Chapter 106: Chapter 90: Title and Reward [Second Update]
At this moment, Emperor Yu, seated on the dragon throne, raised his hand to quell the debate, smiling as he said:
“Liu is right, this is but a minor matter, not worth mentioning. This time, Marquis Xingwu has achieved great feats in battle, sacrificing his family for the frontier pass, a loyalty that shines brighter than the sun and moon. Let us turn our attention to the matter of Cangyu City.”
Seeing that Emperor Yu had set the tone, Helian Boya glanced at the civil official, snorted coldly, and said no more; he simply turned his head to look at the dragon pillars of the great hall, expressing his dissatisfaction, as if to say, “You talk; I’ll have no part in it.”
Everyone knew that if the Helian Clan chose not to get involved, then that was that, for if they did involve themselves, they would surely find fault, so they did not press him further and began to discuss among themselves.
“Cangyu City almost fell, Yue Shuhong has been taken to the heavenly prison to plead guilty. His confession is clear and well written. It was thanks to the young master of the Li Family that Cangyu City was saved. Truly, a young hero arises!”
“If we count the demons slain, he should indeed be granted a first-class baronetcy.”
“His merits in protecting the city are significant, and there are many citizens in the city. I believe additional rewards should be given…”
Many ministers began to discuss the issue in earnest.
…
…
In the forests outside of Flying General City in Jingzhou.
The trees, thick as several men, were rapidly pressed down and collapsed, parted aside like weeds, as a ferocious tiger with hanging eyes, over a dozen meters long, sprinted through. On either side of its belly were four huge, sinister eyes emitting a demonic red glow.
But at this moment, some of those eyes had been stabbed and were closed, bleeding ceaselessly.
Suddenly, the tiger looked back.
With a swish, a golden light from beyond the sky swooped down. A figure radiant with brilliant golden light and a Buddhist halo behind him entered the forest.
This Buddha-like divine soul had the face of a youth, calm as if without a murderous aura, but his strikes were exceedingly ruthless.
“ROAR!!”
The tiger roared furiously, bellowing, “Li Family, even in death, I will not let you go!!”
“Then die!”
The young divine soul clapped his hands down, and the divine power forcefully suppressed the tiger.
A demonic shadow also emerged behind the tiger, but just as it was about to break free for several meters, it was suppressed by the palm of the Buddha-like golden shadow.
“My children, avenge me, the killer is the Li Family of Qingzhou—”
The enraged roar spread throughout the forest.
But it soon came to an abrupt halt, as the demon soul dissipated, the huge tiger’s body tumbled uncontrollably, crushing dozens of large trees before coming to a halt. Its eyes were more than half closed, void of any life.
Reflected in its amber pupils was the figure of a youth approaching from the forest, not stopping until he was near, his footsteps kicking up sand onto the tiger’s eyes.
The youth looked over for a moment, then stomped repeatedly with force, shattering the tiger’s head before he ceased.
“Slaying this Great Demon should be worthy of a first-class merit…”
The youth muttered to himself.
He was none other than Li Qianfeng, who had descended the mountain to enter the world.
He bent over to cut off the tiger’s head, about to leave, when suddenly, from beyond the heavens, a figure as small as a palm but swift as an arrow brought soft sound as a tiny purple sparrow flew towards him.
The youth caught the little demon bird, slightly startled as he dropped the massive tiger’s head.
This was the little demon sparrow raised by his mother, exceptionally good at flying. Though its combat abilities might not match those of the Zhou Tian Realm, even some martial artists of the Divine Travel Realm might not be able to catch up with it.
The demon race cultivated slowly, but they possessed various divine skills unique to their kind, just as the human race could cultivate swiftly.
The purple sparrow opened its mouth and spat out a slip of paper resembling oiled parchment.
Li Qianfeng unfurled it, his eyebrows knitting in confusion before his expression changed.
The Fifteen Li Realm?
Li Hao? Who is that?
The son of my seventh uncle?
