In the wilderness, within a mountain hollow, a group of martial masters sat on the ground.
At this moment, some remained silent, some sat cross-legged cultivating earnestly, and others were still reflecting on the previous battle.
Forty-nine of them—not a single one missing.
Even so, several martial masters were injured, concussed by shockwaves; a few had been struck by Solar Luminaries. Though none had died, they still suffered internal injuries.
Yet even among the wounded, none had the face to utter a complaint.
They were all recalling and reflecting upon that fight.
There were many problems.
Right then, Li Hao returned, several crimson pills appearing in his hand. "These are Blood God Seeds. Only an Origin God Armament can extract them. You should have sensed them earlier—formless and intangible, yet detectable."
"Our most pressing task is not waiting to return and divide the spoils, but using our current harvest to make everyone stronger as fast as possible."
"So distributing spoils can wait; making everyone stronger quickly is what matters. Once we are powerful, we can think about the rest..."
With that, twenty-nine blood-red pills flew toward the black-armored figures in the crowd.
With unerring precision, they landed before twenty-nine people.
Every single one was in the Ten-Slayer realm!
"Swallow them, absorb them, digest them! If anyone has trouble absorbing and digesting, let me know, and I'll use the Five Animals Breathing Art to help circulate and break it down for you... These Blood God Seeds are almost all at the Lunar Luminary level, just right for your needs."
Among the twenty-nine, some felt tempted, while others felt too ashamed to take them.
A Ten-Slayer martial master whispered, "Commander, in this battle... we didn't achieve any merit at all. And when the clash began, we were captured almost immediately by the enemy. If not for the black armor's protection, we would have died long ago."
Li Hao nodded. "Knowing shame precedes courage. You indeed dragged the team down, because you are too weak! So I want you to become stronger. If swallowing a Blood God Seed allows you to step into the Hundred-Breaker realm, that's a success. Otherwise... you will only hold us back more and more."
The crowd fell silent.
Moments later, someone picked up a Blood God Seed and brought it to their lips. The sealed helmet parted at the mouth, and they swallowed it in one gulp.
With someone taking the lead, the others began ingesting their Blood God Seeds as well.
The remaining Hundred-Breakers watched in silence.
Li Hao continued, "Tonight, you can finish reorganizing your squads. Once confirmed, do not change them. After the squads are settled, I will teach everyone a military formation. Tonight should have shown us that more people doesn't always mean greater power—coordination is essential."
"To make the collective stronger, to make one plus one greater than two, charging in shoulder to shoulder is the way of street thugs. We, after all, are not street thugs."
Hong Qing spoke up, "Commander, can squads use military formations too?"
"Of course!"
Hong Qing looked puzzled, but said no more.
Each squad had only ten people. A ten-man formation... Over the past two days, she had spoken with some martial masters; the Martial Guard Army didn't have any ten-man formations, the smallest being for a hundred men.
Sword Gate had a few formations, but they were really just forms of coordination.
A true military formation was far more than simple cooperation.
She wondered whether Li Hao's so-called military formation was merely that sort of coordination.
Li Hao quickly dispelled her doubts: "This military formation is called the Ten Rings Mountain-Sealing Formation, excavated from ancient civilization ruins. It's very unique: when executing it, everyone must use the same breathing technique, linking inner force into a cycle. The formation has a core leader."
"When deploying the formation, all ten can share inner force together, or channel it into one person, empowering that individual to make the core leader even stronger!"
"Each formation requires ten people to form a closed loop... Likewise, once a hundred-man corps is assembled, the ten core leaders can form another cycle, producing a core leader for the entire hundred-man unit, capable of accommodating the inner force of a hundred people..."
Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed.
An ancient formation!
And a true ancient formation at that, not mere teamwork or coordination—this was an interconnection of inner force! They were all martial masters, not fools; they knew what this meant.
Li Hao continued, "The formation must be kept secret and never leaked! The key lies in the breathing technique used simultaneously. Once applied, your inner force attributes and frequencies become identical."
"When that happens, a formation of ten Ten-Slayer martial masters can definitely contend with a Hundred-Breaker."
"By the same token, ten Hundred-Breakers will have a shot against a Thousand-Battler..."
"Add to that the black armor and its immense defense, and if we eventually form a hundred-man formation—if everyone in the team is a Hundred-Breaker, channeling inner force into a Thousand-Battler—fighting across realms will be well within reach!"
