Chapter 255: Chapter 38: Demon King’s Blood
When Cangya City was being rebuilt, Li Muxiu quietly bid farewell to Li Hao.
He recognized Li Hao’s nature — unwilling to return to Qingzhou and reluctant to submit. Fortunately, now that the three Demon Kings had been driven off and the danger at Heavenly Gate Pass was temporarily resolved, he could rest easy.
Moreover, upon learning that Li Hao had slain the Black Bird Demon King, he was shocked, and he realized that Li Hao no longer needed the protection of the Li Family.
Had it not been for the attack of four Demon Kings, under other circumstances, Li Hao could have protected himself through his own strength.
After all, an assault by four Demon Kings posed a risk to even those in the Four Stands Realm, let alone Li Hao, who was merely in the Heavenly Human Realm.
Regarding the rate of Li Hao’s growth, apart from feeling reassured, Li Muxiu couldn’t help but feel a hint of loss and regret.
However, seeing the many martial artists from various states that surrounded Li Hao, he understood that this might be the best outcome for him.
Not long after Li Muxiu left, people from the Monster Suppression Department arrived.
The one who came was a Commandant, as well as three Monster Suppression Generals.
This Commandant was in the Four Stands Realm, and the three Monster Suppression Generals were powerful beings from the Three Immortal Realms.
It’s worth mentioning that Li Hao had actually seen this Commandant before; he was Xiang Yuguang, who had backed Li Qianfeng, his opponent, at the True Dragon Banquet.
As one of the seven Commandants in the Monster Suppression Department, Xiang Yuguang, having backed the wrong side previously, hastened over upon hearing the news about Heavenly Gate Pass to meet the youth whom he had hastily parted ways with more than half a year ago at the True Dragon Banquet.
When Xiang Yuguang arrived, Li Hao’s body had already healed superficially under his restrained cultivation and he had changed into new garments, appearing quite neat and refined.
In the rebuilt bamboo-fenced courtyard, Li Hao sat on a bamboo mat in the gallery, lightly swinging his feet over the edge into the empty air.
On the small table beside him, a pot of tea was brewed, accompanied by a few pastries, giving off a somewhat serene vibe.
“Young Master, I heard that Demon Kings have invaded the territory, so I’ve come to register and investigate,” Xiang Yuguang stated from within the courtyard, his attitude gentle, yet feeling somewhat awkward.
Last time, he had backed the wrong side, and he wasn’t sure how deep of an impression this left on the young man.
He didn’t expect to befriend Li Hao on this visit; he only hoped to mitigate the past incident and regain some distance.
After all, there was a long road ahead. Just take it slow.
“Hmm.”
Li Hao was amiable and didn’t take the opportunity to ridicule or trouble the other, as if he had forgotten the previous events, asking:
“What do I need to do to assist?”
“I’ll show you the investigation results, and you’ll just need to confirm them,” Xiang Yuguang said with a smile.
Yet inside, he was muttering, despite being a Commandant of the Monster Suppression Department, he wasn’t even invited to sit down; this young man indeed held some grudges against him.
“Alright.”
Li Hao agreed, then picked up his teacup and gently sipped.
Picking up the teacup was a sign of seeing the guest off.
Xiang Yuguang couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless, managing only to smile and bid farewell to Li Hao.
The three Monster Suppression Generals at the entrance of the courtyard were covertly observing this young prodigy whose fame had spread far and wide, their eyes filled with curiosity and astonishment.
This young master didn’t even give face to a Commandant — truly a sign of youthful arrogance.
However, they had also heard about how Li Hao had slain the minor Demon King in the presence of a crowd. His strength was no less than any of the three of them, and given time, he would be able to stand on equal footing with those in the Four Stands Realm. Thus, there was no need to be overly humble.
“Only fourteen years old, truly preposterous.”
“Indeed, what were we doing when we were fourteen?”
“I don’t know about you two, but I was still playing a game of wits and bravery against Demons in the Divine Travel Realm…”
The three Monster Suppression Generals exchanged whispers until Xiang Yuguang approached; they ceased their covert communication and stood up straight, behaving themselves.
