Chapter 546: Making a Move
Chapter 546: Making a Move
Li Hao, Lin Qingying, Yue Xi, Gu Yan, and the others gathered together, their expressions grave.
Clearly, they had all seen through the intentions of the Yunjin Immortal Dynasties. Now that everyone else had been kicked off the Imperial Platform, only their two groups remained.
"You're called Hao Tian?"
A young man with deer horns on his head, leading the Yunjin Imperial Clan, looked down at Li Hao.
His face was exceptionally handsome, a rarity in the world, and the deer horns on his head emitted a gentle green light, exuding a vibrant aura of life.
The other members of the Yunjin Imperial Clan were no less impressive. Some had red fish scales on their cheeks, giving them a demonic appearance, while others had double pupils, their eyes carrying a disdainful air as if they were looking down upon the world.
Li Hao had noticed earlier that other Immortal Dynasties also had such unique traits. Although they were all part of the Imperial Clan, their auras and bloodlines seemed to vary. Later, he learned from the Great Dream Master that some primordial beings or rare bloodlines would ally with the Immortal Dynasties, using the opportunities of reincarnation to tap into the resources of the Imperial Clan. These were all from the maternal line and held significant status within the clan.
"What do you want?"
Li Hao's expression remained calm as he met the other's gaze.
"I am from the Yunjin Immortal Dynasties Imperial Clan, Jin Ziyin, and also a member of the Heavenly Deer Clan, ranked twenty-third among the True World's Hundred Clans!"
Jin Ziyin, with his deer horns, looked down at Li Hao, his exceptionally handsome face cold. "I have specially reserved a spot for you, considering you are ninth on the Dao Flame List and the youngest in soul age. Would you be willing to join us and share this Imperial Platform?"
Hearing this, Gu Yan and the others were secretly unsurprised.
When they saw that the other side had exactly nine people, they had guessed that they might invite Li Hao.
After all, given Li Hao's earlier performance, it would be unwise to confront him directly unless there was a long-standing grudge.
However, if Li Hao agreed, the six of them would have to withdraw.
"Hao Tian, you don't need to worry about us. Our sect can Ascend to the Top 100 with you."
One of the Qin Yuan disciples said.
Yue Xi and Gu Yan remained silent. Even if Li Hao agreed, they still wanted to challenge the Yunjin Immortal Dynasties to see if they truly had the ability to stay.
After all, this was a Top 100 spot, and they wanted to prove themselves through their own efforts.
"Sorry."
Li Hao shook his head, his apology directed at Jin Ziyin. He calmly said, "We have three spots. You can choose three of your people to stay. You can discuss it among yourselves."
Hearing Li Hao's words, Gu Yan, Yue Xi, and the others' expressions changed slightly. They looked at Li Hao, surprised by his refusal but also unsurprised. Their eyes held a complex mix of emotions.
Lin Qingying didn't say anything; she simply gripped her sword tightly. She had long known how Li Hao would choose. The young man who, in the Many Heavens, faced the Saints of the Thirty-Three Heavens alone, would never bow to anyone.
"You're trying to sow discord, and it's a low tactic."
A young man with red scales on his face said coldly.
Li Hao shook his head. "This isn't sowing discord; it's a clear offer."
"Arrogant!"
Another member of the Jin Dynasty Imperial Clan, holding a halberd, retorted with a cold glare. "With your abilities, if you want to protect your sect members, one or two spots might be acceptable, but do you really think you can secure seven spots? These misfits don't deserve to enter the Top 100."
Hearing this, Gu Yan and the others' expressions darkened, their faces turning grim.
"Why don't we settle this with a one-on-one duel? The loser leaves, and the winner stays. Only the strong deserve to go to the end!"
At this moment, Gu Yan stepped forward, his face cold as he spoke.
As a practitioner of the Ancient Sword Immortal Body, the strongest constitution for sword cultivators, he had his own dignity.
"Hmph, do you even deserve to fight us? Fine, let us show you your true level!"
Jin Ziyin, the Imperial Princess, revealed a murderous intent in her eyes. She said to the few members of the Imperial Clan beside her, "Protect me, I will deal with him!"
As she spoke, golden divine light erupted from her halberd, and a domineering aura radiated from her entire body. She plunged down, and behind her, a golden dharma image appeared, exuding an ancient immortal deity’s aura.
"Ancient God Clan bloodline!"
Seeing this, the others’ expressions tightened.
Among the participants, the most prominent Ancient God Clan member was Shen Wujin.
But no one expected that this Imperial Princess also had Ancient God Clan blood, though it seemed not entirely pure.
"Brother Hao Heavens Master, I will fight for my own spot!"
Gu Yan took a step forward. He proposed this decisive battle not only to defend his own dignity but also to prevent Li Hao from facing their nine opponents alone.
