Inside the restaurant.
The stout owner, Zhu Da, personally attended to the table where the red-haired man sat.
After the nimble young waiter in blue brought over three basins of stewed meat, he carried over a jar of rice wine, then went to serve the Iron Ox Tribe clansmen outside.
Zhou Hao and the others were hungry too. As soon as the food arrived, they dug in.
"Delicious." Iron Pillar grabbed a piece of meat and took a bite. His eyes lit up. "Even better than Auntie's stew."
"You cheeky brat, why do you have so much to say?" Xiangcao tapped Iron Pillar on the head. "All this meat still can't keep your mouth shut? I won't stew any for you next time."
After scolding Iron Pillar, Xiangcao pushed a basin of stewed meat in front of Zhou Hao, then pulled two bamboo chopsticks from the holder on the table and handed them to him.
Zhou Hao smiled, took the chopsticks, speared a snow-white piece of Zhilong Meat from the basin, and popped it into his mouth.
It really was delicious.
This "Zhilong" was a kind of beast that lived deep underground.
Since it never came up to the surface during its lifetime, it didn't have scales covering its whole body like the Earth Armor Dragon he'd killed before. It lived on the various spirit herbs and roots growing underground.
Zhilong Meat wasn't as chewy as Wild Ox meat. After the restaurant cooked it with all kinds of seasonings, it was even more tender and soft, practically melting in the mouth.
At the other table, the owner personally brought over stewed Zhilong Meat for the red-haired man and his companions as well.
One of them was lean but had a booming voice. As he ate, he said, "Zhu Da, your place is the only one in all of Jade Dragon City that regularly serves Zhilong Meat. How do you catch Zhilong? Any tricks to it? Teach me, will you? Otherwise, next time I'm sent to guard some island, I'll have to go a whole month without eating Zhilong again."
"Yeah, teach us." Another man nodded repeatedly. "If you're willing to tell us, I'll give you ten catties of Thunder Gold."
"You gentlemen must be joking. This little skill is how I support my whole family. No matter how much you offer, I can't share it." Zhu Da smiled obsequiously.
"Generals, you're all Xiantian Lifeforms, great figures who'll cultivate immortality and become saints. If you want to eat Zhilong, just come by my shop. Even if it's inconvenient for you to visit, just send someone to tell me. Having it delivered is no trouble at all."
"Honestly, do you think we'd steal your livelihood?" the lean man muttered. He didn't press the shopkeeper any further, though, and waved him off to the kitchen.
Watching discreetly, Zhou Hao nodded to himself. The Xiantian Lifeforms had shed their mortal bodies, yet they still didn't bully or threaten an ordinary shopkeeper. It seemed Ren Liang hadn't been wrong when he said the Green Flood Dragon Army in Jade Dragon City was strictly disciplined.
On the way to Jade Dragon City, Zhou Hao had learned from Ren Liang that the city lay at the extreme eastern edge of the continent, with the boundless East Sea stretching beyond it. Overseas cultivators often gathered there, and East City even had a marketplace specifically for cultivators.
That was why the major tribes across the Great Wild Plains regularly sent people there. Their main purpose was to sell the great demon pelts they'd stockpiled, along with the precious materials they gathered from the mountains and plains, then trade them for cultivation Origin Stones and other resources their tribes needed.
A place with such thriving trade naturally needed a powerful force to keep the peace.
The Green Flood Dragon Army was the strongest guard force in Jade Dragon City, with a total of fifty thousand soldiers.
The minimum requirement for an ordinary soldier was the peak of the Post-Heaven realm. The army also had an "Xiantian Battalion," made up entirely of six hundred powerful Xiantian Lifeforms, whose presence kept the countless tribes and factions around Jade Dragon City in check.
Ren Liang had once come to Jade Dragon City with Motai Jie to do business for the Black Hand Tribe. But Motai Jie had been too heavy-handed, and after that one visit, he never came back.
So Ren Liang had only heard a little about the Green Flood Dragon Army. He knew that those who joined could obtain cultivation techniques, but he didn't know the specifics.
Now that Zhou Hao had run into several experts from the Green Flood Dragon Army's Xiantian Battalion at this restaurant—and one of them was even a commander—he wanted to learn more about the army by listening to their conversation.
But after the four Xiantian Lifeforms exchanged a few guesses about how to catch Zhilong, they began chatting about other things. Zhou Hao listened for a long time without learning anything useful, so he stopped paying attention.
He was already in Jade Dragon City, after all. He could find out what he wanted to know once he went inside.
"Do you think that man's a Fire Worship Sect spy? He's been listening to our conversation the whole time."
"I doubt it. What kind of spy would swagger into the city with over a hundred clansmen?"
"Maybe that's exactly how he's trying to throw people off. Miao Ying, you're the one who decided he wasn't a spy."
