Chapter 130: The Revealed Dragon

Li Hao was, at this moment, completely unaware that he had become a monster in the eyes of the thousands of young men and women waiting above the surface. Within this small region, his legend had already stirred up a storm of chaos.

The endless stream of discussions, expressions of horror, and shock had left the hearts of every youth unsettled. Unbeknownst to him, he remained deep in the vast ocean, using the power of water to breakthrough his cultivation.

Li Hao’s two major realm halos and ten minor realm halos were rapidly condensing into an eleventh. In the water, Li Hao was like a fish in its element; using the Laws of Water to breakthrough allowed him to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

From last night until this morning, Li Hao had been constantly shifting his elemental attributes, absorbing new energy and converting it into his own. As time passed, the power of his Laws became increasingly synchronized with his physical body. When the alignment reached a sufficient level, the breakthrough occurred as a matter of course.

Normal cultivators must first use the Laws of Heaven and Earth to forge their bodies, and only after that is complete do they grind their own Laws to match their flesh before they can break through a realm.

Li Hao, however, did not need to use the Laws of Heaven and Earth to forge his body; that was the masterpiece of the Primordial Chaos energy. His ability to switch between the attributes of various Laws at will was the heaven-defying aspect of his Formless Dharma Body. Furthermore, with the Primordial Chaos Yin-Yang Formation evolved within the Primordial Chaos Pearl, whether he was mobilizing or converting the Laws of Heaven and Earth, he could achieve it in an instant with a mere thought.

If one were to compare the absorption and purification of Laws for a normal cultivator to a person drinking water, for Li Hao, it was as simple as breathing. Moreover, this applied to any attribute of the Laws he encountered. He did not need to use his own strength to purify other attributes before absorbing them into his body to fuse with his own Laws.

Half an hour passed, and Li Hao’s realm halo was completely solidified. Now, all that remained was to stabilize it.

Just as he was doing so, a thousand-foot-long flood dragon swam toward him. Deep in the joy of his breakthrough, Li Hao was focused on stabilizing his halo with great excitement and failed to notice the gargantuan creature approaching him.

The flood dragon is the most noble of the serpent species, second only to the true dragon race in the animal kingdom. It is the supreme emperor of the snake clan; should it encounter the right opportunity, it has a chance to evolve into a mutated divine dragon, possessing power even greater than that of an ordinary dragon.

This dragon approaching Li Hao was golden in color. It possessed five claws, each a different hue: gold, yellow, black, white, and purple. Its appearance was hauntingly bizarre. Should it sprout horns upon its brow, it would surely become a unique entity among dragons.

The dragon drew closer and closer—one thousand feet, one hundred feet, fifty feet. When it reached fifty feet from Li Hao, it stopped, ceasing its forward advance.

Li Hao remained immersed in stabilizing his halo, showing no signs of awareness. Whether the dragon’s movements were too subtle or Li Hao too deep in his own cultivation, he remained oblivious. The dragon did not launch an attack, but instead circled Li Hao silently in the water.

The dragon’s behavior was strange. After circling him, it still did not attack. Instead, it positioned its massive head directly in front of Li Hao, watching him silently, as if it found him incredibly fascinating. To an outsider, it might have appeared as though the creature were guarding him during his breakthrough.

Meanwhile, above the ocean, the atmosphere was in an uproar. Li Hao was twelve years old, and in ten days, he had broken through two major realms and five minor ones. This news had spread to everyone in the vicinity.

At first, ninety percent of the people refused to believe it, dismissing it as boasting or exaggerated praise for their savior. Gradually, however, many sought to verify the truth, and once confirmed, they were left stunned by such an unprecedented legendary genius, their hearts unable to calm for a long time.

After the initial shock, Lin Xueyou and the others quieted down, waiting for Li Hao’s return.

Ling Guanghan thought to himself, "Young Master Li Hao is truly a wonder. Back when he was in the mid-stage of the Outbound Realm, he could already look down upon cultivators below the peak of the Outbound Realm. Now that he has broken through another minor realm, does that not mean he can rival anyone below the Soul-Forging Realm?"

