Chapter 132: Chapter 128: Dare to Touch Him, and It’s a Fight to the Death
"You..." Faced with the same reaction, Cao Tianguan flew into a rage and strode forward.
Lin Hao looked up, giving him a cold glance.
That single glance made Cao Tianguan feel as if he’d been plunged into an ice-filled chasm. He recalled the gruesome deaths of the three Alchemy Masters.
Cringing, Cao Tianguan was so frightened that he took a step back.
A faint, mocking smile touched Lin Hao’s lips.
"Uncle, you must avenge me!" Cao Tianguan turned his head, pleading with the old man.
"My nephew deigned to grace your Heaven-Stepping Sect with the presence of Alchemy Masters, only to be treated like this? Kneel and slap your own face three hundred times, then break all four of your limbs. Only then will I spare your life!"
The old man’s tone was chilling and imperious.
Lin Hao shook his head, his expression impassive. He still said nothing.
Instead, he walked down the stairs and helped up the blood-soaked Alchemy Master.
Lin Hao’s action made the old man’s breath catch in his throat.
’I, Cao Ba, am one of the six Grand Elders of the Danling Sect! Never mind the Southern Border Prefecture, even within the entire Cangnan Empire, everyone must give me face.’
’Yet now, the so-called chief disciple of some third-rate sect is actually ignoring me.’
’How utterly preposterous!’
"Even Wu Taichu has to bow and scrape before me! You little bastard, I will not spare you today!" Enraged, Cao Ba manifested a massive hand of True Essence in the air and brought it crashing down on Lin Hao’s head.
Originally, Cao Tianguan’s father, Cao Xiong, had received his son’s letter but had been too busy to come himself. That was why he had entrusted the matter to his younger brother, Cao Ba.
However, Cao Ba had been busy using medicinal pills to break through to the Soul Gathering Realm, which was why he had arrived late.
Now a Soul Gathering Realm expert, the hand of True Essence that Cao Ba manifested was terrifying beyond measure.
The massive hand of True Essence was like a giant fan, casting its shadow over the entire Pill Cloud Hall.
The group of Alchemy Masters behind Lin Hao couldn’t withstand the immense pressure. They fell to their knees one by one, unable to even straighten their backs, their faces contorted in agony.
After all, although they were Alchemy Masters, their cultivation was only at the Elemental Realm.
The aura of a Soul Gathering Realm expert was overwhelming; a Martial Artist in the Elemental Realm couldn’t even muster the will to resist.
Yet Lin Hao stood proudly, his back as straight as a sword’s edge.
Even Cao Ba was startled.
But seeing Lin Hao’s face flush crimson and his legs tremble, Cao Ba sneered as the hand of True Essence pressed down abruptly...
If nothing intervened, the immense pressure would surely snap the spine of Lin Hao, who was resisting with all his might!
In the nick of time, a figure flew over and swatted away the massive hand of True Essence.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the hand of True Essence was obliterated.
A moment later, a figure landed in front of Lin Hao.
"Guests from afar should be welcomed, but you show far too little respect for my Heaven-Stepping Sect!" the man said, staring directly at Cao Ba, making no effort to conceal the fire in his voice.
The newcomer was none other than Wu Taichu.
In his eyes, Lin Hao was more important than anything. He wouldn’t have backed down even if he were facing the Sect Leader of the Danling Sect, let alone a mere elder—even if it were the leaders of the Cangnan Empire’s five great sects, Wu Taichu would not yield.
"You would make an enemy of the Danling Sect for his sake?!" Cao Ba demanded coldly, leveraging the name of the Danling Sect to pressure Wu Taichu.
Wu Taichu smiled faintly and replied, "You don’t speak for the Danling Sect. But even if you did, touch him, and we fight to the death!"
Touch him, and we fight to the death.
Just seven words, but the promise they held was worth more than a thousand.
