Wang Hao and Yan Qin transformed into two afterimages, and with a swift movement, they rushed into the forest first, disappearing in an instant.
Before long, the two caught up with Qingran, who was not far away, and the three of them rode side by side.
"Your speed has actually reached ninety meters per second?!" Although Qingran knew that Wang Hao's cultivation had improved rapidly, she was still extremely shocked to see him at such a speed.
This was the first time she had directly experienced Wang Hao's terrifying potential. You should know that with her and Yan Qin's current Qi Refining Perfection cultivation, their maximum speed was only about 92 meters per second.
Tianxing produced a prodigy like Li Xu, and now Wang Hao, who came from the wasteland, may be no less talented than Li Xu.
"Sister Ran, do you think if his cultivation level improves further, he has a chance to enter the top ten of the Xuan Ranking?" Yan Qin asked.
Qingran thought for a moment and said, "If he can settle down for another year or two, he will definitely be able to enter the top ten of the Xuan Ranking."
Wang Hao knew that Qingran was subtly telling him that his current cultivation level was built up by Qi Condensation Pills. If he didn't spend time accumulating Qi, his true Qi wouldn't be pure enough, and his realm wouldn't be stable enough. Even if he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, it wouldn't bring him any benefits.
Although Qingran and Yanqin also consumed a large number of pills, which is why they were able to quickly advance to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, they had already spent at least a year accumulating experience.
Both his spiritual energy and physical constitution have been refined to near perfection; he is just waiting for the intermediate-level relic exploration exam early next year.
"Is it really that hard to get into the top ten of the Xuan Ranking?" Wang Hao asked curiously.
Yan Qin said, "Of course, there are a total of 1,200 spots in Tianxing. Even the weakest Xuan Ranking warrior has a speed of 68 meters per second."
“We cultivators are inherently at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength, so very few of us can make it onto the Xuan Ranking. My fastest speed is 90 meters per second, which ranks me thirty-seventh.”
"Ran's fastest speed is 92 meters per second, ranking 21st. Only when the speed reaches 95 meters per second can one have a chance to enter the top ten of the Xuan Ranking."
The population of Tianxing is six billion, and everyone practices martial arts. However, the Xuanbang only ranks the 1,200 strongest people, and only 18 people from the Burning Lamp Academy are on the list.
It can be said that every Xuan Ranking martial artist or cultivator possesses the strength to challenge Earth Realm martial artists and Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Wang Hao asked, "It is said that Li Xu is number one on the Heavenly Star Ranking. What is his fastest speed?"
A glint of surprise appeared in Qingran's eyes as she said, "Li Xu is an unparalleled genius, the number one prodigy in a hundred years. Currently, only he can achieve the Great Perfection of both martial arts and cultivation before the age of thirty."
"Before Li Xu announced his seclusion, his maximum speed was 98 meters per second, which caused a great sensation in Tianxing at the time."
Yan Qin added, "I feel that if he doesn't rush to break through, he might have a chance to reach 99 meters per second, which is the limit for humans."
Li Xu, a peerless genius, is an idol of the younger generation and naturally has no shortage of admirers. From the tone of their voices, one can hear the two women's respect for him.
"What about Senior Sister Si Jingjun?" Wang Hao asked again.
Yan Qin smiled and said, "Senior Sister Si is also a genius. Her talent is no less than Li Xu's. Her current top speed has reached 95 meters per second, ranking third on the Xuan Ranking."
Wang Hao nodded, surprised that Li Xu was so powerful, even stronger than his previous life.
An hour later, the three arrived at a desolate mountain range three hundred miles away from the West Courtyard. There were no traces of human activity to be seen. All around were towering trees that blocked out the sun, as if they had entered a primeval forest.
The roar of a ferocious beast came from afar, and a giant golden python as thick as a water bucket emerged from a crevice in the rocks, quietly crawling towards the stream.
By the stream, a blue fire deer was drinking water when it sensed danger and was about to flee. Suddenly, the golden python opened its blood-red maw and swallowed the blue fire deer whole.
The three walked through the desolate forest, the wind whistling in their ears, a fierce, cold wind blowing from afar, making it difficult to open their eyes.
In the distance, two majestic and magnificent mountains stand almost side by side, with a straight canyon between them.
The hurricanes that fill the entire world all originate from that canyon.
Wang Hao looked up at the steep, deep canyon and asked, "Is that the entrance to Tianfeng Valley?"
