"Ah!"
Just as Li Haoran was pondering, a shrill scream came from behind him; it was the refined man who had lost the ability to resist.
The refined-looking man was clutching his lower abdomen in a disheveled state, with blood clearly visible flowing out, his face contorted in pain.
It turned out that although the sword energy that Li Haoran had just unleashed shattered the pebbles that Wang Hao had thrown into dust, the tens of thousands of pounds of force attached to the pebbles also deflected the sword energy, ultimately striking the area below the opponent's abdomen.
Li Haoran's cultivation was so formidable that even a casually flicked sword aura was exceptionally sharp, far beyond what the refined man, whose true energy was depleted and whose meridians were injured, could withstand. Thus, it was pierced through in one stroke, and a pendant was also cut off.
"Hiss! This should have been cut off, right?"
Elder Chu was sitting to the side watching the show, couldn't help but gasp when he saw this scene, and subconsciously squeezed his legs together.
"It must have been cut off!"
Wheel-Turning King, standing to the side, nodded affirmatively, his expression also appearing quite strange.
He never expected that such a farcical incident would occur in the end; it was truly...
I'm so happy!
"You shameless old man! You even castrated your own apprentice. Did that kid cheat on you?"
Elder Chu looked at Li Haoran, whose face was ashen, with a mocking expression. He certainly didn't mind verbally attacking his mortal enemy.
"I see!"
Wheel-Turning King feigned Satori realization and said with concern, "Brother Haoran, if you are still not satisfied, why not send this boy to the palace to become a eunuch? It just so happens that I have some connections with Cao Haisheng, the head of the Eastern Depot, so I think he will give me face."
As someone who shares the same stance as Elder Chu, he naturally didn't mind cooperating with Elder Chu to annoy Li Haoran.
"How could this old servant dare disobey Your Highness's request? Besides, this young man is quite talented; our Eastern Depot needs people like him!"
As Wheel-Turning King's words fell, a slightly effeminate voice rang out, and a figure appeared in the arena at some point—it was Cao Haisheng, the eunuch of the Eastern Depot.
At this moment, Cao Haisheng stood on the other side of the battlefield, forming an encirclement with Wheel-Turning King and Elder Chu, clearly intending to keep Li Haoran inside.
"Hmph! No need, I will handle this myself!"
With a cold snort, Li Haoran sheathed his sword, grabbed the still screaming, refined man, and swiftly departed.
This place is no place to stay for long. The presence of two experts, Elder Chu and Wheel-Turning King, is already putting him under considerable pressure. If Cao Haisheng, who is not much different, were to join them, he would probably have to pay a price even if he wanted to leave.
"They're finally gone!"
Seeing Li Haoran leave, Wheel-Turning King was relieved. He really didn't want to fight Li Haoran, after all, Elder Chu's condition was too sensitive, and it would be bad if it led to the old monster from the Confucian School.
"They've left, but the junior they took with them will break through soon, and then the Confucian School will have another expert at the Half-step Innate realm."
Elder Chu frowned, his expression grave.
With his keen eyesight, he naturally saw that the refined man had broken through the bottleneck at the last moment and would soon become a Half-step Innate realm expert, which was not a good thing for them.
Although the Half-step Innate realm is far from the true Innate realm, it is much stronger than Grandmaster Realm martial artist and already possesses some of the power and techniques of the Innate realm.
If you encounter a Grandmaster Realm expert who hasn't grasped the Martial Dao Intent Realm, they could even kill you instantly.
The Half-step Innate realm is already the foundation of various forces. For example, they are the foundation of the Da Ming Dynasty royal family, and their deterrent power is extremely strong.
"Even if the disciple of the Vast Righteousness Sword Saint achieves the Half-step Innate Realm, it's nothing special; he's still far less impressive than Elder Chu's disciple!"
A man dressed in black brocade stepped out from the side, surrounded by more than a dozen Grandmaster- level experts. It was none other than Emperor Mingde.
He had witnessed the entire battle, and even though he didn't have a deep understanding of martial arts, he recognized Wang Hao's extraordinary talent and couldn't help but admire him.
