https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-139-Divine-General-Manor-Lost-Him/13450150/
Chapter 138: Ren Qianqian Beyond the Border
Chapter 138: Ren Qianqian Beyond the Border
"Oh?"
Zhou Haitang was somewhat surprised when he heard Li Hao's words.
He was, after all, a Heavenly Master, and it was rare for someone to reject his personal invitation.
However, considering what his disciple had just said, this young man could approach the candle flame without disturbing it, clearly showing his profound martial arts foundation. Once he reached the Fifteen Li Realm, his chances of advancing to the Tianren Realm would be far greater than those so-called cultivation geniuses.
Such talent, if not a prodigy, must have been nurtured by a prestigious sect.
"Buying a painting, what kind of painting?"
Zhou Haitang raised an eyebrow and asked.
Li Hao shook his head slightly and said, "The painting is in Bai Chunhai's possession. I would appreciate it if you could introduce me to him."
"You're looking for him, not to become a disciple, but just to get a painting?"
"Um-hum."
Zhou Haitang couldn't help but scrutinize Li Hao, and the three disciples beside him looked at Li Hao with great surprise.
With a Heavenly Master right in front of him, Li Hao could have become his disciple with just a nod, an opportunity of immense value.
"Then you'll have to wait. That old fellow hasn't arrived yet; he's probably on his way. Wait until the Grandmaster Assembly in three days. He will appear then, and you can meet him."
Zhou Haitang picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and said calmly.
Offering tea was also a sign of sending a guest off.
Since Li Hao had no intention of becoming a disciple, Zhou Haitang didn't push further.
Talented horses are common, but good trainers are rare.
Li Hao, having learned about Bai Chunhai, had no intention of lingering further. He asked for the inn's address and left the tavern.
The three disciples chased after him, and Zhou Ling'er said angrily, "My father rarely wants to take on a disciple. How can you be so ungrateful? Or do you already have a master?"
"?"
Li Hao looked at her with confusion.
"Ling'er."
The young man quickly pulled Zhou Ling'er aside and said to Li Hao, "Sorry, she can be a bit blunt. Don't take it to heart."
Li Hao didn't bother to respond further. The dagger and the guidance were now even.
Without saying more, Li Hao turned and walked toward the Martial Temple, unsure if Ren Qianqian's Soul Continuation had ended.
"He has a very deep foundation in martial arts; he must have been trained by a prestigious sect", the girl in the white dress said, looking at Li Hao's departing back.
Hearing this, Zhou Ling'er felt a mix of shame and anger. "My father isn't a prestigious master? What do you mean by that?"
The girl in the white dress came back to her senses, paused for a moment, and quickly said, "Of course, I didn't mean it that way..."
"Hmph!"
...
When Li Hao returned to the Martial Temple, he saw Ren Qianqian standing under a roof eave outside, holding her sword and looking around.
Li Hao waved at her.
Seeing Li Hao, the girl immediately ran over with a joyful smile.
"How did it go?"
"A Fourth Establishment Realm senior saw my sword technique and thought I had potential."
Ren Qianqian's face was filled with unrestrained joy. The only Fourth Establishment Realm Heroic Soul in the Martial Temple had chosen her.
Although her father was a Heavenly Master, reaching the Fourth Establishment Realm through Soul Continuation was still very challenging. This was the highest level of Soul Continuation outside the royal family.
She had joined Tan Palace Academy to undergo Soul Continuation there, but that would come with certain restrictions and conditions.
In the Martial Temple, the conditions for Soul Continuation were the most lenient.
Most of the conditions set by these Heroic Souls were just one: to stand up and fight when the Great Yu Divine Dynasty faced a crisis.
However, in the three thousand years of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty, any real crises had been handled by the Divine General Manor on the border, so this condition was essentially non-existent.
Unless one joined the military and established achievements on the border.
"Fourth Establishment Realm, that's excellent", Li Hao said with a smile.
"Thanks to the Sword Intent you taught me, otherwise, it would have been hard to catch the senior's eye."
Ren Qianqian looked at Li Hao, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Li Hao smiled and said, “It’s all your own insight. I just pointed you in the right direction.”
