===070 Bearded Beast===
Su Hao was someone who couldn’t stay idle. Just after spending three days at the Chasan Outpost, he was eager to dissect…no, study something.
So he bid farewell to Wu Yuntian once again.
Wu Yuntian asked, “Xiangwu, how long will you be gone this time?” Su Hao was unsure and said, “Shortest is a few months, longest is one or two years.”
Wu Yuntian just nodded silently. Su Hao was his only concern, and he only hoped for Su Hao’s safety.
Su Hao first went to Lingyun Town and headed straight to Lingyun Martial Arts Academy, where he found the long-lost bald Liu.
Su Hao walked up to Old Liu with a bright smile and said, “Teacher Liu!”
Old Liu’s head was still shining like new. He turned his head and looked at Su Hao. Oh my, this handsome young man looks familiar!
He quickly remembered the young man in front of him. He was Wu Xiangwu, who was once the talk of the town and left a legend in the academy.
Old Liu was pleasantly surprised and said, “Xiangwu? Haven’t seen you in three years. During the graduation ceremony of your batch, I didn’t see you. I was even thinking about you.”
Su Hao immediately felt embarrassed and said, “I was somewhere else at that time. When I rushed back, I realized I had missed it. I was very regretful.”
Actually, he had forgotten about it.
Su Hao immediately said, “Thanks to Teacher Liu’s guidance back then, I have successfully advanced to the Master level now. If it weren’t for Teacher Liu’s help back then, I’m afraid I would still be at the Elite level!”
“What?!! You’ve advanced? Hiss…” Old Liu took a sharp breath.
Su Hao immediately handed over a prepared precious dagger and said, “Teacher Liu, look at the gift I brought for you!”
Su Hao knew that Old Liu loved knives, so he picked the most expensive one in Lingyun Town as a gift for him.
Whether it was good or not, it was definitely expensive.
Old Liu couldn’t let go of it as soon as he held it, not even bothering with pleasantries.
Su Hao then continued, “Teacher Liu, I have another question. Do you know how to advance from Master to Grandmaster level?”
Unexpectedly, Old Liu was stunned and immediately said, “I don’t know the specific method to advance, but I know the channel to do so.”
Su Hao curiously asked, “What channel?”
Old Liu rubbed his bald head and revealed an ugly smile, saying, “There is only one channel for us humans to obtain the method to advance to the Grandmaster level.”
Su Hao raised an eyebrow and asked, “Only one?”
Old Liu said, “That’s right! High-level Master level martial artists who want to advance to Grandmaster level need to join the main city’s guard team in the main city. After serving for a minimum of eight years, they will be eligible to learn the method to advance to the Grandmaster level.”
“Eight years?” Su Hao’s voice rose in disbelief as he received the news.
Old Liu said, “These eight years require being on standby at all times, awaiting orders from the main city and the Prince of Peace. After the full eight years, there is an opportunity to be promoted and become a Grandmaster.”
Su Hao couldn’t help but ask with a speechless expression, “Besides this method, are there any other ways?”
Old Liu answered, “As far as I know, this is the only way. All the Grandmaster warriors I have seen have been promoted after spending enough time in the main city.”
Then, he smiled and said to Su Hao, “I don’t want to go to the main city to join the guard team, so I have been staying at the academy.”
This is classified as top-secret knowledge. Only when it is confirmed that someone is truly an insider will this knowledge be disclosed.
With this news, Su Hao temporarily abandoned his thoughts of advancing to the Grandmaster level. Serving in the guard team for eight years, being at the beck and call of others, was not what he wanted, at least not now.
Just as Su Hao was about to continue saying something, a loud noise came from the city wall.
“Boom!”
Su Hao and Old Liu looked toward the sound and saw a huge cloud of smoke rising in the distance, with rubble continuously falling.
“Boom!”
Before they could figure out what was happening, another loud noise followed, accompanied by the sound of a collapsed city wall.
Old Liu’s expression became very serious as he immediately asked Su Hao, “Are you sure you are already a master?”
Su Hao nodded.
Old Liu looked at Su Hao dressed in armor and a large package behind him, and silently nodded, “Wait for me here for a moment. I’ll put on my armor first, then we’ll go together to see what’s happening!”
Su Hao maximized his radar perception and immediately sensed a powerful surge of blood on the outskirts of the town, continuously colliding with the city wall.
This surge of blood had an intensity that was nearly double Su Hao’s own. It was even stronger than the encounter with the White-tailed Eagle he had not long ago. He was one hundred percent sure that it was a Grandmaster-level ferocious beast, and it was highly likely to be a high-level Grandmaster-level beast.
Su Hao wasn’t sure if he could defeat the opponent because he had only fought against one Grandmaster-level beast before, and he still lacked confidence in himself.
Soon, Old Liu returned wearing a well-maintained suit of armor, looking magnificent with its mix of gold and silver.
Old Liu, who seemed even taller and more robust, immediately said, “Let’s go, we’ll go over there. Don’t act impulsively later, follow behind me.”
Su Hao replied, “Okay!”
The two immediately ran towards the billowing dust and smoke.
