Chapter 159

"The final lesson?"

Hearing Li Hao's words, the many Bai Dian disciples were all stunned.

Before this vast tide of demons, at this moment when Great Yuecheng was in imminent danger, Li Hao had actually not forgotten that he still owed them one lesson.

Hum!

Before anyone could react, the Long Xiao Sword in Li Hao's hand let out a hum, blooming like cracking ice with streaks of sword Qi that coiled around Li Hao's arm.

"Ocean Tide Rising!"

Li Hao ascended the city wall and stepped into the air, like an otherworldly immortal, carrying a transcendent and composed air of descending to the mortal world.

The cultivation technique within his body operated rapidly, forcefully pushing out the third Seven-Star Lamp Lighting.

The power surging from the great meridians throughout his body gathered in his palm; in an instant, everyone seemed to hear the sounds of seabirds and waves in their ears, but that was merely the simulated sound produced by the friction of the blooming sword Qi.

The Long Xiao Sword left his hand, and at the same time, an illusion of ocean waves seemed to permeate the city wall—it was an endless amount of sword Qi, condensing along with this strike from Li Hao.

The whistling Long Xiao Sword transformed into a soaring, roaring True Dragon, its dragon form circling, carrying the vast ocean tide, and collided with the demon tide ten-plus miles away!

In an instant, the wave-like sword tide surged and submerged them.

Within the tide, the Long Xiao Sword was like a True Dragon happily playing in the water, roaring and galloping within, instantly overturning and piercing through a vast expanse of blood mist, with countless demons perishing in an instant.

Such a horrifying scene left all the soldiers on the city wall, as well as Shen Yunqing and the others, staring in a daze.

With his own strength, he suppressed a group of demons!

This sword strike incorporated "Bright Moon Rising" and "Ocean Without Bounds," as well as a fusion of the Falling Snow Sword Art, the tide, and the avalanche state of mind; its refinement and level of ultimate technique were barely comparable to the Reincarnation Sword Art he had just comprehended.

But Reincarnation was a singular explosion, while this was a sword tide with an extremely wide range.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang...

Sonic booms shook the entire field, and countless blood mists within the demon tide burst, being swept into the sword tide.

Ji Hun Realm, Shenyou Realm, and even Fifteen-Li Realm cultivators were like sand under the scouring of the tide, unable to shake it in the slightest, unable to block it, and were slaughtered one-sidedly!

Only some Heavenly Human Realm demons struggled to resist within, unleashing demonic arts and spiritual treasures to barely preserve themselves.

But as the sword tide washed over them, more and more demons perished, allowing quite a bit of sword Qi to fuse together and concentrate its attack on some of the great demons.

Furthermore, these bundles of massive sword Qi that condensed gradually displayed different Tianren Zongshi martial states.

Stars and moons, flowers and birds, falling leaves.

Rotting, sharp, swift.

Numerous Tianren Zongshi states of mind were presented within the sword tide, like waves rising up, fiercely slapping into the demon tide.

Shen Yunqing and the others' pupils constricted, their eyes widening, and Zhao Zongyuan hurriedly said, "Quick, watch carefully!"

The many Bai Dian disciples all tried their best to open their eyes wide; besides being shocked, they also wanted to see how this sword strike was born, and how it could create this momentum and scene that swept across the world.

"Don't look at the sword moves, you won't understand them. What he is teaching is not moves, it is the Dao! It is the Sword Dao!"

Shen Yunqing also shouted, his face full of excitement; he himself was also nervously staring, desperately trying to memorize those sword intents.

"Is this the Tianren Zongshi martial state he comprehended? How can it cover so much?"

Su Ye Hua stared blankly, feeling it was somewhat unbelievable, her mind galloping, attracted by the countless waves in the sword tide—each wave was a Tianren Zongshi martial path!

Among the garrison generals on the city wall, there was no lack of Grandmasters, including those who had previously been defeated by Li Hao; that Bai Chunhai and his disciple were also there, and at this moment, they were all staring blankly at this scene.

That youth who descended, transcendent and empty, just stood there quietly, yet possessed a calm momentum that ten thousand men could not stop.

That surging sword tide was even more horrifying to the extreme, something never heard of before.

"Quick, you must watch carefully!"

