Advancing to Thousand-Battler

With part of the black-armored force retreating, the battle grew noticeably easier. Even though the silver expert refused to leave and continued to erupt with power, more and more Three Sols experts joined the fray, and the silver millennium captain could no longer hold his ground. Letting out a deafening roar, a blinding glare burst from his white armor. He leaped into the air and ascended in an instant, breaking free from their suppression. Once he was airborne, fighting him became difficult. The Three Sols experts were all restricted and unable to engage in aerial combat here. The flight ban in this place was simply too powerful! A moment later, everyone could only watch helplessly as the silver expert trod on air and vanished from sight. Still, their spoils of war were magnificent. The battle continued! By this point, however, it was completely one-sided. *Thud, thud, thud!* Suit after suit of black armor was hurled outside the plaza. After a few minutes, the battlefield was completely cleared. Smiles appeared on everyone's faces. Out of over eight hundred black-armored soldiers, at least five hundred had been dealt with this time. More than half had been wiped out in a single stroke! Of that millennium unit, only about three hundred remained in the city. Even three bronze-armored warriors had been blasted apart. The bronze-armored warriors could not be captured. The moment they left the city limits, they would detonate. Thus, no one had attempted to take them alive, leaving them to self-destruct. A millennium captain, five centurions, and roughly three hundred black-armored soldiers had fled the scene. The victory was still exceptionally glorious! Of course, the black armor’s lethality was also terrifying. Of the more than one hundred and fifty people from before, over twenty had died braving the second passage. During this frontal assault, more than twenty supernaturals had perished in that initial minute of holding the line. At present, only about a hundred supernaturals remained. Their casualties had also neared half. However, those lost were mostly weaker combatants. The Lunar Nether suffered the highest casualties, while not many Solar Radiance supernaturals had fallen. As for the Three Sols, only the exceptionally unlucky Yaocheng had perished in the second passage. Although their numbers had shrunk significantly, their overall combat strength, truth be told, had not taken much of a hit. This time, even the Night Patrollers had lost a few Lunar Nether members in battle. Hao Lianchuan was not weak, but because he had not revealed the Fire Phoenix Spear, he could not protect every direction. The black-armored soldiers were formidable in their own right, and several unlucky Lunar Nether members had been killed instantly. Still, before entering, everyone had prepared for this. It was impossible for an expedition like this to be bloodless. The Night Patrollers had fared relatively well; at least all their Solar Radiance fighters were still alive. Compared to Yama... On Yama's side, the Wheel-Turning King's face was completely green. More than thirty people had entered with him, and now, including himself... only nine were left! Five of them had taken the second passage, and four, including him, had stayed behind. Nine people! The Wheel-Turning King felt not the slightest shred of joy. He did not care about the deaths of those Lunar Nether and Solar Radiance subordinates, but the death of a Three Sols expert genuinely disrupted the bigger picture! *Yaocheng... that useless trash!* *Even Hong Yitang survived, yet you went and died!* Among the remaining hundred-man force, Feitian surprisingly still had nearly twenty people. Very few of their members had entered, and they had suffered almost no losses. The Night Patrollers had the most survivors, close to thirty. Red Moon had around twenty, and Sword Gate had roughly twenty as well. Adding Yama, that brought the total to about a hundred. As for the rogue cultivators... only five or six Solar Radiance fighters were left alive. Those below Solar Radiance were almost entirely wiped out. Such was the sorrow of small organizations and rogue cultivators. Without a Three Sols expert holding down the fort, even Solar Radiance combatants struggled to survive crises, let alone help others. Being able to avoid becoming dead weight was already a blessing. The Three Sols experts of the major organizations, at least, occasionally cleared away threats for their own people. When the battle concluded, no one left. They stood silently on the plaza. On the ground, several corpses were in the process of being devoured by the city. Li Hao and his companions immediately began clearing the battlefield. Regardless of whose corpse it was, they retrieved and carried away their own, while secretly looting items from the others—ideally stripping away some mysterious energy. The Three Sols experts began to assemble. This time, Hu Dingfang took the initiative to speak, saying in a heavy voice, "The silver expert fled, along with more than three hundred black-armored soldiers. Right now, it's unclear whether they've scattered throughout the city or retreated toward the city gate... Beyond that millennium unit, are there any other experts at the gate?" Hao Lianchuan spoke up. "I saw that many of the black-armored soldiers didn't flee back, but scattered instead. Why don't we sweep through starting from Ninth Street, clearing them out one by one, and then regroup near the city gate? Up until now... nearly a day has passed!" They only had three days inside the ruins. By now, it was likely the evening of the first day. Sweep the outer city, regroup at the gate between the inner and outer cities, and stage the final decisive battle! That was Hao Lianchuan's plan. The crowd pondered his words. Some nodded, while others said gravely, "Wouldn't it be better to move together? If we split up, the danger increases!" Dividing their forces right now seemed ill-advised! What if a large group of black-armored soldiers was lying in ambush somewhere? They could not understand why Hao Lianchuan would propose such a thing. Yet among the faction leaders—those Three Sols experts—no one objected or pointed out any flaws. Move together? At this stage, it was time to divide the spoils. Whoever defeated a black-armored soldier got to keep the armor. That was the first reason. The second reason: moving together made it inconvenient to attend to private agendas. For instance, the Night Patrollers had the most survivors... Wouldn't it feel wrong not to kill off a few? The Wheel-Turning King in particular was the most disgruntled of all! He wanted nothing more than to split up! Now that most of the black armor had been dealt with, the remaining portion could easily be handled by a few Three Sols experts. A few more casualties among the others meant nothing to them. This was human nature! They were hostile factions to begin with; this so-called cooperation was a joke. As for the inner city... Even if they never entered it, acquiring so many sets of black armor already made the venture profitable. So when Hao Lianchuan proposed dividing forces... none of the Three Sols objected. The Wheel-Turning King remarked indifferently, "The ones remaining in the city are just ordinary black armor, no great threat. The few of us should head toward the city gate to scout ahead, just in case the silver expert appears again..." He might as well have said: *We Three Sols will stay far away, so slaughter as much as you want in the city!