Chapter 200: Planting the Flag Five Thousand Li Away

Seeing Li Hao instantly expose his identity, the boy's complexion changed slightly.

He quietly glanced at this youth with a peaceful aura, finding it hard to associate him with the fierce, god-like figure he had seen from outside the pass in his mind earlier.

But he knew that at this moment, if he were the slightest bit careless, he would lose his life.

"Greetings, Young General."

He bowed submissively before saying, somewhat nervously:

"I have come under orders. When you were clearing the area outside the pass earlier, you destroyed the palace caves of three Demon Kings. They have asked us, the Heavenly Mystery Hall, to come and ask: how does the Young General intend to compensate them?"

"Compensate?"

Li Hao looked at him with some surprise: "What compensation do they want?"

"They hope you can apologize and guarantee you will no longer invade, that we each mind our own business. If so, they can also guarantee that Tianmen Pass will remain peaceful, allowing you to guard it smoothly for three years."

The boy spoke respectfully, but his voice trembled slightly.

Li Hao narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled: "To think you know I am to guard here for three years; it seems you know quite a bit about me. Since that is the case, tell them: the compensation is right here. They can have whatever they want, but they must come and take it themselves."

"This..."

The boy's face showed difficulty, and he said: "Young General, we are here to negotiate. Please do not be angry. You cannot possibly stay at Tianmen Pass forever. I advise you to reconsider."

"Hmm?"

Li Hao looked at him, his gaze suddenly seeming to contain a force of ten thousand jun, pressing down on the boy, scaring him so much that feathers emerged from his skin, almost revealing his true form.

His body also bent, kneeling on the ground.

"Young General, spare my life! Young General, spare my life..."

The boy's protruding bird beak hurriedly begged.

Li Hao withdrew his gaze and said blandly: "I have finished speaking. If they want compensation, let them come personally. What kind of compensation do they want while acting like cowards? Did your Heavenly Mystery Hall not tell them how I leveled their mountain peaks?"

The boy said nervously: "We told them, but they are very angry..."

Li Hao interrupted him: "Could it be that your true purpose in coming here is to test my patience, or to test something else?"

The boy's heart contracted suddenly, scaring him so much he almost screamed, but he managed a forced smile on his face and said:

"How could that be? Although our Heavenly Mystery Hall is a demon faction, we never participate in wars and have some cooperation with your human race. We are just helping to pass on a message."

"Oh, then tell me, who have you cooperated with among our human race?"

"This, this I do not know. My cultivation is too low..." the boy trembled.

Li Hao could not be bothered to continue acting with such a minor character and said coldly: "Get lost."

"Yes, thank you, Young General, for sparing my life..."

Feeling the oppressive force that felt like cold blades against his back disappear, the boy hurriedly scrambled up and prepared to leave.

"Wait."

Li Hao called him back and said coldly: "Are you leaving empty-handed? Qianqian, give him my military flag."

Ren Qianqian had been listening intently and was stunned at these words. She reacted quickly, pulled out the military flag from the side of the courtyard, and tossed it to the bird-demon boy.

The bird-demon boy caught it, looking at Li Hao with nervousness and confusion.

"Take my military flag, get back to your demon territory, and plant it on the mountain peak I reached the furthest. Your Heavenly Mystery Hall should know which mountain peak that is, right?"

Li Hao's eyes were cold as he stared at the bird-demon boy: "When I go on patrol next time, if I see my military flag fallen or damaged, I will wash the entire area outside the pass in blood again, and I will increase the range!"

"Also, your Heavenly Mystery Hall should be careful when you see me in the future."

Feeling Li Hao's undisguised killing intent, the bird-demon boy was dumbfounded, trembling all over.

Let it, a demon, help this youth plant a military flag?

And it cannot fall or be damaged?

One must know, the distance Li Hao had pushed through earlier was five thousand li outside the pass—that was the heartland of the demons!

Now, this youth wanted to plant his own military flag right under the noses of the demons. This was naked humiliation and deterrence!

Overbearing, savage, and arrogant!

At this moment in its eyes, the peaceful and gentle youth had long since vanished, replaced by a young battle god looking down on the eight wildernesses, sitting before it, making one bow and tremble!

"I, I understand."

After the shock, the bird-demon boy tremblingly agreed.

