Shi Hao was truly nonchalant, even in front of a group of ancient divine mountain beings. His relaxed demeanor made some of the young men’s expressions sour.
Of course, some of the youths remained indifferent, with no noticeable change in their expressions.
These people were all very powerful, born into prestigious families with noble bloodlines. During the ancient times, their ancestors were renowned as deities and demons, traversing the heavens and earth.
The human race, on the other hand, was in a weak position. In the face of the ancient divine mountain beings, they treated them as deities, and this had been the case throughout history.
Usually, when these youths traveled, they were surrounded by crowds wherever they went. Countless humans greeted them with fear, respect, and humility, and they had never encountered someone like Shi Hao who was so audacious.
A few of the youths were visibly displeased, their expressions growing colder and their gazes turning icy. One of them spoke up, “We are speaking to you, yet you seem distracted and inattentive. What does this mean?”
Shi Hao glanced at him and said, “Who are you to me? You come in here with a condescending attitude, trying to lecture me. Do you expect me to be respectful? I see you must want me to devour you.”
The group was taken aback. This was too direct; he had immediately exposed his ferocious nature. Though they had heard rumors, it was still somewhat intolerable.
“You—”
“‘You’ what? Go somewhere cooler and stay out of my sight,” Shi Hao snapped.
The group of divine mountain youths exchanged glances, speechless. The few who had been rebuked had faces that alternated between blue and white. This guy was too arrogant; they were usually the ones reprimanding others, and now the situation had completely reversed.
“Are you challenging the majesty of our divine mountain?” one youth asked darkly.
“Are you challenging my authority?” Shi Hao responded coldly.
The words were similar, but the meanings were entirely different. One referenced the divine mountain, while the other referred to himself, causing the group to change their expressions. The contrast was stark, clearly showing the difference in their statuses.
“I had heard that you were arrogant, but I didn’t expect it to be worse than the rumors. Don’t think you’re invincible,” a youth said in a threatening tone.
“Are you trying to test my patience? Don’t delude yourself,” Shi Hao replied decisively, offering no leniency.
The atmosphere immediately turned cold, leaving the few individuals unable to save face. Their killing intent was palpable, as they were fiery and could not tolerate being provoked.
“Are you all here to target me?” Shi Hao asked.
“Brother, you misunderstand. We just wanted to meet you. We have long heard of your great name but never had the chance to see you until now,” a youth said with a smile.
Soon, this group dispersed, with eight or nine standing aside, not joining in. They had remained relatively calm throughout, without adopting a superior attitude.
The remaining few had faces as cold as ice, their expressions growing darker. In recent years, the reputation of the ruthless child from the virtual realm had spread far and wide. Even in the ancient divine mountains, facing a human who had opened up ten great cave heavens, they had to put away their arrogance and pride.
Thus, some of these youths had restrained themselves, facing the situation with calmness because they had heard too many tales about the ruthless child and did not want to provoke him.
Only a few among them remained discontent. Growing up in the ancient divine mountains, they had a natural sense of superiority, but the other party did not care, which infuriated them.
“Yun Xi, you tricked me last time, sending me to the Northern Sea where I spent two years as salted fish, gaining nothing and almost losing my life. Now you lead people here again, trying to deal with me?” Shi Hao asked.
Yun Xi, the purple-clad girl standing at the back, frowned and said, “It has nothing to do with me.”
Regarding Shi Hao, she couldn't quite describe her feelings. At Hundred Breaks Mountain, they had been like fire and water, and she found the boy despicable for daring to bite her ear.
In the ancient divine mountains, she was extremely transcendent and revered as a goddess.
Later, through a series of events, she realized the terrifying potential of the unruly child. His talents were so high that if allowed to grow, even the divine mountains could not handle him.
“At the Northern Sea, you ate one of our companions. Why do you still hold such hostility toward us now?” a silver-haired girl grumbled. It was Yin Xue.
“I only know that I was tricked by you, and someone among you wanted to eliminate me.”
“But it has nothing to do with us,” Yin Xue protested.
“You invited me to the sea, and yet someone among you wanted to kill me. It’s disheartening,” Shi Hao said, shaking his head.
“Hey, the Qing Yun who wanted to kill you was eaten by you. Are you now asking us to apologize or to be eaten as well?” Yin Xue said with dissatisfaction.
The purple-clad girl Yun Xi stood aside like a finely carved ivory sculpture, flawless and beautiful, without speaking.
“Of course, you must make amends and compensate for my losses,” Shi Hao said with a thick skin.
“What do you want?” Yin Xue asked, though she would not agree, she was still curious.
“You two should guard the village entrance for me,” Shi Hao said, in a somewhat negotiating tone.
“Go to hell!” The silent purple-clad girl Yun Xi finally couldn’t hold back. She thought of the experience at Hundred Breaks Mountain, where this unruly child had always shouted about capturing her and treating her like an ancient fierce beast, making her guard some broken village.
Just thinking about that experience made her feel a bit crazed.
“Hey, what are you guys doing here? Get on with whatever you were doing,” Shi Hao said to the few with gloomy faces.
