Triumph in the First Battle

A roar shook soul and spirit! Zhou He’s eardrums rattled violently, feeling as if they had ruptured. Caught unprepared, he had already fallen into a disadvantage. In that split second, Li Hao sprang into the air, leaping clear off the ground! In combat, taking to the air was considered the greatest folly. That was what Chen Jian had told Li Hao on his very first day. Yet Li Hao, who practiced the Ape Art, always favored taking to the air. It was precisely because of that first day's lesson that Li Hao now kicked one foot off the other midair, propelling himself instantly to the height of the ceiling. A moment later, his legs whipped into motion, descending in a spinning kick! *Boom!* With a thunderous crash, Zhou He was kicked flying through the air. Before Li Hao could pursue him, a shrill whistling sound tore through the air by his ear. A dagger lunged straight for his temple! Li Hao whipped his hand back, instantly gripping the wrist of the woman surnamed Yuan. A piercing force erupted from his five fingers, driving straight into her wrist, wrenching a scream of agony from her lips. Li Hao’s right hand snatched the dropping dagger out of the air. Without a second thought, he reversed his grip and drove the blade down toward the woman’s wrist! *Bang!* Metal striking bone made no quiet thud, but a sharp crack. Human bone was exceedingly dense, yet this dagger was no ordinary weapon either—the thrust sheared straight through her wrist bone! "Aaargh!" The woman let out a shrill, piercing shriek of sheer agony. As if deaf to her screams, Li Hao clamped his left hand onto her throat and slammed her violently against the wall! *Boom!* Another heavy crash echoed. Who knew how many bones broke in her body? Li Hao yanked the dagger free, and in the next heartbeat, slammed the blade down through her palm, pinning her right hand directly into the wall! "Li Hao!" Behind him, Zhou He flew through the air and crashed to the ground, spitting blood. Seeing the woman instantly pinned to the wall by Li Hao, he let out an anguished roar! Too ruthless! This was completely different from the information he had gathered. Kind, honest, simple, loyal, shy… Those were the descriptions written on the intelligence file he had gathered about Li Hao—descriptions sourced from many different people, not wild guesses. There were offhand remarks from Li Hao’s former classmates, neighborhood gossip from his apartment complex, and assessments from his colleagues at the Inspectorate. Yet not one person had ever said that Li Hao was a vicious, merciless killer! …… "Tsk, tsk!" Liu Yan clicked her tongue in amazement. Barking dogs seldom bit, but quiet ones took off limbs! Li Hao's brutality made even a seasoned killer like her feel a chill. The woman opposite him might be slightly older, but she was still a woman. Yet Li Hao had snapped her wrist without hesitation, and as if that weren't enough, he had pinned her hand to the wall to keep her from escaping! Was this really a rookie in his first real fight? The kid was more ruthless than most veterans! The members of the Demon Hunting Squad always went all out against supernaturals, but if Chen Jian or Wu Chao were put up against a woman who hadn't even reached the Ten-Slayer realm, they might not have had the stomach for such savagery. Liu Long and the others said nothing, continuing to watch the fight. This was Li Hao’s first real combat… or was it? At this moment, Liu Long and the others were genuinely suspicious. Was it really? Was this kid really seeing blood for the first time? Dammit, his strikes were underhanded and lethal. Pure martial masters rarely used weapons, and even when they did, they used their own. Li Hao, on the other hand, had snatched the woman’s dagger and stabbed her with it without the slightest hesitation! A dagger, after all, was sharper than hands and feet. With that single stab, the woman’s hand was ruined. Her wrist was broken too. Even if she survived later, that hand was completely crippled. The woman was not in the Ten-Slayer realm, and up against an unreasonable Ten-Slayer like Li Hao… she was utterly crushed by raw strength alone. …… Setting aside the thoughts of the onlookers, Li Hao gave none of it any mind once he engaged in combat. He remembered only one piece of advice: *Once you make a move, forget everything else. Right or wrong doesn't matter. Just remember one thing… be the only one left standing!