Grandmaster's Power

"No wonder you could pick through every student in the entire Academy. So you were already at the peak of Peak High-Rank Elite Warrior. I thought you were a combat genius, but I still underestimated you." Old Liu shook his head and laughed.

Su Hao said modestly, "My father taught me well."

Old Liu nodded and did not pursue the matter further. Since Su Hao had already reached this stage, he could teach him how to advance to a Grandmaster Warrior. As for whether he could advance successfully, that would depend on Su Hao himself.

After pondering for a moment, Old Liu slowly said, "Xiangwu, did your father ever tell you what a Grandmaster Warrior is?"

Su Hao shook his head. "My father is a High-Rank Elite Warrior, so he never told me about Grandmaster Warriors. And I searched through all the materials in Lingyun Library, but there was nothing at all about the Grandmaster Realm or above."

Old Liu said as if it were only natural, "Of course. Knowledge above the Grandmaster Realm belongs to the upper echelons of the Human Race. It is not passed around lightly. Those who successfully advance to Grandmaster Warrior generally rely on the inheritance of their Lineage."

Su Hao was startled and immediately understood. The knowledge of this world was controlled by the great clans of the upper class; ordinary people simply had no way to access it. Su Hao hesitated. "Then would there be a problem with Teacher Liu teaching me?"

Old Liu smiled. "Lineage inheritance is not absolute. There are other paths, such as the Warrior Academy. Since you are a student of the Academy, once you reach a certain level, it is only right for you to smoothly learn higher-stage knowledge. That is also the purpose of our Academy—to select talented people and create more powerful warriors for the Human Race.

If the inheritance of knowledge relied entirely on great clans, the Human Race would never have been able to gain a firm foothold in this world. We would have long since been exterminated by Ferocious Beasts."

Su Hao understood.

Old Liu continued, "You may not know this, but from the perspective of the Human Race's body, once one cultivates to High-Rank Elite Warrior, that is already the end. There is no road beyond it."

Su Hao analyzed the meaning of those words but could not make sense of them. "From the perspective of the Human Race's body?"

Old Liu had said there was no road beyond that, yet Grandmaster Warriors, Great Master Warriors, and Ancestor Warriors all truly existed. Therefore, Old Liu's emphasis had to be on the words "from the perspective of the Human Race's body."

Old Liu nodded. "That's right. From the perspective of the Human Race's body, High-Rank Elite Warrior is already the strongest state we can achieve."

Old Liu was very satisfied by the puzzled expression on Su Hao's face. It showed that Su Hao understood the meaning behind his words. He said slowly, "The Human Race is different from Ferocious Beasts. The strength of the Human Race comes from wisdom, not the body. The entire structure of the human body serves a clever brain, abandoning powerful strength.

And that clever brain is the key to our survival from ancient times until now. Yet even with clever brains, Without Strong Power, we still could not defeat powerful Ferocious Beasts. We could only hide here and there, struggling bitterly to survive."

Su Hao nodded in agreement. Intelligence truly was the foundation of the Human Race.

Old Liu continued, "Ferocious Beasts do not need clever brains. Their entire bodies serve the purpose of gaining powerful strength, so their power can grow stronger and stronger along with their bodies.

Some powerful Ferocious Beasts can even grow without limit. With no opponents, they continue until they cannot find enough food and starve to death."

"To gain powerful strength and improve the Human Race's living conditions, our ancestors began a long series of attempts.

They first discovered the cultivation method of Ordinary Martial Artists, then broke through to Elite Warriors. Our ancestors were trapped at the Elite Warrior stage for nearly a thousand years. They discovered that Elite Warriors seemed to be the very peak the Human Race could reach."

Su Hao asked curiously, "What happened afterward?"

Old Liu said proudly, "Afterward, an incomparably gifted figure emerged from our Human Race. By sheer force, he carved out a great road to the heavens above Elite Warrior. Xiangwu, you must remember him. He was the Human Emperor revered by all of the Human Race—Wu Zongzu."

A reverent gleam appeared in Su Hao's eyes. "Human Emperor Wu Zongzu?"

Old Liu said, "That's right. Thus, the highest realm of our martial artists was named after him: Ancestor Warrior. No one will ever forget his existence."

Old Liu said, "After the Human Emperor reached High-Rank Elite Warrior, he entered the perilous Wilderness alone. He hunted countless Ferocious Beasts and studied the mysteries of their bodies. Why could Ferocious Beasts grow without limit, while the Human Race alone could not? Ten years later, he broke through to the Grandmaster Realm and returned to the Human Race's settlements."

Su Hao could imagine that scene. This Wu Zongzu was absolutely a Child of the World.

"Everyone went mad! The bottleneck that had trapped the Human Race for nearly a thousand years was broken by his strength alone. Later, the Human Emperor began teaching the Human Race the method of breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm without asking for anything in return. After spreading that method, he entered the Wilderness alone once more, and there was never any news of him again.

Yet in just a few short years, everyone remembered him and revered him as the Human Emperor. After countless more years passed, the Human Race broke through to the Great Master Realm and the Ancestor Realm. One day in the future, we will certainly break through to even higher realms."

At this point, Old Liu sighed. "I may not live to see that day."

Su Hao smiled. "Teacher Liu, don't lose heart. Perhaps the person who makes that breakthrough will be you!"

Su Hao amused Old Liu. He reached up and stroked his gleaming bald head, laughing. "Even breaking through to the Great Master Realm is beset with difficulties for me now, let alone the Ancestor Realm."

"Back to the main subject. What I am about to teach you is the method of breaking through to the Grandmaster Realm."

Su Hao immediately sat upright, maintaining his usual reverence for knowledge.

Old Liu extended his palm and clenched it hard. Veins bulged across his entire arm, and a fierce aura spread outward from him, even lifting Su Hao's short hair slightly backward.

Su Hao was shaken by that aura. When he faced Old Liu again, it was as though he were facing a Primordial Beast, impossible to contend with by force.

A mere aura had actually reached such a level.

Old Liu said, "This is the power of the Grandmaster Realm—surging and violent, fundamentally different from the Elite Realm. If the power of the Elite Realm is a bucket of water, then the power of the Grandmaster Realm is a rushing river."

Su Hao's eyes widened. "Is the gap really that great?"

Old Liu released his palm and smiled. "It is greater than you imagine."

Afraid that Su Hao would not believe him, he stood up and crooked a finger at Su Hao. "Hit me with all your strength. Experience the difference between a Grandmaster and an Elite Warrior for yourself."

Su Hao had no doubts. He nodded and stood opposite Old Liu. "I'm coming, Teacher Liu. Be careful."

The Elite Blood Qi within his body erupted at full force. Blood Qi surged out from the Nine Palaces, covering his entire body.

Su Hao assumed a stance suited for punching and let out a low shout.

"Horizontal Slash Hard Force Fist!"

The technique of gathering the strength of his entire body from "Horizontal Slash" merged with the explosive punching technique of "Hard Force Fist." Su Hao unleashed the strongest punch he had ever thrown so far.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound rang out.

Old Liu received Su Hao's punch with his chest.

Old Liu only felt an unexpected tremendous force strike him. That single punch actually sent him stumbling back five or six steps.

The relaxed confidence on his face vanished. His eyes widened again as he clutched his chest and coughed without stopping. In disbelief, he said, "Xiangwu, are you sure this is High-Rank Elite Realm? You didn't lie to me?"

Su Hao shook his throbbing fist and said in surprise, "That's right. My father told me this is High-Rank Elite Realm!"

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