Autumn Water Pavilion.
Little Li hummed a tune as he began his busy day.
The ingredients were the flesh of the exotic beasts he had hunted today.
He was in such a good mood that even cooking felt especially enjoyable.
His talent for being a chef was probably stronger than his talent for being a swordsman by just a tiny bit—by a billion points.
Ginger Spicy Winged Snake, Clear-Stewed Spiny-Back Turtle, Scallion-Stir-Fried Black-Horned Sheep, braised Ring-Patterned Wolf, and a little green vegetable...
Four dishes and one soup. Delicious.
"Smells great."
The moment the dishes were served, a figure in palace robes appeared at the door and quickly came to the table, reaching out to pinch a piece of mutton and pop it into her mouth.
"Master, didn't you go discuss matters with the elders?"
Li Mo handed her a pair of chopsticks.
The Clear Abyss Sect was in a turbulent time.
The matter of Ice Block receiving the inheritance had thrown the entire sect into an uproar.
If everyone had previously regarded Ying Bing as the future sect master, they now treated her completely like the first-generation founder of the Clear Abyss Sect.
If Ice Block had not been only sixteen, the elders would have wanted to enshrine her.
At this critical juncture, the Demon Summoning Cult's fiends had stirred up trouble again.
The Sect Master had immediately summoned all the higher-ups to Clear Abyss Main Peak for a meeting.
"The old men just keep going around in circles. I can't be bothered to listen."
Shang Wu clicked her tongue, her pretty brows furrowing with utter disdain for those old geezers.
Li Mo: "..."
Right. He couldn't exactly expect his master to offer any constructive opinions.
"The Sect Master did give me an assignment, though."
"I agreed to it with great reluctance."
Shang Wu propped up her cheek, her chopsticks flashing as she ate.
Li Mo blinked. "Master, you actually listen to the Sect Master's orders?"
"He told me to move into Autumn Water Pavilion so it would be convenient for me to teach you."
Shang Wu rested her cheek on one hand and snorted. "If Little Bing were not here, I would not have bothered coming."
Li Mo smiled bitterly.
He could more or less understand what the Sect Master meant.
Rather than saying she had come to teach him, it would be more accurate to say she had come to watch over Ying Bing.
His master might be unreliable, but she was genuinely formidable in a fight. If pushed too far, she could even pluck off several handfuls of the Sect Master's beard.
With such a baleful star keeping watch, Autumn Water Pavilion's security rose sharply.
After the meal.
"Little Bing, what was the inheritance you received today like?"
Shang Wu asked again in a lowered voice.
Ying Bing set down her bowl and chopsticks.
Surprisingly, she was a little less cold toward this carefree elder of Jade Cluster Peak.
As she circulated her blood qi, a layer of rosy light gradually surrounded her.
Astonishment flashed through Shang Wu's eyes. She casually tossed over a wine cup.
The wine cup was actually held in place by a gentle force against the rosy light, slowly spinning there.
The wine inside was also manipulated by Ying Bing, flowing out and gathering into a water sphere that revolved around her.
"To release internal breath externally while still in the Blood-Qi Realm... No, this is far stronger than internal breath."
Shang Wu clicked her tongue in amazement.
"Mm. It is only a trivial application."
Ying Bing gave a slight nod, and the rosy light abruptly pulsed.
Crack—
The wine cup exploded, scattering shattered porcelain.
The rosy light could attack, pulsing out to wound people invisibly; it could also defend, redirecting force with the finesse of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.
Shang Wu clapped enthusiastically, finding it tremendously impressive as well.
Li Mo looked mournfully at the shattered porcelain all over the floor. "My green-jade porcelain wine cup..."
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Ice Block, how much water can you control?"
"Water?"
Ying Bing walked to the water jar and drew on it with the rosy light.
In an instant, the rushing water transformed into a water dragon, spiraling around her with effortless ease.
Li Mo's eyes lit up.
He placed the bowls he had finished eating from into the water wrapped in rosy light, letting them whirl around with the rushing current.
Ying Bing: "?"
Li Mo: "It washes pretty clean, too."
Little Li looked as though he had discovered a new continent.