Bai Chunhai came to his senses and hurriedly said to the burly man, his disciple, behind him.

The burly man's gaze was already dull at this moment, completely trapped in the sword intent of that majestic tide.

"Is this the limit of the Tianren Zongshi Realm..."

Bai Chunhai muttered to himself, suddenly thinking of the painting that the youth had previously come to purchase; if he could survive this time, what would it matter to part with it?

In the demon tide outside the city, it was already extremely tragic at this moment; the tide that swept out forcefully blocked them ten miles outside the city, unable to advance an inch.

The demon army charging at the front all became blood-stained bones, their bodies pierced through; some wounds were extremely small, yet one sword strike was fatal.

Within the demon tide, there was a Three Imperishable demon leading; a look of shock appeared in its eyes, as it was hard to imagine that this was an attack that a human Tianren Zongshi could unleash.

To maintain such a massive range of sword Qi attacks, purely in terms of energy, it would be impossible to supply, unless one reached the Unfading Realm.

"Damn it!"

Its gaze was ferocious and hateful; the little demon king had perished, and it could not easily retreat.

"Kill!!"

It roared and charged out, fiercely rushing toward the divine sword that had transformed into a True Dragon.

At the same time, Long Xiao also sensed this Three Imperishable Realm demon, let out a hum, flew up from the demon crowd, and then rapidly slashed toward the opponent.

"Demonic Swamp Covers the Sky!"

This great demon roared, its whole body releasing countless streaks of black mud light; the earth beneath its feet rotted, turning into a swamp, from which a mud dragon extended, killing toward Long Xiao.

With a bang, the brilliant divine light erupted from Long Xiao, like a blow to the head, slicing open the mud dragon and instantly piercing through the body of this great demon.

The countless mud spots were washed away by the sword Qi tide and directly submerged.

The great demon was panicked and at a loss; it was not in the Unfading Realm, its physical body was not that strong, and this divine sword was terrifyingly sharp. Although it felt hateful in its heart, the desire to survive surged up at this moment, and it chose to flee.

Long Xiao chased after it, but soon disappeared from sight.

Before the great demon could be suspicious, a dragon roar suddenly came from behind; it was like a giant dragon leaping out of the sword tide, fiercely tearing at its body, smashing its physical body to pieces.

Countless sword Qi washed over it, a thousand swords in an instant, forcefully hacking its body to pieces.

Its divine soul was revealed from within, with nowhere to hide; it let out a miserable scream, burning its divine soul to flee into the distance, but was swiped by Long Xiao's tail and directly slapped into extinction.

After resolving this great demon, Long Xiao returned to the demon tide, continuing to roar and slaughter, hacking countless demons to pieces.

This vast demon tide was actually slaughtered into a state of total defeat in no time at all, with only a few thousand left, who finally came to their senses and chose to flee in a panic.

Long Xiao chased after them; the hundred-mile range was Li Hao's attack distance. The sword tide disappeared, but Long Xiao, like a golden flying needle, shuttled among the remaining demons, and in the blink of an eye, struck them all dead, with not a single one escaping!

The people on the city wall, who had previously been so nervous that their palms were sweating and were standing by in full battle array, were like people waking from a dream, feeling as if it were an illusion.

Such a desperate situation had actually been reversed by one person and one sword; it was unbelievable.

A humming sound of breaking through the air flew over, like a streak of golden divine light, rapidly reversing from dozens of miles away and landing in Li Hao's hand.

Li Hao's complexion was slightly pale; slaughtering these many demons with his own strength also consumed him greatly.

Back then outside Cangyu City, he had also relied on himself to slaughter many demons, and in terms of numbers, it was about the same as today, but his battle with that Wanshan little demon king had already consumed him greatly.

And the quality of this demon tide was much stronger than that of Cangyu City; the Fifteen-Li Realm ones inside seemed to be just little demon team leaders, and there were seven or eight Heavenly Human Realm demons, and that Three Imperishable great demon, all of which were existences capable of easily slaughtering an ordinary city.

Li Hao smoothed out his breath slightly, turned his head, and looked at Su Ye Hua, the Bai Dian disciples, and the others behind him; he had already tried his best to display it, and how much they could learn and how much they could remember depended on their comprehension.

