“You dare!” The young man from the Immortal Palace roared, his cheeks swollen and red. Even with bone inscriptions activated to protect his face, the searing pain remained unbearable.
*Slap!*
Shi Hao delivered another resounding slap, sending the young man spinning in place, blood streaming from his lips.
“What’s there to stop me?”
Shi Hao grabbed him again, lifting him off the ground as he questioned.
The crowd was stunned. The entire sequence of movements had been impossibly fast—no one could intervene in time to save the young man.
“I’ll kill you! Provoking the Immortal Palace means your end!” The young man, disheveled, eyes blazing with golden light, roared in fury.
Bone inscriptions surged across his body as he unleashed his most powerful secret techniques.
Yet, before Shi Hao, this supposedly formidable Divine Flame Realm expert was as helpless as a chick, easily lifted once more.
“The Immortal Palace is nothing! Always flaunting its name—let me teach you what it means to slap its face!”
Shi Hao swung his palm relentlessly, shattering the young man’s bone inscriptions with each crisp strike.
*Slap!*
Blood splattered instantly. Teeth flew out as the young man’s face twisted grotesquely, his mind reeling from the blows.
*Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!*
The barrage of strikes melded into a single deafening sound, distorting his face beyond recognition.
“Attack! Kill him!” the young man shrieked in a brief moment of clarity.
The onlookers, already struggling to intervene, found all their techniques blocked by an impenetrable barrier.
*Thud!*
After the beating, Shi Hao slammed him into the ground, cracking the earth beneath. The young man’s bones shattered beyond count.
Yet, Shi Hao spared his life—for now. He had questions.
“Where are those two?” Shi Hao asked calmly, his foot pressing down on the young man’s chest.
“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you! Wait until the Immortal Palace’s master emerges—he’ll crush you with a single hand!” the young man spat venomously.
*Crunch!*
Shi Hao’s foot sank deeper, collapsing the young man’s chest. Blood gushed from his mouth as terror filled his eyes—this demon was truly going to kill him.
“You—you can’t do this! The city has rules! Acting recklessly will bring the wrath of all factions upon you!”
“You just tried to have me abducted and killed with a Void-Shattering Talisman. Now you care about rules?” Shi Hao chuckled.
With another stomp, bones snapped audibly as the young man’s limbs shattered, his screams echoing horrifically.
“Break the barrier! Kill him!” the crowd outside roared, launching another assault.
But Shi Hao merely flared his golden wings, sending a shockwave that blasted everyone back, coughing blood.
Nearby, Louis stood dumbfounded. This man was beyond audacious—storming the Immortal Palace, thrashing one of its key figures, and repelling all challengers with ease.
“Don’t kill me!” the broken young man finally begged, half his bones shattered, his face twisted in terror. Never had he imagined someone would dare kill within the city—let alone at the Immortal Palace’s doorstep.
Shi Hao yanked him up again, delivering another brutal beating until the young man, dazed, surrendered willingly.
“Good. Now, it’s your turn to act.” Shi Hao ordered him to retrieve the Immortal Palace’s treasures.
—
**Beyond the Forbidden Zone**
A sect leader inscribed Shi Hao’s name on a petal, projecting his actions onto a nearby stone tablet for all to witness.
The crowd froze.
Months of silence, and now—this?
“He’s looting the Immortal Palace’s doorstep?” someone whispered.
“No, he’s humiliating them! Did you not hear? He’s slapping their face!”
The scene sent shockwaves. The Immortal Palace—one of the most ancient and feared factions—was being openly defied by a youth.
In the bronze hall at the Forbidden Zone’s edge, a cold snort echoed. This insult struck at their entire legacy.
—
**Brightlight City, Before the Immortal Palace**
The dazed young man muttered, “You’re robbing us here?”
“Nonsense. You’re offering tribute—this isn’t robbery,” Shi Hao corrected sternly.
“Where are our Immortal Generals? Attack!” someone in the distance clenched their fists.
“They should return soon. We’ve summoned them to deal with this wretch,” another whispered.
Unfazed, Shi Hao dragged the golden crane youth into the central bronze hall, demanding all divine treasures.
“Gone! Everything’s been sent away!” the crane stammered, trapped in a nightmare. Who would believe the Immortal Palace could be assaulted and plundered?
“Lies. I smell sacred herbs. Bring them out, or I slaughter everyone.”
Shi Hao, with his ethereal grace, spoke like a bandit, leaving the crowd speechless.
Louis, numb by now, could only marvel at the sheer unpredictability of this demon.
*Slap!*
Another strike spurred the crane into action.
Finally, the vault opened—a flood of medicinal fragrance.
Eight sacred herbs, sealed together, radiated brilliance. Two jade cauldrons held even rarer fruits—one silver like flame, the other wreathed in violet mist.
“Demigod Fruits!” Louis gasped.
“Bountiful harvest,” Shi Hao mused, though he lamented the likely superior treasures already sent to the Immortal Palace’s heir.
“You can’t take these! The master’s wrath will drown the land in blood!” the crane pleaded.
“Let him come,” Shi Hao sneered. Their feud was inevitable.
Next, he pillaged rare materials, including Cloud-Pattern Dao Copper—a divine metal for crafting supreme weapons.
“Where is the Immortal Palace’s heir secluded?” Shi Hao suddenly asked, considering a direct assault.
“I don’t know! Only his avatar collects the herbs!” the crane quivered.
“Who dares defy the Immortal Palace?” a thunderous voice boomed.
“They’re back! Capture him!” the crane cried, retreating with vengeful glee.
Two Immortal Generals—peerless prodigies—had returned.
“Take him outside the city to kill,” one ordered coldly.
A Void-Shattering Talisman activated, whisking Shi Hao, Louis, and the others away.
“I’ll watch him die!” the crane hissed, vanishing with another talisman.
—
**Outside the Immortal Palace**
Onlookers murmured as news of the disturbance spread.
“A minor issue. The troublemaker’s been dealt with,” someone announced, confident in the Immortal Generals’ victory.
Yet, time passed with no sign of their return.
“Disaster! That fiend is back, but our generals are gone!” a panicked voice cried half an hour later.
The crowd shuddered. Had two prodigies fallen to one man?
Outside, the “fiend” strolled back, belching slightly as if overfed.
Investigating the battlefield revealed shattered mountains and sunken earth—a brutal clash.
They found the golden crane, now catatonic.
“Where are the generals?”
“Dead… all dead… roasted and eaten,” the crane mumbled, broken.
The crowd recoiled in horror.
“Two prodigies slain! We must summon the heir to crush this beast!”
—
**Beyond the Forbidden Zone**
Through the stone tablet, sect elders watched in disbelief.
“He’s grown stronger. Two prodigies fought desperately but couldn’t even scratch him,” someone murmured.
This battle cemented Shi Hao’s dread reputation—though none in the Immortal Ancient Realm could be warned.
—
**Back in the City**
Shi Hao returned with Louis, plotting to raid the Dark Divine Palace next.
Louis trailed weakly, still reeling from witnessing two prodigies roasted and devoured.
“Shi Hao!”
At a street’s end, a haggard Luo Dao emerged.
“You’re here! I’ve been searching for you,” Shi Hao smiled.
“Lan Yichen is trapped in a metal mine with the Eight Treasures Qilin. He’ll die without help!” Luo Dao urged.
“Lead the way!” Shi Hao summoned his Kun Peng wings, soaring into the distance with Luo Dao and Louis.
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