Chapter 479: Easily Defeated, Canglan

Called to his number, Li Hao stepped onto the arena and waited quietly.

The surrounding noise was loud, and many eyes had already landed on him, but having just endured combat with the Moonlit Saint Son, millions of disciples, half-saints, and even saints staring, he now felt only calm detachment; his thoughts drifted to other arenas, watching a match he hadn't finished earlier.

It was a battle between whip techniques and hidden weapons—though weak, it was quite interesting.

"You still have the leisure to watch others fight?"

Suddenly, a soft voice came from beside him, tinged with surprise.

Li Hao pulled his thoughts back and turned to see his opponent had already ascended—the woman was nineteen years old, beautiful in appearance, with gentle eyes and a hint of childish innocence.

"Please."

Li Hao said at once.

Li Li Qingyi looked at his calm, composed expression—completely free of battle tension—and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, finding it amusing: "You don't seem to think you'll lose at all."

"?"

Li Hao was surprised. "If I've come up here, it's because I believe I'll win—who else would bother competing?"

The logic was sound, but facing me, you're in for trouble… Li Li Qingyi shook her head slightly; though she hadn't planned to use her full strength, this was the ten-thousand-person ranking selection, and she naturally wouldn't hold back.

"Sorry."

She told Li Hao, then raised her hand; as a formation condensed, she spoke softly.

"Subdue!"

Her words became law, a single character crushing down.

The force of cosmic principles enveloped him; Li Li Qingyi intended to suppress Li Hao with her cultivation base.

But when the cosmic force struck Li Hao, he remained utterly unaffected—his Divine Blood Dao Body had reached completion; cosmic principles could not affect his body, not even requiring a Dao Domain to block them.

"Hm?"

Seeing her attack fail, Li Li Qingyi's eyes narrowed; she immediately realized Li Hao's strength was no ordinary matter—he at least possessed Dao Law Realm power.

Such a realm, falling outside the top ten thousand, was truly a pity.

She raised her hand, summoning a hurricane that swept toward Li Hao, each gust piercing with blade-like cosmic forces.

At this level, she wouldn't even make the top hundred… Li Hao watched her strike; though she was Dao Law Realm, she was pathetically weak. He no longer bothered with words, casually grasping a wisp of wind, which transformed into sword qi.

As the sword qi coalesced, Li Li Qingyi suddenly felt a premonition of danger, her hairs standing on end.

Her inner Literary Heart trembled, capable of sensing danger in advance—yet now, she felt danger from this boy?

Li Li Qingyi's eyes changed; she realized she'd encountered the legendary talent among hermits she'd just spoken of.

Whoosh! Her figure flickered instantly, using Void-Return Instant Transmission.

When she reappeared, a sword now rested in her hand, thrusting toward Li Hao's back.

But the instant she swung, Li Hao's sword qi erupted—like it had been waiting there all along.

Li Li Qingyi's pupils contracted; her blade trembled, as if pulled by an invisible force trying to wrench it from her grasp.

She unleashed explosive strength in her arm, unconsciously activating the Divine Power Extreme, yet still couldn't hold the sword—she was forced to unleash her Dao Domain; instantly, layer upon layer appeared—twenty-four tiers! As the Dao Domains unfolded in succession, strange phenomena bloomed, cosmic principles swirling, finally suppressing that single sword qi.

Once the "intent" within the sword qi was erased, only a wisp of wind remained, quickly dissipating.

Li Li Qingyi felt sweat drench her back, her heart trembling with shock—just a casually grasped wisp of wind had nearly forced her to reveal her true strength? Li Hao was equally surprised; she'd been pretending to be weak? He'd thought she was merely ordinary Dao Law Realm, yet now she'd unleashed two Extremes.

The Divine Power Extreme wasn't so rare—in the Lands of the Saints, due to the Merit Treasury of the Death River, most prodigies had mastered this Extreme, since it could be directly exchanged for with accumulated merit, far easier than cultivation.

But the Void-Return Extreme was far harder to attain—clearly, she too was a prodigy.

Earlier, the Sword Master had said the hermit competition was fierce; Li Hao hadn't believed it. Now, he finally did.

As he sighed inwardly, his hand didn't pause—he grasped another wisp of wind, this time condensing it into the Softest Sword Dao, not merely sword intent.

Whoosh! The sword qi surged like a dragon bursting from the sea, piercing through her layered Dao Domains—softness becoming absolute hardness, slicing through in an instant.

Li Li Qingyi was about to use Void-Return to evade, yet felt locked in place; her heart froze in horror—the sword qi came too fast, her Dao Domains useless; before she could stack more, her throat tingled faintly, then stabbed with pain.

She reached up to touch it, stunned.

"What?"

Below the arena, several refined figures who had been watching froze, eyes wide in shock.

In less than two minutes on the arena, Li Li Qingyi had already lost?

She was the Saintess Prodigy of their Literary Ancestor's Sacred Ground—though she hadn't used her favored Literary Dao combat, such a swift defeat was absurd.