At the red-haired man's table, the four Xiantian Lifeforms appeared to be drinking, eating, and chatting. In secret, though, they were sending each other messages with their true essence, discussing Zhou Hao.
"All right, spy or not, Yang Qiong, go over and sound him out in a moment." The red-haired man glanced at the three others, then sent a message to the one with the gentlest air about him.
If he weren't wearing blue armor and had instead donned a soft robe, the man would have looked more like a learned scholar.
The lean man who'd first asked the shopkeeper for tips on catching Zhilong glanced at Xiangcao and teased the gentle-looking man, "Yang Qiong, go ahead, but don't go hitting on the young lady beside him."
"Er Hu, do you take me for such a vulgar man?" Yang Qiong shook his head with a smile. "A young girl knows nothing of the world. What could compare to a mature woman who knows how to be tender and considerate?"
"I'd forgotten—you're just like Captain Cao. Neither of you like young girls; you only go for older women." Er Hu chuckled quietly. "How about I turn her into an older woman first, then you can go after her? That'd make us quite the pair of colleagues."
That joke set all four of them laughing.
Even Xiantian Lifeforms, lofty figures in the eyes of ordinary people, couldn't escape the seven emotions and six desires.
They were all men, and they served in the same military camp. It was perfectly normal for them to make lewd jokes from time to time.
By then, Zhou Hao and the others had finished eating. Iron Ox had gone to check whether his clansmen had enough food, while Iron Pillar had eaten his fill and was dozing against Xiangcao. Zhou Hao, meanwhile, was turning a small piece of dark green crystal over in his hand.
It was another Mustard Stone, the one he'd obtained after killing Yuan Lie. The space inside was nearly three times larger than the one in Motai Jie's possession.
They'd been on the road earlier, so Zhou Hao hadn't had time to examine it carefully. Now that they'd reached Jade Dragon City, he planned to take out whatever he didn't need and sell it, trading it for cultivation resources that would be more useful to him.
"Hm?" Zhou Hao had just finished looking through the black book in his hand when he heard a burst of laughter from the other table.
Beside him, Xiangcao had her head lowered, apparently soothing Iron Pillar to sleep.
But the redness at her ears and the rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathed faster made it clear she was forcing down her anger.
What else could a group of men get so excited about discussing together?
Xiangcao didn't know what they were laughing about, but the lean man had glanced at her before the others burst into laughter.
She didn't need to guess to know they couldn't be saying anything good.
Back on the Great Wild Plains, if Xiangcao caught men laughing and talking about her, she'd have shot an arrow at them already, no matter who they were.
But here, outside Jade Dragon City, the four men were all Xiantian Lifeforms—and powerful members of the Green Flood Dragon Army's Xiantian Battalion at that. She didn't want to cause trouble for Zhou Hao.
Zhou Hao gave Xiangcao's shoulder a gentle pat, then turned toward the red-haired man's table.
"Gentlemen, is there some good news? Why not share it with everyone so we can all have a laugh?"
The sudden voice made the red-haired man and the others freeze.
After all, the young woman they'd been joking about was sitting right beside him.
They didn't know what kind of relationship Zhou Hao and Xiangcao had, but being directly questioned by him left them momentarily at a loss for words.
They wouldn't have bothered responding to an ordinary mortal, but the red-haired man had noticed something unusual about Zhou Hao the moment he entered.
Most of all, the first time he'd laid eyes on Zhou Hao, the instinct honed through countless bloody battles had warned him that Zhou Hao was a threat. That was terrifying in itself.
After all, he, Cao Rong, was the second-ranked commander in the Green Flood Dragon Army's Xiantian Battalion. How could an ordinary Xiantian Lifeform possibly make him feel threatened?
"Brother, I'm Cao Rong, commander of the Green Flood Dragon Army's Second Xiantian Battalion. These three men are my subordinates. We were only joking among ourselves. We didn't mean to offend you." The red-haired man, Cao Rong, spoke up.
"I'd also like to ask which tribe you're from and what brings you to Jade Dragon City."
"Joking?" Zhou Hao smiled. "If I made jokes about you with my companions, would you be fine with that?"
He thought he could brush it aside with one joke, then interrogate Zhou Hao about his background? Now that was a joke.
Cao Rong's expression darkened as he looked at Zhou Hao. "Then what do you want?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a red glow flowed over his body. His red hair rose like flames, and the temperature inside the restaurant suddenly soared.
"Make him apologize to my little sister." Zhou Hao sat calmly in his seat. The Lunar Divine Pattern on his back glowed, and the rising heat immediately cooled.
When Er Hu heard that he was expected to apologize—to an ordinary girl, no less—he couldn't bear it. He sprang to his feet and strode toward Zhou Hao.
