After seeing Shi Qianqiu off,
Li Xinge stood at the mouth of the valley, watching him depart.
Once Shi Qianqiu vanished from sight,
Li Xinge withdrew his gaze
and looked at Li Hao beside him.
"Two thousand eight hundred li?"
Li Hao chuckled.
"Not quite, Great-Grandfather. It was two thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven li."
"Down to the last li, I see."
Li Xinge gave a snorting laugh.
The next instant—
Smack!
Li Xinge cuffed Li Hao on the head.
Li Hao clutched his head,
looking thoroughly aggrieved.
"Great-Grandfather..."
Li Xinge said evenly,
"That was to remind you not to grow arrogant or impatient. Is two thousand eight hundred li such a remarkable feat? Once you reach the Upper Realm, you'll find far more geniuses there, and plenty stronger than you. If you let arrogance take root, you'll never make it far."
Li Hao rubbed his head and muttered, "Your grandson understands."
Li Xinge grunted in acknowledgment.
Then he turned away.
The moment he did, the corners of his mouth rose despite himself.
Unfortunately,
Li Hao
did not see it.
With Li Hao's breakthrough to the Divine Mansion Realm, the Li Family now had four cultivators in that realm, not counting the three from the North Branch.
They were Li Xinge, Li Xuantong, Li Wuyou, and Li Hao.
And all four possessed the terrifying strength to defeat opponents above their realm.
By now,
many of the Li Family's younger generation had overtaken their elders.
Li Wuyou and Li Hao, for instance, had once been nothing more than juniors in the clan.
Now they had surpassed their elders
and reached the Divine Mansion Realm first.
That was what made them geniuses.
Why did everyone prize geniuses?
Because with the least time and the fewest resources, geniuses could deliver the greatest returns.