At the Happy Goat Hot Pot Restaurant, spring had sprung, and business was booming, with customers flocking in and forming long queues like an enthusiastic conga line.
The smell of hot pot wafted through the air, but that little figure, with the ragged clothes and grease stains, was nowhere to be seen.
Jiang Chulong had swapped her usual rags for a fancy blue satin skirt adorned with branches. She was in the backyard, washing her face, having heard Aunt Mei say that this outfit once belonged to her mother when she first entered the martial arts world.
In early spring, Little Princess Jiang lifted her face like a budding flower ready to bloom, vibrant and dazzling.
With delicate features and hair cascading down like a waterfall, it was hard to believe just a short time ago, she was the pitiful little beggar in a muddy alley, on the verge of collapse!
“St-st-stutter-sister… so b-beautiful!” The little beggar working inside the restaurant had become the one stumbling over their words.
“Aunt Mei, d-d-do I look okay?” Jiang Chulong cautiously asked, looking down.
“Y-you look… like a little flower…” Aunt Mei replied with a complicated expression, tears welling up as she wiped her eyes, suppressing her memories.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the hot pot shop.
Someone was shouting about a Cold Fairy and a Little Overlord.
Jiang Chulong’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She was about to dash through the door flap when she hesitated. The ruckus outside was so lively, she remembered she didn’t even dare to look the customers in the eye…
Right! Brother Li had mentioned…
She felt inside her pocket.
“Brother Huang, are you heading to the Imperial Capital with me? My cloud is big enough for you to fit!”
“Forget it, if I get on, there’ll be more people.”
“No worries, Ice Chunk can sit in my lap.”
“?”
The Flying Poison Double-Sided Turtle was stunned by the God Hammer Little Overlord, who hit him with an abacus bead.
Well, he could definitely tell the story about how Li Mo conquered him with an underhanded trick later.
Huang Donglai forced a smile. “I think I’ll head out on my own.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I just feel like following you isn’t safe. Things are bound to go wrong, and what we need is not a small mess, you know…”
Huang Donglai graciously declined.
And the Flying Poison Double-Sided Turtle, as expected, remained steady!
“…”
Li Mo found himself at a loss for words.
It was a little unfair to put all the blame on him; what did he have to do with the chaos? After all, wasn’t the rise of the fated empress always fraught with thorns?
Little Li felt he was just collateral damage.
But that didn’t stop him from clutching Ice Chunk’s jade-like legs…
“Where’s Chulong?”
Ying Bing’s quiet eyes scanned the hot pot shop.
“Right? I didn’t see her either.” Li Mo exclaimed, then suspected if Aunt Mei had taken Little Princess Jiang and run off.
At that very moment, the door flap flew open.
The bustling restaurant fell silent for a brief moment as familiar patrons recognized who had just come from the backyard; their jaws dropped in disbelief.
Little Princess Jiang stood there, looking a bit weak and helpless, her eyes covered by sunglasses.
With hands on her hips, she looked like the emotionless assassin she was trying to be.
“Aunt Mei didn’t say anything?” Li Mo inquired.
Little Princess Jiang panicked and shook her head vigorously.
“Well, that’s strange.”
Just then, through the door flap, he saw Aunt Mei’s complex expression; she seemed to have a lot to say but just sighed heavily instead.
After all…
Chulong had made it onto the Qianlong List; there was no way she could hide her identity anymore. If she didn’t enter the martial world, the martial world would come knocking on her door.
At least in Aunt Mei’s eyes, having a mysterious, powerful mentor behind her made things a tad safer.
“Aunt Mei, we’ll be careful!” Li Mo reassured her sincerely.
“Hmm, be safe soon,” Aunt Mei said, pulling out a small box from her storage and handing it to Li Mo.
“If any of you need to enter the City of Divine Beings, just open it and remember to burn it after looking inside.”
“Got it.”
Li Mo understood that Aunt Mei came from the Tianshan Sword Manor and had once been Chulong’s mother’s sword attendant.
That meant the contents inside were related to the Heavenly Phoenix Domain!
Half a month later…
Spring was shining brightly.
Li Mo stood on a cloud, gazing into the distance as a magnificent view unfolded before him.
Just a friendly reminder: there are options in the upper right corner to switch between simplified and traditional Chinese, adjust font size, and change background colors.
Under the open sky were majestic city walls shimmering like colored glass, with towers reaching for the clouds, some even more grand than the skyscrapers of his previous life.