* Slaughter the black-armored soldiers, and slaughter the other supernaturals. This was the true essence of exploring ruins—not merely plundering the ruins' treasures, but plundering the wealth of other supernaturals as well. Evidently, this was not the first time such a thing had happened. Whether supernaturals or martial masters, the people in the crowd seemed thoroughly accustomed to it. Hao Lianchuan added, "Everyone must cooperate; only through cooperation can we achieve mutual benefit! Once the black armor in the city is cleared, regroup at the city gate. By the way, whoever takes down a black-armored soldier in the city keeps it... Even if you turn it over, it will still count toward your contribution!" Silence fell over the crowd. This was the nature of the supernatural realm, and an extension of the Silver Moon martial arts world... *Do as you see fit. We Three Sols are keeping our distance; those of you afraid of dying can hurry to the gate to regroup.* *Those who aren't afraid of dying can go wild in the city!* Indeed, they still offered a choice. Anyone could head straight to the city gate to join the Three Sols, where everyone would at least maintain a facade of civility and refrain from acting openly. The next moment, Ziyue was the first to depart, remarking coldly, "Let's go. Move quickly, and beware of any experts lurking in the inner city... That would be troublesome!" One by one, the Three Sols departed swiftly. Hu Dingfang intended to take Li Hao along, beckoning to him... Bringing along one or two people was nothing out of the ordinary—Hong Yitang had already taken his daughter along, hadn't he? Yet Li Hao shook his head with an honest, naive look on his face, glancing at Liu Long and Liu Yan as if to say he had to stay with his captain! Hu Dingfang frowned slightly. Hao Lianchuan sent a voice transmission: *"It's fine, let's go. Red Moon probably has orders forbidding them from killing him! The others won't dare lay a hand on him rashly either. Besides, he's on good terms with Sword Gate... Very few would actually dare make a move on him, and Liu Long is a Thousand-Battler. It won't be a problem!"* Hu Dingfang hesitated, but said nothing more and strode away. Li Hao, on the other hand, had wanted to say something. Feitian and Sword Gate each had another Three Sols expert hidden in their ranks; should they take them along too? He had considered informing Hao Lianchuan... but after some thought, he decided against it. Their departure might not necessarily be a good thing. If they stayed behind, there might even be unexpected gains. With the Three Sols gone, the remaining Solar Radiance and Lunar Nether fighters exchanged glances, none of them speaking for a moment. The Red Moon group slipped away in silence, vanishing from the area in the blink of an eye. Many in the crowd were secretly scrutinizing the Red Moon experts. Word had it that Red Moon possessed a kind of invisible Red Shadow. Did these people have them? Some also glanced toward Li Hao, wondering if he knew how to extract a Red Shadow. They had heard it required an Origin God Armament... but that hardly mattered. The real question was: did Li Hao know how to use it to reach the Spirit Nourishing realm? Leading the Sword Gate contingent was a late-stage Solar Radiance expert. The young man looked toward Li Hao and smiled. "The Silver Moon martial arts world is one family. Li Hao, if you run into trouble, you can always look for Sword Gate!" With that, he waved his hand and led Sword Gate's people away in haste. Li Hao bared his teeth in a smile as he saw them off. The other factions departed one after another. Once they were gone, the metal-type Deputy Director Zhou said gravely, "Everyone, stay alert. None of our Night Patroller supernaturals went through the second passage, so our presence isn't concealed like theirs!" He scanned the group. "We have seven Solar Radiance combatants this time..." In truth, Wang Ming was present, and Liu Long technically counted as well. However, he excluded them from the count. "We'll split into two groups. Moving together makes for too large a target. When Director Hao left, his intent was clear: eliminate as many experts from the Three Great Organizations as possible!" He said grimly, "I'll lead one team, and Old He will lead the other!" Both he and Deputy Director He were deputy directors. Both stood at the peak of Solar Radiance. He was of the metal element, while Deputy Director He wielded the water element. The remaining five Solar Radiance fighters were divided between them. He took three, while the remaining two were familiar to Li Hao: Huang Yun of the wind element and Zhao Huan of the earth element. Clearly, he knew Wang Ming and Liu Long's true capabilities, as both had been assigned to the second team. Arranged this way, the strength of both teams was roughly balanced. Zhang Ting was also assigned to the water-element team under Deputy Director He. Li Hao did not know whether this arrangement was Deputy Director Zhou's casual decision or Hao Lianchuan's explicit instruction, nor did he care. At this moment, his murderous intent was no longer so fierce. He had not even finished absorbing the one hundred and fifty cubic meters of water energy yet. Besides, with the black armor almost wiped out, how on earth was he supposed to kill a mid-stage Three Sols expert? Hao Lianchuan could forget about borrowing a knife to kill someone... More importantly, this "knife" was far too weak. Any attempt to use him for an assassination would be futile. It might have had a chance earlier, but now the difficulty was simply too great, and Li Hao had no desire to take such a risk. Placing Li Hao and his companions in this team could be considered a form of protection. Deputy Director He, as team leader, wasted no words. He swiftly led the group into the streets, speaking as they advanced at a brisk pace: "This is also an opportunity for everyone to hone themselves. The major organizations often use this method to let weaker members gain experience and see blood! In short, if we encounter anyone from the Three Great Organizations, kill them without hesitation." "What if we run into Sword Gate?" someone asked in a low voice. "Sword Gate... As long as they don't provoke us, we won't provoke them. Sword Gate is a local organization, and we have regular cooperation with them. The Three Great Organizations, on the other hand, are officially designated evil supernatural organizations! Whenever we encounter them, kill them on sight!" They had just been cooperating seamlessly, yet they turned hostile in the blink of an eye. This was routine. The difference between government and bandits. When needed, you were a cherished ally; when not, you were an enemy. Li Hao remained silent, his gaze sweeping the surroundings... Even though those people had passed through the second passage and masked their supernatural fluctuations, the supernatural energy itself still existed. Looking at them now, he could not help but sigh with emotion. *No supernatural fluctuations—they're certainly well hidden!