Chapter 124: Sharing Adversity

Chapter 124: True Feelings in Times of Adversity

The torrential downpour had been raging for three hours.

Boom!

"Ah!"

"Watch out!"

"Sister Yao'er, look out!"

Lu Yao's energy had been completely exhausted, and her barrier of laws shattered with a crisp sound, like glass breaking. Her scream rang out instantly.

Seeing her barrier collapse, the others shouted in alarm, but their cries were futile; the merciless storm felt no sympathy.

Li Hao instantly gathered the laws of heaven and earth, focusing his intent on Lu Yao. He pulled her into his own barrier, which doubled in size to accommodate her.

Off-balance, Lu Yao stumbled into Li Hao's embrace. Li Hao quickly patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Sister Yao'er, it's alright now!"

Recovering from her panic, Lu Yao pulled away from his solid embrace and steadied herself. She pressed her jade-white hands against her chest and said to Li Hao, "That was so close! You scared me to death. Thank you, Brother Li Hao."

Li Hao replied, "Sister Yao'er, rest for a moment. I will hold the line for you."

"Okay!" Lu Yao answered, quickly sitting cross-legged to recover her strength.

Just as Li Hao helped Lu Yao escape the immediate danger, the light on Qin Zhen's barrier began to flicker. Seeing this, Li Hao pulled Qin Zhen into his own barrier as well.

Qin Zhen had been on the verge of collapse when Li Hao saved him. As Li Hao's barrier expanded once more, the surface area under pressure increased, putting a greater strain on his own energy reserves.

Gratefully, Qin Zhen said, "Thank you for your help, Young Master. It was so close; I nearly couldn't hold on any longer."

Li Hao replied, "Brother Qin Zhen, recover your strength quickly. I fear I cannot hold for much longer."

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Qin Zhen felt a mix of emotions and hurried to sit down to replenish his energy.

At that moment, the barriers of Ling Guanghan, Kui Hu, and Li Zhan also began to flicker. Li Hao noticed their distress, but before he could act, Zhen Ba stepped forward and pulled Ling Guanghan and Kui Hu into his own barrier, while Lin Xueyou followed suit, pulling Li Zhan into hers.

As they protected themselves while simultaneously diverting energy to shield their friends, the pressure upon them grew increasingly intense.

Among those being protected, Ling Guanghan felt the most conflicted. He was grateful for his friends' selfless help, yet felt guilty for being too weak and becoming a burden.

This sentiment was shared by all who were being shielded. However, the danger left no room for hollow pleasantries. Grateful and determined, they forced themselves to recover their strength as quickly as possible to help share the burden.

Half an hour after Li Hao and the others began helping their friends, trouble struck elsewhere. Lu Xuemei's barrier began to flicker. Seeing his sister's strength failing, Lu Zhengtian quickly pulled her into his own.

Feeling that she was dragging her brother down, Lu Xuemei said, "Brother, I can still manage. You don't need to take on the pressure for me."

Lu Zhengtian looked at his sister with a pained expression and said, "Xue'er, I know you are stubborn, but these are extraordinary times. You cannot be willful now. Listen to me: rest well. Trust that I can protect you. You must believe that as long as I am here, I will never let you come to harm."

Hearing his words, tears of gratitude welled up in Lu Xuemei’s eyes. She nodded obediently and sat down to recover. She knew all too well that if the storm did not subside, her brother would not be able to hold out for long either.

Ever since their mother passed away, she had not felt the warmth of family. In all these years, only the few days since her brother’s return had given her a sense of belonging again. The time spent with Lu Zhengtian had been the happiest period of her life since their mother's death.

Elsewhere, Lin Huashu and Qin Yanyun were struggling. Both knew that their strength would eventually run dry and their barriers would collapse.

After much thought, Lin Huashu said, "Sister Yanyun, come into my barrier. I will shield you for a while so you can rest and recover your strength."

Moved, Qin Yanyun refused, "Brother, you are in the same state as I am. Don't push yourself. I can manage."

Lin Huashu continued, "Listen to me, Sister Yanyun. Once you recover, you can use your barrier to protect me while I rest. If we cycle like this, we can hold out much longer."

