A beam of mysterious light shot straight from the mountain wall into the clouds, stretching thousands of miles into the sky. Above the Qingyuan Sect, dark, ink-like storm clouds suddenly gathered.

Li Mo gazed at the newly forged hammer-treasure, feeling a stirring sensation within his inner world. The hammer-treasure was entirely black and red, its surface densely covered in flame patterns of karmic fire and fallen starfire. For a fleeting moment, it resembled a lotus in full bloom—unadorned yet breathtakingly beautiful in its ancient simplicity.

Grasping the hammer’s handle, he felt an intimate connection, as though it were an extension of his own bloodline.

"This hammer-treasure can now also manifest the 'Law of Heaven and Earth'."

"Its weight can shift freely according to my inner world—light as a feather to me, yet heavy as ten thousand jun to others."

"Indestructible, capable of forging weapons and bestowing spirits, harnessing the power of wind and clouds..."

The moment he gripped it, Li Mo gained an innate understanding of the hammer-treasure’s nature as a quasi-Dao artifact. The hammer’s spirit radiated pride and vigor, as if boasting to its master.

"The finest hammer-treasure."

Li Mo didn’t hold back his praise, thoroughly delighted.

The hammer-treasure sensed Li Mo’s joy and vibrated in response, though it remained unaware that his excitement stemmed from finally having an excuse to say to the "ice block" (Ying Bing):

"This hammer-treasure truly can wield the 'Law of Heaven and Earth'."

Tucking the hammer into his pocket, Li Mo glanced at the two elders standing dumbfounded nearby.

Elder Hanhe was less affected—his skill was comparatively lacking.

But Du Wufeng looked as though he’d seen a ghost. As a master smith, he knew just how absurd, how utterly inconceivable this entire process had been.

"You..."

"How did you know I just reforged a quasi-Dao artifact?" Li Mo feigned surprise, as if only now noticing them.

"？？？？？"

Du Wufeng took a deep breath of the fiery mountain’s energy, confirming his suspicions. He remained silent for a long moment, struggling to find words. What he had just witnessed seemed to transcend the very boundaries of forging.

Damn it. He, a master smith, had been thrust into uncharted territory.

"Well... this hammer is certainly very... hammer-like."

"Just teasing, Elder Du. You’re practically drooling—if you want to inspect it, go ahead. And thank you for lending me your 'Uncarved Hammer' earlier."

Li Mo chuckled and handed both the hammer-treasure and Du Wufeng’s hammer back.

The master smith’s lips twitched, but he only took back his own hammer. "No, I’ll pass for now."

"Afraid your own hammer will seem lackluster afterward?"

"Not entirely. I just regret coming to the Qingyuan Sect today."

Wiping his drool, Du Wufeng suppressed his envy and quietly retreated behind Elder Hanhe.

Li Mo sighed. "I was just lightening the mood. No need to—"

Du Wufeng cut him off with a grim warning. "When the heavenly tribution strikes later, I hope it doesn’t take me down with you."

"Eh?"

Li Mo froze.

Truthfully, he hadn’t been a smith for long. Even he hadn’t fully processed that, through sheer audacity and unorthodox methods, he’d created a quasi-Dao artifact.

From Du Wufeng’s tone, it wasn’t hard to guess:

Quasi-Dao artifacts... attract heavenly tribution?

"Seriously, Elder Du?" Li Mo’s eyes widened with excitement.

"?"

This time, Elder Hanhe and Du Wufeng exchanged baffled glances.

Why did this kid seem even more thrilled?

......

Outside, the roiling dark clouds split the void. Above the Qingyuan Sect, the sky shimmered with multicolored lights—simultaneously brimming with vitality and steeped in desolation, scorching yet icy. Countless forces, like branches from the same primordial tree, danced wildly under the influence of the quasi-Dao artifact’s emergence.

These laws intertwined chaotically yet followed an underlying order. Now, they seethed in response to the crimson-tinged beam of light, as though boundless power brewed within.

"Heavenly tribution?"

Deep within the Qingyuan Sect’s abyss, Ying Bing lifted her head, sensing the disturbance.

Heavenly tribution typically arose under two circumstances: First, when a practitioner sought to break into the "Palm Mystic Realm," forcibly integrating the Dao into themselves.

Second, when a divine artifact was born, bearing the weight of the Dao.

The former was a punishment—often called "heavenly retribution." The latter was a trial—referred to as "heavenly tribution."

Given Li Mo’s presence at the Divine Armament Peak, the latter seemed far more likely...

Just then, Ying Bing’s senses sharpened.

At the edge of the sky, where three great suns usually hung, a fourth silhouette emerged.

Blood-red lightning crackled around it. It resembled a sun, yet also a vertical pupil—or something in between.

......

"Heavenly retribution descends... and now a fourth sun?"

"Since ancient times, there has only been one sun. The other two are said to be manifestations of the Great Yu’s imperial experts. Has the royal family produced another who can embody a sun?"

"And what does that have to do with heavenly retribution?"

Countless onlookers gaped at the sky, theories erupting among them. Some claimed it wasn’t a sun but a spectacle caused by clashing experts. Others insisted it was mere coincidence—a divine artifact’s birth overlapping with an imperial expert’s breakthrough.

A few even invoked myths of nine hidden suns, suggesting they had always existed, veiled for the world’s sake.

Amid the speculation, only a handful knew the truth.

In Yantian Sect’s high tower, an elderly woman, pale-faced, retrieved a jade disc to divine the changes.

In the imperial capital, Emperor Jingtai stepped out of his study, his brow heavy with dread, as though witnessing an inevitability he had long resisted.

......

BOOM—

A bolt of violet-blue lightning tore through the clouds above the Qingyuan Sect, cleaving the Divine Armament Peak’s cliffs as it hurtled toward the hammer-treasure below.

Li Mo didn’t release his grip. In an instant, he made his choice—to charge upward against the tide.

The hammer’s momentum surged like a meteor rising from the earth to challenge the heavens. His strength was unrefined yet overwhelmingly fierce.

No technique. Pure force.

The hammer-treasure was bound to his bloodline and inner world. Moreover, the "Eight-Nine Arcane Art" thrived on defying tribulations, ascending against all odds.

CRACK—BOOM!

The deafening collision scattered thunder and flames, devastation spreading across the mountaintop.

Fortunately, Li Mo had asked Du Wufeng to evacuate the Divine Armament Peak’s disciples earlier—otherwise, casualties would have been inevitable.

In the main hall of the sect’s central peak...

By the time the fourth sun appeared, everyone had gathered to witness the spectacle.

"What’s with the heavenly retribution?"

"Why are there four suns?"

"Who’s getting struck by lightning at the Divine Armament Peak?"

The Qingyuan Sect had descended into chaos.

Du Wufeng delivered the evacuated disciples and explained the situation. The hall fell into stunned silence.

"How did he forge a quasi-Dao artifact?"

"He already had one. This time, he just fused it with the 'Pangu Meteor Hammer.'"

"Where did he even get the first one?"

Those familiar with Li Mo—and those who weren’t—were equally baffled. Only those who’d been to the imperial capital recalled an unassuming "fire poker" from the Heavenly City’s trials.

But the how no longer mattered. What did was that Li Mo had just shattered the heavenly tribution.

Yet the four suns remained suspended, as though gathering even greater, more terrifying power.