Chapter 84: Four Ascents in a Single Battle

Chapter Eighty-Four: Li Hao Alone Against Four

After speaking to Li Hao, Lin Xueyou turned to Zhen Ba, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen and said, “If you don’t want to be beaten too badly by this rascal Li Hao, you’d better come up with a good strategy!”

“What! Don’t tell me you want the four of us to fight the young master alone. That seems a bit unfair, doesn’t it?”

Hearing Lin Xueyou’s words, Li Hao finally realized the situation and sighed inwardly, “Didn’t I already learn my lesson in front of Sister Lu Yao? Didn’t I swear never to provoke women again? How could I forget so quickly? Alas!”

Seeing Li Hao unmoved, Lin Xueyou’s slender fingers tightened their grip.

“Hiss—” Li Hao sucked in a breath, pained.

As Li Hao muttered to himself, Lin Xueyou, noticing his lack of reaction, gave his ear a sharp tug and asked, “Are you unwilling, little brother Li Hao?”

Could Li Hao possibly refuse? Of course not. Not to mention Lin Xueyou had him by the ear—he wouldn’t dare say no! All he could do was brace himself and reply, “No!”

“Ah! …”

Upon hearing Li Hao’s word, Lin Xueyou mistook it for refusal and increased her grip, making Li Hao cry out.

Enduring the pain, Li Hao hurried to explain, “S-Sister Xueyou, you misunderstood. I meant, it’s not that I’m unwilling. It’s just that this feels a bit like infighting.”

“Oh! … So that’s what you meant. But you’re wrong, little brother Li Hao. How can this be called infighting? This is called sparring with all your strength, do you understand?”

Lin Xueyou drew out her words, and Li Hao answered with a trembling voice, “I understand! I understand!”

“That’s more like it!”

Only then did Lin Xueyou finally let go of his ear.

“By the way, this is just a spar. Apart from not using weapons, you can fight as you please. Don’t think you can fool me with a half-hearted effort. There are only two possible outcomes: either you beat Li Hao until he can’t resist anymore, and I’m satisfied, or you’re all beaten by Li Hao until you can’t resist, and I’m satisfied.”

Lin Xueyou’s masterful manipulation left no room for escape. She forced both sides into a corner with no retreat. The group had thought to go easy and play along, but Lin Xueyou ruthlessly quashed any hope of that. Left with no choice, they had to face the fight head-on.

“Young master, we brothers are only doing this under duress. If we offend, please forgive us.”

Hearing Zhen Ba’s kind warning, Li Hao replied, “No need to hold back, brothers. I’ll give it my all, so you should be careful too.”

At that moment, Li Hao’s heart pounded with nerves. To fight at full strength—even Zhen Ba alone could suppress him. Add Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen, and his chances of victory were slim to none. Even so, Li Hao would never retreat before the battle had begun.

The fight was about to start.

Li Hao charged at the four, deciding to take the initiative.

Seeing Li Hao’s sudden attack, the four did not dare take him lightly. As he approached, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, Qin Zhen, and Zhen Ba instantly spread out, surrounding him.

Lu Yao, watching Li Hao trapped in their formation, anxiously said to Lin Xueyou, “Sister Xueyou, Brother Li Hao is facing four by himself—he doesn’t stand a chance!”

Lin Xueyou, hearing Lu Yao’s worried question, turned to her and said, “Don’t worry, Yaor. That rascal Li Hao has plenty of hidden tricks. This will force him to go all out. Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen, even working with Zhen Ba, can last at most a hundred moves before they’re defeated. After that, Zhen Ba, at his peak, could last five moves at best.”

Knowing Li Hao’s true abilities, Lin Xueyou wasn’t worried for him at all—her concern was for the four opponents. If Li Hao summoned all his clones, they would be defeated within two hundred moves.

At this point, Lu Yao still didn’t know that Li Hao had nine clones elsewhere, which was why she was so worried about him. Lin Xueyou’s explanation sounded unbelievable, and Lu Yao didn’t know why she was so certain. Though she trusted Lin Xueyou wouldn’t harm Li Hao, she couldn’t help but worry.

While the two chatted, Li Hao had already begun exchanging blows with Zhen Ba, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen. Lin Xueyou, seeing that Li Hao hadn’t summoned his clones, was taken aback.

“That rascal is being too arrogant—he’s bound to suffer for it.”

Lu Yao, hearing Lin Xueyou mutter, asked curiously, “What are you saying, Sister Xueyou?”

“I just think Li Hao’s being overconfident. Without his clones, he could really lose.”

“Yes, why isn’t Brother Li Hao summoning his clones? In my worry, I actually forgot he had them.”