* That was what Yuan Shuo had taught him. When Yuan Shuo taught him the Five Animals Art, those were his exact words. A martial artist either never struck, or struck to kill. Say nothing. Right or wrong didn't matter. Fight first, beat down all enemies until they were incapable of fighting back. If they weren't dead after that, only then could they talk about who was right and who was wrong. Otherwise, holding back against an enemy simply meant you were tired of living. So at this moment, Li Hao saw nothing wrong with his actions. Having pinned the woman to the wall, Li Hao scrambled across the ground like an ape, using both hands and feet. In the blink of an eye, leaping and climbing, he lunged straight at Zhou He. Zhou He was a Ten-Slayer too! In terms of raw cultivation, he was arguably slightly stronger than Li Hao. But right now, his arm had been torn to a bloody pulp by Li Hao, and Li Hao’s ambush had struck him so hard in the lower back that his kidneys might have ruptured. His strength had plummeted. Seeing Li Hao rapidly scramble toward him, Zhou He was terrified. In this place, he knew he had no way out, even if he managed to beat Li Hao. Panic seized him, and he yelled in terror, "Wait, I have intelligence to share—" *Bang!* Without hesitation, without pause. Li Hao unleashed a Black Tiger Steals the Heart, claws raking forward! Zhou He's mind was in turmoil and panic gripped him. He could only scramble to defend, crossing his arms over his chest. But the moment his arms extended, Li Hao’s strike landed like a pouncing tiger, five fingers spread wide, ripping down with brutal force! *Rip!* Flesh and blood tore apart once more! Cold sweat poured down Zhou He’s face in buckets. The agony was unbearable! His counterattacks grew timid and constrained. Meanwhile, Li Hao circled around him in a frenzy of lethal strikes! "Li Hao… your death is at hand… I have crucial intelligence to tell you—" *"Roar!"* Another Tiger Roaring in the Mountain Forest exploded from his lungs! Blood trickled from Zhou He’s seven facial orifices! Zhou He’s breath snagged in his chest, causing his movements to freeze. Li Hao only thought he was foolish. Teacher had said that a martial artist cultivated a single breath internally! That breath relied on acting in one unified surge, on uniting inner breath and outer technique into one! This harmony referred to coordinating the breath of respiration with external combat. Yet Zhou He kept chattering away while trading blows. He was no supreme master, just a Ten-Slayer. With unpolished internal and external arts, it was all too easy for an opponent to disrupt his rhythm! This was the advantage of having a top-tier teacher! The distilled experience of a Thousand-Battler martial master was something Zhou He could never match. At most, Zhou He’s teacher might have been a Hundred-Breaker, if not merely another Ten-Slayer. The martial path had declined! Li Hao’s roar landed with immaculate timing, instantly severing the opponent’s recovery breath. It forced Zhou He to swallow his breath back down, inflicting internal injuries and throwing his limbs out of sync. Seizing the opening, Li Hao snapped his arms forward. He wrapped Zhou He in a crushing clinch! A bear hug! *Creak, snap!* The sound of compressing, splintering bone rang out instantly. Guarding against the man drawing power from his legs, Li Hao stomped down ruthlessly, crushing Zhou He’s right foot until the leather shoe ruptured into bloody shreds. White bone pierced through the ruined flesh, and Zhou He howled in excruciating agony! …… *"Hoo!"* Five breaths sounded simultaneously! Deep in the basement, all five onlookers drew in sharp breaths. Chen Jian glanced at Liu Long, then at Liu Yan. Somewhat nervously, he whispered, "Did he… deliberately play dumb when he sparred with us before?" Was this really his first real fight? Bullshit! This kid struck with sheer viciousness and dirty malice, yet his moves were far from disorganized. He had crippled the woman first before turning on Zhou He. Zhou He was a fellow Ten-Slayer, yet against a newcomer like Li Hao, he hadn't managed to make any waves at all! Given the current situation… there was virtually zero chance of a comeback! Liu Long paid no mind to the banter, his expression solemn. "The Five Animals Art… holds this many killing techniques?" Indeed. Every technique Li Hao used, whether the Ape Art or the rest of the Five Animals Art, was aimed to kill! Tearing the heart, ripping flesh, crushing clinches, tiger fists… In any case, the Five Animals Art shown by Li Hao looked nothing like what others practiced. Every single move was ruthlessly lethal! One couldn't tell at all during normal times—or rather, Li Hao held himself back on ordinary days. Had Yuan Shuo revised the Five Animals Art again? The murderous intent was far too heavy! Over the past years, as Yuan Shuo compiled the New Book of Five Animals, everyone