Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Chu Hao, are you refusing me?" Cheng Peiyun asked in a cold tone.

"Senior Brother Cheng, I heard your family possesses a Green Fish Swimming Bottle, and since your family doesn't often use it, why not give it to me as a favor I owe you!" Chu Hao retorted sharply.

This kid really dares to speak his mind!

The Green Fish Swimming Bottle is the Cheng Family's heirloom. Although it doesn't aid in martial arts cultivation, it is absolutely a rare treasure! Normally, the bottle is white, but once filled with clear water, its walls become transparent and there are shadows of green fish swimming inside, making it a top grade object for observation!

Because it is so precious, even the Cheng Family members rarely see the Green Fish Swimming Bottle, which is kept in the Treasure Artifact Pavilion and only taken out on extremely important occasions.

Chu Hao actually had the audacity to ask for the Green Fish Swimming Bottle?

"You really are bold!" Cheng Peiyun said.

"There's nothing bold about it. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire!" Chu Hao said indifferently.

"Are you really insisting on this path alone?" Cheng Peiyun's tone was extremely cold, as he had already reached the Second Tier of the Great Mahayana Realm, and while Fire Spirit Pills were effective for him, they were not enough to move him emotionally. If not for the sake of his brother's breakthrough, he would never have lowered himself to ask Chu Hao for them.

You see, him personally coming to ask was already giving enough face, yet this kid dared to refuse!

It really angered him!

Chu Hao laughed loudly. It was clearly this guy who started everything, yet he acted as if all responsibilities lay with him. Was he supposed to just be bullied?

Cheng Peiyun's sleeves fluttered without wind, his face terrifyingly cold, but after a moment, he revealed a chilling smile, saying, "Chu Hao, you'd better never advance to the Heavenly Court!"

The implication was that if you advance to the Heavenly Court, you're in big trouble!

Indeed, the academy rules strictly forbid Heavenly Court students from striking those from the Earthly Institute, and such actions would lead to severe punishment! However, Heavenly Court challenging Heavenly Court is seen as a spar, not bullying—no matter the disparity between their strengths!

When you leave the city and encounter rivals and bandits, will they follow the rules with you?

"Heh, heh, heh!" He sneered coldly, then strode away.

Chu Hao watched his retreating figure, his gaze equally icy.

Now, there was still a large gap between them, but he could absorb the power of Star Stones, and his strength was increasing at a rate far surpassing anyone else's. He would definitely close the gap in a very short time.

Just wait and see who will flatten whom when the time comes!

When Chu Hao returned home, Uncle Yu immediately came up to him, saying, "Young Master, the patrol team just brought this, saying that someone has completed your bounty task!" The old man handed him a small delicate bag.

Star Stones!

Chu Hao was immediately filled with surprise. The Star Stones he had obtained from Blackwood Forest had been used up, and he had been worrying about it. Unexpectedly, someone had sent help in his time of need! He assessed the weight—there were four pounds!

This would indeed last him quite a while!

"Uncle Yu, I'm going to cultivate. I might be late for dinner, so don't wait for me!" He hurriedly took the Star Stones to the backyard, then tossed a piece to Flying Fire. The little beast immediately grabbed it in its mouth and ran under the bed to start absorbing it.

Both man and beast had gone without it for a day!

Yet Chu Hao did not immediately consume the Fire Spirit Pill or extract the power of the Star Stones; instead, he started pondering.

Although the ferocious beast tide had been repelled, its negative impact was extremely profound! Not only had more than twenty percent of the city's population died, but countless houses had also been damaged. This resulted in a dire consequence—the economy of Eastern Cloud City had suddenly plummeted to rock bottom.

Now all resources were being used for reconstruction. The business at Fortune Full Building had declined drastically, not to mention having reservations booked several days in advance; even the daily quota of tables was largely unmet.

Not just at Fortune Full Building, but this was the case with all businesses in the city.

Smaller businesses had naturally collapsed, only established wealthy families could sustain themselves with their abundant foundations until the economy of Eastern Cloud City recovered. But that was still at least ten years away.

Chu Hao planned to shut down Fortune Full Building. It was no longer a golden goose but a burden, consuming a considerable amount of money every day.

Without money, he couldn't buy Star Stones!

Chu Hao had previously spent a large sum of money and was supposed to yield ten pounds of Star Stones. If more people continued to complete the tasks he set, it would support his cultivation for a long time.

Of course, the stronger he became, the more Star Stones he would consume, but he couldn't be sure exactly how much more he would need, so it was hard for him to determine how long ten pounds of Star Stones would last.

He must advance to the Heavenly Court as soon as possible!

Chu Hao told himself. After entering the Heavenly Court, not only would he be able to eat five pounds of ferocious beast meat at every meal, but he would also receive a Fire Origin Pill every ten days.

The Fire Origin Pill did not have the astonishing effects of the Fire Spirit Pill, merely adding a hundred pounds of strength to a martial artist! However, if he could consume one every day, that would still be quite substantial.

However, both Fire Spirit Pills and Fire Origin Pills were items money couldn't buy, as their sources were completely controlled by the City Lord's Mansion and were used solely in the academy.