* Beneath the eaves of an old house they passed, a supernatural was hiding, yet Deputy Director He, a peak Solar Radiance expert, had not noticed in the slightest. It had to be said that the supernaturals who traversed the second passage had gained immense advantages. At the very least, in this environment, they held the upper hand in terms of timing and terrain. Unfortunately... in Li Hao's eyes, they were like brilliant light bulbs, starkly prominent in the darkness. He could observe the supernatural auras in the adjacent street. Any further was difficult to perceive, but that was more than enough. Between the two flanking streets and the one they were on, he could monitor supernaturals across three streets simultaneously. The only opponents Li Hao genuinely needed to watch out for were martial masters. He looked around curiously, observing supernatural after supernatural. Perhaps because their group was large, the hidden supernaturals dared not launch an ambush; doing so would be suicide. With multiple Solar Radiance fighters on this side, they had little to fear from ordinary attacks. That was why Deputy Director He marched so boldly down the street. Li Hao felt it was a pity... If he, Liu Long, and their companions were acting alone, that person beneath the eaves would already be dead, yielding another harvest of mysterious energy. But with others around, it was inconvenient to point him out. However, while Deputy Director He had not noticed, the hidden mid-stage Three Sols expert seemed to have sensed some movement. She glanced in that direction for a brief moment before looking away, saying nothing and offering no warning. Seeing Li Hao looking all around, Zhang Ting, who was not far from him, took the opportunity to ask in a low voice, "Li Hao, did you become familiar with the city's layout when you entered earlier?" "Fairly familiar!" Li Hao bared his teeth in a grin. "This is Sixth Street. None of the streets are very long, roughly fifteen hundred meters each, with small alleys on both sides leading to other streets. Black armor used to patrol here, but maybe not anymore. They might have gone into hiding..." Just as he spoke, a piercing shriek suddenly erupted ahead! Li Hao and the others quickly looked over, and their expressions shifted. At that moment, they witnessed an unexpected scene. The doors of an ancient house swung wide open. A bronze-armored warrior materialized in an instant, cutting down a hidden supernatural outside with a single slash of his sword. The next moment, the bronze-armored warrior shut the heavy doors and vanished! Everyone was horrified! How was that possible? Deputy Director He could no longer care about keeping quiet and roared, "Bronze armor has appeared inside the ancient houses, ambushing people!" This was a major development! Such a thing had never occurred before, demanding utmost vigilance. The deaths of outsiders did not matter, but the other team might not know of this danger. Even if it alerted everyone, the warning had to be sounded! As soon as his voice rang out, chaos quickly erupted across the various streets. There were armored warriors inside the ancient houses! *** First Street, outside the inner city gate. At this moment, the colossal gate remained firmly shut. The Three Sols experts were in the middle of a discussion when they heard Deputy Director He's shout. Their expressions shifted slightly. Hao Lianchuan also looked grave as he snapped his head around toward the other directions, frowning. "How could this be! Such a thing has never happened before... Can only bronze armor enter the ancient houses, or can black armor enter as well? If that's the case... this is going to be troublesome!" The remaining three hundred or so black-armored soldiers had not gathered here. The gate was shut tight, and they could only vaguely make out a few black-armored figures atop the high walls, but outside the gate, not a single black-armored soldier remained. Were they waging guerrilla warfare? The expressions of Ziyue and the others flickered as they looked toward Hao Lianchuan. "Has any Three Sols ever entered an ancient house?" Hao Lianchuan shook his head. "No. A Solar Radiance entered once, but never came back out!" Everyone frowned. This complicated things. Just moments ago, they had assumed these soldiers would be wandering the streets, making them easy to pick off. Yet now... Just as they were pondering, another roar echoed from the distance: "Black armor cannot enter the ancient houses... Only bronze armor can!" Hearing this, the group breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately! It seemed the authority of bronze armor was higher than that of black armor. That made sense; bronze armor represented centurions, effectively officers, whereas black armor were merely ordinary soldiers. Their levels of authority were bound to differ. "There are only five bronze-armored warriors... As long as we're cautious, it won't be a problem." Everyone felt somewhat reassured, and they turned their attention toward the city gate. The massive gate displayed an ancient bronze hue. It stood nearly a hundred meters tall. Flight was out of the question, so their only option was to find a way to open the gate. Without another word, the Wheel-Turning King condensed a wind blade and hurled it at the gate. With a resounding boom, the wind blade shattered, leaving not a scratch upon the surface. Even he, a peak Three Sols expert, felt a headache coming on. "Hao Lianchuan, we can't fly, and we can't force it open... Are you certain this gate can be opened?" Hao Lianchuan sighed. "There's still hope... Bringing Yuan Shuo along earlier was meant to have him find a way to open the gate. But you people drove him away before we even entered... Otherwise, with his knowledge, I think the chances would have been high." The others remained silent. *Did we drive him away?* *He was the one who insisted on fighting Sun Yifei, killing Sun Yifei, wiping out so many of Red Moon's people, and exposing his Spirit Nourishing realm! What choice did we have?* The group began examining the gate. At the same time, they remained vigilant against the silver expert's reappearance. Or rather... they intentionally hoped to lure him out. According to Hao Lianchuan and the others' judgment, the millennium captain likely held important items, such as a key. Could the gate be opened with a key? By convention, such a key would be in the possession of the millennium captain guarding the gate. For instance, his greatsword seemed to fit a slot on the gate, suggesting it might serve as the key! Unfortunately, that fellow was nowhere to be seen. Vaguely, they caught a fleeting glimpse of silver-white upon the city wall. They deduced that once the black-armored soldiers in the city were entirely cleared and the bronze armor was wiped out, the captain might no longer be able to hold back. *** *Boom!