An introduction

"He's still just a kid."

"People of the world chase fame and fortune, unlike us who are so refined."

The two young temple keepers chuckled and chatted.

Upon hearing this, Li Hao had already walked away, turned back, grabbed a few pieces from the White Stone Go Box, threw them on the fifth spot on the Go Board, then snorted and strode away.

"You audacious young man..."

The young temple keeper, playing white, was furious and about to unleash a torrent of abuse when the boy had already moved on. Annoyed, he turned his gaze away and was about to tidy up the mischievous Chess Piece when he saw his friend staring blankly at the Go Board.

He was surprised and looked down, only to find that his previous predicament had been reversed and the placement of the five pieces had opened up a new territory for him.

The key point is that if one piece is missing, the pieces are scattered and cannot be detected.

"This..."

After wandering around for a while, Li Hao felt a little bored. Seeing that Ren Qianqian's Soul Inheritance was not yet over, he immediately found the temple keeper and asked him to tell the young girl who had just gone in to wait for him here after she came out, and not to go far away.

He handed over two taels of silver, which the old temple keeper gladly accepted, and agreed to deliver the message.

Li Hao then casually left Qing Feng Martial Temple, went into the city, and found a bustling Restaurant to inquire about the Grandmaster Bai Chunhai.

The Restaurant was packed with guests and extremely lively. At the spiral staircase in the middle of the building, a Candle was hanging, its flame flickering. Half a meter from the end of the Candle's cord, a beautifully crafted Dagger inlaid with Amber Gemstone was suspended.

Downstairs, many people started to jeer.

Li Hao glanced at it and realized that the Restaurant was holding a promotion to take advantage of the lively atmosphere. Anyone who could remove the Dagger without the candlelight flickering would receive it as a gift.

Just by looking at the gems on the Dagger, you can tell Dagger's worth a fortune; no wonder it attracts so many people.

Li Hao wasn't interested in the Dagger. He went upstairs via another staircase and found a spot to sit by the railing.

He looked around, filtering out the noise and focusing on the Whispers he heard.

His hearing was exceptionally sharp; he could overhear conversations from outside the Restaurant, in nearby teahouses, and among pedestrians on the street.

Even whispers among some people can be heard clearly.

At the back desk and downstairs, several women were Whispers: "That young man leaning against the railing is so handsome..."

Li Hao felt a surge of joy.

Suddenly, Li Hao heard the name "Bai Chunhai" coming from a table near the window. Surprised, he saw three figures sitting at the table—two women and a man—talking in hushed tones.

"Master has challenged Grandmaster Bai Chunhai to a duel. They'll Sparring at Heaven Sword Peak after the Grandmaster Assembly."

"I've heard that Bai Chunhai's palm technique is incredibly skillful; he can strike a tree covered in Falling Snow, and the snow doesn't tremble while the tree shatters. I wonder if that's true or not."

"Maybe it was his apprentice who was exaggerating..."

Li Hao's eyes brightened slightly, and he immediately got up and walked over to their table:

"Excuse me for disturbing you, do you know Grandmaster Bai Chunhai?"

The three fell silent abruptly, their expressions changing slightly, seemingly surprised that their conversation had been overheard.

"Are you his apprentice?"

The three looked up at Li Hao with unfriendly expressions, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Li Hao was not very old.

They're gossiping about someone else's master behind their backs. If a fight really broke out, this young man, being so young, would probably be no match for them.

"No, I just want to get to know him," Li Hao said, shaking his head.

The three of them were slightly taken aback, exchanged a glance, and then relaxed.

"You've come here to become his apprentice, haven't you?"

Among them, the girl dressed in a plain white dress looked gentle and spoke softly.

Li Hao looked at her in surprise, then realized that in addition to attracting Grandmaster from All Under Heaven, the Grandmaster Assembly also attracted many young Warrior who came to become her disciples.

Young masters and ladies from both impoverished and newly Aristocratic Clan would travel great distances to become apprentices and learn martial arts.

After all, there are so many Grandmaster here; you're bound to run into one or two if you're lucky.

Li Hao smiled, offered no explanation, and asked, "Do you know where he is?"

"So what if I know? Why should I tell you?"

The other girl next to him, wearing an orange dress, was even more delicate-looking, but had a rather fierce personality. She glared at Li Hao, clearly extremely displeased that he had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

The young man sitting in the middle didn't stop them, but simply said:

"If you wish to become my disciple, wait outside the Grandmaster Assembly after it concludes, and you will naturally be able to meet me."

Seeing that they all disliked Li Hao's attitude, the woman in the plain white dress simply glanced at Li Hao and said nothing more.

Li Hao wasn't angry. He took out the remaining half-bag of silver and said, "Could you please do me a favor and show me the way?"

Who cares about this little bit of money?

The woman in the orange dress glanced at it, gave a soft snort, and then, turning her head, happened to see the Dagger hanging on the spiral staircase beside her. She casually pointed at it:

"If you're truly sincere, take that Dagger and give it to me, and I'll tell you."

Upon hearing this, the young man realized that his Junior Sister was deliberately trying to make things difficult for him.

He had just tried using that Dagger, and even he couldn't do it himself.

"Ling'er."

The woman in the plain white dress gently called out to the young girl, then said apologetically to Li Hao, "I'm sorry, we can't casually reveal information about Grandmaster Bai Chunhai, otherwise we might be blamed..."

