The sumr solstice had arrived, and the next day would see the grand Flower Festival in full swing. The entire imperial capital was brimming with joy, the streets packed with bustling crowds under the bright but not yet scorching light of the three suns. It truly felt like a celebration shared by all.
The officials from the Ministry of Revenue had profited handsoly, replenishing the national treasury’s deficits, while the common folk were treated to a spectacular sight. Li Mo, the young entrepreneur, had reaped imnse returns on his investnts.
Not only had his ventures flourished, but even the Empty Radiance Pagoda had surged by four levels. Rumors now spread through the city that it was his unwavering support that had made the Flower Festival so magnificent.
The accumulated power of the masses allowed him to wield the Great Sage’s Armants for a full quarter of an hour.
"This thing is so hard to earn but so quick to spend," Li Mo muttered, patting the Empty Radiance Pagoda.
The good news? The Great Sage’s Armants were not only awe-inspiring in appearance but also devastatingly powerful.
The bad news? Using them was agonizingly costly, leaving them as nothing more than a last resort.
The worse news? The mont he donned that armor, an itch would creep up the back of his head, as if rebellious bones were sprouting. The longer he wore it, the stronger the urge to pierce the heavens themselves.
Then again, if even the side effects of the Mingjiao Bloodline were so severe, what more could he expect from the Great Sage’s Armants?
Lost in thought, Li Mo flipped open the frozen version of the Thousand Forms Manual, hoping to break through to the Inner Realm sooner rather than later.
A mont later, Zhong Zhenyue burst through the door in a panic.
"Foster Father, you need to co quick! If we’re late, the Moonlit Pavilion will be smashed to pieces!"
"Huh?"
Li Mo wasn’t angry—just confused.
After all, it was common knowledge that even the Fourth Prince wouldn’t dare make a move against the Moonlit Pavilion anyti soon, not with Zhong Zhenyue and Xie Xuan, those two reckless hotheads, standing guard.
If even they couldn’t keep things under control…
"Who the hell has the guts?" Li Mo asked warily.
Zhong Zhenyue answered, "Your master."
Li Mo: "......"
The mont the words "Fighting Queen" ca to mind, everything suddenly made sense.
As he hurried downstairs with Zhong Zhenyue, he asked, "How did it start? And with whom?"
"At first, she got into an argunt with so passerby who mistook her for one of the Moonlit Pavilion’s entertainers. Elder Hanhe stepped in to diate, not wanting her to cause trouble in the capital."
"And then?"
"She decided to beat up Elder Hanhe too!"
"......"
By the ti they arrived at the Moonlit Pavilion, chaos had taken over.
Shang Wu, her crimson dress swirling, was brandishing a wine bottle as she chased after a burly man.
Elder Hanhe stood among the constables who had rushed to the scene, his beard trembling with fury, a dark bruise forming around his eye.
Leading the constables was Zhao Jing, whom Li Mo recognized—she was the one who had once been tied up in a secret chamber.
"Boss Li, you’re finally here. This troublemaker is a real handful."
"Uh… that’s my master."
"What?! Then let’s hurry and stop her before soone gets killed—"
Zhao Jing imdiately tensed.
"Yeah, if we don’t act fast, she might actually beat soone to death," Li Mo said, covering his face.
Zhao Jing: "??"
She turned to look.
SMACK!
At that mont, the fleeing man’s terrified eyes widened as Shang Wu grabbed him. He struggled desperately—
He managed to break free, but not before his pants were yanked off and flung aside by Shang Wu, who wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"......"
Zhao Jing suddenly understood how Li Mo had turned out the way he did.
If they handled this by the book, the Qingyuan Sect would surely launch an investigation…
"Stop fighting already!"
"You think I’ll stop just because you said so?"
"Don’t hit —it’s !"
"I don’t care who—... Huh? Oh! My precious disciple~ whimper."
