The Happy Lamb Hot Pot Restaurant.

With the arrival of spring, business at the hot pot restaurant flourished even more, bustling with a steady stream of customers forming long queues outside.

Yet amidst the swirling steam of the hot pot, the small figure clad in ill-fitting, oil-stained clothes and a cloth blindfold was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Chulong had changed into a blue satin horse-face skirt adorned with intricate floral patterns. As she washed her face in the backyard, Aunt Mei told her that this outfit was what her mother had worn when she first ventured into the martial world.

It was early spring, and the young princess lifted her face, radiant like a delicate white flower blooming in the season. Her features were exquisitely delicate, her dark hair cascading in loose strands.

No one would have guessed that just a year ago, she had been the frail, nearly lifeless little beggar from Mud Corner Alley.

"St-stutter s-sister... so... p-pretty!"

Instead, it was the young beggars working in the restaurant who now stuttered.

"Aunt Mei... d-do I... look nice?" Jiang Chulong asked timidly, lowering her head.

"Y-you... you look just like her..."

Mei Yun's expression was complex, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She wiped the corners of her eyes, brushing away the memories threatening to surface.

Just then, startled exclamations erupted outside the hot pot restaurant.

People seemed to be shouting something about the "Frost Fairy" and the "Little Tyrant."

A flicker of excitement flashed in Jiang Chulong's eyes. She dashed toward the door curtain but stopped short. The commotion outside was lively—usually, she didn’t dare meet the customers' gazes...

Oh right, Brother Li had told her...

She reached into her pocket.

---

"Brother Huang, are you coming to the Imperial Capital with us? My cloud is big enough—you’ll fit."

"No thanks. If I get on, it’ll be too crowded."

"Don’t worry, Ice Block can sit on my lap."

"?"

The Flying Poison Two-Faced Turtle was instantly dazed by the Little Tyrant’s divine hammer—a strike delivered with abacus beads.

Well, when retelling the story later, he could claim that Li Mo had defeated him in one move with a hidden weapon.

Huang Donglai chuckled wryly. "I think I’ll travel alone."

"Why?"

"Something tells me it’s not safe around you. Sooner or later, something big will happen—and it’s never a small thing..."

Huang Donglai politely declined.

Flying Poison Two-Faced Turtle, ever the cautious one!

"..."

Li Mo found himself at a loss for words.

But this was somewhat unfair. How were the mishaps his fault? It was all because of Ice Block. The rise of a destined empress was always fraught with thorns, wasn’t it?

Young Li insisted he was just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.

Not that it stopped him from clinging to Ice Block’s flawless legs...

"Where’s Chulong?"

Ying Bing’s calm gaze swept across the hot pot restaurant.

"Ah, you’re right—she’s not here."

Li Mo blinked, suddenly suspecting that Aunt Mei had taken the little princess and fled.

But at that moment, the door curtain was pushed aside.

The bustling restaurant fell silent for a split second. Regular customers who recognized the figure emerging from the backyard gaped in shock.

Jiang Chulong stood there, her expression timid and uncertain—but it was all hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

Hands on her hips, she looked every bit the aloof, ruthless assassin.

"Did Aunt Mei say anything?" Li Mo asked.

The little princess panicked internally but shook her head coolly, maintaining her emotionless facade.

"That’s strange."

As Li Mo spoke, he caught sight of Mei Yun through the curtain, her expression unreadable. She seemed to have much to say but only sighed in the end.

Well...

Chulong had made it onto the Hidden Dragon Ranking. There was no hiding her identity anymore. Even if she didn’t step into the martial world, the martial world would come to her.

At least in Mei Yun’s eyes, having a mysterious, powerful mentor like Li Mo would offer some protection.

"Aunt Mei, we’ll return safely," Li Mo said earnestly.

"Mm. Come back soon."

Mei Yun retrieved a small box from her spatial artifact and handed it to Li Mo.

"If any of you reaches the Heavenly City Realm, open this. After reading, burn it."

"Understood."

Li Mo knew Mei Yun hailed from the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor and had once been the sword maiden of Chulong’s mother.

This box likely held secrets related to the Heavenly Phoenix Domain’s transformation into the Heavenly City Realm.

---

Half a month later.

Under the brilliant spring sunlight, Li Mo stood atop his soaring cloud, gazing into the distance as a breathtaking landscape unfolded before him.

Beneath the azure sky stood towering walls of glazed splendor, a city of endless wonders with spires reaching heights surpassing even the skyscrapers of his past life.