At this moment, the noise in the distance had already subsided, but it was still spreading within the inner city, and one could faintly hear the panicked voices of the people.
Soon, Su Hao followed behind Old Liu and approached the scene of the incident.
All that could be seen were ruins and debris.
A large number of people were running away without any direction, their screams of panic and cries filling the air.
A section of the forty-meter-high city wall had collapsed, and from the collapsed wall, rubble and tiles spread throughout the city, the dust and smoke obscuring the view.
But in the midst of the dust and smoke, the silhouette of a colossal ferocious beast could vaguely be seen, towering over twenty meters high. Resembling an octopus, its round head is the entire body, covered in evenly arranged scales that appear indestructible. Above its two eerie green eyes are two horns that jut out like goat horns.
Below its round body, countless long tentacles extend and dance in the air. Every time a tentacle is launched, it brings back a person and throws them into the mouth located below.
Terrifying chewing sounds are heard, and the screams of humans disappear.
It may seem slow in movement, but that is not the case. Among the countless wriggling tentacles, this beast rampages through the town, heading wherever there are more people.
Even elite warriors cannot outrun this monster. Once targeted by its tentacles, they have no resistance against it.
“Oh no, this is a Grandmaster-level Bearded Beast, passing through our Lingyun Town!” Bald Old Liu anxiously watched as one resident after another was devoured by the Bearded Beast.
Su Hao observed the Bearded Beast and frowned. “I’ve read about the Bearded Beast in books. It is an extremely formidable beast among the Grandmaster-levels. It likes to break through city walls with its horns and enter human towns to feed. After it’s done eating, it will leave. Is this the Bearded Beast mentioned in the book?”
Old Liu nodded.
Immediately, Su Hao asked, “Liu Teacher, do you know the weak points of the Bearded Beast?”
Old Liu looked at Su Hao and said, “Xiangwu, don’t act impulsively. We can’t rush up to die right now. Let’s wait for the guard team to arrive. Led by our Grandmaster-level warriors from Lingyun Town, we will concentrate our strength to repel it!”
Su Hao looked at the people being swallowed by the monster one by one and said with a bitter smile, “Liu Teacher, I’m not the type of person to act impulsively. You can trust me.”
Old Liu nodded and said, “The defense of the Bearded Beast is extremely strong. Even Grandmaster-level warriors may not be able to split it open. It has two weak points: its underside and its eyes. Its underside is not defended by thick scales and can be attacked directly. But…”
“But these two areas cannot be considered its weak points. Firstly, its eyes are too small compared to its body, so it may not be easy to hit them. Secondly, it can shoot out dense, sharp tentacles from its underside. The tips of the tentacles are as hard and sharp as refined steel, and I may not even be able to cut through them. If you approach its underside rashly, you may accidentally be pierced by the suddenly launched tentacles and become its food.”
“What if the Bearded Beast attacks the city? How would it usually be dealt with?”
Old Liu said in a deep voice, “For small towns like ours without ancestral warriors stationed, there are generally two options. One is to drive the opponent away with combined forces, and the other is to wait for them to finish eating and leave on their own.”
Su Hao fell silent.
The Bearded Beast was still feeding, moving its hunting grounds towards the center of the town. People panicked and fled for their lives. No one could save them; all they could do was run faster than others.
Just then, the guard team from Lingyun Town arrived. Each person was wearing heavy armor, tightly covering their bodies, with only their faces exposed.
They carried standard long knives on their waists, each equipped with a long-handled armor-breaking nail hammer. They were well-prepared.
Captain Hua Hong and three squads of guards spread out around the Bearded Beast, surrounding it from afar.
Hua Hong was a Grandmaster-level warrior, and the three squad leaders below him were the top-notch high-level master warriors. Below each squad were five platoons, and beneath each platoon were five team members.
The platoon and team leaders were all master-level warriors, and the members below them were elite warriors.
There were more than three hundred fully equipped people. This was the defense force of Lingyun Town.
The entire Lingyun Town had less than two hundred master-level warriors, with the guard team being the majority. The remaining masters were scattered among the Warrior Academy and various exploration teams.
As soon as Old Liu saw the guard team, he immediately led Su Hao forward and shouted, “Warrior Academy, Liu Changle obeys Captain Hua’s command.”
With Old Liu’s words, the same message echoed from all directions.
“Warrior Academy, Mo Fenghua obeys Captain Hua’s command.”!”
“Wuzhe Academy’s Feng Man’er follows the command of the Flower Brigade!”
“The Exploration Team – Hunting Team Leader Meng Shan follows the command of the Flower Brigade!”
“The Hongyan Chamber of Commerce’s Xiao Yueling follows the command of the Flower Brigade!”
…
These are the martial arts masters waiting on the side.
Su Hao looks around and thinks, should he follow them and obey the command?
TLN: I found an inconsistency in the translation of the term “Grandmaster” in the s, and now I know why. Zongshi (宗师) and Taishi (太师) were both translated as “Grandmaster” by the machine. However, Zongshi should be “Master,” and Taishi should be “Grandmaster.” I will correct them later.
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