"I'll go look elsewhere."

Li Hao said.

Afterward, his figure stepped out and hurried toward the city gates in other directions.

His divine soul emerged from behind him, observing the world, and Li Hao saw that on the other three sides of the city wall, the demon tide had already arrived, and a chaotic battle had broken out.

He immediately controlled his sword and flew out, killing his way into the crowd of chaotic battle.

But this time, he did not have the energy to unleash the sword Qi tide again; he could only rely on the sharpness of the Long Xiao Sword and, with the help of his remaining object-controlling power, rapidly shuttle and slaughter.

Even so, with the addition of the Long Xiao Sword, the pressure on the defenders on the west city wall also quickly eased a lot; many Grandmasters were about to be surrounded and killed by the demons, but the golden divine sword that flew over circled rapidly, and all the demons were slaughtered, rescuing them.

These Grandmasters recognized this sword, and their expressions all changed; they couldn't help but look around, and saw Li Hao flying over from afar, dragging his tired body.

During the previous Tianren Zongshi discussion, ninety percent of the Grandmasters had taken the stage and sparred with Li Hao; they did not have hostility toward this youth, as it was both a relationship of being drawn by Mount Wuliang and a desire to use that one move to reflect on their own flaws.

But regardless, their actions were standing on the side of Mount Wuliang; they didn't expect that at this moment, this youth would actually treat everyone equally and be willing to step in to rescue them.

These Grandmasters had complex expressions in their eyes, took a deep look at the youth, and after steadying their bodies, they once again killed their way into the demon tide to reinforce others.

Not long after, the offensive of the demon tide on the west city wall was also eased, and then, with the combined efforts of everyone, cooperating with Li Hao, they were all slaughtered and killed.

When the crisis at the west city tower was eased, Li Hao once again controlled his sword and hurried toward the north side.

The city gate here had already been breached, and demons had killed their way into the city.

The Long Xiao Sword swept past rapidly, quickly killing the few demons that had climbed over the defense line and rushed into the city; afterward, the sword light swept into the demon crowd, and like hacking melons and vegetables, relying on Long Xiao's own sharpness and deterrence, Li Hao only needed to provide a little pushing force for object control to cause terrifying lethality.

His energy was already near exhaustion at this moment, and he was quite tired; if he didn't have the Long Xiao Sword and had used the Pig Tooth Sword he had polished and carved himself earlier, the effect would have been greatly reduced.

It had to be said that this divine weapon was extremely terrifying; if it fell into the hands of a strong person, in this kind of city defense battle, it would be comparable to a super war weapon.

Li He and the Helian family, as well as another Three Imperishable Realm cultivator, held back several Three Imperishable great demons in the demon tide; Li Hao only cooperated with others to resolve the remaining demons, and the defenders on the west and east city gates, who had previously been liberated by Li Hao, also came to reinforce them.

The situation was quickly reversed, and the demon tide's defeat was difficult to reverse.

Li Hao turned his head to look; he didn't know when, but the corpse of that Wanshan little demon king had actually disappeared, and he didn't know which demon had taken advantage of the situation to sneak in and steal it.

He shook his head, feeling slightly regretful, but given his special situation, the opponent's corpse and precious blood were useless to him; having one sword in hand was enough.

As the demonic disaster gradually subsided, Li Hao also put away the sword in his hand and tossed it casually.

The Long Xiao Sword flew out, landed in the discussion field more than ten miles away, and like an autumn leaf, sheathed itself into Ren Qianqian's arms.

Seeing the divine sword return to its sheath, Ren Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Li Hao was unharmed; she couldn't investigate the situation outside here, after all, she hadn't reached the Shenyou Realm and couldn't separate her soul from her body too far.

Li Hao stood suspended in the air, raised his head to look around; the black clouds of demonic Qi that had accumulated earlier had disappeared at this moment.

He didn't know the outcome of Tianren Zongshi Feng's battle.

Li Hao felt some worry in his heart, but thinking of Tianren Zongshi Feng's ultimate technique, his frontal combat power might not necessarily be very strong, but his ability to escape death was something even the Second Tianren Zongshi couldn't catch up with, so that demon should not be able to hurt him.

