Is My Childhood Sweetheart the Future Empress?

Eastern Wasteland, Purple Sun Prefecture.

Under the bright light of day, the official road was bustling with the noise of carriages and horses. A caravan of over a hundred people and a dozen carriages was galloping along at full speed.

A young man dressed in silk lifted the carriage curtain, his face pale as he tried to catch a few breaths of fresh air.

"Hoo..."

"Traveling long distances in ancient times is truly a death sentence, cough."

The young man had barely lifted the curtain before he was choked by the rising dust, causing him to cough twice.

"Young Master, we still have two days of travel before we reach the Clear Abyss Sect," the steward driving the carriage said with a fawning smile.

After saying this, he added cautiously, "Our mansion's carriage is already the most comfortable one for travel."

"Fine."

Li Mo replied, sighing inwardly.

High-speed rail and airplanes were certainly more comfortable.

Two days ago, he had broken through the mystery of the womb and awakened the memories of his past life.

The place he lived in his previous life was called Blue Star, a world with advanced modern technology.

Great Yu was different.

This was a world where everyone revered the martial path, and great power belonged to the individual.

He was now sixteen years old. Before he could fully enjoy the leisurely life of a wealthy ancient household, his father had shoved him onto a carriage to head to the Clear Abyss Sect, one of the three great sects of Purple Sun Prefecture, to participate in the entrance examination.

"Martial arts, huh..."

Li Mo revealed a look of yearning as he gazed at the three suns hanging high in the sky.

On the road, he had heard from other youths heading to the Clear Abyss Sect that in this world's martial path, "humanoid gundams" like his father were merely at the stubborn bronze level.

Legend had it that the three suns in the sky were the incarnations of two Great Yu emperors.

This was not a myth or legend, but history with clear, documented records.

An hour later.

The sky turned dark.

The caravan, guarded by a security firm, slowly came to a stop at the Post House.

Just as Li Mo jumped off his carriage, the curtain of the carriage behind him was lifted as well.

The young girl wore indigo-colored cloth garments, her skin as delicate as white porcelain under the moonlight.

Her body, in the bloom of youth, was beginning to show a graceful silhouette, and she was nearly as tall as Li Mo.

Days of travel and the torment of illness had brought a touch of fragility to her elegant and noble face, yet she remained breathtakingly beautiful.

She was weary and weak, and though dressed in common clothes, the moment one laid eyes on her, one could believe that "the beauty of the six palaces pales in comparison" was not merely a figure of speech.

The girl's name surfaced in Li Mo's mind.

Ying Bing.

The Li Family and the Ying Family were family friends, having been in close contact since their grandfathers' generation.

By their generation, the elders of both families were even more intent on arranging a marriage between the juniors to bring the families even closer.

"Is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll tell the kitchen to prepare it."

Li Mo said casually.

The girl turned a deaf ear to him; her ice-mirror-like eyes didn't even glance at Li Mo as she walked past him into the Post House, leaving only a faint fragrance behind.

"Miss Ying has also suffered a tragedy in her family, so..."

"No need to make excuses for her. It was me who was too ridiculous in the past."

Li Mo felt helpless.

What a disaster.

How did he end up being such a brat after changing worlds?

Born into a wealthy family and spoiled by everyone, he had done his fair share of nonsense.

For instance, peeking at the little maidservants bathing, hiding firecrackers in the firewood pile...

A few years ago, a Calamity Beast entered the city, and the entire Ying family perished, leaving only Ying Bing. His father had let her settle in the Li Mansion first.

He had often bullied her on purpose, while simultaneously liking her in his heart.

It was a bit like a middle schooler who likes a girl and then deliberately pulls her hair, trying to attract her attention...

"As everyone knows, people whose entire families are sacrificed to the heavens are usually not simple."

As a fan of novels in his past life, Li Mo couldn't help but make the connection.

"Soup is here!"

The waiter came over with a tray, beaming with joy.

Li Mo's mouth twitched as he muttered, "I've lived two lifetimes now, how come I don't have a golden finger or something like that..."

"Hello, you do."

"Who's talking?"

Li Mo sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Young Master?" The butler looked on, bewildered. What kind of madness was the young master having now?

"It's nothing, probably just ringing in my ears."

Li Mo frowned, and just as he began to suspect he was suffering from auditory hallucinations, that voice resonated in the depths of his heart once more:

"Since you, the host, have asked so sincerely, this system has no choice but to appear."

Li Mo: "...?"

Does that mean if I hadn't asked, you weren't planning on coming out for the rest of my life?

Fine, that wasn't the point.

"System, what are you good for?"

"This system is the Investment Rebate System."

"The host may invest in any target. The stronger the 'Heavenly Mandate' of the investment target, the better the rewards obtained."

"If the investment target makes a major breakthrough, you may also receive additional rewards."

Li Mo raised an eyebrow slightly.

Any target?

"Then can I invest in myself?"

"The Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye has been issued to the host. Please judge for yourself whether there is investment value."

So that meant yes.

Just as Li Mo was thinking this, he suddenly felt something inexplicable in his mind—something he couldn't see or touch, yet it was undeniably there.

He didn't understand the profound nature of this thing, but he discovered he could utilize it.

However, those inexplicable pieces of information were obscure and difficult to grasp; they were neither sounds nor words.

Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye?

Li Mo furrowed his brows. He couldn't make heads or tails of this either.

The next moment, a panel suddenly appeared before him, as if it were undergoing a user-friendly adjustment.

