Chapter 441
Growing up in the palace, the men she encountered were all surrounded by wives and concubines. Her father, the emperor, had a harem with three palaces and six courtyards. Among the officials who attended court, which family had only one humble wife? Those were the ones to be laughed at.
"Is that so…"
Li Mo seemed to recall something, but it felt vaguely off.
"Hehe, I knew it..." Princess Yu Yang was like a proud swan, thinking to herself that this was indeed a setup.
Only when one has thoughts in their heart do they bother to scheme.
She had already envisioned the future, asking her father for an imperial decree to take Li Mo as her husband.
But a husband cannot take concubines.
What kind of expression would that woman have?
"Were you just hammering iron in the furnace next to mine? It seems you didn’t do so well."
"?"
The expression on Princess Yu Yang's face froze, and her gaze toward Li Mo turned impatient. If he weren't so dazzling, she would have scoffed and walked away long ago.
"Enough, Li Shaoxia. I'm not some sheltered young lady who knows nothing of the world. If you keep this up, I'm really getting a bit annoyed."
"Uh, I must have mistaken you for someone else. We might have met, but I really don’t know you."
Li Mo realized where the problem lay.
What ordinary girl would refer to herself as 'this palace'? At that moment, he also remembered where he had seen the woman across from him.
"Since we’ve met, how can you say you don’t recognize this palace?"
Princess Yu Yang's eyes widened slightly.
More than not being recognized, her proud nature could not accept being seen but not remembered.
"It’s quite normal to meet someone and not recognize them."
Li Mo offered an awkward yet polite smile:
"I’ve even met Emperor Wu of the Great Ancestor, and he didn’t know who I was either."
"Well, now you can get to know me. I really like the weapons you forge."
Princess Yu Yang took a deep breath, holding back her anger.
Murong Xiao lowered his voice and said, "Li brother, I could tell at a glance that this woman isn’t good news. She’s trying to challenge your weak spot."
"Thanks, but she probably doesn’t like you. It’s hot down here; you should go up where it’s cooler."
Li Mo rolled his eyes, shifting his gaze to the stage.
"Miss, you should leave first."
"Bald donkey, get lost!"
"…Sigh, Amitabha."
Murong Xiao shook his head and murmured a Buddhist chant, his kind heart prompting him to speak up.
This princess, do you even know what you’re doing?
He quietly stepped back a couple of paces, fearing that blood might splatter on him.
Princess Yu Yang glared at Li Mo, her fists clenched. She had never been so ignored before and was about to say something more.
Clang—
Suddenly, the sound of a sword ringing out pierced the air, a chill sweeping through the square, cutting through the lingering warmth.
"Han Xianzi is about to test her sword!" someone shouted.
In an instant, the vast square fell silent. The cool girl standing in the center seemed to have been there for a long time, or perhaps she had just arrived.
With her sword held aloft, her hair tied up high, even though it was evening, her presence brought forth the moonlight ahead of time.
The tip of her sword moved lightly, and the past sword techniques, the forms of observing birds, were all intertwined in this moment by the moonlight.
Ying Bing looked down at the boy, her excessively beautiful eyes dark yet bright.
"I really like swords."
Li Mo inexplicably understood what the ice princess wanted to say.
But soon, his attention was drawn to the extraordinary, mysterious sword light.
A line of poetry involuntarily surfaced in his mind:
"Once there was a beauty from the Gongsun clan, her dance with the sword stirred the four corners."
"Onlookers like mountains felt disheartened, as heaven and earth bowed low for a long time."
Princess Yu Yang found herself at a loss for words. When her gaze fell upon the person on the stage, it seemed an invisible force choked her, rendering all words meaningless.
Han Xianzi could have simply gone through the motions.
But she didn’t.
She wanted everyone to see the weapon she had just forged with her own hands, to witness the heart and soul she had poured into it.
At Tianshan Sword Manor, aside from blacksmiths, there were swordsmen, and the swordsmen were more renowned.
After all, this place had replaced Hengyun Sword City as the holy land of swordsmanship.
Yet, at this moment, not a single voice was heard.
The martial arts displayed were otherworldly, mysterious, and unfathomable. These eight words might sound like exaggerated embellishments.
But what if they weren’t just adjectives?
Aside from the three heroes of Hengyun and those familiar with Li Mo and Ying Bing, like Xiao Qin and Huang Donglai, the other young geniuses attending the Qianlong List were on the verge of having their worldviews shattered.