Ren Qianqian shook her head slightly. She didn’t quite agree, but she didn’t argue further, instead silently noting it down in her mind.
“So, where do we go next?”
“Let’s wander around, eat, and have some fun. The Grandmaster Congress starts in three days.”
Li Hao added, “We can also listen to the discussions and see how these Grandmasters approach the Martial Dao. It will be beneficial for you when you eventually enter the Tianren Realm.”
“Sounds good!”
Ren Qianqian’s face lit up with joy.
Li Hao immediately led her out of the Martial Temple, and the two of them strolled leisurely through the streets, taking in the sights and customs of Liangzhou City.
That evening, a lively event was held in a part of the city.
It was a ranking competition.
Contestants would spar on a platform, and based on their rankings, they would receive rewards from the City Lord’s Mansion.
With Grandmasters from all over the realm converging here, it attracted geniuses from various states, making the event even more grand than the Tan Palace Academy’s recruitment in the past. The city was packed with people.
Numerous geniuses met each other but had no outlet for their energy, so they could only engage in theoretical discussions. The City Lord’s Mansion took the opportunity to organize this event to build excitement for the Grandmaster Congress.
The ranking platform was limited to three realms: from the Soul Continuation Realm to the Fifteen Li Realm.
Those below the Soul Continuation Realm didn’t need to show off; they could just sit back and watch.
Li Hao had no interest in such events. If he were to participate, even the Fifteen Li Realm wouldn’t stand a chance against him, and it would just be bullying the younger ones.
However, Ren Qianqian had just entered the Soul Continuation Realm and was full of enthusiasm. Li Hao didn’t want to dampen her spirits, so he accompanied her to the Soul Continuation Realm platform.
“Why are you here?”
Just as they arrived, Li Hao coincidentally ran into Zhou Ling'er.
Beside Zhou Ling'er was the plain-dressed girl Xu Wan'er. Both were in the Soul Continuation Realm and had rushed over after hearing the news, eager to participate.
Their senior brother had gone to the Divine Wanderer Realm platform, also planning to compete and exchange skills with geniuses from other states.
“Young Master, do you know them?”
Ren Qianqian stood on tiptoe to look ahead, then turned to face them, somewhat surprised.
“Just met.”
Li Hao replied.
“Why are you here? You’re also in the Soul Continuation Realm?”
Zhou Ling'er raised an eyebrow at Li Hao’s indifferent expression, her tone slightly mocking.
Xu Wan'er, however, curiously observed Li Hao. Hearing the title "Young Master" and recalling his behavior earlier—casually giving away a valuable dagger and talking about buying a painting from a Grandmaster—she concluded that he was indeed a wealthy and carefree young master.
“Hmm?”
Ren Qianqian sensed the hostility in the other girl’s tone and stepped forward, her voice cold. “Don’t be disrespectful!”
Zhou Ling'er was taken aback by Ren Qianqian’s aura and realized she was also in the Soul Continuation Realm. Her face darkened as she asked, “Who are you, her servant?”
Ren Qianqian just stared coldly at her, not responding.
Zhou Ling'er felt irritated by her gaze but then realized that Li Hao’s identity was not simple. After all, he wouldn’t casually give away a valuable dagger just to get her to guide him to Bai Chunhai.
Moreover, he wasn’t looking to become a disciple or learn from the Grandmaster; he just wanted to buy a painting.
“Hmph!”
Under Xu Wan'er’s urging, she restrained her temper and let out a cold snort.
At that moment, a commotion erupted from the platform, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
It seemed a closely matched battle had just ended, with one contestant defeated.
“Let’s go.”
Zhou Ling'er said to Xu Wan'er, then glared at Li Hao. “Do you want to spar with me on the platform? If you win, I’ll admit your skill.”
Li Hao glanced at her with a hint of boredom. This little girl, never having been disciplined, was truly spoiled.
“Do you really think you’re qualified to challenge our Young Master?”
Ren Qianqian frowned and retorted coldly.
Zhou Ling'er was so angry that her nose flared. “If your Young Master is so skilled, why doesn’t he go to the Fifteen Li Realm platform? What’s he doing here? If he’s so capable, let’s see what he can do on the platform!”