The prerequisite, of course, was that the powerhouse receiving the channeled inner force possessed a physical body tough enough to endure it and bring out that power.
Everyone's mouths went dry.
Liu Long couldn't help asking, "There is such an ancient formation? Are there any special requirements?"
"Of course... No one can drop the ball and break a link in the chain... As long as no one deliberately drops the ball, even if an enemy breaks one ring, the others can quickly reconnect the loop."
"Ten people is the optimal number. In practice, nine works too, or even fewer..."
Liu Long looked deeply at Li Hao. You're just handing this out so casually?
If word leaked... it would mean immense trouble.
How long had he known the people in this squad?
Did he truly believe they were all loyal to him?
At this moment, Liu Long couldn't quite understand Li Hao's actions. While Li Hao was doing this to strengthen the Demon Hunt Corps, some of these people came from Sword Gate, others from the Inspectorate—how many were truly of one mind with Li Hao?
Hong Qing couldn't help speaking up either: "Commander, is this appropriate? Loose lips sink ships... I'm not saying anyone would leak it intentionally, but if someone slips up by accident... As far as I know, there aren't any formations like this in Silver Moon right now, are there?"
"Even the Martial Guard Army's Tianxuan Grand Formation doesn't seem to work like this; it only enhances combat power when joining forces, but doesn't allow shared inner force..."
Li Hao nodded. "That's because their formation is of a lower tier. The Ten Rings Mountain-Sealing Formation should be of a fairly high grade. As for leaks... I can't control everyone's hearts. If it really leaks, we investigate. Once found, we take revenge. If we can't find who did it, what else can I do?"
Li Hao chuckled. "I can't just keep methods to strengthen everyone hidden and let you all die for nothing, can I? Besides, it's just a formation; its value lies in the people using it. One person can't form a formation alone. Whether the Demon Hunt Corps gains more spoils depends on all of you, not on me alone. I may be stronger than you, but if I run into trouble and get trapped, I might have to rely on you to rescue me."
"Ten-Slayers, focus on digesting the Blood God Seeds first. Hundred-Breakers, listen to me explain the breathing technique. This breathing method is called the Mountain-Sealing Method. According to ancient records, this formation originated in the ancient civilization era from a faction known as the 'grotto-heavens and blessed lands.' Of course, my teacher has another interpretation—'grotto-heavens and blessed lands' might not be the name of a single faction, but a collective term for a group of powers. These words appear across many ancient records... That detail isn't critical, though."
Grotto-heavens and blessed lands!
Everyone took note of the name. But Li Hao was right: it wasn't important where it came from. The ancient civilization was long gone; no one cared about the exact specifics of the past.
Soon, Li Hao began teaching the breathing technique.
The breathing method wasn't overly difficult. As martial masters, besides their core breathing techniques, they all knew a few others. Li Hao knew several, and the other martial masters present knew some as well.
As Li Hao taught, some people's auras gradually began to shift.
This revealed differences in comprehension and wit.
For instance, as Hong Yitang's daughter, Hong Qing was indeed very clever. Not long after Li Hao finished speaking, her breathing rhythm altered. A moment later, Hong Qing released her inner force outward, and a subtle shift appeared within it.
The inner force was just as strong as before—it hadn't grown stronger.
Yet there seemed to be an added layer, transformed by the breathing method.
Just as Hong Qing mastered it, Hong Hao picked it up as well, followed by Li Heng, then Wu Chao, Liu Yan, and Wang Chao...
The six squad leaders learned it one after another.
Sword Gate disciples generally learned it faster.
The martial masters from the Inspectorate were somewhat slower.
That was the difference.
The Inspectorate martial masters had been part of Silver City's Inspectorate; some had started training halfway through life, some followed unorthodox paths, and others had learned from Wang Henggang or Liu Long.
The Sword Gate disciples, on the other hand, had all been personally handpicked by Hong Yitang as prime seeds. If nothing else, their learning capacity was swift.
At this moment, Hong Qing curiously tried it out. In an instant, when her inner force contacted Hong Hao's, they actually connected. Hong Qing's face filled with shock and awe, though hidden behind her helmet, her expression couldn't be seen.
Deep down, however, she was shaken beyond words.
How is this possible!
Inner force... can truly merge.
The Sword Gate disciples all cultivated the core methods of the Earth-Overturning Sword, sharing the same sect and art—apart from a few exceptions, the rest were identical—yet their inner forces had never bridged like this.