How could they be on the same list as her?
This was Qianlong!?
But their mentors were sweating profusely too!
"If she breaks through again, I wonder if I can still fight with my ancestor's sword."
Xie Xuan wiped his sweat.
Whoosh—
The aura of the moon suddenly surged, the moonlight shining brightly!
Xie Xuan: "??"
Did his mouth just open up?
"Ice princess is about to break through…"
Li Mo smiled at her, his bright eyes reflecting the stunning figure of the ice princess.
Finally, he didn’t have to worry about her; making it into the top three was a sure thing…
"Li Mo."
Ying Bing finished her sword dance, gripping her sword tightly as she walked over.
Just then, the first sliver of moonlight rose in the dusk.
The girl gazed at him quietly, her aura gradually strengthening.
"I’ve thought of a name for it. How about 'Taibai'?"
"That’s indeed white."
Li Mo looked at the radiant, jade-like ice princess and nodded earnestly.
"Aren’t you going to ask why?" Ying Bing shot him a playful glance.
Li Mo was taken aback: "Why?"
"Taibai is the star closest to the moon."
As she sheathed her sword, Ying Bing walked to Li Mo's side, lowering her gaze and saying:
"You still don’t have a weapon."
"Who knew there were so many craftsmen, and not a single one could forge a weapon?" Li Mo spread his hands.
"I have a way."
"Right, Ice Sister and I will go to the Sword Tomb and ask Grandpa Whitebeard for a solution."
Jiang Chuchong adjusted her sunglasses coolly.
Li Mo was stunned.
The ice princess had known all along that he might end up without a weapon for the competition?
Was this part of her plan?
"Just in time, I’ve broken through as expected. This method… is feasible."
Ying Bing’s frosty beauty concealed a hint of gentle smile.
"What method?"
"You’ll know soon."
They spoke as if no one else was around.
In the Sword Furnace Square, everyone else remained in a daze, still waking from a dream.
...
P.S.: The electric shock therapy is incredibly effective. Thanks to the audience, please support with more power, heh heh -3-.
---
Chapter 491: The Divine Sword of Heaven and Man
Three great suns had already sunk halfway below the horizon of the imperial capital, the afterglow painting the city in a magnificent hue, while the moon had risen.
It was the time when the sun and moon shared the sky.
Yet at this moment, the Sword Furnace Square made it almost impossible to feel the presence of the sun.
This was the domain of the moon.
"Is she going to break through here?"
Everyone's breath caught as the divine intent of the moon manifested, many releasing their own divine senses.
For that divine intent was mysterious, profound, noble, and chilling.
Within the inner scene, if one did not release their divine sense, they could hardly see or understand what was happening at this moment.
This phenomenon hardly resembled a breakthrough in the realm of divine observation.
"With the Qianlong Conference approaching, why would she choose to break through now, under the gaze of so many?"
"Li Mo, you really like swords, don’t you?" Ying Bing's tone was as gentle and clear as her current expression.
"Of course, um... I like hammers too."
Li Mo first comforted his hammer treasure, not understanding why the ice princess suddenly looked so serious, but he still voiced his thoughts:
"Hammers and swords are like life and dreams. Swordsmen are so cool, but unfortunately, not everyone has the talent to realize their ideals..."
Little Li the Tyrant occasionally envied those swordsmen.
After all, strength is one thing, but being cool is a lifetime affair...
Unfortunately, no one mentioned his swordsman title anymore; whenever he was brought up, it was always about hammers, especially today when he showcased his hammer treasure.
The title of swordsman would probably be completely bid farewell to him...
Ying Bing looked down and smiled lightly:
"Then I’ll help you realize it, how about that?"
"How will you do that?"
"I’ll go get you a good sword."
Ying Bing's clear voice lingered in his ears.
As Li Mo stood there in a daze, he suddenly saw the moonlight shining brightly, emanating from the divine pattern at her brow, bathing in the moonlight, rapidly becoming more solid.
There were no life-and-death crises, no so-called bottlenecks.
She had broken through.
The moon seemed to suddenly lower, just for her, and the distant distance between heaven and earth felt less far away in a daze.
Li Mo stared blankly at her in the moonlight, her figure seemingly coalescing into the moonlight itself.
Table of Contents