* Inside the city. Li Hao and his companions worked together to knock a black-armored soldier flying. A punch from one, a palm strike from another, followed by a sweep of wind energy from someone else... In the blink of an eye, the black-armored soldier was kept suspended in midair for a full minute. Gradually, the soldier ceased struggling. This was the third set of black armor they had dealt with. Up until now, the squad had not encountered many supernaturals, but they had run into several black-armored soldiers. These soldiers were still devoid of clear consciousness and could not hide in the ancient houses like the bronze armor, leaving them to be dispatched by the group's coordinated attacks. Further ahead, Deputy Director He and the others had also easily taken down two black-armored soldiers. By this point, the street was nearly cleared. Aside from remaining vigilant against bronze armor ambushing them from the sides, dealing with black armor had become second nature. Sounds of combat erupted from other streets as well. Naturally, some unfortunate individuals were killed by black-armored soldiers. After all, roughly three hundred black-armored soldiers remained, with some areas more heavily populated than others. If one had poor luck, death was par for the course. After a moment, Deputy Director He walked over and dropped several sets of black armor on the ground. By now, they had accumulated more than a dozen sets, taking up a considerable amount of space. Deputy Director He hesitated slightly. Carrying so many sets of black armor was inconvenient. Yet leaving them here meant anyone passing by could claim them; they did not have names written on them. Outside the plaza, each faction had left two or three people behind to guard their spoils. He glanced over the group and said, "Liu Long, you, Wang Ming, Li Hao, and Liu Yan escort this armor back... Actually, Wang Ming, stay here. You're a supernatural, so your aura is too obvious. You three martial masters take the trouble to make a quick trip!" Li Hao found the arrangement peculiar. *Just the three of us?* *I thought you'd arrange for Zhang Ting to come with us... But no, which means Hao Lianchuan didn't give any orders regarding that.* Having three martial masters whose auras were faint escort the armor back seemed logical on the surface. However, dragging more than a dozen sets of bulky black armor made for a massive target. Unless the people in the city were completely blind, anyone they encountered would spot them instantly. Who would care about supernatural fluctuations at that point? In that instant, Li Hao wondered... *Could this Deputy Director He be trying to get us killed?* He could hardly be blamed for suspecting it! Just the three of them—even Liu Long was officially only a peak Hundred-Breaker, not a Thousand-Battler. Three Hundred-Breakers escorting more than a dozen sets of armor back would inevitably draw danger, whether from greed or factional rivalry. Before Li Hao could speak, Huang Yun took the initiative to say, "Director He, wouldn't that be too dangerous? With so much armor, they make a large target. While the three of them are martial masters, their strength isn't particularly high..." "It's fine. We've already swept the path ahead. Even if someone crosses over from another street, we can reinforce them quickly!" Deputy Director He looked ahead and said, "We need to finish clearing this street first while guarding against bronze armor sneak attacks. Liu Long is an experienced veteran martial master; if necessary, he can abandon the armor and escape, which makes it easy for them to get away. It will be fine!" Huang Yun wanted to say more, but Deputy Director He shook his head. "Say no more. There's danger everywhere right now. Since we've come here, we can't expect to avoid all risk..." Huang Yun could only hold his tongue. It was true; escorting the armor back was arguably safer than staying on the front lines. Liu Long frowned slightly, but quickly nodded. "Understood!" With that, he hauled up several sets of black armor. Li Hao and Liu Yan said nothing, each dragging several sets behind them as they turned back. After walking a distance, the darkness veiled the people ahead from view. Liu Long frowned and asked in a low voice, "What is this Deputy Director He playing at?" While an escort mission was not particularly difficult, sending them off alone at this juncture felt uncomfortably close to sending them to their deaths... Li Hao did not mind. He glanced around, then cast a look backward, curling his lips into a small smirk. "Boss, isn't this your favorite trick? Bait! He probably thinks martial masters are thick-skinned and won't be killed instantly... Those people are trailing behind us!" Only then did Liu Long understand, though he still cursed under his breath, "I knew it! Sending us back out of the blue... even if he wanted to set us up, he wouldn't make it so obvious. But that bastard didn't even give us a heads-up!" Had the man given them advance warning, Liu Long would not have objected. The issue was that, had Li Hao not spotted them, Liu Long would never have known they were following, as the distance exceeded his sensory range. Li Hao remarked nonchalantly, "It's not the first time. When I joined the Demon Hunt Squad, didn't you say the same thing, Boss? That I was meant to serve as bait." "Nonsense, I asked for your consent!" Liu Long protested indignantly. "It's not like I forced you into the role; you agreed willingly. Why bring that up now?" Li Hao chuckled. "Then let's just pretend they don't exist... Boss, what do you say the three of us go off on our own? I've spotted plenty of fools hiding in the shadows. We could sneak over... and maybe take down a few to harvest some mysterious energy." Right now, the Three Sols were elsewhere. Without the threat of black armor swarming them, they could afford to be bolder than before. As for the people trailing behind... they could simply shake them off. For three martial masters, shaking them off would be child's play. Li Hao also wanted to find an opportunity to fight a few more battles and absorb some mysterious energy to see if he could break through to the Thousand-Battler realm. Hearing this, Liu Long looked at the black armor in his hands and asked, "What about these?" "Leave them here... When they catch up, they'll carry them back!" "You..." Liu Long was speechless. He was still a man of rules and preferred to deliver the goods. Black armor was immensely valuable, yet Li Hao wanted to dump it right on the ground. "Boss, they won't get lost! Don't worry." Li Hao added, "If you really feel uneasy, let's just deliver them. It's not far anyway." After some thought, Liu Long said, "Let's deliver them first. Once that's done, we'll find a way to shake them off and act on our own." Though Li Hao felt it was a waste of time, he deferred to Liu Long's judgment. The three continued forward, dragging the armor. They made a noticeable target... yet perhaps because of the sheer quantity of