assumed he had turned to cultivating his mind and temperament. His routine forms looked slow and gentle. Yet looking at it now, Liu Long, a Hundred-Breaker martial master, could see… every strike was meant to kill! They targeted only the enemy's vital points! The heart, the throat, the eyes, the groin, the spleen, the kidneys—these were Li Hao’s primary strike zones. Gouging eyes, crushing throats, striking groins—Li Hao showed no hesitation whatsoever! The more Liu Long watched, the more startled he became. Martial masters, by nature, had not originally focused solely on slaughter; strengthening the body and cultivating health were also part of their pursuit. With the rise of modern firearms, many of their lethal techniques had been softened. Yet Li Hao’s Five Animals Art felt… like a return to primal origins! Liu Yan, who was on the verge of breaking through to the Hundred-Breaker realm herself, knitted her brows slightly. "The Five Animals Art… mimics the predatory instincts of five beasts. Battles between beasts are matters of life and death! When hunting, if you fail to kill your prey, you starve to death! It's inherently savage! It sounds like child's play, but it’s actually an exceedingly brutal martial art. It’s just that what we usually see… seems to be a castrated version!" Li Hao, at this moment, carried that primal flavor. Of course, because he was still new to real combat, he missed several openings. Had it been Liu Long, those earlier strikes would have already snapped Zhou He’s neck. Even so, Li Hao’s lineage came from a top-tier martial master, something Zhou He could never compare to! While they were discussing this, Li Hao rammed forward with his shoulder! He flung Zhou He outward with both hands, jerked him back slightly, then let go and drove his shoulder straight into Zhou He’s chest. *Crack!* Who knew how many ribs snapped in his chest at that moment? *Bang!* Zhou He slammed heavily onto the floor, blood spilling continuously from his mouth. For a time, he took in far less air than he exhaled. His internal organs were likely heavily damaged, and his eyes grew vacant. Yet Li Hao did not let down his guard. He cast a glance, hastily retreated, and in the next moment, spun around and sprinted. Halfway across the room, he leaped into the air, executing a gorgeous spin midair before lashing out with his right leg in a vicious whip kick! The woman had only just managed to wrench her nearly ruined right hand free from the wall when she was caught off guard. Before she could dodge, Li Hao’s whip kick smashed squarely into her neck. *Snap!* The sound of fracturing bone came first! Only then did the thud of the woman crashing into the floor follow, blood instantly staining the concrete. Up to this point, less than three minutes had elapsed since the fight began, and the battle was already over. Two people lay on the ground, blood pooling across the floor. Li Hao was panting heavily, adjusting his breath as he knelt on one knee, watching the two fallen figures with vigilant eyes. Seeing that neither could get up, Li Hao seemed to finally snap back to his senses. Looking at the blood-soaked floor… then at the figures walking out from the corner, his face suddenly turned pale. It was as if only now did lingering fear catch up to him. His face was filled with fright and terror. "That scared me to death! Those two were so strong, so vicious! That woman's dagger almost went through my temple!" "……" Liu Long looked at him without a word. Liu Yan wore an odd expression, offering a strained, stiff smile. "Xiao Hao, are you serious?" Are you putting on an act? Li Hao looked at her with genuine bewilderment. Of course he was serious! It was terrifying! Real combat was simply too perilous. The opponent had tried to stab him with a knife! If he had been slightly careless or slipped up, wouldn't he have been stabbed to death? Seeing his reaction… Everyone was utterly dumbfounded! Li Hao seemed to be completely sincere. And yet, look at the scene! Two people had been beaten by you until blood covered the floor! Zhou He had countless broken ribs, a shattered foot, ruptured kidneys, and his arms had literally been shredded to the bone by your claws! That woman was in an equally miserable state—her neck might have been broken, her hand was ruined, and a heap of bones in her body were fractured… And after all that, you, of all people, are saying you're terrified! Are you even human? Liu Long said nothing about it, nor did he care whether Li Hao was acting. Instead, he asked in a deep voice, "Is this really your first real fight?" "Yes!" Li Hao nodded like a chick pecking at grain, panting as he replied, "Real