“Just show up, no need to bring anything.”
“Ah, Little Friend Ke, please don’t say that. This is just an old man’s humble token of appreciation.”
Murong Hai’s gift was straightforward enough.
He was relieved that his grandson had a good, pure nature and got along well with this Little Friend Ke.
Little Friend Ke was definitely stronger than those heirs from the big sects in the Eastern Wilderness.
“There’s one more thing I need to ask of you.”
Ke Mo suddenly spoke up.
“Feel free to say whatever!”
Murong Hai was just afraid Ke Mo wouldn’t have any requests.
…
A moment later.
Murong Hai led Ke Mo to the training grounds within the estate.
Plenty of young family members were working out there. Upon seeing their patriarch, they all stopped and paid their respects.
In the center of the training ground, stood a coral stone three men high.
“This is the Whale Breath Coral Stone, quite the rare item in the Eastern Wilderness.”
“The only merit of this item is its solidity, and it changes color based on the force applied. After special processing, it can be used to test attack strength.”
Murong Hai introduced, pointing at the coral stone.
“Oh, that’s interesting,” said Ke Mo as he reached out to touch the rough rock.
“I’ve never used one before.”
Murong Xiao was eager to give it a try. His strength had always been too low to make the Whale Breath Coral Stone change color before.
Here goes nothing!
He gathered his strength, tensed his body, and like a cannonball, delivered a punch that seemed to hint at a few forge hammering techniques.
Bang—
A dull thud echoed.
The dark coral stone immediately turned a shade of red, over eighty percent of its surface covered.
“Xiao’er’s punch is almost on par with the Energy bl**d Realm’s Ten Meridians,” Murong Hai nodded in satisfaction.
“Red means Energy bl**d Realm…” Ke Mo nodded slightly.
He currently lacked a comprehensive understanding of his own strength.
This was the perfect opportunity to test it out.
“Old man Murong, I’m not going to break this coral stone, right?”
“Little Friend need not worry,” Murong Hai chuckled. “Even if I went full force, I couldn’t damage it.”
“Then that’s good,” Ke Mo nodded.
Without using any techniques, he unleashed a simple punch, and in the air, a distinct sonic boom was heard.
Boom—
The coral rock didn’t budge an inch.
But the red color filled up swiftly, and then, a layer of green emerged at the bottom.
“This must be due to soaking in the Phoenix bl**d Pool, coupled with the extra meridians in my body, giving my Energy bl**d power a boost,” Ke Mo pondered.
“Whoa, Ke’s true legacy must be the Energy bl**d Realm, he didn’t even use any internal breath just now.”
“That punch was equivalent to an attack strength at the initial stage of the Internal Breath Jade Liquid Realm?”
“How can he be so strong?”
The members of the Murong family watching couldn’t help but gawk.
Their own Murong Xiao, blessed with half-demon bl**d, didn’t possess such strength.
“Little Friend Ke surely has divine power,” Murong Hai remained calm.
Compared to Little Friend Ke’s jaw-dropping talent, having a little extra strength hardly mattered.
But that wasn’t all.
“Let’s try adding the Extreme Soldier Physique,” Ke Mo’s powerful, sharp killing intent spread out.
The onlookers felt like he had transformed into a divine weapon, their hairs standing on end, as if a sharp sword was hovering above them.
Boom—
Another strike.
Sparks flew, and a wave of air rolled forth, the sound of metal colliding resonating for ages.
Dust from the ceiling started to flutter down.
Once the smoke cleared…
Only… half of the Whale Breath Coral Stone had turned green.
“An Energy bl**d Realm explosive strength, reaching the Internal Breath Jade Liquid Realm?”
The large training ground fell instantly silent.
“Xiao’er.”
It took Murong Hai a long while to regain his composure.
“Hmm?” Murong Xiao closed his gaping mouth.
“Did you not say that Little Friend Ke is most adept at sword techniques?”
Setting
—
Nighttime.
In a courtyard.
Li Mo shook off the dust from his clothes before pushing the door open.
He didn’t bother trying again.
Knowing himself fully was enough.
Martial arts are built on one’s own strength, and adding enhancements was just icing on the cake.
He didn’t need to test to know that.
“With a decent hammer…”
“I should be able to fight with the Internal Breath Xuan Dan Realm now?”
Just a tiny question mark over that.
Though he knew his full power could match that of the Internal Breath Xuan Dan Realm.
He simply hadn’t reached that level yet, and wasn’t sure if there were other methods involved.
Besides, the Whale Breath Coral Stone was, after all, an inanimate object—living beings wouldn’t stand there for him to hit.
But then again, once he fully mastered the Energy bl**d Realm, it would be a different story.
At that point, he might just have a killer move.
Once his strength was sufficient, he could bring out the Cataclysmic Heart Hammer, and even a feeble strike would not be something the Internal Breath Realm could withstand.
“So… does that mean I’m really strong now?”
Li Mo smirked, putting his hands behind his head and lounging back on the bed.
Staring at the ceiling, he couldn’t help but drift off in thought.
Fighting above one’s weight, that’s the kind of treatment reserved for the Children of Destiny.
Little Li is not just an ordinary person anymore; surely he’s not worse off than those big sect disciples, right?
Suddenly.
He remembered that old man Murong had given him a gift.
So, he opened the wooden box at his bedside.
Inside, there was nothing that strayed into Little Li’s blind spots of knowledge.
A pill with four patterns on it.
A chunk of dark wood that carried a pleasant aroma. It’s called wood, but it looked more like jade given its sheen, even with a wooden texture.
And a booklet.
Li Mo had little interest in the pill, gave it a glance, then picked up the piece of wood instead.
“Not quite sure what it is, but this should be a rare item that nourishes the Consciousness Soul.”
“Such things are usually pretty hard to find,”
As Li Mo toyed with the wood, he felt an extraordinary sense of relaxation wash over him.
Murong, the old man, likely pulled this from the depths of his stash!
But for now, he had no use for this item…
“Wait a minute.”
“Isn’t Xiao Qian’s senior brother around that old man?”
Little Li’s novel instincts flared up again.
Old men are typically found as consciousness entities.
In this world, they would match the concept of a Consciousness Soul.
It’s common knowledge that if an old man has been asleep for so long, he must be in urgent need of this item.
“I could use it to invest in Senior Brother Xiao.”
“Having an old man with me…”
Li Mo toyed with the wooden piece, his mind clear.
Suddenly, a long-standing question that had been bothering him flashed with insight at that moment.
“Right!”
“Old man!”
Li Mo’s clever brain hatched a brilliant idea.
He has a little world.
And he can bring entities weaker than himself into the world seed.
For instance, Jiang Chulong.
If he found an item and infused it with the aura of the world seed, no matter where the person was, they would be able to enter the world seed.
As the arbiter of the world seed, this was definitely feasible.
Then…
Couldn’t he essentially become Jiang Chulong’s ‘portable old man’?
“I’m really a genius!”
No time to waste.
Li Mo rummaged through some items and eventually selected a ring.
The Ancient Intent Ring.
It had an ancient, exquisite design, not like anything from this time period. Overall, it looked pretty impressive, and if sold as an antique, it could fetch a good price.
The key was, it was sturdy, likely made from some rare metal not commonly seen today.
“Let’s open a side door…”
Li Mo held the Ancient Intent Ring and reached out to connect with the world seed.
