" Young Master Zhu, the younger members of the clan have all gathered at the village entrance. Please come and check!"
Dugu Qingshan flashed over and said respectfully, but looking at Wang Hao's appearance, his expression couldn't help but become strange.
At this moment, Wang Hao was leisurely lying on a big tree, swinging back and forth. The poor tree was bent over by the weight, and creaking sounds came from the trunk, making one worry that it would break at any moment.
This situation has lasted for two whole days, and dozens of trees have been broken. I really don't know why the other party would do something so pointless.
"Bring it over!"
Wang Hao, who was lying on the tree trunk eating sunflower seeds, casually remarked, clearly indicating that he had no intention of going down.
"Yes, Young Master Zhu, please wait a moment!"
Dugu Qingshan didn't say much, and simply turned around and went down the mountain, preparing to bring all the younger members of the clan over.
"To have raised Tenacious Force to the peak of the Entering the Hall and Inner Chamber in just two days, almost reaching the level of Complete Integration, is quite impressive!"
Wang Hao glanced at the progress of his Tenacious Force under the Nine-Character True Art in the attribute panel and was quite satisfied.
That's right, the one he chose that day was the Tenacious Force from the Nine-Character True Art, as resilient as a tree.
The method of cultivating Tenacious Force is very special. It is not like smashing stones with Shock Force or forging Explosive Force, but rather it is about understanding the resilience of trees themselves, and it relies more on one's own comprehension.
So two days ago, after recovering somewhat, he went up the mountain and kept climbing up trees, bending them, and lying on them to experience the resilience of the tree trunks.
Tenacious Force itself has no destructive power; in the Nine-Character True Art, it is specifically used for defense. Any Nine Li People who has cultivated Tenacious Force can spread Tenacious Force throughout their entire body, especially their skin, and can deflect the force of an opponent's attack.
It is said that a Jiuli expert who has cultivated his Tenacious Force to the limit can deflect more than 90% of the force of an attack from an opponent of the same level.
Of course, Wang Hao certainly can't do that yet.
However, with the help of the system's Dao Comprehension Function, he has thoroughly comprehended the basic chapter of Tenacious Force. His comprehension alone has reached a Transcendent Mastery level, and now he only needs to adapt to it to completely master it.
Under this premise, cultivation progressed incredibly quickly. In just two days, he reached the peak of the Entering the Hall and Inner Chamber, almost advancing to the Complete Integration and reaching the same level as the Shock Force" and "Explosive Force."
This progress is already very encouraging!
Of course, the powerful perception granted by the True Spirit Sword Intent and Divine Sense played a crucial role in his rapid cultivation, allowing him to more clearly sense the various changes that occurred when the trees beneath him were compressed, thus enabling him to gain insight.
The Dugu Family is very efficient, especially when it comes to important matters like this. Before long, Dugu Qingshan arrived on foot with more than three hundred young men and women, with the old patriarch of the Dugu Family and others at the forefront.
They also attached great importance to this selection, after all, it was the inheritance of two peerless figures, and even had the potential to reach the legendary Shattering Realm.
This incredible opportunity is not to be missed!
If Wang Hao hadn't made a specific request, they would have all wanted to bring over the infants still in their swaddling clothes so the other party could see them as well.
"How come there are so many people in your village?"
Lying on the bent tree trunk, Wang Hao coldly watched the more than three hundred young men and women who had been lured in. He had previously seen that the Dugu Family's village had less than a hundred households, so how did more than three hundred young men and women suddenly appear?
This only includes children aged ten to eighteen, as he specifically requested. If children of other ages are included, the number of children in this small village would easily exceed a thousand.
Isn't that an exaggeration?
"A lot? Every household in my Dugu Family has about ten children."
The old patriarch looked at Wang Hao with a puzzled expression, not understanding what the young man meant.
These days, as long as you can survive, it's quite normal for a family to have seven, eight, or even a dozen children.
"Oh! I forgot, this is ancient times, not modern times after the implementation of family planning!"
Wang Hao was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening.
It is inappropriate for him to judge this from a modern perspective. In modern times, family planning was vigorously promoted, with a maximum of two children per family, but there was no family planning policy in ancient times.
In ancient times, without television or computers for entertainment at night, people could only engage in procreation, making it very easy to conceive and thus resulting in many children.
In fact, there were only two factors limiting the population in ancient times: arable land and food supply, and the level of medical care. If these two issues could be resolved, the population of Huaxia would definitely experience explosive growth.
Just like the terrifying rise of Huaxia in modern times.
As a reclusive family, the Dugu Family family naturally had no shortage of food. As martial artists, they were physically strong, and with the addition of medical treatments, the chances of their children growing up were not small, resulting in a considerable population.
In fact, Wang Hao was unaware that for hundreds of years, the Dugu Family had sent younger members with poor aptitude out of the mountains to manage the family's businesses outside the village after they came of age.
Otherwise, after hundreds of years of development, how could the Dugu Family have ended up with only such a small village?
"I will find suitable opponents to fight, and I will make my choice based on the situation."
Wang Hao calmly stated his request, continued eating sunflower seeds, but also sat up and seriously observed the young men and women below.
The young men and women looked helplessly at the old clan leader, waiting for guidance from this elder.
"Do as Young Master Zhu says!"
The old clan chief didn't say much and agreed to Wang Hao's approach.
Since the goal is to select successors for those two rumored powerhouses, the selection must be based on strength, and mutual combat is a good option.
