23: Chapter 23 discusses how to dismantle a Gundam with bare hands and the correct way to "caress" the Machine Bird.
The air in the arena was so awkward that it felt like it was about to solidify.
Zhao Wuji held the "Bone-Illuminating Mirror" that had cracked into a spiderweb pattern, his face shifting between blue and white, like a palette.
Although this mirror was not a top-tier Immortal Artifact, it was engraved with a "Truth-Breaking Formation" blessed by the Imperial Preceptor himself.
An ordinary Golden Core Cultivator's full-force strike might not even shake it in the slightest.
Yet now, it had been smashed to pieces by a pitch-black iron book, as if someone were crushing garlic.
"Ouch, my head… my hand…"
Li Mo was still wailing on the ground, clutching his head. His voice was miserable, his expression exaggerated; he looked exactly like an innocent woman bullied by local thugs.
While wailing, he used the corner of his eye to secretly observe Zhao Wuji, even stealthily stuffing that copy of 《Thick Black Theory (Physical Edition)》 back into his robes, his possessive movements full of cherish for his "ill-gotten gains."
"Is this the hospitality of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
Dugu Yun let out a cold snort, his Sword Intent surging like a tide, shielding Li Mo behind him.
"You casually use a broken mirror to scan a Disciple of our sect, and then you get upset when the mirror breaks?"
"Official Zhao, this is the Heavenly River Sword Sect, not your Imperial Preceptor's mansion!"
Zhao Wuji's chest heaved violently, and he finally swallowed the blood that had risen to his throat.
He stared fixedly at Li Mo on the ground.
Logic told him that a Servant without any spiritual power fluctuations could never possibly shatter a Magic Treasure.
The only explanation was that either the iron book was haunted, or… Dugu Yun had secretly attacked in the blink of an eye.
"Fine, very fine."
Zhao Wuji put away the shattered bronze mirror, a cold, sinister smile returning to his face.
"Since Elder Dugu says he hasn't seen the wanted criminal, then naturally, this official believes him."
"However…"
His tone shifted abruptly, and the folding fan in his hand pointed far towards the nearby Scripture Pavilion.
"The divination results from the Imperial Preceptor show that the location where that wisp of Imperial Dynasty Luck finally disappeared is right here in your sect's Scripture Pavilion."
"I am acting on orders and must go inside to search. I ask the Elder to make it convenient for us."
"What if I say no?" Dugu Yun's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Then don't blame this official for being impolite."
Zhao Wuji smiled with disdain and snapped his fingers lightly.
"Rumble—"
The hundred-zhang bronze mechanical bird hovering in mid-air let out a deafening roar!
Its metal wings, which blocked out the sky, unfolded violently. Countless pitch-black, deep cannon barrels emerged from beneath the wings, and dark blue spiritual light condensed crazily within them, emitting a heart-palpitating hum.
"Three hundred and sixty Divine Machine Crossbows."
Zhao Wuji's voice was full of arrogance.
"Each one is comparable to the full-force strike of a Peak Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"I wonder if, after this round of volley fire, your sect's Scripture Pavilion… will have a single tile left?"
This was a naked, unmasked threat!
"How dare you!" Sect Master was furious, his long sword clanging out of its sheath, the sound of the sword ringing throughout the heavens.
"See if I dare."
Zhao Wuji was fearless.
Behind him stood the entire Great Zhou Dynasty; he did not believe a mere Heavenly River Sword Sect would dare to tear faces with the Imperial Dynasty for the sake of so-called face.
The atmosphere was tense, with swords drawn.
Just then, the "frightened little wife" who had been shrinking behind Dugu Yun suddenly stood up shakily.
"Th-that, My Lord."
Li Mo patted the dust off his body, his face instantly filled with fawning smiles, bowing and scraping as he approached.
"Searching is fine, searching is fine. Harmony brings wealth, why resort to blades and guns?"
"I am the manager of the Scripture Pavilion. I will take you in, I will lead the way for you!"
"Li Mo!" Dugu Yun glared at him. What kind of trick was this kid trying to pull?
Li Mo, with his back to Zhao Wuji, quickly gave Dugu Yun a look: Elder, don't panic, watch my operation, the opportunity has arrived!
Dugu Yun was slightly stunned.
He instantly recalled the kid's belly full of schemes that could trick people to death. The scolding that had reached his lips was swallowed back down. He just snorted coldly and turned his head away, looking as if he did not want to see it.
Seeing this, Zhao Wuji took it as the Servant being cowardly and greedy for life, and the disdain at the corners of his mouth grew thicker.
