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

### Chapter 90: Li Mo's Expertise in Pretending, Please Intensify 1/2 "Huh?" Even knowing that Ice Lump didn't mean anything by it, Li Mo instinctively stepped back half a step. He couldn't help it; he had read too many novels in his past life. Novels with themes like "The Overbearing Female CEO Fell in Love with Me" had occasionally crossed his path… "The lunar star was strong the day before yesterday, and I haven't fully recovered. I can't completely control my inner breath." "If it's through clothing, you might get hurt." Ying Bing's calm words, devoid of much emotion, made Li Mo feel like he was being oversensitive. Why was he being so fussy when Ying Bing herself didn't mind? "Alright." Li Mo took off his shirt. The candlelight flickered. Gone was the slender and frail young master who had left home lacking in natural strength. Now he had lean muscles that were clearly defined, imbued with a sense of formidable power. His height had increased by several centimeters, making him at least about 180 cm tall now. Compared to those with tiger arms, leopard waists, or mantis legs, his physique seemed more balanced. "Uh... trousers..." Li Mo asked earnestly. Ying Bing slightly furrowed her brows, her eyes still icy and bright like shattered jade. What do you think? Li Mo coughed lightly, not awkward in the least, and sat down beside her. A faint fragrance wafted over. His shoulder itched a little—was it her hair? Li Mo's mind was a bit scattered. Everyone knows he’s a normal young man, and if you count his memories from Bluestar, his closest interaction with a female was only limited to holding hands and hugging his high school girlfriend. And now... He was facing someone extraordinarily beautiful, the only fitting description being that she seemed to break all rules of beauty, and here he was without a shirt. "Turn around," Ying Bing instructed again. Li Mo turned stiffly. He then saw her jade-like hand with five fingers, a mysterious blue aura swirling and exhaling with a chilling coldness. "My inner breath will enter your dantian." "First, try to approach it with your own inner breath so that you're not harmed." "If you can endure it, then we can proceed to the next step." "Alright." Li Mo pushed aside those chaotic thoughts, earnestly looking into her eyes and nodding. In truth, he wasn't sure if it would work. After all, inner breath would vanish without a trace once entering his body, and the reason for this remained unknown. Ying Bing slightly nodded in acknowledgment. Soon, her cool palm gently rested on Li Mo’s dantian. Instantly, a blue luminescence scattered, transforming into threads of icy blue stardust traversing across his body surface. It was cool, but far more bearable than the sensation he experienced in the arena that day. It didn't disappear. Seeing he was unaffected, Ying Bing continued. The icy blue stardust traveled from his skin’s surface towards his dantian. "Hoo..." Li Mo now felt even his breaths carried a cold sensation, as if his whole body soaked in an ice tub. While the cold seeped from within, causing numbness and stiffness, there wasn't any pain. But, this was due to his strong physique. If it was an average person… Li Mo couldn't help but observe her serious and focused expression across from him. What she had endured since childhood... could only be more than this, right? She hadn’t practiced any body refinement techniques. Yet she had to experience a more intense cold daily. No wonder her personality was like that... "Focus." Ying Bing’s tone was light, yet incontestable. This was the version of her focused on training... Li Mo snapped back to reality. He began using the technique recorded in the first layer of "Phoenix Cry in the Heavenly Swamp" to circulate his inner breath, enveloping the icy blue breath within his dantian. It seemed his martial insights hadn’t gone to waste; he felt like he had done this countless times before. The two inner breaths combined like kneading dough, interweaving and spreading appropriately. "Hmm?" Ying Bing’s eyes fluttered slightly. His time condensing inner breath was shorter. Yet, the quantity surpassed even her own. Though he had been training with Shang Wu recently, making it understandable. Mainly... His dantian was unbelievably resilient. Several moments prior, she intended to cease inputting inner breath, yet his dantian seemed to encompass all, bottomless. He truly had a knack for pretending. "Any discomfort?" "Increase the intensity." Li Mo grinned. Ying Bing didn't speak further and quietly continued to transfer her inner breath. Half an hour later. The input suddenly halted. Li Mo opened his eyes and looked at her, a puzzled expression: "Why stop?" "I'm out." Ying Bing was somewhat silent. She wondered if Li Mo's constitution was due to an innately powerful dantian or that his body tailored itself exceptionally to physical refinement, strengthening his dantian over time. If it were the former, his constitution was nearly on par with hers… "Alright." "I'm fine," Li Mo assured after careful evaluation, feeling confident. What he primarily did was ensure his inner breath didn’t inadvertently consume Ying Bing’s. According to martial records, harmonizing different inner breaths wasn’t simple. Yet, Li Mo found little difficulty in it. "Your turn." "Mm." Ying Bing nodded, indicating she was ready. Li Mo adopted the same method. In the next moment, an intense stabbing pain emerged from her dantian, which Li Mo managed with great control, but its presence was infused with the purest sense of destruction. "Ugh..." Ying Bing's expression remained unchanged, voiceless, though a sudden blush appeared on her face. Li Mo carefully controlled the inner breath and, observing her expression, whispered: "Are you okay?" Ying Bing pressed her lips together. Within her eye’s depth lied a fierce willpower and determination, almost overflowing. "I'm fine." "Alright..." Li Mo assumed she wouldn't act tough, so he continued, but devoted even more mental concentration to regulating his inner breath. ... Time ticked away. Within Ying Bing’s dantian, two colors of inner breaths intertwined. She managed to endure. However, the process was far more arduous for her than for Li Mo. It wasn’t due to the martial technique being difficult—rather, Li Mo’s inner breath was fiercely temperamental. Despite his assistance, the undertaking was by no means easy for her. "We can move to the next step." "Alright." "The first acupoint, Tianzhui Point." Following the martial instructions, the two inner breaths kept traversing back and forth between their bodies. ### Chapter 90: Li Mo's Expertise in Pretending, Please Intensify 2/2 Following the martial instructions for acupoints, the two inner breaths kept shuttling through their bodies. Each movement targeted a different acupoint. Li Mo’s expression remained calm throughout. But Ying Bing... She occasionally shivered involuntarily as the sensation of certain acupoints grew strong. The night deepened. Half the night had quietly passed. The "Phoenix Cry in the Heavenly Swamp," after a complete cycle, flowed through hundreds of acupoints. "How do you feel?" "The effect is excellent." Li Mo opened his eyes, brimming with energy. Ying Bing asked, "Shall we continue?" Prolonged exposure to foreign breath is burdensome on the body. While Ying Bing could persist due to her sturdy constitution, fatigue seeped into her spirit, having to maintain utmost concentration throughout. "Too much can be overwhelming; I'm quite exhausted too." "Let’s rest." Mainly... In the world seed, Little Jiang Princess was seeking her teacher, leaving him with little choice. Ah, the energy of youth—instantly falling asleep. For some reason, seeing him asleep made Ying Bing feel a wave of relief. He seemed incapable of participating again. Thus concluded their first dual cultivation session. Ying Bing also lay flat, closing her eyes, waiting quietly for midnight to arrive.