Volume 2 - Chapter 74: I Am Not a Member of the Li Family, But I Am Human
Previously, during the battle in the Eastern Frontier, Li Tiangang had already witnessed the fearsome power of the Yin Lady. Even without employing her Absolute Techniques, she was beyond his ability to contend with.
Moreover...
If she appeared here, where was the Desert Sword Saint?
Glancing at the golden-haired youth beside her, who resembled a fiery deity, Li Tiangang felt his heart sink to rock bottom, and a dreadful realization began to take shape in his mind.
“Are you the Candlefire God of the Void Realm?”
Suppressing the trembling in his heart, Li Tiangang asked for the other party's title.
The Candlefire God—the ruler of the Void Realm and the most powerful Demon King.
At the same time, he was also the husband of the Yin Lady.
With the two of them present, it was evident that the Desert Sword Saint had likely met a grim fate.
Li Tiangang had previously sent the Eight Directions Command back to Qingzhou City, instructing his second uncle, Li Muxiu, not to come. This was because the Void Realm had fully mobilized, officially breaking all pretense of civility. However, only the Yin Lady had appeared, and her husband had not been seen. This made Li Tiangang suspect that the man was lying in wait somewhere near Qingzhou.
Now it seemed his suspicions were incorrect—the man wasn’t in Qingzhou.
Perhaps his decision to keep his second uncle from coming had been a mistake.
A sinking feeling gripped Li Tiangang’s heart as events continued to unfold rapidly. From the moment the two Absolute-Grade Demon Kings appeared, everything had changed in the blink of an eye. The once-tense battlefield had fallen into an eerie silence.
Hearing Li Tiangang’s question, the golden-haired youth glanced at him indifferently and said, “Didn’t the True Dragon of the Li Family I saw last time fall in Cangzhou?”
Li Tiangang’s expression shifted slightly. This statement revealed that while the Void Realm had remained secluded, it had been closely monitoring the Great Yu Divine Dynasty’s every move.
Perhaps the Void Realm had secretly fanned the flames of many past incidents.
“The Candlefire God I remember didn’t look like this,” Li Tiangang remarked, staring at the youth while secretly regulating his breathing. Despite his calm tone, his eyes were filled with deep apprehension.
Three Absolute-Grade entities had gathered in Liangzhou. The Demons’ determination to tear apart Liangzhou was far greater than he had anticipated.
“My husband has mastered his divine abilities, naturally regaining the vitality of youth,” the Yin Lady said with a soft smile. “Li Tiangang, it’s unfortunate the Sacred Palace’s Grand Elder isn’t here. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even have the chance to speak.”
Though the three stood conversing, none of them made a move against Li Tiangang, wary of giving Li Hao an opportunity to escape.
Compared to Li Tiangang, it was Li Hao who posed the real threat.
So young, yet already so terrifying—if left alive, he would undoubtedly become the second True Person of the Great Yu Divine Dynasty in the future!
Li Tiangang’s expression darkened. He knew they were right. With the enmity between him and the Sacred Palace in Yanbei, their Grand Elder would most likely attack him on sight.
“Let’s finish this quickly. We can’t wait for their reinforcements to arrive,” Lu Yuan said with a grim expression.
“If they come, we’ll deal with them,” the Candlefire God replied indifferently. “On the way here, I heard an interesting story. They say you’ve severed ties with your father and abandoned the Li surname. Such a rebellious act doesn’t seem like a mere ruse.”
He looked at Li Hao with interest. “Since you’re no longer a member of the Li Family, what are you doing here?”
Li Tiangang’s face also changed slightly at these words—this was indeed a scandal for the Li Family.
At that moment, hearing the Demon King’s words, an inexplicable feeling surged in his heart, and he instinctively looked at Li Hao.
Li Hao, quietly gathering his strength, replied coldly, “I may not be a member of the Li Family, but I am human!”
The Candlefire God raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by the response, though upon reflection, it did make sense.
Li Tiangang’s face darkened slightly, and a flicker of anger flashed in his eyes as he said, “What nonsense are you spouting? The three-year pact isn’t over yet—you still bear the Li name!”
Li Hao raised an eyebrow and let out a cold laugh, but he couldn’t be bothered to respond.
The Candlefire God chuckled softly, though his eyes gleamed with cold light. “Why don’t we play an amusing game?”
“You all want to save Liangzhou, don’t you? If you kill your father, I’ll grant this land and its people one more day of survival. How about that?”
Hearing his flippant suggestion, Lu Yuan was the first to protest, shouting angrily, “Candlefire Ruler, there’s no need to waste time!”
“It’s not a waste of time,” the Yin Lady interjected coldly, her gaze turning vicious. “This Li Tiangang killed my son. Now, I want his son to kill him!”
Lu Yuan froze, suddenly understanding why this couple had been speaking so much.
Frustrated, he could only focus on recovering his strength while the two continued their macabre play.
The Candlefire God’s words left Li Tiangang momentarily stunned. His gaze instinctively fell on Li Hao, whose face was expressionless. Fury welled up in his chest.
Taking a deep breath, Li Tiangang said, “If you truly intend to keep your word, I’m willing to die for the people of Liangzhou!”
Although it would only grant one extra day of respite, that single day could be crucial.
It could be enough time for reinforcements to arrive.
At that point, the situation in Liangzhou might change.
However, despite his words, Li Tiangang didn’t truly intend to surrender. After all, the words of Demons could not be trusted.
