Currently, Wang Hao's defeat of Li Xu within the same realm is already quite remarkable, and if this news were to spread, it would surely cause a huge shock.
If Wang Hao were to overcome a realm difference and defeat Li Xu, the resulting sensation would be unimaginable.
"The eighth punch, the Styx Dragon Transformation."
Li Xu's aura grew stronger and stronger, and the surging spiritual energy formed ripples around his body.
He was like someone practicing boxing while standing on a great river, and the sound of flowing water could be heard in the air.
"roar!"
The great river transformed into a water dragon more than ten meters long, surging towards Wang Hao.
"The Heavenly Heart Breaks Through the Plum Blossom!"
Wang Hao thrust out his sword, aiming for Shui Long's brow. However, the sword did not pierce through Shui Long's brow; it was as if he had struck an iron wall, producing a metallic clanging sound.
"boom!"
The Purple Cloud Sword in Wang Hao's hand was almost knocked out of his grasp by a powerful force. Just then, Li Xu unleashed his ninth punch.
"The Styx River has ceased its flow."
Wang Hao's expression changed slightly. He poured his spiritual power into the Purple Cloud Sword, unleashing the full power of a third-tier magic weapon. The sword emitted a dazzling purple light.
"Sword One".
Instantly, a powerful sword aura burst forth, more than ten meters long, heading towards the surging "River Styx".
"boom!"
The sword energy collided violently with the Styx River, and the two powerful forces collided, producing a piercing loud noise.
Wang Hao felt a tremendous force strike him, sending him flying backward. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Looking at Li Xu, who had only retreated seven steps, his expression was somewhat solemn.
However, just as he was about to take out the Yin-Yang Profound Iron Sword Embryo and prepare for a full-scale battle, Li Xu's figure suddenly vanished, turning back into streams of pure spiritual energy that scattered in all directions.
Although Wang Hao was surprised, he was determined not to let the spiritual energy go to waste. He opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the spiritual energy. Looking around at the empty surroundings, he knew he had probably passed the test.
After resting for a while, Wang Hao felt that he had recovered to about 70-80%, so he got up and left. Although he did not defeat Li Xu in a direct confrontation, the fact that the opponent's illusory power was exhausted was also a kind of defeat.
The tower lights on the third floor of the battle tower lit up.
At this moment, the young cultivators and nine elders outside the battle tower were once again alarmed.
Of the ten people who originally challenged the trials with Wang Hao, eight have already been defeated and retreated. Only Wang Hao and Ling Jinhui, a genius from the Ling family among the three great families, have not yet emerged.
At this moment, everyone believed that Ling Jinhui had entered the third level of the battle tower. Although he was not as famous as Li Xing and Li You, he was still a cultivator at the peak of the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
Even Elder Shangren said with a smile, "Ling Jinhui must have been hiding his strength before, just waiting to make a name for himself when he was about to pass the Battle Tower. With such a mindset, he will surely achieve great things in the future."
The other eight elders all wore cold expressions, clearly not wanting to see Elder Shangren's smug look.
Because Elder Shangren had a good relationship with the Ling family, and Ling Jinhui was introduced by him, if the other party performed well, he would naturally receive a good reward as well.
But the next second, Elder Shangren's expression froze.
"Squeak!"
The gates of the battle tower opened, and Ling Jinhui walked out dejectedly. As soon as he came out, he saw that the nine elders were staring at him with wide eyes, which startled him and made him take a step back slightly.
Elder Shangren immediately went up to him and asked, "Ling Jinhui, which level have you passed?"
Seeing Elder Shangren's imposing demeanor, Ling Jinhui took two steps back in fright before saying, "Reporting to Elder, I passed the second level of the second stage, but failed at the third stage."
Elder Shangren's face immediately turned liver-colored, and he even became somewhat exasperated, roaring, "Since you were defeated at the third level of the second floor, why is the tower lamp on the third floor of the Battle Tower lit up?"
Elder Xie, who was standing not far away, laughed loudly and said, "Elder Shangren, don't forget there's still someone inside the battle tower."
At this moment, everyone finally realized what was happening and couldn't help but show expressions of shock.
If a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining could pass the third level of the second floor of the Battle Tower, that would be too absurd.
"You may leave!" Elder Shangren glared fiercely at Ling Jinhui, then said, "Someone, bring me Wang Hao's information."
Not long after, an outer palace disciple delivered Wang Hao's information to Elder Shangren.
A moment later, Elder Shangren exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible?!"
"Calm down! Calm down! Elder Shangren, you are getting on in years. You should learn to remain calm in the face of adversity. How can the information of a mere young genius shock you like this?" Elder Xie said with a smile.
