“Little Li’s entrance ceremony results weren’t exactly stellar.”
Wanchun Courtyard, the most bustling tavern in the Imperial Capital, attracted plenty of viewers thanks to its charismatic storyteller and the accompanying comic illustrations. They were regaling the tale of the top ranker on the Qianlong List, which had everyone hooked.
“Is it true? Young Hero Li was weak and sickly at first, with poor talent?”
“His hammering talent must be something else, right?”
“Perhaps it’s that his unique bone quality was too rare for a small place like Ziyang Mansion to notice?”
“Why are you all so anxious? Let’s hear more from the storyteller.”
In the crowd, Xiao Qian and Murong Xiao played the role of supporters, rhythmically pacing the storytelling, while Ouyang sketched the scene of the stone staircase to the heavens.
Huang Donglai cleared his throat and continued, “Back then, Brother Li may have thought his talent was lacking, but he didn’t let it get him down. Instead, he persevered!”
“So, how did he persevere?” A curious middle-aged warrior asked, already counting his own fate as sealed.
But no one could deny that Young Hero Li was a role model worth emulating.
“First off, he lived with the Cold Fairy.”
Upon hearing Huang Donglai’s serious words, the crowd leaned back slightly. This didn’t seem particularly enlightening.
The Cold Fairy had broken through her limits with unrivaled talent, and everyone knew just how intimidating her interior realm was—completely off the charts and unfathomable.
“The truth behind this? To learn from the excellent, of course!”
“Simply put: cozying up to a beauty as stunning as a celestial fairy, whose strength is formidable and talent terrifying?”
“Well, if you have the talent, at least you shouldn’t complain about beauty… which exists in dreams, naturally.”
Everyone knew that approaching the Cold Fairy was as challenging as climbing a mountain of knives.
So, naturally, they were all curious about one thing.
One was an aloof, divine being who radiated coolness!
The other was someone with a less-than-ideal starting point in martial arts—quite ordinary, really!
These two seemed worlds apart, yet somehow, they ended up together, with even the emperor preparing to bless their union—was this a river?
The two had grown up together, entered the sect, and even lived together, which made sense. But what had happened later?
How had the sword hero managed to impress Ying Bing?
What on earth did he do to win her over?
Huang Donglai rekindled everyone’s curiosity with a smile, “Ladies and gentlemen, though I usually keep a low profile, as Brother Li’s good friend, I have a bit of insight into him.”
“Young Hero Li makes friends quite broadly…”
“That’s not the point! The point is Brother Li’s character—it’s his biggest highlight!”
With a thump on the table, Huang Donglai concluded, “In short, it boils down to one saying.”
“Be a good person, do good deeds, and good things will come to you!”
“Let me tell you about the trials at the Qingyuan Sect. Many outer disciples realized they had no hope left and were about to leave in shame. That’s when…”
“Did Young Hero Li help them pass the trials?”
“Not quite! Brother Li invited everyone to enjoy a few days at Ziyang Mansion’s biggest brothel.”
“Whoa! What a father figure!”
The crowd gasped in disbelief—Young Hero Li was way too generous.
If you had a friend who, upon seeing you at your lowest, rented out an entire brothel to treat you like royalty, what’s the value of that friendship?
“And that’s not all…”
Huang Donglai went on to recount every generous deed he knew of.
He made an indelible impact on the safety of Yunzhou by purchasing the Misty Rain Tower.
He had transformed into the Sky Flood Dragon to broker peace with the Monster Clan of the South Border, not to mention keeping the borders safe.
And let’s not forget the secret everyone didn’t know—that he borrowed a huge sum from Huang Donglai, a debt he still hadn’t repaid because he simply couldn’t afford it… and helped the disciples of the Floating Temple resist temptation, although that didn’t go too well…
He just kept talking while Ouyang kept drawing, his arm moving so fast it was like sparks were flying—he was drawing with pure passion, using several brushes at once like a musical conductor leading an orchestra.
What does it mean to paint with sound and color?
“Young Hero Li is truly a paragon of virtue.”
“What interests might such an upstanding person have?”
“It’s no wonder the Cold Fairy has eyes only for him.”
“In the trials of the heavens, he was the one who stood tall for her, proving he had the deepest love under Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.”
“What about the details? We want the juicy stuff! Does Mr. Huang know how they interact?”
As Wanchun Courtyard buzzed with chatter, Ouyang perked up, raising his voice, “You all asked the right person!”
“And you are…?”
“Let me just say, I’m the senior brother of both Brother Li and Sister Bing.”
Ouyang took a deep breath, projecting his voice, “Want to know what happens next? For all the details, check out ‘The Dominant Empress Fell for Me!'”
In an instant, the crowd flocked toward him, and the sales of the illustrated booklet skyrocketed.
And of course, many people love to boast about what others have no clue about.
Thus, after listening to Huang Donglai’s fantastic tales, while sipping two cups of wine without even touching the peanuts, they began to gossip like a rush of beans from a bamboo tube.
“Hey, guess what? Young Hero Li, back in the day, transformed into the fierce Sky Flood Dragon…”
“Pfft! What Sky Flood Dragon? He was clearly a True Dragon!”
“Hmph, there’s so much to say about Young Hero Li and the Cold Fairy—let me tell you, in the advance version of ‘The Dominant Empress Fell for Me,’ just don’t spill the beans to anyone…”
…
The Imperial Capital was lively, and Huang Donglai and his companions decided to take their leave.
After all that bravado, as the three ascended the stairs, their expressions shifted from animated storytelling to worry and urgency.
“Do you think the collective power we gathered for Brother Li will be effective?” Huang Donglai couldn’t help but ask.
“Amitabha, I’m not sure,” Murong Xiao sighed. “If we do nothing, Brother Li won’t survive without his adoptive mother’s support for more than three hours.”
“Let me tell you, if I were in his shoes, even my Golden Body wouldn’t last ten breaths…”
He was a cultivator too, but even he couldn’t fully grasp the terrifying extent of the injuries.
Just being near them made him feel a disturbing heart palpitations, a hint of potential collapse of his Golden Body.
Thanks to Brother Li’s astonishing physical resilience, however, there remained a glimmer of hope.
“Xiao brother, what did your master say?”
“Master said that the mystical items on Brother Li shatter with an impact greater than even the strongest techniques to refine one’s body. The pain from that would be unbearable for most, and the consciousness would shatter.”
“Brother Li bears this all because his inner world is unbelievably strong.”
Xiao Qian frowned, and after inquiring, his expression didn’t improve, “Master said that if it were him, there wouldn’t even be any remnant soul left.”
“This isn’t a wound that can be mended with medicine or stone. The little bit of collective power we gathered might just cover the basics, but it’s merely the power of the masses, not something of a higher order.”
“What?”
“Destiny of the dynasty!”