“What about you?”
The Candlefire God turned to Li Hao, smiling faintly.
Li Hao exhaled deeply. The energy he had lost in his earlier outburst was now fully replenished, thanks to the restorative power of the Earth and Heaven Meridian.
“I want to deal with you,” Li Hao declared.
He suddenly erupted with power, entering the Immortal Ascension state. Drawing strength from the four directions, he launched a fierce punch toward Lu Yuan.
Among the three Demon Kings, Li Hao had already fought against Lu Yuan before and was familiar with his techniques. He aimed to break through by attacking him directly.
Lu Yuan, experienced and shrewd, immediately understood Li Hao’s intentions. Enraged, he thought to himself, He dares to treat me as the weakest link!
“Courting death!” Lu Yuan roared as his entire body surged with thunderous energy. With the Limitless Thunder Dao fully activated, a blade of lightning condensed in his hand and slashed toward Li Hao.
The Yin Lady and the Candlefire God both wore cold expressions. They hadn’t expected this young man to be so bold as to launch an assault while surrounded by three Demon Kings.
“Die!”
The Yin Lady raised her hand, unleashing an attack resembling a black crescent moon. The dark crescent radiated a chilling glow as it shot toward Li Hao’s back.
Li Hao paid no attention to the attack behind him, focusing solely on charging toward Lu Yuan.
When his fist clashed with Lu Yuan’s Thunder Blade, an explosion of force erupted, enveloping Li Hao in a storm of lightning. The thunderous energy burned his skin, leaving cracks across his body, but these wounds healed almost instantly.
Lu Yuan’s Limitless Thunder Dao could injure him, but the damage was shallow, and his rapid self-healing neutralized it quickly.
With a loud boom, the black crescent struck Li Hao squarely in the back. There was no chance to evade, and he had no choice but to endure the hit.
The black crescent shattered against him, its fragments transforming into countless curved blades that slashed relentlessly at his back. Within a single breath’s time, tens of thousands of cuts formed on his back, each slicing deeper with terrifying precision.
Li Hao’s back split open, exposing bloodied flesh. He roared and retaliated with a powerful punch, shattering the black crescent. However, his body swayed slightly, momentarily losing balance.
Earlier, Li Hao had only needed to contend with Lu Yuan, and the other Demon Kings’ attacks had not seriously threatened him. It had been a duel in essence, despite being surrounded.
Now, however, with the Yin Lady—a formidable Absolute-Grade expert—joining the fray, her assault made it impossible for Li Hao to focus solely on killing Lu Yuan.
Moreover, Lu Yuan, despite his earlier injuries, had healed to nearly full strength, a testament to the unparalleled regenerative powers of Absolute-Grade cultivators. Even though Li Hao's recovery was superior, Lu Yuan's resilience was closing the gap.
“Damn it!”
Li Tiangang roared in frustration, throwing his battle flags one after another, detonating them in succession.
“Hm?”
The Candlefire God observed the cascading sword energy unleashed by the battle flags, a flicker of surprise appearing in his eyes. With a single wave of his hand, blazing flames and searing power surged forth, twisting and incinerating the sword energy into nothingness.
The sword energy carried the full power of a Dao Heart cultivator, but in the face of the Candlefire God’s might, it dissipated like smoke, utterly powerless.
“This sword energy shares its origin with the battle flags. Did that boy craft them himself?” the Candlefire God mused, glancing at Li Hao with a hint of intrigue.
Li Tiangang was shaken by the question.
Li Hao made these?
How was that possible?!
Yet, he had no time to dwell on the thought. Gripping his remaining battle flags tightly, he hurled them toward the Demons in desperation, shouting to Li Hao, “Run!”
Li Tiangang hoped to buy time for Li Hao, even if only a fraction of a moment. But the remaining battle flags fared no better—they were all neutralized by the Candlefire God. Some flags erupted with thousands of strands of sword energy, aimed directly at him, but the scorching aura surrounding his body melted the sword energy before it could even touch him.
“You will die first.”
The Candlefire God raised his hand, unleashing a blazing palm strike toward Li Tiangang.
The fiery palm, like a miniature sun, surged forward with overwhelming momentum.
Li Tiangang took nine steps forward, channeling his entire aura to its peak. Roaring, he unleashed the Great Yan Luo Hand, coupled with the strongest strike of his Heaven-Punishing Blade.
Boom!
The blade aura shattered against the fiery palm. Li Tiangang’s divine might was completely overwhelmed as his body was struck down. His armor twisted and melted under the intense heat, and his cloak ignited into flames.
His body plummeted to the ground, limbs fractured and broken. Even his Indestructible Body was severely damaged, leaving him barely clinging to life.
The Candlefire God let out a faint hum of surprise, clearly not expecting that his strike hadn’t killed the Dao Heart cultivator outright.
The Li Family members truly had some tricks up their sleeves.
He was about to deliver another blow when his attention was drawn back to the battle. Li Hao, fighting against both Lu Yuan and the Yin Lady simultaneously, had not fallen into a disadvantage.
Despite being surrounded, Li Hao’s bloodied flesh seemed to radiate with energy as the surrounding Heaven and Earth forces poured into him. The sight was both shocking and terrifying.
The Candlefire God’s expression froze, his gaze turning contemplative. A fragment of an ancient memory stirred in his mind—a recollection of witnessing a True Person in action, similarly commanding the forces of Heaven and Earth.
This boy... has already glimpsed the Path to True Saint?!