combat is terrifying! I used to just be a martial arts enthusiast. Even though I learned the Five Animals Art, it was always just for physical fitness. I never imagined real combat would be so perilous!" A martial arts enthusiast… first real fight! Liu Long’s gaze grew strange. "Then when you struck, you didn't have any hesitation? No pause at all?" The decisiveness of Li Hao's strikes did not look like someone in his first real combat! It was far too cold-blooded! That was a quality found only in veteran martial masters—and specifically those who had walked the edge of life and death. Only they would make such choices without hesitation: neutralize the opponent first! "Hesitation?" Li Hao thought about it, then shook his head. He really hadn't had any. He explained, "Because I knew they were enemies, so I wouldn't feel pity for them! Besides, when my teacher taught me martial arts, he said that if I ever truly fought someone, ignore everything else and put them down first! The tougher the opponent, the harder you must strike! Otherwise, holding back against an enemy simply meant you were tired of living!" Well then! Liu Long hadn't expected Li Hao to be so obedient. Yuan Shuo said such things because the people he fought were powerful experts, mortal enemies locked in life-and-death struggle. Yet Li Hao took it literally… Of course, looking at it now, perhaps it was a good thing. This kid, whom he had treated as a rookie, had produced results far exceeding expectations in his first combat. A Ten-Slayer and a martial master near the Ten-Slayer realm had teamed up, only to be caught completely off guard by Li Hao. In under three minutes, the fight was over. Both were critically injured and near death, while Li Hao… had merely grazed his knuckles! Yes, he had struck so hard that his fist had apparently caught the jagged edge of Zhou He's exposed bone, scraping the skin on his knuckles so that a bit of blood was trickling out. Other than that… he was completely unharmed! This was the battle result produced by a newcomer who had just stepped into the Ten-Slayer realm! Liu Long could safely say that among the martial masters he had seen, almost none could have pulled this off. Even he, when he first reached the Ten-Slayer realm, couldn't have done it. In his own first real fight, his opponent had also been a Ten-Slayer, and he had nearly been beaten to death! It wasn't him beating his opponent to death; the other guy had nearly killed him. "Brother, you’re incredible!" Chen Jian gave him a thumbs-up! He was genuinely impressed! This kid looked slender and refined, and he would even blush when Liu Yan teased him… Yet this shy young brother had just beaten two martial masters into scrap right before their eyes in his first real fight! The skinny Wu Chao was also filled with lingering fear. "Good thing you didn't hit this hard when you sparred with us earlier!" This kid, especially with his claw technique—every rake took a chunk of flesh! Chen Jian was fine, given his formidable defense. Wu Chao had no such defense. If Li Hao had clawed at him like that, the few ounces of meat on his body would have been stripped clean long ago! Li Hao felt a bit shy and embarrassed, quickly explaining, "They're bad people, and we are justice! Striking down bad people is upholding justice! Why would I ever use such moves against our own people?" "Justice!" Liu Long and the others were momentarily taken aback, turning to stare at him. Liu Yan burst out laughing, bending over with her hands over her chest as she chuckled. Before Li Hao’s eyes, however, was a patch of fair skin. He couldn't resist reminding her, "Sister Liu, your shirt isn't buttoned!" "……" Silence fell instantly. Liu Yan straightened up immediately, staring at Li Hao in utter shock before pointing a finger at him in mock outrage. "Are you even a man? At a time like this, you actually reminded me to button my shirt?" Li Hao wore an innocent expression. What was wrong with that? Was he not allowed to? Liu Long and the others exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh as well. In a setting like this, they were actually laughing heartily! Even Yun Yao smiled amusedly. "Deputy Captain Liu, looks like… your tricks don't work on everyone!" "Hmph, do you even have what it takes?" Liu Yan fired back. Although she was wary of Yun Yao, she couldn't resist retorting right now. *I do as I please—do you even have the assets I have?