armor they carried, although Li Hao spotted one or two hidden supernaturals along the way, none dared to make a move. Li Hao did not deliberately plunge into clusters of supernaturals either; since he could see them, he could naturally avoid them. Returning to the plaza, they dumped the black armor with the Night Patrollers guarding the spoils. Then, Li Hao and his companions stepped back into the darkness, this time deliberately shaking off Deputy Director He's group. Being around those people felt restrictive and uncomfortable. *** Seventh Street. Three figures moved with utmost stealth. In the darkness, Li Hao struck with his sword. Atop an eave, a supernatural reacted swiftly, raising a hand to summon a wooden spike. Just as the supernatural prepared to counterattack, Liu Long materialized from behind and threw a punch! That punch shattered the wooden spike, and Li Hao's sword erupted with a brilliant sword glow, exceptionally sharp. The Earth-Overturning Sword was truly extraordinary. With a single slash, flesh was cleaved, slaying the opponent on the spot. "Wood element, not bad!" Li Hao exhaled. "Another from Yama... Are we fixated on Yama today? How many people do they even have left?" Saying no more, he sat cross-legged and began absorbing the energy directly. Fire, water, earth, metal, wood... Li Hao absorbed whatever he could get his hands on. The imbalance in his water element had also been largely remedied by the previous one hundred and fifty cubic meters. Since entering the ruins, the mysterious energy he had gathered in bits and pieces definitely exceeded five hundred cubic meters, perhaps even more. Whenever he had a free moment, he absorbed it. His sword energy had grown very faint. In the distance, faint sounds of slaughter could still be heard. As Li Hao absorbed the energy, he kept his eyes open to scan the surroundings. A moment later, he whispered, "Boss, under the broken table in the ninth house ahead, there's a supernatural..." By now, Liu Long was entirely accustomed to this! In this environment, supernaturals had limited vision, and martial masters were not much better off. Li Hao, however, could spot supernaturals from hundreds of meters away. With him around, these supernaturals were thoroughly out of luck. So long as they did not belong to the Night Patrollers or Sword Gate... anyone else was fair game! Liu Long vanished instantly. Li Hao continued absorbing mysterious energy, feeling immensely satisfied and exhilarated. He felt that he truly was on the verge of breaking through to Thousand-Battler. He had been constantly contemplating earth momentum, even attuning himself to the earth of this place to feel its unique subterranean pulse. His sword momentum had also been steadily growing stronger. The only missing piece was the fusion; he felt a slight lack of cohesion. *Earth momentum and sword momentum fusing... How exactly should they merge?* Li Hao sank into contemplation. *Heaven and earth... Opening the world with a sword?* Cleaving heaven and earth with a sword, just like what he had witnessed before—that peerless expert splitting the heavens with a single slash, almost as if birthing a universe. *However, if my sword momentum cleaves through my earth momentum, won't it shatter the earth momentum?* Li Hao hesitated. If that happened, his earth momentum would be destroyed. Pursuing pure sword momentum seemed fine on paper—a swordsman was better off remaining pure—but Li Hao preferred possessing both offense and defense, rather than having raw killing power with no durability. At this moment, Li Hao was torn. He wanted to try... yet feared that if he failed, the earth momentum would shatter, resulting in a colossal loss. Yet remaining stuck at the Hundred-Breaker realm was not an outcome he wished to accept. Right now, Solar Radiance fighters were everywhere, Three Sols experts were abundant, and even Rising Light experts above Three Sols might arrive from the central region. As a mere Hundred-Breaker martial master, he was too frail. Even killing an enemy required sneaking around in the dark. *A martial master... must forge ahead courageously! When the Boss was breaking through to Thousand-Battler, I said he was hesitant, and Master said he lacked courage. Now that it's my turn, I finally understand how easy it is to talk when you're just standing on the sidelines!* Li Hao gave a self-deprecating smile. When critiquing Liu Long, he had sounded so righteous: *Why is the Boss acting like a woman? So indecisive!* Now that his own turn had come, he realized... it was an agonizing choice, fraught with fear that a single misstep would ruin everything. *Even if the earth momentum shatters... so what? At worst, I'll advance to Thousand-Battler with pure sword momentum. If I can truly become like the swordsman I saw... a single momentum will be enough for me to conquer the world!* In that instant, Li Hao made up his mind. He would give it a try! If it failed, he would simply advance with sword momentum alone. It would not be inferior to the Boss's, and Li Hao believed it would only be stronger, given the extraordinary origin of his sword momentum. Having resolved himself and absorbed a large quantity of wood energy, Li Hao stood up. After waiting briefly, Liu Long returned, carrying a bloodstained bone fragment. A grin appeared on his face. "A Red Moon fellow. Does this have that Blood God Seed?" "Don't rush, don't extract it now... We don't want Ziyue noticing anything amiss." Even if it contained one, Li Hao did not plan to harvest it now. Unless Ziyue died, any anomaly would surely arouse her suspicion, creating needless trouble. Li Hao smiled. "Boss, I want to pick a fight with a Solar Radiance. How about you cover me?" "Hmm?" "I want to break through!" Li Hao whispered, "I want to duel a Solar Radiance one-on-one. Just like Sun Moxian, I want to merge momentum into my inner force and manifest spirit intent in the heat of battle... I'm not like you, Boss, nor am I like Master. You're both veteran martial masters with years of accumulation. I'm too young; without this method, if I try to break through directly... I'll most likely fail!" Their situations were different. Liu Long had accumulated foundation over many years, whereas Li Hao was too young. Breaking through directly yielded little hope of success. Li Hao smiled. "I believe I need to borrow the momentum of slaying a Solar Radiance, forging an invincible posture to step into the Thousand-Battler realm in a single leap!" Liu Long fell silent for a moment before saying, "Solar Radiance supernaturals aren't weak, and you're only a Hundred-Breaker..." "I'm a disciple of the Five Animals Sect!" Li Hao chuckled. "Moreover, I know the Nine Refinements Force, and I know the Shadowless Sword! Earlier, I even cut down Sun Moxian when he was on the verge of breaking through. Fighting him, to be honest, had a profound impact on me. I feel like I'm transforming into a truly invincible martial master!" Liu Long took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine. But I suggest you find an earth, water, or wood-element supernatural to fight..." "Whoever we