Chapter 105: The Ghost Tiger's Duel — Li Hao's Sinister Smile

Chapter 105: A Ghost Fights a Tiger — A Burst of Youthful Laughter

As Li Hao and his five companions dispersed, Zhen Ba quickly settled into a cross-legged position, focusing all his energy on gathering the laws of heaven and earth to break through his realm.

Li Hao and the others formed a large circle with a diameter of a hundred zhang around Zhen Ba.

Within a spatial pocket of the interdimensional realm, Xiao Jiu, wielding the power of the Wandering Realm, scoured the area for information. After a thorough investigation, he murmured to himself:

“What a formidable spiritual illusion array. The blend of truth and falsehood here is so chaotic that it’s nearly impossible to discern. Cultivators below the Soul Refining Realm would never detect the hidden dangers lurking here. It seems the calm of this interdimensional realm won’t last much longer. Young master, since this is a test for you all, I must follow the late master’s orders and leave everything to your own efforts.”

After speaking, Xiao Jiu rested his hands behind his head, seemingly asleep amid the clouds shrouding the sky. This lazy demeanor looked rather carefree. Yet, to a keen observer, it was apparent that Xiao Jiu was subtly shifting his position, never truly resting.

While Zhen Ba concentrated on breaking through his realm, Li Hao felt an unusual stirring within his soul. Wondering if one of his clones had found news of Lin Huashu and Lu Zhengtian, he entered his spiritual sea and summoned the Chaos Origin Pearl to observe.

Inside the pearl, Li Hao saw all his clones. None were particularly remarkable except for Sword Extinguish, who carried the Divine Demon World-Ending Sword. The scene before his eyes was Sword Extinguish feigning helplessness, clinging to the leg of the girl known as Big Yellow Fang. Li Hao was startled by the vivid scene and murmured to himself:

“Such a unique girl truly exists in this world; there is nothing that cannot be found.”

Watching Sword Extinguish fleeing, Li Hao was shaken deeply. Sword Extinguish had unleashed his Phantom Shadow Step to its full extent, yet Big Yellow Fang effortlessly kept pace, matching his every move. Although Sword Extinguish’s Phantom Shadow Step was only partially mastered, it is exceedingly rare in the same realm for anyone to catch up to even a novice-level Phantom Shadow Step user.

Finally, Li Hao saw Sword Extinguish and Big Yellow Fang rolling around playfully, which amused him greatly. Content with what he had witnessed, Li Hao stored away the Chaos Origin Pearl and withdrew from his spiritual sea.

After an hour of full exertion, Zhen Ba’s aura of the Great Soul Refining Realm finally solidified, marking his progression to the stabilization stage. Another half hour later, his realm was completely stable. At this point, Zhen Ba’s cultivation leveled with Lin Xueyou’s. In terms of combat strength, Lin Xueyou was no match for Zhen Ba’s first strike. This represented the ordinary difference between combat-focused and support-focused cultivators.

Upon awakening, Zhen Ba did not rush to celebrate but instead expressed heartfelt gratitude to Lin Xueyou and the others:

“I never expected, thanks to sister, young master, and everyone’s help, that I would break through the Soul Refining Realm so quickly.”

Lin Xueyou smiled warmly at this newly acquainted younger brother’s breakthrough:

“Ah, brother, you’re too polite. Your breakthrough is due to your own extraordinary cultivation; we had little to do with it.”

Li Hao echoed Lin Xueyou’s words:

“Brother Zhen Ba, there’s no need for formalities. The path ahead is still long. Let’s work hard together.”

Zhen Ba agreed enthusiastically:

“Alright, let’s work hard together!”

“Work hard together!”

“Let’s go!”

The young men and women dispelled the lingering gloom with bursts of cheer. After the laughter subsided, Zhen Ba approached Li Hao with deep respect:

“Young master, I must admit, as fellow young lords of this domain, your positive attitude leaves me far behind.”

Li Hao calmly replied:

“Brother Zhen Ba, please don’t flatter me. Any success I have achieved is thanks to Grandfather Baicao’s family. Without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

Seeing the two exchange compliments, Lin Xueyou interrupted:

“Both of you are outstanding talents; no need to be overly modest. Let’s focus on the matter at hand.”

Zhen Ba nodded, eager to meet Lin Huashu, curious about the mysterious elder brother he had yet to encounter:

“Sister is right, business first! I also want to meet that brother I haven’t yet seen. I just hope he won’t look down on me.”

Lin Xueyou shook her head, unwilling to embarrass her brother too much:

“Big brother is a good person but a bit lazy. When he cultivated at home, it was often our father forcing him to practice.”

She candidly laid bare Lin Huashu’s shortcomings, much to everyone’s amusement.

“Hahaha, I didn’t expect Brother Huashu to have such a character.”

