"Is there no one left in the Central Plains? Why have I, Ximen Chuixue, traveled all this way without ever seeing a single true swordsman?"
Ignoring the martial arts practitioners who were quite shocked, Wang Hao's gaze swept over them one by one, finally settling on the eight Confucian School patriarchs on the high platform, and he finally sighed in puzzlement.
These words made many skilled Sword Dao present blush, wanting to refute but not knowing what to say.
Even the eight patriarchs of Confucian School were at a loss, unable to think of a response.
They had already denied their identity as pure swordsmen, and even put forward such a high-sounding theory, which not only touched on the creation of divine weapons, but also mentioned the existence of Sword Heart.
These eight ancient swords have been nurtured by them for nearly two thousand years. Although they possess considerable Kamui, they are well aware that the essence of the eight ancient swords has not improved. The Kamui within them is merely an accumulation in quantity, without any qualitative transformation.
Many predecessors have suggested that the divine sword could be further improved, but it lacks the most crucial opportunity. Now it seems that what is lacking is the Sword Heart that Ximen Chuixue mentioned.
Moreover, they knew their own situation well. Although they had all practiced swordsmanship, their foundation was still the internal energy cultivation method they practiced. They were not pure swordsmen, so naturally they could not be truly devoted to the sword.
As a pure swordsman with the title of Sword God, Ximen Chuixue could only seek out pure swordsmen as opponents, and they were clearly unqualified in this regard.
More importantly, the guy on the other side was just too... well, they didn't have the nerve to make a move even if they wanted to!
"Huh?"
As if he had suddenly discovered something, Wang Hao abruptly looked up at the top of a grand hall of the Mount Song Sword Sect.
"Why did that girl come here? Wasn't she always staying at the Sun Moon Holy Cult?"
Just now, Xiao Mengmeng reminded him that Dongfang Bai had arrived, which was unexpected.
"Wait a minute, maybe we can take this opportunity to advertise for that girl and lay the groundwork for the future competition for the title of martial arts alliance leader!"
A rather daring idea suddenly popped into Wang Hao's mind, and he thought it was worth a try.
After all, Dongfang Bai wasn't very famous in the martial arts world, and few people even knew about her. Besides the fact that her rise to prominence was short-lived, the main reason was that she spent most of her time secluded at Black Wood Cliff cultivating in seclusion and hadn't done anything significant, so naturally, there weren't any legends about her circulating in the martial arts world.
This is not good, because to become the leader of the martial arts alliance, one must not only have absolutely formidable strength, but also sufficient prestige.
Otherwise, Wuming just pops out from some corner of the wall, no matter how strong they are, will not be able to sit on the throne of the alliance leader, and even if they do, many people will be dissatisfied.
Therefore, it would be best to let Dongfang Bai build up her reputation beforehand, and for the martial arts world, there is no more effective way to build reputation than a world-shaking battle.
If we can work well with that girl today, her name will spread throughout the world in just a few days.
"It's unbelievable that there are still people in the world following the path of the Ancient Sun Emperor! It's truly unbelievable!"
Wang Hao, who acted on his impulse, showed a look of shock, followed by a surge of fighting spirit. He seemed to become excited, as if he had just met his opponent.
" The Ancient Sun Emperor?"
This new term left everyone present looking at each other in bewilderment. Even the eight Confucian School patriarchs, with their profound knowledge, were completely baffled, clearly hearing this term for the first time, though it sounded quite sophisticated.
The puzzled crowd followed Wang Hao's gaze to the top of the hall, where they could vaguely see a beautiful red figure standing there.
Before anyone could react, the red figure flew over rapidly and landed in the center of the training ground in the blink of an eye.
The newcomer was none other than Dongfang Bai!
"What do you mean by the Dao of the Ancient Emperors of the Sun?"
Dongfang Bai stared at Wang Hao ahead, her brows furrowed slightly as she asked, clearly curious about the Ancient Sun Emperor's words, which she was hearing for the first time, though they sounded quite profound.
"You do not know?"
Wang Hao feigned surprise, then looked at the numerous martial arts figures around him, all of whom looked bewildered, and muttered in a puzzled tone, "Impossible! The Ancient Sun Emperor is one of the ten ancient emperors of our Human Clan. He led our Human Clan through countless hardships and drove away countless Ferocious Beast in ancient times, becoming the leader who became the protagonist of heaven and earth. He is worshipped day and night in our overseas martial arts world, so why is no one in our ancestral homeland of the Central Plains aware of him?"
These words left the surrounding martial arts practitioners even more puzzled and quite embarrassed.
After all, judging from what they said, the so-called Ancient Sun Emperor seemed to be a being similar to the Three Sovereigns Five Emperors, yet no one in their Central Plains knew about him. To put it bluntly, this was called forgetting one's ancestors, a label that no one could bear.
"In our Central Plains, we only have legends of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; the Ten Ancient Sovereigns you mentioned have never been recorded!"
Dongfang Bai, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up, believing that the guy in front of him was talking nonsense.
Upon hearing this, the others also turned their suspicious gazes toward Wang Hao, which made Wang Hao feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Honey, I'm trying to help you, can you please stop sabotaging me like this?"
Wang Hao glanced resentfully at his wife across from him, a look of sorrow appearing on his face. He shook his head and sneered, "Heh... I never imagined that the ten ancient emperors of my Human Clan would be forgotten in our ancestral lands, yet be so revered overseas, with their incense burning ever-present. How laughable!"