Why could the breathing technique of this formation achieve it?
Hong Qing couldn't comprehend it.
The talkative Li Heng was even more baffled and asked directly, "Commander, we share the same sect and breathing technique too—why can't our inner forces merge?"
"I don't know."
Everyone stared blankly.
Li Hao smiled. "I really don't know. Perhaps the formation's breathing method is special; otherwise, why call it a formation? If anyone could merge inner force, there'd be no need to speak of formations—fellow disciples would already constitute one."
He added, "Or maybe the secrets behind it are too profound for our current level to perceive. Perhaps the breathing method possesses unique properties."
Everyone nodded, growing excited.
They began testing connections with each other.
The breathing method was only one component.
Li Hao continued, "Besides the breathing method, the second element of the Ten Rings Mountain-Sealing Formation is positioning! Positions must be precise. This formation is better suited for encirclement, primarily designed to deal with opponents stronger than yourselves... not weaker ones."
"The name 'Ten Rings Mountain-Sealing' says it all: it's meant to form a closed loop, encircle the enemy, and seal their ability to retaliate..."
He explained each detail.
These were all recorded in ancient books; Li Hao hadn't tested them himself.
Yuan Shuo had taught him so many ancient texts back then. Li Hao couldn't yet comprehend or experience them all; all he could do was memorize them and share them when the time was right.
As he explained the formation, Li Hao thought of his teacher.
His teacher had excavated so many tombs and knew so many ancient texts, yet apart from the Five Animals Art, he only seemed to have studied the Blood Blade Art. Did he not know how to use the others, or was he just too lazy to bother?
After a while, Li Hao finished his explanation and looked at the crowd. "Squad leaders, memorize this yourselves, and explain it to anyone who doesn't understand later. How you allocate and use it is up to you."
With that, Li Hao left them to it.
Instead, he began inspecting the Ten-Slayers. They were absorbing and digesting the Blood God Seeds, but without sword energy assisting them, the results weren't great.
Progress was slow, and efficiency was low.
A Lunar Luminary-level Blood God Seed should have practically guaranteed a breakthrough to Hundred-Breaker for these peak Ten-Slayers, but... with such low efficiency, breaking through would be difficult.
Li Hao glanced over the cultivating Ten-Slayers and suddenly took out three divine energy stones.
In the previous battle, though they killed many, divine energy stones... they only looted one, from that metal-affinity Solar Luminary. These three were borrowed from Golden Spear.
Treasures like divine energy stones were rare even among Solar Luminaries.
His action drew the eyes of many.
"Divine energy stones?"
Someone whispered, clearly recognizing them.
Li Hao nodded. "Yes, borrowed from the chiliarch. The price was the remaining black armor... If we can't seize enough divine energy stones this time, the leftover black armor won't belong to us—those were brought by Sword Gate... I'll use the Five Animals Breathing Art to shatter the divine energy stones and help you digest the Blood God Seeds' energy... If we can't make up enough divine energy stones later, I'm putting this debt on your heads!"
With that, he shattered three divine energy stones. Circulating the Five Animals Breathing Art, he drew in streams of energy, stirring a minor energy storm in the blink of an eye.
The energy storm was secondary.
The key was that Li Hao used the opportunity to release some sword energy from the little sword, blending it into the energy before shooting it out toward the twenty-nine people.
The moment it entered their bodies... the martial masters who had struggled to absorb the power felt an immediate difference.
The blood energy instantly turned docile!
Delight washed over the martial masters. Boom!
Inner force erupted from someone, bursting outward.
The other Hundred-Breakers watched in shock. This was the Five Animals Breathing Art?
So formidable!
And incredibly extravagant—three divine energy stones blown through at once, easily worth over a thousand cubic units of mysterious energy!
The poor couldn't even dream of using this method!
With the first breakthrough to Hundred-Breaker, a second quickly followed.
The energy from three divine energy stones was dense, and maintaining the circulation was enough to help the Ten-Slayers finish digesting.
After about twenty minutes, the energy dissipated completely.
Those who needed to absorb had finished absorbing.
Li Hao looked toward the Ten-Slayers: twenty-nine in total—twenty from Sword Gate, nine from the Inspectorate.
To his surprise, all twenty Ten-Slayers from Sword Gate had broken through! That was astonishing.
Meanwhile, among the nine from the Inspectorate, only six succeeded.