"It seems I have underestimated his importance to you. But so what? In the face of absolute power, all else crumbles! Today, I *will* make my move against him. What can you possibly do about it!"
Cao Ba sneered. The hand of True Essence manifested once more, but this time it was a claw, not a palm, and it shot toward the two of them.
He intended to capture both of them, Wu Taichu included, in one fell swoop—the height of arrogance.
"Hmph!"
Wu Taichu snorted. Without dodging or evading, he threw a punch straight at the True Essence claw in the air!
Simple and direct!
BOOM!
With a single blow, the True Essence claw was obliterated. Wu Taichu and Lin Hao were completely unharmed.
"You... You’ve advanced to the Soul Gathering Realm?!" Cao Ba’s eyes widened as he cried out in disbelief.
As an elder from one of the Southern Border Prefecture’s four great sects, Cao Ba was intimately familiar with the strength of every Sect Leader in the prefecture. What’s more, Cao Tianguan’s letter from a few days ago had explicitly stated that Wu Taichu was only at the Peak of the Elemental Realm.
This was the main reason for Cao Ba’s earlier arrogance.
Although Wu Taichu had managed to save Lin Hao, Cao Ba hadn’t been using his full strength at the time.
This time, he had intended to make a show of force, so he had infused the claw with the power of the Soul Gathering Realm.
’But I never imagined Wu Taichu would actually block that attack.’
’There’s only one explanation for how he could block it: Wu Taichu has also advanced to the Soul Gathering Realm.’
This was completely outside of Cao Ba’s expectations.
Wu Taichu didn’t answer him. Instead, he shot a grateful glance at Lin Hao.
’If it weren’t for Lin Hao, Cao Ba’s attack would have brought complete humiliation upon the Heaven-Stepping Sect!’
"Good, good, good! No wonder you dared to run your mouth. So you’ve advanced to the Soul Gathering Realm. I’d like to see just how you plan to protect him today!"
With that, Cao Ba lunged straight at Wu Taichu.
At the same time, he bellowed, "All Danling Sect disciples, hear my command! Seize Lin Hao!"
The words had barely left his mouth before he and Wu Taichu were locked in combat.
To dare act this way on Heaven-Stepping Sect’s own territory, even knowing that Wu Taichu had advanced, showed just how little Cao Ba regarded them.
The height of arrogance!
His plan was shrewd: he would keep Wu Taichu busy while the Danling Sect’s Alchemy Masters dealt with Lin Hao.
’In his mind, Lin Hao was merely at the Blood Coagulation Realm; capturing him would be child’s play.’
With Cao Ba backing them, the Alchemy Masters behind Cao Tianguan looked eager to make a move.
"If you want to touch him, you’ll have to get through us first!" The Alchemy Masters behind Lin Hao leaped forward, choosing to stand with him against their own sect.
Cao Tianguan was livid. "You dare defy the orders of a Sect Elder? Are you trying to stage a rebellion?!"
"You’ve got a problem with me, and as it happens, I’ve got a problem with you. How about we play a little game?" Lin Hao finally spoke, issuing a direct challenge to Cao Tianguan.
Cao Tianguan was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. When he finished, he sneered, "You want to fight me?"
’In Cao Tianguan’s eyes, while his own cultivation wasn’t exceptional, he was still at the first level of the Elemental Realm. For someone merely in the Blood Coagulation Realm like Lin Hao to challenge him was simply suicidal.’
"Didn’t that old geezer want to capture me just now? I’ll give you a chance, too. If you can catch me, I’ll surrender without a fight," Lin Hao said nonchalantly, completely disregarding Cao Tianguan.
’Lin Hao wasn’t an idiot. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could fight a Martial Artist in the Elemental Realm head-on. But what he prided himself on most was his speed. With his new Ghostly Divine Step, even an Elemental Realm Martial Artist like Cao Tianguan wouldn’t be able to catch him.’
