“So how exactly did you render me completely helpless?”

Li Mo scratched his neck and glanced at Wei Yurong, who stood slightly bowed, gripping a frozen figure of a big-headed doll.

Did that ice block have some secret weapon?

It was common knowledge that her martial prowess was unfathomable, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she had techniques he’d never seen before.

“With a sword?”

“No.”

“Fists? Palms? Secret arts?”

But strangely, no matter how Li Mo pressed, Qin Yuzhi only shook her head, leaving the baffled young man even more confused.

If it wasn’t a sword or secret arts, how had she subdued him?

“This is weird… It couldn’t be leg techniques, could it…?”

Suspicious, Li Mo turned to look at the ice block—Ying Bing—only to find her picking up a strawberry, completely forgetting her earlier refusal to eat fruit. She took a delicate bite, her jade-like lips glistening with a faint pink hue.

Wait!

He recalled Tian Miao’s miraculous martial arts, which seemed to carry the weight of divine decree, as if her words alone could command the heavens.

“Was it with your mouth?”

“!”

Qin Yuzhi’s eyes widened—she hadn’t said a word! Li Mo had figured it out on his own.

How did he guess that?

This kid was twelve parts suspicious out of ten!

“......”

Ying Bing stared blankly at the strawberry she had just bitten, the previously hazy memory suddenly sharpening into clarity.

A flush crept up her neck, as if stained by strawberry juice… melting away some of the usual frost on her jade-like face.

“Dreams can be… illogical at times.”

“True.”

Seeing her reaction, Li Mo figured he must have accidentally hit the mark.

Then he turned back to Qin Yuzhi:

“Sect Leader Qin, you can not only control dreams but also traverse others’ dreams?”

“Of course, didn’t I mention that yesterday?”

Qin Yuzhi snapped out of her daze and nodded.

“One must have a profound understanding of the Dream Dao and reach the fourth realm, Inner Scenery, to achieve this. Nowadays, I might be the only one left in the world who can dream-walk…”

At this point, Sect Leader Qin sighed nostalgically:

“Back when I took over the sect, the Cloud Dream Hall was already in decline. There were barely ten Dreamwalkers left, and not a single Dreamweaver. Managing the Power of the Masses was beyond our capabilities—we could only rely on preaching. When I went to the previous sect leader for reinforcements, you know what he said?”

“‘People with talent for the Dream Dao are rare. No reinforcements for you…’”

As Qin Yuzhi slurped noodles and recounted the past, Li Mo began to understand.

In the days when the Summoning Demons Sect was still the Summoning Gods Sect, they managed the Power of the Masses through dreams.

Dreamwalkers could traverse dreams, delivering messages to the common folk—like posing as someone’s long-lost uncle…

The more skilled Dreamweavers could even craft dreams from scratch.

The efficiency of managing the Power of the Masses was so high that it eventually led to the revival of the Cloud Dream Ancestral God…

“In less than a century, I turned the Cloud Dream Hall from nothing into something. Hmph, you think just anyone can become a sect leader?”

Qin Yuzhi brimmed with pride, only to remember that now, even the Cloud Dream Hall was gone.

Forget leading a team—what remained of the sect barely qualified as a gang.

“Sect Leader, would you be interested in picking up the old trade?”

After a moment of thought, Li Mo asked earnestly.

“How so?”

“As you know, our Myriad Forms Immortal Sect has entered a strategic partnership with the Summoning Demons Sect. Part of the Power of the Masses in the Southern Border now falls under our jurisdiction.”

“But aside from me and the Holy Maiden, the rest of our members only know Form Imitation martial arts. We’re severely lacking in experience managing the Power of the Masses…”

At this point, Qin Yuzhi had to admit Li Mo had a point.

Give him a little Bing’er, and he’d dare to rope in even the Beast Hall Leader and the Summoning Demons Saint—all while complaining about having too much Power of the Masses to handle.

After a thoughtful pause, Qin Yuzhi asked seriously:

“I can help, but the Power of the Masses is no ordinary thing. It’s deeply tied to the Great Yu Dynasty, the Summoning Demons Sect, and even the Nine Heavens Immortals. Can you handle it?”

“I’m not absorbing it myself.”

Li Mo shook his head.

“Then?”

“One day, I want to render others helpless without even lifting a finger.”

“???”

Indeed.

When the Qi Tian Battle Intent reaches a certain level, the Great Sage’s divine aura alone can shake the heavens and earth.

Ordinary opponents of the same realm would truly be powerless against it.

Ying Bing’s serene eyes reflected the young man’s figure.

Seeing his fiery determination, she realized she might have overthought things.

He probably wasn’t feigning ignorance—he genuinely didn’t know…

“Right, he’s using the Power of the Masses to train…”

If she lost to him in the next ranking…

It wouldn’t just be about whether he remembered that dream anymore.

By then…

In reality, she wasn’t the Phoenix Heavenly Empress or the Moon Palace Sovereign of her past life. There was a gap between dreams and reality—Li Mo’s physical body was already slightly stronger than hers. She wouldn’t be able to pin him down…

“Why overthink it?”

“I haven’t lost yet…”

---

Two days later.

The Qingyuan Mountain Range warmed slightly, as if heralding the approach of spring. The Divine Arms Peak’s earthfire also stirred back to life, melting the snow first.

After a winter-long silence, the peak once again echoed with the clang of hammers.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Mo headed to Divine Arms Peak.

The forging courtyard at the summit was bustling.

Though the snow hadn’t fully melted, a group of muscular men already stood before blazing furnaces, swinging hammers and sending sparks flying.

Even the Three Heroes of Hengyun were among them.

“Brother Li, you’re here.”

“Since when did you all take up blacksmithing?” Li Mo asked. Swordsmen were supposed to be elegant and free-spirited—how did forging fit into that?

“Master’s orders,” Wu Chushu said with a pained expression.

“Elder Zeng says a true swordsman must not only understand his own blade,” Bai Jinghong added, his usual arrogance tempered with newfound seriousness.

Cao Mu finished: “But all manner of weapons.”

“Elder Zeng knows forging too?”

Li Mo blinked, then looked deeper into the courtyard.

There, two white-haired elders stood bare-chested, their muscles more imposing than any of the younger men.

Elder Hanhe and Elder Zeng hammered away at their anvils, occasionally exchanging glances and smiling in mutual admiration.

The scene was… intense.

“Our master and Elder Hanhe are old friends. They occasionally spar in the art of smithing,” Wu Chushu explained.

“Ah, Little Mo’s here.”

Elder Hanhe grinned and waved him over.

“Did you know? His hammer is no ordinary tool…”

“I know! How could I not?” Elder Zeng cut in, his expression slightly strained.

Of course he knew. The sword marks—no, the unique ore of their Hengyun Sword City—had been reshaped by that hammer.

How could he forget?

“…”

Elder Hanhe’s bragging was cut short, leaving him momentarily speechless.

"Ahem, if he can fully master the Pangu Meteorite Hammer, there's no reason he couldn't become a Divine Artificer in the future! Hahaha, if you don't believe me—"

"I believe it!"

Elder Zeng's eyes were resolute, his tone unwavering.

Have you ever witnessed the birth of a hammer-path divine technique?

I have!

"????"

Elder Hanhe choked on his breath again, frustration swelling in his chest.

The art of showing off in front of others relied on first suppressing expectations before delivering a grand reveal. Normally, Elder Zeng would doubt him at every turn—so why wasn’t he giving him a chance to be proven wrong today?

"......"

Li Mo sighed silently to himself.

Though the hammer treasure was impressive...

But... why did his talent have to revolve around a damn hammer?!

......