"Commander, I think he's a Fire Worship Sect spy trying to sneak into Jade Dragon City. Let me capture him first." As Er Hu walked, he continued, "Kid, if you know what's good for you, surrender quietly. Otherwise, don't blame your grandpa Er Hu for—"
Whoosh!
Zhou Hao's figure shot forward like thunder. In an instant, he was in front of Er Hu. He clenched his right hand like a hammer and swung his arm.
Bam!
His right arm smashed into Er Hu and sent him flying, crashing hard onto the street outside. Passersby scattered in fright.
"If you don't clean up your mouth, next time I won't hit your body. I'll hit you right in the face," Zhou Hao said coldly.
This was the form of "Sea Floor Hammering Punch," a move from the Innate Taiji Fist he'd practiced since childhood.
During his fight to the death with Yuan Lie, he'd fused the Water-Fire Taiji Grindstone he'd comprehended into the technique. He channeled his divine power in a spiral, combining water and fire, yin and yang. With each hammering punch, he naturally brought forth the momentum of a massive stone grindstone turning.
Zhou Hao cultivated the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, and his Innate God and Devil Body was the most perfect of its kind. When he clenched his fist like a hammer, it was just like a real one.
Combined with the force of the Taiji Grindstone within him, each blow was ferocious. Even Yuan Lie, a peak Xiantian body-tempering expert, had had his arm broken and his Red Gold Copper Rod knocked flying by a single strike, despite wielding a weapon weighing thirteen thousand five hundred catties. The blow's sheer ferocity spoke for itself.
Although the mysterious Blue Flower Mist had played a major role in that fight, it couldn't be denied that with this one move alone, Zhou Hao could sweep aside anyone at the same level.
Since the technique followed the most forceful path, Zhou Hao had given this move a name: "Fantian Seal."
The name meant that one punch could strike with the might of the legendary ancient treasure, the Fantian Seal—crushing its victim dead on impact.
"Er Hu!"
The other two men sprang to their feet.
"Don't worry, he's not dead. He probably only broke a few ribs." Zhou Hao laughed and sat back down.
Though he was smiling, he hadn't noticed that the murderous fury growing inside him had already begun to make him lose control.
"Ah!"
A roar came from outside the restaurant. The lean man known as Er Hu charged back in, wielding a pair of four-sided Mixed Iron Hammers. His left ribs were deeply caved in, but a green glow flowed over them as they slowly healed.
With his eyes already bloodshot, Er Hu stormed in swinging his Mixed Iron Hammers and charged at Zhou Hao. He was still yelling, "You bastard! I'll kill you!"
Hearing that the man was still spewing filth, Zhou Hao truly flew into a rage.
In this life, his master, True Person Daoyi, had raised him from childhood. Though he called him master, in his heart he regarded him as blood kin—like his own grandfather.
The slaughter he'd endured since arriving in this world had nurtured a murderous fury within him. Now, combined with his anger, it made him even more violent.
"You want to die? I'll grant your wish!" Zhou Hao's gaze turned icy, and a Red Gold Copper Rod appeared in his hand.
It was the weapon Yuan Lie had used. After killing him, Zhou Hao had kept it for himself.
The moment the Red Gold Copper Rod appeared, the wooden chair beneath Zhou Hao collapsed with a crack.
The rod weighed thirteen thousand five hundred catties. Never mind a wooden chair; even a stone chair would have crumbled under its terrifying weight.
But when Cao Rong saw the Red Gold Copper Rod appear in Zhou Hao's hand, his expression changed.
"This is..." He immediately shouted, "Stop! This is all a misunderstanding!"
Go to hell with your misunderstanding!
At that moment, Zhou Hao seemed possessed. All he wanted was to kill.
Whoosh!
This time, Zhou Hao used the same Fantian Seal technique, but wielded the thirteen-thousand-five-hundred-cattie Red Gold Copper Rod. The divine strength of his Innate God and Devil Body combined with the rod's own weight...
It seemed as though a single swing could split the entire restaurant in two. The rod sliced through the air with a sharp hiss, like a blade rushing past.
Zhou Hao swung the Red Gold Copper Rod upward from below, meeting brute force with brute force. The first thing in its path was the Mixed Iron Hammer Er Hu brought crashing down.
The moment the hammer met the Red Gold Copper Rod, it flattened. Then, unable to withstand the rod's violent force, it burst apart down the middle. The Red Gold Copper Rod continued without losing momentum and smashed straight into Er Hu's shoulder.
Splurt!
In Zhou Hao's hands, the Red Gold Copper Rod might as well have been a razor-sharp sword. It cleaved through Er Hu from the shoulder down, splitting his body diagonally in two.
"Keep running your mouth, and I'll bring this rod down on your head!"
Before you continue