Chapter 603

Chapter 603: Show of Power

The spirit hall began to thrum with tension, yet no one felt it was inappropriate. Even those who had clandestinely allied with Hao Wentong chose to observe the situation.

They felt it was troubling that the puppet they intended to assist had become so assertive. They did not want the new city lord of Mufeng City to have his own agendas; people felt secure only when he leisurely sought pleasure and spent his days indulging in debauchery.

Hao Yue Lin also sensed that this fake Hao Wentong and truly arrogant Li Sifan were becoming too arrogant, subtly slipping out of their grasp. Had she not held the secret of his identity and made covert efforts, she might have been the first to eliminate him.

At this moment, Li Hui looked at the anxious young man stepping forward and smiled, "Isn’t this my cousin Wentao? By blood, we are very closely related! Others may not support my little brother, which is understandable; why don’t you support him either?"

"That’s right, it is I, Hao Wentao! Over the past few years, I have watched my cousin’s actions with a heavy heart. Today, before all the elders, I have to stand up and restore order." Hao Wentao spoke earnestly, "Cousin Wentong, you must awaken! Don’t make any further mistakes, or else after a hundred years, our Hao Family may fall out of the top ten Great Families."

"Ha ha!" Li Hui chuckled, reaching toward Hao Wentong’s face. This kid looked too delicate, easily giving the impression of weakness. Perhaps this was why he had survived until now, but his countless cunning actions, coupled with his insufficient strength to deal with the current crisis, left him vulnerable to ruthless abandonment. As for whether he was dead or alive, it was uncertain—perhaps Hao Yue Lin still kept this pawn.

"What are you laughing at?" Hao Wentao drew out a renowned spirit treasure, a Blood Moon Demonic Sword. He practiced both demonic paths and swordsmanship, known as the Demonic Sword Lord.

"I laugh because you do not know what’s good for you; I laugh because you are unbelievably foolish." Li Hui stood firm, his acupoints erupting with tremendous sound, unleashing terrifying sword energy and a resounding dragon’s roar.

"What’s happening?" The Demonic Sword Lord, Hao Wentao, gasped in shock.

To still be surprised at this moment would be tantamount to seeking death. Li Hui’s strikes were always fierce; he favored control of the battlefield through talismans. The few sentences he had spoken earlier were meant to prepare him; secretly utilizing the White Steed Passage Sword and Immortal Thunder Talisman, he activated the sound attack sword through the Dragon Roar Nine Heavens Technique.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz…" Over four hundred sword energies crisscrossed.

Hao Wentao was no fool, and he possessed numerous treasures, causing his talisman light to flash and automatically fend off attacks. Direct descendants of great families are indeed hard to kill.

Li Hui knew that the talisman path on the Nine-Mystic Continent had evolved to an extremely high level. Although he could see that Hao Wentao had impressive talismans protecting him, he did not know the exact foundation. At that moment, as they activated, he immediately recognized them to be the Endless Time Talisman and the Star Shift Talisman at the Celestial Talisman Level.

These two types of talismans were remarkably powerful; the Endless Time Talisman formed a blue-gray barrier that made fatal attacks approaching the body become indefinitely distant. The Star Shift Talisman redirected attacks, effortlessly diffusing hundreds of sword energies.

"Ha!" Li Hui slightly curled his pinky, knowing that Hao Wentao himself did not understand talisman methods and relied entirely on the vast talisman power preserved by a high-level demon cultivator and a hint of spiritual sense for protection. For others, it could be nearly unsolvable, but before him, it was simply not enough.

Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Hao Wentong took a step forward, waving his hand to signal all the sword energies to converge.

Hao Wentao had already reacted, angrily unleashing sword energy like a storm of demonic flames, aiming to devastate everything in front of him.

In the blink of an eye, the sword energy emitted a high-pitched dragon’s roar as it pierced through, causing several Traveling Realm practitioners to shout in anger, "Stop! He is your brother!"

