Chapter 333: The Rising Domain of Han Hai Tower
This experience compression, Li Hao had already experienced in the chess path. With his current level in the chess path, if he were to compete with opponents at the two or three levels, he would essentially gain only a small amount of scattered experience.
The greater the difference in ranks, the more the experience is diminished, as there is no substantial gain.
Sometimes, only a symbolic "1" point of experience is obtained.
Fortunately, although this experience fluctuates, the Land of the Saints is not lacking in strong individuals. The accumulation of painting experience remains rapid. From ninth stage to tenth stage, with five million experience points needed, a single saint provides about three to four hundred thousand, and ten saints can accumulate it to completion.
If it's a semi-saint, they can provide forty to fifty thousand experience.
At this moment, Emperor Canghai of the Seas gave Li Hao over forty thousand experience.
When Li Hao painted Yaozu before, he initially gained fifty thousand experience. It is unclear whether Emperor Canghai was less than Yaozu, or if after the painting path was elevated to the ninth stage, compared to the previous eighth stage, the experience gained was slightly compressed.
Regardless, it was said that the Canghai Divine Dynasty has ten semi-saints in service. If Li Hao could paint them in sequence, he could accumulate forty to fifty thousand experience.
If he painted multiple times and squeezed out every bit, he could even accumulate over one million.
As Li Hao painted, he could also see the difference in strength among these individuals. He just didn't know how much painting experience he would gain from painting himself.
Li Hao had tried self-portraiture in the alchemy courtyard but didn't receive any experience hints.
It seemed like his own chess strategies didn't yield experience, nor could he exploit flaws in the panel.
Otherwise, every time his strength improved, he could paint some portraits for himself, making him self-sufficient.
The experience difference between Chiguang and semi-saints was less than fifteen thousand, which is comparable to the difference between Chiguang and the Yunshang woman. This surprised Li Hao; the previously demonstrated fire-based divine abilities seemed not to be his true skills.
The opponent was well-hidden and clearly had not exposed their abilities prematurely for the current incense.
After all, the upcoming Supreme Talent battle was the main event. If too much were revealed in advance, it would be counterproductive.
"Even the Qingfeng devotee understands painting?"
Emperor Canghai was surprised to see Li Hao's painting. With his extensive experience, he could immediately see that Li Hao's painting was of a master level, capable of becoming a classic. This was not something a warrior could achieve merely by relying on a strong physique, but rather due to the subtlety within.
It is difficult to achieve without intense study, unless Li Hao was a natural painting genius.
Chiguang and the Yunshang woman also looked at Li Hao's painting. When Li Hao first went to paint, they thought he was showing off, but he actually produced several masterpieces.
"This painting has a Taoist charm!"
Yunshang woman's eyes narrowed, realizing that the painting was not simple.
Chiguang glanced at it, slightly raising his eyebrows, showing some disdain.
The painting was indeed good, but it made him feel it was laughable; having talent but not putting in effort to cultivate and instead wasting time on such minor arts, ruining his future.
The chief painter of the dynasty was shocked when he saw Li Hao's painting, his eyes revealing astonishment.
He studied painting and understood the depth of Li Hao's work better than others. For an ordinary person to achieve such a level would be unreachable in a lifetime, and even he had not touched it. Yet this young warrior had entered this realm.
The essence of the painting was the highest realm in his heart.
He looked at Li Hao with newfound respect.
Li Hao painted casually, not pouring his strength into the work. After the painting path reached the ninth stage, his works already possessed terrifying lethality, not just simple ornamental pieces.
After the master craftsman finished measuring Li Hao and others, Li Hao brought up another request: the techniques.
Seeing Li Hao's urgency, Emperor Canghai smiled and called the prince: "My son, take the Qingfeng devotee to Han Hai Tower."
The prince, dignified and with a warm smile, said to Li Hao: "Qingfeng devotee, please follow me."
At this point, Chiguang and others realized that Li Hao had additional demands beyond the ten cities.
Chiguang raised his eyebrows slightly, not expecting the opponent to have additional requirements. For the royal family, the importance of top techniques was even greater than that of a princess.
He sneered inwardly, the narrow-minded Canghai Divine Dynasty!
He hadn't revealed his full strength; the fire-based divine abilities were just a facade. His real skills were not intended to be exposed here, not even before the battle in the Canglan Realm. Revealing them beforehand would be a failure.
Before leaving the Canglan Realm, using his true abilities would be a failure.
His goal was never just to participate in the Canglan Realm battles but to be the top of the Thirty-Three Realms!
