Song Yueyao was taken aback.
She thought it was just a passing strong person or a general from the Xia family, but unexpectedly, it was the Demon Suppression Office.
And it was just the most ordinary Demon Suppressor?
Suddenly, she noticed the boy's face, which looked strangely familiar.
Had she seen him somewhere?
...In the morning?
Song Yueyao had a bit of face blindness and usually didn’t pay attention to others, treating them like grass and trees.
But her memory wasn’t bad, and she quickly recalled that this boy was one of the five newcomers who reported to the Demon Suppression Office that morning.
He was also a disciple of the Tang Palace.
Thinking of his identity, Song Yueyao suddenly remembered that during her earlier visit to the Armor Academy, there was a boy carrying a wild rabbit, and it was this very person.
But with a change of clothes to a dark outfit, he felt somewhat unfamiliar.
At the same time, Li Hao also noticed the woman chasing from behind. He slightly turned his head to glance, and their eyes met for a brief moment.
Li Hao didn’t pay much attention, just nodded slightly and continued forward with the Demon-slaying Sword in hand.
However, Song Yueyao felt as if she had been struck by lightning, frozen in place on the tree.
That side profile... so familiar!
Images from the cave flashed in her mind, that fleeting side view.
“Is it him?!”
Song Yueyao was shocked. The disciple who had secretly crossed the Mò River was this person in front of her?!
She found it hard to believe, but seeing the bodies of the monkey demons all around, she suddenly realized she wasn’t mistaken this time.
Among the outer court disciples, who else could have crossed the Mò River?
Her figure swayed, and she leaped down from the treetop, quickly chasing after Li Hao, calling out, “Wait!”
Li Hao stopped and slightly turned to look at her, “Senior Sister?”
Hearing him call her “Senior Sister” gave Song Yueyao an inexplicable sense of security, and her tense heart seemed to relax a little.
She hurriedly asked, “Did you kill all these monkey demons?”
Even though she had an answer in her heart, she couldn’t help but ask.
“...”
Li Hao fell silent for a moment. Did this Senior Sister’s eyesight not seem good? Was there someone else here?
In such a scene of death, even a detective could figure it out, right?
Seeing the strange look in Li Hao's eyes, Song Yueyao’s cheeks flushed slightly, realizing she might have asked a silly question.
She glanced at the Demon-slaying Sword in Li Hao’s hand, with its blade covered in blood and signs of battle, it was easy to imagine how much fighting he had gone through.
“Did you also kill the big demon on the mountain?” She stared at Li Hao and asked.
Li Hao nodded slightly. It was just a group of spirit wanderers and one big demon, nothing major.
Seeing him nod, Song Yueyao’s heart trembled. She couldn’t help but ask, “How old are you this year?”
“... Asking a boy’s age is quite rude,” Li Hao replied.
“...”
Song Yueyao almost choked. In this sea of corpses and blood, he still had the leisure to joke.
However, even if Li Hao didn’t say, she could tell he looked at most fourteen or fifteen years old. The age limit for new students at the Tang Palace was no more than sixteen.
A fourteen or fifteen-year-old at the Fifteen Li realm?
She suddenly felt deeply shocked, almost unable to believe it.
She was still a step... two steps... three steps away from that realm.
After all, she was the top genius of the Tang Palace, with a Ninth Rank Battle Body!
Before reaching the Master Realm, the Ninth Rank Battle Body’s talent greatly assisted in cultivation. Even so, how could she be left so far behind by someone else?
The last time she heard of such a prodigy was from her grandfather, who mentioned the Ninth Young Master of the Li family.
But at that time, she was still young and hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, feeling like it was just a myth. Now, the boy was standing right in front of her, making it feel surreal.
“Are you here alone? How did you come here?” Song Yueyao couldn’t help but ask.
Looking at his dark outfit, which wasn’t stained with much blood, only the Demon-slaying Sword showed signs of wear.
It looked like he was still handling things with ease while slaying demons.
“Senior Sister, are you interrogating me?” Li Hao said helplessly.
Song Yueyao was speechless. It was rare for her to be so curious about someone, but she ended up being dismissed.
“There are demons here, and I had some free time, so I came over.”
Seeing her awkward expression, Li Hao softened a bit and explained, then turned to continue walking with the sword in hand.
Chit-chat was fine, but work shouldn’t stop.
He lightly leaped, landing on a treetop, summoned his spirit, and began to patrol forward with the Demon-slaying Sword.
Seeing this, Song Yueyao’s pupils slightly contracted. No words could compare to what she saw with her own eyes.
Her face turned pale. Previously, she thought her grandfather’s words were exaggerated, that people were over-praising him. Now it seemed there really were such prodigies in the world!
But how was this done?
A Ninth Rank Battle Body was already top-notch, and as a talent, she could only catch a glimpse of this boy’s back?
Not long after, the dark sword flew back into Li Hao’s hand.
He shook off the blood on it, seeing that the tail of the mountain had been cleared, and immediately turned to wipe out the demons on the way back.
“You, wait for me.” Song Yueyao reacted quickly and called out, chasing after Li Hao.
Once she caught up to him, she looked at his side profile and asked, “Earlier at the Tang Palace, it was you who crossed the Mò River, right?”
Li Hao glanced at her. Although the Tang Palace said there were rewards for those who crossed, he felt a bit guilty for some reason.
After all, that was the exam paper of other newcomers…
“Yes, it was me.”
“How did you cross? The Palace Master even issued a reward. Why didn’t you claim it?” Song Yueyao asked curiously.
How did he cross?
Li Hao couldn’t really explain. It felt like he just kept drawing until he crossed.
Later, he thought maybe the black-robed scholar felt ashamed and fled in disgrace…
Seeing Li Hao silent, Song Yueyao spoke up, “Hmm?”
Li Hao came back to his senses and said, “Is it to claim the Chixiao Sword?”
“Hmm.”
“As you can see, I’m at the Fifteen Li realm,” Li Hao said.
“...”
Song Yueyao felt as if she had been hit in the face with a heavy hammer, feeling breathless and hot.
Fifteen Li? Was he looking down on the Chixiao Sword?
How infuriating!
She gritted her teeth, feeling both curious and annoyed at this boy.
Suddenly, a plume of wolf smoke rose in the distance, then burst into flames.
Song Yueyao glanced over, her pupils contracting sharply, shocked, “Purple smoke? How is that possible? This is an important signal that demons are attacking the city!”
Li Hao was momentarily stunned. As someone from a military family, he naturally understood these signals.
Purple smoke wouldn’t be released unless the situation was extremely dire.
Once released, the city would be sealed, and everyone would be on high alert!
Demons attacking the city?
He suddenly recalled what the bear demon had said about demons in the north.
“I’m heading back now.”
Li Hao immediately said, then his figure flickered and he leaped into the air, turning into a dark shadow, disappearing from Song Yueyao’s sight.
He was flying!
Song Yueyao looked on, somewhat stunned, feeling that Li Hao’s flying speed seemed faster than any other Fifteen Li realm person she had seen.
But...
Why didn’t he take me along?!
Song Yueyao stomped her foot in frustration, gritting her teeth as she quickly climbed over the forest, hurrying toward the city.
(End of Chapter)