If you want to acquire additional Fire Origin Pills, fine! The Heavenly Court has a point system whereby you could use points to purchase Fire Origin Pills! In fact, points could also be used to buy Martial Techniques, although the highest rank of these techniques was only intermediate.

The source of points was mainly from completing the academy's tasks, which were essentially the same as those published in the city square, but they were all of high difficulty, after all, the students of the Heavenly Court were at least in the Middle Mahayana realm.

Good!

He nodded secretly. Since Ma Jicheng had already made his move, he was definitely determined not to stop until he achieved his goal! Although, in the past few days, due to fear of ferocious beasts slipping through, the city's guard force had greatly increased, such intensive patrolling surely would not last long!

Once everything calmed down, Ma Jicheng was sure to harbor killing intent again!

If he chose to leave the city to undertake tasks at this time, he could avoid Ma Jicheng and earn points, further accelerating the increase of his power. It certainly was killing two birds with one stone!

Then tomorrow he would apply to go to the Heavenly Court!

Chu Hao sat on the bed, took out the Pill Bottle, and pulled out the airtight stopper, when immediately a wave of heat rushed towards him.

The Fire Spirit Pill lived up to its name!

Chu Hao poured out the pill inside, only to see that the Fire Spirit Pill was no bigger than a longan, completely red in color, and even emitting red light as if it were burning!

Hot!

Even holding it in his hand made him feel uncomfortably scorched. If he swallowed it, how could his relatively soft internal organs withstand such heat?

No wonder it was said that one had to reach the Middle Mahayana realm to consume it; someone of a lower realm might truly have their organs burned through!

Undaunted, Chu Hao had already reached the First Tier Middle Mahayana realm and possessed the qualification!

He opened his mouth, gave his palm a light shake, and the Fire Spirit Pill was flicked into his mouth. As soon as the Fire Spirit Pill encountered saliva, it dissolved immediately into a fluid that rolled down his tongue.

So hot! So hot!

The liquid rolled down, burning like a wave of fire, scorching Chu Hao's mouth, esophagus, and stomach severely! Especially when the liquid reached his stomach and did not disperse immediately, it was as tumultuous as a lit torch!

Chu Hao couldn't help but moan in pain, his hands quickly clutching the bedsheets tightly!

The effects of the medicine began to spread from his stomach and throughout his body!

But Chu Hao's discomfort did not lessen in the slightest, it even intensified! His entire body felt as if it were ablaze, causing unbearable agony!

He looked down and saw his skin had also turned a bright red, and beneath the skin, it seemed red liquid was surging like lava! Had he not known this was the effect of the Fire Spirit Pill, he would surely have jumped into a pond.

Endure! Endure! Endure!

Chu Hao's eyes shone brightly. If he could endure the potency of Strong Muscle Powder for half an hour, why couldn't he endure the Fire Spirit Pill!

But the potency of the Fire Spirit Pill was far more violent than that of the Strong Muscle Powder, causing Chu Hao's internal organs to churn incessantly. He wondered if his intestines and stomach had been burned through, causing such immense discomfort!

The difference was, during the absorption of Strong Muscle Powder, one could not faint, for it would be a waste of suffering. But with the Fire Spirit Pill, one could, as the potency automatically enhanced cells, requiring no further intense exercise for assistance.

This gave Chu Hao some relief, and it was no wonder the power of the City Lord's Mansion was so formidable—if one could consume a Fire Spirit Pill every day, how much strength would that amount to in a year?

It could nearly directly create a peak level Vajra Realm powerhouse!

However, he believed that the City Lord's Mansion did not have many of such Precious Medicine and that its destructive effect on the human body seemed very fierce, far surpassing Strong Muscle Powder. Presumably, being able to consume one every ten days was already quite good.

But even by that calculation, an extra increase of one hundred thousand catties in strength per year should be achievable.

"Uh—" The fiery pain hit him, pulling Chu Hao back from his thoughts, and in agony, his fists couldn't help but beat against the bedstead. With his tremendous strength, he collapsed the bed with a bang!

"Ao!" Flying Fire roared angrily; it truly suffered an unwarranted disaster. It had been comfortably licking the Star Stone under the bed when suddenly the "ceiling" fell down, smashing it thoroughly.

The little creature, relying on its strength, crawled out of the "ruins" and growled in protest at Chu Hao.

Chu Hao, however, was in no mood to care about it; after collapsing the bed, he continued to pound the floor tiles, shattering the four-centimeter-thick green bricks. His hands were covered in wounds, dripping with blood.

The violent medicinal potency spread within his body, and Chu Hao's eyes turned a bloody red, as if he had fallen into madness.

Faint! Faint!

A voice in his mind said, if he fainted, he would no longer have to endure such pain, since the Fire Spirit Pill did not require the user to remain conscious. Yet Chu Hao was stubborn; he wanted to test his own limits of endurance.

He gritted his teeth and persevered, and finally, after half an hour, the intense heat began to subside, and very quickly at that. In less than a minute, the medicinal power became extremely mild and began circulating within his body.

Moved by this, Chu Hao began to command the medicinal power to circulate in his body, using the guiding technique he learned from Flying Fire.

His cells immediately began a major transformation!