Realizing the logic in his plan, Qin Yanyun set aside her maidenly reserve and entered his barrier to begin her recovery.

True feelings are revealed in adversity; bonds are forged in the crucible of crisis. It is only when facing such danger that one truly learns who holds them dear. After the trials of this night, the affection between these young people would surely ascend to a new level.

After half an hour of shielding their friends, Zhen Ba, Lin Xueyou, and Li Hao reached their limits. Their barriers began to flicker and fail.

Panic set in as everyone grew restless.

"What should we do? Is our fate sealed tonight?"

"What can we do?"

These thoughts echoed in everyone’s minds. Just as they teetered on the edge of total collapse, Li Hao suddenly asked, "Brother Ling, Brother Kui Hu, Brother Li Zhan, Brother Qin Zhen, how is your recovery?"

Ling Guanghan was the first to answer, "About fifty percent recovered. Does the Young Master have any orders?" The others nodded as well.

A hint of joy appeared in Li Hao’s heart. "If my plan works, that should be enough."

Lu Yao asked, "Brother Li Hao, have you thought of a good solution?"

Li Hao nodded. "Everyone, hold on a little longer."

With no time for explanations, Li Hao focused his intent on his barrier and summoned his Nine-Dragon Battle Halberd. It appeared instantly by his side. Li Hao cast a spell:

"Change!"

Following his command, Xiao Jiu instantly transformed into human form.

Watching this, Ling Guanghan was stunned. He thought to himself, "This is a legendary god-tier weapon! Something I never dared to imagine, yet I see it with my own eyes. This Young Master Li Hao is truly no ordinary person."

Xiao Jiu asked, "Young Master, what are your orders?"

Li Hao replied, "Brother Xiao Jiu, time is short. I need your help. Just hold this barrier for the length of an incense stick. That will be enough."

"Yes, Young Master!" Though Xiao Jiu did not know what his master intended, he knew this was a critical moment and asked no questions.

Once Xiao Jiu took over the barrier, Li Hao turned to Zhen Ba and Lin Xueyou. "Brother Zhen Ba, Sister Xueyou, go into Brother Xiao Jiu’s barrier and rest. Let me test a theory of mine."

With no better options, they complied.

As all eight of them crowded into Xiao Jiu’s barrier, the load increased eightfold, and the barrier expanded accordingly. Even so, for Xiao Jiu at full power, this was effortless. However, Xiao Jiu had restricted his own power, meaning he could only maintain this for half an hour at most.

Li Hao had asked about their recovery precisely because he feared Xiao Jiu might not be able to hold the pressure for long. If Xiao Jiu failed, they needed to be ready to protect themselves.

As soon as Zhen Ba and Lin Xueyou were inside, Li Hao surged out of the barrier.

His sudden move shocked everyone. But before they could speak, they saw what he was doing.

Standing in the heart of the storm, Li Hao activated his Heaven-Earth Yin-Yang Purification Array. He began to draw power directly from the storm. As he absorbed the wind-attribute energy, the intensity of the storm within the cave began to subside. Everyone watched in utter disbelief—no one had expected that Li Hao could refine the ever-changing power of the wind.

With his unfathomable absorption speed, his energy surged back, quickly replenishing what he had lost. His bold experiment was a success.

After half a stick of incense, Li Hao had recovered most of his strength.

He then used his soul to stabilize the array and channeled his energy to manifest a new barrier of laws. This time, it was not the earthen yellow of before, but a translucent, flickering barrier—the Law of Wind.

Invisible to the naked eye, it was only visible to Lin Xueyou and the others when they activated their "Eyes of Law." Li Hao continued to absorb the wind energy, expanding his barrier.

After a dozen breaths, his barrier had reached the peak of the Traveling Realm. Yet, it continued to expand.

The onlookers were filled with awe and disbelief.

When the barrier expanded to the mid-stage of the Soul-Forging Realm, rivaling Xiao Jiu’s, it finally stabilized.

Li Hao shouted to them, "Don't just stand there! Come to me quickly!"