"That's right. Hurricanes blow through Tianfeng Valley all year round without stopping. Occasionally, they even blow out some wind-attribute spirit crystals, which cultivators and martial artists can absorb."
After Yan Qin finished speaking, she called Qing Ran and Wang Hao to walk inside together. They simultaneously used the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow footwork, taking nine steps in a row, as if riding the wind, and rushed into the valley with a whoosh.
"Qingran has actually mastered the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow Technique to the beginner level." Wang Hao was somewhat surprised.
Yan Qin smiled and said, "Ran's cultivation technique is a wind-type technique. Her physique is very compatible with the Flying Dragon Shadow Technique. It is normal for her to have reached the entry level."
Without further hesitation, the two followed closely behind Qingran and rushed into Tianfeng Valley.
"Whoosh!"
The Heavenly Wind Valley is extremely cold, with winds as sharp as knives that sting the skin. It's difficult to even stand still, let alone cultivate.
Yan Qin and Qing Ran, with their profound cultivation, seemed to be in their element and quickly began cultivating in the valley.
At first, it took Wang Hao about half a day to get used to the environment of Tianfeng Valley. By evening, he could stand steadily for at least a minute without being blown over.
Starting the next day, Wang Hao also got into the zone, using nine different footwork techniques to move swiftly through the wind.
On the third day, Wang Hao officially cultivated "Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow" to the minor completion stage, while Yan Qin also cultivated to the entry level on the same day.
When the three of them were tired or their spiritual energy was insufficient, they would each take out a spirit stone and begin to absorb spiritual energy. In Tianxing, spiritual energy was only present in certain specific locations.
The other areas were filled with very dense true energy, which was very inconvenient for these cultivators.
After Yan Qin and Qing Ran had rested, they went back to Tianfeng Valley to cultivate, while Wang Hao did not go with them and stayed outside because his martial arts cultivation was about to break through to the peak of the late stage of the Profound Realm.
However, Wang Hao had just closed his eyes when he suddenly opened them again. He quickly got up, lightly leaped onto a large tree to hide himself, and his expression became somewhat serious.
"What's going on? There are at least two thousand people heading in this direction?" Wang Hao muttered to himself, but just then, a dark figure ran over from a distance.
She was dressed in black, but her entire body was already stained with blood, and there was a sword wound on her lower abdomen, with bright red blood flowing out from between her fingers.
"Bang!"
The man in black stumbled and fell to the ground, but by sheer coincidence, a gust of wind blew his mask off, revealing a pale face.
"Xia Xiaoyi?!"
Wang Hao was startled and immediately abandoned his plan to leave quietly, jumping down from the tree.
"Who is it?!" Xia Xiaoyi suddenly raised her pale face, but when she saw who it was, her eyes were filled with shock.
Wang Hao gestured for her not to speak, then used his powerful true energy to stabilize Xia Xiaoyi's injuries, and then quickly took out one hundred spirit crystals from his storage ring.
Under Xia Xiaoyi's shocked gaze, she buried the spirit crystals one by one into the ground, and then her hands quickly inscribed array patterns.
Before long, a Fiery Vermilion Bird Array covering an area of fifty meters in radius was set up. The array could be activated simply by using true qi to activate the array patterns.
Beneath this Fiery Vermilion Bird Formation lies a smaller spatial formation; whether or not one can escape depends entirely on this spatial formation.
"Hopefully, this low-level formation can hold off these people," Wang Hao muttered to himself. Then he looked at Xia Xiaoyi, frowned, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Wang Hao didn't run away because he knew that the chances of escaping with the seriously injured Xia Xiaoyi were almost zero.
A hint of apology flashed in Xia Xiaoyi's eyes, but she said nonchalantly, "I'm sorry to have involved you. To be honest, I stole the Dragon Transformation Scripture from Dragon Phoenix Academy."
"It was that complete cultivation manual, and the people who chased me were naturally the outer disciples of the Dragon and Phoenix Academy, as well as elders and soldiers."
"Why don't you kill me and return the Dragon Transformation Scripture? That way you can not only escape, but also accomplish a great feat and gain both fame and fortune."
Wang Hao stared silently at Xia Xiaoyi, who was leaning against the tree trunk. Suddenly, he took a step forward and ripped off the sleeve of her right arm, revealing her fair arm.
"What are you doing? Even though I'm going to die now, you can't humiliate me!" Xia Xiaoyi huddled up in a ball, her eyes filled with fear.