find will do, as long as they're an early-stage Solar Radiance. I'm not picky!" With that, Li Hao looked around to see if there were any lone Solar Radiance combatants, or perhaps a Solar Radiance leading a few Lunar Nether subordinates. There seemed to be none on this street. A thousand meters ahead, faint orbs of light were visible, but they were too far away, and he did not feel like heading over. Glancing toward the neighboring street, Li Hao's eyes flickered. "There seems to be a Solar Radiance over there... I don't know who it is. If it's Sword Gate, we'll let it slide, but if it's anyone else... we hit them!" Sword Gate had gifted him a sword, after all; Li Hao knew how to show gratitude. Liu Long said nothing more, and the three swiftly slipped into the adjacent street. *** At this moment, throughout the outer city, battles raged between black armor and supernaturals, as well as among supernaturals themselves. Some staked out the ancient houses, waiting for bronze-armored warriors to emerge so they could destroy them. Naturally, there were also those who remained concealed in the shadows, waiting to see if there were scraps to scavenge. Eighth Street. Inside a narrow alley, wedged between two walls, a dark figure braced his limbs against the brickwork, silently waiting for prey to take the bait. Darkness enveloped his form. Having traversed the second passage, his supernatural fluctuations were shielded, making him all the more imperceptible in this gloom. As a Solar Radiance expert of the dark element, the city's environment was uniquely advantageous to him. Were it not for supernatural fluctuations giving him away, he would have operated like a fish in water earlier as well. Unfortunately, those fluctuations had been a major nuisance, preventing him from getting too close to opponents. Ever since passing through the second passage, with his aura masked, he discovered that this place was now paradise for the dark element! Hailing from Feitian, he had a mission this time around. Feitian's objective was simple... kill as many people as possible. Whether Night Patrollers, members of the other two major organizations, Sword Gate disciples, or rogue cultivators... killing was the only priority. Feitian's motives had always been bizarre, and their actions equally erratic, resembling an organization of assassins. Sometimes they killed indiscriminately, while other times they lent aid to anyone. Were it not for Feitian's immense strength, such a capricious organization would have been wiped out by a coalition long ago. For Feitian to survive to this day, it naturally possessed unique merits. Moreover, Feitian had recruited a vast number of dark-element experts. In the entire supernatural realm, eighty percent of dark-element supernaturals had been absorbed by Feitian, lending the organization an aura of profound mystery and eccentricity. Feitian kept a low profile, yet had been designated an evil supernatural organization. This was one of the reasons: killing indiscriminately without a clear objective. Thus, not only did the Night Patrollers brand them an evil organization, but Red Moon and Yama also excluded Feitian from cooperative ventures. The supernatural realm preferred to view them as an independent syndicate of assassins. Just as this man was lost in thought, his ears twitched slightly. Someone was coming. In the darkness, a figure entered from the end of the alley. *The target has arrived!* He rejoiced inwardly. At that moment, the face slowly emerged in the dim light. The Feitian expert caught sight of it and frowned slightly. *Li Hao?* *A Hundred-Breaker!* That was not the crux of the matter; rather, the boy possessed a special identity as a descendant of the Eight Great Families. Feitian had instructed that if they encountered Li Hao, they should avoid killing him outright if possible, so they could interrogate him for information. Capturing him alive would naturally be the ideal outcome. The man was weighing whether to let Li Hao pass, since capturing someone alive here was impractical... Yet Li Hao drew closer and closer. When he was about ten meters away, Li Hao suddenly spoke: "You seem to be an expert from Feitian, sir. Isn't it tiring climbing the walls? Climbing too high can be dangerous. Why not come down and let me witness the power of a Solar Radiance?" He wanted a fair, frontal confrontation with a Solar Radiance; otherwise, a sneak attack might take the man down before he could react. In that split second, the Feitian expert's heart jolted. He dropped to the ground instantly, turning to leave. They preferred operating in the dark. Once discovered, retreat was the protocol. This showed his decisiveness. Even though the opponent was merely a Hundred-Breaker, having been spotted, he was unwilling to engage in a direct confrontation. Just as he turned to depart, a wave of sword momentum erupted behind him! "Did you ask for my permission to leave?" "Courting death!" The Feitian Solar Radiance's expression darkened. A mere Hundred-Breaker dared to attack him proactively? Even if the boy had slain Sun Moxian, a Hundred-Breaker was still a Hundred-Breaker, not a Thousand-Battler! In an instant, he spun around to strike back. A small sword materialized in his hand, thrusting straight toward Li Hao's throat. Swift, precise, vicious, and concealed! These were the hallmarks of a dark-element assassin. *Clang!* With a crisp ring, Li Hao brought his sword back to parry, blocking the small blade, but was forced back several paces. His brows arched slightly. A Solar Radiance was indeed far more formidable than a Lunar Nether. This was also his first time engaging a Solar Radiance expert in single combat. Previously, Liu Long or his master had intervened, with Li Hao merely playing a supporting role. Without a word, Li Hao swung his sword! Sword momentum erupted! Simultaneously, he stamped his foot, and a profound earth momentum surged forth. "Hmm?" The Feitian expert was shaken. What was this? Vaguely, he seemed to see the rolling expanse of the earth... Was this momentum? Yet... the boy was known for sword momentum; he knew that much. *Two kinds of momentum?!* In a flash, he understood. Yuan Shuo was famous for fusing five kinds of momentum, and his disciple had actually comprehended two! No wonder this brat dared to cross swords with him. "Hehe, I'm not playing with you... You truly are a genius, but what a pity..." *Buzz!* A sword hum resonated. Li Hao said nothing, thrusting his blade forward to instantly impede the man's movement. Li Hao stated calmly, "When martial masters clash, one must die. If neither of us dies... you won't be leaving!" In an instant, the two clashed again. In the darkness, the small sword flickered unpredictably like a phantom. Li Hao tilted his head to dodge, thrust his sword, spun, and kicked. In the narrow alley, a Solar Radiance and a Hundred-Breaker martial master became locked in combat. The Solar Radiance no longer planned to leave! Perhaps he could not leave even if he wanted to. Li Hao seemed determined to fight him one-on-one... In that case, he would kill Li Hao first, for he sensed someone lingering outside the alley. At this moment, he understood. This person had likely treated him as a stepping stone for Li Hao. What audacity! *Once I kill Li Hao, I'll make you drown in regret.