The Endless Time Talisman can extend the time an attack draws near to the body, but the sword energy comes from the White Steed Passage Sword, capable of reaching a deadly distance in an instant.

Crucially, it was still Li Hui who, in secret, disrupted the Endless Time Talisman and Star Shift Talisman. Though only a slight gap, for a master of this fighting style, it was sufficient.

Before the demonic flame storm could approach, it seemed to dissipate, as the owner of the Blood Moon Demonic Sword became startled. He looked down at his chest, about to scream, only to have his body transform into shimmering light, scattering away and leaving behind all his belongings.

"Is he dead?" The Hao family members exclaimed in shock.

Li Hui hurriedly rushed forward, grabbing Hao Wentao’s belongings and stuffing them into his pockets.

"How outrageous! You dare to kill your brother?" Five Traveling Realm practitioners stepped in. Three aimed to suppress him, while two seized the opportunity to deal a lethal blow, intending to eliminate Hao Wentong.

"Bang, bang, bang…" An astonishing scene occurred as Hao Wentong’s body twirled and managed to deflect the suppression and attacks from the five Traveling Realm practitioners, retreating to hide behind the High Offering and Second Offering. He took out the Endless Time Talisman and Star Shift Talisman but turned pale, pointing at his opponents, "You dare to destroy my talismans and expect me to pay?"

"Impudent!"

The five Traveling Realm practitioners were furious. This kid was simply too despicable, clearly using Hao Wentao’s protective talismans to cleverly deflect their attacks. For the talismans to be damaged and then demand compensation was preposterous!

Li Hui quickly put away the Endless Time Talisman and Star Shift Talisman. Talismans are not so easily damaged. It was just that the spiritual sense and talisman power preserved by the high-level cultivator had dissipated; with some months of nurturing, it could be restored, and if suitable mediums were found, they could become even stronger.

Cheng Xuanzai pointed at Hao Wentong, reprimanding him, "You little rascal! How dare you harm your brother! Hao Wentao has only been a bit arrogant. He stepped forward to challenge you, yet you have such a narrow mind."

"Hahaha!" Hao Wentong laughed heartily, "In front of my great-grandfather’s spirit, you bullied me without restraint! Do you plan to keep your faces intact? My position as the city lord of Mufeng City was firmly established ten years ago in the clan’s ancestral hall. You come here, saying I’m weak and incompetent, and now that I choose to become strong, you call me brutal? May I ask you, what does Hao Wentao amount to? According to the clan’s rules, to provoke a city lord, especially the lord of the first great city, Mufeng City, isn’t it justified to kill him? It’s not just justified; publicly decapitating him would be proper retribution, and showing such mercy in how he meets his end is already benevolence."

"You…" Although the clan elders present were powerful, facing such an imposing Hao Wentong felt like battling a porcupine. This kid was covered in quills; just from those smoothly executed attacks, how foolish would their intelligence gatherers need to be?

Is this really the same playboy indulging in wine and pleasure who claimed he practiced the Dragon Roar Nine Heavens Technique to the third stage? Just now, he explosively reached at least the seventh stage, and with the aid of that treasure, the power was unbelievable! If it weren’t for Hao Wentao being known as the Demonic Sword Lord, how could he have been reduced to ashes without a chance to fight back?

While both were of All-Manifestation Realm cultivation, how decisive was Li Hui’s attack? He would either strike without holding back or take a life, a result of his years of accumulated battle experience—he would leave no future troubles.

It must be said that the decisive actions taken to eliminate the short man and Hao Wentao indeed had a debilitating effect. Hao Yue Chen had remained quiet; now, she looked at her husband, feeling uncertain. Originally, she had wanted her husband to eliminate Hao Wentong, but now there seemed to be no chance of victory.

The spirit hall fell silent. Li Hui smirked; he was certain he had secured the position of city lord.