Chapter 113: No Longer Bear the Li Surname

The palm print failed to strike Li Hao; Li Tiangang’s furious expression froze instantly.

That sword intent seemed like countless petals drifting before his eyes, leaving him momentarily dazed.

Flowers bloom on the other shore.

This sword intent could actually affect him!

Shock flashed in Li Tiangang’s eyes, but he was a peak Third Immortality-level primordial spirit; though his realm had fallen, his heart was unshakable, and he snapped back to awareness in an instant.

With a sharp clang, a flash of cold light stabbed toward him.

The shock in his eyes instantly turned into boundless rage.

“Wretched beast!!”

Roaring, Li Tiangang’s spirit brandished a blade and dove down with terrifying speed.

But Li Hao was closer, and his sword was faster! Li Tiangang barely twisted aside—the blade scraped his shoulder, producing a metallic clang as it pierced through his flesh, carving out a bloody hole.

The Three Immortalities are Indestructible, Unblemished, and Unwaning! Once one reaches the Unblemished Realm, one’s body becomes inviolable by thought alone—blades and swords cannot harm it! Only because Li Hao wielded a divine weapon could he pierce Li Tiangang’s flesh; any lower-grade weapon would have been useless against him.

With such power, a Third Immortality cultivator could carve through ten-thousand-man armies on the frontier, single-handedly decapitating commanders amid the ranks.

A Master-level cultivator might dominate in one-on-one combat, but once surrounded by troops, he’d be riddled with arrows in an instant, reduced to bloody pulp.

Especially the armies trained by the Divine General’s Mansion—no Master could stand against them.

Blood streamed from his shoulder; Li Tiangang’s eyes widened in shock and fury, but in the next breath, he raised his hand and seized the blade’s edge before Li Hao could retract it.

In terms of killing experience, Li Tiangang had been forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood—his body had developed instinctive reflexes.

At this moment, ignoring the wound to his palm, he slammed a fist straight at Li Hao’s chest.

Li Hao instantly released his grip, yet did not retreat—he clenched his sword hand into a fist and roared as he unleashed Half-Invincible Fist!

This punch broke the rules of Half-Invincible Fist—he fused a sword intent into it, turning his own arm into a blade, delivering a strike where fist and sword merged. The Badao fist intent and the razor-sharp sword intent crashed violently against Li Tiangang’s palm. That rough hand, like a giant fan trying to crush him, was pierced deep into bone; his arm cracked audibly, and his body involuntarily staggered back.

With this single clash, both were thrown back.

“Heavenly Realm!”

Li Tiangang stared at Li Hao in shock, finally realizing—in this fleeting instant, Li Hao had shattered the Heavenly Gate and stepped into Master realm!

His techniques were no longer bound by form or constraint, unpredictable and elusive.

Li Hao’s eyes were cold as he glanced at the sword in his hand. For a swordsman, letting go of his blade was a disgrace; any other swordsman would have taken the palm strike head-on, even at the cost of grave injury, rather than release his weapon.

But he had never possessed the mindset of a swordsman.

Whether knife or sword, fist or foot—whatever could strike, he used.

Weapons are external tools; the self is the core.

Thinking of this, Li Hao’s mind grew clearer and colder. He had just entered Master realm—his heart had broken, but he had yet to forge his own Master Dao.

Yet now, he had already touched it.

There are no rules in the world, no rigid boundaries—rules exist only because people create them.

But what of this universe?

The sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, grasses, trees.

They are all different, yet they coexist harmoniously, supporting and complementing each other.

True harmony does not come from forcing things together—it comes from perfect balance: you lack, I fill; I lack, you supply.

Not from selfish desire! Perhaps the “half-step” Elder Two spoke of was exactly this.

To achieve your own half-step—that is enough!!

Sudden brilliant light erupted in Li Hao’s eyes; countless martial arts techniques converged in his mind.

“All things under heaven and earth, myriad scenes—I need not be bound!”

“Countless rivers flow across the world, yet in the end… all streams return to the source!”

Li Hao had found his path—even if he had only glimpsed the first step.

But in this moment, he knew exactly which direction to take.

A vast, overwhelming aura gathered from his body. Though he had no sword in hand, he could still release sword qi—but without divine weapon enhancement, he could not reach his ultimate killing technique.

So Li Hao chose the fist.

His fist technique was also at the sixth stage—no less potent than his sword!

Gazing at the enraged, shocked eyes before him, Li Hao felt an urge to shatter them with his bare fists. He roared to the heavens, the ground beneath his feet cracking in all directions; terrifying pressure sank the earth around him, and countless martial arts fused into his punch.

His body surged forward—his fist like rivers and mountains!

The prototype of this punch was still based on the Half-Invincible Fist, but only in form.

“Audacious to the extreme!!”

Li Tiangang snapped back to himself, divine flames seeming to burn along his eyebrows: “I have shown you mercy again and again—how dare you remain obstinate?!”

His aura erupted violently, unleashing the full might of the Three Immortalities; at the same time, he suppressed his injuries and briefly activated the power of the Unwaning Realm.

His wounded body showed fleeting signs of revival, his realm seeming to climb again. This act would leave greater damage afterward, but the aura Li Hao had unleashed left him no choice.

He would crush this stubborn bone to dust—even if he were a Master!

