Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Take my strongest strike!" Cao Jingwen roared, his fists coming together and blasting forward simultaneously.

Boom, a miraculous scene suddenly appeared before Chu Hao. A row of waves several hundred meters high surged towards him like a tidal wave covering the sky, making anyone's heart tremble with fear, only wishing to turn and flee.

This was Cao Jingwen's strongest strike?

Chu Hao laughed heartily, then let's see whose strongest strike is more powerful.

Sky Wind Eight Styles, Eighth Style, Three Forms as One!

Chu Hao's hands moved in a mysterious trajectory, causing the dust and small stones on the ground to rise and spin in the air, forming several air masses.

"Die!" Cao Jingwen's eyes widened in fury, his fists lunged forward, each fist bearing a starlight about an inch long.

Enough, as long as he hit directly, the starlight would ignore a martial master's defense, ensuring a deadly strike.

This was the vast difference between a Martial Sect and a martial master.

"Hmph!" Chu Hao snorted, his palms suddenly igniting with fierce flames, and within the red fire, there was a breathtaking blue streak.

Cao Jingwen's face bore a sinister smile. Even if Chu Hao had ten meridians, so what? Strength was indeed great, but the biggest difference between a martial master and a Martial Sect lay in whether they had cultivated starlight, not the number of meridians or the gap in strength.

His starlight was indestructible. As long as it hit, Chu Hao would surely face death.

Die, die, how dare he usurp the seat of the senior brother of Yunliu Sect, how dare he seize the title of the Four Talented of Tianhe. He could repay with blood and life.

Boom!

Three Forms as One, battle.

Chu Hao's palms flipped together, welcoming Cao Jingwen's advance.

Bang, a huge sound echoed, and from the center where the two stood, a terrifying wave of force emanated. Bang, bang, bang, the nearby village houses were instantly shaken apart, reducing the entire village by a third, as if it had just experienced a horrific tornado.

Cao Jingwen stumbled back, clutching his chest with one hand. His face full of disbelief, he spat out blood and said, "How is this possible... How could you block my starlight? What is that blue flame?"

"Well, actually, I don't know. But it should be related to the bloodline of the Gu Clan." Chu Hao also wanted to know, as this blue flame was formed by his constitution, and it was likely he had inherited the Gu Clan's bloodline, allowing his body to undergo an elemental transformation early on, though it was just a tiny bit.

"Gu Clan?" Cao Jingwen was utterly confused. Although he was a Heaven Talented of Tianhe County and one of the Four Talented once, outside, he was almost worthless.

——Not even on the Fledgling Dragon List, what qualifications did he have to know about the Gu Clan?

Chu Hao smiled lightly and said, "Even if told, you wouldn't understand. Moreover, you're at your end, so what if you know?"

Cao Jingwen laughed miserably. Though he appeared still standing, his internal organs were completely shattered, surviving only on the strong will typical of a Martial Artist. He stared at Chu Hao and said, "You won't be proud for long either. You came from the Lower World, and your fate was sealed a long time ago, either as a dog or sent to the Yin Demon Battlefield to feed——Hehe, I'll be waiting for you, waiting for you below!"

After speaking, he suddenly fell back, still with a smile on his face, looking incredibly eerie.

Chu Hao took a moment to rest. After all, Cao Jingwen was one of the Four Talented once. Defeating him was easy, but killing him naturally came at a certain cost. After a while, Chu Hao stood up, searched Cao Jingwen's body, and found a Mustard Seed Earring.

Who would have thought the guy could be so flashy!

Most of the contents in the Mustard Seed Earring were Star Stones, along with a Treasure Artifact—the long sword Cao Jingwen had summoned earlier. There were also several Precious Materials that could be used to forge Seventh Grade Artifact Embryos—whether they could be made into Treasure Artifacts depended on one's wealth.

Chu Hao was very satisfied. He already had a piece of Deep Blue Gold, capable of forging a Sixth Grade Treasure Artifact immediately, but he didn't mind having more options.

He stored everything into his other Mustard Seed Ring and tossed this earring away.

Wearing it would just say he had killed Cao Jingwen, wouldn't it?

"Now, it's time to do the task." Chu Hao said with a smile, never expecting to enact a real-life online game scenario.

He left the village, and a forest appeared in front of him.

There should be tigers, bears, and snakes in the forest, right?

Chu Hao entered the forest, carefully observing his surroundings. He needed to find the whereabouts of tigers, bears, and snakes, and also to see if there were any herbs or even Spiritual Medicine or Spirit Fruit.

Surprisingly, there were some wild animals here, although not ferocious beasts, like rabbits, sheep, and deer, leisurely grazing. But upon seeing him, they fled immediately.

Whoosh, a figure suddenly leaped in front, paused upon seeing Chu Hao, and stopped on a tree.

