Among the Bamboo Grove.
The young boy and girl, who had known each other for many years, were sharing a room for the first time.
The bed's curtains were drawn by a delicate hand, concealing the girl's figure.
"Turned into an ice block again."
Li Mo withdrew his gaze and lay down on the soft couch with a quilt in his arms.
No matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem like someone who could be changed with just a few words.
Forget it, who knows what she's thinking...
"By the way, investments don't necessarily have to be objects, right?"
Li Mo pondered, looking at the reward he had just received.
[Mystic Yin Immortal Physique: "Transcend beyond the Nine Heavens, not bound by the Ten Lands, the immortal body is refined through the mundane world, ultimately returning to simplicity and truth, without self, without others, encompassing all phenomena, possessing various mysteries."]
[Do you wish to claim it?]
The reward was simple, just four words.
But this very incongruous term made Li Mo raise his eyebrows slightly.
The style was all wrong; this was clearly a martial arts world.
Could it just be an adjective to make the system seem more high-end and classy?
Anyway.
It sounded pretty good.
With a thought, he claimed the reward.
In an instant.
A thunderous sound, audible only to him, exploded by his ear.
It was as if the thunder tore through the clouds in his mind, plunging him into chaos, and he couldn't even feel himself.
Buzz—
Buzz—
In the chaos, it was like a storm, the world was just beginning, with countless colors and sounds.
A quick look at "paw𝑟ead.com" will leave you more fulfilled.
Li Mo couldn't see clearly, nor could he hear clearly.
In that moment, he felt both as insignificant as dust and as grand as something beyond comprehension.
It was as if he no longer existed, yet was everywhere.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Li Mo lost consciousness.
Not far away.
On the bed, the silk curtains gradually became covered with frost, as if they would shatter at a touch.
The girl hugged her long legs, her lips pale, her eyelashes dusted with snow.
Even her breath carried an ancient, unmelting chill.
Her whole being seemed to be placed in an extreme icy prison.
But she was long accustomed to it, showing no signs of pain or fear, only calmness.
Ying Bing knew that this torment would end once she mastered the Power of the Lunar Yin.
Before that, she needed to open her meridians.
"Pure Yang Pill. Xue Jing is considered the top alchemist in the Ziyang Prefecture."
Ying Bing picked up the pill and swallowed it.
A slight warmth rose from her dantian, slowly flowing into her meridians.
Completing the opening of her meridians before the Initiation Ceremony was not a problem!
Suddenly, she remembered something.
Ying Bing lifted the frozen curtain and looked toward the couch.
She saw the boy lying there peacefully, even snoring softly.
Sleeping quite soundly?
"He's... okay?"
***
The next morning.
Li Mo opened his eyes on the couch, his gaze deep as if containing a sky full of stars, calm and clear yet like a mountain spring.
On the surface, he was still himself.
But just standing there, he gave off a sense of blending into nature.
[Name: Li Mo]
[Age: 16]
[Innate Bone: Mystic Yin Immortal Physique.]
[Realm: None.]
[Fate: ??]
[Evaluation: Possessing an immortal physique, fate is chaotic, future unknown.]
[Recent Encounter: Reconciled with childhood sweetheart, better than strangers now.]
Li Mo thought his fate would turn purple or even gold.
Who knew it would become two big question marks.
"There's definitely a change. But what exactly is different, I can't say for now."
He thought for a moment, then stopped dwelling on it.
The system's current investment returns, at least from the ice block, had never disappointed him.
"Even though I haven't started martial arts training, I can only slowly experience it."
Li Mo picked up a water jug to make tea, only to find the water inside had frozen into ice.
The source of all this was the ice block on the bed.
The astonishing coldness emanated, yet he didn't feel cold at all.
For now.
At least he seemed immune to cold and heat.
"At least I don't have to worry about being eliminated in the Initiation Ceremony. At the very least, I should be able to enter the Inner Sect, right?"
Li Mo felt cheerful.
With nothing else to do and unable to practice, he decided to go out and try his luck, see if he could find suitable investment targets.
***
Two days passed in a flash.
Since obtaining the Pure Yang Pill, Ying Bing had stayed in the room and hadn't gone out.
She neither ate nor drank.
Li Mo wasn't worried.
With her extraordinary fate, she wouldn't starve herself to death.
It was probably due to her physique, so he didn't interfere.
Thus, for two days, the coldness in the bamboo grove lingered, and the furnishings inside were likely ruined. Li Mo compensated with five hundred taels of silver to settle the matter.
During these two days, Li Mo encountered various investment targets.
Most were quite ordinary, with very few being blue.
Recent encounters were also varied and strange.
For example, someone with poor school performance looking for a wealthy woman.
Or someone with too much money feeling life was dull, wanting to experience poverty.
There was even a burly man longing to wear women's clothes...
These encounters left Li Mo unable to invest even if he wanted to.
Of course, most people were normal.
Even a mosquito's leg is meat.
Thus, he received many returns, though few were beneficial for martial arts, most were odd and peculiar items.
Paintings, toys, ingredients, fine wine, even a maiden's undergarment...