As this thought crossed his mind, even Ling Guanghan was startled. "Young Master Li Hao’s heaven-defying nature is truly shocking."

Of all the people present, only Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao were aware that Li Hao possessed nine other heaven-defying real clones. Others knew at most of his sword-wielding clone, Sword-Extinguisher. Neither Ling Guanghan nor Qinger knew of this bizarre fact. One could only wonder what expressions they would wear if they learned that the young man they had just met possessed nine such entities.

The shock of the unknown was something even Li Hao had yet to fathom.

Li Hao would eventually gather his clones, and they would slowly assemble their special weapons—that day was drawing closer.

The young men and women who had been helped by Li Hao felt a sense of gratitude so deep they hadn't even had the chance to utter a simple thank you. Thus, they all chose to wait for their benefactor to return in triumph, waiting to see this legendary genius once more to offer their sincere thanks. At the same time, they looked forward to his future, wondering what world-shaking brilliance he would display at the upcoming selection tournament.

It took Li Hao an hour to stabilize his late-stage Outbound Realm halo. Once the process was complete, he retracted the halos into his body. He did not open his eyes, still oblivious to the massive creature beside him.

With his eyes closed, he felt his own brimming power; he felt as though he were filled with infinite strength. It seemed that with a mere gesture, he could shatter mountains and sever rivers.

The moment he opened his eyes after his internal assessment, he was startled. Before him were two massive golden lanterns, staring fixedly at him. Though he could not say he was terrified, a surge of tension was inevitable. He was shocked, wondering if he had been too careless or if this creature possessed such powerful stealth that he hadn't sensed a thing.

Thinking back on his lack of defense, he realized that had the monster attacked, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

Li Hao was filled with mixed emotions. The giant golden eyes remained unblinking, and he began to study the creature in turn. The sight of a man and a dragon staring at one another was both bizarre and stark.

After a long time, Li Hao realized the creature seemed curious about him, just as he was about it. The two remained locked in a mutual gaze.

Li Hao looked down from those massive eyes, wondering if this was a dragon. Upon closer inspection, it didn't quite seem so. He turned his body, only to realize he had been surrounded.

Returning his gaze to the front of the dragon, he saw those giant eyes still fixed on him. Li Hao waved a hand at the lantern-like eyes as a greeting, but the creature ignored him completely, offering no face at all. Feeling somewhat awkward, Li Hao asked, "Friend, why are you here?"

The massive creature heard his voice and responded, sounding surprised, "Little one, are you not afraid of me?"

The booming, rugged voice made Li Hao’s ears tingle.

He did not say whether he was afraid or not, but instead countered, "If I were afraid, what then? And if I were not, what then?"

His answer caught the flood dragon off guard. It replied lightly, "What an interesting youth."

Li Hao showed no reaction, offering only a faint smile. "Friend, if you have no business with me, I must be going. My friends are waiting for me above."

The dragon spoke up, "Wait!"

Li Hao asked in confusion, "Does my friend have further business?"

The dragon replied, "Friend? I have never heard that term before. It is quite interesting."

Li Hao, having not received the answer he wanted, began to grow impatient. "Do you have any business, friend? If not, I am leaving."

Hearing this, the dragon said unhurriedly, "How about we make a wager?"

Li Hao was puzzled, unable to fathom what kind of deal the creature could want. Thoughts flashed through his mind as he asked, "What kind of wager? Let's hear it."

The dragon answered, "To be precise, it is not a wager, but a gamble. I will bet with you. If you lose, you shall be my little brother for life; if I lose, I shall be yours for life. Do you dare?"

Li Hao did not say whether he dared or not. Instead, he asked, "How shall we gamble?"

The dragon replied, "I see you have the strength of the peak of the Outbound Realm. I shall fight you using only that level of power. If you win, I will follow you; if I win, you will follow me. How is that?"

Li Hao asked, "And the rules of the gamble?"

The dragon said, "Simple. We fight. What do you say?"

Li Hao had just broken through; although he was only at the late-stage of the Outbound Realm—two minor realms away from the peak—he was confident that he was no weaker than an ordinary cultivator at that level. Having just broken through, he was in need of an opponent.

Thus, Li Hao agreed, "Very well!"