Elder Shangren's expression turned serious, and he said, "Stop making sarcastic remarks and come and see for yourselves."
The eight elders looked at each other, then walked over and all looked at Wang Hao's information.
After reading it, the expressions of the eight elders became exactly the same as Elder Shangren's; they were so shocked that they couldn't speak for a long time.
"He spent twenty-two years doing nothing but studying well. He only began to show his talent upon graduation. First, he defeated Zhao Wenbo, a Yellow Realm martial artist. A few months later, he actually killed the Li family steward, who was at the early Profound Realm level?!"
All the elders were stunned. The news of the murder of the Li family's head steward had not spread widely, but the change of steward would naturally attract the attention of those who were interested.
A little investigation will reveal the reason.
However, as elders of the Burning Lamp Academy, they didn't care about any grudges between Wang Hao and the Li family. All they wanted now was to take Wang Hao as their disciple, as such a genius was a rare find.
Who knows, Wang Hao might be the next Li Xu.
While the outside world was buzzing with discussion, Wang Hao had already arrived at the second level of the third level. When he passed through the first level earlier, Li Xu's phantom image reappeared.
However, it dissipated on its own as soon as it appeared. Of course, that wisp of spiritual energy was also absorbed into Wang Hao's stomach. At this moment, he was only one step away from reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining.
Wang Hao stared at the words on the wall, looking at the rules for this level.
"It's so simple."
Wang Hao muttered to himself, then opened the door to the second level of the third floor of the battle tower.
It is also a 25-meter-long enclosed corridor, only 3 meters wide, with nine metal bronze figures standing on each of the left and right sides of the corridor.
There are a total of eighteen bronze metal figures!
According to the inscription on the wall, each of the bronze figures here weighs a thousand pounds. They are puppets dug out from the depths of the Tianxing Ruins and are now used as a test for those who attempt to pass the challenge.
Each bronze statue is equivalent to a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, which is similar to the late stage of Profound Realm. With Wang Hao's current strength, it would indeed be quite difficult for him to pass through.
Wang Hao did not rush to pass the test, but carefully observed the positions of the bronze figures while rapidly deducing in his mind.
After a moment, he exhaled a breath of hot air and murmured, "Let's fight!"
Wang Hao rolled up his sleeves, his eyes gradually hardening, and stepped into the passage.
The two bronze figures at the front moved slightly, and two flames emerged from their deep, dark eyes.
A metallic clanging sound rang out, and the two bronze figures came to life.
"Whoosh!"
The two bronze figures attacked simultaneously.
The bronze figure on the left swung its fist at Wang Hao's face, flames erupting from its fist like a blazing fist, unleashing terrifying power and transforming into a wave of heat that surged forward.
The bronze puppet on the right extended a steel leg, carrying a chilling aura, and swept it towards Wang Hao's lower body.
Their speed was astonishing, and in such a confined space, there was no way to dodge; they could only meet force with force.
Wang Hao leaned back slightly, dodging the metal fist of the bronze puppet on his left. At the same time, he quickly struck out with a palm, hitting the bronze puppet in the chest.
"Bang!"
Wang Hao's palm strike was incredibly powerful; with a single blow, he sent the bronze puppet crashing against the wall, causing the entire wall to tremble slightly.
However, the bronze puppet was unharmed, without even a crack, and then attacked Wang Hao again.
However, Wang Hao was much faster than the bronze puppets. He took three steps in a row and dodged the attack from the two bronze puppets. But the next second, danger struck.
As Wang Hao took those three steps, his position moved forward again, which startled the two bronze puppets in front of him. In an instant, he was attacked from all four bronze puppets.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Four bronze puppets, each with eight metal arms and eight long metal legs, all attacked Wang Hao, instantly creating a flurry of palm and foot shadows.
Wang Hao's spiritual energy circulated rapidly, his legs moved quickly, sometimes kicking to the side, sometimes sweeping horizontally, and his arms waved incessantly, sometimes striking with palms, sometimes blocking.
"Nine layers of overlapping waves".
The space was too small to use a sword, so Wang Hao quickly threw nine punches, each one more powerful than the last.
"Boom boom boom!"
All four bronze puppets were sent flying by Wang Hao; some crashed into the wall, while others fell to the ground, upside down.
Wang Hao continued walking forward, and two more bronze puppets attacked him simultaneously. Four more bronze puppets got up from the ground and chased after him again.
"No, we must finish this quickly. If we are surrounded by the eighteen bronze puppets, we will surely lose this battle." Wang Hao, with his rich combat experience, made the judgment immediately.