The dialogue and confrontation in this place had already attracted the attention of everyone nearby, many of whom were watching with astonishment.
People had long known that the unruly child was ruthless, but they didn’t expect him to be this forceful. Facing a group of pure-blood beings, who were among the strongest in the future wasteland, he was indifferent and reprimanded them freely.
Many human youths, seeing this, were in awe and admiration. They were deeply impressed by his sharpness.
Some noble girls had their eyes sparkling with excitement. This was a youth who dared to reprimand ancient divine mountain beings. Such dominance seemed novel and thrilling to them.
At this moment, many young people felt exhilarated. Normally, the appearance of a pure-blood being would cause great tension and unease. Now, with a group of them present, a human youth was pointing and threatening them.
This left people speechless, excited, and made some want to wail, wondering how there could be such a significant gap between them despite being of similar ages.
One of the dark-faced youths from the ancient divine mountain stepped forward and said, “Qing Yun was our friend, and you killed him and even ate him. How do you plan to settle this account?”
Shi Hao remained calm and said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? It was for the sake of avenging that phoenix. There was no need to be so complicated; you could have stated it directly.”
Another eight or nine youths moved aside, including Yun Xi and Yin Xue, choosing not to participate, indicating that it had nothing to do with them. They had remained calm and detached from the start.
The remaining four were all cold-faced, their ages ranging from fourteen or fifteen to seventeen or eighteen.
“What, do you four want to teach me a lesson? Why don’t you all come at once?” Shi Hao said with a sidelong glance, indifferent.
Around them, a group of human youths, as if injected with stimulant, clenched their fists and held their breath. The ruthless child’s tone resonated with them, filling them with excitement.
"Is he not afraid of retaliation from the ancient divine mountains?" a noble girl whispered, very excited, her face flushed.
"He’s done many outrageous things before and is said to have provoked the wrath of both gods and men. Yet he’s still alive and kicking. This guy must have some backing," another girl said, clenching her fists.
The youths from the ancient divine mountains had eyes filled with coldness. They were fed up with the situation. After arriving here, they had not shown any dominance but were instead constantly reprimanded by a human youth, which was extremely frustrating.
"I’ll fight you," one of the youths said coldly.
"Sure, but should we sign some kind of agreement? For example, if I accidentally kill you, can I take you away to roast or something?" Shi Hao replied with a smirk.
"Enough of your nonsense. Let’s go fight over there," the youths couldn’t tolerate his provocations any longer. His tongue was too sharp and infuriating.
Shi Hao was surprised. "A royal birthday celebration, and there’s actually a place for us to fight?"
"There’s such an arrangement, meant to entertain the Emperor," someone nearby spoke up. It was an old and very venerable palace guard who had been observing the situation.
Adjacent to this heavenly palace was a martial arts arena built for the royal family. When they were brought here, they discovered that a battle had already commenced.
The palace had made ample preparations, anticipating that someone might want to fight, and had specifically allowed duels to take place here.
This was quite unconventional. It was a restricted area of the palace, but it turned out to be exactly as it was. The Shi clan established their nation through martial prowess, and even the royal family was similarly fierce, so it was not surprising in retrospect.
A few youths whispered among themselves for a moment, then one stepped forward. He had gray hair and gray eyes, exuding a cold aura as he prepared to fight Shi Hao.
In the distance, there were noble fights, but none were as captivating as this one. Countless young talents gathered, their eyes shining, ready to witness the battle.
The martial arts arena was vast, capable of accommodating many fighters simultaneously. It was designed for supreme beings, with powerful formations laid out, impervious to destruction.
"Everyone speaks of how formidable you are, but I only believe in results. If I kill you, all legends will become void," the gray-haired youth said coldly.
"Boom"
A burst of brilliant light erupted, emitting a howling sound as it pressed down upon Shi Hao. The overwhelming wave of energy caused the arena's formations to tremble.
Many people were frightened, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts. They trembled, nearly collapsing from the pressure.
"An ancient sacred artifact," Shi Hao was astonished.
This was a sacred artifact, and it was intact with no damage. Activated now, it was incredibly powerful, its waves pressing down like an ocean.
If nothing unexpected happened, Shi Hao would be directly suppressed into ashes with no suspense. Such a level of undamaged weaponry was rare in the world and far too easy to deal with for someone at the transformation realm.
Shi Hao thought of the broken sword but ultimately decided not to use it, as it was incomplete and he was unsure if it could withstand the attack.
He considered using the small tower but deemed it not worth it. Finally, he thought of another artifact and raised his left arm.
A vast gale roared, and the fluctuations were intense. Everyone looked over, shocked by the appearance of an ancient sacred artifact in the duel. It was quite incredible.
Shi Hao's heart grew cold. This was definitely a treasure bestowed by a venerable being from the ancient divine mountains. Such treasures were passed down through generations and could not be refined by the venerables themselves.
This was a premeditated act of murder. The opponent must have received approval from their elders to kill him here with a thunderous strike, ending the battle and leaving him no chance.
As he faced the light, Shi Hao contemplated that, apart from the large spider, he now had another ancient mountain venerable he wanted to eliminate.
Next, go on to write Chapter 3.
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