Shang Wu dropped the wine bottle, transforming from a fierce warrior into a whimpering ss in an instant. But after witnessing her earlier rampage, the onlookers could only recoil in shock.
How could such a woman be tad by anyone?
Oh. It was the "Wife-Taming Tyrant."
That explained everything.
(As a side note, Li Mo had finally earned the nickna "Sword Saint," but perhaps because his previous two epithets had been so fitting, people couldn’t bear to discard either.
So, in the end, he got both—killing two birds with one stone.
Li Mo remained blissfully unaware of this developnt, and those around him tactfully avoided bringing it up.)
The chaotic scene finally settled with the arrival of the Wife-Taming Tyrant.
Back at the Everbloom Court, during the Flower Festival perforrs’ rehearsal, Li Mo finally learned the reason behind her earlier whimper.
She had a "special performance" of her own—she could also take the stage at the Flower Festival.
But the mont the words "special performance" left her mouth, Li Mo imdiately pulled out his finest stock of wine and asked, "Do you want the wine, or do you want the performance?"
In the end, everyone was happy.
That night, the Everbloom Court closed its doors to guests, yet the halls remained brightly lit.
The stage before the ridian Gate was complete, and any minor imperfections could be covered by the Mirage Pearl. All that remained was the final "rehearsal."
Standing in the main hall, Li Mo finally pieced it together.
"Hey, Master… did you never actually have a special performance planned? You just wanted to scam out of more good wine, didn’t you?"
"As your master, how could I possibly do such a thing? You’re not going back on your word now, are you?"
Shang Wu pouted, gulping down her drink with the air of soone drowning sorrows in bitter liquor.
"......"
"Hmph, never seen you like this before."
Elder Hanhe was applying dicine to the corner of his eye and grumbled irritably:
"Our Qingyuan Sect has produced two prodigies—you and Little Bing'er—who shine across the heavens and earth. And for the first ti, we’ve even taken the top spot in the Hidden Dragon rankings. Of course, she’s hoping to cling to your coattails in the future. Naturally, she’d take a roundabout approach—what if you start looking down on us poor relatives?"
"Where did you get such an idea?"
Li Mo waved his hand, suspecting his master likely hadn’t thought that deeply.
She probably just realized that in a few more days, she wouldn’t be able to beat her disciple in a fight, so she gave up on brute force early and switched to strategy.
Don’t let Shang Wu’s carefree deanor fool you—she was sharp as a tack. Otherwise, how could she have invented the infamous "King of Brawls Ultimate Technique"?
"Elder Hanhe, if I can’t deal with Li Mo anymore, do you really think I can’t handle you?"
Shang Wu’s expression shifted in an instant as she glared at the elder.
"Hmph! This old man won’t stoop to your level!"
Elder Hanhe, for once, backed down.
Li Mo also noticed the reason through his Heavenly Destiny Eye: "Master, you broke through?"
"Heh, that day... well, I had a bit too much to drink, ended up fighting the Sect Master, and after that, I reached the Fifth Realm."
Shang Wu grinned shalessly.
Li Mo pondered for a mont. "Is the Sect Master... doing alright?"
"He’s alive."
"That’s good."
His master never seed to train seriously, yet she was always formidable and advanced at an alarming speed.
At her age, reaching the Fifth Realm was astonishing even in the Imperial Capital. She had a real shot at the Seventh Realm in the future.
Li Mo scrutinized her again with his Heavenly Destiny Eye.
He noticed that the color under her "Destiny" entry had abruptly changed to:
[Gold].
A shift in destiny’s color wasn’t unfamiliar to Li Mo, but a leap from purple to gold was no small matter. It ant sothing life-altering must have happened to her.
Yet, there were no signs of any major changes in his master’s circumstances. It probably wasn’t related to clinging to his coattails either—his own destiny was marked with a "?", so it wouldn’t affect others.
Just as he was about to ask further, the rehearsal began.
.....
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