"At least you, a Servant, are sensible. Lead the way!"
"Yes, yes, yes, this way, My Lord."
Li Mo bowed and scraped, looking just like an old eunuch in the palace.
But he did not walk toward the Scripture Pavilion; instead, he walked straight toward the giant mechanical bird parked in the center of the square.
"That… My Lord, this big bird is majestic, but it's blocking the road. With my small build, I really cannot get around it."
As Li Mo spoke, he reached out his "sinful" hand—the one that had just smashed a Magic Treasure—and brazenly stroked the cold bronze shell of the mechanical bird.
"Tsk tsk tsk, such craftsmanship, such luster, this iron lump is really imposing! It must be worth a lot of money, right?"
"Don't touch it randomly! Can you afford to pay if you dirty it?!" a black-armored guard barked.
"I'm going, I'm going."
Li Mo agreed repeatedly, but his hand seemed stuck to it, following the mechanical bird's thick leg armor, "affectionately stroking" all the way up.
No one knew that in his Sea of Consciousness, a series of messages were refreshing crazily.
[Contacted high-tier mechanical creation: Great Zhou Divine Machine Bird (Mass-produced Type).]
[Analyzing internal structure... Structure analysis 10%... 50%... 100%.]
[Analysis complete! Extracted Golden Trait: Mohist Mechanism Art (Grandmaster Level)!]
[Trait Effect: All mechanical creations have no secrets in your eyes. This bird is no longer a weapon, but a pile of flawed building blocks. As long as you want, you can dismantle it at any time, or... make it dance for you.]
"So that's it, gold and jade on the outside, rotten on the inside."
Li Mo sneered inwardly.
In the structural diagram he "read," this seemingly majestic mechanical bird was full of flaws.
The power core was extremely unstable.
To pursue ultimate firepower, the defense Formation's circuits were compressed to a ridiculous degree.
Most importantly, he found a hidden backdoor program in the mechanical bird's belly.
That was a maintenance port left by the manufacturer.
Just by injecting a trace of spiritual power at a specific frequency, one could instantly... make its core overload.
"Hurry up!" Zhao Wuji urged impatiently.
"Coming, coming."
Li Mo slapped the thick mechanical leg hard one last time, appearing as if he were dusting off his hands.
In reality, a trace of spiritual power mixed with the [Baleful Qi Control] trait, like the most precise scalpel, silently drilled into the gap in the armor.
"Good bird, be obedient later, there's candy to eat."
Li Mo muttered in his heart, then ran happily to Zhao Wuji to continue leading the way.
The group marched toward the Scripture Pavilion.
However, just as Zhao Wuji's foot stepped onto the first step of the Scripture Pavilion.
"Click... click-click... buzz..."
A sound of metal grinding that set one's teeth on edge suddenly came from behind him.
Zhao Wuji turned his head abruptly.
He saw that the originally majestic bronze giant bird was now trembling violently, as if it had epilepsy.
The dark blue spiritual light flowing on the body instantly turned into a blinding scarlet!
"What's going on?!" Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically.
The guards responsible for controlling the mechanical bird were even paler, scrambling to operate the Dharma disk: "I... I don't know, My Lord! The control core suddenly failed! Spiritual power is backflowing! It... it's out of our control!"
"Beep—!!!"
A shrill alarm sound that tore through the eardrums erupted from within the mechanical bird!
The giant metal head suddenly turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and a pair of originally dim ruby eyes now erupted with eerie blood light.
Those three hundred and sixty Divine Machine Crossbows that had been fully charged and ready to fire were not aimed at the Scripture Pavilion.
Instead... they turned their barrels in unison!
Target locked—their master, Zhao Wuji!
"Fuck—!"
Even with Zhao Wuji's status, he could not help but curse in his hometown dialect.
"Run!!!"
He did not have time to think about why his own bird was rebelling. True Qi erupted, his figure turned into a stream of light, and he fled frantically backward regardless of anything else.
Boom boom boom—!!!
The next second, ten thousand cannons fired at once.
Three hundred and sixty beams of spiritual light, comparable to a Peak Foundation Establishment, were like a storm of wrath sent down by a Heavenly God, instantly blasting the place where Zhao Wuji had just been standing into a bottomless charred crater.
Dust soared into the sky, rubble fell like rain.
The Disciples of the Heavenly River Sword Sect, every single one of them, were stunned.
Dugu Yun and Sect Master were also stunned.