"Dagger, is that all? No problem."

Li Hao smiled and quickly took back the half-bag of silver to avoid wasting money.

Although the Dagger was more expensive than his money, in his eyes, money and treasures were all just things that provided him with convenience; as long as it made things convenient, that was enough.

With his current strength, making money would be easy for him. He could earn a considerable fortune by slaying a few Demon and become a wealthy man, living a carefree and happy life.

They saw Li Hao turn and walk down the stairs.

The three of them were stunned and exchanged bewildered glances. Zhou Ling'er, regaining her senses, exclaimed, "Is he an idiot? Does he really think he can get it?"

"He probably didn't read the rules properly, thinking that being able to leap three zhang high was enough," the young man said with a slight sneer, shaking his head.

As they spoke, the three of them got up and went to the railing to look down.

When Li Hao went downstairs, there were quite a few people around him eager to try.

To take on the challenge, you'll need to order a "Jade-and-Gold Feast" set meal first, which will serve as your challenge ticket.

This familiar routine made Li Hao feel a little nostalgic.

He spent ten taels of silver to buy a serving, and before the dish was even served, he stepped into the challenge area.

All eyes immediately turned to him, and when they saw Li Hao's age, the jeers grew even louder. Everyone thought he was some scion of the Aristocratic Clan who couldn't resist showing off and wanted to try his luck.

The money in the pockets of these Aristocratic Clan young masters is also the easiest to earn.

The middle-aged man next to him, who seemed to be the manager of the Restaurant, enthusiastically explained the rules to Li Hao and continued to create a lively atmosphere.

Before the crowd could erupt in commotion, Li Hao lightly leaped into the air, floating up like a Qing Feng under the watchful eyes of everyone in the building. He then deftly retrieved the Dagger tied to the top of the Candle.

The rules prohibit participants from the Fifteen Li Realm and forbid them from directly using Object Manipulation to retrieve items; the test is purely on Martial Dao skills.

Therefore, even if one's cultivation reaches the Spirit Wandering Realm, it is difficult to keep the candle flame from flickering if Martial Dao arts skills are average.

However, as Li Hao landed, the candlelight continued to burn quietly, its tip remaining straight.

Li Hao smiled slightly at the stunned Restaurant manager, then took the Dagger and turned to go upstairs.

After a brief silence, the Restaurant erupted in commotion, with everyone gasping in shock and countless eyes following the young man's figure.

Li Hao went upstairs, handed the Dagger to Zhou Ling'er who was leaning against the railing with a dazed expression, and smiled, "Could you show me the way?"

Zhou Ling'er and the other two came to their senses. They had all seen clearly that the candlelight did not flicker at all, and Li Hao's closeness did not seem to create the slightest breeze.

"How... how did you do that?" Holding the Dagger, Zhou Ling'er couldn't help but ask in a daze.

The young man beside him stared wide-eyed, looking Li Hao up and down. He himself was a genius on the Earth Phoenix Rankings, and even he couldn't do it, yet this young man had actually accomplished it.

Could the other person also be from the Kun Ranking?

Li Hao sensed the increasing attention around him and asked again, "Could you show me the way?"

The three of them came to their senses. The young man gave Li Hao a deep look and said, "Please come with us. Grandmaster Bai Chunhai should be with our master, but I can't guarantee we'll run into him."

"Good."

Li Hao agreed.

The young man led the group out of the Restaurant.

The Restaurant manager glanced at them, but ultimately resisted the urge to step forward and pull them apart. These days, it's best not to provoke the young masters who come to Great Yue City; you're likely to run into a brick wall.

Zhou Ling'er kept glancing at Li Hao along the way. Although she had a bad temper, she had great respect and admiration for powerful people and kept asking them questions.

"How exactly did you do that?"

What's your name?

Where are you from?

Li Hao didn't answer; he only felt as if a bee was buzzing in his ear.

The girl in the plain white dress was also secretly observing Li Hao, her eyes filled with curiosity. Among her peers, she rarely saw someone so capable.

Not long after.

Led by the young man, they arrived at the Grandmaster's Martial Dao Platform in the city, where a huge crowd had already gathered outside.

The surrounding inns are all fully booked.

In a Restaurant with a stage set up, the young men found their master, a short, middle-aged Grandmaster named Zhou Haitang.

The young man introduced Li Hao to him and whispered a brief account of what had happened at the Restaurant.

Zhou Haitang, who was listening to the opera, couldn't help but look up at Li Hao, then chuckled and asked, "May I ask where you come from, sir, and what your name is?"

Ji Hao.

Li Hao only said...

Zhou Haitang pondered the name for a moment. It wasn't on the Universe Rankings, so it was probably a young master from a Name School had just entered the world. Li Hao's age also seemed to fit the bill.

"He's only one surname different from that peerless genius on the Heaven Dragon Rankings."

Zhou Haitang chuckled and said, "Do you want to become Bai Chunhai's apprentice? I also know a little about martial arts. Are you interested?"

Zhou Ling'er and the other two looked at him in surprise, never expecting that their master would take the young man in as soon as he saw him.

However, given Li Hao's demonstrated skills and extremely high level of Martial Arts prowess, if he truly masters the art, he might graduate much faster than the others.

Thinking of this, all three felt a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

"I'm not seeking apprenticeship."

Li Hao shook his head slightly. "I want to buy a painting from him."