While Xiang Yuguang and his party went to investigate the details, Song Qiumo entered the courtyard, and Li Hao immediately invited her to sit and poured her a cup of tea.
Song Qiumo took a sip and said, “Refreshing and sweet, not bad.”
Li Hao just smiled.
“I’m preparing to return to Qingzhou,” Song Qiumo mentioned, glancing at Li Hao.
Li Hao had expected as much; with the retreat of the three Demon Kings, there was no immediate danger, and the arrival of the people from the Monster Suppression Department would somewhat deter the Demons, considering that Xiang Yuguang, after all, was in the Four Stands Realm.
These Demons dared to provoke the Divine General Mansion at the frontier, acting brazenly, but they feared the Monster Suppression Department even more.
Because the Divine General Mansion guarded the borders, facing numerous Demons, but the Monster Suppression Department was different; if you provoked them, they would focus on you intently.
After all, their duty was to capture Demons and suppress evil; they had no other business all day, just focusing on you, tracking you everywhere – the Demons despised it.
“You don’t need to worry about me here. Rather, you, having left for so long because of me, probably need to go through the registration and authorization procedure again,” Li Hao said.
Even though Tan Palace would intervene, the formalities would still require some work, especially since it was adjacent to official land, and the being admitted was a Four Stands Realm Demon King; the scrutiny was stringent.
“Minor issue,” Song Qiumo replied with a smile, then looked intently at Li Hao and said softly, “For now, it seems that there won’t be any more troubles here. Three years from now, I’ll wait for you in Qingzhou.”
“Hmm.”
Li Hao nodded slightly.
Although he was reluctant to return to Qingzhou, since his sizeable old friend was there, he didn’t mind making the trip.
Song Qiumo smiled slightly, her lips curling like a gentle spring breeze, and she offered her empty teacup, saying, “More, please.”
“Alright.”
Li Hao refilled her cup.
One cup, then another.
Song Qiumo finished his drink, stood up, glanced at Li Hao once more, and then left without looking back, his figure drifting away and vanishing into the courtyard.
Not long after Song Qiumo’s departure, the small enclosed courtyard welcomed new visitors and became quite lively.
This time the arrivals were from the Heavenly Observatory. They mastered the secret arts of arrays, and most arrays in various cities were carved and laid out by the Heavenly Observatory.
The leader this time was the Star Bureau Official of the Three Immortal Realms, holding an extremely high status.
In terms of official rank, he was even half a grade higher than Xiang Yuguang who had just left. After all, the secret arts of arrays are extremely complex, not only requiring martial arts talent but also tremendous insight. One must dedicate a lifetime to study, equivalent to reaching the apex in two different disciplines to be qualified.
A thousand years ago, demons stealthily infiltrated the Heavenly Observatory and stole several scrolls of secret array manuscripts. However, the array mastery demons controlled in recent years has been very rudimentary, because learning these things requires more brains than they have.
Arrays are involved with the heavenly stems and earthly branches, the changes of the stars, and the principles of divination. Even after studying for hundreds of years, one might not dare to claim they have comprehended them.
The Star Bureau Official, with his white and sparse hair, had an air of solemnity and dullness. Li Hao got up to welcome him, intending to offer him tea, but the elder waved his hand, saying they were here to work on orders, not to eat and drink. After meeting Li Hao and receiving the city lord’s command from his hand, he turned to get busy.
His demeanor had quite the feeling of an old scholar.
Ignoring worldly manners, he focused solely on research into arrays.
The several accompanying educators also mostly had a dull look, but occasionally their eyes would flicker with contemplative light.
Only one girl appeared more vivacious. As the others left, she lingered at the very end and said to Li Hao with a smile:
“Please don’t blame my master, young master. He is just like that by nature.”
Li Hao noticed the official embroidery on her chest, indicating the lowest rank among them, an assistant. He smiled and said:
“You should learn from your master and delve more into the study of arrays.”
The girl’s radiant smile immediately withered, and she pouted, “Why do you also talk so stiffly like my master?”
Li Hao chuckled lightly, without saying more.
