Ding——
Ding——
The sound of a hammer striking iron echoed from the wooden hut, where a young man wielded a forging hammer, rhythmically pounding away at farm tools over the anvil, sparks flying everywhere.
His muscles were well-defined, sweat pouring down, his whole body illuminated by the glow of the furnace like a walking sunset.
“Hey, Little Li! I’ve messed up this sickle; can you fix it for me?”
In the midst of his work, an old farmer stumbled in, dragging his tools behind him.
Taking the sickle, Li Mo grasped the hammer and suddenly had an epiphany.
“I’ve crossed over…”
“I’ve become the apprentice blacksmith in Great King Village, and my master entrusted the shop to me before he kicked the bucket.”
“Great King Village is on the edge of Human City, so it’s not exactly safe. Occasionally, disasters from outside the walls sneak in, and that’s how my master met his end.”
“Thankfully, I have a natural talent for forging; it’s like I was born to do it! If there were no blacksmith, the village would be in trouble.”
Li Mo had forgotten his previous life.
But only for the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
He felt something was off; if they called it a soul transfer, he looked just like his past self. If it was a body transfer, then why was his memory so blank?
The only similarity? They were both as plain and unremarkable.
Oh, besides his forging talent…
Thank goodness for this skill—otherwise, as a proud transmigrator, dying of starvation would really be embarrassing.
…..
“?”
Watching the little tyrant working hard in the blacksmith shop, a bustling hub of activity, eyebrows raised all around.
Outside the Imperial Capital, there was a hush, accompanied by a bunch of question marks floating above people’s heads.
“I’ve seen the Heavenly Trials three times, but I’ve never seen anyone born in Human City…”
“This reincarnation method is a bit too crude.”
“Isn’t Young Hero Li the number one on the Qianlong List? His talent shouldn’t be any less than the Cold Fairy, right?”
“Did something go wrong during the process?”
They hadn’t played many games before, so they couldn’t quite explain how seeing someone born in Human City felt.
It was like an NPC randomly spawning in a game.
No strength, no status, not even a dime to their name.
“This means the Heavenly Trials have little to do with Li Mo, right?”
Just as the grand celebration wrapped up, beneath the canopy, people looked at the sky with shock, disappointment, and confusion.
Tu Yan raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling that he didn’t shine quite as brightly as before.
In fact, it was a bit disappointing.
The map of the nation was tied to the Heavenly Path, reflected in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and everyone under its shadow remained locked in place, that was common knowledge.
So, was this really Li Mo’s original state?
Tu Yan found it hard to believe.
But if you asked her whether she believed in the Heavenly Path or in Li Mo, she’d obviously choose the former.
So, she decided not to waste any more time on Li Mo. By the looks of it, he just got lucky thanks to the Cold Fairy, ascending to greatness while the rest of the village remained in mediocrity.
Being the number one on the Qianlong List was probably just Ying Bing’s doing.
“Is the dog emperor trying to pull off some shady business?”
Shang Wu thumped her waist with a huff. “If he’s not going to be an emperor, I guess I’ll have to lend him a hand.”
“Exactly!”
Just then, a familiar yet strange voice chimed in.
Shang Wu turned her head, and there stood a familiar face—Shang Qin Qing.
“Hey, Little Qingluan! You’re not bald anymore; all your hair has grown back!” This was Shang Wu’s quirky style of greeting.
“It’s been thousands of years; of course, it’s grown back.”
Shang Qin Qing huffed, knowing Shang Wu’s personality and choosing to ignore it.
Besides, they were on the same side now.
“Little Ice Girl is in the City of Heaven, and Little Mo is in Human City. I was hoping they’d forget the past and bring me some fresh gossip, but now I can’t even see them. How am I supposed to gossip?”
“Absolutely! Little Qingluan, let’s plot something big together! I appoint you as a prince, equal to the emperor.”
Setup
Traditional Simplified
“Well, what about you?”
“I’ll be the Supreme Emperor.”
“??”
Everyone around looked at them with disbelief, quietly stepping back, pretending they hadn’t heard such rebellious nonsense.
Only Qin Yuzhi dared to step closer.
“Hold on, Little Ice Girl may have left the City of Heaven, likely looking for Little Mo.”
“That kid, Li Mo, has always struck me as odd. Now that he’s incarnated in Human City, it’s not too surprising. Shang Wu, you should know your apprentice well; have some faith in him.”
“Faith, of course, I have.”
Shang Wu said solemnly, taking a couple of guilty sips of her drink.
Hearing that there might be a chance to gossip, Clan Leader Shang stopped causing a ruckus.
But just then, something changed in the map of the nation.
Several massive forms appeared on the horizon, the size of houses, obviously heading toward the village.
It was hard to describe what kind of creatures they were. The leading one was covered in green scales, had a snake’s body, but sported human arms, capable of wielding weapons. Its head was a bizarre combination of human and snake features, complete with five facial features and sharp fangs, crowned with a set of fierce fins.
They looked like demon beasts, clearly lacking intelligence, and weren’t very bright.
It was as if they were the physical shells of demon beasts, driven by primal instincts.
Their strength was not particularly threatening to the martial practitioners present in the Imperial Capital; they had little interest in even looking at them, but for the little village on the edge of Human City? It was a disaster waiting to happen.
The strongest in that village was just in the bl**d Qi realm.
“Luck is terrible; being born in Human City, I’m practically a regular Joe.”
“Don’t say he’ll get kicked out by some little goon right off the bat!”
The crowd buzzed again.
Some had been waiting for Li Mo to burst into greatness.
But if the number one on the Qianlong List entered the Trials and got eliminated because of his initial weaknesses, that would be too dramatic.
But it was certain.
Right now, Li Mo was just an ordinary blacksmith in Human City.
Huang Donglai searched for him but couldn’t find any sign of the guy, even the usually calm person began to feel agitated.
Looking at the others, Zhong Zhenyue, Xiao Qian, and Murong Xiao all wore worried expressions.
…..
Boom!
Several houses collapsed, screams and roars drowned out the hammering sound.
Li Mo paused, his hammer mid-air, and the farmer next to him turned pale.
The farmer’s granddaughter, who had been playing outside, was already frozen in fear, sitting on the ground.
Because one of those terrifying creatures had just passed by.
It was that half-man, half-snake creature.
“Little Li, I’m too old to run; you have to get away fast.”
The farmer pulled his granddaughter in, hope glimmering on his face.
He probably hoped that the strapping young Li Mo would save them both, but when it comes to life and d*ath, who would want to carry a kid? He couldn’t say that.
“You and the girl should stay here.”
Hearing Li Mo’s words, the farmer’s face fell.
Just as he was about to sigh, he saw Li Mo step outside with determination.
“I’ll draw its attention; you two find the right moment to escape.”
“Thank you!”
“I got this.”
Li Mo was surprised by his own decision.
Why did he make up his mind so quickly? He didn’t know, only a voice echoed in his mind, drowning out all other emotions.
That voice said.
He excels at overcoming the strong with the weak.
“Running with a child? Nah, it’s better to lure the monster away; I can run faster alone.”
Li Mo gave himself a reason, grabbing the forging hammer and stepping out of the door.