It knew that the only reason it could walk out of here alive was to complete this task for Li Hao; otherwise, it would not be able to step out of this small courtyard.

After the bird-demon boy tremblingly took his leave and departed, Ren Qianqian stepped forward, her small face full of surprise, and said:

"Young Master, when you went outside the pass earlier, did you level the Demon Kings' lairs?"

Li Hao nodded slightly. Seeing her stunned expression, he smiled and said: "Practice your sword well; you can do it too in the future."

Ren Qianqian's heart skipped a beat, and she smiled bitterly to herself. Her past pursuit was merely to surpass a Grandmaster.

A Demon King... that was an existence of the Four Standing Realm.

However, Li Hao's words seemed to have pushed open a wider door in her heart.

Her eyes sparkled, and she felt her motivation for cultivation double.

Just as she turned around, eager to practice her sword, Li Hao called her back and asked her to find some stationery, as he wanted to write a letter.

Ren Qianqian obediently went into the room to find paper and asked suspiciously: "Young Master, who is this letter for?"

"To the Liangzhou military department," Li Hao said.

"Ah?" Ren Qianqian was confused; Li Hao did not seem very familiar with them.

"The demons from the Heavenly Mystery Hall coming here should be a test of my patience."

Li Hao said while writing the letter: "As for the Demon Kings wanting compensation, if their intelligence were up to par, those Demon Kings wouldn't even dare mention it, let alone threaten me. I think this bird-demon came just to test my bottom line, or to test whether I will really guard here for three years..."

Combining this with the military reports and warnings sent by Fifth Uncle earlier, he had some vague guesses in his heart. Perhaps he was overthinking it, but it was always better to be cautious.

Ren Qianqian's eyes widened slightly. The information in Li Hao's words was quite heavy, and she couldn't digest it all at once.

She only caught one point: those Demon Kings didn't even have the guts to mention compensation when facing Li Hao?

What exactly did Li Hao do outside that pass?

Soon, Li Hao finished the letter and handed it to Ren Qianqian, telling her to give it to Li Hongzhuang to send to that Fifth Uncle, Li Xuanli.

After doing this, Li Hao withdrew his thoughts and continued painting.

Under the gaze of numerous martial artists and soldiers, the bird-demon boy flew out of this new border city tremblingly, then shot straight into the sky.

After flying into the clouds, it began to accelerate, only slowing down slightly after flying seven or eight hundred li away. Ahead, several birds were waiting in the clouds for it to approach.

"Why did you steal a military flag back?"

One of the red birds changed its form into a young girl in a red dress. Recognizing the military flag in the boy's hand as Li Hao's battle flag, she couldn't help but say speechlessly.

The bird-demon boy almost choked at these words. Steal?

Do I have nothing better to do than steal that guy's military flag!

"Protector, I didn't steal it; that brat forced it on me," the bird-demon boy said, referring to the youth as "that brat."

"Hmm?"

The red-dressed girl was confused: "Why did he give you a military flag?"

"He told me to plant it on the mountain peak he leveled, and it cannot be damaged, otherwise he will come to trouble our Heavenly Mystery Hall and wash the area outside the pass in blood again," the bird-demon boy said indignantly.

The red-dressed girl and the three birds beside her were all stunned. Isn't this too overbearing?

"What about the matter you were warned about? How did the test go?"

The red-dressed girl glanced in the direction of Tianmen Pass and then asked.

"That brat is too shrewd. I only mentioned it slightly, and he almost detected it."

Thinking of what happened earlier, the indignation on the bird-demon boy's face turned into a trace of lingering fear: "Listening to his tone, he really has no intention of leaving Tianmen Pass. That agreement is true."

The red-dressed girl frowned and told him to explain the process in detail.

After listening, her frown deepened: "This youth is indeed a major threat to us. It is time to let the Longmen and the Sacred Palace know. If such a hidden danger is not removed, there will be endless trouble in the future."

"Indeed."

The bird-demon boy nodded in deep agreement.

"However, looking at the situation, he shouldn't easily leave Tianmen Pass to participate in the war in Liangzhou. When that Great Elder of the Longmen comes out of seclusion, we can just deal with him together."