While Li Hao was waiting and pondering, a light laugh suddenly came:

"Kid, I told you to hold on for a quarter of an hour, but you did well, actually slaughtering that little demon king."

Li Hao turned around to look, and saw a simple figure appear behind him; the robe was somewhat damaged at this moment, and the edges were even stained with blood, but it didn't seem to be his own.

Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said, "What about that demon?"

"Ran away."

Feng Feng Bo Ping said casually, "Although I could catch up, I would leave this place, and it's hard to say what would happen if I chased it outside the border."

"It's good that you're okay."

Li Hao smiled, not caring about the life or death of that demon king; if he didn't kill it today, it would be the same to kill it in the future; give him time, and in due time he would be able to resolve it himself.

"You kid, you're still worried about me. You killed that little demon king, which made that demon king reveal a flaw, and it was severely injured by me; otherwise, it would probably have gone crazy to kill you."

Feng Feng Bo Ping laughed.

In a few words, Li Hao could imagine how intense the battle on Tianren Zongshi Feng's side was when he was fighting just now.

"Listening to that little demon king's address, that demon king is mostly from the Wanshan Demon King's side; I didn't expect that there would actually be two great demon kings in those ten thousand mountains. It seems some intelligence is not very accurate." Li Hao said.

Feng Feng Bo Ping nodded slightly: "If the demon king doesn't show its face and deliberately hides a little, it's not that easy to detect."

Speaking of this, he looked at Li Hao: "Little Haozi, you also need to improve your strength as soon as possible. Half a year later, there might be some trouble."

Li Hao was slightly startled, immediately understood the meaning in Tianren Zongshi Feng's words, and his eyes grew solemn.

Today's slaughter of this little demon king, the news would definitely spread to those demons and be learned by that Wanshan Demon King.

If there were only that Wanshan Demon King originally, with Tianren Zongshi Feng's protection, he wouldn't be afraid, but now there were two demon kings; when Song Qiumo left half a year later, the opponent would probably choose to attack at that time.

If the opponent were even crazier, it was possible they would take action in the near future.

Regardless of which one, the grudge with that Wanshan Demon King was considered settled.

"Half a year..."

Li Hao sighed; if he gave up chasing that Tianren Zongshi extreme realm, in half a year's time, he could fully contemplate, and perhaps his Dao heart could enter the Spirit, thereby stepping into the Three Imperishable in one go, or even the Four Standing Realm.

But if he missed the Tianren Zongshi extreme realm, and wanted to turn back to refine it, his Dao heart would be incomplete, and it would be difficult to achieve it again.

Tianren Zongshi Feng's figure disappeared again, hiding in the shadows.

Li Hao also returned to the discussion platform to meet Ren Qianqian.

"Young Tianren Zongshi, are you okay?"

Seeing Li Hao, Ren Qianqian asked with concern.

Li Hao's complexion was somewhat pale and not good-looking; the overdraft from relying on his physique to suppress earlier was gradually reacting now.

After all, he had experienced the successive challenges of the world's Grandmasters, slaughtered the Three Imperishable peak little demon king, and then slaughtered nearly one hundred thousand demon tides; the consumption was too great.

"It's fine, just rest for a while."

Li Hao comforted Ren Qianqian and sat down to adjust his breath.

Not long after, Grandmasters returned one after another; seeing Li Hao resting here, their expressions grew solemn, and many of them came forward to thank him one after another, all of whom had been reinforced and rescued by Li Hao.

Li Hao's help regardless of past grievances made them hold this youth in high esteem, and respect and admiration grew in their hearts.

Besides that transcendent talent, the youth's character was also convincing.

The remaining Grandmasters also heard the deeds of Li Hao guarding one side of the city wall alone, annihilating one hundred thousand demons, and then turning to reinforce other battlefields; they all sized up the youth with complex expressions.

A contemporary heaven-gifted talent, even if it were a character fabricated in folk storybooks, if one wanted to write to the extent of the youth before them, one probably wouldn't dare to put pen to paper, right?

"Young Tianren Zongshi Li, please forgive the previous offense, and thank you for not holding a grudge."

Zhou Haitang stepped forward and said to Li Hao with a slight bow.

For a Tianren Zongshi, this was already the greatest etiquette.