Lu Yao smiled awkwardly at Lin Xueyou’s remark. The two beautiful girls fell silent again, focusing on the fight.

Li Hao stood at the center, giving Qin Zhen an innocent smile. To Qin Zhen, that smile was chilling—something felt wrong, though he couldn’t say what.

Li Hao gave them little time to react. His spirit instantly drew upon the laws of heaven and earth within an eight-hundred-zhang radius, gathering them in his hands to attack Zhen Ba. Seeing Li Hao’s unstoppable punch, Zhen Ba dared not be careless and quickly retreated.

Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen were puzzled—by all logic, Li Hao should have attacked the three weakest first, picking them off before facing Zhen Ba. Yet Li Hao did the opposite.

Though confused, the three decided not to give Li Hao any escape route. They also wanted to see how strong Li Hao truly was at his peak. As Li Hao attacked Zhen Ba, Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen struck from behind and both flanks.

They channeled power into their legs and kicked at Li Hao. As Li Hao reached Zhen Ba’s previous position, he used his Phantom Steps to dart toward Qin Zhen.

Their kicks landed on Li Hao’s afterimage, passing through it and flying straight at the still-retreating Zhen Ba. Realizing too late, the three inwardly cried, “This is bad.”

Fortunately, Zhen Ba hadn’t tried to block Li Hao’s strike directly, or he’d have taken the brunt of his teammates’ kicks. As it was, the three ended up kicking toward Zhen Ba’s chest. They tried to pull back, but it was too late—they could only watch as their own attacks landed on their teammate.

Zhen Ba, unable to retreat further without endangering Lin Xueyou and Lu Yao behind him, had no choice but to gather the laws of heaven and earth to withstand the attack. The three’s kicks struck the barrier he raised ten zhang before him, and the force rebounded, sending them stumbling back four or five steps.

Their retreat brought them right before Li Hao. Before they could steady themselves, Li Hao struck Qin Zhen’s back with a punch, sending him stumbling forward five or six steps.

With Qin Zhen forced away, Kui Hu, still off guard, was swept aside by Li Hao’s law-empowered kick, sent flying more than ten steps. Seeing his companions repelled, Li Zhan punched at Li Hao, his fist piercing through Li Hao’s chest.

The moment his fist passed through, Li Zhan realized, “Another afterimage—damn!”

He quickly turned, just in time to see Li Hao’s fist growing larger in his vision. Zhen Ba, realizing the trap, tried to counterattack, but was delayed by Qin Zhen stumbling into his path.

As Li Hao’s fist neared Li Zhan’s face, Li Zhan leaned back, kicking at Li Hao’s chest. But Li Hao never intended to strike his face—had he wanted to, Li Zhan would have been unable to dodge and would have been left bleeding from nose and mouth.

As Li Zhan leaned back, Li Hao prepared his next move. If Li Zhan hadn’t dodged, Li Hao’s fist would have stopped before his eyes while his left palm, gathering the laws, would have struck his chest, sending him flying. If Li Zhan leaned back without counterattacking, Li Hao’s right hand would have struck down, knocking him to the ground. But Li Zhan, reacting too quickly, tried to force Li Hao back with a kick—falling right into Li Hao’s trap.

As Li Zhan’s kick came at him, Li Hao shifted his feet and body, smoothly dodging. In the same motion, his hands turned into claws and seized Li Zhan’s raised leg.

The moment his leg was caught, Li Zhan thought, “This is bad!”

But it was too late for regret—Li Hao swung him like a sledgehammer and hurled him at the just-steady Kui Hu. Seeing Li Zhan flying toward him, Kui Hu quickly gathered the laws to catch him. Only after regaining his footing did Li Zhan break out in a cold sweat—had this been a life-or-death battle, both he and Qin Zhen would have already died by Li Hao’s hand.

They were not as weak as they appeared, but being in the majority made them overconfident, and they hadn’t expected Li Hao’s uncanny footwork.

Yet Zhen Ba had not yet made his move. As soon as Li Hao tossed Li Zhan, Zhen Ba gathered eighty percent of his power and launched an all-out attack at Li Hao. Seeing the ferocious punch, Li Hao kicked at Zhen Ba’s fist in midair. Fist and foot collided, both men sent flying backward. Li Hao was knocked back more than a zhang; Zhen Ba was kicked back a similar distance. In this first exchange, Li Hao’s unpredictability gave him the upper hand.

After the opening bout, the five separated. Seeing Li Hao handle himself with ease, Lu Yao finally relaxed her worries.

“See, Yaor? I told you Li Hao wasn’t so simple. Do you believe me now?” Lin Xueyou said.

“Yes,” Lu Yao nodded.