The girl gave him a look, originally thinking this talented young master of similar age would be lively, but he unexpectedly carried an air of mature calmness. She secretly pursed her lips, turned, and walked away with her hands behind her back to catch up with her master outside the courtyard.
“Xiang Lan, don’t run around, it’s time to get to work,” said one of her educator senior brothers. Although from the same school, their ages seemed vastly different, with the educator senior brother appearing to be in his fifties.
“I, know, okay~”
With her head swaying like a pendulum, the girl drew out her reply in a sing-song voice, one word at a time.
After speaking, however, her gaze wandered around the new city, examining the bustling martial artists, a scene she had seen before when accompanying her master to other cities to lay out arrays; it was nothing unusual to her.
Soon, under the guidance of Li Hongzhuang, they arrived at a part of the city wall.
Just stepping onto the rampart, a chill wind hit, and Xia Xiang Lan shrank her neck. Then, her gaze naturally wandered forward, and she instantly saw an endless graveyard.
She was taken aback for a moment and subconsciously said, “These, these are…”
Li Hongzhuang, after discussing the array matters in a low voice with the elder Star Bureau Official ahead, turned to look at the young girl upon hearing her murmurs, and gently said, “These are all our sons of Dayu.”
Xia Xiang Lan felt a jolt in her heart, her pupils slightly constricted, and her breath seemed to catch.
This was her first visit to the frontier pass, the first time witnessing such a sight.
Could it be true what the books said, that beyond the Great Wall lay thousands of miles of lonely graves?
The image of that young man with a serene smile in the courtyard suddenly surfaced in her mind, and that sense of maturity and detachment now seemed to hide countless scars beneath that calm facade.
Her fingers clenched involuntarily, and her eyes took on a much more solemn look.
…
Back in the courtyard, Li Hao summoned Ren Qianqian and the little white fox to deal with the corpse of the Demon King.
Ren Qianqian had ridden back on the second day after the great battle had concluded. Although she didn’t say much, Li Hao guessed that she must not have returned to Qi State but had stayed in a nearby city; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been so quick to come from Qi State to here.
About this, Li Hao didn’t say much, and everything felt very natural.
At this moment, they went to a cordoned-off area within the city, where the Black Bird Demon King’s corpse was lying, like a small hill, the area sealed off.
“The Demon King’s body is a treasure all over, how do you plan to handle it?”
Feng Boping silently appeared beside Li Hao, eyeing the Demon King in front of him, still full of sighs.
The battle that took place here was known only to him and Song Qiumo; it had not been widely publicized, and not many people knew that the Demon King was actually slain by Li Hao.
After all, a Heavenly Human Realm defeating a Demon King from the Four Stands Realm was a bit too astonishing to hear.
This kind of information was considered a secret, and it was better to keep it as contained as possible.
Feng Boping also didn’t ask much about Li Hao’s bizarre state in the martial arts, for he had watched him grow up, but many things were beyond his comprehension, like this monstrous talent.
But these things were unimportant. What was important was that Li Hao still remained the familiar little rat he knew.
“Make a nice meal for everyone.”
Li Hao replied.
Feng Boping was taken aback, looking at Li Hao in astonishment. When he saw the young man’s serious expression, he couldn’t help but laugh, and soon burst into laughter.
“You lad, you really have your ways,” he said.
Li Hao said, “The taste of the Demon King should be quite good. It serves as a decent way to thank everyone for their help.”
“That’s true,” Feng Boping agreed with a smile. That’s far from a mere compensation. If they had known there would be Demon King meat to feast on, probably even more martial artists would have wanted to come.
“Besides the flesh, the Demon King’s heart is a treasure. It can help you comprehend the essence of its way and lay the foundation for your ascension to the Four Stands Realm,” Feng Boping said. “The gilt feathers on its back are the essence of an ancient Demon King’s bloodline and excellent material for forging Divine Weapons. You can collect them and send your Dragon Soar Sword along with them to the Ten Thousand Artifacts Tower to have them help you refine it a second time.”
Li Hao nodded, he had also thought about this.
These were indeed the most precious treasures on the body of the Demon King, coveted by countless people.
“Prepare a container, I have a use for the blood of this Demon King,” Li Hao said.