Li Hao frowned slightly and said indifferently, "My surname is not Li, don't call me by this surname again, my surname is Ji!"

Hearing the youth's words, everyone was slightly startled, and then they thought of the sensational battle in Qingzhou City, and their expressions changed slightly; only then did they remember that this youth, whose talent was like an immortal, had severed his relationship with that Li family.

It was just that they had all previously thought that this was just a moment of temper.

When the youth encountered bumps and obstacles outside, and met with resistance and difficulties, he would naturally understand the protection the Divine General Mansion gave him, and at that time he would still choose to turn back.

But looking at it now, this youth was no longer a bird in a cage.

Using "genius" to describe him was already somewhat inaccurate; he was already a first-class strong person capable of slaughtering great demons alone!

Invincible among Grandmasters, slaughtering little demon kings—just these two points were enough to show that he no longer needed any protection and could hold his own!

For a time, everyone was speechless and silent.

The process and reasons for that great battle were debated, and they didn't know, but today's events were seen with their own eyes; they couldn't imagine what reason would make the Li family treat such a heaven-gifted talent this way.

To the point of forcing him to abandon his surname and leave his home.

Zhou Haitang was slightly startled, looked somewhat embarrassed, bowed his hands and nodded, avoiding this topic:

"If you have any needs in the future, you can write to Iron Sword Peak or Pear Blossom Gate at any time; I will remember this favor!"

Li Hao nodded slightly, considering it accepted.

Although he might not necessarily use it, no one could say for sure about future events.

Other Grandmasters also came forward one after another to thank Li Hao, but in terms of address, most of them avoided it; since Li Hao didn't like being called Li, they called him Young Tianren Zongshi Hao directly.

As for the surname Ji, they didn't dare to call him that either; otherwise, if this matter reached that Divine General Mansion, it would probably involve them.

"Young Tianren Zongshi Hao, I have considered the painting you said you wanted to purchase earlier, and I am willing to give it to you for free. I wonder if you still need it?"

Bai Chunhai brought his disciple forward and said with a smile.

His disciple, the burly man, looked at the youth sitting majestically, feeling uneasy, and hurriedly said, "I had eyes but didn't recognize Mount Tai earlier, please forgive me."

After speaking, he lowered his head deeply.

A Tianren Zongshi cannot be humiliated, or blood will easily splash three feet.

But Li Hao didn't take the opponent to heart and smiled at Bai Chunhai: "Since that's the case, I will thank you."

Seeing that Li Hao was willing to accept it, Bai Chunhai felt an inexplicable joy, and a smile appeared on his face.

If it were earlier, if anyone wanted to ask him for a painting, they definitely wouldn't get a good look, but this youth was an exception.

Outside the crowd, Li Wushuang had already released a signal, and now, as the city defense ended, she also retreated from the battle.

She had heard everything Li Hao said just now, and her expression was extremely complex; she gripped the sword in her hand tightly and bit her lower lip.

This cousin of hers actually really wanted to leave the Li family; saying it in such a public place would definitely spread again.

If the opponent really severed ties completely in the future, would she and Li Hao still be cousins?

She felt an inexplicable, heart-wrenching pain in her heart.

Not long after, Li Hao received the famous painting sent by Bai Chunhai.

He took two looks at it, naturally wouldn't collect it in public, but handed it to Ren Qianqian to hold.

Afterward, he bowed his hands to bid farewell to these Grandmasters, then lifted his feet and took Ren Qianqian to leave the discussion field, walking toward the outside of Great Yuecheng.

The purpose of coming here had been achieved, and he had also conducted a discussion, gaining quite a bit; Li Hao also had to hurry back to Tianmen Pass.

When leaving the city, Li Hao saw the iron-hoofed army rushing over from afar, and saw the "Xuan" character flag fluttering within it; it should be the rescue signal released by that cousin, calling that Fifth Uncle over.

It was just that the military camp where the opponent was stationed was some distance away, and they couldn't arrive that quickly.

Li Hao had no intention of greeting the opponent, and took Ren Qianqian from another place in the high sky, quietly flying away.

Great Yuecheng almost fell!

The Wanshan little demon king led a demon army to lurk and attack, and a Four Standing Realm demon king appeared, only to be repelled by a mysterious strong person!