Shock appeared in Li Qianfeng’s eyes, especially because the note indicated that the person in question was only… fourteen years old!
Even younger than him by four years?
“`
He was seventeen when he entered the Fifteen Li Realm, while the other had done so a full three years earlier!
Although, before reaching the Heavenly Human Realm, these three years might not seem like much, they clearly showed the enormous gap in their innate talents.
Moreover, if Li Qianfeng remembered correctly, such speed of progress was even more formidable than that of his ninth uncle!
The creed was instantaneously crushed into fine powder between two fingers.
A cloud of darkness covered Li Qianfeng’s face; originally, his only target was Li Wushuang, but since the other was in the Divine Travel Realm, he didn’t feel too much pressure.
On the contrary, he still spared some attention to guard against the son and daughter of his eldest aunt, those cousins.
And also the only daughter of his third aunt, that cousin who had joined the army at fifteen and was now a female general.
But they were older, and although they had achievements, the True Dragon designation looked more at one’s talents, and among those of the same age, entering the Fifteen Li Realm at seventeen should place him first!
But now… suddenly, there was Li Hao.
A minor character he had never paid attention to before.
“With self-cultivation alone, it can’t be that fast, even ninth uncle only entered the Fifteen Li Realm at fifteen; could it be that the older generation has intervened…” Li Qianfeng frowned deeply.
He recalled that the other didn’t seem to have a famous master and had stayed in the family estate.
That gave him the opportunity to come into contact with the elders of the Li Family.
However, weren’t the elders of the Li Family not supposed to influence the younger generation before the True Dragon confirmation? That would be unfair!
“It seems that during the ancestral shrine ceremony, I must ask the ancestors to verify and also, should I inform my master about this?”
Li Qianfeng glanced into the distance, the light flickering in his gloomy eyes for a moment, before being overlaid with a touch of pride:
“Forget it.”
He picked up his tiger-head weapon and hurried back into Flying General City.
“With this merit at hand, I might as well return early and have a look.”
…
…
In Qingzhou, within the Divine General Mansion.
The family banquet had ended, and Mountain and River Courtyard returned from the bustle to tranquility, yet it was still much livelier than usual, as concubines and ladies from various courtyards came to give gifts, leading their children to greet Li Hao, wishing to familiarize themselves with the future True Dragon of the Li Family.
Among these legitimate and illegitimate children, some were sensible and well-behaved, some were restrained and nervous, and some had already learned to flatter adeptly.
One after another, they all got to meet Li Hao, which allowed him to see how difficult it was for these children born out of wedlock.
At least he would feel embarrassed if his parents forced him to flatter another boy, but some children were already adept at doing so.
This kind of thing seemed unrelated to maturity or experience; some kids were even more eloquent and persuasive than adults, purely due to differences in personality and nature.
And Li Hao’s nature was somewhat indolent, taking things as they come.
Another early morning.
Li Hao was still deep in sleep when he suddenly heard his door being knocked on.
He opened his eyes, his Divine Soul swept over, and he saw that it was his father’s beloved general Yu Xuan outside the door.
He rolled over and said, “You’re calling me to practice martial arts again?”
Yu Xuan remembered what happened the other day, the corners of his mouth revealing a bitter smile as he said, “Young Master, the Marshal has asked you to wash up and accompany him to pay respects to the ancestors, and incidentally to ask the ancestors to decide on the matter of the True Dragon.”
Li Hao arched an eyebrow, thought for a moment, sat up, and called Qing Zhi to quickly change his clothes.
Soon, after grooming, Li Hao opened the door and looked at the young man, saying indifferently,
“Let’s go.”
Yu Xuan knew that Li Hao was still mad at him because of the painting incident, but he didn’t care, and extended his hand, saying, “After you, Young Master.”
They walked past the corridors and arrived at the main court.
Li Hao saw his father, already out of armor and in white clothes, but his bearing wasn’t as elegant as his fifth uncle, and it seemed to carry a stern and imposing air from years of campaigning.