The city covered an expanse that seemed limitless, with hints of a snow-capped mountain far in the background, soaring high above.
At the center of the city stood the royal palace, where a jade-green tapestry, like a majestic curtain, cloaked the entire palace.
An artifact floated into Li Mo’s mind.
Heaven’s Luck Dao Artifact — The Map of Mountains and Rivers.
Suddenly, shadows beside him began to descend.
“Aren’t we still not there yet?” Li Mo blinked in surprise.
“The miraculous nature of this Heaven’s Luck Dao Artifact has caused the surrounding area to be under a no-fly zone; getting too close means being forcibly pushed back down, unless you’re at the Xuan realm… huh?”
Qin Yuzhi was startled to see the mist beneath her feet show no sign of dissipating.
“It’s just a trivial little trick.”
Little Li adjusted his sunglasses.
“Brother Li is really amazing…”
The cold, emotionless Little Princess Jiang cracked for a second.
“This mist doesn’t feel like a typical foggy road…”
The Ice Chunk tilted her head while wearing sunglasses.
“Why do you all wear these dark glasses?”
“Because we’re a bunch of stylish folks.”
“Then why am I not wearing one?” Qin Yuzhi retorted.
“Sister Qin, stop expecting the leader to give you things; think about what you can do for the sect instead. I already provided you with work gear, and you’re asking me for more?”
Li Mo was just joking, of course.
The truth was he had completely forgotten to make a pair for Qin Yuzhi.
“Fine, handle the affairs of the South Border on your own!”
Over the past half-month, under the management of Sect Leader Qin, things in the South Border had been stabilizing, especially with the Huanmo Sect, where they had accumulated thirty layers of the Kongming Multicolor Tower.
Just four more layers, and they could project the divine forms of the Dao.
“… I was just joking! Honestly, I think sunglasses don’t really suit you. How about I get you a stylish eye patch instead?”
“Now that’s more like it!”
As they chatted, Li Mo landed the Nimbus cloud and pulled out a long-unused bronze horse carriage, entering the city gate for inspection.
A typical city guard turned out to be part of the Observation Realm.
Meanwhile…
In the royal city adorned with red walls and blue tiles…
In the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, purple smoke wafted around.
A young man dressed neatly, carrying a heavy sword case and led by the sword attendant, Qing Niao, passed through the palace walls into the inner hall of the Sword Concealment Pavilion, where gleaming swords awaited them.
Zhuan weapons were the most ordinary among them.
Jiang Yu held a Zhuan weapon, its blade shimmering ominously, with a hint of a dragon’s roar echoing.
Suddenly—crack!
The weapon shattered in half, and the sword energy scattered around chaotically.
Jiang Yu’s face darkened instantly.
“Your Highness, all the swords from the recent forging conference are here.”
The shards of the sword swirled around the speaking Qing Niao but halted abruptly, reforming into a long sword riddled with cracks.
“Forging masters from recent conferences are getting rarer…” Jiang Yu stared at the sword case on the ground. “Not a single one can withstand the power of Sword Bone.”
“It’s not about Sword Bone.”
Qing Niao shook his head, “It’s because you need to master yourself before wielding a sword. If you meet a wise lord, even grass and wood can become divine armaments.”
Translating: If a person can’t handle it, don’t blame the sword!
Jiang Yu’s eyelids twitched.
Qing Niao looked anxious: “Thank you, Brother Xie!”
However, Xie, the Qing man, seemed oblivious, staring intently at Jiang Yu’s double pupils.
At that moment, a servant entered, whispering something into Jiang Yu’s ear.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow, a cold smile creeping onto his face.
“Didn’t you always mention that there was a girl who outshone you in sword talent in the sword tomb? If she’s around, she should’ve gone to Biyun Tower.”
“Oh?”
Qing Niao’s eyes brightened, and without saying goodbye, he turned to leave.
Just as he was about to step out of the Sword Concealment Pavilion, Jiang Yu called after him:
“If you can drive her out of the Imperial Capital, I’ll set up a private drink and music session for you with Hua Nongying!”
“…”
Qing Niao paused before soaring off on his sword.
Sword enthusiasts like Xie Xuan loved both swords and beautiful women.
Out of ten people in the Imperial Capital, eleven knew he was fond of the number four on the Beauty Rankings, the contemporary star of the Wind Moon Small Residence!