Wang Hao glanced at her with disdain, then tore the sleeve he had pulled off in two, using one half to cover his own face and the other half to cover Xia Xiaoyi's face.
At this moment, the heavy sound of iron hooves came from all directions, and bronze torches illuminated the night sky, forming a sea of fire in the forest, surrounding Wang Hao and Xia Xiaoyi in the center.
At a glance, Wang Hao saw that what was approaching was not a modern army armed with firearms, but a group of warriors wearing thick iron armor and riding ferocious beast mounts.
Most of them were at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Realm, and some of them had even reached the early stage of the Profound Realm.
"This is the Iron Cavalry Fire God Army of Dragon Phoenix Academy, an army composed of martial artists." Xia Xiaoyi struggled to get up, but her injuries were too severe, and she gave up after struggling for a while.
"Splash!"
About five hundred soldiers knelt on the ground, drew their iron-wire bows, and nocked thunder arrows, all pointing at Wang Hao in the center.
Well-trained and disciplined, they are truly elite.
"Da da!"
Li Xing rode out of the army on a second-tier ferocious beast, looking at the two men with an arrogant air, and said, "I didn't expect you to have accomplices. That man in black chose to self-destruct to cover for you."
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiaoyi's body trembled, her expression fell, and tears streamed down her face.
Li Xing grinned and continued, "Hand over the Dragon Transformation Scripture, and I'll leave you with a complete corpse. Surrounded by the Vulcan Army, even if you self-destruct, you won't be able to escape!"
Wang Hao shielded Xia Xiaoyi behind him, his spiritual power enveloping the surroundings. A cold glint appeared in his eyes as he deliberately spoke in a hoarse voice, "Then you try and see if we can escape."
"You dare to talk big when you're about to die? Fire your arrows and kill them! Cut off their path to this useless technique!" Li Xing shouted coldly.
At his command, a series of bowstring twangs rang out.
One hundred soldiers fired the first wave of thunder arrows, which whistled through the air as they rained down on Wang Hao and his companion.
Before the first wave of thunder arrows even arrived, the second wave had already been fired, followed by the third wave. Under such an orderly offensive, even a Foundation Establishment expert was in danger of perishing.
"It's over..." Xia Xiaoyi sighed, feeling a little guilty. She had unintentionally dragged Wang Hao into this.
However, in the next second, Wang Hao snorted coldly and stomped his right foot hard, and the space in front of him suddenly distorted.
The thunder arrows that were shot at him changed direction several meters away from his body and flew back.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
The thunder arrows fell into the Vulcan army, shooting soldiers off their horses and causing screams of agony to rise and fall.
Li Xing was dumbfounded by what he saw. He muttered, "This...how is this possible? Don't use ranged attacks, just engage in close combat! Whoever can retrieve the Dragon Transformation Scripture will be rewarded with five thousand merit points!"
"kill!"
Soldiers clad in iron armor and riding ferocious beasts charged straight ahead, their sheer presence enough to intimidate many of the weaker-minded.
Wang Hao was not afraid at all. His powerful true energy surged out from his palm and activated an array pattern in front of him. Instantly, a beam of fire shot up from the ground and transformed into a fire bird more than ten meters long.
That fiery bird, like a crimson Vermilion Bird, charged directly into the crowd, instantly setting more than a dozen generals ablaze and burning them to ashes.
A few breaths later, only a dozen or so empty suits of armor remained on the ground, along with the lingering intense heat that made the soil hiss and crackle.
"Whoosh!"
Immediately afterwards, enormous fiery Vermilion Birds burst forth from other directions, flying into the army and setting soldiers ablaze, even igniting the entire jungle.
In an instant, the formation was fully activated, and nearly a hundred fiery Vermilion Birds burst forth from the ground, rushing in all directions and inflicting heavy casualties on the fiery divine army led by Li Xing.
At this moment, the entire mountain range had been completely transformed into a raging inferno.
"We've been tricked! The enemy has set up a powerful fire attack array!"
"Only a Spirit-level array master could set up such a terrifying fire array."
Li Xing's face was ashen. The large army he brought was basically composed of assassins trained by the Li family. Recently, Wang Hao had almost wiped out the new generation of Li family prodigies.
He was the only one left, while the previous generation of prodigies were focused on their cultivation. That's why Li Xing was able to take it upon himself to bring out the Vulcan Army.
However, in just a quarter of an hour since the beginning, at least five hundred soldiers have died and many more have been seriously wounded. This is a price he cannot afford to pay.
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