At the same time, the middle-aged man cast a seemingly casual glance toward Meng Hao on the mountaintop.
That single glance, even without any overt display of his cultivation, was powerful enough to trigger a resounding boom.
The entirety of East Peak trembled.
His gaze, sharp as a sword, pierced directly toward Meng Hao.
Meng Hao's face drained of color. He coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, his entire body instantly feeling as though it had been plunged into eternal ice.
An unprecedented crisis of life and death surged within him. His mind reeled, stripped of the ability to think, leaving him feeling utterly powerless to withstand even a single blow.
He felt the very touch of death, a sensation he had never before experienced; his body felt on the verge of withering, his soul-fire flickering near extinction, as a bloody mark manifested between his brows.
Loneliness, helplessness, and death coalesced into a giant hand that pressed down upon him, seeking to crush him to dust and consign him to eternal damnation.
Just then, a cold snort suddenly reverberated throughout the Reliance Sect.
“A Core Formation cultivator who has condensed not a mixed core but a Scarlet Core, bordering on a Violet Core, yet you bully a mere Qi Condensation junior? Is this how Wang Xifan, the Dao Protector of the third lineage who travels on behalf of the Southern Domain's Wang Clan, conducts himself?”
A blue-robed figure materialized in the void before Meng Hao. It was none other than Sect Leader He Luohua. With a wave of his right hand, an earth-shattering, deafening explosion erupted.
The surrounding void seemed on the verge of shattering, warping into massive ripples that surged outward in all directions.
An unimaginably powerful aura erupted directly from He Luohua’s body.
He stood there like the sole sovereign of heaven and earth, staring coldly at the middle-aged man, Wang Xifan, aboard the warship.
“You flatter me, Brother He. I, Wang, have merely come to take Teng Fei back. Thank you for looking after him these past few years.”
Wang Xifan smiled faintly, though his expression carried an indescribable arrogance.
With a flick of his sleeve, the warship beneath him rumbled to life, transforming into a rainbow light that shot into the starry sky and vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a fading speck of starlight in the distance.
Meng Hao spat out another mouthful of blood. Yet, he still forced his head up, staring intently at the receding warship, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
He Luohua turned to glance at Meng Hao. After a brief silence, he let out a soft sigh and vanished.
Only Meng Hao’s gaze remained, fixed boundlessly upon the distant warship.
“So this is a Core Formation cultivator... a single glance is enough to crush me to dust.”
“And this is only Core Formation. Above it lie the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and even higher realms.”
“The Wang Clan of the Southern Domain!”
Meng Hao gritted his teeth, a raging fire seemingly igniting within his eyes.
“Without strength, you have no right to exist.”
“Without strength, you have no right to cultivate.”
“Without strength, you do not even have the right to survive; you can only be slaughtered at the whim of others.”
“Are you truly willing to live such a life?”
The words Senior Brother Chen Fan had spoken earlier echoed in Meng Hao's mind, growing louder and more intense. They etched themselves deep into his mind, carved onto his bones, and imprinted upon his very soul, impossible to erase.
“I am not willing!”
Meng Hao clenched his fists, spitting out each word through gritted teeth.
Though his voice was faint to the world, within Meng Hao's heart, it roared like thunder.
“I don't want to be slaughtered by others!”
“I don't want to be weak!”
“I don't want to lack even the right to fight back!”
“I want to be strong! I want to become powerful!!”
Meng Hao’s dream had always been to become wealthy and travel to the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands. Today, that dream remained, but a new, even more resolute conviction had been forged: he must become a powerful expert.
Because on this heaven-defying path of cultivation, if one was not strong, death was the only certainty!
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another half-month passed.
During these two weeks, Meng Hao spent most of his time in the sect's Dharma Pavilion, pouring over ancient texts. Through them, he gained a far deeper understanding of the State of Zhao and the Southern Domain.
He even discovered a hand-drawn map depicting the incredibly vast Southern Reaches. It clearly marked the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, pointed out the Northern Desert of the Qiang and Di tribes, and illustrated the Western Barbarian lands as well as the Southern Domain where he currently resided.
The entire world was laid bare on this map, etching its geography deep into Meng Hao's mind.
This immensely vast Southern Domain was merely a fraction of the Southern Reaches, and the State of Zhao was but a tiny corner of the Southern Domain.
“The entire Southern Domain is as large as a thousand States of Zhao.”
Meng Hao looked up at the clear blue sky visible from the Dharma Pavilion, his eyes filled with fascination.
“So, traveling to the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands is no simple task. One must cross the Celestial River Sea.”
After a long while, Meng Hao lowered his gaze to the map before him. He studied the four regions of the Southern Reaches: East, West, South, and North. The Eastern Lands and the Northern Desert were joined, forming a single massive continent. Separated from them by a vast, boundless sea were the Western Barbarian lands and the Southern Domain, which were connected to one another.
It was not until the sun dipped below the western horizon and dusk fully settled that Meng Hao rubbed his tired eyes, put the map away, and stepped out of the Dharma Pavilion.
He gazed toward the east for a long time before turning to make his way back to his cave abode.
The Night-Luminescent Pearl embedded in the ceiling of the cave abode cast a soft, gentle glow. Surrounded by green rock walls, the abode contained five stone chambers, and a bubbling spiritual spring made the spiritual energy within incredibly dense.
This was a privilege reserved solely for inner disciples.
Upon entering, Meng Hao sat cross-legged on a slab of white jade.
Though it was not a spirit stone, sitting upon it cleared the mind, making it a rare treasure in its own right.
Only inner disciples were permitted to possess such an item.
“Only inner disciples are truly considered part of the sect.”
Meng Hao quietly observed the surrounding stone walls. Carved into them were various birds and beasts, each depiction carrying a profound meaning that felt instantly extraordinary to anyone who looked upon them.
“The treatment is entirely different from that of outer disciples. It is designed to highlight the superiority and prestige of the inner sect.”
Just like in the mortal world, status was divided into distinct tiers. Through fierce competition, one could rise above the outer disciples.
And on this path, if he wished to stand above others, he absolutely had to be strong!
Thinking of the Wang Clan of the Southern Domain, a strange, profound light flickered deep within Meng Hao's eyes.
Not long after, before dusk had even fully settled, a respectful voice echoed from outside Meng Hao's cave abode.
"Senior Brother Meng, Li Fugui from down the mountain requests an audience."
The attendant was originally a menial disciple, but after Meng Hao became an inner disciple, the sect had selected him to serve Meng Hao and attend to his daily needs.
This was one of the privileges enjoyed by inner disciples.
At first, Meng Hao was not used to it; in all his life, he had never been waited on in such a manner.
However, seeing that Senior Brother Chen also had such an attendant, he accepted the arrangement. Even so, it only served to strengthen his resolve.
Only the truly powerful could control the destinies of others, and only by becoming strong could one ensure that their own life was not controlled by someone else.
The rules of the cultivation world and the Kaoshan Sect were one and the same: unreasonable, unfair, yet absolute.