Chapter 718: Chapter 138: Acquired Dao Embryo, The Challenge of a Hermit (Two in One)
Seeing that the Sword Master had also arrived, all the disciples present were amazed.
The Sword Master was extremely mysterious, residing in the Sword Tower year-round, and most disciples never got to see him when selecting secret manuals; they only heard of his name and rarely saw his appearance.
At this moment, the Sword Master’s words were clear and indifferent, yet each word seemed to strike like water droplets falling on stone, echoing in everyone’s ears.
“28 years old?”
“A disciple of the Supreme Saint Gate?!”
When they heard the Sword Master’s words clearly, the previously noisy arguments fell into silence once more.
…
The disciples below the stage were stunned, doubting their own ears, the youth on stage was only 28 years old?!
Having cultivated for less than 30 years, his swordsmanship had already surpassed the Haoyue Saint Son, and he had not even displayed the Extreme Realm, defeating him solely with swordsmanship.
What kind of monster was this?!
Bian Ruxue and Qiu Wuhen, among others, were also dumbfounded. Qiu Wuhen’s eyes widened slightly. Today, he had seen his usual fishing companion, who turned out to be an exceptional swordsman, which was surprising enough, but to think that person was even younger than him?
How was this possible!
He often encountered Li Hao while fishing; such swordsmanship at that age, there seemed no other explanation than relentless practice.
Yet the man seemed to have a lot of leisure time.
“28 years old, isn’t he just a year older than Saintess Xue’er?”
“But his swordsmanship has already entered the Dao. It’s already extraordinarily difficult to cultivate to the Tao Comprehension Realm at 28, not to mention to also comprehend such swordsmanship.”
“Even with a Dao Heart and a Daoist Body, that is easily capable of sudden insight, it shouldn’t be this fast, right?”
Many saint heirs and saintesses showed amazement in their eyes. Such swordsmanship, if cultivated for over a hundred years, they might accept, but to cultivate for merely 28 years, that was a bit exaggerated.
Bian Ruxue was also stunned. Besides her childhood, it was the first time she had seen someone her age who was such a monster, yet his strength was far ahead of hers; she could not catch that sword, a strike close to the one she pursued in her heart.
Atop the high platform, several Half-Saint Elders were somewhat moved. The words of the Sword Master couldn’t be wrong; he must have measured the other with the Bone-Reflecting Mirror, still, Li Hao’s age was indeed a surprise for them.
The Sword Saint glanced at the Sword Master, understanding the meaning behind his words.
He frowned slightly, his eyes reflecting contemplation. To establish a good karma, might not be a bad idea.
But, such a monstrous fellow, apparently targeted for assassination by Saints and ended up stranded here, the situation was probably quite complicated.
“Since you’re a disciple of the Supreme Saint Gate, the sparring between you two today will end here. If you are still interested in the future, you can settle it in the Supreme Genius Battle, where you can both go all out.”
The Sword Saint spoke, framing the recent clash between the Haoyue Saint Son and Li Hao as mere sparring, also to save the reputation of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land. Otherwise, if the Haoyue Saint Son went all out and was easily defeated by Li Hao, it would bring despair to many disciples of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land.
Hearing his master’s words, the Haoyue Saint Son recovered from his dazed state, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.
He very well knew his master’s intentions, but he felt wronged at this moment.
If Li Hao were several hundred years old, he wouldn’t mind losing, since when he himself reached that age, he would surely surpass the current him.
But in this battle, he had given almost his all and still suffered defeat; it was complete and utter, and the opponent was even younger than him.
He was humiliated to think that he had fallen so far that his master had to lie for him, his heart swelling with humiliation.
Li Hao understood the intention of the Sword Saint and naturally would not expose it; otherwise, it would be too harsh a face slapping.
After all, this was someone else’s territory, and he had to bow his head.
Beside him, Lin Qingyue was somewhat confused; she had never expected that the person she had picked up unintentionally was actually a disciple of the Supreme Saint, like accidentally picking up trash and finding it to be gold?
With the Sword Saint’s words, this farce also came to an end.
The disciples all came to their senses, their expressions varying.
Whether the Haoyue Saint Son had given his all or not, no one knew, but the first exhibition of his Heaven and Earth Law Manifestation at least showed a significant portion of his power, yet he still lost, which was enough to show the terror of Li Hao.
Such a figure was bound to shine brightly in the future.
In the floating seats, Lin Shanhai and the other alchemists were all abuzz.
“Qingfeng is actually a disciple of the Supreme Saint; how did he learn to purify medicinal materials like that?”
“Is he a swordsman or an alchemist?”