The red-dressed girl said, glancing at the military flag in his hand:

"Let's go. You go and plant this military flag. Just consider it sealing a mountain for him. Send a message to the surrounding demons not to approach that mountain. Let's avoid his sharp edge for now."

"Hmm."

Several birds immediately flew further away.

Liangzhou, Western Region.

A blood eagle flew into the military camp and landed on the arm of a deputy general's personal guard. The deputy general took the letter wrapped in oil paper spat out by the blood eagle and turned to quickly deliver it to Li Xuanli in the tent.

"Little sister's letter?"

Li Xuanli was surprised to hear the report from the personal guard. He had just sent a letter to Tianmen Pass and already received a reply.

These are special times, and frequent correspondence is not a good thing, as it is easily intercepted.

He opened the envelope and flipped through it quickly. Soon, his expression became solemn.

"The demons have intentions to attack Liangzhou?"

"How did Hao'er know?"

Seeing that the letter was sent by that youth, Li Xuanli felt surprised and also felt a bit suspicious.

The letter did not specify the reason, only saying it was a speculation, and asked him to pay attention to the demons' movements.

Combining this with the situation of the demons retreating outside the border earlier, Li Xuanli's heart suddenly tightened. Could it be that the demons' retreat was really just a feint and they didn't really intend to leave Liangzhou?

He put away the letter and immediately summoned the deputy general's personal guard, telling them to keep a close watch on every blade of grass outside the pass and to have the original reconnaissance team scout further areas.

Time flew by.

Tianmen Pass, Cangya City.

Not long after the bird-demon boy left, Li Hao set off for the area outside the pass again. In the areas he had cleared along the way, demons were wandering in like bamboo shoots after rain, and he solved them along the way.

When he reached the furthest mountain peak, Li Hao saw the military flag he had planted. There were no demons around, as if it had been sealed off. He also saw birds secretly keeping watch. Only then was Li Hao satisfied, and then he patrolled from east to west.

Wherever he passed, the Heavenly Mystery Hall acted as if facing a great enemy, hurriedly and secretly notifying demons everywhere to take emergency shelter.

These demons hurriedly abandoned their newly built caves and fled. Only after the youth flew past did they slowly return.

But these heart-pounding days made some demons fed up. Unable to endure it, they chose to move away and find other places.

Even if it meant squeezing into other territories with existing powerful demons, it was better than being so restless.

After the area outside the pass calmed down, Li Hao summoned his martial artists and told them to use their respective social circles to spread some news, widely seeking various art masters skilled in painting and chess, inviting them to be guests in Cangya City.

During this period, Li Hao decomposed the body of the Ghost Mother, and together with other powerful demons, cooked them every day to make meals for everyone.

His experience in the Culinary Dao increased rapidly. After reaching the seventh stage, the full experience bar required 500,000 to reach the eighth stage.

A powerful demon of the Four Standing Realm could provide a huge amount of 30,000 to 40,000 experience. For the original 100,000 experience bar, one was nearly half a bar.

But now, it was less than one-tenth.

Even after cooking and solving all the other powerful demons, he only accumulated a little over 70,000 experience.

Fortunately, tracing the bodies of these demons also brought Li Hao's Painting Dao experience to the bottleneck of the sixth stage. He only needed to enter the spirit with his heart to reach the seventh stage.

But before that, Li Hao planned to find an art first, to condense his heart, and break the shackles of the third stage of movement techniques, so he could directly add points to the sixth stage. His movement techniques would surge, and even some Four Standing Realm Demon Kings might not be able to escape his grasp.

Li Hao sent some refining materials taken from the demons, along with the Long Xiao Sword, to the Ten Thousand Vessels Tower, having someone deliver them.

He left his signature.

They were to be forged a second time.

The Ten Thousand Vessels Tower was a semi-official faction, and Li Hao was a Young General at the border, so they dared not embezzle his things.

Li Hao tried the array constructed by the old Star Official twice more, and both times he easily suppressed the five powerful demons.

The old Star Official checked repeatedly but couldn't find where the problem was. Finally, he suddenly realized and suggested letting Li Hongzhuang, a general at the peak of the Three Imperishables, test it.

As a result, Li Hongzhuang was beaten black and blue by the five powerful demons outside the array and retreated in defeat. Only then was it finally confirmed that there was no problem with the array; the problem was Li Hao.