* Thrusts—silent assassinations. Li Hao shifted his sword style; it too became silent and imperceptible—the Shadowless Sword. The two swords clashed repeatedly. Li Hao's blade was exceedingly sharp—the Heaven-Cleaving Sword—even if he had only grasped the surface. Even so, each strike sent a chill down his opponent's spine. Meanwhile, the man's blade was deadly in its unpredictability, striking from impossible angles, nearly piercing Li Hao several times. The two constantly shifted positions, crossing blades. *Squelch!* A blade pierced flesh. Li Hao was the first to be wounded, a sword stabbing into his arm, deep enough to expose bone. He paid it no heed, countering with a tiger-like pounce of a punch. Holding his sword in his right hand and throwing a fist with his left, he knocked the man back and slashed forward once more! The Shadowless Sword was formless and traceless. After unleashing more than a dozen strikes in succession, Li Hao suddenly drew a sharp breath and exhaled a sword of air! *Pfft!* The air sword pierced clean through the man's shoulder. "Ugh!" A muffled grunt escaped the Feitian Solar Radiance, who was thoroughly shaken. He had seen Hundred-Breaker martial masters before, but one capable of fighting on par with a Solar Radiance was exceedingly rare. Or rather, as far as he knew, only a handful of veteran martial masters who had contemplated momentum for decades could achieve such a feat. Li Hao was simply too young! Li Hao cared nothing for his thoughts. In this moment, only a single notion occupied his mind: killing this man might allow him to break through... And if not, he would try cleaving heaven and earth with his sword. Using a Solar Radiance as a target, he would test whether his momentum could fuse. After testing the waters, Li Hao felt a trace of disappointment. This fellow... did not seem very strong. Indeed! He felt that even without attempting to break through, if he simply kept fighting... he might not necessarily lose. An early-stage Solar Radiance... was merely this much! Wielding two kinds of momentum, Li Hao felt no weaker than his opponent. *Can this guy force me to break earth momentum with sword momentum?* Li Hao frowned. If the man could not, forcing it might not be a good thing. Just as he was thinking this, his opponent across from him grew enraged and anxious after having his shoulder pierced! His plan to easily dispatch Li Hao had completely fallen apart. Originally, he had wanted to conserve strength to deal with the person outside, but now... Li Hao proved far more difficult to handle than anticipated! "You're courting death!" With a cold snarl, dark-element energy surged out. In an instant, both Li Hao and the man were dragged into an orb of darkness. It happened silently, so subtly that even Liu Long outside noticed nothing amiss. Yet in that moment, Li Hao sensed something wrong. He felt shrouded in darkness, trapped in a quagmire of gloom that pressed in from all sides, obstructing him. The next instant, a sword thrust straight toward his throat. Li Hao's reaction was slightly slower than before. He swung his sword to parry... but was half a beat too late. His blade was deflected, and the slender sword lunged for his throat once more. Li Hao's eyes flickered with genuine delight. *No wonder he felt somewhat weak; he was holding back earlier!* Seeing the sword thrusting toward him, Li Hao's inner force churned. Earth momentum surged forth in an instant, manifesting a faint spirit intent at his throat. With a *clang*, it blocked the small sword, though a fine line of blood was still etched across Li Hao's neck. This was precisely what he wanted! Li Hao was overjoyed. This was the opponent he had hoped for, one posing a mortal threat! The two clashed again, and the dark-element expert grew increasingly alarmed. Even without holding back, he still could not take Li Hao down; the boy seemed to grow fiercer with every blow! They tangled in the darkness, leaving a succession of bloody gashes across Li Hao's body. Yet Li Hao grew happier by the moment as he repeatedly tested the coordination between earth momentum and sword momentum. Though somewhat unpolished, he was already reaping the benefits of seamless offense and defense. In his mind, the memory of the black-armored soldiers forming their battle array resurfaced. Shields defending; mid-defense, shields parted as spears thrust and swords slashed... That, too, was a synthesis of offense and defense. It was tremendously powerful! A unit of black-armored soldiers had managed to hold off a group of Three Sols experts. Had the array not been broken by a pincer attack from front and rear, taking down those soldiers would never have been so easy. *The moment defense fades... is the moment to strike!* *Striking is also a form of defense... Slaying the enemy is the ultimate defense...* Li Hao followed his own realization, attuning himself to the coordination and fusion of momentum. *Did sword momentum truly need to shatter heaven and earth?* *Not necessarily!* *Did the spears and swords shatter their own shields?* *No!* Coordination did not require destruction. In this instant, Li Hao achieved a deeper comprehension of the two kinds of momentum. The moment earth momentum receded, sword momentum surged. With a thrust of his sword, he carved a bloody wound across his opponent's body, shocking the dark-element expert! He could feel Li Hao growing stronger by the second! Meanwhile, Li Hao was immersed in this harmonious coordination, filled with joy. *Earth momentum containing sword momentum, sword momentum containing earth momentum... The earth encasing the sword?* A phrase came to Li Hao's mind. He also thought of earth-element supernaturals and the earth spikes some employed—sharp stones suddenly erupting from the soil to skewer opponents to death! At this moment, his earth momentum morphed. It was as if a sword sprouted from the earth. Li Hao, who had been on the defensive, struck out with his sword in an instant! *Squelch!* Another bloody wound was etched into his opponent! The dark-element expert grew increasingly terrified, seized by the urge to flee. *Is this monster... about to break through to Thousand-Battler?* He wanted to run! Shifting his body, he prepared to escape. Yet at that moment, a majestic earth momentum manifested, as if invisible walls had suddenly risen around them. The next instant, Li Hao stepped forward and slashed down. Simultaneously, sharp, spike-like protrusions seemed to emerge from the invisible walls, hurtling toward the dark-element expert! Seeing no path of retreat, the man let out an enraged roar and thrust his sword toward Li Hao, timing it perfectly to catch an opening. Yet right then, a translucent wall seemed to materialize across Li Hao's blade. The thrust landed... only for the sword to sink as if into a swamp, unable to penetrate further. Li Hao twirled his sword, sweeping it in an arc that cleanly severed the man's arm! *Hiss...