At this moment, he called Li Hao "Senior Brother" for the first time.
Initially, joining the Nine Depths of the Great Dream was just a temporary refuge for him. He didn’t take the sect, Li Hao, or Yue Xi and the others seriously, believing he would surpass them all in no time.
But at this moment, his heart seemed to have taken root in the sect.
Seeing Gu Yan already in battle, Li Hao didn’t intervene. After all, even if Gu Yan failed, he would still ensure he made it to the Top 100. He had promised seven spots, and he would keep that promise.
Bang!
A bright sword light suddenly illuminated, transforming into a giant sword that clashed with the golden halberd in mid-air, producing a deafening explosion.
"Hmm? The Ancient Sword Immortal Body’s soul?"
In the Imperial Clan, someone saw the change in Gu Yan and their face showed surprise.
At that moment, Gu Yan’s silver hair flew wildly, and he exuded an extraordinary and transcendent aura. A silver sword mark on his forehead, resembling a split pupil, emitted a piercing coldness.
"Junior Brother Gu Yan?"
Yue Xi and the others saw Gu Yan like this for the first time and were all taken aback.
At that moment, Gu Yan radiated a terrifying swordsmanship intimidation. It seemed as though a buried treasure sword was buried within his body, and his spine was shaped like a sword!
"This child is finally revealing himself?"
On the mountaintop, Old Li’s expression changed slightly, and a trace of concern appeared in his eyes.
He still vividly remembered the day he brought the child back, knowing that the young man bore the fate of avenging the 1st Rank.
Revealing his identity here would naturally make his enemies aware.
"Ancient Sword Immortal Body? This rare and top-tier sword cultivator immortal body has not been lost."
"Such a strong sword intent, is this the strongest sword cultivator immortal body in the world?"
"I heard the Ancient Sword Immortal Body clan had long vanished, but it seems they have reappeared!"
"This Southern Domain Battle is indeed full of prodigies. Just the fight for the Top 100 on the Imperial Platform has so many prodigies."
The mountains buzzed with discussion, and countless spectators were delighted.
On the Imperial Platform.
With the impact, Gu Yan’s body was sent flying back, but in the blink of an eye, he soared up again. Behind him, his dharma image revealed itself—a towering, sky-piercing giant sword!
This was the true form of his dharma image.
Body as a sword, heart as a sword, even spirit as a sword!
The Ancient Sword Immortal Body was a supreme immortal body created specifically for sword practice.
"Indestructible Sword Dao!"
Gu Yan’s eyes erupted with unprecedented divine light. He stared directly at the Imperial Princess, and a silver long sword slowly grew in his hand. The sword seemed to extend from his bones, exuding a tangible sharpness of the Sword Dao!
"Hmm?"
The Imperial Princess’s eyes also showed a serious expression. The Ancient Sword Immortal Clan had once ranked in the top ten among the Hundred Clans!
As for the Ancient God Clan, although it was now in the top ten of the Hundred Clans, her Ancient God Clan bloodline was not pure. Her mother, a noble of the Ancient God Clan, had mixed her bloodline with that of the Jin Emperor in this life.
Fortunately, the Jin Emperor's bloodline was also incredibly formidable.
"To actually force me to use my true strength, you have some skill!"
The Imperial Princess’s eyes turned cold, and her halberd suddenly erupted with a golden rainbow of light. A golden array appeared before her, emitting a vast immortal power and a trace of ancient god force.
She swung her halberd and charged forward, her figure moving like a flowing light piercing through the starry sky, clearly a top-tier immortal technique body movement skill.
Bang!
The halberd slashed down, and the void split open, revealing the aura of the spatial origin.
At the same time, Gu Yan’s sword light surged upward in a furious strike. The condensed ultimate sword light clashed with the golden halberd, causing a slight crack in the space on the Imperial Platform.
The impact sent Li Hao and the others' hair flying.
"Spatial origin?"
Li Hao's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn’t paying attention to the Imperial Princess but to the fact that this junior brother had also mastered the spatial origin and had reached the ultimate third realm!
Combined with his peak fourth-level Sword Dao, the power he unleashed was already extremely formidable, not at all inferior to many prodigies Li Hao had defeated before.
"Hmm?"
On another Imperial Platform, it was extremely quiet.
A figure in white sat there, undisturbed by anyone. The platform maintained exactly ten spots, no more, no less.
These ten were all disciples of the Heavenly Palace. Any others who tried to step onto this platform were forced back by the casual sword shadows the young man in white sent out. No one dared to rashly challenge this hardest of nuts to crack.
Suddenly, the young man in white opened his eyes and saw the towering sword dao art on the nearby Imperial Platform. His eyes narrowed slightly.
It was, unexpectedly, a clansman.
He was somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting to encounter a clansman here.
