Chapter 68: Chapter 65 Attacking the City
Song Yueyao was stunned.
She had assumed it was either a passing strongman or a general from the Xia Family taking action. Never did she expect it to be the Monster Suppression Department.
And only their most common demon-suppressing agent?
Suddenly, she noticed the young man’s face and it struck her as incredibly familiar.
She seemed to have seen him somewhere.
…This morning?
Song Yueyao was somewhat face-blind and usually paid no heed to others, as if they were grass or trees.
But her memory wasn’t bad, and she quickly recalled that this young man was one of the five newcomers who had reported to the Monster Suppression Department that morning.
He was also a disciple of the Tan Palace.
Thinking of his identity, Song Yueyao suddenly remembered the youth with a wild rabbit she saw when she went to the Alpha Academy earlier. He was the person in front of her now.
Just that he had changed into a profound robe, which made her feel a bit estranged.
At the same time, Li Hao also noticed the woman chasing after him from behind. He slightly turned his head to glance, and their eyes met in an instant.
Li Hao didn’t pay much attention, nodded slightly, and continued forward, carrying the demon-slaying blade.
But Song Yueyao, struck as if by lightning, stood frozen on the tree.
That tilted head… that side profile… so familiar!
Images of that cave suddenly surged into her mind, that fleeting side profile.
“Is it him?!”
Song Yueyao was astonished. Could the disciple who secretly passed through the Mo River be this same person?!
She found it hard to believe, yet seeing the bodies of the ape demons all around, she suddenly came to a realization and became certain she had not seen wrongly this time.
Among the outer court disciples, who else besides the person in front of her could pass through the Mo River?
Her figure flashed, leaping down from the treetops, and she hurriedly chased after Li Hao, calling out, “Wait a moment.”
Li Hao stopped, turned slightly and looked at her, “Senior Sister?”
This address of “Senior Sister” inexplicably gave Song Yueyao a sense of security, and the tension that had gripped her all the way seemed to relax a little.
She quickly asked, “Did you kill these ape demons?”
Even though she had an answer in her heart, she couldn’t help but blurt out the question.
Li Hao was slightly silent. Did this Senior Sister have poor eyesight? Couldn’t she see there was no one else here?
At a death scene like this, there’s no need for Conan; even Genta could have cracked the case, right?
Seeing the odd look that passed through Li Hao’s eyes, Song Yueyao’s cheeks turned slightly red, realizing that she had perhaps asked a bit redundantly.
She looked at the demon-slaying blade in Li Hao’s hand; the bloodstains, the mottled and jagged edge— it wasn’t difficult to imagine how many battles it had gone through.
“The Great Demon on the mountaintop, did you kill that one too?” she asked, gazing intently at Li Hao.
Li Hao nodded slightly, it was just a group from the Divine Traveling rank and one from the Fifteen Li Realm, nothing much to speak of.
Seeing Li Hao nod, Song Yueyao’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t help but ask, “How old are you this year?”
“…Asking a young man’s age is quite impolite,” Li Hao said.
Song Yueyao almost choked. In the midst of these mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he still had the mood to joke.
However, even if Li Hao didn’t say it, she could tell that Li Hao was at most fourteen or fifteen years old. The Tan Palace’s new recruit age limit was a maximum of sixteen.
A fifteen or sixteen-year-old at the Fifteen Li Realm?
She suddenly felt as if she was struck a heavy blow, shocked beyond belief.
She herself was just a step… two steps, three steps away from this realm.
She was one of the Tan Palace’s top geniuses, a ninth-grade battle body!
Before reaching the Grandmaster Realm, the talent of a ninth-grade battle body greatly assisted in cultivation. Even so, she was being left behind by such a large gap?
The last time she heard about such a shocking prodigy, it was about the Ninth Young Master from the Li Family that her grandfather mentioned.