The city’s expanse stretched beyond sight, and in the far distance, a snow-capped mountain loomed like a corner of the heavens.

At the city’s heart lay the imperial palace, shielded by an emerald jade screen resembling a grand canopy—Li Mo recognized it instantly.

A divine artifact of destiny: the Rivers and Mountains Painting.

Suddenly, the figures flying alongside him began descending.

"We’re not there yet?"

Li Mo frowned, still hovering on his cloud.

"The divine artifact’s power enforces a no-flight zone around the city. Anyone who gets closer is forced to land—unless they’ve reached the Palm Profound Realm. Huh?"

Qin Yuzhi blinked in surprise as the cloud beneath her feet remained steady.

"Just a minor trick," Li Mo adjusted his sunglasses smugly.

"Brother Li is amazing..."

The supposedly ruthless little princess instantly broke character.

"This cloud doesn’t feel like the Mist Dao..."

Ice Block, also wearing sunglasses, tilted her head.

"So why are you all wearing these dark glasses?"

"Because we’re a team."

"Then why don’t I have one?" Qin Yuzhi protested.

"Sister Qin, instead of always asking what the sect leader can give you, think about what you can contribute. I’ve already given you a job—and now you expect a uniform too?"

Li Mo wasn’t serious, of course. The truth was, he’d forgotten to make her a pair.

"Fine. Then you can handle the Southern Border’s power of the masses yourself."

Under Qin Yuzhi’s management, the power of the masses had flourished over the past half-month.

Moreover, the Empty Myriad Colors Pagoda from the Demon Summoning Sect had somehow accumulated thirty-two layers—just four short of projecting a divine form of the Great Dao.

"...Just kidding. Actually, I think sunglasses don’t suit you. How about an eyepatch instead?"

"That’s more like it."

As they bantered, Li Mo guided his cloud to descend, retrieving his trusty bronze carriage to pass through the city gates.

Even the ordinary gate guards were at the Observation Divine Realm.

---

Meanwhile, within the vermilion walls and jade-green tiles of the imperial palace...

Purple smoke coiled through the Eastern Palace of the crown prince.

A young man carrying a heavy sword case followed the sword maiden Qingniao through layers of palace walls before arriving at the inner hall’s Sword Repository. The pavilion housed gleaming blades of all kinds, with mundane weapons being the least remarkable among them.

Jiang Yu held an ordinary sword in his hands, its edge humming with a dragon’s roar.

Snap—

Without warning, the blade shattered, its energy scattering wildly.

Jiang Yu’s expression darkened instantly.

"Your Highness, these are all the weapons forged at the Sword Manor’s annual assembly."

The fragments of the sword hovered around the speaking young man before suddenly halting and coalescing back into a longsword riddled with cracks.

"The blacksmiths at the recent Weapon Forging Assembly have grown increasingly mediocre," Jiang Yu remarked, glancing at the sword case laid on the ground. "Not a single blade can withstand the might of the Sword Bone."

"It has nothing to do with the Sword Bone," the young man shook his head. "The problem lies with you. To wield a sword, one must first master oneself. In the hands of a true master, even grass and twigs become divine weapons."

In other words, don’t blame the sword if the swordsman is lacking.

Jiang Yu’s eyelid twitched.

Qingniao, flustered, cried out, "Senior Brother Xie!"

But the young man surnamed Xie acted as though he hadn’t heard, his gaze fixed on Jiang Yu’s dual-pupiled eyes.

Just then, a servant entered and whispered something into Jiang Yu’s ear.

His brow arched, a cold fury surging within him.

"Didn’t you always say you once saw a little girl in the Sword Graveyard whose talent in the sword path surpassed even yours? She’s here now—likely heading toward the Step Cloud Tower."

"Oh?"

The young man’s eyes brightened. Without even a word of farewell, he turned to leave.

But as soon as he stepped out of the Sword Pavilion, Jiang Yu’s voice followed him:

"If you can drive her out of the Imperial Capital, I’ll arrange for you to share wine, music, and a night of pleasure with Hua Nongying."

"......"

The young man paused mid-step, then summoned his sword and took flight.

Xie Xuan—the Sword Fanatic, the Sword Saint—loved his blades, but he loved beauties just as much.

In the Imperial Capital, if you asked ten people, eleven would know of his infatuation with the fourth-ranked beauty on the Hundred Flowers Ranking—the current top courtesan of the Moonlit Pavilion.