Li Hao released his spirit, and a golden figure of his soul flew out from above his head, soaring through the sky.
Soon, Li Hao found two wandering children at the edge of the village. Without moving his body, he sent his spirit diving down. With a flick of his hand, dust swirled on the ground, and stones shot out, piercing through the two remaining stragglers.
The completion of the Death River reached 90%.
His spirit turned back, and Li Hao took a step forward, covering fifteen miles in an instant, appearing directly beside the black-robed scholar on the back mountain of the village.
Noticing Li Hao's sudden appearance, the black-robed scholar was momentarily stunned.
Li Hao had already noticed that this scholar was different from the villagers outside; his expression was not blank but showed independent thought.
The woman’s soul figure on the scholar’s back suddenly looked up, her cold gaze fixated on Li Hao.
“Someone at your level shouldn’t be here,” the black-robed scholar said softly.
Li Hao replied, “I didn’t want to either; I accidentally came in.”
The black-robed scholar fell silent for a moment, then said, “Before you make a move, can you let me finish my work first?”
Li Hao saw that the scholar held a palette of paints in one hand and a brush in the other, which was stained with blood. In front of him was an easel with a portrait of a woman.
The woman in the painting looked quite similar to the one on his back.
“You like painting too?” Li Hao asked, surprised that a dead person could have such leisure.
The black-robed scholar didn’t answer, merely focused on adding details to the painting.
Li Hao, intrigued, moved closer to watch. The scholar’s painting skills were quite good, among the best he had encountered before.
“You seem different from the villagers outside,” Li Hao remarked.
The black-robed scholar frowned; he didn’t like being disturbed while painting, but he couldn’t resist Li Hao’s strength.
“They are just my puppets,” the black-robed scholar replied indifferently.
“So, you are the one who created the obsession that birthed this Death River,” Li Hao said. “If I deal with you, this Death River should be destroyed.”
“You can’t kill me.”
The black-robed scholar said coldly, “Even if you destroy this place, I will return.”
“Since you are already dead, why not seek rebirth?” Li Hao sighed.
The scholar’s hand holding the brush paused slightly, a mocking smile appeared on his lips as if he wanted to say something but suddenly held back, as if remembering something he feared.
He sneered a few times, ignoring Li Hao and focusing on his painting.
Li Hao walked around him, looking around. Seeing that the black-robed scholar had stopped paying attention to him, he shifted his gaze to the painting.
The brush was dipped in blood instead of ink, making the painting look quite gruesome.
But Li Hao was focused on the inner skill of the painting.
“Your brushwork is too soft.”
Noticing the details were lacking, he couldn’t help but remind him:
“There’s not enough blood here; you need to dip more. When you make a stroke, let it spread out naturally.”
“…”
The black-robed scholar’s hand holding the brush paused slightly. He turned to look at Li Hao with a hollow gaze: “You understand painting too?”
“A little bit.”
The black-robed scholar examined Li Hao. Although he only had the strength of a Soul Inheritor, he existed here due to the special power of the Death River, trapped in this place called the Sandalwood Academy for hundreds of years.
Over the centuries, many warriors had entered this place, some strong, some weak. The strong were even more terrifying than the young man beside him, capable of destroying the entire Death River village with a wave of their hand.
The weak were just like the villagers outside, having suffered many tragic deaths in the village over the years. Some who were more capable rushed to him, only to be killed without mercy.
He had seen all kinds of people, but someone like this young man was rare.
Young, terrifying in martial arts, and he even understood a bit of the unconventional.
“The art of painting is profound; even if you are clever, it’s not something you can grasp with just a little effort,” the black-robed scholar said, then ignored Li Hao and continued painting.
Li Hao was taken aback. Did this guy really think his painting skills were impressive?
If we’re talking about martial arts, I can let it slide, but painting?
“The art of painting is indeed profound, but unfortunately, you are just an outsider,” Li Hao said bluntly.
“What?”
The black-robed scholar raised an eyebrow, turning to glare at Li Hao.
“With this painting, there are at least sixteen mistakes. It looks so stiff; you really lack spirit!” Li Hao said without holding back, no longer giving this fellow practitioner any face.
“What nonsense are you talking about!”
The black-robed scholar lost his calm; his pale face, like that of a corpse, turned slightly red with anger as he glared at Li Hao.
“Here, here, here…”
Li Hao pointed out the flaws on the paper, “All of these are flaws. You can’t see it because your skill is too low!”
“You!”