"I’ll accompany you if you want to fight."
Ren Qianqian said.
"You? You just reached the Soul Continuation Realm, right? Don’t say I’m bullying you."
Zhou Ling'er laughed in exasperation and flipped onto the stage.
Ren Qianqian said to Li Hao, "Young Master, I’ll take her on."
"Be careful. She’s at the Fourth Establishment of the Soul Continuation Realm. You just reached Soul Continuation and haven’t fully adapted yet. Take it easy and don’t hurt her", Li Hao said.
Beside them, Xu Wan'er overheard Li Hao’s words and was taken aback, suspecting she had misheard.
The young man clearly recognized Ling'er’s realm but was cautioning a newly Soul Continuation person not to hurt her?
"I’ll be careful", Ren Qianqian said.
She then hopped onto the stage as well.
The previous victor had already stepped down to rest. As Zhou Ling'er and Ren Qianqian took the stage, the crowd below erupted in cheers.
"Aren’t you worried?"
Xu Wan'er, seeing Li Hao’s calm expression, couldn’t help but ask curiously.
"A little."
Li Hao had a good impression of the girl in the white dress and smiled in response, "I hope she doesn’t go too hard and make your precious one cry."
"..." Xu Wan'er was speechless.
At that moment, the match on the stage began.
Zhou Ling'er summoned her Soul Image, which was also at the Fourth Establishment of the Soul Continuation Realm, exuding a powerful aura.
Ren Qianqian also summoned her Soul Image, countering the pressure, and then drew her sword to charge forward. She used her own sword, while Dragon Dawn had been temporarily returned to Li Hao before the match.
The sword light flickered, like countless sword petals swirling and raining down.
Zhou Ling'er jumped back in fright, quickly wielding her saber. The clashing sounds of metal rang out, but soon, a sword cut through the saber’s shadow and pressed against Zhou Ling'er’s throat.
The fight was over.
In the crowd below, Xu Wan'er was dumbfounded. She actually won!
The girl had just reached the Soul Continuation Realm, hadn’t she?
And what kind of sword technique was that? It was way too complex!
On the stage, Zhou Ling'er stood in a daze, staring at the sword blade before her. The white edge reflected her face, filled with confusion.
Ren Qianqian glanced at her, then with a swift flick of her wrist, the sword returned to its sheath. She turned to the crowd and said, "Please, anyone, come and challenge me."
Clearly, she wanted to continue challenging other geniuses.
The match with Zhou Ling'er had been just a warm-up for her.
Despite the four-stage gap in realms and her recent entry into the Soul Continuation Realm, her sword technique far surpassed her opponent’s.
The intense clash of blades seemed fierce, but in reality, she hadn’t engaged in a direct Strength Clash. Instead, she used skillful techniques to deflect the force and then delivered the winning strike with a single sword.
Hearing Ren Qianqian’s words, Zhou Ling'er snapped out of her daze. Her face flushed with shame and anger, her eyes watering, and she bit her lip as she rushed off the stage.
"Ring'er."
Xu Wan'er, seeing the situation, forgot about her own desire to compete and hurried after her.
On the stage, with Ren Qianqian issuing her challenge, someone soon stepped up.
Before long, another intense battle began.
Ren Qianqian defeated four more opponents in quick succession before finally being bested by a woman at the Eighth Establishment of the Soul Continuation Realm.
Seeing Ren Qianqian step down with a slightly dejected look, Li Hao smiled and said, "Once you solidify your cultivation and grasp the true essence of the Thousand Feather Sword Technique, you would have won just now."
"The true essence... it’s too difficult", Ren Qianqian said with a bitter smile.
Li Hao was a bit helpless. She had only been defeated by someone eight stages higher, and that person was also a genius. How could she still feel so disappointed?
"Young Master, if you only used the strength of the First Establishment of the Soul Continuation Realm, how many moves would it take you to win?"
Ren Qianqian suddenly looked at Li Hao, her eyes filled with anticipation and curiosity.
She knew Li Hao was a prodigy with frighteningly fast cultivation. Catching up to him in terms of realm was impossible, but she wanted to chase after his shadow from the past.
"Me?"
(End of Chapter)
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