Seeing the wonder and admiration filling the boy's eyes, Ying Bing's slightly furrowed brows relaxed. She suddenly felt that this sensation was not unpleasant.
She even felt a small sense of accomplishment...
"Can we add two more bowls?"
"Mm, naturally."
"Wow, amazing, amazing."
Shang Wu propped up her cheek, watching the young man and girl not far away. Amusement drifted through her bleary, drunken eyes.
Ice Block...
That name really did suit her.
Oh, right. Had she forgotten something?
Whatever. It probably was not important...
The moon rose above the branches.
Inside the room.
Ying Bing wrote graceful characters on a bamboo slip.
"After being immersed in the Primal Phoenix Blood Essence Pool, his physical body has been reborn from the ashes, making him suitable for body cultivation."
"His swordsmanship aptitude is barely passable. With sufficient effort and proper guidance, he may not be unable to cultivate a sword-art supreme technique to great mastery."
"He possesses an innocent heart. The Spirit Observation Method is of paramount importance. He must cultivate a method that is upright and harmonious to avoid straying down the wrong path."
What she had written was clearly her current assessment of Li Mo.
It was also her plan for his future development.
Ying Bing had already decided.
When she eventually left the Eastern Wasteland Domain, she would take Li Mo with her.
For some unknown reason, he had undergone such a tremendous change in this life.
Could it be because her reincarnation had triggered a butterfly effect?
Whatever the reason, it did not matter.
In any case, in the underground cavern of this life, he had given the inheritance to her. That was a fact.
Perhaps he was still mediocre at present.
But with her help, why worry that he could not defy heaven and change his fate in the future?
What gave Ying Bing a little comfort was that although Li Mo had no particularly dazzling, heaven-defying talent, he also had no fatal shortcomings that needed correcting.
All in all, he was a clean sheet of paper, with ample room for shaping in the future.
As long as things were handled properly, there was a very good chance she could bring him into the ranks of true prodigies.
For now, it was already enough for him to secure a place among his peers in the Eastern Wasteland Domain.
She put away the bamboo slip.
She returned to the bed and drew the curtains.
Soon, icy cold spread wildly, and ice crystals slowly expanded outward from the bed as their center.
Although she had obtained the Rosy Soul ahead of time,
before reaching the Inner Scene Realm, she still could not form an Inner World. Ultimately, she could not control the Taiyin Power...
What was more, with the Rosy Soul fused into her, her physique had grown even stronger.
The Taiyin Power had not diminished. Instead, it had increased.
This also meant that her cultivation would progress even faster.
Within the Rosy Soul was also a divine-grade cultivation method focused on the use of internal breath.
Rosy Phoenix Qi.
She had known of this martial art long ago. It was simply useless before, since she had lacked the Rosy Soul.
When the ranking settlement mentioned by the system arrived, she should be able to enter the Inner Breath Realm.
Next door.
"By the way, what about my reward for coming first in the sect trial?"
"Could Master have pocketed it..."
Little Li pondered for a moment, then gave up thinking about it.
It was not important. Compared to the rewards he had plucked from Ice Block, it was all just drifting clouds, drifting clouds.
As everyone knew, the rewards returned by the system were usually better than the things invested.
Today, he should have invested the inheritance of the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix into Ying Bing.
The feedback should be something even better, no matter what.
With a thought,
``` [Name: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Physique: Profound Gate Immortal Physique.]
[Realm: Blood-Qi Realm, Ten Meridians.]
[Heavenly Fate:??]
[Evaluation: Possessing an Immortal Body, with a fate shrouded in chaos; his future cannot be known.]
[Recent Encounters: He was immersed in the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix Blood Essence Spring in Clear Abyss, greatly increasing his physical talent and further strengthening his body-cultivation talent. He came first in the sect trial.]
[You have one investment feedback waiting to be claimed. Claim it?]
"Claim!"
Li Mo did not hesitate.
[Investment Feedback One: Gilded Heavenly Book Seal.]
[Investment Feedback Two: World Seed.]
[Investment Feedback Three: Formless Glazed Mask.]
Li Mo: "!"
More or less, as expected.
A major haul!
And there were three items right out of the gate!
Before you continue