"Young Master Lin, you mustn’t! He’s..." one of the Alchemy Masters beside Lin Hao said anxiously.
But before he could finish, Cao Tianguan cut him off.
"Shut your mouth! Lin Hao, those were your words. Since you’re so eager, let’s make a little wager. If I can’t even catch you within ten breaths, I’ll call you Grandpa!" Cao Tianguan jeered.
A corner of Lin Hao’s mouth quirked up, and he beckoned to Cao Tianguan with a finger.
Cao Tianguan’s eyes narrowed. His body moved like a flash of lightning as he lunged for Lin Hao.
His boast of ten breaths was not without basis.
Although the Danling Sect primarily focused on Alchemy, it had used its pills to amass an unknown number of Cultivation Techniques and martial skills from across the continent.
As it happened, Cao Tianguan’s greatest pride was also his Body Technique.
It was a well-known fact that the Danling Sect held a grand assembly every year.
During the assembly, countless sects from the Southern Border Prefecture, and even other prefectures, would come to the Danling Sect to bid for pills.
And every time, the wives or beloved daughters of the various Sect Leaders would also be in attendance.
They came for another reason: besides its pills, the Danling Sect was also famous for its Ice and Fire Pool.
The water in the Ice and Fire Pool had a miraculous skin-rejuvenating effect.
The Danling Sect’s annual assembly could be summarized in a single line: "Win rare pills on the Wind and Cloud Platform; wash in the Ice and Fire Pool to perfect your skin."
While the major sects bid on pills at the Wind and Cloud Platform, their wives, daughters, and disciples would be enjoying the pool’s magical properties.
And relying on his Body Technique, Cao Tianguan had peeped at the naked bodies of countless women.
’In all these years, he had never once been discovered, all thanks to this Body Technique. And now Lin Hao wanted to compete with him in speed? Wasn’t he just asking to be humiliated?’
’Ten breaths was a conservative estimate. In his mind, three would be more than enough.’
Seeing he was about to grab Lin Hao, Cao Tianguan grinned.
「The next moment.」
Cao Tianguan’s hand closed around Lin Hao’s arm.
But the smile froze on his face.
His hand passed straight through Lin Hao’s arm without meeting any resistance.
’What’s going on?’
When he took a closer look, Cao Tianguan was driven to fury.
The image of Lin Hao before him was fading away. It was just an afterimage!
An afterimage completely indistinguishable from his real body!
’How fast do you have to be to leave an afterimage like that?!’
Cao Tianguan was horrified.
"Grandson, your Grandpa is over here. Time’s running out, you know," Lin Hao’s mocking voice rang out from behind him.
Turning around, Cao Tianguan was stunned to see Lin Hao standing right where he himself had just been, smiling and waving.
Cao Tianguan spun around and flashed forward, his hand shooting out to grab Lin Hao again with incredible speed!
The entire motion, from turning to grabbing, took no more than a single breath.
Yet, it was still useless.
"Sigh, you’re as slow as a snail," Lin Hao’s voice once again sounded from behind Cao Tianguan.
"Damn it!"
Mad with rage, Cao Tianguan pushed his True Essence to its limits, and his Body Technique actually grew a notch faster.
"Too slow!"
"Grandson, over here!"
"Come on, catch your Grandpa, and I’ll give you a piece of candy."
Countless images of Lin Hao materialized around Cao Tianguan, their mocking voices echoing from all directions and drilling into his ears.
Cao Tianguan spun about like a headless fly, utterly bewildered.
"It’s over!" Lin Hao’s voice suddenly whispered in his ear. In the next instant, Cao Tianguan felt his body go numb, and he could no longer move.
A smiling Lin Hao stood before the panting, breathless Cao Tianguan.
Meanwhile, in mid-air, Cao Ba and Wu Taichu were locked in a fierce, inseparable battle.
Lin Hao narrowed his eyes, looked up at the sky, and then bellowed at the top of his lungs.