Three failed—or rather, failed to reach the stage of projecting inner force outward. In an instant, those three were crushed with dejection.
Out of twenty-nine martial masters, only they had failed.
What's more, the cost hadn't been small.
A Blood God Seed plus the divine energy stone power—split evenly, each had consumed the equivalent of over a hundred cubic units of mysterious energy, yet... they still failed!
"Commander... we..."
The three were thoroughly demoralized.
Their earlier thoughts vanished, leaving only one: We're utterly useless.
They were generally older than the Sword Gate disciples, yet every single Sword Gate disciple broke through, while a third of their nine failed. A one-in-three failure rate was shockingly high—not three out of twenty-nine, but three out of nine.
Wang Henggang's nephew, Wang Chao, also wore a heavy expression.
The difference in aptitude between the people sent by his uncle and those sent by Sword Gate was starkly apparent.
Every one of the Sword Gate disciples was talented, making their people look mediocre by comparison.
Li Hao didn't mind much. That all the Sword Gate disciples broke through was indeed better than expected, but aptitude was something to talk about only once they reached Hundred-Breaker culmination and sought to comprehend force.
Without comprehending force, martial aptitude meant nothing.
"It's no big deal. Even if you didn't succeed this time, you didn't gain nothing—you're just one step away. You might break through tomorrow morning!"
Li Hao didn't dwell on it. Looking at those who had broken through, he said, "Those who succeeded, don't celebrate too early. We don't have much time. Rapidly adapt to your new power, and have your squad leaders teach you the formation..."
After giving instructions, he left them to practice.
The entire unit came alive, a fire ignited in everyone's chest. The small goal Li Hao had mentioned only yesterday was almost complete tonight. As it turned out, having the entire corps reach the Hundred-Breaker realm wasn't an impossible feat at all.
The three who failed were consoled by their peers. Fail this time, try again next time; with the experience of failure and the next harvest, reaching Hundred-Breaker wouldn't be hard.
...
Li Hao walked out of the hollow, exhaled softly, and looked into the distance.
In the night, far away, a massive fissure seemed to split the earth—Cross-Cut Gorge, the great chasm dividing northern and southern Silver Moon.
Liu Long followed closely behind.
Li Hao smiled faintly. "Boss, any thoughts?"
"You're a spendthrift!"
That was Liu Long's only impression. The Blood God Seeds were mostly gone, and they'd only looted that many to begin with, plus three divine energy stones thrown in. Even with the mysterious energy gained, Li Hao hadn't kept anything for himself after a whole ambush; he'd poured it all into the others.
"Once they become stronger, all reach Hundred-Breaker, and master the formation... ten Hundred-Breakers with a late-stage leader, backed by black armor—each squad will be able to face Solar Luminaries and kill them."
"Then we recycle: kill enemies, grow stronger... Soon enough, they'll bring back plenty of spoils for me!"
Li Hao chuckled. "Before late Hundred-Breaker, I'll invest a bit and pour in resources. But going from late Hundred-Breaker to culmination requires comprehending force. If they can't reach culmination, there won't be much left for them to consume anyway..."
"Mm, true."
Liu Long nodded and asked, "So when do we head back this time?"
"When we can no longer advance, or when Red Moon's powerhouses are alerted and come hunting us..."
Li Hao laughed softly. "From now on, we move by night, and cultivate, rest, and drill the formation by day."
Liu Long said no more and turned to leave.
Li Hao looked into the distance with anticipation.
Bringing the Demon Hunt Corps out this time, he had his own goals: acquiring enough high-quality Blood God Seeds—Three Suns at the baseline, with Rising Light set aside for now.
Also, divine energy stones, which generally only Three Suns possessed.
Therefore, this expedition required hunting several Three Suns powerhouses.
As for those below Three Suns, even if killed, Li Hao didn't care much about the spoils. A month ago, he would have treated them as treasures; now, they were merely extraneous things.
...
In the blink of an eye, dawn broke.
September 16.
The site of the previous night's slaughter was already deserted. Wang Ming and his group had driven their small car away long ago, heading toward the next place where powerhouses might lurk.
The Red Moon stronghold remained dead silent.
After an unknown time, a figure wearing a Ghost Face mask appeared and made some sounds outside the base, but received no reply.
Not waiting any longer, the figure burrowed underground.
Moments later, they fled the base in panic.
