Volume 2 - Chapter 51: The Five-Thousand-Mile Banner - Part 2
Liang Province, western region.
A blood eagle descended into the military camp, perching on the arm of an adjutant’s personal aide. The adjutant retrieved a letter wrapped in oil paper from the blood eagle’s beak and swiftly delivered it to Li Xuanli in the tent.
“A letter from my younger sister?”
Hearing the aide’s report, Li Xuanli was surprised. He had just sent a letter to Tianmen Pass, and now a reply had already arrived.
In these unusual times, frequent correspondence was inadvisable as it could easily be intercepted.
Li Xuanli quickly tore open the envelope and scanned the contents. Before long, his expression grew grave.
“Does the demonic race intend to attack Liang Province?”
“How did Hao'er know about this?”
Seeing that the letter was sent by the young man, Li Xuanli felt both surprised and suspicious.
The letter did not elaborate on the reasoning, stating only that it was a conjecture and urging him to monitor the movements of the demonic race.
Recalling the recent withdrawal of demons from outside the borders, Li Xuanli suddenly felt a chill. Could it be that the withdrawal was a ruse and that the demons never truly intended to leave Liang Province?
Stowing the letter, he immediately summoned his aide and instructed him to keep a close watch on the borderlands. He also ordered the scouts to expand their reconnaissance into more distant regions.
...
Tianmen Pass, Cangya City.
Shortly after the departure of the bird demon boy, Li Hao set out beyond the pass once more. Along the way, he cleared out roaming demons that had reappeared like mushrooms after the rain. He dealt with them effortlessly.
When he reached the farthest mountain peak, Li Hao saw the military banner he had planted earlier. The area was devoid of demons, seemingly sealed off. Hidden birds observed the surroundings in secret. Only then was Li Hao satisfied. He conducted another inspection, traveling from east to west.
Wherever he passed, the Tianji Hall reacted as if facing a major threat, hastily notifying demons in all areas to retreat and avoid danger.
Frightened, these demons abandoned their yet-to-be-established lairs and fled. Only after Li Hao flew past did they cautiously return.
Such nerve-wracking days, however, proved unbearable for some demons, who chose to relocate elsewhere in search of peace—even if it meant squeezing into territories controlled by other great demons.
As peace settled beyond the pass, Li Hao summoned his subordinates, instructing them to use their networks to spread word and seek renowned masters skilled in painting and chess arts, inviting them to visit Cangya City.
During this time, Li Hao dismantled the corpse of the Ghost Lady and, along with other great demon corpses, cooked meals for the group daily.
His experience in the Culinary Dao grew rapidly. At the seventh stage, it required 500,000 points of experience to reach the eighth stage.
The body of a Fourth Realm great demon could provide an enormous 30,000 to 40,000 experience points. While this was almost half a bar of experience when the requirement was only 100,000, it now amounted to less than a tenth.
Even after cooking all the other great demon corpses, he had accumulated just over 70,000 points.
Fortunately, sketching these demon corpses also brought his Painting Dao to the bottleneck of the sixth stage. All that remained was achieving "spirit in the heart" to advance to the seventh stage.
Before that, however, Li Hao planned to refine one art to reach "inner resonance," breaking through the third-stage bottleneck in his Movement Dao. This would allow him to directly elevate it to the sixth stage, drastically increasing his agility. Even some Fourth Realm great demon kings might find it difficult to escape his grasp.
Li Hao sent the materials taken from the demons, along with the Dragon Sky Sword, to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion for secondary forging, leaving his signature behind.
The Myriad Treasures Pavilion, being a semi-official organization, dared not embezzle anything from a borderland major general like him.
The formation constructed by the Star Official elder was tested twice more by Li Hao, easily suppressing five great demons each time.
The Star Official elder and his students repeatedly inspected the formation but could not find any issues. Finally, they realized the problem was not with the formation—it was with Li Hao himself.
When the elder suggested that Li Hongzhuang, a peak Third Realm general, test the formation, the result was clear: she was beaten black and blue by the five great demons from outside the array and forced to retreat. Only then did they confirm that the formation was fine—the anomaly lay in Li Hao’s overwhelming power.