Moreover, they could tell the boy hadn't used his true strength either.

He was clearly a sword master, yet Li Hao hadn't even drawn his sword—merely a casual gust of wind had defeated Li Li Qingyi.

This sword art was terrifying!

"Who is this man? His sword art is terrifying—could he be from the Sword Ancestor's Sacred Ground, pretending to be a hermit like Li Qingyi?"

The young man with the folding fan could no longer wave it, his eyes locked on the boy on the arena—but his mind drew a blank; he'd never seen this boy before, unless he, like Li Li Qingyi, had altered his appearance.

Beyond these few, many spectators on the arena floor had noticed this match and were stunned, bewildered.

Li Li Qingyi's twenty-plus Dao Domains, with their dazzling phenomena, had drawn too much attention—but now she'd lost in an instant.

"What's going on at Arena 8? In the ten-thousand ranking, already facing top-tier prodigies?"

"Twenty-plus Dao Domains? Is this even human?"

"I heard some Saint Sons and Saint Daughters in the Sacred Grounds can achieve this."

"Who is this boy? He defeated her—and he didn't even use his Dao Domain!"

Outside the arena, the crowd erupted; many who had been watching other arenas now turned to look, but the battle was already over—they hurriedly asked those around them what had happened.

Hearing the commotion, Li Li Qingyi snapped back to reality; she looked at the boy before her, who was calmly watching her—he knew she was waiting for her to concede.

After all, had that strike not been held back, her head would already be flying from her body.

Li Li Qingyi bit her lip slightly, feeling a pang of Weiqu; she knew she'd lost through inferior skill, so she couldn't blame him, and whispered:

"What's your name?"

"Clear Wind."

Li Hao still used his alias; without power rivaling a False Saint, he couldn't reveal his true identity.

Otherwise, though the Thirty-Three Realms were vast, to a Saint, he might be killed in an instant.

Especially since she was a Saint skilled in Void Dao—her spatial movement was extremely potent. "With your strength, you'll easily make the top ten hermits. I'll wait for you at the Canglan Battle—this time I didn't use my true strength; next time, let's truly compete!"

Li Li Qingyi, seeing his calm expression, felt a spark of defiance and whispered back:

Li Hao was surprised. "Aren't you already defeated? How can you fight again?"

Li Li Qingyi hesitated, then snorted in irritated annoyance: "None of your business!"

Saying this, she turned and descended the arena.

Li Hao found it baffling, but didn't bother pondering it; when the referee announced the result, he flew back to his original seat and waited for the next match.

Meanwhile, Li Li Qingyi returned to her companions; the young man with the folding fan immediately asked:

"How much power did he use?"

Li Li Qingyi's gaze turned serious, losing its earlier innocence and ease; she looked toward Li Hao as he walked to another seat, and whispered:

"His Dao Domain didn't work, his Extremes didn't work, cosmic forces had no effect—he must have a Dao Body. His sword art… must have entered Dao!"

"Entered Dao?"

Hearing this, the others drew sharp breaths, exchanging glances.

What did "entering Dao" mean? That was a level only half-saints and saints could master!

One step further—transcending Dao—could lead to becoming a Saint by offering Dao!

Those who walked the path of offering Dao to become Saint were almost always peerless prodigies, holding extremely high status among Saints, and few dared provoke them—because compared to becoming Saint through worship, those who offered Dao possessed one unique ability: they could freely enter the mortal realm. Those who offered Dao could enter the mortal realm without suffering corruption or influence, while those who became Saint through worship would damage their worship energy.

"Will we face this man at the Canglan Battle in a few months? I heard the Fomen produced two Twin Buddha Sons—extremely terrifying, rumored to have mastered six Extremes. Yet here, among hermits, there's someone like this."

"I heard the Moonlit Saint Son of the Sword Ancestor's Sacred Ground possesses the Sun-Moon Divine Eyes, capable of seeing through all illusions and countering many killing techniques—he's no easy opponent either."

"It seems the Canglan Battle will be incredibly fierce—wonder if any of us can secure a spot to represent Canglan."

Their gazes turned grave; they'd assumed hermits were merely on par with inner-disciple prodigies, yet now they realized true prodigies existed here—they'd come at the right time.

Li Li Qingyi said nothing, only replaying that single sword strike in her mind, and the way he'd gazed elsewhere when he first ascended.

A surge of irritation rose in her chest.

He never believed he'd lose—and indeed, he didn't.

So infuriating… Li Li Qingyi glanced toward him again, no longer in the mood to stay, and said:

"I'm leaving. I'll return when the top hundred matches begin—to see if anyone can force him to reveal his Extremes."

The young man with the folding fan and the others all felt urgency; with such a formidable opponent among hermits, they too wanted to rush back into seclusion and climb higher.

As they departed, another spot in the crowd held Qiu Qiu Wuhen, who had also witnessed this battle.

He also noticed the position where the woman had returned—those figures, one of whom he'd once met briefly.

