84 - Investing in the Reborn Empress, She Actually Calls Me ‘Husband’

Chapter 84: Why Is She Acting So Strange Today? 1/2 The master dashed off to the library without even having breakfast, saying it was to review knowledge related to the Internal Qi realm. By noon, smoke curled up from the Chuishui Pavilion. "No activity all morning." "Could something have happened to the ice block?" "Or was it because during yesterday's competition..." Li Mo's mind replayed the scene from yesterday when he had tackled Ying Bing to the ground. After all, even though she was a woman, the incident happened in full view of everyone. Could it be that she's avoiding him out of embarrassment? "Not likely...right?" Li Mo didn't think Ying Bing seemed like that kind of person. After pondering for a while, he decided to go upstairs and check. Carrying the prepared dishes, he went upstairs and knocked loudly on the wooden door. No response. Li Mo blinked and had to apply some force to finally push the door open with a creak. As he entered, he was stunned. The room was like a freezer. On the severely cracked bed, where one would normally sleep, was a large block of ice. Inside the ice was a young girl hugging her knees, her state of life unknown. It was Ying Bing. Truly, an ice block. Li Mo: "!" How did you manage to seal yourself in ice? There isn't even that much water in the room! It's just not scientific. Knock, knock, knock— "Ice block." "Ice block?" Li Mo tapped on the ice and called out twice without a response. Ignoring the logic of the situation, he prepared to break the ice apart. But halfway through raising his fist, he stopped himself. The ice, glowing with a blue hue, was clearly not ordinary condensed water vapor—extremely solid. Who knew if breaking the ice would also shatter Ying Bing into pieces? "Right, Internal Qi!" Li Mo suddenly remembered he had reached the Internal Qi Condensation stage. He extended his hand, channeling a few strands of internal qi into the ice. Swipe, swipe— Under his control, the internal qi acted like a precise carving tool, slowly wearing down the solid ice. The process wasn't fast. Half an hour later, the ice block was finally "rescued." Her eyes were tightly shut, brows furrowed as if in a nightmare, though her breathing was steady. Li Mo gently grasped her wrist, checking her pulse, and breathed a small sigh of relief. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand. A cold sensation gripped his wrist. She was holding on tightly. Like a drowning person clutching a lifeline. "You..." Li Mo was about to ask if she was okay, when he saw Ying Bing open her eyes. What a complex gaze she had. Perplexity? Complexity? Even a touch of...helplessness. He had never seen the ice block show such an expression towards anything before. Ying Bing used to always be calm and indifferent, as if nothing ever troubled her. She seemed to always have everything under control, knowing precisely what she was doing. "Did you have a nightmare?" Li Mo, unsure of what she had gone through, could only ask this much. Ying Bing took a deep breath and released his hand slightly. The chill from the depths of her soul diminished somewhat. If not for him, why would she have let her guard down last night? Yet it was also him who pulled her out of the dream. "Were you intentional yesterday?" After a long while, Ying Bing's soft voice came through. During the competition, it was obvious that Li Mo didn't show strength surpassing hers. That could only mean he was holding back. Ying Bing too had experiences of concealing her strength in the past. Li Mo: "!" So she was still hung up on yesterday's incident? And because of that she had retreated into herself? That's not how she usually is! Why is she acting so strange today? "Sorry." Li Mo gave an embarrassed smile. Ying Bing lowered her eyes. He admitted it. He did indeed hold back during their competition. "Why?" "..." Li Mo was left speechless by this question. It was simply an accident, there's no particular reason why. If he had to find a reason... "Because of a hammer." Li Mo pulled out the star-shaped hammer from his sleeve. "The Meteor Hammer of Cataclysm?" Ying Bing blurted out. A divine weapon? No...it just looked the same, only a superficial imitation without any divine presence. It was just a profound weapon, a replica. Li Mo: "!" How did the ice block know about this? Hadn't they agreed at the Divine Weapon Peak that no one outside the three of them would know of it? Was it...the master? Thinking of Shang Wu, Li Mo understood immediately. It must have been a slip from the master on one of her drinking days. Li Mo sighed and said: "The Meteor Hammer of Cataclysm is with me, but please don't tell anyone." "I had no choice, please don't take it to heart..." Anyway, the ice block isn't a total outsider, so it's probably fine if she knows. "A necessity..." Ying Bing pondered, her eyes flickering as if a mist cleared in her mind. She seemed to understand. That day's commotion from the Shenfeng Cave was due to the recognition of the Meteor Hammer of Cataclysm. The owner of the weapon was Li Mo himself. A divine weapon, naturally, couldn't be showcased to everyone easily. "Can you wield the divine weapon?" Ying Bing asked seriously. "Just barely." "Unless it's life or death, I'd prefer not to." Li Mo helplessly spread his hands. Even at his peak vitality, he could only sustain the power of a world seed briefly before collapsing and injuring himself. "No wonder...no wonder..." Ying Bing understood. The system ranks are based on combat power. This combat power doesn't include external items. For example, if someone owns a single-use concealed weapon with great power, this weapon can't be considered part of their combat power. Li Mo is the master of the divine weapon and can barely wield it. Chapter 84: Why Is She Acting So Strange Today? 2/2 Naturally, even a divine weapon would count as part of his combat power. Such is the might of a divine weapon... Ying Bing recalled how in her previous life, Shang Wu wielded the Meteor Hammer of Cataclysm—one swing could topple mountains, as if a falling star had descended. Such power was beyond human capacity. Could she withstand it? The answer was clearly no. No matter how invincible she was at her level, no matter how she could fight above her class, it was impossible for her to resist the might of a divine weapon at the internal qi level. But... using a divine weapon at the vitality stage? Isn't this akin to a fairy tale? She couldn't understand how he managed it. Yet, it was essentially exploiting a loophole in the system. As long as she couldn't withstand the divine weapon, Li Mo would always have the upper hand. "Now that everything's out, it's nothing. Let's eat." "Mm..." Ying Bing had faced many greater challenges in her life. She didn't fear challenges, only the unknown. Understanding the situation was enough. Divine weapons wouldn't grow, but her own realm advanced daily. And if she could gain the system's rewards... 【Friendly Reminder: Today is the first day of the Loser's Punishment.】 【Please strictly enforce the punishment requirements.】 For the first time, Ying Bing found the food tasteless. An unfamiliar feeling settled in her heart, refusing to go away. Sharing a bed...for a month...