At that time, the Canghai Divine Dynasty might offer incense and revere him, but among his followers, he would still be just a minority… Chiguang sneered inwardly but did not despise it. More incense was always better for a saint. Wars between saints often arise from competing for incense.
Humans compete for a breath, Buddhists for a stick of incense.
Some saints, though not supreme, have high status due to their long-lasting and numerous incense.
After the imperial hall affairs were done, Li Hao followed the prince to the Canghai Divine Dynasty's technique treasury in Han Hai Tower.
The Han Hai Tower was majestic and towering, guarded by two Daoist realm dragon demons. Li Hao couldn't help but think of Song Qiumo from the mortal realm, wondering if she had become the national guardian beast of the Dayu Divine Dynasty and how she was faring.
"Devotee, just select inside. I will wait outside,"
The prince said with a smile, treating Li Hao very courteously.
Li Hao nodded. Earlier, when painting, he had also created a piece for the prince, and the experience gained from it was as much as eighteen thousand!
This experience was close to that of the Yunshang woman, indicating that he was also a strong practitioner, but the aura he displayed was just an ordinary Daoist realm.
Li Hao was not interested in the intrigues of the royal family. After a courteous gesture, he entered Han Hai Tower.
Inside the tower, techniques were piled up like mountains. Li Hao scanned with his mind, casually browsing, and saw that the techniques here, like those in the Sword Tower, were restricted by rules.
But this had no effect on him. Such rule restrictions mainly prevent the viewing of further content and memorizing it.
After all, even a warrior of the Three Immortals Realm has an extraordinary memory, almost photographic.
Li Hao began to catalog these techniques one by one, as he did in the Sword Tower.
With the techniques increasing on the panel, a flood of information entered his mind, but this time Li Hao did not practice directly in Han Hai Tower.
Fearing that this tower might be another weapon of Emperor Canghai, he refrained from practicing there.
After a day, Li Hao completed the cataloging of the techniques in Han Hai Tower.
The quantity of techniques here was not inferior to the Sword Tower, but the quality was much lower, especially for top Dao-level techniques and divine abilities, only about one-fifth of those in the Sword Tower.
Despite this, Li Hao still gained a lot.
The next day was the Hundred Strong Battle, and Li Hao was unconcerned. He took three techniques from Han Hai Tower to show, had the prince break the rules, and then set off on his return journey to the Jidao Mountain.
Chiguang and the Yunshang woman had already returned earlier. Li Hao returned to the Jidao Mountain, where he, as a devotee of the Canghai Divine Dynasty, also had a small courtyard for secluded cultivation.
There were royal guards outside the courtyard, allowing Li Hao to cultivate undisturbed during his preparation.
Li Hao set up a barrier in the courtyard and began to practice.
He practiced the numerous techniques he had cataloged, and among them, many were sword techniques, spear techniques, etc., which Li Hao could not practice. Cataloging them on the panel only brought him to the beginner stage. He did not plan to spend points on practicing them, despite having plenty of art points, but not excessively.
And having one offensive method was sufficient.
In high-level duels, a true killing move requires only one strike; the rest are mere preparations.
As he practiced the body refinement techniques and sword techniques, Li Hao's domain gradually increased, quickly reaching 180 layers!
However, Li Hao still could not touch the limit of the domain; his previous guess was incorrect.
"Could it be 360 layers?"
Li Hao's eyes flashed. If so, it seemed comparable to the number of soul condensing times in the Soul Inheritance.
In Soul Inheritance, Heaven and Earth can condense souls 360 times, reaching the extreme realm.
Thinking of this, Li Hao felt a surge of motivation and a sense of urgency, eager to know what the state of the ultimate domain would be.
After all, the domain is the most powerful technique in the Four Realms. The difference between having a domain and not having one is like heaven and earth. Although a few prodigies, such as Jiang Lichen, can break through domains with their sword techniques, such prodigies are rare. In the Four Realms, cultivating the sword path to the seventh stage or even the eighth stage is considered a terrifying feat.
It should be noted that the Saint Children and Saint Daughters of the Sword Ancestor Holy Land, even at the Daoist Realm, only reach the eighth stage of sword techniques, and their sword intents vary in strength.
Even among those at the eighth stage, the differences are significant. For instance, the sword path of the Moonlight Saint Son differs greatly from that of others.
Li Hao did not stop and continued to cultivate.
His domain continued to grow steadily, and by dusk, it had reached 200 layers! Li Hao estimated that with the remaining techniques, he could advance another twenty layers, bringing his total to 220 layers. This represents the foundational strength of the Canghai Divine Dynasty.
