Volume 2 - Chapter 21: It Was the Divine General Mansion That Lost Him - Part 2
"Master Bai, I know it’s hard to part with your treasures. Apart from famous paintings, is there anything else you are fond of? I could exchange items with you," Li Hao said.
"Which family are you from? My master already asked you to leave. Didn’t you hear clearly?" The burly middle-aged man stepped forward, his face dark with anger.
Bai Chunhai raised his hand to stop his disciple and said to Li Hao, "Young man, please leave. I’ve made myself clear enough."
Li Hao observed him for a moment, then nodded. "Understood."
...
Without further insistence, he turned and walked away.
Since the other party wouldn’t exchange, he could only find an opportunity to steal it later.
A gentleman doesn’t take what others cherish—unless, of course, you force him not to remain a gentleman...
Returning to his earlier seat, Li Hao had just sat down when an excited voice rang out.
"Teacher Li?"
Li Hao turned his head and saw a group of people not far away, looking in his direction. When they saw his face, their eyes widened in surprise, and they rushed over.
Li Hao recognized them—it was none other than Song Yueyao from Tangong Academy, along with a group of White Hall disciples. Leading them were Shen Yunqing, Zhao Zongyuan, and other teachers from the academy, as well as Su Yehua.
"So it really is you! Zhou Zheng just mentioned it, but I didn’t believe him," Shen Yunqing exclaimed in delight, laughing heartily.
"Teacher Li!"
Zhou Zheng and Song Yueyao, along with the White Hall disciples, all greeted Li Hao with respectful enthusiasm.
Despite Li Hao being younger than them and having only taught two lessons at White Hall, his profound teachings had greatly benefited them. They deeply respected this young prodigy.
Song Yueyao's beautiful eyes sparkled as she recalled the figure she had glimpsed earlier at the Soul Fusion Platform. It seemed it hadn’t been a case of mistaken identity—she really had seen Li Hao back then.
"What brings all of you here?" Li Hao asked with some surprise, standing to greet them with a faint smile.
Back when he left Tangong, these people had come to see him off. At the time, he refrained from saying goodbye to avoid implicating them, but he had remembered their gesture of kindness.
"How could we miss such a grand gathering?" Zhao Zongyuan replied with a smile.
"Aren’t you supposed to be at Tianmen Pass? How did you end up here?" Su Yehua asked curiously, her gaze lingering on Li Hao.
The others also looked intrigued. None of them had expected to encounter Li Hao here.
"There aren’t any demons at Tianmen Pass for now, so I came here to look around," Li Hao explained.
Shen Yunqing’s smile faded slightly, and he lowered his voice. "If you truly can’t hold on, just bow your head and apologize to your father. It’s not shameful."
Li Hao glanced at him and simply patted his shoulder. "Let’s not talk about the past."
Shen Yunqing sighed inwardly and refrained from saying more. None of them wanted anything to happen to Li Hao at Tianmen Pass.
The others also fell silent upon hearing Li Hao’s words. Only this young man before them could resolutely give up a status second only to that of the imperial family...
"If you lack supplies at Tianmen Pass, just let me know. I know some people in Liang Province. I can’t help with slaying demons, but ensuring your food and drink won’t be a problem," Su Yehua offered.
"Noted. Let’s sit down and talk," Li Hao said, inviting them to take seats.
Han Wu, standing nervously to the side, was overwhelmed with excitement upon learning these were geniuses from Tangong Academy. Back when the academy was recruiting, he had wanted to apply but had been locked up by his father.
From Liang Province to Qingzhou, the journey took five days on horseback each way. A round trip meant ten days. His father had feared he might lose his life if he encountered demons on the road.
"Teacher Li, once we graduate, we’ll come to Tianmen Pass to find you," Zhou Zheng declared as soon as he sat down.
"That’s right," Song Yueyao nodded, her gaze fixed earnestly on Li Hao.
Shen Yunqing snorted. "Forget it. Tianmen Pass is incredibly dangerous. Don’t go causing trouble. The places Li Hao can stay might not be places you can handle."
He then turned to Li Hao. "It’s not that we don’t want to help you or fear implicating ourselves. We’re just afraid we’d drag you down."
"Understood," Li Hao replied with a smile, glancing around. "Did all the White Hall disciples come?"
"They did, but Tangong’s invitations and spots were limited. After some selection, the rest couldn’t make the cut and had to rely on their families’ connections to get here," Shen Yunqing explained. "They should be arriving soon."
As he spoke, voices called out from the distance.
"Teacher Su!"
"Teacher Li?!"
Several thrilled voices sounded, and a few young men hurried over—it was more White Hall disciples.
Su Yehua glanced at Li Hao. "I heard you only taught two lessons, but they’ve all advanced by a whole level. They really respect you."
A White Hall graduate herself, Su Yehua was now a teacher at Tangong Academy, teaching the top-tier disciples of the A-class Courtyard. This time, she had come to seek enlightenment and hopefully step into the Heaven and Man Realm.