“Old Lin, didn’t you swear he was descended from alchemists; you were so sure before.”
Zhao Yingzhen and others were frightened by the strength Li Hao had displayed, and now they looked at Lin Shanhai with teasing smiles.
Lin Shanhai was speechless. How could he know such things?
But he carefully recalled that whenever he had asked Li Hao, the damn kid just smiled without saying a word, neither confirming nor denying.
What a cunning boy!
Lin Shanhai couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself. He’d lived for a good many years, yet he’d been fooled by a young kid.
However, seeing Li Hao stand up for Lin Qingyue, he felt quite moved in his heart.
“With your age, you’ll be participating in the Supreme Genius Battle, won’t you? I’ll seek you out for another battle then!”
The Haoyue Saint Son looked at Li Hao, his eyes dark. He said these words through a private transmission and, after speaking, turned and walked away without looking back. Today’s battle had been a shock to him, and he determined to train even more furiously to seek a breakthrough in the coming days.
Li Hao, hearing these words, didn’t take them seriously and turned his head to look at Lin Qingyue. He had taken action in this fight both to vent Lin Qingyue’s anger and mainly to help her reconstruct her Sword Intent.
In disciple sparrings, victory and defeat were common occurrences. If one lost, one could only blame their own lack of skill, and there was nothing to be angry about.
But, since the other party took advantage of it to maliciously harm others, that was why he angrily took action.
Chapter 719: Chapter 138: Acquired Dao Embryo, Layman Challenge (Two in One)_2
“Your sword.”
Li Hao handed the green-edge sword back to Lin Qingyue and said, “About this sword, if you want to learn it, I will draw it for you later.”
At this point, he was already exposed, so he simply stopped disguising his intentions and spoke openly.
Hearing Li Hao’s words, Lin Qingyue came back to her senses, looked at the green-edge sword that had just demonstrated its power, then raised her eyes to the young man’s cheeks. She bit her lip slightly and said,
“So, you were just making excuses when you talked about my posture and external appearance problems earlier.”
Li Hao immediately thought of the previous instances when he had pointed out and commented on her arms and waist among other areas, and couldn’t help but give a wry smile and awkwardly said, “Not exactly, there was indeed a consideration from an aesthetic perspective.”
…
Lin Qingyue bit her lip and looked at him, not speaking, but her eyes seemed to speak, as if saying, “Do you think I would still believe you?”
Li Hao coughed lightly, his gaze shifted to her abdomen where the wound had healed. The surface wound had closed, but the immense Dao power inside was no longer detectable.
He said softly, “Can your Dao Embryo still heal?”
Mentioning the Dao Embryo, Lin Qingyue’s eyes dimmed, and she shook her head slightly, “The Dao Embryo is inherently born, once destroyed it cannot be healed.”
Li Hao looked up at the Sword Master in the high sky, who had already approached the Sword Saint and the elders. His gaze flickered, wondering if the Sword Master would be willing to help and whether she could help Lin Qingyue to reconstruct her Dao Embryo.
While Li Hao was pondering, the Sword Master also looked at Li Hao and beckoned, “You two, come over here.”
Li Hao was slightly stunned, feeling as if the Sword Master had seen through his mind. He immediately said to Lin Qingyue, “Let’s go, let’s see if the Sword Master can help.”
Mentioned the Sword Master, a glimmer of hope appeared in Lin Qingyue’s eyes. She nodded and followed Li Hao to the presence of the Sword Saint and the Sword Master.
“Greetings to the Sword Master, Sword Saint, and all the elders.”
Li Hao bowed.
Lin Qingyue also bowed her head in salute.
The Sword Master looked at Lin Qingyue, his smile fading, and he sighed lightly, glanced at the Sword Saint, and remained silent.
Although he had not observed the battle closely, as a Saint who could perceive the heavens and the earth, merely from subtle clues, he had already deduced what had transpired.
Regarding the Sword Saint’s tacit approval, he had no other thoughts than a sigh.
He was too familiar with the other party and was not surprised.
“Sword Master, Qingyue’s Dao Embryo has been destroyed, I wonder if you could help reconstruct it?” Li Hao asked hopefully.
The Sword Master shook his head slightly and said, “The Dao Embryo is an innate entity. Even we cannot help reconstruct it, unless the Dao Heavenly Vine can be found to cultivate the Dao with its essence. However, this item is rare, found only under a Supreme Saint and generally not given to outsiders. Even the favors of Saints do not work for it.”
Li Hao was taken aback, while Lin Qingyue’s face turned pale.
“Senior, may I know who this Supreme Saint is?” Li Hao asked again.