As he finished speaking, a mocking and disdainful look appeared on Wang Hao's face. He glanced at everyone present and sneered, "Originally, I, Ximen Chuixue, was invited by Imperial Lord Zhu Yanzu to set foot on the Central Plains to test my skills against the heroes. I never expected that I would not see a single true swordsman along the way, let alone that you all would be such ungrateful and disrespectful people. Such people are not worthy to be my opponents, Ximen Chuixue. Farewell!"
After saying that, Wang Hao turned around and strode down the mountain, making it seem as if he was about to leave in anger.
In reality, he was secretly counting on his luck, just waiting to be stopped by someone.
There was no other way. After Dongfang Bai's sabotage, he couldn't continue with his carefully prepared deceptive words. He had no choice but to resort to this tactic. Otherwise, he might not have been able to fool everyone present.
This action made everyone present feel quite ashamed, and their suspicion of Wang Hao lessened considerably.
"Young friend Ximen, please wait a moment!"
Wang Hao's move alarmed the eight Confucian School patriarchs on the high platform. After all, they were the representatives of modern Huaxia and naturally did not want the Central Plains to be seen as forgetting their roots.
Eight Confucian School patriarchs stepped in front of Wang Hao, awkwardly saying, "Young friend Ximen, you misunderstand. Our Central Plains has suffered many calamities, and many traditions have been lost and severed. We hope that you can clearly state the great achievements of the ten ancient emperors of our Human Clan, so that we unfilial descendants can rebuild the temples and statues of our ancestors."
"Is that so?"
Stopping in his tracks, Wang Hao suspiciously examined the eight Confucian School patriarchs before him, then glanced at the martial arts figures around him, as if to see if they were lying.
"What the eight predecessors said is true. Our Central Plains has always been plagued by disasters, and countless traditions have been severed. It is truly a tragedy for our generation!"
"We humbly request that the Sword God senior recount the deeds of the Ten Ancient Emperors of our Human Clan. Our Raging Sea Gang is willing to donate one thousand taels of gold to help our Human Clan emperors reconstruct their true forms."
"Although I am a solitary man and have not established any power, I do possess some assets. Today, I am willing to donate one hundred taels of gold to help the ancient emperor rebuild his golden statue."
The crowd wasn't stupid; they all chimed in, and some even explicitly stated their intention to donate money to rebuild the ancient emperor's golden statue.
Although they all had some conflicts with Confucian School, they knew how to choose on matters of principle, so they cooperated with Confucian School and played their part well.
"I see. I misunderstood you all. I apologize!"
Wang Hao feigned realization, then bowed apologetically to everyone around him, though inwardly he was overjoyed.
"That was a brilliant assist!"
In his heart, Wang Hao gave these opportunists a million thumbs up to express his gratitude, so that he could continue to deceive them even better and was sure to fool them completely.
"Young friend Ximen, you are too kind. Please take a seat and explain to us the great achievements of the ancient emperors."
The eight Confucian School patriarchs cast an appreciative glance at the many martial arts practitioners present, and then kindly invited Wang Hao to take a seat on the high platform. Wang Hao readily agreed and walked towards the platform.
"Since this young master possesses the bloodline of the Ancient Sun Emperor and has embarked on the Dao of the Ancient Emperors, please take a seat. Later, when the Ancient Emperor's golden body is reshaped, his bloodline will be needed as a catalyst to awaken its spirit!"
Passing by the still puzzled Dongfang Bai, Wang Hao respectfully extended an invitation.
Of course, that claim about the Ancient Emperor Bloodline Lineage is pure hoax; it's mainly just advertising for this girl.
Those who can sit on the high platform are no ordinary people; to this day, there are only ten chairs on it.
Eight of the eight Confucian School patriarchs are represented, while the current head and founding patriarch of the Mount Song Sword Sect, who is the host, represent two of them.
As long as she can get this position, Dongfang Bai's reputation will definitely rise rapidly. In addition, with the fabricated identity of being Houyi of the Ancient Sun Emperor, it will be much easier for her to take the throne of the martial arts alliance leader in the future.
"Since you are Ancient Emperor Bloodline, you should naturally take the seat of honor!"
After a moment's hesitation, the eight Confucian School patriarchs all agreed to Wang Hao's proposal. After all, it was just a position, and what they wanted to hear from this junior about the deeds of the ancient emperors.
Recently, since the emergence of overseas martial arts circles and the Heavenly Demon Sacred Cult, they have discovered that far too much of the heritage of the Central Plains has been lost. This opportunity is absolutely not to be missed, otherwise, when the overseas martial arts circles arrive in large numbers, they will likely become a laughing stock of the entire world.
And so, in a daze, Dongfang Bai was led up to the high platform and sat in the seat previously held by the Mount Song Sword Sect Zuo Yihan, the founder of the Songshan Sword Sect, while Wang Hao sat in the seat of the current sect leader of the Mount Song Sword Sect.
Unfortunately, we only prepared ten chairs this time, and given the limited space on the platform, we had to give up two seats.
The eight Confucian School patriarchs could not be persuaded, so the current leader of the Mount Song Sword Sect had to compromise. As for Zuo Yihan, he had already been taken away to recuperate.
After all, he was seriously injured!
Meanwhile, many martial arts practitioners from the surrounding area hurriedly gathered below the platform, waiting for Wang Hao to recount the great achievements of the ten ancient emperors. Such secrets were not to be missed.
Even those Innate powerhouses who had been driven out of the Central Plains by Confucian School discreetly blended into the crowd, ready to listen.
Although the eight Confucian School patriarchs on the high platform sensed the presence of these old rivals, they did not stop them.
This was also their predicament. Their main purpose was to intimidate, and they couldn't easily take action. Moreover, their most important task at present was to learn the secrets of the Ten Ancient Emperors from Ximen Chuixue.
As for those Innate experts, they wouldn't bother with them unless they caused trouble.