[Name: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Root Bone: None.]
[Realm: Mortal.]
[Heavenly Mandate: Gray (Congenitally deficient, ill-fated)]
[Evaluation: Congenitally hollow, leading to a weak body and failing health. Not material for martial arts. Aside from being a bit handsome and having a good father, what else do you have, and what even are you?]
[Recent Encounter: Met this system.]

Li Mo: "..."

A bit too realistic.

It wasn't very polite, but he had to admit, there really wasn't any investment value to be found.

"Among those from the county heading to the Clear Abyss Sect together, there must be a few decent sprouts."

Li Mo lost his appetite for food and lifted his head.

A flash of obscurity crossed his eyes as he looked at his fellow townsmen resting and eating in the main hall.

[Name: He Yong]
[Age: 16]
[Root Bone: None.]
[Realm: Blood-Qi Realm, First Pulse.]
[Heavenly Mandate: White (Calamus-like stature)]
[Evaluation: One of the masses, a mere blade of grass or a mayfly, nothing worth mentioning.]
[Encounter: Born of a woodcutter; his travel expenses were borrowed from neighbors, and he is currently worrying about how to pay them back.]

[Name: Chen Xiaoyan]

[Age: 16]

[Root Bone: None.]

He glanced at the few people present; most possessed white-tier destiny, with at most a few green ones.

It was not until Li Mo cast his gaze toward the corner that a cyan-blue hue appeared before his eyes.

[Name: Wang Hu]

[Age: 16]

[Root Bone: Tiger Arms and Leopard Waist.]

[Realm: Blood-Qi Realm, Third Pulse.]

[Destiny: Cyan (Modest Talent)]

[Evaluation: Possesses modest talent. If he studies and trains diligently, he may achieve something in the future. However, he is narrow-minded, vindictive like a Yazi, and arrogant, making him prone to taking extreme paths.]

[Recent Encounter: His fist technique has reached a bottleneck; he is in urgent need of a sparring match to break through.]

In short, there was no one particularly worth investing in.

The only one who looked decent, Wang Hu, even had a conflict with him.

At this moment.

"Customer, here is the chicken soup you requested, prepared with ten-year-old wild ginseng as you asked."

"I'll bring it up to the second floor for you right away."

The waiter at the Post House greeted him and prepared to carry the food box upstairs.

"Wait."

A thought stirred in Li Mo's mind, and he called out to him:

"I'll take it up myself."

Under the waiter's puzzled gaze, Li Mo took the food box.

His gaze drifted toward the room at the end of the second-floor corridor.

What kind of destiny would she possess?

Knock, knock.

After a moment of knocking, a soft voice came from within:

"Enter."

The young girl sat quietly by the window. Moonlight spilled through the screen, casting a glow upon her water-like dark hair and reflecting a faint light in her deep eyes.

Seeing that it was Li Mo who entered, her dark brows furrowed slightly.

Li Mo, however, had no time to read her expression; he stood completely frozen in place.

Before his eyes, her information had manifested:

[Name: Ying Bing]

[Age: 16]

[Root Bone: Lunar Phoenix Physique.]

[Realm: None.]

[Destiny: ...]

At this point, the Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye faltered slightly, as if the karma she carried was too immense, causing it to lag.

After a few seconds, the remaining information slowly emerged.

[Destiny: Red (Bearer of the Imperial Bone, life bound to Profound Ice, spirit like autumn water, possesses the aura of Phoenix Heaven)]

[Evaluation: Her fate is fraught with tribulations, yet she always turns misfortune into fortune. Her wings are not yet fully grown, but when the winds and clouds shift, she will surely soar high above the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, with the phoenix descending upon the Six Harmonies and Eight Desolations.]

[Recent Encounter: Before the Lunar Phoenix Physique opens its pulses, it manifests as a dead-pulse body. Until she fully masters the Taiyin Power, she must endure the agony of extreme cold every day.]

Li Mo: "?"

Well, what did I say?

It didn't even have a color; it was calculated directly based on the omens.

According to the judgment of the Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye, destiny from lowest to highest was:

Black, Gray, White, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Gold.

Above Gold, there was Red destiny.

Destiny of this caliber could no longer be classified by mere color; each was accompanied by various extraordinary omens.

The Grand Ancestor Martial Emperor, who stabilized the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths for the human race and founded the Great Yu dynasty, was clearly recorded in history books as having been born while the sun and moon shared the sky, the Purple Micro Star stirred, and a Divine Turtle Carrying the Stele bestowed his name upon him.

Thinking about it this way, this was also a so-called omen of destiny.

Was his wife-to-be someone who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Grand Ancestor Martial Emperor in the future?

It was, well, quite sudden.

Little Li fell into deep contemplation, doubting the very meaning of his existence.

"Uh... the chicken soup, drink it while it's hot."

Clap—

The door closed.

"To think I have returned to this day."

"Nirvana and rebirth, so that is what it meant."

Ying Bing picked up a piece of chicken and tossed it from the second-floor window into the backyard.

The guard dog finished it with a series of gulps, and a moment later, there was nothing unusual.

Was it just ordinary chicken soup?

It wasn't that she held a grudge; aside from her closest kin, those distant loves and hates had long since become passing clouds to her.

It was just that in her memories, Li Mo was very fond of using childish methods to tease her.

Why had he taken the initiative to bring her chicken soup today?

"Ding-dong—"

At this moment.

A crisp sound suddenly echoed in her ears.

"Who is it?"

Ying Bing narrowed her eyes instantly.

The voice seemed to ignore her vigilance, ringing out once more on its own:

System binding successful.

The winner takes all, the loser eats dust; are you... ready?