This news spread to all states, and more detailed military reports flew rapidly to Emperor Da Yu State, to the Imperial City of the Holy Capital.

At the same time, another military report flew across thousands of mountains and rivers, back to Qingzhou, and reached the Divine General Mansion of Tianyuan.

In the discussion hall of the mansion, Li Li Tiangang gathered the retainers of the mansion, the wives of the various courtyards, as well as Li Muxiu, to discuss matters here.

On the table was a huge map of the mountains and rivers of Liangzhou; Li Li Tiangang also took out the many secret reports received earlier; the situation in Liangzhou was even less optimistic than others imagined.

Among them, Gao Qingqing's complexion was the ugliest and most solemn.

Because her husband, Li Xuanli, was now stationed in Liangzhou; six of the nine sons of the Li family had died in battle, and she was very worried that her husband would become the seventh person to fall.

Since Li Xuanli was ordered to go to Liangzhou, she hadn't slept well these days, always waking up from nightmares, seeing herself appearing in the mourning hall in her dreams, attending the funerals of others.

But when she lifted the coffin lid, she saw that the person lying inside was actually the pale face of her husband; she screamed and woke up several times, her tears soaking her temples.

When Li Li Tiangang pointed at the map to discuss strategy and the traces of demons, he also noticed the restless complexion of this Fifth Sister-in-law, and sighed secretly in his heart; he was even more nervous about this matter than she was, and didn't want anything to happen to the Fifth Brother either.

During the conversation, a military report from Liangzhou arrived.

Hearing that it was from Liangzhou, everyone looked over.

But the military report was handed to Li Li Tiangang first; his heart also sank, and he quickly opened it; there were actually three military reports in total.

He read them one by one quickly, carefully and rapidly.

The first military report spoke of the demon situation detected outside Liangzhou.

The second military report was about the Tianren Zongshi discussion in Great Yuecheng.

The third was the details of Great Yuecheng being attacked by demons.

When Li Li Tiangang finished reading the first military report, his brows furrowed; when he saw the second military report, his eyes widened slightly.

When he saw the third military report, a look of shock couldn't help but appear on his face.

Seeing the change in Li Li Tiangang's expression, the others all became nervous.

"Li Tiangang, what's the situation?" Li Muxiu asked with a frown.

Although he currently disliked the opponent extremely, for such a major event, he might step forward at any time to reinforce Liangzhou, so he also needed to understand.

Li Li Tiangang held the military report and remained silent for a long time; after the others asked with concern, he handed out the military report for them to read themselves.

Gao Qingqing looked over quickly; when she saw that the military report didn't record the matter she was nervous and afraid of, she breathed a sigh of relief, and then was shocked into silence by the information inside.

"Hao'er actually participated in the Tianren Zongshi Assembly?"

"How is it possible, he actually defeated that senior brother of Li Ganfeng's? That Qin Wuque is a monstrous talent who has suppressed the Dry Dragon List for three years; in this time period, he can be called the number one in Emperor Da Yu!"

"And he also debated and fought the world's Grandmasters, defeating them all?"

"Didn't Hao'er just step into the Heavenly Human Realm? How could he defeat even a Great Tianren Zongshi?"

Seeing the intelligence about the Tianren Zongshi Assembly, everyone was shocked and couldn't help but let out exclamations.

Li Muxiu also flipped to it; a look of joy immediately appeared on his face, light shone in his eyes, and he kept saying, "Good, good, good!"

He laughed out loud.

This was the most cheerful and happy moment he had had in these days.

That stinky kid, he really always gives people surprises!

Li Muxiu laughed from ear to ear, and his heart was also secretly shocked by Li Hao's terrifying growth speed; he had seen it before, but now it seemed even faster.

Did that child only care about playing before, and now he finally intends to work hard to cultivate?

Is this his true cultivation speed?

Li Muxiu laughed heartily and looked toward Li Li Tiangang; waiting to see the opponent's silent appearance, he sneered slightly and said:

"Li Li Tiangang, that Buddha's personal disciple Qin Wuque stepped into the Heavenly Human Realm at nineteen, with extremely high talent!"

"Back then, you also stepped into the Heavenly Human Realm at nineteen, right? Hao'er, he defeated you when you were young!"

"And, he only used one finger!"