Chapter Ten: Defying Convention

Chapter Ten: Li Hao’s Unconventional Bet

Xiao Jiu gave Li Hao no face at all, and Li Hao could do nothing about it. Though Xiao Jiu now carried Li Hao’s soul mark, Li Hao had not yet reached the level required to lift the seal, nor could he sense Xiao Jiu's state. Once Li Hao attained the Wandering Realm, he would be able to communicate with Xiao Jiu through divine sense, truly wielding the Nine Dragons War Halberd with ease. Upon reaching the Soul Refining Realm, every move and even thought of Xiao Jiu would be laid bare to him. At present, Li Hao was like a man with a treasury but no key.

Since childhood, Li Hao often heard the Divine Herbalist say, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. No one will treat you kindly without reason. Anyone who does has an ulterior motive.” That was why Li Hao believed Xiao Jiu owed him no explanations.

The path ahead, then, was one Li Hao would have to walk himself.

Li Hao and Lu Yao now faced their next match. To make up for the lie he had told Lu Yao before, Li Hao decided to bet this time with his true strength.

A new round began in the beast arena. This time, two Thunder Attribute Mighty Bears entered the ring—one purple, one black. Same attribute, same species. Everyone was eager to see how they would fight, whether they would show mercy to a kin, and the answer would soon be revealed. The entire arena waited with bated breath, anxious to witness what would unfold.

…

“It’s been ten years—why hasn’t Father brought Hao’er back yet?” In the grand palace that symbolized the highest authority of the Li Tian Star Region, Mo Rou, wife of the Supreme Li Tian Sovereign, asked her husband, her voice heavy with endless longing.

For ten years, Mo Rou comforted herself daily: “It will be soon, perhaps in just a while, Father will bring Hao’er home.” Yet days slipped by, years passed in succession, and neither Li Yang Divine Sovereign nor Li Hao ever returned.

Ten years to people like them was but a snap of the fingers. But to a mother yearning for her child, even a single moment was torment. This agony was a torment of the heart, a pain only a mother bereft of her child could understand.

“Rou’er, don’t worry too much. Father and Hao’er may return before long.” Li Tian Sovereign himself missed his father and son deeply. He hadn’t heard from them since receiving a family letter ten years ago. He thought silently, “I wonder how the old man has fared all these years, and whether Hao’er is growing well.”

“Rou’er knows you miss Father and Hao’er as much as I do. There’s no need to feign strength just to comfort me.” Mo Rou was quietly melancholic, tears of longing streaming unnoticed from her eyes.

Li Tian Sovereign saw his wife’s sorrow, and words failed him. He could only gather her gently into his arms. Like statues carved from the world itself, they held one another in silent companionship, the only sound being Mo Rou’s suppressed sobs, born of a decade’s longing.

Li Tian Sovereign, infected by his wife’s grief, felt the bitterness as well. Yet as a good man, no matter how painful or exhausting, he determined to bear it alone. He would support the woman he loved, give her warmth and strength, fulfilling the lifelong trust she placed in him.

A woman fears marrying the wrong man; her life should not be mundane. To depend on a man who cherishes, spoils, and loves her is happiness. True joy is a life of contentment, not tears shed amidst gold and riches.

Couples like Li Tian Sovereign and Mo Rou, bound by mutual affection and devotion, are the world’s most priceless treasures.

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“Dear, Hao’er was born and left home, never knowing if he would be bullied by other children. I wonder if he resembles me or you more, if he’s well, if he’s grown taller…” Leaning in Li Tian Sovereign’s embrace, Li Hao’s mother poured out ten years of longing for her son.

Outside, a gentle rain fell over the Li Tian Star Region, as if moved by the couple’s yearning, weeping in sympathy. In the palace chamber, a man and woman clung to each other, lost in the haze of longing.

Li Yang Divine Sovereign had left to uncover the mystery of the power within Li Hao’s body, and vanished without a trace.

…

Once again, the beast fight in Dripping Water City was about to begin. Li Hao watched the two enormous, three-hundred-zhang tall Thunder Mighty Bears, feeling bewildered and unable to discern which was the stronger.

“Calm your mind, focus, and sense the changes in their power.” At the crucial moment, Xiao Jiu offered timely advice, his voice ringing out once more. Xiao Jiu did not violate Li Yang Divine Sovereign’s command, merely guiding Li Hao in how to use his own resources.

Li Hao, upon hearing the reminder, immediately understood what to do. He cleared his mind of distractions and focused on sensing the laws governing the two Thunder Bears. Unbeknownst to him, the mysterious power within his body stirred to life. In his perception, the purple bear’s thunder law was purer than the black bear’s.