Both the Star Official elder and his students were speechless. They had torn their hair out during their inspections, only to find that the formation’s failure was due to the fourteen-year-old’s absurd strength.
Who could have anticipated that a boy of his age would wield power surpassing that of ordinary demon kings?
The Star Official elder and his students, while helpless, were secretly excited. Li Hao’s existence undoubtedly heralded the rise of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty. Given time, he could very well become a new War God of Great Yu, standing shoulder to shoulder with the True Person of Qiandao Palace!
After bidding Li Hao farewell, the Star Official elder led his students away.
Before leaving, Xia Xianglan gazed longingly at Li Hao and asked, “Will you stay here forever?”
Li Hao smiled. “Once no demons dare to invade this place, I’ll leave.”
Xia Xianglan nodded, then added, “I am from the Xia family, one of the Divine General Mansion’s noble families. If you have time, you are welcome to visit us.”
Li Hao shook his head slightly. “But I’m not from a Divine General Mansion family—I’m just a loose cultivator.”
“But you...” Xia Xianglan wanted to say more but was stopped by the Star Official elder. The elder glanced at Li Hao and sighed inwardly before calling his students to leave.
Li Hao escorted them to Dragon Pass Path before returning.
Time flew by in moments of leisure.
Beyond the pass, the dangerous lands had grown unusually peaceful, and Cangya City became increasingly prosperous and lively.
Caravans and escort agencies transporting goods from various cities spread the word upon their return, making it known that Tianmen Pass had become a highly secure fortress, and Cangya City a bustling and lively hub.
With the influx of merchants and travelers, some decided to settle down, buying or renting houses and establishing businesses in the city.
By eliminating the need for frequent transport, the goods they sold, though priced higher than in the inner provinces, remained cost-effective.
As the saying goes, "The world bustles for profit."
More and more people flocked to Cangya City, and where there was demand, supply followed. Inns, merchants, and even wandering martial heroes came to visit, curious about the unique sights beyond the pass.
Meanwhile, Li Hao sat undisturbed in a small courtyard within the city.
He chose to refine his "Music Dao" to the state of "inner resonance," practicing daily by playing the zither and listening to its sounds. Occasionally, he ventured beyond the city, sitting atop snow-capped mountains and quietly listening to the sounds of spring's arrival—the sound of melting snow.
As the snow outside the pass gradually melted, patches of black soil emerged from beneath the white blanket.
Soon, vibrant green shoots began to sprout, bringing life back to the once frozen ground.
During this period of refining his Music Dao, the renowned masters invited by his subordinates using their connections finally arrived in Cangya City.
Li Hao welcomed them into his courtyard, where he played music, discussed art, played chess, and drank wine with them, assuming the appearance of a carefree noble indulging in leisure.
However, the warriors stationed at the border knew well of Li Hao's unmatched talent. While they were curious, they held him in awe rather than doubt.
Li Hongzhuang, noticing his lack of combat training and seemingly endless leisure pursuits, was surprised but refrained from interfering. She focused on results, and Li Hao’s achievements thus far had left everyone far behind. That alone was proof enough of his prowess.
Initially, these visiting masters believed that Li Hao’s interest in art was fleeting, assuming he sought connections and goodwill.
Yet, upon engaging in discussions, many found themselves struggling to answer his highly technical questions. Astonished, they grew to respect the young man.
Their admiration stemmed not only from awe of his strength but from genuine respect for his deep understanding of their lifelong pursuits. It was a rare combination of reverence, appreciation, and delight.
Through these masters, Li Hao discovered leads on famous artworks.
One master even gifted him a treasured painting they had safeguarded for years.
A chess master, known as the "Little Chess Sage," presented him with two chess manuals. Unfortunately, one of the manuals was not an authentic classic and could not be cataloged.
Nonetheless, the masters shared clues about other renowned works and their current custodians, which Li Hao carefully noted, planning to visit these individuals later to negotiate for their acquisition.
...
Time slipped by quietly, and the snow finally melted.
Spring had arrived.