This wide-net approach yielded little of value.
***
On the morning of the third day.
"Quality is more important than quantity."
"Unless it's a special case, I won't actively invest in white or gray anymore."
Li Mo opened the door and entered the room.
He immediately saw a graceful figure, combing her smooth black hair in front of a mirror.
"You're ready?"
"Better than before."
Ying Bing's porcelain-like face seemed a bit rosier.
She had opened her meridians.
Successfully opening her meridians meant she was no longer a blocked meridian case, and her hidden talent was revealed.
This was thanks to the bottle of Pure Yang Pill.
"Come have breakfast." Li Mo smiled.
Ying Bing picked up a bowl and said softly, "Thank you."
"What?"
Li Mo paused, eyes wide.
The ice block actually said thank you?
He was shocked.
"I didn't hear you, what did you just say?"
Li Mo wasn't sure.
Ying Bing didn't respond, sipping her porridge.
When daylight fully broke, after breakfast, the two went downstairs together.
Today was the day the Qingyuan Sect opened its mountain.
When the carriage reached several miles away, it couldn't move any further due to the crowd filling the official road.
Surrounded by young people, it felt like going to the school field for morning exercises.
After walking for about half a stick of incense's time.
Ahead, they could see the Qingyuan Sect's mountain gate, and many Qingyuan Sect disciples in various attire, with seven stewards seated at a large table in front of them.
"Dong—"
"Dong—"
"Dong—"
Three morning bells rang.
"Innate bone is the first hurdle in martial arts. If your innate bone is too poor, progress in martial arts will be difficult, and no matter how much effort you put in, it will be like a drop in the ocean. Those with low innate bone, don't waste your time, you may leave on your own."
A short, fat elder with a red face, his voice thunderous, rolled over the crowd.
No one left.
Everyone who came here was either confident or unwilling to give up until the end, having reached the mountain gate.
They were already here.
Seeing this, the short fat elder waved his hand: "Then line up properly, and come up one by one for bone reading."
As his words fell, countless young boys and girls, under the management of Qingyuan Sect disciples, lined up consciously for testing.
The stewards seemed to have practiced a special method, tapping the shoulder of the one being tested to roughly determine their innate bone.
"Wu Ping, Gamma Low, go ahead."
"He Haikuo, Delta Mid."
"Qian Ningning, Delta Low..."
Innate bone was divided into four grades by Qingyuan Sect: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. Anyone with Gamma grade or above qualified to enter the mountain gate.
Many factors determine talent, and innate bone is just one of them. Having Gamma grade innate bone means possessing a ticket to martial arts.
Even so, only one or two out of ten were Gamma grade or above.
Just the first hurdle would likely eliminate eighty percent of people.
Above Alpha grade?
They were all classified as Alpha High.
"It's not always accurate, but the vast majority of those with a fate above blue have successfully passed."
Li Mo lined up, his Divine Fate Eye always active.
"Little girl, come up."
The old woman in front waved her hand.
Ying Bing stepped out from the crowd, drawing countless gazes.
Simply because she was too beautiful...
Standing there, cold and aloof, it seemed as if the world fell silent around her, impossible to ignore.
Li Mo stroked his chin.
Based on his experience reading novels, if nothing unexpected happened, there were two possibilities.
Either she was a complete prodigy, or a complete waste.
With her great fortune, she definitely wouldn't be ordinary...
"Hiss..."
Sure enough.
The old woman's brows furrowed instantly.
She became much more serious, sinking her qi into her dantian, her robe fluttering without wind, intending to use her inner strength to check the girl's innate bone.
This commotion drew everyone's attention.
Even the other stewards became curious.
Testing for Alpha grade innate bone didn't require such measures.
The next moment, the old woman's voice spread throughout the venue:
"Ying Bing, Alpha High!"
Her tone was complex, both astonished and excited.
The crowd buzzed with chatter.
Alpha High aptitude was rare even in the history of Qingyuan Sect.
Earlier, Murong Xiao, known as the Qilin Child of Ziyang Prefecture, was only barely Alpha Low.
Even so, Murong Xiao was hailed as the top genius in ten years.
Li Mo: "......"
It seemed to be the former.
Under various gazes, Ying Bing became the center of attention.
The girl herself, however, remained indifferent.
Because she knew this was nothing.
She was Alpha High because Qingyuan Sect's highest was only Alpha High.
"Unmoved by honor or disgrace, such a mindset is truly rare. I look forward to your performance on the Heaven-Climbing Steps," the Short Fat Elder couldn't help but praise.
Bone reading was merely to eliminate those unqualified for martial arts.
The real comprehensive test of talent was the second stage.
The Heaven-Climbing Stone Steps!
Innate bone wasn't the entirety of talent, but with Alpha High innate bone, this girl's performance in the second stage couldn't be poor.
The Initiation Ceremony had just begun.
The leader might have already appeared.
Ying Bing nodded, joining the group of those who passed.
The young boys and girls who had passed the first stage lost their pride and arrogance silently.
They were still thinking about how to enter the Inner Sect.
Ying Bing was at least a True Disciple.
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