Chapter 88
Just as he was about to pull his hand back, a sudden chill gripped his wrist.
She held on tightly.
Like a drowning person in the ocean clutching a lifeline.
"You..."
Li Mo wanted to ask how she was, but the words caught in his throat as he saw Ying Bing open her eyes.
What a complex gaze it was.
Confused?
Complicated?
Even a bit... helpless.
He had never seen Ying Bing show such an expression towards anything.
In the past, she had always been aloof and cold, as if nothing could truly touch her heart.
She seemed to always have a plan, fully aware of what she was doing.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
Li Mo had no idea what she had gone through, so he could only ask this.
Ying Bing took a deep breath and slightly loosened her grip.
The chill deep within her soul faded a little.
If it weren't for him, how could she have let her guard down last night?
But it was also he who pulled her out of that dream.
"Were you doing it on purpose yesterday?"
After a long pause, Ying Bing's voice came softly.
During their match, Li Mo had clearly not shown any strength beyond hers.
That could only mean he was holding back.
Ying Bing had once experienced the art of concealing her strength.
Li Mo: "!"
So she was still tangled up in what happened yesterday?
And was she sulking over it?
Something felt off!
Was this really the same Ying Bing? Why was she acting so strange today?
"Sorry."
Li Mo smiled awkwardly.
Ying Bing lowered her gaze.
He had admitted it.
He had indeed held back during their match.
"Why?"
"....."
Li Mo fell silent at the question.
He had just been careless; there was no reason behind it.
If he had to find a reason...
"Because of the hammer."
Li Mo pulled out the Xingzi Chui from his sleeve.
"The Panjie Meteor Hammer?"
Ying Bing blurted out.
A divine weapon?
No... it only looked the part, lacking any true essence.
It was just a mysterious weapon, a replica.
Li Mo: "!"
How did she know?
Hadn't they agreed that day at the Divine Weapon Peak that this matter must not be known to a fourth person?
Could it be... Master?
Thinking of Shang Wu, Li Mo suddenly understood.
It must have been that day when Master had too much to drink and inadvertently let something slip.
Li Mo sighed and said, "The Panjie Meteor Hammer is indeed with me; please don't tell anyone else."
"I had no other choice, so I hope you won't mind..."
After all, Ying Bing wasn't an outsider; knowing was just knowing.
"A last resort..."
Ying Bing seemed to ponder, her eyes flickering as if the fog in her heart was lifting.
It seemed she understood.
That day, the commotion at the Divine Blade Cave was because the Panjie Meteor Hammer had recognized its master.
That master was Li Mo.
A divine weapon, of course, couldn't be easily revealed.
"Can you wield the divine weapon?" Ying Bing asked seriously.
"With some effort."
"Unless it's a matter of life and death, let's not."
Li Mo shrugged helplessly.
If he were at the peak of his Qi and Blood realm, he could at most channel the power of a seed of the world for a brief moment; if he tried to sustain it longer, he would exhaust himself and even get hurt.
"No wonder... no wonder..."
Ying Bing understood.
The system ranked based on combat power.
Here, combat power did not include external items.
For example, if someone had a powerful hidden weapon that could only be used once, that weapon wouldn't count as part of their combat power.
Li Mo was the master of the divine weapon and could barely wield it.
Naturally, the divine weapon counted as part of his combat power.
The might of a divine weapon...
Ying Bing recalled the scene from her past life when Shang Wu wielded the Panjie Meteor Hammer; one strike could topple mountains, like a meteor falling from the sky.
That kind of power was beyond human capability.
Could she withstand it?
The answer was certainly no.
No matter how invincible she was in her realm, or how she fought above her level, she could never withstand the might of a divine weapon at the Inner Breath realm.
But... wielding a divine weapon at the Qi and Blood realm?
Wasn't that a fantasy?
She couldn't understand how he managed to do it.
However, this was akin to exploiting a loophole in the system.
As long as she couldn't withstand the divine weapon, she would be at Li Mo's mercy.
"Now that we've cleared the air, let's eat."
"Mm..."
Ying Bing had faced far greater challenges in her life.
She wasn't afraid of difficulties; she feared the unknown.
As long as she understood the reason, it was fine.
Divine weapons wouldn't grow, but her own realm was ever-changing.
If she could earn a reward from the system...
[Reminder: Today is the first day of the Loser's Punishment.]
[Please strictly adhere to the punishment requirements.]
For the first time, Ying Bing found the food tasteless.
That strange feeling in her heart surged again, refusing to fade away.
Sharing a bed... for a month...
---
Chapter 85: Shang Wu's Special Teaching
"You should sleep in my room from now on."
Li Mo suddenly said.
Clang—
Along with his words, the bowl and chopsticks in Ying Bing's hands shattered on the icy floor.
Li Mo was taken aback and helplessly said, "Look at this; can anyone even live here?"
"......"
Ying Bing said nothing, her gaze falling on the scene in the room.
It was a complete mess.
Even the bed she slept on was propped up by the still-frozen ice; once it melted, it would surely collapse.
"You can move to the next room; the guest room is quite comfortable."
Li Mo added.
"Mm."
Ying Bing nodded, picked up another pair of chopsticks, and began to eat slowly, her movements slightly stiff.
Li Mo had no idea what had happened to her, nor did he know what to say.
Perhaps she just wanted some quiet?
---
The afternoon was only half over.
Ying Bing had moved to another room to continue her silence, not wanting to talk or practice.
However, Shang Wu returned first, her beautiful face radiating confidence.
"Master, did you come back from the library?" Li Mo asked.
"Mm."
Shang Wu nodded enthusiastically, as if she had grasped some profound truth.
"Have you thought about what you want to teach me?" Li Mo raised an eyebrow.
It made sense; their master was so young yet held a position among the elders, with profound skills—she was indeed a dragon among people.
She just lacked teaching methods.
"According to a book I read, a master should teach their disciple what they excel at."
Shang Wu raised her chin.
"Exactly," Li Mo agreed.
"I thought about it, and what I excel at is just three things."
Shang Wu held up three fingers.
Li Mo adopted a listening posture.
Then he heard her proudly declare:
"Fighting, drinking, and gambling."
Li Mo: "....."
Well, there wasn't really anything wrong with that.
But it felt so strange to him.
"The book also said that teaching should be done through action, so let's start with the first one."
Shang Wu looked at Li Mo, her almond eyes narrowing, a smirk on her lips:
"Come on, let's spar."
"When we fight, I'll teach you what you need to know."
Li Mo: "?"
What a way to teach by example.
"Can we skip the fighting?"
"No way, I have to be a qualified master."
"Wait!"
"What now?"
"Before we start, could you please tell me where that book is in the library..."
Li Mo swore he wanted to burn that book.
Shang Wu's narrowed eyes sparkled:
"I'll tell you after we finish."
"....."
Li Mo fell silent, a small flame igniting in his eyes.
Although their master was known among the elders as the innate fighting saint, feared in Qingyuan Sect, capable of stopping a child's night cries, he wasn't weak himself, right?
After all, he had once sparred with the Chosen One!
And last night, he had even broken through to the Inner Breath realm, stronger than ever.
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