Below, it was completely empty. They hadn't noticed at first, but upon returning to the surface, obvious traces of battle were visible. An accident had clearly occurred; the stronghold had been compromised.
...
Outside White Moon City. Still that grand manor.
However, there were far more people now; powerhouses from northern provinces had gathered here.
Many Three Suns.
Lanyue was speaking when Ziyue, lounging idly beside him, suddenly said, "Word just came from below: the base near Tianlan Lake has been destroyed. All personnel inside are missing. There are traces of battle and blood left behind!"
Lanyue frowned slightly. "That base had quite a few people, didn't it?"
"Plenty. Four teams were stationed there."
Four teams—that meant forty supernaturals, including four Solar Luminaries.
Even with the support of Red Moon forces from nineteen provinces, Lanyue couldn't stay calm. "So many people vanished all at once? If I recall correctly, a peak Solar Luminary was stationed there... Even if a Three Suns came, they could have fought back together, right?"
Losing so many supernaturals at once pained even him.
Who did it?
As for vanishing... vanishing meant death; there was no point indulging in fantasies that they would return.
Ziyue said in a deep voice, "The Tianlan Lake base isn't too far from Cross-Cut Gorge. The Night Patrollers haven't made any moves recently. Hao Lianchuan was injured earlier and is holed up in White Moon City nursing his wounds. Hou Xiaochen wouldn't personally stoop to deal with Lunar Luminaries and Solar Luminaries... Furthermore, according to intelligence, the footprints on-site were messy and numerous. It wasn't one person, but a group. Their individual strength probably wasn't too high..."
If a true powerhouse had acted, there wouldn't have been so many people.
"Feitian or Yama?" Ziyue asked.
In Silver Moon, besides Feitian and Yama, no other faction had the ability to deploy large numbers to eliminate forty supernaturals.
As for the Night Patrollers, it was confirmed they hadn't moved out, so they were naturally ruled out.
In the hall, several hot-tempered Three Suns powerhouses from outside provinces flared up:
"Feitian and Yama have some nerve! Kicking someone while they're down—those bastards never miss a chance... Lord Lanyue, why don't we find their strongholds and strike back! If we don't take them down a peg, they'll think Red Moon is easy prey!"
"Exactly!"
"Also, should we send people to Tianlan Lake? Find a few tracking specialists; maybe they can trace them. It only happened last night—even if they fled, they couldn't have erased all tracks so quickly!"
At this moment, Red Moon was strong in numbers and arms!
A massive horde of supernaturals had congregated in Silver Moon, only for an important stronghold to be wiped out. The Three Suns from across the provinces were furious. Earlier, everyone had been having a rough time, targeted by various powerhouses.
Gathering in Silver Moon was meant to huddle for warmth, yet this happened right away—how could they not be enraged?
Lanyue's face was grim as well.
These people were far too bold.
In Silver Moon today, Red Moon was indisputably the number one power; nearly a thousand supernaturals!
As for Three Suns, there were over a dozen right here, with more arriving continuously.
Just when he thought no one would dare provoke Red Moon for a while, he had been struck upside the head—a blatant slap in the face.
Lanyue drew a soft breath, his expression returning to calm. "Let's not jump to conclusions. It might not be Feitian or Yama... While the Three Great Organizations aren't one entity, falling out right now is unwise. The Tianlan Lake base was wiped out... the culprits aren't weak. We still need to investigate. Jin Jiu, Duan Chao, take a few supernaturals skilled in tracking and go check it out..."
Ziyue said, "To wipe out Tianlan Lake, the opponent might have Three Suns, perhaps more than one. Although you two commanders are both Three Suns, if you run into them... victory isn't guaranteed."
Lanyue nodded, then shook his head: "It's just an initial investigation. If there's real danger, you don't have to engage. We shouldn't dispatch too many people from our side. Hou Xiaochen and the Four Agencies met again last night. I received word that within the next two days, they will organize a stronger purge. Hao Lianchuan, Hu Dingfang, Wang Henggang, and even the Martial Guard Army—known only by reputation—will mobilize together. We must be prepared to respond."
Silver Moon's official authorities were moving again.
Detaching too many Three Suns right now would leave them without enough strength to face the official forces.
Ziyue insisted, "Then add one more. Three Three Suns will handle things more comfortably."
Lanyue pondered, nodded, and pointed to another person: "Zheng Ping, you go along as well!"