Was she the Saintess of the Literary Ancestor's Sacred Ground? Qiu Qiu Wuhen guessed, then looked at Li Hao, calmly sipping tea with utter serenity, and felt a pang of helplessness—this fishing companion had no idea he'd just defeated the Literary Ancestor's Saintess.

Still, for the Literary Ancestor's Sacred Ground to come here and fight—it was a bit dishonorable.

Qiu Qiu Wuhen felt regret; this clash had hidden too much—Li Hao's true strength hadn't been forced out.

He shook his head slightly and turned to leave, resolved to train harder, or he'd fall further behind.

After his initial victory, Li Hao appeared several more times, each time casually summoning sword winds to effortlessly defeat his opponents.

Since his battle with Li Li Qingyi, Li Hao had drawn intense attention; as he continued winning, many soon began betting on him as the favorite to win the championship.

After three consecutive days of the ten-thousand-person sieve, the preliminary round ended—the top hundred matches were next.

Li Hao had smoothly advanced to the top hundred, winning every match with ease.

During the break, many factions sent him invitation scrolls, seeking to visit him.

Among them were numerous royal families of dynasties, including several top-tier powers.

Many of these invitation scrolls appealed to Li Hao; after carefully comparing them, he accepted the one from the Emperor Canghai Divine Dynasty.

The Emperor Canghai Divine Dynasty is the largest divine dynasty in the Canglan Realm, venerating ten Half-Saints and maintaining ties with the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, the Buddha Holy Land, and the Literary Ancestor Holy Land—these ties can also be understood as paying protection fees.

The protection fee is incense; within the dynasty, golden temples dedicated to the Three Holy Lands have been built, continuously offering incense and receiving protection from the Three Holy Lands.

The Emperor Canghai Divine Dynasty extended an olive branch to Li Hao, hoping he would become their venerated sage, offering him incense from ten cities.

Those ten cities are enormous; Li Hao had researched them, and if he obtained them, they would accelerate his path to sainthood through incense, reducing the time from three hundred years to two hundred sixty—equivalent to forty years of accumulated effort! In the mortal realm, that would be four hundred years!

This reveals just how vast the scale of those ten cities is.

The power of incense, beyond population size, also depends on the strength of the believers themselves.

The Emperor Canghai Divine Dynasty has an immense number of martial cultivators; the incense power from martial cultivators vastly exceeds that from ordinary mortals.

Although winning first place in the Supreme Heavenly Prodigy Tournament would grant immense incense and immediate sainthood, for a saint who follows the incense path, incense is their source of power—even after becoming a saint, they continuously require more, just as one absorbs heavenly energy; the more incense absorbed, the stronger their power becomes.

Thus, established saints with decades of fame are nearly unshakable to newly risen saints.

This is why, despite dozens of dynasties in the Canglan Realm, only a handful of saints have been venerated; Half-Saints or other saintly heirs find it extremely difficult to obtain incense, as the vast majority of incense power is controlled by the saints themselves.

Li Hao accepted the invitation, but beyond incense, he also demanded cultivation techniques.

Upon receiving Li Hao's reply, a secret order reached the hands of the Emperor Canghai Emperor in the Imperial Palace.

"Your Majesty, the one known as Lin Qingfeng has also accepted our invitation and agreed to become a venerated sage of our Emperor Canghai Divine Dynasty."

A burly general reported in a low voice.

The Emperor Canghai Emperor smiled with satisfaction. "Good. You've done well. This youth is extremely powerful; now that he has joined our dynasty as a venerated sage, if he represents the Canglan Realm in battle, our dynasty will receive a celestial dragon qi!"

"Your Majesty," the burly general asked hesitantly, "would ten cities' incense not be too much? In recent years, we've already sacrificed considerable incense to the Three Holy Lands. Now we're giving away ten more cities—he's merely a Dao Law Realm cultivator, not even a Half-Saint. Why such generosity?"

The Emperor Canghai Emperor smiled faintly. "Earlier, the imperial heir of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land sent word—this man is no ordinary figure. Ten cities? He's worth it."

The burly general paused, then wisely said no more. "Besides this Lin Qingfeng, the other three prodigies of exceptional talent have also accepted our invitations: one requested five cities' incense, another seven, and the third twelve."

He looked at the Emperor Canghai Emperor. "In total, we've relinquished thirty-four cities' incense—an entire province's worth!"

The Emperor Canghai Emperor's eyes gleamed slightly. "Did Chi Guang also accept?"

The burly general nodded. "He demanded twenty cities' incense, but after negotiations, we compensated him with other elixirs. He also specifically requested that Princess Yun be married to him."

The Emperor Canghai Emperor's eyes flickered, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"With his strength, he will surely represent our Canglan Realm in battle. This is guaranteed dragon qi. Princess Yun can bring additional dragon qi to our dynasty. To be wed to such a prodigy is her fortune."

The burly general bowed his head, saying nothing. Royal marriages—this emperor had many children; before the power of dragon qi, sacrifice was only natural.

(End of Chapter)