Qingmei Manor.
The young man and woman who have known each other for many years still found themselves alone in a room.
The curtains of the large bed were drawn by a delicate hand, concealing the figure of the girl.
“Another round with Ice Chunk.”
Li Mo withdrew his gaze and lay on the soft couch with the quilt.
No matter how he looked at her, she didn’t seem like someone who could be changed by just a few words.
Forget it, who knows what she’s thinking…
“Speaking of which, investment doesn’t necessarily have to be material.”
Li Mo pondered, looking at the reward he had just received.
[Immortal Gate Body]: “Beyond the Nine Heavens, not within the Ten Realms, the immortal body, after being transformed by the secular world, finally returns to its original simplicity, without self, without sentient beings, encompassing myriad phenomena, possessing various mysteries.”
“Would you like to claim it?”
The reward was simple, only four characters.
This extremely incongruous word, Li Mo raised an eyebrow slightly.
The style is all wrong, this reward is from a martial realm.
Difficult is just an adjective, does it make the system sound more high-end?
In any case,
It sounds pretty good.
With a thought, he claimed the reward.
In an instant,
A thunderclap that only he could hear exploded beside his ear.
His mind seemed to be torn open by the thunder, plunging into chaos, he couldn’t even feel himself.
Buzz—
Buzz—
In the chaos, it was like a storm, the beginning of heaven and earth, countless colors and sounds.
Li Mo couldn’t see, couldn’t hear.
In this moment, he felt both insignificant as dust and majestic beyond sight.
As if he no longer existed, yet everywhere at once.
It was unclear how long it took.
Li Mo lost consciousness.
Not far away.
On the bed, the silk curtains gradually became covered with frost, as if they would shatter with the slightest touch.
The girl hugged her long legs, her lips pale, her eyelashes dyed white.
Even her exhaled breath carried an ancient, unmelting chill.
She seemed to be placed in an extreme ice prison.
But she was used to it, showing no signs of pain or fear, only calm.
Ying Bing knew that this torment would end when she mastered the Taiyin power.
Before that, she needed to open her meridians first.
“Pure Yang Pill.”
“Xue Jing is considered one of the top masters of Pure Yang in the Ziyang Mansion.”
Ying Bing picked up the pill and swallowed it.
A slight warmth rose from the Dantian, slowly flowing into the meridians.
Opening the meridians before the entrance ceremony is not a problem!
Suddenly, she remembered something.
Ying Bing lifted the frozen curtains and looked towards the soft couch.
Only to see the boy lying there peacefully, snoring softly.
Sleeping quite soundly?
“He… is okay?”
…
The next morning.
Li Mo opened his eyes on the soft couch; his eyes deep, like they contained countless stars, calm and clear yet as pure as mountain spring water.
Superficially, he was still himself.
Even standing there, he gave off a sense of merging with nature.
[Name: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Bone Structure: Immortal Gate Body]
[Realm: None]
[Fate: ??]
[Evaluation: Possessing an immortal body, fate is chaotic, future unknown.]
[Recent Encounter: Improved relationship with childhood friend, better than being strangers.]
Li Mo thought his fate would change to purple or even gold.
Who knew it would become two big question marks instead.
“There must be changes.”
“But I can’t tell where they differ for now.”
He thought for a while, no longer dwelling on it.
So far, the rewards from the system’s investments have never disappointed him, especially those from Ice Chunk.
“Since I haven’t started martial cultivation yet, I can only experience it slowly.”
Li Mo picked up the teapot to make tea but found the water inside had turned into ice.
All of this stemmed from the ice chunks on the bed.
Surprisingly, he felt no cold despite the astonishing chill emanating from them.
For now,
At least he became immune to heat and cold.
“I shouldn’t worry about failing the entrance ceremony.”
“At least I should be able to enter the inner sect.”
Li Mo felt relieved.
With nothing else to do, and unable to cultivate,
He decided to go out and try his luck, hoping to find suitable investment targets.
…
Two days passed.
Since taking the Pure Yang Pill, Ying Bing stayed in the room, neither eating nor drinking.
Li Mo wasn’t worried.
With such an extraordinary fortune, she wouldn’t starve herself.
It was probably due to her physical condition; leaving her alone was the best approach.
Over these two days, the cold in Qingmei Manor persisted, and the furnishings inside were likely ruined; Li Mo compensated with a hundred taels of silver to settle things.
During these two days, Li Mo encountered various potential investment targets.
Most were ordinary, with very few showing blue.
Recent encounters were varied.
For example, someone from a private school seeking a wealthy woman.
Or someone with too much money feeling life was dull, wanting to experience poverty.
There was even a burly man longing to wear women’s clothes.
These situations left Li Mo helpless.
Of course, most people were normal.
Even a little bit of meat is still meat.
