Chapter 1380: Helping a… Half Disciple?
“What are you still doing here? Shouldn’t you have left after what happened last time around?”
As he killed off the three Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts, Xuan Hao descended from the sky and landed in front of the shocked and amazed Chu Li before asking him directly about why he was still running into the Valley of Illusory Beasts.
“This…” Hearing what Xuan Hao said, the happy expression on the face of Chu Li quickly became somewhat distraught as he seemed to have difficulty speaking.
However, even without him saying anything, it was rather obvious that something had happened to him since they had last seen each other and considering what little he knew about his background and the fact that he should be part of the Blue Sea Empire’s East Sea Army, he guessed that it had something to with the East Sea Army.
Though… Considering that he had already personally encountered the general of the East Sea Army in the past and that he should be comparable to someone in the Middle Stage of the Dao Seed Realm, Xuan Hao really couldn’t imagine what couldn’t imagine what could have happened to someone like that.
After all, someone that strong was of importance to the overall strength of the Blue Sea Empire and wouldn’t be allowed to die easily.
With that in mind, Xuan Hao could only guess that it might not have something to do with the general in question, but instead the East Sea Army itself.
Perhaps Chu Li got thrown out of the army? No… A bit unrealistic considering that there was no way the Blue Sea Empire would give up on someone like Chu Li who was incredibly close to breaking through to the Dao Seed Realm at a relatively young age…
“Senior, the reason I’m here is because there is nowhere else that will help me break through to the Earth Immortal Realm faster!” Having hesitated on what to say for a few short seconds while Xuan Hao tried to figure out what had happened on his own, Chu Li ultimately showed a confident expression as he said this.
“Break through the Earth Immortal Realm the fastest? Are you in a rush to reach the Earth Immortal Realm?” Picking up the important bits about what Chu Li said, Xuan Hao could not help asking as he felt rather curious about what this little fellow who could in a sense be considered a half disciple of his was up to.
“This… Senior should know that I’m from the East Sea Army. The reason I want to break through to the Earth Immortal Realm is because the grand commander sent out an order that the weakest of the four armies be dispatched to assist in suppressing demonic cultivators at the border of the Frozen Wasteland.
Considering how dangerous the situation is and the fact the Demon King Realm demonic cultivators have shown up, it will essentially be a death sentence for anyone who ends up being dispatched first. Even worse, with the cultivation environment of that place, it will also be hard for those dispatched to cultivate.”
“And your East Sea Army is the weakest of the four?”
“Yes… Although the general is powerful, there are not as many Earth Immortals as in the other armies. However, if I break through to the Earth Immortal Realm, we might have a chance at no longer being the weakest and avoid being sent to the frontlines against the demonic cultivators!”
Seeing the almost desperate expression on the face of Chu Li as he said this, Xuan Hao could somewhat understand him, as the cultivation environment outside the core region was nowhere near the same as that of a kingdom located at the border of the Frozen Wasteland.
Not to mention, the danger involved in being dispatched to the front lines was also obvious, as Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestors and Demon King Realm demonic cultivators had already clashed there not long ago.
For any cultivator below the Celestial Immortal Realm, it would be a death sentence for them to encounter a demonic cultivator in the Demon King Realm.
But… Considering the little clash that will take place between the demonic cultivators and the Blue Sea Empire over a certain space node stone mine in the near future, Xuan Hao doubted that the Blue Sea Empire would dispatch any of their people to the borders of the Frozen Wasteland to fight back demonic cultivators.
Instead of that, it was far more likely that they would dedicate all of their strength towards keeping their own territory safe, as a large portion of their strongest cultivators would go to fight for the space node stone mine.
With all of that in mind, there wasn’t really anything for Chu Li to worry about, as he would almost certainly be staying inside the Blue Sea Empire even if his army ended up being the weakest of the four, as sending them out to face off demonic cultivators would just be sending them to their death at that point in time.
No matter what kind of internal struggle the Blue Sea Empire might be going through at the moment, Xuan Hao didn’t think it would be possible for them to continue that kind of internal infighting when their continued existence was on the line.
If not, there would have been no way for the Blue Sea Empire to have continued existing for as long as it had. Instead, it would have long since become a part of history.
“You don’t have to worry too much about the situation and try to hasten a breakthrough to the Earth Immortal Realm. After all, a hastened breakthrough might result in you making mistakes and perishing to the final tribulation.
The fact that you still haven’t decided to go through it is admirable, but I fear that if you continue like this, you might end up trying to pass the tribulation before you are ready for it. Not to mention, your current state of mind is far from calm enough to face the last tribulation.”
With all of that in mind, Xuan Hao decided to advise Chu Li to the best of his ability, so he didn’t end up doing something dumb.
After all, even though Chu Li could be considered strong for someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, he wasn’t the strongest he had encountered in the Soul Ascension Realm, and he could tell that he would not be able to pass through the final tribulation before his Dao of Illusions broke through the final barrier.
“This… I understand senior…” Showing a look of understanding as he heard what Xuan Hao said, Chu Li soon showed a somewhat defeated expression on his face.
He understood what Xuan Hao said was true and that forcing a breakthrough to the Earth Immortal Realm would only harm himself and could very well cost him his life.
But… He didn’t want the East Sea Army to get dispatched to the frontlines, as that would mean that most of his friends might end up dead, while their enemies in the other three armies would gleefully watch from afar as the East Sea Army crumpled in the face of a constant onslaught of demonic cultivators.
Even if it might take a few dozens or even a hundred years, the East Sea Army wouldn’t be able to continue existing forever if they had to keep fending off the demonic cultivators without any rest. Especially considering that from past large-scale war with demonic cultivators, the conflicts dragged on for extended periods of time without anything major happening.
During that last war, there had first been over a thousand years where the weaker cultivators below the Celestial Immortal Realm on both sides had clashed with each other.
Of course, this time around, Demon King Realm demonic cultivators and Celestial Immortals were active from the start, but it was doubtful if it would escalate into a full-blown war at this point or quiet down and turn into a battle between weaker cultivators that would then continue for the next hundreds of years without anything major happening.
No matter what, Chu Li didn’t want to stand at the front lines no matter which of the two outcomes it was, one being a slow death, while the later would be a quick death at the hands of Demon King Realm demonic cultivator.
“You don’t have to worry so much about it. If I’m not wrong, the Blue Sea Empire won’t be sending out any of its armies in the near future.”
Seeing the obvious fear, Xuan Hao decided to hint a bit at the trouble that would follow and likely prevent the four armies from leaving the territory of the Blue Sea Empire before he turned around and left. Feeling like he had helped Chu Li enough, what he ended up doing next would be up to himself
“What do you- Huh? Senior?!”
In the end, Chu Li was left stunned, as Xuan Hao left before he had a chance to say anything in response.
