Testing the Blade?
The two old men gave him a disdainful look. Testing the blade? What nonsense was this?
“What’s your problem? Why are you glaring at me like dead fish?” Shi Hao wasn’t having it and glared right back at the two old geezers.
“Kid, watch your mouth!” Bird Grandpa’s beard bristled with anger.
“Don’t get your tail in a twist,” Shi Hao said dismissively.
“Hey, you little brat! You really don’t know how to talk, do you? Believe it or not, I’ll toss you into the Immortal Dao Demon Refining Ground and suppress you for 490,000 years until you melt into a puddle of pus!” Bird Grandpa snarled.
“Enough with the empty threats. Hurry up and arrange for me to teach that guy who dared to challenge me a lesson. If he’s bold enough to provoke me, he better be ready to get beaten up,” Shi Hao declared boldly.
The two old men could only stare in disbelief. A mere cultivator at the Dunyi Realm daring to challenge a peak-level expert from the Immortal Domain? Was he asking for trouble, volunteering to be suppressed?
“Hurry up, I don’t have all day!”
“Fine, if you’re asking for a beating, then go ahead!” Fine Jade Grandpa said.
Near the World Gate, loud noises erupted frequently these days, as if someone was pounding on the doors, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
“Open the gate!” Shi Hao waved his hand, ordering Bird Grandpa to open it, acting all high and mighty.
“Little Dragon, come here.” He beckoned to the Crimson Dragon and said calmly, “Draft an edict for your master.”
Ge Gu was fuming. “Little Dragon”? The nickname made his skin crawl. Who the hell came up with that? Probably that fatso Cao Yusheng or maybe that golden ant?
“What, didn’t you hear your master?” Shi Hao shot him a sidelong glance.
Grudgingly, the Crimson Dragon approached, grumbling internally. Draft an edict? Who did this guy think he was? Some immortal lord? The audacity!
Even Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa couldn’t stand it anymore, giving him sidelong glances, barely resisting the urge to point and mock. Such a young brat putting on airs!
“Such a tiny brat with so many quirks!” Fine Jade Grandpa muttered.
The Crimson Dragon nodded vigorously, feeling a deep sense of agreement. His so-called master deserved to be ridiculed by these two old men.
“What are you nodding for? Defying your master? Hurry up and grind the ink, draft the edict!” Shi Hao rapped the Crimson Dragon on the head, then turned to the two old men. “That guy from the Immortal Domain brought an edict, didn’t he? Why does he think he’s so high and mighty? I’ll issue him one too.”
The two old men finally understood—this guy held a grudge. He resented the arrogance and condescension of the Immortal Domain beings and couldn’t let it go.
The Crimson Dragon was speechless. This “master” of his really wasn’t someone to mess with.
With a loud *boom*, the World Gate cracked open slightly. Shi Hao started shouting again, “Elders, keep an eye out. If things go south, quickly move us to an arena where we can fight on equal footing!”
“I thought you wanted to teach him a lesson?” Bird Grandpa rolled his eyes.
“What if he ends up teaching me a lesson instead?” Shi Hao said without a hint of shame.
“Then why did you challenge him in the first place?”
Shi Hao’s face was thick as a wall, utterly unashamed. He declared confidently, “I’ll beat him up without question. I’m just preparing for contingencies.”
*Clang!*
The gate’s gap widened as the creature outside grew impatient, throwing a punch that sent the doors flying open with an ear-splitting crash.
In an instant, chaotic energy surged forth, knocking the Crimson Dragon off his feet.
“How dare you slight me like this, delaying the opening of this gate? Do you scorn the Immortal Domain?” The voice belonged to a battle general, his cultivation level formidable.
However, he was the lowest-ranked among the generals who had emerged from the Immortal Domain this time—still mortal, not yet stepping into the immortal realm.
“You! Go summon the Chaos Ape at once to receive the edict!” He pointed at the Crimson Dragon, who happened to be closest.
The Crimson Dragon gritted his teeth in anger. Being knocked back by the chaos was one thing, but this guy’s arrogance the moment he appeared was infuriating.
“Did you not hear me? Hurry up and fetch the Chaos Ape to kneel and receive the edict!” the general barked.
In truth, he had already spotted Shi Hao, Bird Grandpa, and Fine Jade Grandpa nearby but chose to act this way—partly to test them, partly out of sheer arrogance.
The Crimson Dragon itched to slam his claw into the general’s face, leaving a bloody mess to test the might of his Phoenix Claw.