The group chatted merrily as they flew along.

Kui Hu came up to Li Hao and said:

“Young master, I never imagined your status would be so high.”

Qin Zhen chimed in:

“Yeah, why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Li Zhan agreed:

“Yes, young master, you’ve kept this from us for so long.”

Li Hao responded:

“It’s not that I meant to hide it. As Brother Zhen Ba said: ‘Like smoke and clouds, fleeting and elusive, sorrow lingers in retrospect. Where goes the glory of three thousand years? Only the fallen times remain.’ Such ephemeral things are no basis for boasting. Besides, none of you asked.”

Kui Hu gave a thumbs-up, praising Li Hao:

“See! Our young master is truly learned, unlike you all, who laze around, good for nothing, idle and useless. You’re a disgrace.”

Those unfamiliar might think highly of Zhen Ba, but Li Zhan and Qin Zhen, who knew him well, disapproved of Kui Hu’s shameless remarks. They exchanged disdainful glances. Li Zhan retorted:

“Shameless! As if you’re any better. You write your name like a wriggling worm and still have the nerve to criticize us.”

Li Zhan was usually taciturn, but when he spoke, his words were sharp and to the point. Qin Zhen supported him:

“Saying his name looks like a worm crawling is a bit much. It’s more like a worm with broken segments crawling all over the place.”

Laughter erupted.

Their frankness toward Zhen Ba had Li Hao, Lin Xueyou, Zhen Ba, and Lu Yao laughing heartily, bending over and gasping for breath.

Zhen Ba, seemingly oblivious to the embarrassment, fired back without yielding:

“So what? I’m still better than you. You’re like worms cut into pieces trying to crawl, flying everywhere, yet you have the gall to mock me.”

Li Zhan could only grin sheepishly. Qin Zhen defended:

“That was intentional, wasn’t it?”

More laughter.

Kui Hu cut in, pointing at Qin Zhen:

“You did it on purpose? Remember when people saw your name and took forever guessing? They called you ‘Clamped Grain Zhen’ because of that.”

Afterward, Kui Hu pointed at Li Zhan:

“And you, Li Zhan, your name was easy to read, but when I pronounced it, it sounded like ‘Eighteen Sons Divination Mouth.’ How dare you criticize me.”

Li Zhan shot back:

“Brother Hu, how can you say that about me? I almost forgot until you mentioned it. When you first wrote your name, you stunned everyone. You made a mess of Kui Hu’s characters, and after hours of study, they concluded your name was ‘Child of a Thousand Twenty Divination Factory Seventy-Something.’ That unique name shocked the entire crowd! You practiced furiously for days and finally rewrote it as ‘Ghost Fighting Tiger.’ Truly talented!”

The group’s antics caused Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao, two graceful young ladies, to laugh so hard they lost all composure, gasping and throwing their heads back.

Zhen Ba’s laughter was the loudest, carrying for eight hundred li. Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen delighted in teasing each other’s embarrassing stories, laughing until bent over and hunched. The least photogenic smile belonged to Li Hao.

Li Hao, caught between Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao, who each held one of his arms, smiled awkwardly as they playfully jostled him. He remained stiff, floating midair, effectively a tree stump to them.

Whether it was fear of laughing too hard and accidentally dropping the two ladies or concern about moving and harming them, no one could tell.

After their laughter subsided, Lu Yao noticed Li Hao’s awkward smile and curiously asked:

“Brother Li Hao, is it not funny?”

Seeing his strange expression, the others were puzzled.

Li Hao replied:

“It’s funny, funny—I’ve laughed all my laughter with you.”

Then he let out a laugh so hideous it seemed capable of shaking heaven and earth:

“Gahaha!”

They thought Li Hao was joking again and joined in the laughter.

Their mirth echoed across hundreds of li. Young men and women nearby cast curious glances, some even flying closer to investigate.

When these onlookers saw the group of youths laughing wildly and chaotically, the sharp-eyed noticed Li Hao’s odd expression and movements. After careful analysis and drawing from experience, they concluded Li Hao’s unusual behavior was due to the two ethereal, beautiful young ladies holding his arms too tightly, causing his laughter to look more like crying.

Some girls covered their mouths to chuckle at Li Hao’s awkwardness, while a certain young lord silently cursed Li Hao dozens of times for the sake of Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao.

“You little bastard, let go of those two girls so I can have a turn.”

“You’re wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you little bastard. You deserve a thousand cuts and to be struck by lightning.”

“Why aren’t those two girls holding me? I’m worried sick for that little bastard.”

“If only those two girls were holding me, how wonderful that would be.”

A chorus of disparaging voices quietly mocked Li Hao’s predicament. That rare chance was right before their eyes, yet they could only watch helplessly. Their hearts were practically broken by Li Hao’s misfortune.