"Hmm, it's you?" said the person.

Chu Hao looked up and said, "So, it's Brother Jiang!"

The person was Jiang Qixuan.

"Brother Jiang, have you collected all three items?" he asked.

Jiang Qixuan nodded and said, "Though it took some effort, I eventually finished it. Good luck to you." He then tapped his foot and swiftly flew away.

Sigh, no hints at all, so stingy.

Chu Hao smiled and continued forward. He merely scoffed in his heart. After all, they were not close. Why would Jiang Qixuan share the hard-earned information with him?

A while later, he finally discovered a giant footprint. Following the tracks, after half a day, he reached a small valley and found one of his three major prey—the tiger.

But... was this really a tiger?

Chu Hao looked at the colossal creature before him, 20 meters long and 10 meters high. It was also a puppet, but compared to the villagers' refined work, this one was so crudely made it could make one vomit blood. Judging by its appearance, it could be a cat, dog, or wolf. Its four legs and a tail were accompanied by a "king" character on its forehead, signifying its status as the forest's tyrant.

The tiger noticed him and opened its mouth to roar, though no sound came out, the puppet's greatest flaw being that they were all mute.

Such poor craftsmanship would definitely get bad reviews.

Chu Hao thought to himself, his figure already darting forward, casually launching a Crescent Slash.

Whoosh, the Wood Tiger was incredibly agile, dodging the Crescent Slash with a leap, and then lunging at him with a fierce wind.

Chu Hao tested a direct confrontation with the puppet to gauge its strength.

Bang, his right palm struck the Wood Tiger's claw, his hand suddenly numb as if about to lose sensation.

Comparable to an ordinary Four Meridians Martial Sect's strength.

Chu Hao immediately confirmed within, but didn't assume the Wood Tiger equaled a Fourth Tier Martial Sect in combat power. In fact, puppets had a very distinct drawback; they couldn't wield starlight.

Thus, no matter how strong their power, they could only be considered quasi-Martial Sects.

Of course, the strength gap alone could still create an overwhelming advantage.

This Wood Tiger was one such case, two meridians stronger than Chu Hao.

At the Martial Sect stage, each minor realm roughly tripled the power difference, making a two-realm gap nine times, not six!

The Wood Tiger silently roared, persistently attacking Chu Hao, its claws sweeping, its tail whipping like a whip. Despite its giant size, its moves were unbelievably agile, akin to a small cat.

Chu Hao responded calmly, employing the Sky Stepping Technique. His movements were equally agile, continually launching Crescent Slashes, resolutely avoiding direct confrontations with the Wood Tiger—one strike nearly broke his bones if not for the Jade Wall Technique's protection.

Though agile, the Wood Tiger couldn't compare to a sentient being in intelligence.

Patience abundant, Chu Hao's Crescent Slashes gradually took effect, steadily inflicting damage on the Wood Tiger. Eventually, it would be worn down to death.

This truly felt like playing an online game, battling a high-HP, high-attack boss for hours.

After about half a day, the Wood Tiger's body finally split open, revealing a red gem shining within.

Fierce Tiger's Heart.

Chu Hao launched another Crescent Slash, and with a snap, the gem that had been fixed in the chest cavity fell out. The Wood Tiger instantly ceased movement as if dead.

Whew, finally settled.

Chu Hao exhaled in relief. The Wood Tiger had no vital points, rendering strikes ineffective on any part; it had to be worn down until exposing the Fierce Tiger's Heart, then extracted to "terminate" it.

Throughout this process, he could only endure hits. A single blow might have severely injured him had it landed solidly, making the endeavor quite dangerous at times.

Thankfully, his derivation skills were strong, frequently averting his crises.

After all, it was not a true Fourth Tier Martial Sect.

Chu Hao thought if the opponent were genuinely a Fourth Tier Martial Sect, the four-foot-long starlight would have overwhelmed him, preventing any approach within four feet.

Though his Blue Flame was strong, it could only match a Second Tier Martial Sect, making a confrontation with a Fourth Tier unfavorable.

"Put down the Fierce Tiger's Heart, then cut off your arm and leave!" At this moment, a cold voice echoed. A young man walked in from behind, murmuring, "What luck, just missing this one Fierce Tiger's Heart."

Chu Hao smiled and said, "You want the Fierce Tiger's Heart in my hand?"

"What, you don't want to give it?" the young man sinisterly replied.

"I'm not a stingy person. If you pay a sufficient price, I don't mind making a deal with you!" Chu Hao said.

"Hahahaha, you actually want to make a deal with me? I've never seen someone as clueless as you!" the young man sneered, "Since all three items are here, I don't mind a short wait. Tell me, what do you want?"

"The Black Bear Brain and Green Snake Gall in your hand!" Chu Hao smiled.