A dragon without true dragon heritage, yet always dreaming of using phoenix claws to kill.
In the distance, Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa’s expressions darkened. As for Shi Hao, his face was outright black.
“You—are you the Chaos Ape? Come here at once!” The general finally turned his gaze to Shi Hao, tilting his chin up, eyes sharp as he looked down on him.
“Master, are you going to read the edict first?” the Crimson Dragon egged him on, also seething with frustration.
“No,” Shi Hao refused.
Both the Crimson Dragon and the two old men were stunned. Had he changed? No stirring trouble? So restrained? But this was unbearable! Even they felt indignant. This guy was supposed to hold grudges—how could he tolerate this?
“I’m talking to you! Are you the Chaos Ape? Come kneel and receive the edict!” the general roared, clad in gleaming armor, tall and imposing.
Shi Hao’s face darkened further. He stared coldly at the man and said to Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa, “Set up an arena. Let me beat him half to death first!”
The Crimson Dragon suddenly understood—his “master” hadn’t changed at all. He was just biding his time.
He planned to thrash the guy first, then have the Crimson Dragon read the edict to him.
Bird Grandpa and Fine Jade Grandpa exchanged knowing looks. They never believed he’d change. Who was he? They knew him too well.
“What did you say?” the general demanded.
“Beat you up!” Shi Hao replied with just two words.
Then, he turned to the two old men. “Send him into the arena!”
“I thought you wanted to test your blade on him?”
“Beat him up first!” Shi Hao answered.
The two old men had initially planned to drag their feet, but the general’s arrogance had rubbed them the wrong way too, so they cooperated readily.
Misty light swirled, and the scenery shifted.
They found themselves in an arena.
The Crimson Dragon and the two old men stood outside, watching, while Shi Hao and the general faced off in the center.
“What do you think you’re doing?” The general’s expression changed as he sensed the hostility. He turned to the two old men outside. “Is this how you treat guests?”
“Come, let me entertain you. I guarantee you’ll leave satisfied!” Shi Hao said.
“Outrageous! I represent the Immortal Domain, here to deliver an edict! Chaos Ape, kneel and receive it at once!” the general bellowed, his voice like thunder, enough to intimidate most.
But who was Shi Hao? Fear wasn’t in his vocabulary. He’d been itching to thrash this general all along.
“Brat, come here!” Shi Hao taunted. The way he said it made the general’s blood boil. “Brat”? He was older than Shi Hao’s great-great-grandfather, yet being addressed like this?
*Boom!*
The general attacked, his armor clanging as he lunged forward, sword energy crisscrossing, divine light surging, engulfing the entire arena.
“Chaos Ape, you beast! Kneel and receive the edict!” the general roared, his face dark as he glared down at the young figure.
What annoyed Shi Hao most about Immortal Domain beings was their condescension. His face darkened further, and with his current fanged, monstrous appearance, he looked like a demon.
*Clang!*
Sword energy erupted as the Grass Sword Art sliced through the clouds, then swept horizontally. The battle in the arena was fierce—for all of a few moments.
Sadly, the “fierceness” didn’t last. Shi Hao’s sword cleaved through the general’s protective barrier, sending him flying.
*Swoosh!*
Shi Hao dashed forward, delivering a mid-air strike that pierced the general’s chest, leaving a gaping hole.
As he landed, he grabbed the general by his armor, hoisted him up, and smacked him hard on the back of the head.
“Damn you!” The general was livid, dazed from the heavy blow that nearly shattered his skull and rattled his soul. The humiliation was unbearable—a battle general being spanked like a misbehaving child!
“Still daring to challenge me? Want me to measure your face with my shoe? Believe it or not?” Shi Hao threatened.
The general refused to yield, struggling violently. But what awaited him was a pitch-black sole—Shi Hao was indeed holding a boot, ready to strike.
*Smack!*
The sound was crisp and sharp. The general’s nose, mouth, and eyes were covered, blood streaming, eyes swollen shut—a pitiful sight.
“Brat, had enough? Still want to challenge me?” Shi Hao taunted.
*Smack! Smack! Smack!*
He followed up with a few more shoe slaps, leaving the general’s face a bloody mess, eyes swollen like peaches, utterly dazed.
When it finally stopped, the clear imprint of a shoe sole was stamped across his face and nose—impossible to miss.
“Ah—ahhh!” The general snapped back to his senses, howling in pain. The injuries weren’t severe, but the humiliation drove him mad.
A dignified battle general, measured by a shoe sole? He was fuming, smoke practically rising from his seven orifices!
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