In the crowd, an ordinary-looking man nodded. The others cast him extra glances; he was one of the stronger Three Suns among them, at the late Three Suns stage.
The previous two were early and mid Three Suns.
With a few words, Ziyue had persuaded Lanyue to add a late Three Suns. Everyone felt a flicker of surprise; though Lanyue was a Rising Light, he clearly held considerable respect for Ziyue.
Ziyue was only peak Three Suns, but when she spoke, Lanyue gave her face.
With three Three Suns—one of them late-stage—Ziyue said no more. Even if the three encountered a peak Three Suns, they could hold their own or even kill them.
Unless they ran into a Rising Light, there shouldn't be much danger.
The matter of Tianlan Lake's destruction was settled for now.
They had much to do. Lanyue hadn't gathered so many experts in Silver Moon solely for the Battle Heaven City ruins; an even more important objective was capturing Li Hao!
"The Four Agencies are joining hands, and the Martial Guard Army is said to be taking part. Li Hao went to the Martial Guard Army..."
Lanyue's intelligence was decent. After a few remarks, he continued, "Yesterday, two troop transport trucks reportedly left the Martial Guard Army. Some say Li Hao took people out for field training, but our reconnaissance last night... found no trace of the Martial Guard Army."
They had taken it seriously and checked overnight, but reports indicated the two trucks were empty.
As for the earlier report that people were inside, they couldn't confirm its veracity yet.
Lanyue continued, "Keep sending people to watch that side. On the other hand, we must exert enough pressure on Silver Moon. If the Martial Guard Army truly mobilizes, it might draw Li Hao out of the city!"
Li Hao leaving the city was only a rumor with no concrete proof.
Thus, Lanyue preferred to steadily pressure Silver Moon. If the Martial Guard Army moved out in the end, Li Hao would likely leave the city. Even if he didn't, now that they knew the Martial Guard Army base's location, once the main army marched out... Lanyue was even inclined to raid their base.
It was located in White Moon City's northern suburbs, close to the Moon Sea. Infiltrating across the Moon Sea with sufficient speed, Hou Xiaochen wouldn't have time to react from within the city.
The crowd began discussing. That Red Moon's primary objective wasn't Battle Heaven City, but Li Hao, was bound to surprise many.
Though everyone knew Red Moon valued the Eight Great Families, the massive gathering of northern Red Moon powerhouses had seemed, to most, aimed at the ruins and Hou Xiaochen.
And Li Hao, in many eyes, was still the Hundred-Breaker culmination who had killed Sun Moxian.
After all, less than a month had passed since that battle.
...
Night of September 16.
Crossing the southern boundary of Cross-Cut Gorge into the northern territory, dust and sand swirled through an abandoned small town. Usually deserted, tonight it saw a few visitors, along with laughter and cheerful voices.
A bonfire burned high and bright.
The aroma of roasted meat drifted through the air.
Just like the previous night, the same routine played out.
As if terrified people wouldn't know a few rich scions were out here on an excursion.
Wang Ming's energy-storage ring gleamed conspicuously in the firelight. He laughed loudly: "This place is great—quiet, with a unique charm! None of you need to worry about safety. In Silver Moon, who dares mess with us? Even the Three Great Organizations are nothing to fear. If they touch us, can they bear the consequences?"
"If they touch us, the White Dragon Army will declare war on them immediately! My grandfather isn't someone to mess with!"
"..."
His booming voice drew agreement from the three beauties accompanying him. They all chimed in, boasting about their family influence and high status, saying they were just out to unwind, and anyone daring to provoke them now was begging for death...
During the day, this group had paraded ostentatiously through the streets. Anyone keeping watch had surely noticed them.
In the darkness.
On one side of the town, Li Hao stood atop the roof of a dilapidated house, his cold gaze scanning the surroundings.
Around Wang Ming and his group, supernaturals were lurking!
Yet Li Hao frowned. These supernaturals might be lone wolves, not members of the Three Great Organizations.
Did they fail to lure the Three Great Organizations this time?
Moments later, shouts erupted in the distance. Some supernaturals couldn't resist and launched an ambush, but Wang Ming and his companions quickly spotted them, and a chaotic melee ensued. A supernatural shouted in the dark: "Brothers nearby, jump in together! Slaughter these fat sheep and split the loot evenly!"
Soon, several more supernaturals emerged and joined the fray, among them a Solar Luminary.
Li Hao merely watched, not intervening in their fight.