"Teacher Li."
The disciples bowed respectfully when they saw Li Hao, their faces filled with admiration.
Though Li Hao had left the Divine General Mansion, their respect for him remained unchanged.
Li Hao smiled faintly and directed Han Wu to fetch some chairs and join tables together.
As more White Hall disciples arrived, the area around Li Hao grew lively. White Hall had fifty disciples in total; twenty had arrived under the leadership of Shen Yunqing and others, while the remaining thirty came through family connections. Only two or three were absent.
Meeting in this foreign place brought joy to everyone. Although it hadn’t been long since Li Hao had left Qingzhou, they felt as though they were reuniting after a long separation.
Their animated conversations caught the attention of some nearby.
At Bai Chunhai’s table, a few masters noticed the crowd gathered around Li Hao. Listening closely, they discerned Shen Yunqing and the others’ identities, learning from their chatter that the young man was Li Hao.
"That boy... Is he the genius from Qingzhou?"
Upon hearing Li Hao’s identity, the masters were visibly shocked, their gazes snapping toward him.
The young man who had just politely sought to purchase a painting turned out to be the famed prodigy, the millennium's greatest cultivation talent!
At only fourteen, he ranked fifth on the Qianlong List and reached the level of a master—unprecedented in history!
Behind Bai Chunhai, the burly middle-aged man’s face paled, trembling slightly. He had just spoken rudely to that boy, only to learn the boy was a master!
No wonder Li Hao had ignored him—he hadn’t even been on his radar.
"He’s Li Hao?!"
"A Heaven and Man Realm cultivator at fourteen… I was wondering why I couldn’t discern his cultivation level earlier."
"So it’s him. He looks so young. He really is only fourteen?"
"Even he has come? At a master-level gathering, I wonder how he broke through to the Heaven and Man Realm!"
News spread quickly, and the hall was abuzz with gasps of astonishment. Many eyes turned to the young man surrounded by the students of Tangong Academy.
In an instant, that spot became the center of everyone’s attention.
Though many other renowned young talents were present, none had made as big a splash in recent months as Li Hao.
...
Meanwhile, Zhou Haitang was chatting with an old friend. With his sharp hearing as a master, he caught the nearby murmurs and exclamations.
His expression changed abruptly as his gaze landed on the young man he had just greeted moments ago.
That boy was the famed young master?
Beside him, Zhou Ling'er and Xu Wan'er also overheard the whispers. With all eyes on Li Hao, it was impossible for them not to notice.
"He… is that person?"
Zhou Ling’er was stunned, her disbelief apparent as she stared at the carefree, smiling boy.
Her heart pounded furiously at the realization.
Before this, she had only heard of the young master ranked on the Qianlong List and had admired him from afar, longing for a glimpse of him.
To think she had spoken coldly and sarcastically to him earlier...
"No wonder he has such remarkable martial arts skills. Taking the dagger from me was effortless for him..." Zhou Ling’er muttered to herself, now understanding how insignificant the incident was to him.
"A young master..." Xu Wan’er's eyes gleamed with fascination.
...
At another table, Li Wushuang sat with a few masters who had come to exchange pleasantries.
Though Li Wushuang was only at the Spirit Wandering Realm, her status as a member of the Divine General Mansion was enough to command respect.
The commotion from Li Hao’s table soon caught everyone’s attention. Listening closely, they were all stunned.
"He’s here too?!"
Li Wushuang shot to her feet, staring in shock toward the noise. Her soul briefly left her body as her gaze landed on the boy in the distance.
That familiar, faint smile on his face—it was unmistakable.
In a flash, Li Wushuang hurried toward him.
"Miss!"
Her two attendants from the Divine General Mansion quickly followed.
"Li Hao!"
Amid the joyful reunion with the disciples of Tangong Academy, Li Hao suddenly heard someone call his name. He turned to see Li Wushuang approaching.
The crowd parted, making way for her. Her expression was tinged with excitement, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"You’re here too," Li Hao said, surprised, though he realized it made sense given her cultivation level.
"I..."
Li Wushuang had a lot she wanted to say—questions about why he was here, thoughts of persuading him to return to the Divine General Mansion, urging him to reconcile with his uncle. But as she glanced at the Tangong disciples around him and the way they looked up to him, she paused.
She suddenly realized that even without the glory of the Divine General Mansion, this boy was still the center of attention.
At fourteen, a Heaven and Man Realm master was enough to astonish the world.
It wasn’t that he had lost the Divine General Mansion’s honor.
It was the Divine General Mansion that had lost him.
"Are you doing well?"
In the end, Li Wushuang could only muster this question.
"Quite well," Li Hao replied with a faint smile. To this cousin whom he had once beaten up, he bore neither fondness nor resentment.
At the time, it had merely been a casual lesson for an unruly young girl. Now, meeting again in a foreign land, she had not come questioning or criticizing him but had instead asked a simple question of concern.
For that, he responded kindly.