Upon hearing this, the many young men and women looked at each other, and eventually each sought out an opponent of similar ability to begin their battles.
The Dugu Family is a reclusive family that originated from the way of the Sword Dao. All its members practice swordsmanship, and they all use the Nine Swords of Dugu as their foundation.
Many young men and women practice the Nine Swords of Dugu, and they know each other well. It is impossible to determine their level based on the sword techniques themselves, so it mainly depends on their personal cultivation and combat talent.
Hundreds of people can use the Nine Swords of Dugu together, but few will actually touch the blade. After all, the essence of the Nine Swords of Dugu is to anticipate the enemy's moves, find their weaknesses, and strike with deadly precision.
If they really clash, then it will be time to decide the winner.
The Dugu Family has a very strong foundation. Although they are all teenagers under the age of eighteen, their cultivation is not weak. There are more than a dozen people at the Super-First-Rate level, and the rest are basically at the First-Rate and Second-rate levels. There are very few at the Third-Rate level. So far, Wang Hao has only discovered one.
However, Wang Hao's gaze was currently focused on the girl whose cultivation level was only Third-Rate.
Judging from the girl's appearance, she should be about fourteen or fifteen years old, which is not young among the group. However, strangely, her cultivation level is the worst among them, and there is no fluctuation of internal energy in her body.
Clearly, the girl had not cultivated any internal energy cultivation techniques, and even the swordsmanship she practiced was only the most basic basic swordsmanship, not the Dugu Nine Swords of Dugu used by the Dugu Family to build a foundation.
However, what caught Wang Hao's attention the most was that although this girl's cultivation level was only the weakest Third-Rate and her swordsmanship was only the most basic level, her combat talent was not low. She actually fought against a boy with First-Rate cultivation.
Although completely suppressed, they were exceptionally resilient and held on for a full quarter of an hour without being defeated.
Unfortunately, the gap between his cultivation level and swordsmanship level was too great. After half an hour, he was finally stabbed in the left rib by his opponent's sword. Wang Hao could even clearly hear a series of fine cracking sounds.
Although everyone was using blunt wooden swords, their destructive power was still considerable, thanks to their impressive internal energy cultivation.
The girl had broken at least two ribs in that attack, yet she acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to fight her opponent with her sword, as if the broken ribs weren't her own.
This scene captivated Wang Hao so much that he stopped paying attention to others and instead focused on the girl's battle.
The other young men and women were alright, but nothing special. He valued character most when choosing people, followed by appearance, and lastly, their inherent qualities.
Although the girl was a bit disheveled and her clothes were somewhat worn, she had delicate features, and what was even more remarkable was the heroic spirit between her brows, which reminded him of Dongfang Bai.
So, in terms of looks, this girl is good enough. And the fact that she can compete with First-Rate martial artists two levels above her with her Third-Rate cultivation and simple basic swordsmanship is enough to prove her extraordinary talent.
As for his final mental fortitude, it goes without saying that even the pain of broken bones could not shake him in the slightest. Even Wang Hao might not be able to do that, which is enough to show how incredibly strong his will is.
Given enough opportunity, such a person's future achievements are limitless.
The old patriarch of the Dugu Family and others naturally noticed Wang Hao's unusual behavior and turned their gazes to the girl. However, when they saw the girl, they couldn't help but frown slightly. Dugu Qingshan even showed a pained expression, and there was even a hint of resentment and disgust on his face.
Half Tokiomi later, all the young men had defeated their chosen opponents, leaving only the young woman stubbornly persisting.
However, the girl was in a very pitiful state at this moment. More than a dozen bones in her body had been broken, and her entire left arm was hanging limply, clearly indicating that the arm bone inside was broken.
Even so, the girl remained calm, wielding her sword with one hand as she engaged in fierce combat with the boy opposite her.
Seeing that everyone around him had dealt with their opponents, leaving only his own still in the fight, and that his opponent was a woman whose cultivation was far weaker than his own, the young man was instantly enraged, and even felt a surge of killing intent.
"Get out of here, you bastard!"
With a roar, the boy unleashed all his inner strength and slashed at the girl with his sword.
This attack was not only powerful but also extremely fast. The girl tried to dodge to the side, but her injuries made her hesitate slightly, causing her to miss the best opportunity to evade.
Although he avoided a fatal blow to the head, he was ultimately struck in the left shoulder, and the sturdy wooden sword shattered. A more violent cracking sound rang out, and his entire shoulder collapsed downwards, clearly indicating that more than one bone had broken.
Such an injury would be unbearable even for an adult man, causing him to faint from the pain. However, the girl merely frowned slightly, and then thrust her long sword in her right hand directly into the chest of the boy opposite her.
The boy was exhausted from his previous outburst, and he hadn't expected the girl to dodge the Critical Strike and still be able to counterattack despite being so badly injured.
Caught off guard, he stood there dumbfounded. But before the girl's wooden sword could pierce the boy, a figure rushed over first, raised his hand to slap the girl, and shouted with disgust at the same time.
"You lowly wretch, how dare you harm someone!"
The newcomer was none other than Dugu Qingshan!
This palm strike was no light matter. Although no internal force was used, Dugu Qingshan himself was at the Peak Grandmaster, and his physical body had been tempered by internal energy for more than 20 years, so the force was at least 1,000 jin.
With that palm strike, even if the girl didn't die, she would be crippled!