In the darkness, Wang Ming's arrogant, furious voice echoed: "Gutsy bastards, daring to attack me! Killing you and harvesting some mysterious energy will do nicely!"
Rumble!
The sounds of battle traveled far.
At that moment, Li Hao's gaze flickered as he looked toward a spot a few hundred meters from the fight. A faint light orb hovered in the darkness, strikingly conspicuous.
Li Hao smiled!
Now this matched the style of the Three Great Organizations. Large organizations might be arrogant, but they usually investigated first to ensure it wasn't a trap.
Those earlier supernaturals had shown up recklessly, which didn't fit the Three Great Organizations' modus operandi, leading Li Hao to conclude they were lone wolves.
This newcomer, however... fit their style.
Which of the Three Great Organizations had arrived?
Li Hao's figure blurred as he kept his eyes on it.
The light orb observed silently for a while, then quickly slipped away. Li Hao shadowed it through the darkness, sprinting for several kilometers until his eyes lit up—so many light orbs!
At least twenty or more. And there were still no Three Suns among them, only Lunar Luminaries and Solar Luminaries. But seeing no red shadows, they were likely from Feitian or Yama.
...
Half an hour later.
Battle erupted.
Tonight, the Demon Hunt Corps was vastly stronger and more coordinated than yesterday. Though flaws remained, the martial masters were rapidly digesting lessons and improving.
Their opponents were a group of figures with painted faces—people from Yama.
Feitian favored cloaks, Red Moon wore masks, while Yama had no strict dress code, but many of their supernaturals liked applying war paint to show their individuality and signal their allegiance. Each of the Three Great Organizations had distinct traits.
At this moment, besides Li Hao, even Liu Long had joined the fray.
Yama's quality was quite good tonight, with several Solar Luminaries. Liu Long had only recently reached Thousand-Battler, putting him on par with a mid Solar Luminary; joining the fight gave him more experience against Solar Luminaries.
The clash between both sides was chaotic.
Explosions echoed continuously.
Black armor was sent flying repeatedly, but more black-armored figures quickly surged forward. Several squads even began drilling their Ten Rings Mountain-Sealing Formation. Liu Yan, leading her squad, was besieging a mid Solar Luminary.
Though their coordination wasn't seamless, ten minutes into the fight, Liu Yan gathered the inner force of all ten members and plunged her twin blades into the enemy's heart, ending the Solar Luminary's life.
On the other side, Hong Qing chose a different approach. She also deployed the formation, but rather than channeling the power into herself, ten swordsmen struck simultaneously. Sword qi crisscrossed as the Earth-Overturning Sword manifested, flipping heaven and earth!
The ground was torn apart by the combined strike of the ten, instantly shredding the surrounded Solar Luminary!
With Solar Luminaries falling one after another, Yama's forces quickly collapsed.
Cheers of triumph rose from the martial masters.
Compared to last night, they were far stronger in their second battle. Witnessing the formation's power brought ecstatic joy and soaring morale. Of the three Ten-Slayers who hadn't broken through last night, one even projected inner force mid-battle, achieving a breakthrough right there.
The slaughter continued for a while until Liu Long unleashed his Nine Waves, his strongest attack, splitting the late Solar Luminary in two with an axe, bringing an end to the battle.
Clean the battlefield, gather mysterious energy...
By now, everyone had grown proficient.
The corpses were carried off and buried. Once stripped of mysterious energy, the bodies were useless. Delaying discovery by even a day gave the Demon Hunt Corps more time.
"Demon hunt!"
With Liu Long's low concluding cry, the entire corps roared in unison:
"Demon hunt!"
This time, without waiting for Li Hao's instructions, the squad leaders swiftly led their teams in withdrawal, seeking out a hiding spot for the night to await tomorrow night's strike.
Two consecutive victories with rich spoils brought smiles to every face.
A squad killing a Solar Luminary on their own thrilled the martial masters beyond measure. The notion that martial masters below Thousand-Battler were inferior to supernaturals seemed to have been completely shattered.
...
And as the Demon Hunt Corps remained active across various regions, ambushing members of the Three Great Organizations...
Over four consecutive days, more than a hundred supernaturals were killed or went missing. Undercurrents began surging across Silver Moon.
...
In a cave.
Banshan said coldly, "Feitian has lost a branch! Seventeen supernaturals, all missing. Missing means dead... Not just us—Red Moon and Yama both have missing branches. Intelligence suggests martial masters might be responsible, which brings one person to mind... Li Hao!"