The Qingyi Girl beside him also opened her eyes and glanced at the Imperial Platform, speaking calmly, "Seems like one of your clansmen."
Sword Heart nodded slightly and then turned his gaze away, saying, "The Sword Dao aura is good, but the foundation is too shallow."
"Of course, you’re better."
A rare, faint smile appeared on the Qingyi Girl’s lips, like ice melting, dazzling to behold.
The Ancient Sword Immortal Body was not unique, but she knew that the senior brother beside her was an exceptional genius even among the Ancient Sword Immortal Body.
This was something their master had said personally.
Meanwhile, on the Imperial Platform, Gu Yan and the Imperial Princess were already locked in battle.
Gu Yan’s Sword Dao was fierce and sharp, with immense power, but the Imperial Princess’s strength was no less. Besides the ancient god power contained in her halberd, she possessed a multitude of immortal techniques and body movement skills that far surpassed Gu Yan’s. For a moment, they were evenly matched in a grueling battle.
The other members of the Imperial Clan who witnessed this were surprised. They hadn’t expected that Li Hao’s companion was such a formidable opponent. From this display of combat strength alone, he indeed had the qualifications to enter the Top 100.
However, with limited spots and the formidable opponents they faced, the competition was destined to be even more ruthless.
“Divine Path, Eternal Fall!”
Suddenly, Imperial Princess Jinzhao raised her hand, and a third ancient god eye opened on her forehead. The golden Dharma Image behind her lifted its hands, and from the surrounding power of heaven and earth, a golden halberd condensed in its palms.
With her furious shout, the halberd descended toward Gu Yan, suppressing him.
Gu Yan's pupils dilated, feeling the power within the Dharma Image. His face changed, but in the next moment, he clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with unwavering resolve.
"Nothing can extinguish my Sword Dao, nothing!!"
He roared, charging forward like an enraged lion. In his hand, a solid silver-white long sword erupted with terrifying sword intent, transforming him into a silver-white beam of light, merging with the sword as he rushed toward the golden halberd.
Bang!
A loud explosion resounded, and the golden halberd in the Dharma Image's hand shattered. A thin silver sword light pierced through the golden divine light, piercing the Dharma Image.
"You!"
Blood flowed from the ancient god eye on Imperial Princess Jinzhao's forehead. She looked at Gu Yan with shock and fury. The imperial platform's death rule, which had been suppressing her body, was now uncontrolled, causing her flesh to rot and fall away, turning her beautiful face into decaying flesh.
Gu Yan, now a beam of sword light, rapidly spun and charged back toward Imperial Princess Jinzhao.
While suppressing the imperial platform's rule, Imperial Princess Jinzhao quickly darted and dodged. Her body movement techniques were extremely fast, combined with spatial origin and the Netherwasteland Extreme Realm, allowing her to easily evade Gu Yan.
In direct combat, she was no match for this young man, but her body movement techniques were enough to keep Gu Yan from touching her.
Gu Yan's flesh and blood were also peeling off, giving him a terrifying appearance. He increased his speed to the limit but still couldn't catch up to her.
Time was too short. While he was a supreme talent in sword dao, he hadn't had enough time to master body movement techniques.
Seeing the two circling the imperial platform, with Imperial Princess Jinzhao constantly dodging and Gu Yan relentlessly pursuing but unable to touch her, Li Hao knew the battle had reached a stalemate.
"There's no need to waste any more energy; at most, this is a draw!"
Jin Ziyin, with deer horns, also spoke up upon seeing this.
The imperial platform's rule was also affecting them, and they naturally didn't want to waste time.
"How should a draw be counted?"
Li Hao countered.
"Hmph, if it were a real battle, his body movement techniques aren't enough; he would eventually lose!"
Jin Ziyin coldly snorted.
Li Hao raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding the other's meaning: they were determined to drive them away and not give up a second spot.
After all, if they gave up a second spot, one of the other four would have to be eliminated, causing their temporary alliance to crumble instantly.
"Since this kind of competition is meaningless, there's no need to continue."
Li Hao said.
Seeing that Li Hao understood his thoughts, Jin Ziyin's face grew even colder. "Do you really want to stand with them against us? With his strength, he might have a chance on another imperial platform, but there's no room for him here!"
"Since you say that, you can also try your luck on other imperial platforms. I can only keep three here."
Li Hao looked at the other four beside Jin Ziyin. "There are three spots; is anyone willing to stay?"
The four were surprised by Li Hao's invitation but seemed to see through his intentions. Some remained calm, while others smirked.
"Those words are meaningless. Since we've joined forces, we won't split up because of your words. You don't have the qualifications to secure six spots."
"Since that's the case, then all of you should leave!"
As Li Hao spoke, a cold, piercing light flashed in his eyes, and a massive, almost terrifying immortal power erupted from his body.
(End of Chapter)
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