Hearing Li Hao’s words, clearly not giving up, the Sword Master felt somewhat helpless and said,
“He is the Source Saint, one of the earliest Saints from the Land of All Saints, who has taught thousands. He excels in cultivating disciples, among whom three have become Saints. Nowadays, he is engrossed elsewhere and is hardly seen.”
Li Hao’s eyes revealed a flash of surprise. Was this the power of a Supreme Saint?
Lin Qingyue tugged at his sleeve and shook her head slightly, “Don’t bother. Having no Dao Embryo isn’t that bad, I can still practice cultivation.”
Li Hao looked at her, knowing that requesting the Dao Heavenly Vine from the unseen Source Saint had little hope, especially since even the favors of Saints were of no use, let alone his own.
“Though the Dao Embryo cannot be reconstructed, I have a Condensing Dao Skill which, once mastered, can also condense additional Dao Power within the body. It is not comparable to the Dao Embryo, but it is still much stronger than ordinary people,” told the Sword Saint to Lin Qingyue.
Lin Qingyue’s eyes dimmed. She had heard of such skills but knew they were not comparable to the Dao Embryo.
However, now that she had no Dao Embryo, she had to settle for the next best thing.
Li Hao’s eyes flickered, glancing at Lin Qingyue’s abdomen, which was now empty, yet with his current understanding of the Sword Dao, if he could reconstruct the Dao Embryo that would be good, but without it, perhaps it might even be better to leave it empty.
However, he planned to discuss this with Lin Qingyue later.
The Sword Master said to Li Hao, “I called you over because they want to know your thoughts.”
The Sword Saint’s gaze also settled on Li Hao, intently asking, “With your age and talent, you will participate in this edition of the Supreme Genius Battle, won’t you?”
Li Hao had heard about this event from Lin Shanhai before; it was a contention that impacted many geniuses across the Thirty-Three Realms. This current dispute for the Holy Land was merely to select participants for the Holy Land, and the winner, who would top the Thirty-Three Realms as the Supreme Genius, would receive the Incense Fire sufficient to become a Saint instantly!
Such a great opportunity naturally attracted countless contenders.
Li Hao had access to Great Yu Incense Fire, but he would need to stay in the Land of All Saints for three hundred years, or around three thousand years in the Mortal World, to accumulate enough Incense Fire to become a Saint.
Although Li Hao could take other paths, choosing the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension, since acquiring the Great Yu Incense Fire, he was rather inclined to try traversing all three paths.
Now that he had reached the Final Realm in the Power Passage Realm, and his Divine Power had transformed into pure Divine Blood, not only could he pursue the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension, but he could also pursue the path mentioned by Ying Xiaoxiao, the Extreme Path to Saint Ascension!
Combining all three paths might just be the most complete method.
Yet among these three paths, the Incense Sainthood, which was the easiest for others, turned out to be the most troublesome for Li Hao.
After all, Incense Fire required actual accumulation.
While the Extreme Path to Saint Ascension, on the other hand, was relatively simpler, as it only required enough disasters to convert the souls and killings.
Chapter 720: Chapter 138 Acquired Dao Embryo, Rogue Challenger (Two in One)_3
“I will participate.”
Li Hao replied to the Sword Saint.
The Sword Saint nodded slightly and said, “If you were not a disciple of the Supreme Saint Gate, I would be willing to take you as my disciple and let you represent the Sword Ancestor Holy Land in battle. But since you already belong to a sect, you cannot fight under the name of my Sword Ancestor Holy Land. If you do not plan to return to your original sacred sect land, there is only one other path.”
“A loner?”
Li Hao asked.
The Sword Saint nodded slightly, “Yes, this Supreme Genius Battle allows only ten spots from each of the Thirty-Three Realms, meaning our Canglan Realm can send only ten competitors!”
…
“Besides the Three Great Sacred Lands, that includes the numerous dynasties of the Canglan Realm and the top forces within those dynasties. Some who couldn’t join the Sacred Lands but are monstrously talented will also get a chance to compete, but the difficulty to advance is no less than the Sacred Lands’ selection.”
Li Hao nodded slightly, having previously heard about this from Lin Shanhai.
Each of the Three Great Sacred Lands selects ten participants, and together with another ten selected from the various dynasty forces, a total of forty compete in a fierce battle to ultimately decide the final ten representatives for the Canglan Realm to compete!
“The selection battles of the Thirty-Three Realms are imminent, taking place in three months’ time. The Sword Ancestor Holy Land’s ten spots have already been chosen; next, we will compete against the Literary Ancestor Holy Land and the Buddhist Holy Land. If you wish to participate, you must quickly join the nearby dynasty’s competition and advance to the top ten to qualify,” said the Sword Saint.
