Follow the path of Dao from infancy

On the platform, the kasaya-clad young man continued to expound slowly.

His voice was mild and peaceful, like a ray of Buddha's light shining amidst the cold winds by the Dragon River, which made everyone feel as if they were basked in the warm breeze of spring.

Li Hao listened quietly to the other's words. He had not cultivated the Buddha's cultivation techniques, but as he listened now, he quickly grasped their essential ideas.

This also added a new line of thought to his Dao of All Things.

Even human nature could be incorporated into the Dao.

But what commonality did greed, anger, and delusion share with birds, beasts, and plants?

Li Hao fell into contemplation.

What, after all, was that common element?

Or to put it another way, do all things truly share something in common?

If not, then the unity he had been ardently seeking would be an ephemeral phantom, and he would be doomed to never fully realize his Grandmaster Path, only to step into the Three Immortal Realms with the status of an ordinary Great Grandmaster.

While Li Hao was in contemplation, the young man above continued to speak ceaselessly.

When he reached the end, he looked towards the many Grandmasters below, but his gaze suddenly shifted to Li Hao, and with a smile, he said,

"I've heard that Dayu has produced a genius once in a millennium, who entered the Grandmaster Realm at the age of fourteen, unparalleled in history. May I have the honor of learning a thing or two from him?"

Upon hearing his words, everyone snapped back to reality, and their gazes turned in unison towards Li Hao.

They showed expectation and mockery in their eyes, having long wished to see if this legendary youth was truly as remarkable as his reputation suggested.

They had been curious before, but the noble surname of this young man had deterred them from rashly offending him.

"He is one of the direct disciples of the Buddha and is also ranked first on the Qian Dragon List!"

Shen Yunqing's expression shifted slightly as he warned Li Hao.

Being from Qingzhou, he understood the process of that great battle and also knew of Li Hao's friction with Li Qianfeng, who was a disciple of the Buddha. This young man before him was actually Li Qianfeng's senior fellow disciple.

Suddenly being called out by him was most likely an attempt to win some face for his junior brother or perhaps to stand up for the Buddha himself.

Although Shen Yunqing and the other disciples of Tan Palace did not participate in the real dragon competition of the Li Family that day, the events that took place at the subsequent banquet had already been widely circulated.

Li Hao had nearly killed a direct disciple of the Buddha with a mere chopstick.

This news was too shocking and had spread far and wide, impossible to suppress.

If it had been merely a rumor, it would have already been quelled, but it was the truth, and all the guests at the banquet were witnesses, which led to the story being discussed with gusto and spreading everywhere.

Li Wushuang, who was sitting to the side, also had a change in expression, with anger flashing in her eyes as she stared at the young man on stage.

She had just felt that his Grandmaster Path had opened up new perspectives for her and had even secretly admired him, but his words had now directly moved to target Li Hao.

She could not fail to see that he was deliberately provoking them. story-source-MvLeMpYr

Li Hao's gaze met with that of the young man on stage, and although both of them wore smiles on their faces, Li Hao could see the coldness in the other's eyes.

Greed, anger, and delusion—it seemed that the other was committing the error of anger.

Li Hao felt an urge to laugh; he had not yet sought trouble with the other, but here the other was coming to him first.

"If it's just for a discussion of the Dao, I'm not interested," Li Hao said indifferently.

This was not a retreat but rather a provocation to the other party.

Debates on the Dao were supposed to stop at the point, but he had no interest in dragging things out with the other. If he made a move, it would be best if he could disable the other altogether.

"Could it be that Li is not here for a Dao debate?" Qin Wuque narrowed his eyes slightly and chuckled.

He was a revered figure in the Buddha's faith, at the Heaven-Man Treasure Aspect Realm, just half a step away from reaching the Grandmaster Great Perfection, with a pure and unified Dao heart.

Coming here to debate was for the purpose of confirming his Dao's perfection.

He recognized Li Hao when he saw him beating the drum at the gateway.

"Whether I debate or not depends on my mood," Li Hao said, also smiling, "I just feel that your Dao is too rudimentary to be considered a genuine path, that's all."

At these words, everyone was stunned.

Qin Wuque, a direct disciple of the Buddha, had expounded a Dao heart that was anything but simple. Merely using anger as an entry point into the Dao demonstrated its profundity, yet Li Hao was calling it rudimentary?

The smile on Qin Wuque's face remained unchanged as he said,

"Since Li believes my Dao heart to be rudimentary, I would like to ask about Li's Dao heart. I've heard that you attained the Heavenly Human Realm during a sword fight with your father, Duke Xing Wu. Could it be that Li's Dao heart is one of murderous intent towards kin and patricide?"

At these words, the room fell into a slight silence.

People had heard of the incident, but no one dared to mention it in front of the Divine General Mansion, as it was a scandal for the Li Family.

Now that Qin Wuque had brazenly brought it up, many looked at the young man with expressions of ridicule and amusement.

They wouldn't dare to provoke the Divine General Mansion, but Mount Wuliang would, and so these words that only someone from Mount Wuliang dared to utter became their voice by proxy.

Li Wushuang's expression shifted subtlety, and rage burned even more in her eyes. The incident was a scandal for the Divine General Mansion, but she understood the circumstance and knew it was not Li Hao's fault. Hence, her indignation at it being publicly mentioned was equivalent to a slap in the face to the Divine General Mansion.

Li Hao locked gazes with the other, but the smile on his face had disappeared.

"Do you really want to discuss the Dao?" Li Hao asked softly.

Qin Wuque's smile widened slightly, "Please enlighten me, Li."

Li Hao did not respond. Lifting his hand, he beckoned for a pebble from the ground to rise into his palm.

The pebble spun rapidly, polished to a shine, and became a snow-white chess piece.

"All things in heaven and earth can enter the Dao. If you can catch this piece of mine, it will prove that there is still something redeemable in your Grandmaster's Dao," Li Hao said calmly, his words clearly reaching everyone present.

As people watched in amazement, Li Hao lifted his hand as if playing chess, pinching the chess piece, and gently pressed it.

The chess piece flew out, heading straight for the Debate Platform. The nail-sized piece suddenly became the focal point for countless energies that gathered around it, encapsulating the chess piece with a soft inner strength and a hard outer layer, radiating divine halos and streams of luminescence.