Chapter 64: The Art of War Begins

At that very moment, a sudden change erupted! Abruptly, the young man standing in the distance flashed cold light in his eyes, and with a fierce wave of his hand, hurled a longsword radiating endless golden brilliance straight toward Lin Hao!

Though it seemed slow to describe, it all happened in a flash—between the blink of an eye, from Lin Hao’s first step forward, preparing to rush at the crowd, to the young man’s hand movement, the killing intent drew near! It was but a heartbeat!

“Damn it!”

With a furious shout in his heart, Lin Hao dared not linger. As the intense murderous intent surged in his eyes, he suddenly transformed into a rainbow, wielding Heaven’s Execution in his grasp, swinging it fiercely at the golden sword!

It was all so swift—coldness flooded Lin Hao’s gaze as he parried the sword, then, with unprecedented chill in his eyes, he charged once more at the crowd!

“My Li family was once renowned for beast-taming. Though we now follow the martial path, amidst these thousand fierce beasts, how could you possibly survive?”

Watching Lin Hao’s fearless, death-defying demeanor, the young man slowly shook his head. Deep in his eyes, a cold gleam flickered as he spoke calmly, lifting his right hand and pointing at Lin Hao:

“Slaughter—Magnetic Therapy!”

A thunderous roar erupted!

The events unfolded in a flash. As the young man waved his hand, thousands of demonic beasts howled and, fearless of death, surged toward Lin Hao to kill him, all within mere moments!

“Come on!”

Facing the horde of beasts, Lin Hao suddenly burst into wild laughter, his eyes turning red. Around him, a chilling aura rose, and as infinite cold gleams flashed in his gaze, Heaven’s Execution in his hand seemed to sense Lin Hao’s surging killing intent. With unprecedented coldness in his eyes, Lin Hao rushed forward, slaying several men, then turned, furious, to slaughter the thousand beasts!

Though it seemed slow, it all happened in an instant—from Lin Hao killing the men to closing in on the thousand beasts, it was but a few breaths.

Without hesitation, he thrust his spear, his eyes showing fierce resolve, reaching straight into the belly of a beast and extracting its demon core, swallowing it whole!

With waves of immense spiritual energy flooding in, Lin Hao felt as if some powerful blessing had been bestowed upon him; a fierce gleam flashed in his eyes, and he grinned, charging at another beast!

“You are indeed remarkable, but opposing me is a death sentence!”

After a brief pause, the young man’s gaze grew colder than ever, a faint immortal aura swirling around him as he murmured to himself. Yet, he never acted.

In his mind, with thousands of demonic beasts present, Lin Hao stood no chance. He merely watched, for only thus could the Li family’s prestige be truly displayed.

With this mindset, the young man refrained from intervening, but his gaze remained locked on Lin Hao. He wondered what methods Lin Hao had used to win over the daughter of the Hundred Families.

“Let’s end this quickly.”

Watching Lin Hao still fighting desperately, the young man’s eyes flickered thoughtfully. After a moment, he calmly instructed the thousand beasts, then descended gently and walked toward Bai Li.

But he had scarcely taken two steps when, behind him, a sharp whistling sound rang out; his pupils contracted, his skin prickled, and a tidal wave of terror surged in his heart!

Turning, he saw that Lin Hao, at some unknown moment, had slaughtered all the beasts around him and was flying rapidly toward him!

“Stop him!”

Alarmed, the young man’s heart tightened, a deep gleam flickering in his gaze. He commanded the beasts to intercept, and quickly retreated!

Yet the beasts that tried to block Lin Hao were expertly ripped open, their demon cores extracted and consumed!

At this moment, Lin Hao’s cultivation had unknowingly broken through to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation!

“Soldier’s Arrival!”

Without delay, Lin Hao’s eyes brimmed with ruthless intent. His voice, hoarse, sounded out as an unprecedented brilliance shone in his eyes. With this determination, he swiftly reached the young man’s side.

A brilliant white light enveloped him, a powerful aura surging forth. In Lin Hao’s eyes, an unprecedented brightness appeared, his gaze sharp with murderous intent as he closed in!

He thrust his spear fiercely at the young man!

Though it seemed slow, all transpired in a flash—from Lin Hao’s swift approach, his deadly strike, it was but a few breaths.

Yet even after all this, Lin Hao was not satisfied. He thought, if this man survived today, it would bring endless disaster upon himself and Bai Li later. If spared, trouble would surely follow.

With this in mind, Lin Hao quickly reached the young man, his eyes colder than ever, thrusting his spear at him!

But as a golden light flickered, a shrill humming sound erupted!

A piercing hum resounded as the young man’s sword collided with Heaven’s Execution. Soon, as they trembled violently, cracks began to spread across the golden sword!

As endless fissures appeared, Lin Hao did not retreat. With a cold laugh, his eyes bloodshot, heedless of the beasts tearing at his back, he swung again at the young man’s head!

Though it seemed slow, all happened in a flash—from Lin Hao’s blow sending the young man flying, to the beasts closing in, his back became stained with blood!

“Splurt!”

“Splurt!”

With the sounds of flesh being torn, Lin Hao’s back was shredded, blood gushing forth. The cold gleam in his eyes intensified, as he killed another beast, extracted its core, and swallowed it. A faint demonic aura began to emerge around him!

“Lin Hao...”

Below, Bai Li knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Watching Lin Hao fighting desperately amidst the blood-soaked beasts, a wave of extreme cold rose in her heart. She struggled to stand, a cold light flashing in her eyes, white light enveloping her, growing ever stronger!