The Three Great Sacred Lands in the Canglan Realm are the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, Literary Ancestor Holy Land, and the Buddhist Holy Land. Among them, the Buddhist Holy Land takes the lead with the most formidable power.
Li Hao nodded, as this was his plan as well. Many forces had previously approached him under his identity as Qingfeng Pill Master, offering him a chance to fight under their banner to secure a position in the top ten.
However, the final battles of the Supreme Genius Battle would take place under the watchful eyes of the Supreme Saint, and would also draw the attention of numerous Saints; it was likely that the Void Saint would notice him too.
When it came to that, he would need to undergo the Ritual Path to Saint Ascension beforehand.
That way, even if his identity was exposed, it wouldn’t matter. If he could secure first place in the Pride of Heaven Battle, he would receive Incense Fire, which was the most ideal scenario.
Thus, his schedule in the coming days would be incredibly tight.
If he hadn’t become a Saint by the time of the final battle, he would have to withdraw from the competition, or else the renewed attention from the Void Saint could result in an even fiercer retaliation.
Previously it was just an incarnation; next time, it might be the original himself coming to suppress him personally.
Considering all this, a killing intent surged in Li Hao’s heart, but he concealed it deep within.
“Although your talents are immense, and your swordsmanship has entered the Dao, do not underestimate the challenge. This Pride of Heaven Battle is much more intense than you can imagine. The Sword Ancestor Holy Land participating in this battle serves only as a training opportunity. Most of the top ten from previous battles are reincarnated Saints, some even fifth or sixth reincarnations, with unimaginably powerful tactics,” the Sword Saint seriously cautioned Li Hao.
Li Hao’s eyes sparkled, understanding the underlying meaning. Was Haoyue just gaining experience in the Pride of Heaven Battle?
Considering the opponent’s strength, Li Hao silently nodded; if someone like Haoyue could potentially advance to the top ten, then securing the first spot should be fairly easy for him.
After the Sword Saint finished speaking, he said nothing further as the fight for second and third place was about to start. Lin Qingyue’s Dao embryo was crippled, and she chose to concede, thus concluding the Sword God War.
The Sword Saint stepped forward and bestowed a nation’s worth of Incense Fire to his disciple, the prize for securing the first place in the Sword God War.
Yet this Incense Fire, though significant, was not enough to make one a Saint; it could only condense a single column of incense inside the body.
Even so, it was a substantial reward, saving hundreds of years of accumulation.
Besides, other treasures and Divine Pills were also awarded.
Lin Qingyue received her prize, though the third place reward was considerably less.
After the awards, the Sword Saint left, and the Sword Master started casually chatting with Li Hao.
“You lad, really not afraid of stirring up trouble, huh? This is the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, and you easily defeated Haoyue right in front of us; that’s kind of slapping our faces,” the Sword Master said to Li Hao via spiritual transmission, chiding him playfully.
Seeing his demeanor, Li Hao felt surprised but did not get angry, and curiously asked, “Senior isn’t angry?”
“If he loses, he loses. If his skill is inferior, there’s nothing to be angry about. By crippling that girl’s Dao embryo and severing his own distractions, his defeat by you was also karma,” said the Sword Master.
Li Hao smiled wryly; the other side seemed very open-minded about it.
“When you have time, come and sit with me. However, since the Canglan Realm’s dynastic forces have already selected their combatants by now, you probably won’t have much time, as you need to quickly secure a spot; otherwise, you’ll miss this Supreme Genius Battle,” the Sword Master said regretfully, shaking his head.
In the short term, it seemed this young man wouldn’t be available to join him for fishing.
As the two conversed, on the other side, Lin Qingyue quietly watched the young man chatting and laughing with the Sword Master, envy apparent in her eyes—not for the acquaintance with the Sword Master, but for the carefree and open-hearted aura around him.
Other than the day he got angry for her, she had never seen that young man gloomy.
“Did he guide you in Sword Dao?”
Bian Ruxue stood next to Lin Qingyue, her eyes also glanced at that figure briefly before withdrawing her gaze and calmly said:
“Meeting someone who can practice swordsmanship with you is truly a fortunate thing.”
Lin Qingyue’s pupils quivered slightly, her heartbeat speeding up a bit, remembering those days in the courtyard practicing her swordsmanship while he sat nearby sipping tea and chatting. Aside from Sword Dao, she regarded everything else as trivial.
But now, those trivial things seemed to have taken root in her heart.