Chapter 397: Chapter 395: A Difficult Opponent
Qin Hao wore a smile on his face, looking at Xiao Jintian, then said, "I told you, your performance is absolutely poor. I have no interest in appreciating it."
Xiao Jintian stood there dumbfounded for a while, seemingly unable to accept the reality in front of him.
These special forces are all direct units under the military district, an elite strike team selected from the best soldiers and generals.
With Xiao Lingtian’s extraordinary status, Xiao Jintian naturally regarded this elite team as a personal guard. The saying goes, "Use soldiers in times of need after nurturing them for a thousand days." Today, he secretly assembled this unit to strike, but he didn’t expect the sharp blade to be broken as soon as it was drawn.
Qin Hao saw him silent, then said, "What’s wrong, are you thinking about your final words?"
However, this time Xiao Jintian heard what Qin Hao said and didn’t show a trace of anger or any reaction. He just sighed heavily, paused, and then suddenly said with resignation to the empty room in front of him,
"Golden Protector, please make your move."
After he finished, the room remained as quiet as before. Qin Hao’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, and instantly, an extremely sharp aura burst into his perception.
The moment this aura appeared, Qin Hao felt a sharp, piercing pain like needles stabbing all over his exposed skin, as if countless tiny silver needles were pricking his body.
The room was still empty. Qin Hao remained vigilant and heard Xiao Jintian speak again, "Golden Protector, please make your move!"
This time, his tone was more respectful, even bowing slightly to the empty room.
Qin Hao furrowed his eyebrows tighter. The sharp aura not only didn’t disappear but grew stronger. Shortly after Xiao Jintian finished speaking, a piercing voice like metal clashing suddenly appeared in the room.
"Hehe, Xiao family’s boy, do you know the cost of me making a move?"
Xiao Jintian’s expression was bitter. He nodded lightly and said, "Golden Protector, I’ll prepare the tribute for the sect immediately, and this time it will be doubled."
After he finished speaking, an ear-piercing laugh echoed.
"Hahaha, good! Xiao family’s boy, I’ll lend you a hand this time."
As he finished speaking, Qin Hao’s pupils shrank instantly, his expression shockingly as if he had seen a ghost.
Because, without any warning, a skinny, dark old man directly appeared in front of him.
With a playful smile on his face, he looked at Qin Hao, calmly standing there as if he had been there all along since Qin Hao entered.
After he appeared, Xiao Jintian did not show a hint of joy; instead, his eyebrows furrowed more tightly. It seemed this old man’s appearance was even more serious than if Qin Hao had killed him.
In fact, the situation wasn’t much different.
This old man was precisely the Protector from the Ancient Martial Family’s Golden Stone Sect. For Xiao Jintian to enlist his aid, even sacrificing half of the Xiao Family’s assets wouldn’t necessarily cover the cost.
In this world, the most prestigious Celestial List doesn’t represent the pinnacle of martial power. Besides these Celestial List masters, there is also a group of mysterious Noble Families that remain hidden. They all represent secret sects that have never surfaced, each with its own unique skills.
Those cultivation techniques and secret techniques only rumored to exist are indeed real in this world. They’re strictly guarded inheritance secrets belonging exclusively to the Ancient Martial Families, only passed down within the family or sect. These hidden families often don’t concern themselves with worldly affairs and only select agents from the mundane world to help gather what is needed for the family or sect, handling things related to the mundane world.
From these families, any random family member chosen would possess strength comparable to the Celestial List masters. And the Xiao Family is precisely a Noble Sect chosen as the agent for the Golden Stone Sect.
The treasures esteemed by these mysterious sects are all rare and valuable, beyond the reach of mere wealth. The Xiao Family is usually quite strained gathering the routine tribute for the Golden Stone Sect, and now calling upon the Golden Stone Sect’s hidden Protector even strains Xiao Jintian’s wealth significantly.
After all, this Protector from the Golden Stone Sect is merely a contact in the mundane world. Xiao Jintian doesn’t have the privilege to make him his personal bodyguard.
In fact, Golden Protector remains hidden within the Xiao Family, and even Xiao Jintian only knows of his existence, but nothing about his true identity, and doesn’t dare to inquire further.
When the old man appeared, Qin Hao immediately began speculating about his identity. The man’s body technique was more enigmatic than that of the skilled Dog Disciple.
Such formidable strength couldn’t possibly belong to someone obscure, judging by Xiao Jintian’s demeanor, this person seemed extremely prestigious, unlikely to be secretly stationed as a bodyguard.
As Qin Hao was analyzing, the small old man fixed his gaze on Qin Hao, casually assessing him up and down, then said:
"Oh! Such solid roots. In my many years in this world, this is truly the first time I’ve seen such a promising seed like you."
"Hmm, not bad. It’s no wonder you’ve pushed the Xiao family to this extent."
Qin Hao remained silent, scrutinizing the old man warily. The oppressive aura from this little old man was absolutely terrifying! Could such a powerful figure really be tolerated to remain hidden in Huaxia without the military’s knowledge?
"However, this will be your limit. It’s such a pity, but having promised the Xiao family’s boy to step in, you’ll have to be sent off early."
The old man spoke, leisurely stretching, casually picking up one of the tactical knives equipped on the special forces corpses scattered on the ground, and slowly walked toward Qin Hao.
He still carried a devil-may-care smile, with a set of mottled yellow teeth, like an old man selling watermelons on a summer street, carrying a watermelon knife to amiably cut open a big watermelon at the stand to sell to customers.
However, this casual gesture, when observed by Qin Hao, made the hairs on his back stand on end instantly!
Gently closing his eyes, Qin Hao perceived the skinny old man no longer in his original form; his whole aura transformed into a sharp, overwhelming Sword – a humanoid Sword!