The black-robed scholar trembled all over, and the woman’s soul figure on his back was shrouded in black mist, ready to fight Li Hao.
Li Hao naturally wasn’t afraid; an angry Soul Inheritor was still just a Soul Inheritor. Did he think he could turn into a golden-haired warrior?
“Give me the brush.”
Without saying a word, Li Hao snatched the brush from his hand, then ripped the painting off the easel and crumpled it up, tossing it aside.
Seeing his painstakingly created artwork being treated like this, the black-robed scholar could no longer hold back, erupting in fury with a sharp scream.
His originally calm and handsome face twisted into a grotesque expression, blood seeping from his seven orifices, bubbling up.
His black robe billowed, revealing the blood-red inside.
This was a robe stained with blood for who knows how many years, only appearing black because the blood had dried and settled.
Li Hao didn’t even look, sending his spirit out to easily pin down the scholar and his soul figure, pressing them both to the ground, unable to move.
It was hard for Li Hao to understand how someone could be angry after making such a terrible painting.
He should be the one who was mad!
His gaze became focused; in terms of painting, he was sincere.
With a swift motion, Li Hao picked up the brush, the blood from the brush splattering down, the lines flowing naturally, with a clear distinction between light and heavy strokes.
Soon, when the blood from the brush was nearly gone, Li Hao lifted the scholar, brushed his face with the brush to get some blood, and then began to paint again.
In a short time, a lifelike image of a beautiful woman, gently bowing her head, appeared on the paper.
It was still the same woman from before, but this time, it was full of spirit.
The best way to punish someone who refuses to admit defeat is to defeat them in their proudest way.
Li Hao released the black-robed scholar and said calmly, “Now compare again. If you still can’t see the difference, then you should never touch a brush again and go plant some crops in the village.”
The black-robed scholar was almost furious to the point of spitting blood. Go plant crops?
He was about to leap in anger, but suddenly froze, his peripheral vision catching sight of the painting, and he couldn’t look away.
A Yue…
The black-robed scholar felt as if he had been struck by lightning, standing frozen in place.
He stared blankly at the woman in the painting, his body trembling slightly as if he wanted to leap forward.
Then, two streams of blood tears flowed from his eyes.
A Yue, is that you…
Is it really you…
The black-robed scholar hurriedly approached the painting, stumbling as he reached out, wanting to touch the woman in the painting, but when his fingers were about to make contact, he panicked and pulled back, afraid of dirtying her face.
His shoulders shook slightly, and blood tears flowed endlessly.
The woman’s soul figure on his back also stared blankly at the painting, her dark and fierce eyes gradually showing some thoughts.
“How is it? How does it compare to yours?”
A voice that didn’t fit the moment broke the black-robed scholar’s immersion.
He paused for a moment, then turned to look at Li Hao.
Seeing the young man’s slightly proud demeanor, he didn’t feel angry this time. Instead, he suddenly knelt down, dropping to his knees in front of Li Hao.
“Thank you…”
The black-robed scholar lowered his head, his eyes filled with gratitude. “Thank you for letting me see A Yue again.”
So the woman in the painting is named A Yue? Li Hao raised an eyebrow but didn’t mind. Seeing the other party had admitted defeat, he immediately helped him up: “The art of painting is profound; you need not only heart but also spirit…”
While Li Hao was explaining, the black-robed scholar turned his head, staring intently at the woman in the painting.
The noise around him faded away.
A long time passed.
Li Hao was parched from talking, seeing the person in front of him lost in thought, he couldn’t help but get angry: “Did you hear me?”
The black-robed scholar came back to his senses and suddenly smiled at Li Hao. His black robe gradually changed color, from black to blood red, then to light red, finally transforming into a white scholar’s robe.
From his appearance, he seemed to have been a scholar in life.
“My wish has been fulfilled; thank you, benefactor…” The black-robed scholar, no longer in black, wore a relieved and liberated smile.
The woman’s soul figure behind him also dispersed the black mist, transforming into the same appearance as the woman in the painting, bowing gracefully to Li Hao in the air, her eyes showing gratitude.
Then, the figures of both gradually faded away.
“A Yue…” The scholar’s figure slowly faded, murmuring, a smile on his lips.
Li Hao was stunned. What was happening?
At that moment, his palm felt hot, and golden paper appeared.
On the golden paper, lines of golden characters seemed to carve themselves into the surface:
[Progress 100%, completed the Death River mission, reward: 100 merit points.]
[You have entered the merit list.]
[The Death River is about to disappear; please leave quickly.]
(End of chapter)