For this, the old Star Official and his students were speechless. When they checked repeatedly earlier, they had pulled out their hair, yet couldn't find the reason. It turned out the reason wasn't with them at all.

It was that the youth's strength was too outrageous.

Who could have imagined that this fourteen-year-old youth would have power exceeding that of an ordinary Demon King?

The old Star Official and the others were helpless, yet secretly excited. Li Hao's existence undoubtedly signaled the rise of the Emperor Da Yu Divine Dynasty in the future. If this youth were given more time, the Emperor Da Yu would have another new War God, standing shoulder to shoulder with that True Person of the Dao Palace!

Taking his students, the old Star Official said goodbye to Li Hao.

Before leaving, Xia Xianglan looked at Li Hao with some reluctance and said: "Will you always be here?"

"When there are no demons here who dare to invade, I will leave."

Li Hao smiled.

Xia Xianglan nodded, then said: "I am from the Xia family. We are all families of the Divine General Mansion. If you have time, you are welcome to come to the Xia family to play."

Li Hao shook his head slightly: "But I am not from the Divine General Mansion family; I am just a wanderer."

"But you..."

Xia Xianglan wanted to say something, but was called by the old Star Official. The old Star Official glanced at Li Hao, sighed inwardly, and greeted his students to leave.

Li Hao sent them out of the Dragon Pass Road before turning back.

In idleness, time passed quickly.

This dangerous place outside the pass had rarely become peaceful, and the construction inside the city was becoming more and more prosperous and lively.

With the spread of news by merchant caravans and escort agencies transporting supplies from various cities, people in all cities knew that Tianmen Pass was now a very solid fortress, and Cangya City was also an extremely prosperous and lively place.

With the gathering of caravans and passenger flow, gradually, people settled here, buying and renting houses, and doing business here.

Saving the cost of back-and-forth transportation, the things they sold were higher than in the inner realm, but still cost-effective.

The world is bustling, all for profit.

More and more people rushed to Cangya City. Where there is demand, there is supply, and then there are travelers. Many famous heroes walking the rivers and lakes also visited Cangya City, wanting to see the scenery outside this border pass.

Li Hao sat in the small fenced courtyard in the city.

No one disturbed him.

He chose to enter the heart with musical temperament, playing the zither and listening to sounds every day. Occasionally, he would go outside the city, sit on the snowy mountain, and quietly listen to the sound of spring arriving—that was the sound of melting snow.

Now, the snow outside the pass was gradually disappearing, revealing large areas of black soil buried under the white snow.

In the black soil, the vitality of emerald green shoots was gradually emerging.

During Li Hao's process of entering the heart with musical temperament, some art masters invited by his martial artists relying on their connections also visited Cangya City.

Li Hao invited them into the courtyard, playing the zither and talking about painting, playing chess and tasting wine with them, looking like a dissolute young master from a noble family enjoying himself.

But the martial artists in the border pass all knew how extraordinary this youth's talent was. Besides being curious about him, they had no other thoughts.

Seeing Li Hao not cultivating, but instead having leisure and elegance all day to cultivate his character, Li Hongzhuang was also surprised, but she didn't interfere much. She focused on results. Regardless of Li Hao's cultivation process, the results were already enough to make people unable to see his back.

This was enough.

These art masters originally thought Li Hao was just a whim, mainly coming with the idea of making friends through human favors.

As a result, after discussing carefully, some art masters almost couldn't hold on. Some of the professional questions Li Hao asked made it difficult for them to answer. While secretly amazed, they also respected the youth.

Although they were in awe of martial artists, they were only in awe of that power. But for the things they had studied for many years, someone could discuss them with them. This respect was admiration, appreciation, as well as praise and joy.

Through these art masters, Li Hao looked for famous work catalogs.

As a result, there was really an unexpected harvest.

A painting master was willing to give a famous painting he had cherished for many years.

And a chess master known as the Little Chess Saint gave Li Hao two chess manuals.

It was a pity that one of the chess manuals was not a famous manual and could not be collected.

In addition, they also mentioned some other clues about famous paintings, as well as whose hands they were collected in.

Li Hao wrote them down one by one, preparing to find someone to visit later to see if the other party was willing to transfer them.

Time passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, the snow melted.

Spring had arrived the following year. ===== CHAPTER 201 =====