“Tiangang!!” Li Qingzheng and others arrived, witnessing the scene and crying out in grief and fury.

Li Tiangang fused countless supreme techniques, pondered their principles, and now unleashed his self-created supreme palm technique—like a blazing, boundless sun.

Boundless golden light illuminated the area, dimming the nearby streets.

Li Hao’s eyes burned crimson as if bleeding; his internal arts spun rapidly, activating the Seven Stars Lighting the Lamp trait—under its acceleration, his power doubled. Though it would leave him drained afterward, he had no choice now.

“Aaaahhh!!”

Li Hao’s hair stood on end in fury; brilliant true energy erupted from his entire body—his Dharma Form fused, the Divine Object Power amplified—all converged into this single punch!

Like a moth hurling itself into flame, he charged toward the blazing golden palm radiating annihilation.

Then he was swallowed by divine light.

With a thunderous boom, the heavens and earth trembled.

Terrifying cracks split the street; the violent force tore apart surrounding houses.

Li Qingzheng acted swiftly, evacuating the people inside the houses to prevent injury.

The golden divine palm shattered violently.

All stared in awe—except Li Qingzheng, Li Xuanli, and Li Fenghua, none could intervene. Unless it was Lin Wujing.

But he merely watched like a spectator, his eyes filled with awe and deep contemplation.

The golden light of the divine palm shattered; Li Tiangang spat a mouthful of blood. The wild force of the punch tore apart his robes—his clothing, not battle armor, had been ripped to shreds; only his long trousers remained, revealing his massive, muscular torso.

Countless scars crisscrossed his body, grotesque as earthworms—all from his fourteen years of frontier warfare.

Even after reaching the Three Immortalities, with an unblemished body, he still bore so many wounds—how brutal must those fourteen years have been, how many battles had he endured?

Compared to his torn clothing, Li Hao’s figure was blasted backward like a cannonball.

That punch, Ningju all his strength, never reached Li Tiangang’s side—it was smashed apart before it could land.

After flying hundreds of meters, Li Hao finally stopped. His eyes widened in shock. Though he had just entered Master realm, he had no time to stabilize—he had hastily fused all his arts without reaching true peak.

Yet this punch was already the strongest he could unleash at this moment!

And still—he lost. The realm gap, plus Li Tiangang’s status as a being beyond even the top prodigies—his advantage was still too great. Li Hao turned and saw that terrifying, demonic figure advancing step by step, as if stepping out of flames—a god of war!

The shadow of death loomed. Li Hao gritted his teeth, turned, and crawled away, then summoned his Divine Object Power and fled into the distance. “Get down here!!”

Li Tiangang roared.

His aura surged, barely rising to mid-level Third Immortality.

Thunderous force slammed down from above, knocking Li Hao from the sky, his spine snapping as if broken.

Li Hao crashed to the ground, yet refused to give up—he crawled out of the crater and charged forward again.

But Li Tiangang’s figure appeared suddenly beside him, as if teleporting, and delivered a palm strike point-blank.

Li Hao was flung away, ribs shattered, bones snapping, internal organs damaged; blood erupted from his mouth, squeezed out under pressure, and gushed from all seven orifices.

Blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nose—his appearance was pitiful and horrific.

“You killed your brother, betrayed your father—do you truly wish to fall into demonic path?!”

Li Tiangang’s gaze was icy.

Li Hao struggled to rise, a single thought driving him: he must not fall—not before this man! Seeing those stubborn eyes, Li Tiangang’s fury exploded: “No matter how gifted you are, forget not your surname—you are Li!”

“You are of the Li family!”

“Every Li you see has devoted their life to this clan—what have you given?”

“Everything you enjoy—every meal, every grain of rice, every servant at your command—is Li family’s. It was won by their blood and sacrifice!”

“It was paid for by warriors bleeding on the frontier—your uncles, your second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle… their lives!”

Li Tiangang stepped closer, his eyes blazing with piercing light: “You feel wronged? Fine—I did not raise you, I failed you. But did you lack food, clothing, or comfort?”

“How many boys were born to parents who died on the battlefield—do they not deserve to feel wronged?!”

“You say you were poisoned—fine, assume it’s true. So what?!”

“You’re still alive. You have this talent—do you really care about that drop of divine blood?”

“You could have come to me—I would have avenged you. But you wanted to kill their widows and orphans? Have you thought of your dead second uncle—his soul is gone, can he rest in peace?!”

Finally, Li Tiangang stood before Li Hao, looking down at the battered boy: “Tell me—what gives you the right to act so recklessly?!”

“Is it the power you gained from Li family resources?!”

Li Hao listened to the furious shouts, trying desperately to hold back the blood gushing from his mouth and the crushed organs pressed by the broken ribs.

But the harder he tried, the more blood surged.

He spat out broken organs, looked up at the man, and smiled bitterly, fiercely: “Why say so much? Just kill me. From now on, I won’t bear the Li surname.”

When he heard “assume it’s true—so what?”, Li Hao had no more words to waste. He didn’t even bother to say he had never received a single cultivation resource beyond food, clothing, and shelter.

But why explain? To the person before him, explanation is useless!

At this moment, he even felt a strange sense of relief, even gratitude toward the second madam who had hated him for over a decade—gratitude for draining the divine blood from his body!

He deeply hated and despised the fact that this man’s blood flowed through his own body! (End of chapter)