Although Wang Hao is exceptionally talented, the Da Ming royal family cannot protect such a genius. Otherwise, it would surely provoke the Confucian School, leading them to a true decisive battle, which would be troublesome.
Therefore, they had no choice but to abandon Wang Hao. Fortunately, today's outcome was satisfactory, allowing Wang Hao to escape.
If that kid survives, he will definitely draw most of the Confucian School ' attention, and their opportunity will come.
"What nonsense are you spouting, you little brat!"
Elder Chu glared reproachfully at Emperor Mingde, but his expression was completely different, as if to say, "Say more of this blunt truth."
Cao Haisheng and Wheel-Turning King, who were watching this scene, felt ashamed, but they didn't say anything. After all, the man was the father-in-law of Emperor Mingde.
You're still the same!
Emperor Mingde was helpless, but he didn't dare to blame her. After all, his most beloved concubine was the adopted daughter she had taken in years ago, and she had also contributed a lot to his success in seizing the throne.
What could he possibly say to his father-in-law?
" Elder Chu, should I send someone to secretly meet up with Warrior Wang?"
Emperor Mingde glanced at the murky pond, a thought struck him, and he spoke.
He personally witnessed Wang Hao being pierced through by fragments of Li Haoran's sword energy, which must have severely injured him. He's probably not in good condition right now.
"No need. Since that kid chose this place as the battlefield, he must have made preparations. We don't need to interfere. On the contrary, we should send people to impose martial law in the capital and suppress the intelligence gathering methods of those officials!"
After some deliberation, Elder Chu ultimately shook his head and rejected Emperor Mingde's proposal.
Although the Confucian School doesn't have much real power in the capital, it has quite a few spies. After all, almost all the court officials are Confucian School. If Wang Hao's whereabouts are exposed because of them, it would be bad news if it attracted those old monsters from the Confucian School.
Therefore, not only could they not seek out and assist Wang Hao, they also had to suppress such matters, tightly control the spies of those court officials, and buy Wang Hao more time.
"Cao Ban Dang, I'm entrusting this matter to you. Make sure you handle it well!"
Nodding in understanding, Emperor Mingde gave instructions to Cao Haisheng.
"Yes, this old servant will certainly handle this matter Pretty."
Cao Haisheng bowed and accepted the order, but inwardly he was amazed.
A month ago, when he met Wang Hao, the other party was much weaker than him. He never expected that after only a month, Wang Hao would become someone he had to take seriously.
What a prodigy!
Li Haoran, accompanied by his castrated apprentice, quickly left the capital. They rode at breakneck speed and arrived in Taiyuan, the headquarters of the Li Household, in less than three days.
The Confucian School school is divided into eight branches and lineages. The Li Household inherited the Meng School of Confucianism, and even his Vast Righteousness Sword Instruction was derived from Mencius's writings.
After handing his seriously injured disciple over to a servant for treatment, Li Haoran quickly made his way to a secluded cliff edge in the back mountains of his clan.
On the edge of the cliff stands a small pavilion, where an old man is watching the sunrise.
After a long silence, the old man finally spoke, "Is it Haoran?"
"Ancestor, this plan has failed. We have not been able to eliminate that traitor Wang Hao. We beg you to punish us."
Li Haoran took a step forward and knelt on the ground, recounting the truth of the incident.
"Was it the Da Ming's royal family that made the move?"
The old man was surprised and then pondered a possibility.
In his mind, only the Da Ming Dynasty royal family had the power to break the deadlock, but it didn't matter. This operation was just a test of the Da Ming royal family, and they would get what they wanted regardless of whether they succeeded or not.
"No, the Da Ming Dynasty royal family didn't intervene. It was Wang Hao who broke through the battle and escaped. He has great talent, even surpassing Zhang Sanfeng from hundreds of years ago. His Sword Intent cultivation is almost catching up with mine, while he is only at the peak of the Peak Super-First-Rate."