Only Li Mo, the very first moment the alarm sounded, had already hugged his head and dived behind the heavy door of the Scripture Pavilion.
He even thoughtfully left a crack in the door.
The position was just right, allowing him to eat melon seeds while enjoying the "fireworks show" outside.
"Th-this... what is going on?" Chu Linger did not know when she had come over holding Little Black, her small face filled with excitement and stimulation.
"Nothing much."
Li Mo took a handful of melon seeds from his robes and generously shared half with her.
"That bird, it probably hit its rebellious phase, did not like its daddy, and did not want to listen anymore."
"Come, don't be polite, eat some melon seeds, this big show has just begun."
The explosions outside continued.
The mechanical bird had gone completely crazy, chasing Zhao Wuji and the group of black-armored guards, bombing them wildly, its huge body emitting a "creak creak" groan of impending disintegration amidst the spiritual power overload.
The firelight illuminated Li Mo's face, and a new prompt popped up on his System panel:
[Triggered special event: Mechanical Riot.]
[Detected that the mechanical bird's core contains a piece of "Star Iron Essence," which is an excellent material for upgrading "Little Black" cover.]
[Suggestion: Wait for it to finish exploding, then go pick up trash.]
Li Mo's eyes lit up instantly like two suns.
Pick up trash? I'm an expert at this! I'm going to be rich!
However, just as he was calculating how to "return lost property" after the fireworks dissipated, the mechanical bird, which was on the verge of collapse, suddenly stopped all attacks.
Its giant head stiffly turned toward the direction of the Scripture Pavilion.
In those scarlet electronic eyes, a phantom figure was projected out.
The figure had white hair draped over its shoulders and wore Yin and Yang Daoist robes. Even though it was just a projection, that cold, eerie aura seemed to freeze one's Soul.
Great Zhou Imperial Preceptor, Sima Changfeng!
"Unexpectedly, the backup I left behind was actually forced out by you."
Sima Changfeng's projection, his gaze seemingly piercing through the heavy door, locked firmly onto Li Mo inside, his voice ice-cold.
"A rat hiding its head and showing its tail! To be able to tamper with my mechanical beast, it seems your Divine Sense cultivation... is even more interesting than I expected."
"Since the mechanical beast cannot kill you, then I will use this beast as a sacrifice..."
"Requesting—Saint—Judgment!"
The moment the words fell, the giant mechanical bird imploded with a bang!
All the metal fragments, spiritual cores, and Formation runes collapsed inward in an instant, forcibly compressed into a black ball of light the size of a fist that swallowed all light.
The ball of light hovered in mid-air, emitting an aura of destruction that made the Soul tremble.
Immediately after, a golden beam of light pierced down from the Nine Heavens!
The golden light was filled with Vast Righteous Qi, yet it also contained the endless killing intent of "those who submit prosper, those who resist perish," accurately pouring into that black ball of light!
Jixia Academy, a Saint's strike!
"Not good!" Dugu Yun's expression changed drastically, his beard and hair standing on end, "Everyone, retreat quickly! Activate the Mountain Protection Formation! This is the Confucian 'spring and autumn brush strike'! They want to use the law of Karma to forcibly erase the entire Scripture Pavilion!"
Li Mo stood behind the door, looking at the destructive beam of light descending from the sky, as if judging the entire mortal world, the melon seeds in his hand spilling all over the floor.
"Damn, messed up..."
He glanced at the hair of the "spring and autumn brush" he had swiped from Great Scholar Su in his sleeve.
Then he looked at the real, world-destroying Saint's strike outside.
"System, can this thing... be read?"
[Warning! Warning! Detected Karma-level attack! Energy overload! Unable to analyze! Unable to block!]
[Suggestion: Host, run! Or... use a more unreasonable 'logic' to persuade it!]
Persuade a beam of light with logic?
Li Mo took a deep breath, the last trace of playfulness in his eyes disappearing, replaced by a madness of being backed into a corner.
"Fine, since you scholars like to talk about logic."
"Then today, I will show you what, the hell, is the real... hard logic!"
He turned abruptly and rushed to the deepest part of the Scripture Pavilion.
There, buried was the only thing he had dug out from the spoils of the Overlord Blade Sect that he had never dared to read, nor could he understand.
It was a piece of... broken stone tablet dug out from the ruins of an ancient battlefield of gods and demons.
There were no words on the tablet.
Only a sword mark that spanned across it, bottomless, as if it could sever the ages...
"Today, I will use this sword mark to teach you sour scholars a lesson!"