“Soldier’s Arrival!”

With a cold shout, Bai Li’s eyes filled with unprecedented chill. White light radiated from her as she charged at the beast horde!

“Go back!”

Lin Hao noticed Bai Li’s actions. His pupils contracted as he called out hoarsely, but Bai Li would not heed his words. Blood and tears flowed from her eyes as she murmured,

“You were willing to become the enemy of the world for me; how could I, Bai Li, ever betray you!”

“Even if it means facing a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, I will go with you!”

Hearing Bai Li’s words, Lin Hao was stunned, silent for a long time. After killing another beast, his heart was deeply moved. Only after a while did he finally utter a single word:

“Good!”

Thereafter, the two said nothing more, and together charged into the beast horde!

Bai Li, relying on her peculiar arts and her command of spiritual energy, ensured that within three yards of her, no beast could survive.

Lin Hao, meanwhile, fought battle after battle, consuming demon cores and rapidly advancing his cultivation.

But there was a hidden peril!

Lin Hao had already sensed it, but at this moment, he was powerless.

With each demon core consumed, the demonic energy within him grew ever more intense, so much so that it would not dissipate for years!

Yet Lin Hao did not regret it. Since Bai Li had chosen him, he would never let her suffer!

Moreover, the two still needed to kill the young man later.

Otherwise, if today’s events spread, greater troubles would surely follow.

Perhaps, at this very moment, trouble was already approaching.

Lin Hao dared not presume, dared not speak carelessly, but today’s battle was never his intention. If not for this man’s scheming, how could he have fallen into this predicament!

Thus, Lin Hao gained a clearer understanding of the cruelty of the cultivation world.

Who knows how much time had passed; all that was certain was that the land had been dyed red with blood, Lin Hao’s body grown numb, and a faint murderous aura surrounded him.

Wielding Heaven’s Execution, he continued to slaughter countless beasts. Though his strength was nearly exhausted, Lin Hao fought on. Only by killing all the beasts could he defeat the young man, and only then could the two of them survive. Yet, if they killed the beasts and the young man survived, he would surely bring them trouble.

Therefore, these beasts must die. Who knew what other tricks the young man had? If Lin Hao failed to kill them and advance his cultivation, the young man’s unexpected methods would surely overwhelm him later. This was the safest course.

If the young man had no hidden cards, so much the better.

With this resolve, Lin Hao turned fiercely, stabbing the nearest beast with his spear, extracting its core and holding it in his mouth, not swallowing it yet. Then he turned to another beast, slaying it and again extracting its core, holding it in his mouth.

All these beasts were above the fifth layer of Qi Condensation. Through relentless fighting, Lin Hao had reached the peak of the fifth layer, just a step away from the sixth. Yet that step seemed as distant as the heavens; he needed to be cautious.

Now, he must consume several top-quality demon cores together to break through to the sixth layer!

With this in mind, Lin Hao’s eyes flashed coldly, his killing intent stronger than ever. He struck ruthlessly, stabbing the nearest beast. Heaven’s Execution pierced its fur and belly, and Lin Hao withdrew his spear.

He extracted another demon core and held it in his mouth, his gaze icy as he turned to kill another beast!

Meanwhile, Bai Li stood always at Lin Hao’s side, guarding him.

For her, Lin Hao was her everything.

Whatever trials they faced in the future, she believed Lin Hao would never abandon her. Likewise, to Lin Hao, Bai Li was his entire world.

As the saying goes, husband and wife are birds of a forest, but flee separately in times of trouble.

Yet Bai Li believed, and Lin Hao believed as well, that sincerity would always be felt by the other.

With this conviction, Lin Hao soon slew the last of the beasts, swallowed all the demon cores, and felt a surge of Qi Condensation in his body. Suddenly, a torrent of spiritual energy erupted within him, rushing swiftly to his core!

Though slow to recount, it happened in a flash—from Lin Hao swallowing the cores to breaking through the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, it was but a few breaths.

Seeing Lin Hao’s breakthrough, Bai Li’s eyes relaxed, a wave of relief flooding her as she collapsed to the ground.

Lin Hao was startled, panic flashing in his eyes as he rushed to Bai Li, hurriedly lifting her up and speaking gently,

“How are you?”

“Kill the Li family’s man. Don’t let him escape.”

With blurry eyes, Bai Li managed a difficult reply before fainting.

Lin Hao wasted no more time. With cold gleams in his eyes, he gently laid Bai Li down, a chilling aura growing within him. Seeing Bai Li’s weakened state, Lin Hao could no longer remain calm. With endless cold light in his eyes, he dashed toward the distant young man!

Though it seems slow, it happened in a flash—from Lin Hao laying Bai Li down to striking ruthlessly, it was but an instant!

Soon, Lin Hao was within a hundred yards of the young man. Sensing Lin Hao’s approach, the young man’s gaze filled with unprecedented coldness. He hastily threw away his sword, hurling it at Lin Hao!

“Explode!”

A shrill cry rang out. The young man’s eyes showed deep pain as his voice echoed across the sky. The golden sword suddenly radiated a terrifying, violent surge!

A faint hum sounded as cracks rapidly spread over the golden sword, accompanied by an aura that threatened to destroy everything!

“Seeking death!”

Boom!

As the explosion thundered, Lin Hao’s pupils contracted sharply. Despite the surging killing intent and the pain from the storm of the treasure’s aftermath, he stepped forward, a powerful aura rising from him, white light flickering around!

Soldier’s Arrival—killing intent revealed!