* A cry of agony rang out, laced with sheer disbelief. The dark figure looked at Li Hao in shock. Earth momentum sprouting from sword momentum—what kind of monstrous technique was this? Li Hao, utterly thrilled, cared nothing for the man's thoughts. He swung his sword again, strike after strike. By now, his sword momentum possessed the steady continuity of earth power, assailing his foe from every direction. *Slash, slash, slash!* In an instant, bloody lacerations covered the man's body. Seeing his opponent writhing in agony and about to scream aloud, Li Hao's eyes flickered. The momentum of his sword shifted. It became immensely weighty! Like Mount Tai pressing down, yet the weighty aura surrounding the blade was laced with a peculiar, cutting edge—a power that obliterated all things! Sword momentum and earth momentum! Earth momentum bolstered raw power. Who said the earth was meant solely for defense? The earth could attack just as fiercely! This sword strike resembled the heavy earth of earth-element supernaturals, yet carried an indomitable power of destruction! *Boom!* The sword fell with a thunderous roar, its glow instantly swallowing the dark figure. At the end of the alley, Liu Long heard the commotion and widened his eyes to look. Within the sword light, a colossal mountain seemed to crash down—a mountain crowned with blades and seas of fire! *Crack!* The earth momentum forced the opponent onto one knee in unbearable agony. The next moment, sword glow flashed, cleaving him cleanly in two! Having slain his opponent, Li Hao did not stop. Instead, he swung his sword again, manifesting the Mount Tai Sword once more. He slashed down! With a resounding crash, a shallow fissure was gouged into the ground, though it quickly began to self-repair. Li Hao stepped forward, his sword momentum and earth momentum erupting as he charged straight at Liu Long. Liu Long frowned slightly. The next moment, a surging tidal wave swept forth. In an instant, the wave collided with the Mount Tai Sword. With a booming crash, the wave was extinguished, and the mountain crumbled. Liu Long let out a muffled grunt, as did Li Hao. The next moment, Li Hao swung his sword again. Liu Long threw a punch, knowing Li Hao felt the pressure was still insufficient... just like when he had broken through and needed Yuan Shuo to push him over the threshold. Right now, he did not mind giving Li Hao that push. However... pushing him was proving agonizingly difficult. Yuan Shuo had battered him with effortless ease, but fighting Li Hao... damn it all, it was miserable. With a boom, the three forces collided again. Liu Long's feet dug into the ground as he was forced back repeatedly. Feeling somewhat irritated, he unleashed a nine-fold wave in a single burst, sweeping directly over the Mount Tai Sword to shatter the mountain peak and obliterate the sword energy! Yet in the next breath, Li Hao struck again, relentless and unyielding! How could ocean waves destroy the boundless earth? *Buzz!* *Boom, boom, boom!* A rapid series of explosions echoed. Beneath the onslaught, the nine-fold wave failed to dismantle Li Hao's Mount Tai Sword, growing weaker instead. In the span of a breath, Li Hao unleashed more than a dozen strikes! With a tremendous crash, Liu Long stumbled back over a dozen paces, slamming into a building across the way and nearly tumbling into an ancient house. *Pfft!* A mouthful of blood sprayed out. Liu Long's face was filled with shock, which quickly gave way to utter, bewildered dismay. How was this possible? Even if Li Hao had broken through to Thousand-Battler, he was only newly initiated. Liu Long had been at this realm for days, and was a veteran martial master. What about Li Hao? Opposite him, Li Hao came to his senses. Seeing Liu Long spitting blood... his expression shifted slightly. The next moment, he bit his own tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, panting heavily, "Boss... impressive... my internal organs... are injured!" He gasped violently, coughing up another mouthful of blood. "If I hadn't... strengthened my five internal organs... that Nine Refinements Force... would have shattered them... Boss... you... you hit too hard!" Liu Long looked at him suspiciously. Really? Li Hao panted and urged, "Boss... carry me... let's go quickly, the commotion was too loud... someone will sense it..." "Alright!" Liu Long suppressed his doubts and stepped forward to heave Li Hao onto his back, whispering, "Are you injured?" "Yeah!" "Did you break through?" "More or less!" Advancing to Thousand-Battler naturally caused little external commotion; martial masters were all like that, their power flowing from within, changes occurring purely inside the body. Supernatural breakthroughs, on the other hand, caused immense disturbance, with supernatural locks snapping in a clamorous cacophony. When Wang Ming advanced to Solar Radiance, for example, the commotion had been tremendous. Li Hao, Yuan Shuo, and Liu Long, by contrast, made little noise, stepping into Thousand-Battler in an instant as their aura and spirit intent coalesced. At this moment, Liu Yan hurried over and asked in a low voice, "Li Hao, why did you hit the Boss?" "I didn't hit him... The pressure to break through wasn't enough... I needed the Boss's immense strength to stimulate the transformation of my aura! The Boss was too strong and injured my internal organs... Let's retreat quickly!" Hearing this, Liu Long actually felt somewhat embarrassed. Yet doubts lingered. *Was that really it?* *Dammit, I felt like you were the one who beat me bloody—how come your injuries look worse than mine?* *Could he have been injured earlier while fighting the dark-element expert?* "Your fusion of two kinds of momentum is formidable... I never expected you to pull it off so quickly... Li Hao, I think... you might surpass me before long." *Before long?* Even he was unsure, but he kept the thought to himself. This kid was a cunning rascal; asking him wouldn't yield an honest answer anyway. Li Hao, resting on his back, broke into a smile. *Thank goodness I acted fast, or the Boss would probably have died of fury by now.* He was still relishing everything that had just occurred. The Mount Tai Sword—that was his own name for it—a strike as heavy as Mount Tai yet incomparably sharp. That sensation... slaying a Solar Radiance might truly not be difficult! In that moment, Li Hao felt himself getting ahead of himself. *Can't get cocky. Stay low-key!* *Master fused five kinds of momentum and could slay Three Sols experts upon entering Thousand-Battler. Compared to Master, I'm practically trash. At most, I can handle a mid-stage Solar Radiance right now, and late-stage would be a struggle. Looking at it that way... forget it, I need to keep working hard!* *Of course, the Boss carrying me really is a bit weak.* *A Thousand-Battler with only a single momentum feels... pretty weak!* Li Hao thought to himself with a trace of helplessness. *Since the Boss is so weak, I have to give him face in the future. I definitely can't act stronger than him in front of others, or I'm afraid his pride won't take it.*