Shaking his head, Li Haoran briefly recounted Wang Hao's extraordinary talent, which made the old man in the pavilion even more astonished.
"When chaos descends, extraordinary talents are bound to emerge. It seems that young man is the extraordinary talent of this dynastic cycle."
The old man nodded knowingly and said in a deep voice, "I will not interfere at this time. Consider that kid as a stepping stone for your generation!"
At this point, the old man stood up and walked to an ancient pine tree that was almost withered and decaying by the pavilion. He reached out and broke off a piece of bark, revealing the trunk inside, which was almost hollowed out by termites. He sighed.
" The Great Ming Dynasty is like this ancient pine tree, which is about to be completely eroded. Our duty as Confucian School is to accelerate this decaying process, create a brand new dynasty, start a new cycle, and reduce the suffering of the people."
Haoran, take this Zhanlu Sword and break through to the Innate Realm as soon as possible. My time is running out. The future of my Li Household and the Meng School of Confucianism, as well as the future of the new dynasty, will depend on you.
As he spoke, the old man moved his mind, and an ancient sword placed in the pavilion flew to Li Haoran's front.
"Yes, Haoran will definitely break through to the Innate Realm as soon as possible!"
Li Haoran, holding the ancient sword, accepted the order, his expression becoming even more resolute.
The same scene was playing out in several places in the Central Plains. The Confucian School ancestors all made the same decision, making Wang Hao a whetstone for their next generation to grow.
This is both a cycle of dynasties and a cycle of Confucian School, a replacement of the old with the new.
Leaving aside how the eight major Confucian School schools dealt with Wang Hao, the escaped experts from the Five Mountains Sword Sect gathered together, their expressions filled with anxiety and regret.
After all, Wang Hao's strength and talent were too monstrous. Even with such a powerful lineup today, they couldn't kill him. One can imagine that once he grows up, the Five Mountains Sword Sect will definitely not be a match for him, and at that time, they will probably be wiped out.
They were filled with regret at that moment!
If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have agreed to the Confucian School suggestion to get involved in this mess. Now look what's happened—I didn't kill anyone, but I've gotten myself into a mess and even made a terrifying enemy.
"Husband, stop thinking about Wang Hao. Come and eat something; you haven't eaten all day."
Inside an inn, a beautiful woman carried a meal into the room. Seeing her husband still worrying and lost in thought, she softly offered words of comfort.
The beautiful woman was Ning Zhongze, the wife of the current head of the Mount Hua Sword Sect, and the man in the room was none other than Yue Buqun, the head of the Mount Hua Sword Sect.
"No, you don't understand how terrifying that scoundrel Wang Hao is. If we fail to kill this fiend this time, he will surely become a disaster for our Mount Hua Sword Sect in the future."
Yue Buqun shook his head slightly, his expression extremely gloomy.
He had personally experienced Wang Hao's terrifying power, especially the other party's inhuman speed of improvement, which was truly astonishing.
Last year, when they were in the borderlands, the opponent's strength was only about the same as his. In the past year, he has also worked hard to cultivate, and his strength has improved a lot. His cultivation level has also stabilized at the Mid-Stage Grandmaster Realm.
He had originally planned to kill that kid, but the kid's progress was even more terrifying, and he had now grown into someone that even he had to look up to.
If the enemy were to come knocking on his door one day, he wouldn't even be able to defend himself. How could he not worry?
"Things have come to this point, and no amount of thinking can solve the problem. You should eat something now, otherwise you'll ruin your health. Lingshan, Chong'er, and I all depend on you, my husband!"
Ning Zhongze put down the food and gently comforted her, though a hint of worry lingered in her eyes.
She had also participated in the battle to besiege Wang Hao with her husband, so she was well aware of how terrifying Wang Hao was. Even when the two of them Mount Hua Sword Sect, they were unable to defeat him. If he were to come knocking on their door one day, they wouldn't even have the ability to escape.
The opponent is simply too strong!
"Perhaps we can ask that person to take Chong'er and Lingshan away then!"
Ning Zhongze suddenly had an idea, and a figure involuntarily appeared in her mind.