Of course, certain highly confidential techniques within the Canghai Divine Dynasty are not included in Han Hai Tower, but such techniques are rare, with no more than ten volumes at most.
The next day.
The Hundred Strong Battle took place at Jidao Mountain.
Before the battle began, Li Hao continued to cultivate in his small courtyard.
His domain had increased to 210 layers, and with the remaining techniques, he could still refine it by ten layers.
"If the domain reaches 360 layers, I am still far from that. The remaining 140 layers of domain techniques will need to rely on the top sects of the various first-class forces…"
Li Hao's eyes flickered. If he could examine the techniques of all the top sects in the Canglan Realm, his domain would reach the ultimate level!
Li Hao knew that he was different from other contestants. His enemies were not only the top talent on the Supreme Talent List but also the Void Saint!
Before claiming the top spot, he must have the strength to confront a Saint to qualify for that first place; otherwise, he might be assassinated by the Void Saint during the top ten battles.
Compared to others who only need to consider peer competition, he had to guard against a Saint.
"If I can cultivate to the ultimate level, with my strength, I should be able to match a Half-Saint…"
Li Hao's eyes gleamed. He hadn't tested it, so he wasn't sure. After all, he hadn't used his full strength for a long time.
From having a domain of more than fifty layers and reaching 210 layers through practice in the Sword Tower, he wasn't sure what might happen if all the domains stacked up.
Previously, with a domain of 97 layers, Li Hao had already felt that he could influence space. With just the domain, he could easily shatter laws and solidify the Great Dao!
Now, it would only become more terrifying.
Moreover, if his domain reaches the ultimate level, he would master the Eight Extremes Realm!
"Are you daydreaming?"
On the battle stage, Li Hao's opponent, noticing Li Hao's vacant gaze, seemed lost in thought. He was momentarily stunned before his expression turned cold.
Li Hao came back to his senses, saw that his opponent was dressed in finery with an extraordinary demeanor, and apologized, "Sorry, I was lost in thought."
"Hmph."
The young man snorted coldly, unwilling to waste words. As soon as the array was formed, he charged at Li Hao with his spear.
Li Hao raised his hand, wielding a gust of autumn wind to strike out.
Boom!
The sword qi sliced through like a sharp blade, quickly cutting through. The spear in the young man's hand trembled, and his gathered momentum was instantly shattered. A deep sword wound appeared on his chest.
He staggered up, fearfully looking at Li Hao. What kind of sword qi was this?
He had just sensed a life-threatening danger, but the threat dissipated at the last moment, indicating that his opponent had held back.
The young man's face turned pale and then flushed, realizing he had encountered a monstrous genius.
"Consider it an apology."
Li Hao gave a slight bow to his opponent. After the referee announced the result, he turned and left the stage, then continued to ponder the domain outside.
The contest ended in an instant, but the crowd below was shocked.
"Prince Luojia lost and was defeated in seconds!"
"He even has two Extreme Realms, and he didn't even get a chance to showcase them."
"What's more, in the previous battle with thousands of participants, this Young Master Qingfeng stopped a prodigy with a domain of over twenty layers and made the opponent's heart shatter and withdraw from the competition, not even making it to the top hundred."
The crowd below debated, causing more shock among the spectators.
Among the crowd, a few scholarly figures were seated, including a young man with a folding fan who looked at his cold-faced junior sister beside him and smiled wryly.
"Qingyi, don't take these fools' words to heart."
Li Qingyi snorted coldly but said nothing.
This Hundred Strong Battle would narrow down to the top ten. She had specifically come to observe, hoping to see if anyone could force Li Hao to reveal other methods.
Given Li Hao's strength, she had already regarded him as an opponent she would face in the upcoming battles in the Canglan Realm. Observing in advance was part of gathering intelligence on her opponents, not just for idle amusement.
"Still so straightforward. Does the other side intend to pass all levels with just sword techniques?"
Another scholarly young man lamented.
"This sword technique alone is indeed enough to qualify for the top ten, and even to claim first place," another young man nodded, highly recognizing Li Hao's sword techniques.
The young man with the folding fan shook his head, "Top ten is feasible, the top three are possible, but first place is impossible. At least, some other aspects need to be revealed. Without them, first place might not be achievable."
"Hmm?"
Li Qingyi looked at him in confusion.
The young man with the folding fan smiled, "Earlier, there was news that an unparalleled prodigy named Chiguang emerged from the Huaguang Cave in the South Rong Kingdom. He is also a strong competitor for us, slightly weaker than the Buddhist Twin Saints."
"So strong?"
The others were astonished. Comparing with the Buddhist Twin Saints was already a formidable thing.