"Bang!"
Wang Hao suddenly crouched down, slashed his arm diagonally, and sent the bronze puppet on the left flying backward, knocking down the four bronze puppets that were chasing after him.
He immediately got up, quickened his pace, and rushed forward.
"Wind and Thunder Fist".
"Nine layers of overlapping waves".
"Bang! Bang!"
Wang Hao was extremely fast, and his fist technique was incredibly fierce, sweeping across the corridor with a sweeping momentum.
After he walked through the corridor, all eighteen bronze puppets returned to their original positions and remained motionless.
Wang Hao looked at the bruises on his arms and sighed, "After all, it's just flesh and blood. My physical body is too weak. I need to start tempering my body after I get out."
Wang Hao then stepped forward and continued walking, entering the third level of the third stage.
At this moment, the outside world was in an uproar. No one expected Wang Hao's strength to be so terrifying. Among the freshmen, there were only three people who were able to pass the second level of the third floor.
Wang Hao was the fourth.
Yan Qin stared at the mirror and said, "Sister Ran, I think it's necessary to stop him when he passes the first level of the fourth floor. This kid's strength is no weaker than ours."
"If we pass the fourth level, we will definitely be more famous than you. Since the academies in the West Campus all call us female demons, then we should do what demons do."
Qingran glanced at her and nodded.
Yan Qin chuckled and murmured, "If he acts too outrageously, it might not be a good thing for him. Everything I do is for his own good."
However, the wicked smile on her face betrayed her.
Judging from her appearance, she doesn't seem like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl; she's more like a little witch.
The third level, the third test, was to test the cultivator's spiritual awareness and temperament. This was too easy for Wang Hao, and he passed it with ease.
"The most outstanding freshmen this year have only passed the first hurdle of the third level. I have now passed the third hurdle of the third level, so I should be able to secure the top spot among this year's freshmen."
"As for the fourth level, there's no need to attempt it. Being too monstrous might not be a good thing, since the rewards are the same anyway."
Wang Hao dared not be too high-profile, as he possessed too many valuable items: the Nine Spirits War Weapon, the seed of the Ancient Chaos Green Lotus, and the Sword Ancestor's wordless sword manual.
Although the people of Tianxing may not know that these are all ours, they can still tell whether the treasures are good or bad.
Just as Wang Hao was about to leave, two stunningly beautiful women walked out of the metal gate and blocked his way.
"Wang Hao, you don't need to go to the fourth floor."
Qingran stood with her hands behind her back, her posture upright and her expression calm. She gently raised her snow-white chin and stared down at Wang Hao, a hint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes.
She was about 1.75 meters tall, and standing on the steps made her appear even taller. She had a slender waist, long legs, and a figure that was simply perfect.
This change naturally did not escape Wang Hao's notice. He was somewhat surprised, but he did not show it. Instead, he said, "Since I have passed the third level of the third floor, why can't I go to the fourth floor?"
He originally didn't plan to challenge the fourth level of the Battle Tower, but being warned against it was a different matter.
Yan Qin said with a smile, "We are saving you, not harming you. If you perform well enough, you will naturally be able to obtain a lot of cultivation resources and become an important trainee of the academy."
"However, if you perform too well, it will not be a good thing for you; on the contrary, it will bring you a deadly disaster."
Wang Hao disagreed. Although the other party was right, he still smiled and replied, "We don't know each other, we're not related, why are you so concerned about me? What's your purpose? Just say it directly."
Yan Qin's big eyes darted around, and she said, "This is a reminder from your senior sister to your junior brother. Li Xu's reputation is too great, and it won't be long before everyone knows about your conflict with him."
"So your senior sister suggests that you conserve your strength and not be too high-profile. Also, you know the three great witches, right? One of them, Si Jingjun, is Li Xu's suitor."
"In her world, no one is allowed to be stronger than Li Xu. If she finds out that you defeated her dream lover at the same cultivation level, do you think she would kill you?"
Wang Hao hadn't expected Li Xu to have such a suitor, so he nodded and said, "Possibly. After all, any woman who's interested in Li Xu isn't exactly normal."
"But she wouldn't dare do anything to me at the Burning Lamp Academy, would she? Are all these elders just for show?"
Yan Qin laughed and said, "With her current strength, she could kill you without anyone noticing, and the elders wouldn't be able to find any clues."
"If you want to give up the challenge, that's fine too. Judging from your strength, you're not weak either. Promise me one condition, and I'll give up the challenge." Wang Hao changed the subject and chuckled.
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