When Li Hao left the Martial Guard Army that day, Feitian was the first to receive word.
Yet afterward, Li Hao had vanished.
Banshan continued, "Furthermore... there is another piece of intelligence: the grandson of the White Dragon Army's vice commander and his group have been sightseeing all over the place recently. Every place they appeared... was close to where a branch vanished!"
Over the four days, Wang Ming and his companions had inevitably caught the Three Great Organizations' attention.
These people paraded everywhere, and every single sighting happened to be near where their people went missing. It was impossible not to suspect whether these people were bait cast by someone.
Losing over a hundred supernaturals in four days was a staggering blow to any organization.
After speaking with the elder, Banshan quickly said, "I want to meet Lanyue and the King of Equality... It might very well be Li Hao and his missing group!"
In the darkness, the elder asked in a low voice, "What do you plan to do?"
"Encircle and annihilate this missing Martial Guard Army unit!"
Banshan said in a deep voice, "They are active every day, slaughtering supernaturals like madmen. Aside from Li Hao, I can't imagine anyone being so deranged. And he's crazy because his teacher is Yuan Shuo. His methods are carved from the same mold as Yuan Shuo's—killing wherever he goes... In all these years, Silver Moon has rarely seen someone like that."
Yuan Shuo!
Indeed, Yuan Shuo had been the same, killing wherever he went. By now, Yuan Shuo had crossed the North Sea. Powerhouses across the Central Region knew that Yuan Shuo from Silver Moon had entered the Central Region and begun his reign as a demon!
Yuan Shuo had walked out of Silver Moon and was making a name across the entire dynasty.
And his disciple, unwilling to be left behind, was leading a band of martial masters across the land, hunting supernaturals.
In the darkness, the elder remained silent for a moment before speaking: "Fine! But... don't forget the people in White Moon City. Over these past few days, White Moon City has seen plenty of movement. Beware of Hou Xiaochen launching a sudden strike!"
"I know."
With that, Banshan vanished from the spot.
Li Hao—it had to be him!
That fellow was just as crazy as his teacher.
...
At the same time.
Hou Xiaochen coughed, gazing into the distance. After a long silence, he chuckled: "This chaos... are you the one kicking it off? What a crazy little fellow!"
Four days. According to his reports, over a hundred supernaturals had died.
In all of Silver Moon over the years, aside from the heavy casualties during the last expedition into the ruins, this was the first time so many supernaturals had died in such a short span.
More importantly, that fellow's methods were formidable.
Every strike hit the mark!
Wang Ming and the other decoys were bold as brass too, daring to follow Li Hao for four whole days.
"Silver Moon... will see no peace!"
Hou Xiaochen sighed softly. A delicate balance had barely been maintained, but Li Hao's excursion had shattered it. Red Moon would receive word soon; Li Hao and his people couldn't stay hidden much longer.
And what came next... would be Li Hao's gate to the underworld.
"I... can only help pin down some powerhouses for you. I can't pin them all down..."
He gently shook his head, looking toward the secret chamber behind him. Previously, he could have sent Little Yu to help, but that was no longer an option. Li Hao... would have to manage on his own.
...
That night, no faction was at peace.
And that night, Li Hao also knew the true battle had likely not even begun. Over the past few days, he had already spotted traces of Three Suns, and he had been leading the corps to avoid them.
Over two days, he had seen Three Suns moving three times—once three together, once traveling alone—and had refrained from acting.
He worried that acting too early might frighten the others away.
Waiting until more arrived before striking wouldn't be too late.
Four days of relentless slaughter—wasn't it all to lure these fellows out?
"After going days without a fight, my hands are itching!"
Li Hao chuckled, looking at the light orbs in the darkness. Over these days, the squads' coordination had grown increasingly seamless, leaving him with little opportunity to step in.
Now, it seemed the opportunity had arrived.
"After tonight, perhaps... there will be a place for me, Li Hao, under the skies of Silver Moon!"
Watching the light orbs rising in the distance, Li Hao smiled.
Over these past days, he had deliberately left behind clues. It seemed all three sides were closing in on him—quite efficient!
"Six Three Suns..."
Li Hao scanned in all directions. They weren't in a single cluster, but across different directions, six Three Suns light orbs were currently visible.
After tonight, keeping things hidden from the world would be impossible.
Chapter 134