The sun outside the window poured its warm glow onto the young man lounging in the deck chair.
He slowly opened his eyes, and in the sunlight, every speck of dust seemed to dance like a tiny particle, as if he could peer through their facade and grasp their essence.
The sun had just risen again.
Ke Mo descended from the loft, squinting slightly at the bright rays.
He felt invigorated, as if he knew every inch of his body inside and out.
In the rice field, two black grains seemed to pulse like celestial bodies, inhaling and exhaling internal energy.
Perhaps, this couldn’t even be called internal energy anymore.
Ke Mo arrived at the dining table:
“Master, how long did I sleep?”
Shang Wu, who was casually crossing her legs while checking the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths leaderboard, stared wide-eyed:
“Precious disciple, you’ve finally awoken! You’ve been out for a whole month!”
Ke Mo: “!”
He felt like he’d been swept away in the river of time, completely oblivious to its passage.
Had it really been this long outside?!
Ying Bing shot a sidelong glance at Shang Wu and softly said:
“Just this afternoon.”
Shang Wu squinted, grinning: “Silly disciple, why do you believe me so easily?”
“….. I’m going to cook now.”
Ke Mo figured he might have overestimated his master’s seriousness.
After his enlightenment, he noticed, aside from the boost in physical strength, the scenery before him had changed too.
There were still a lot of new sensations he hadn’t gotten around to exploring.
But dinner was approaching.
Time to take care of that investment first.
In the kitchen, he picked the best ingredients and sliced them up for later use.
Just as he was about to heat some oil, he felt a twitch in the corner of his eye.
In his line of sight, a fly was flapping its wings, seemingly about to land on the veggies.
Smack—
A toothpick shot through the fly’s wings, pinning it to the wall.
“How odd.”
While stir-frying, Ke Mo muttered to himself.
Just moments ago, he’d visualized all potential trajectories of the fly’s movement?
Was this some kind of bonus from his enlightenment?
He felt clarity blossom within.
As he cooked, every drop of seasoning, each bubbling oil droplet, and every piece of meat was astonishingly vivid.
“What’s cooking tonight? It smells amazing!”
“Yikes, it’s just spicy pepper stir-fry.”
“You didn’t add anything weird to it, did you?”
“Hmm, it’s quite tasty.”
Little Ke Mo’s cooking skills had indeed improved.
He even earned the approval of both Ying Bing and Shang Wu.
He hurriedly shoveled down a couple of bites before picking up the Crimson Sky Sword and began practicing his sword techniques like nobody was watching.
Every sword move he’d ever practiced sprang to mind.
In one smooth flow.
Every strike and style was crystal clear in his mind.
Gradually, he progressed from basic techniques to advanced ones, finally reaching the pinnacle known as the “Sun Wheel Sword Classic.”
Suddenly.
Tian Shuang rushed in from the side.
It was Ying Bing.
Her gaze was as calm as ever, but Little Ke Mo could sense her silent meaning:
“Practice.”
Guided by Ying Bing.
He felt a tingle in his brow, and countless martial arts insights he’d amassed—along with memories of practicing sword-fighting with Little Princess Jiang and Ice Girl—flooded back.
The Sun Wheel Sword Classic was approaching completion.
Ke Mo let out a soft sigh of relief, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Look at that.
Setting aside the trivial martial arts insights.
I, Little Ke, am on the verge of mastering a supreme sword technique at sixteen (well, almost).
Self-proclaimed swordsmanship genius, who’s with me, who’s against me?
“You’ve awakened?”
Ying Bing sheathed her sword, her eyes flickering slightly.
Earlier, she had suspected something, but she confirmed it when they exchanged moves.
“Uh, it’s just that the world shifted this afternoon.”
Clearing his throat, Ke Mo added:
“When the sun and moon swapped places, my heart nearly shook apart, and then I fainted.”
A gentle reminder: the top right corner has options to switch between traditional and simplified characters, adjust font size, and change background color.
“By the time I woke up, I realized I was enlightened.”
He couldn’t just say he got dizzy looking at Ice Girl’s picture, right?
As everyone knows, Little Li is an honest gentleman.
Unless the truth is even more outrageous.
“…..”
Ying Bing’s eyes glimmered slightly.
There hadn’t been cases before of awakening without the Observation Diagram, but still…
A solar eclipse, switching day to night—if this had occurred in a past life, she certainly would have some memory of it.
“Not bad, my precious disciple, you’ve got my style.”
Shang Wu gave a thumbs up in praise.
She too, had gotten tipsy one night, then awakened with enlightenment.
“Master, you flatter me….”
Before Li Mo could finish, Shang Wu interrupted:
“Your awakening comes at a good time. Just so happens, we have a bit of trouble brewing.”
“Huh?”
“Yin Huaxuan has somehow managed to escape like a cicada shedding its shell, and the sect has already sealed off the area. He must still be hiding within.”
Shang Wu huffed, clearly annoyed.
She had almost finished off Yin Huaxuan herself; blame Qian Bufan for keeping him alive for questioning.
“Yin Huaxuan escaped?”
Li Mo wrinkled his brow.
Even a foot soldier could tell that the former elder of the Precious Beast Peak would love nothing more than to slice him into a thousand pieces.
“Right, the sect leader says all disciples at the Observation Realm and above must team up to search for his trail.”
“Since you’ve awakened, you count as part of the Observation Realm now.”
Shang Wu shrugged.
Li Mo: “…..”
What a coincidence, huh?
Thus, Little Li went on to report to the External Affairs Hall.
Ying Bing lowered her gaze, the silhouette of the young man stepping outside caught her eye.
She hadn’t expected Li Mo to awaken even earlier than her.
And just a day before the system rankings were updated.
Ying Bing wasn’t worried about the rankings.
She would also reach enlightenment tonight, and then they’d both be at the same level.
What perplexed her were today’s peculiar changes in the world.
Why?
Why did the heavenly bodies suddenly dim, and the moon rise?
Even reborn, it shouldn’t result in such a dramatic shift in this world, right?
“The future of Nine Heavens and Ten Earths may be even more turbulent.”
“There will undoubtedly be more unpredictably bizarre happenings beyond my imagination…”
Ying Bing exhaled lightly as she stood up.
Only by becoming strong enough could she handle those changes.
“Little Ice Girl, where are you off to?”
“Practicing.”
“Don’t you want to try the Misty Flower Spring? The effects are fabulous!”
Shang Wu coaxed gently.
She figured soaking in a hot spring alone seemed incredibly dull.
Her precious disciple had to go out on a mission.
Ying Bing paused briefly.
After a moment’s silence, she turned back:
“How… effective is it?”
“First off, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth will speed things up a lot, and then… it also helps to soothe the consciousness soul.”
Shang Wu began to rattle off the benefits like a bamboo tube spilling beans.
………
On another note.
As Li Mo made his way to the External Affairs Hall, a notification tone rang in his ears, nearly causing him to trip over himself.
【Congratulations to the host, you have successfully invested in ‘Ying Bing’, allowing her to soak in the Misty Flower Spring and enhance her abilities.】
【Investment Feedback: Step Cloud Shoes.】
【Seven Star Step Cloud Shoes】: “Mid-grade mysterious weapon-grade boots, once worn by a legendary thief who shocked the world—they leave no trace on snow, and with energy from the Observation Realm, you can soar into the air!”
Li Mo: “!”
Stunned.
Forget about rewards for now.
Ice Girl’s going to soak in a hot spring?!
