Chapter 292: Chapter 53: Li Hao Emerges from Seclusion, Liangzhou in Danger (Second Update)
However, even after defeating Ren Qianqian, there was no chance to see Li Hao.
The young man, whose reputation was known throughout the world, was in the courtyard, where countless people looked forward to catching a glimpse, but to no avail.
Fame and disgrace were but a wall apart.
The pursuit of one's path is always arduous, which is why Li Hao chose to sit and rest all year round.
Painting, playing chess, playing the zither, all were done while sitting.
If possible, he would never stand when he could sit.
Over the past half-year,
Li Hao had integrated the Musical Rhythm into his heart, and had already reached the Fourth Stage.
And the state of mind he obtained, he applied to his movement technique.
With his state of mind breaking through the bottleneck of the Third Stage of the movement technique, and after adding points thrice in succession, Li Hao's movement technique directly advanced to the Sixth Stage.
When he previously added points to reach the Seventh Stage of the Physical Body Path, he had 5 Skill Points left. Now that the Musical Rhythm reached the Fourth Stage, gaining one more point, and having used up 3 points, he was left with 3 points.
These three points, Li Hao saved to wait for the Spiritual Awakening of his state of mind, ready to be used on the Control Path or Sword Path anytime.
After reaching the Sixth Stage in movement technique, the techniques previously mastered by Li Hao underwent a qualitative improvement, evolving the cultivation technique on his own into a peerless movement technique, and cultivated it to the True State!
Now, if he were to encounter those Demon Kings from before, Li Hao was confident that he could pursue and slay each one!
Unless they used forbidden arts, relying on fate to interfere with him.
But they no longer had that chance.
That day, the Dragon Soar Sword, which had been sent to the Ten Thousand Artifacts Tower for forging, was personally delivered by a representative from the Three Immortal Realms of the Ten Thousand Artifacts Tower.
The man was a robust and sturdy middle-aged person, who handed over the Dragon Soar Sword directly to Li Hao.
His personal delivery of the sword, while partly out of fear of losing this Divine Weapon, was also motivated by a desire to lay eyes on this world-renowned youth.
At fourteen, Li Hao's slaying of the small Demon King of the Three Immortal Realms caused many long-established experts to grow restless.
"Young General, this Dragon Soar Sword has undergone three forges and has been tempered with star fire. You can feel its grip,"
said the middle-aged man named Lu Cheng, very politely and naturally speaking to Li Hao.
Li Hao nodded, already aware of this beforehand.
It was originally intended to be forged twice, using the physical remains of the Black Bird Demon King and its Demon Soul.
But then he had slain the Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Mother, allowing for another melt and forge.
If a Divine Weapon could be forged nine times, there was hope for it to evolve into a Saint Heart Heavenly Treasure!
That is a weapon coveted by those in the Four Stands Realm, owned by only a few. Each Saint Heart Heavenly Treasure is an extremely terrifying weapon, its lethality easily deterring those in the same realm.
And the prerequisite for being called a Divine Weapon is that it must at least be forged with the Demon Soul of a Demon King.
Originally, Dragon Soar qualified as a top-tier Divine Weapon mainly because the True Dragon Divine Soul sealed within was far stronger than the souls of the Black Bird Demon King and Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Mother now sealed inside.
With three forges, its might greatly increased, and the sword's own True Dragon Sword Soul being manipulated could harm a Demon King at the Tao Heart Realm.
"Kill six more Demon Kings, and I can forge it nine times, striking at becoming a Saint Heart Heavenly Treasure,"
Li Hao's eyes flashed.
To become a Saint Heart Heavenly Treasure, at least nine true souls of the Four Stands Realm are needed for smelting, including those of Demon Kings and the Human Race itself.
Taking hold of the Dragon Soar Sword, Li Hao immediately felt the difference, not just in appearance, but also in its lighter and heavier touch.
Originally concealing the fervent power of a True Dragon, it now has a gentler touch, resembling the feeling after the harmonization of Yin and Yang.
Moreover, the sword's edge seemed to be sharper than before, exhibiting a profoundly deeper hue.
Li Hao didn't test it in the city, for if he summoned the sealed sword soul within, it would undoubtedly cause a sensation.
"Thank you,"
said Li Hao.
"Of course. The leftover Demon King corpses that you gifted us are considered the forging fee. All told, we are still profiting," laughed Lu Cheng, showing his magnanimous nature.
Li Hao smiled and said, "If I find more Demon Kings in the future, I will still need your assistance."
Lu Cheng was taken aback, then laughed. Hearing Li Hao speak so casually of "Demon Kings" as if encountering and slaying them was almost guaranteed, this boldness was indeed unlike that of ordinary youths.
But he also knew that with the Four Stands Realm's protection behind Li Hao, it might not be long before they received more Demon King remains as materials.
After all, beyond the frontier, the place was fraught with danger, and encountering Demon Kings was not uncommon.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Hao sent off the burly man.
Later that evening, after a full meal, Li Hao went beyond the wall to test the sword.
Beyond the original True Dragon Sword Soul, the Demon Souls of the Black Bird Demon King and Ten Thousand Caverns Ghost Mother were also forged into the blade. The combined true souls of three Demon Kings unleashed, the heavens and earth were like a gale of yin winds and dragon chants, extremely daunting in their might.
Sword light flew everywhere, easily carving out ravines hundreds of meters long.
Li Hao exclaimed in admiration, put away Dragon Soar, and returned to the city for a comfortable night's sleep.
Time passed.
Unbeknownst to Li Hao, more than half a year had gone by since his first clearing outside the pass, and scaring away several Demon Kings.
Using the Qiankun Diagram property, Li Hao turned all 180 chess moves into military banners.
A total of 180 military banners, with 80 placed on the energy-rich peaks outside the pass, preventing Demons from occupying the mountains for cultivation.
The remaining 100 were spread around Cangya City, ready to block demon invasions at critical moments.
Only when the number of banners increased did Li Hao begin to realize the terrifying nature of this property.
They were like small bombs, each mark storing half of his power. What did that mean?
If 100 banners were destroyed at the same time, the released energy would undoubtedly be a terrifying storm!
Although this force could not stack linearly, simultaneous explosions could turn a two hundred mile radius into a violent forbidden zone!