Li Hao made his decision instantly, and bet one hundred silver soul coins on the purple bear.

The odds were one to one hundred for the purple bear, and one to one for the black bear. The purple bear was at the Intermediate Wandering Realm, while the black bear stood at the Advanced Wandering Realm—a whole level higher.

The difference between realms was vast; a single minor realm meant ten times the power. Within a realm, the jump from intermediate to advanced was a watershed: intermediate power was ten times that of the initial stage, advanced was ten times intermediate, making advanced one hundred times the initial stage. Perfected realm power was one hundred times advanced, minor perfection ten times perfected, and major perfection ten times minor perfection—so major perfection was one hundred times perfected. Crossing a major realm, initial power would be a thousand times that of the previous realm’s major perfection—for example, Wandering Realm initial stage was a thousand times the major perfection of Foundation Realm.

To challenge a higher level required extraordinary cultivation or some method to bridge the gap in power.

So, by conventional wisdom, the purple bear had no chance against the black bear. Lu Yao too sensed the black bear was a level higher. Seeing Li Hao bet on the purple bear, she was puzzled, yet did not ask why, simply supporting her brother as always. Growing up with Li Hao, she knew him best—he rarely made decisions lightly, but once he did, nothing could change his mind.

Spectators saw the masked boy betting on the purple bear and assumed he was a rich young master playing around, dismissing him.

The arena judge announced the match, instantly lifting the sealing marks. The two fierce bears rushed forward. The black bear, upon seeing the purple bear, seemed to disdain its lower realm. The purple bear showed no anger or fear, calmly observing its opponent’s strength.

The crowd and gamblers saw the purple bear motionless, thinking it was paralyzed by fear. The outcome seemed inevitable—the black bear would win. Only a few discerning and powerful cultivators watched with a hint of seriousness. One soul-refining middle-aged cultivator, over a thousand years old, noticed the boy betting on the purple bear and found it odd. He scanned Li Hao with his divine sense, found him to be just a ten-year-old child, and lost interest, assuming he was merely playing.

Li Hao’s insight was thanks to Xiao Jiu’s guidance.

The two colossal beasts stared at each other for several breaths. The purple bear struck first; to ordinary eyes it seemed suicidal, but to the strong, it was something else entirely.

The purple bear summoned eighty percent of its thunder power and charged the black bear at full speed. The black bear, mocking the purple bear’s supposed recklessness, stood with indifference as if saying, “Come hit me, I’ll just stand here.”

In the purple bear’s mind, it seemed to say, “Your ignorance will let you witness my true strength.”

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When the purple bear closed to ten zhang from the black bear, it unleashed its remaining twenty percent power in a full-force strike. Its massive paw slammed into the black bear’s thigh joint.

Crack.

A piercing sound of bone shattering echoed; the black bear, caught off guard, was struck by the purple bear’s all-out attack, breaking its left leg instantly and losing fifty percent of its fighting power.

Roar…

The black bear’s agonized roar thundered through the arena, shaking the surroundings and causing many weaker cultivators to suffer splitting headaches, some even bleeding from their orifices—an alarming sight. The purple bear, determined to survive, gave no chance for a counterattack. It unleashed its full strength again, smashing its paw onto the black bear’s head. The black bear collapsed in the arena, its fate uncertain—dead or unconscious.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Many hadn’t even registered what had happened. The black bear had suffered a crushing defeat, and the arena was shaken anew.

Had the black bear not underestimated its opponent and fought with full effort, the outcome might have been different. Its higher realm meant ten times the purple bear’s power. Even if the purple bear had exceptional talent and the black bear was dull, victory shouldn’t have been so easy—it should have been a prolonged battle of hundreds of rounds.

Lu Yao’s alluring lips parted in astonishment, her face full of disbelief. She wondered, “Is it brother Li Hao’s luck, or is he just that amazing?”

Li Hao himself was rocked by the sudden victory. He had expected a hard-fought match, with the purple bear barely scraping by. He never imagined the black bear would fall so swiftly.

The result shocked everyone in the arena, and the purple bear taught Li Hao a profound lesson: in future battles, he must never let his guard down, or he could share the black bear’s fate.

Li Hao also realized the purple bear’s surge in power as it neared the black bear: “This was luring the enemy in.”

“Where have I heard that phrase before? It sounds so familiar.” Li Hao couldn’t recall, and gave up thinking about it.

Seeing their side’s victory, Lu Yao couldn’t help but cheer, “Brother Li Hao, we won! You’re so lucky!”

Li Hao thought perhaps luck really was the cause. Those around him agreed—the boy had stumbled into fortune.

Li Hao’s first bet, and he had effortlessly claimed one hundred silver soul coins.

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