Through these experiences, he gained many rewards, though few were beneficial for martial arts training; mostly strange items.
…
On the third day’s morning.
“Quality is more important than quantity.”
“From now on, unless it’s a special situation, I won’t actively invest in white or gray.”
Li Mo pushed open the door and saw a beautiful profile combing her smooth black hair in front of a mirror.
“You’re better?”
“A bit better.”
Ying Bing’s porcelain-like face seemed to have regained some color.
She had opened her meridians.
Successfully opening her meridians meant she was no longer a hopeless case, and her concealed talent was revealed.
This was thanks to the bottle of Pure Yang Pill.
“Come eat breakfast,” Li Mo smiled.
Ying Bing picked up the bowl and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Huh?”
Li Mo paused, eyes widening.
Ice Chunk actually said thank you?
Surprised.
“I didn’t hear clearly, what did you say just now?”
Li Mo wasn’t sure.
Ying Bing didn’t speak further, sipping her porridge.
When daylight brightened, they finished breakfast and went downstairs together.
Today was the day Qingyuan Sect officially opened.
The carriage stopped dozens of miles away because there were too many people, all crowded on the road.
They had to walk, and the scene made Li Mo feel nostalgic.
Surrounded by young men, it felt like the morning exercises on the playground during school days.
After about half an incense stick’s time.
Ahead, the gate of Qingyuan Sect came into view, along with many disciples in colorful attire, and in front of each disciple, seven elders sat at a large table.
“Clang—”
“Clang—”
“Clang—”
Three morning bells rang.
“Bones are the first hurdle in martial cultivation. If your bones are too poor, progress will be difficult, no matter how hard you work.”
“Those with low bone structure should not waste time, you may leave.”
An old man with a short and fat build and ruddy cheeks spoke loudly.
No one left.
Everyone here either had confidence or were stubborn, having come this far already.
Since they were here,
The short and fat elder waved his hand.
“Then line up and have your bones checked one by one.”
Upon this, countless young men and women lined up under the management of Qingyuan Sect disciples for the check.
The elders seemed to have practiced special techniques, and with a light tap on the shoulder, they roughly knew the examinee’s bone structure.
“Wu Ping, C-grade, pass.”
“He Haikuo, D-grade.”
“Qian Ningning, D-grade…”
Bone structures were divided into four levels by Qingyuan Sect: A, B, C, and D. Any C-grade had the qualification to enter the sect.
Many factors determine talent, bone structure being one. Having a C-grade indicates a ticket to enter martial cultivation.
Even so, only one or two out of ten are above C-grade.
Just the first round might screen out eighty percent.
Top A-grade?
That would also be classified as A-grade.
“Not entirely accurate, but most people with green fate or higher have successfully passed.”
Li Mo was in line, his Heavenly Fate Divine Eye was open.
“Girl, come up.”
The old woman beckoned.
Ying Bing stepped out of the crowd, drawing countless gazes.
Because she was too beautiful…
Standing there calmly, the surroundings seemed to fall silent, making her impossible to ignore.
Li Mo rubbed his chin.
Based on his reading experience, if there were no unexpected events, there were two possibilities.
Either a complete prodigy, or a complete failure.
With great fortune, it’s impossible for her to be mediocre…
“Sigh…”
Indeed.
The old woman’s eyebrows furrowed instantly.
She became more serious, sinking her breath into her Dantian, her robes fluttering without wind, ready to use internal strength to check her bone structure.
This caught everyone’s attention.
Even the other elders were curious.
Checking for A-grade bone structure wouldn’t require this much effort.
In the next moment, the old woman’s voice echoed throughout the venue:
“Ying Bing, A-grade!”
Her tone was complex, filled with surprise and excitement.
The crowd erupted in whispers.
An A-grade talent was rare in Qingyuan Sect’s history.
Even the renowned genius from Ziyang Mansion, Murong Xiao, barely reached A-grade.
And Murong Xiao was rated as the number one talent among ten young men.
Li Mo: “…”
It seems she falls into the former category.
Surrounded by various gazes, Ying Bing became the center of attention.
The girl herself showed no emotion.
Because she knew this was nothing significant.
She was A-grade because the highest level in Qingyuan Sect is A-grade.
“Calm in the face of honor and disgrace, such composure is truly rare. I look forward to your performance on the path to the heavens.”
The short and fat elder couldn’t help but praise.
Checking bones merely eliminated those without the qualifications to practice martial arts.
The true test of talent was the second round.
The Heavenly Ladder!
Bones are not everything, but with an A-grade bone structure, this girl’s results in the second round would not be bad.
The entrance ceremony has just begun.
The top contender might already be here.
Ying Bing nodded and stood among those who passed the first round.
The proud expressions of the young men and women who passed the first round vanished silently.
They were still thinking about entering the inner sect.
Ying Bing was at least a true disciple.