But she was too young back then to have seen it for herself, it was like hearing a mythological tale. Yet the young man before her was standing right in front of her now, almost as if the legend had stepped into reality, making it feel surreal.
“Are you here alone? How did you come to this place?” Song Yueyao couldn’t help but ask.
Looking at his profound robe, which had barely a few stains of blood, while only the blade of his demon-slaying sword was thoroughly ravaged.
It looked as if he was still cutting down demons with ease.
“Senior Sister, are you interrogating a prisoner?” Li Hao said helplessly.
Song Yueyao was speechless; she rarely took such an intense interest in others, only to find herself being frowned upon.
“There’s a demon here, and since I’m free, I came over,” she said.
Li Hao saw the embarrassed discomfort on her face and softened his heart to offer an explanation before turning around and continuing on with his sword in hand.
Chatting was one thing, but the work couldn’t stop.
He lightly leaped up, standing atop a tree branch, conjured his Divine Soul, wrapped it around his demon-slaying sword, and started to patrol forward.
Witnessing this scene, Song Yueyao’s pupils slightly contracted, realizing that no amount of words could compare to what one’s eyes could see.
Her face grew a bit pale. She had thought her grandfather’s words were an exaggeration, an overpraise by the masses, but now she understood that there were indeed such monstrous talents in the world!
But, how was this possible?
Being of a nine-rank battle physique and considered a genius, could she only catch glimpses of this young man’s back?
Before long, the black sword flew back, landing in Li Hao’s hand.
Flicking off the fresh blood, and seeing that he had cleared this mountain range’s end, he turned around, ready to erase the remaining demons along the way as well.
“Wait for me,” Song Yueyao called out, having come to her senses, and hurriedly chased after Li Hao.
When she caught up to Li Hao, she looked at his profile and asked, “Back in Tan Palace, it was you who passed the Mo River challenge, wasn’t it?”
Li Hao couldn’t help but glance at her. Although Tan Palace announced a reward for those who passed, he still felt a twinge of unexplainable guilt.
After all, that was the exam for the other new students…
“It was me, yes.”
“How did you do it? The Palace Master even issued a reward decree, why didn’t you claim it?” Song Yueyao asked curiously.
How did he do it?
Li Hao couldn’t quite articulate it; it seemed as though he just drew and then somehow passed.
On further reflection, perhaps the black-robed scholar was ashamed, realizing he was no match and fled in a panic…
Seeing Li Hao silent, Song Yueyao uttered, “Hmm?”
Li Hao snapped out of it and said, “Is it to claim the Red Sky Precious Sword?”
“Yes.”
“As you can see, I am of the Fifteen Li Realm,” Li Hao stated.
Song Yueyao felt as if she’d been struck in the face with a hammer, a sensation both suffocating and searing.
Fifteen Li, did he think the Red Sky was too inferior?
Damn it!
She bit her lip slightly, curious and yet frustrated with this young man.
Suddenly, a beacon of distress smoke rose in the distance and then burst open.
Song Yueyao glanced at it, her pupils shrinking drastically as she exclaimed in shock, “Ziyan? How is this possible? That’s a critical signal released only when demons attack a city!”
Li Hao was momentarily stunned. As a member of a martial family, he was naturally familiar with these signals.
Without an extremely grave situation, Ziyan would not be released.
Once released, the city would shut its gates and go on full alert!
Demons attacking the city?
He suddenly remembered the Bear Demon’s words about trouble to the north.
“I need to go back now.”
Li Hao immediately said, and with his figure flashing, he stepped up and soared away, turning into a dark silhouette that vanished from Song Yueyao’s sight.
Controlling his flight!
Song Yueyao watched for a moment, somewhat baffled, sensing that Li Hao’s speed at controlling his flight seemed faster than any other Fifteen Li Realm individuals she had seen.
But…
Why not take me along?!
Song Yueyao stomped her foot in irritation, gritted her teeth, and quickly traversed the jungle towards the city.