moves just now?”
“I did see!”
Jiang Chulong nodded enthusiastically.
After applying some head-patting magic, Little Princess Jiang was all energized and off to practice her sword again.
“After the battle, the Great Sage’s projection solidified even more.”
Li Mo glanced back at the imposing Great Sage spirit, his eyes glinting.
Sitting down on the ground, he took a moment to gather himself, pulling out the Great Sage’s vibrant observational mural.
This grand and breathtaking mural seemed a tad clearer to him.
“For sure, this grand avenue of divine form can only be perfected through continuous battle.”
“After defeating the golden crow projection, my spirit and fighting intent have strengthened!”
As enlightenment sparked within him, among the many divine abilities, one flickered faintly like a pearl from the depths of the sea.
The Great Sage spirit nodded slightly, seemingly in approval.
It plucked a golden hair from behind its ear and gently blew.
The hair, shimmering with precious light, flew into Li Mo’s ear.
Divine Ability: External Embodiment.
Immersed in the ocean of mysterious power, a thought popped into Li Mo’s mind.
“Brother Monkey has a whole lot of monkey hairs, but I can only pluck hair from my head.”
“It’s clear that this divine ability has nothing to do with the Buddhist sect…”
…
In the following days, Li Mo continued his late-night escapades to Ying Bing’s room, yet again encountering his father midway.
What could he do? His fighting intent had strengthened his consciousness; if he continued to dual cultivate with Little Ice Girl each night, the Observation Realm was just around the corner.
But no one knew his son better than his father.
This small string of clues had already triggered his father, Li Dalong’s vigilance! After all, he was the county constable, responsible for law and order in the county, having apprehended numerous suspects.
His eyes were as sharp as a ruler!
“Hey, Dad, you’re up too early today, starting the fifth set of morning exercises, huh?”
One morning, after sneaking out of Little Ice Girl’s room, Li Mo ran into his dad, who was doing his morning workouts.
This time, his dad didn’t tell him any jokes; instead, his face was serious:
“What were you up to, you rascal?”
“Getting breakfast!”
“Really?”
Li Dalong crossed his arms, on high alert.
Li Mo nodded, pulling out a paper bag of buns from the system space just in time, which allowed him to escape.
However, Dad Li’s suspicions didn’t clear; they actually intensified!
After returning to the room, Li Dalong told his wife:
“Dear, our son isn’t acting right.”
“What’s wrong?”
“He might be trying to sneakily make me a grandpa.”
“???!!!”
“I suspect he’s been sneaking into Little Ice Girl’s room every night, but I don’t have any solid proof.”
Gu Xueqin’s eyes widened slightly, and the couple exchanged complex feelings as they plotted.
A good son is a good son.
But running into someone’s boudoir at night before getting engaged is far from proper; yet, if it really is the case, they needed to start making plans.
First of all, they had to confirm whether anything had indeed happened…
Li Mo, on the other hand, thought he was slick and completely unaware that he had already been listed as a key observation target by his parents!
