Chapter 81: Chapter 77: Breaking the Mold_2
Always maintaining a calm and relaxed demeanor, he acted as if everything was but passing clouds.
“If you encounter a mountain that’s hard to cross… then we just go around it,” Li Hao would say.
If he only knew how to slack off, it wouldn’t count as a talent, but this time in Cangyu City, Li Hao single-handedly defended the city and slew the Great Demon, earning remarkable achievements, yet he remained low-profile and unostentatious, as though it were a minor incident.
Just this quality alone put him leagues ahead of Li Yun and the others.
Even those two princes, who feigned composure, couldn’t compare to Hao in Li Yuanzhao’s eyes.
Moreover, even though he was at the Fifteen Li Realm, Li Hao never boasted. If he had been like Li Yun, spreading the word everywhere, the whole world would’ve likely known by now.
Everyone seeks fame, but Li Hao says fame and wealth are burdens.
When Li Yuanzhao first heard this, he felt as if struck by a revelation. Even though he didn’t understand completely, he just felt… it was awesome.
That’s precisely why Li Yuanzhao liked to follow Li Hao around. Not for anything else, he just simply loved to learn.
“Teacher, where is Li Hao?”
At this moment, Li Yun noticed the absence of Li Hao beside Li Yuanzhao. He knitted his brows, a sudden unease gripping his heart. Could something have happened to him?
“Li Hao…”
Su Yehua glanced at the empty space next to Li Yuanzhao, a complex look flashing through her eyes, she said, “He was an exceptional case and has been admitted to the Black and White Hall.”
“What?!”
At her words, the whole Alpha Academy erupted in uproar.
The noisy chatter instantly became like a bustling market, with everyone jostling and asking why and how.
In the crowd, Jiang Ye’s originally smiling face suddenly fell.
Even as a prince, he had not been an exception, and yet the son of the Li Family was given an exception?
His face darkened, but recalling the earnest teachings of his instructor back in the palace, he regained a calm expression. Yet inside, he seethed with fury, unable to fully conceal the shadows in his eyes.
“Teacher,” Jiang Ye spoke up, and suddenly the rest of the noise seemed to quieten down: “Why was he accepted as an exception?”
Jiang Ye fixed his gaze on Su Yehua.
Su Yehua, perceiving the prince’s inner wrath, thought to herself that if he had reached the Fifteen Li Realm, no, even the Divine Travel Realm, he could have been accepted as an exception.
Yet her face remained serene, with a smile she said:
“Li Hao’s cultivation level is above all of you, and he has distinguished himself with top-grade merit during the assignment in Cangyu City. Thus, to teach according to his aptitude, he was granted early admission to the Black and White Hall. If he were to remain here, we teachers wouldn’t be able to instruct him, and he would simply be taking up one of your spots on the Martial Arts ranking.”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in astonishment, all bewildered.
Li Hao’s cultivation level was higher than theirs? Could the other party have already attained soul inheritance?
But… what’s this about top-grade merit?
Li Yun and Li Zhining were also full of question marks, equally bewildered; the two looked towards Li Yuanzhao.
Both had been to Cangyu City, so why hadn’t Li Yuanzhao made any notable achievements?
Seeing Li Yun and his sister’s gaze, Li Yuanzhao just smiled subtly, feeling secretly thrilled. Want to know? I’m not telling you.
After all, Hao had told him not to publicize it. When he asked why, Hao simply said he wanted to enjoy a few more days of leisure.
However, the incident at Cangyu City was too significant to be kept secret for long.
Li Yuanzhao was very much looking forward to it, wondering what expressions this brother and sister and the others would have once they knew of Hao’s cultivation level.
After their uncle, their Li Family would once again make a name for themselves across the world!
Thinking of that scene, he could hardly wait for time to pass faster, for the news from Cangyu City to spread.
…
…
Meanwhile, in the Black and White Hall of Tan Palace.
Palace Master Song Yufeng sat in the hall. The tea before him had lost its steam, gone cold, yet he sat there entranced, forgetting to sip.
Beside him, Shen Yunqing, Zhao Zongyuan, and many other elders of the Tan Palace were present, with only a few absent due to other commitments.
Song Yueyao also sat on a chair at the back, just like everyone else, scrutinizing the youth before her.
Li Hao felt the gaze of the people around him, like they were watching a monkey, somewhat helpless. It had been more than ten minutes, and no one had spoken. In that time, he thought he could have painted two pictures.
“I’m very happy that you all let me enter the Black and White Hall directly,”
“But I do not like this waste of time,”
Li Hao cleared his throat and spoke humbly and innocently.
The gazes from Song Yufeng and the others, resembling those who observe monkeys, finally began to wane in intensity.
Li Zhining of the Li Family, who had fallen from grace a decade ago, had startled the world; a nineteen-year-old achieving the Immortal status was unheard of.
It was a pity that they never got to see his face while he was alive.
But now, seeing this fourteen-year-old at the Fifteen Li Realm made them unable to help themselves from observing closely, wondering if he really had some unusual features or supernatural limbs?
Being mere mortals, how did this young man cultivate?
Song Yufeng observed carefully for a long time, growing increasingly astonished. He had stealthily probed Li Hao’s cultivation level with his breath, but found he could not see through it.
With his own realm, he struggled to scrutinize, a sign that the young man must have cultivated some secret technique to conceal his cultivation level, and to a profoundly deep level at that.
It was known that such techniques often offered minimal enhancement to direct combat abilities, yet here was Li Hao at only fourteen, spending time on such a superfluous skill, and still reaching the Fifteen Li Realm with his cultivation level—his talent was perhaps a bit extraordinary.
Back when the Emperor had conferred a name… indeed, the Emperor’s vision was accurate!
Palace Master Song Yufeng thought to himself, and his reverence for that grand figure seated on the dragon throne grew deeper in secret.
“You have reached the Fifteen Li Realm, with such talent, even Gan Tao Palace would be suitable for you to enter as a disciple,”
Song Yufeng asked Li Hao curiously, “I would like to ask, why did you choose to come to our Tan Palace Academy?”
The others also looked curiously at Li Hao. Was it for that peerless technique, or something else?
Song Yueyao also gazed intently, waiting for Li Hao’s response.
“The reason…”
Li Hao thought back to that day and said nostalgically, “I guess it was that morning when I just wanted to eat a piece of Mianyu Fragrant Crisp.”
Everyone: “???”
What?
They had considered various answers, but this was not among them.
What in the world was Mianyu Fragrant Crisp?
A piece of crispy snack?
The reasons why people wanted to enter Tan Palace Academy were many: for revenge through martial arts, for fame, for carrying on a family business, for padding their resume… but they had never heard of someone doing it for a deep-fried crispy snack.
Silence fell in the hall. After a moment, Song Yufeng came to his senses and said with a bitter smile, “That fragrant crisp… must be really delicious.”
“Mhm.”
Li Hao’s expression turned serious, and he spoke with some enthusiasm, “If you get the chance, you must try it. Remember to look for the right sign, it’s from old Liu’s family in Qinglian Alley.”
Seeing Li Hao earnestly making the recommendation, everyone was dumfounded.
The fragrance crisps of Qinglian Alley… Song Yueyao murmured to herself, unintentionally noting it down.
“Could it not be for our Tan Palace’s peerless Taiji Qiankun Sword Skill?” Huang Licao couldn’t help but ask.
He felt that Li Hao’s answer was too evasive. What was this nonsense about a fried snack?