* Yun Yao fell silent at once, her gaze toward Liu Yan turning somewhat ominous—as if she were looking for a chance to blow Liu Yan's chest to pieces! Li Hao, meanwhile, paid them no further attention. He glanced at the two figures still spitting blood and couldn't help asking, "Should we take them in for interrogation? See if we can get any intelligence out of them. Sister Yun Yao, you're a doctor, can you check on them? Don't let them die, or it'll be hard to question them!" "You really are cold-blooded!" Liu Yan laughed and scolded him. Even at a moment like this, this guy was still dwelling on that. Quite something! Li Hao gave a dry chuckle and stood up, exhaling as he voiced his thoughts again: "Real combat is truly different—it's so thrilling! Mostly the psychological tension; I was super nervous just now! Scared out of my mind, especially with two of them. I was terrified they'd pincer me from the front and back… Boss, when you run into a situation like this, how do you usually handle it?" Liu Long stared at him, saying nothing. Nonsense! Didn't you just handle it already? Go all out to cripple one first, then deal with the other—isn't that enough? How else do you want to handle it? The kid's question almost felt like he was asking for a beating! Yet Li Hao was asking in earnest, adding, "Boss, there's another thing my teacher never taught me. The claw technique doesn't actually deal all that much lethal damage, and getting blood all over my hands affected my performance. It was a bloody mess, the blood was sticky, and my hands started slipping during the later exchanges. What should I do in that situation?" With the sincere attitude of a student asking a teacher, Li Hao inquired earnestly, "I didn't have time to wipe my hands then. Fortunately, I wasn't using a weapon, otherwise blood on a weapon would make it slip even more easily. Boss, what do you usually do?" "……" The entire room went silent. This was an… unusual question. So unusual that Liu Long was momentarily caught off guard. Li Hao wasn't complaining about claw techniques being too gory because of how much his enemies suffered or how badly they were hurt. He was complaining that claw techniques dirtied his hands, made them slippery, and that the blood would make him lose his grip on a weapon. Did this count as a combat dilemma? It did, in a way! Yet no one had ever asked such a thing as naturally, as unapologetically, as Li Hao. He genuinely wanted to solve this problem. Even Yun Yao couldn't help asking, "Li Hao, don't you… feel guilty at all? I don't mean guilty because you did something wrong. Normally, after a first real fight—especially in a scene like this—even a martial master would feel somewhat uneasy and guilty. Don't you feel any of that?" Did this Li Hao have some kind of psychological issue? Or was he naturally cold-blooded? Li Hao thought it over, then said, "I don't feel guilty, because from the start, I knew they were bad people—bad people who wanted my life! As for feeling uneasy… I do feel a little bit of that sensation you're talking about! But… does that have anything to do with my question?" Li Hao was rather exasperated too. He did feel a bit weak and shaken, but why were they looking at him with those strange eyes? These people were all seasoned veterans—did they really need to make such a fuss? Liu Long and the others said nothing. They didn't think there was anything wrong with it; they just felt that Li Hao was simply a natural-born fighter—and perhaps harbored a touch of cold-bloodedness beneath the surface. Liu Long stopped dwelling on it and answered seriously, "Regarding your hands getting covered in blood from claw techniques, in that situation, first: use the enemy's body to wipe them clean in stride! Second: if you get the chance, rub them against the ground—dirt works even better! Third: try to avoid clawing major arteries, or you'll get sprayed in blood! Fourth: pierce straight through your opponent in one rip, and wipe your hands clean as you pull them back! Fifth: be fast—so fast that you've finished clawing and pulled back before the blood even begins to spray!" "……" The others looked at Liu Long with strange expressions once more. Good grief, one dared to ask, and the other dared to answer! Liu Long had actually given him five solutions in one breath. Li Hao listened attentively. He had always felt that he was too green, and that learning from these veteran martial master seniors was very necessary. For instance, the fifth point Liu Long mentioned sounded great. Be as fast as possible! So fast that by the time you struck with your claw and pulled back, the opponent’s blood hadn't even begun to spray—that would solve it! If one reached the pinnacle of speed, there would be no need to worry about such issues. At that thought, Li Hao looked at him with admiration. The captain truly was experienced! As for the others… no wonder none of them had