The morning light cascaded like a waterfall, and opposite him was a girl with flowing black hair that shimmered like a flowing stream. Her eyes sparkled with divine brilliance, just as captivating as always.
Suddenly, a spark of unnamed fire ignited deep within Jiang Yu’s heart.
Li Mo noticed the fierce determination and fighting spirit reflected in his own gaze, yet she didn’t flinch. It was as if she stood atop a mountain, her glance casually sweeping past him without a moment’s pause.
Just at that moment—
Swish—
A sword light, as luminous as moonlight, suddenly appeared before him, faster than a human’s thought process.
Almost simultaneously, the long sword adorned with dragon scales was lifted from the ground, rising with a mighty dragon’s power that shook the heavens.
However, instead of colliding as expected, the sword light before him suddenly exploded, revealing its true nature—it was an illusion! Yet Ying Bing didn’t strike again; instead, a sharp sensation emerged unexpectedly from her side.
Only those of higher realms could vaguely catch the shadow of the moonlight.
In her previous life, Ying Bing had masterfully honed her Taiyin Consciousness Soul. She realized this move while observing the moon’s shadow, thus naming it the “Shadow of the Moon.”
Jiang Yu felt the godly light of Sword Bone wrapping around his chest, a sharpness burst forth from his body, but it was, after all, a hasty response.
Ding—
The clash of divine light and moonlight resounded.
Ying Bing’s figure remained ethereal and agile.
Yet Jiang Yu felt a numbing cold wash over him, piercing through his meridians and limbs, filling him with an overwhelming sensation of having his soul frozen.
The earlier chatter about whether the Cold Fairy could triumph over the strong fell into silence.
It seemed they had misjudged the challenger.
With a single exchange, Jiang Yu had already taken a massive hit!
“Why is it like this?”
This bafflement echoed within the hearts of the onlookers as the voice of the purple-robed Eunuch reverberated through both the inner and outer cities.
“She’s like Su Jun, a true heaven-blessed prodigy,” Du Wufeng said, surprisingly serious for a change.
Xie Yiding, however, fell silent, pondering deeply as he shook his head after a long moment:
“We might have miscalculated.”
“She cannot simply be described as a prodigy.”
In the words of Li Mo from a previous life, it would probably be something like, ‘Holy cr*p, she has a cheat!’
Only Little Li, who maintained his cool demeanor, might find that phrase somewhat misplaced. After all, he truly had a cheat.
“The higher the realm, the greater the gap between the Ice Chunk and the lower realms…”
Li Mo felt this was akin to letting a PhD student solve elementary school problems—while they might score a perfect hundred, it wouldn’t mean they only had elementary-level skills.
One plus one still equaled two; they might even derive a complete axiomatic system for it.
If, say, he had been in that position, how should he respond?
First, abandon all fantasies, and rule out using a sword…
If he could maintain a state of harmony with the universe, he might catch that one strike, avoiding the embarrassment of not even having a moment to unleash his indestructible vitality.
Ying Bing’s delicate brows furrowed slightly; that last strike could have been countered, which indicated that Jiang Yu was indeed stronger than in his previous life.
This referred to their strengths in the lower realms. When Jiang Yu was in the seventh realm before, even possessing the Emperor’s royal authority, his power was merely average.
Now, however, he could be considered her rival.
Later, even after ascending to the throne, ruling over the land, why did he seem to grow weaker?
A thread of national fortune had fallen upon Jiang Yu, darkening the skies as if mirroring his expression.
Those beneath the Observation Realm, even down to the Inner Vision Realm, lost all their senses, unable to perceive the surroundings. If it weren’t for the Jiangshan Yizhi Map still displaying its images, they wouldn’t even know what was happening.
A golden dragon, radiant and resplendent, swept down from the sky.
At that moment, a bright moon ascended, shimmering and cool, deep and profound.
As the moonlight shifted, it felt as if the sound of a silver vase shattering echoed within countless hearts.
Ying Bing had broken through her limits.
“Observation of the Nine Vessels.”
Li Mo looked up at the moon, letting out a helpless yet cheerful laugh.
Just moments ago, he couldn’t say who was stronger, him or the Ice Chunk.
Now, it seemed rather clear.
After a moment, Jiang Yu stepped down from the stage without a word, feeling this situation was better than his last attempt.
“Crown Prince brother, you…” Princess Yuyang seemed a bit unconvinced, aware that Jiang Yu hadn’t yet used all his tricks.
Warm reminder: to make it easier for everyone to find books, the website’s “Ranking” page has been optimized; feel free to give it a try!
“Not necessary.”
Jiang Yu’s expression was hard to mask, as if his soul had left his body.
If he encountered an equally matched opponent, they might fight until the point where a victor emerged, and losing would leave him tossing and turning sleeplessly at night.
Why didn’t he use that move back then?
Thus, he couldn’t let go of the fact that he lost to Li Mo.
But ever since Ying Bing’s breakthrough, the instincts of the True Dragon body and Sword Bone told him.
There was only one way not to lose to her.
That was to slice his own neck before she made a move.
He couldn’t make sense of it either, but that was the reality.
“Is it over?”
“Guess so…”
“I still haven’t seen how Jiang Yu lost! Where did she win?”
“Superficial, you can’t even see that?”
At that moment, a somewhat mocking voice sounded from the side.
The one being mocked refused to accept it, furrowing their brows and asking, “What is your insight then?”
The woman spat out a sunflower seed shell, her expression all mysterious and profound:
“Do you understand the worth of a wife’s luck in battle?”
“By the way, if she hadn’t lost to Li Mo, she might’ve topped the Qianlong List.”
“Her mood must be quite complex now…”
As the battles on the other arenas concluded, the final round of the Qianlong Conference came to a close. While the rankings had yet to be officially announced, everyone had an inkling of the outcome.
However, the voice that rang out was not from the purple-robed Eunuch.
Instead, it was Emperor Jingtai.
“The top three of this Qianlong Conference are Li Mo, Ying Bing, and Jiang Yu.”
“Talent emerges through generations; this shows that our Da Yu is blessed with gifted individuals, favoring us from heaven and earth.”
The Emperor’s voice was calm yet contained a faint trace of suppressed excitement.
Instantly, applause erupted from within and outside the city, the Jiangshan Yizhi Map emitting myriad colorful lights, filling the atmosphere with a celebratory ambiance that enveloped the imperial capital.
Emmmm
As Li Mo led Ying Bing onto the stage, it was clear that the crowd below was a mix of murmurs, with few cheers resounding.
The nobles and royals didn’t need mentioning; the strongest among them walking away with third place was good enough to keep them from storming off in anger.
The commoners and various martial artists looked utterly dazed.
“Brother Li is amazing!”
“I declare, from now on, this place shall be called Little Overlord Square!”
Only Murong Xiao, Huang Donglai, and Xiao Qian seemed like unleashed wild dogs, frolicking around.
So where did all that roaring applause come from?
Li Mo glanced up at the Jiangshan Yizhi Map.
Oh.
Turns out it was just a special effect.
“Bring me someone; I’ll personally award them their prizes.”
Emperor Jingtai stepped down, passing Jiang Yu on his way.
Then he stopped in front of Ying Bing.
“As this year’s flower of our exploration, young lady, do you have anything to say?”
“Good thing I’m not the seventh, or Li the flower would seem a bit off…”
Li Mo gently squeezed Ice Chunk’s delicate hand and whispered:
“Speak, say something.”
It seemed Ying Bing was just about to say something, when she blurted out:
“I hope to win against him tonight.”