reached the Hundred-Breaker realm. Look at those expressions; none of them even knew how to resolve his doubts. The captain was the strongest, and deservedly so. Liu Long didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said nothing more. This Li Hao really was fine material. In the past, when an old martial master took on an apprentice like this, it was meant for his retirement. When a martial master grew old and could no longer fight, and old enemies came seeking vengeance, they needed a ruthless enforcer like Li Hao. Striking underhanded, ruthless, and deadly—and yet he himself saw nothing wrong with it. A personal disciple! At this moment, Liu Long faintly understood how Yuan Shuo had taught him. Over the past two years, teaching by word and deed, Yuan Shuo had trained Li Hao as his ultimate disciple, casually instilling many of his own viewpoints. Li Hao’s martial initiation had been guided entirely by Yuan Shuo. So as the kid grew, he remained heavily influenced by Yuan Shuo. That old fellow Yuan Shuo was notoriously ruthless too! Otherwise, he wouldn't have made so many enemies. "Enough of this. Interrogate these two first… Yun Yao, go stop the bleeding. Don't let them actually die. Although they're just minor figures and might not know much, we might still get an unexpected harvest!" Liu Long gave the instruction. Clearly, interrogation was out of the question right now; they had to wait for the two to stabilize. Meanwhile, Li Hao was picking up the commendation banner from the ground, which the two had dropped during the fight. Seeing this, Liu Yan asked, "What are you messing with that thing for?" "To hang it outside!" Li Hao chuckled. "Sister, this is the very first commendation banner I've ever received! It has great sentimental value! Besides, they came here in broad daylight to present it. It wouldn't look right if I didn't hang it up. Later, I'll just say they left through the back door, and go hang the banner up!" Silence fell instantly! Yun Yao, who was helping stop the bleeding, saw Zhou He’s eyes widen in rage, choking so hard on his own breath that he seemed about to expire. She inwardly cursed: *A monster!* Li Hao was an absolute monster! At a time like this, he actually wanted to go outside and hang up the banner. If she were in that man's shoes, she would have been enraged to death on the spot! Li Hao neither knew nor cared what the others were thinking. Delighted, he held the commendation banner, growing more pleased the more he looked at it. *"Eager to help others, harboring great love—* *Presented to: Inspector Li Hao of the Inspectorate"* Li Hao stared at it for a while, feeling better and better. It was truly well-written. *Harboring great love!* "Boss, Sister, I'll take the banner back to the Confidential Records Office first. Once my transfer from the Confidential Records Office goes through, I'll bring it back over…" Receiving such a banner for the first time in his life, Li Hao was overjoyed and couldn't bear to throw it away. He would take it back to the Confidential Records Office first, then bring it back later! "Take your time interrogating them, I'm heading out!" With that, Li Hao took the banner, humming a little tune, and left happily. At this moment, he truly looked like a rookie inspector who had received a commendation banner from the public, radiating pride and joy! In the basement, the others looked at each other… rendered speechless for a long while. After a lengthy silence, Wu Chao muttered faintly, "Everyone… isn't this guy… a bit twisted?" Do you even realize who brought that banner to you? And look at what happened to the people who brought it! Good grief, you actually have the nerve to carry that banner back and hang it up in broad daylight! Fuck! They were utterly at a loss for words, deeply awed by Li Hao’s nerve. Hanging it up like that… didn't that red silk look as though it had been dyed in blood? Liu Long opened his mouth, then hesitated. After a long while, he muttered sullenly, "Let him be!" What else could he say? There was nothing to say! Of course, after today's fight, Liu Long knew one thing: the others in the squad had accepted Li Hao. He was no longer just bait, a disposable tool, an onlooker, or dead weight in their eyes… Before this, everyone—including Liu Long himself—had thought of him that way. Yet Li Hao's battle just now made them suddenly realize that this kid… was truly no mere extra. If he managed to survive, he would definitely become far more terrifying than Liu Long in the future. Only now did the members of the Demon Hunting Squad truly begin to treat Li Hao as a teammate. And of all this, Li Hao was likely entirely oblivious.