While Wang Hao fought a bitter struggle, Li Derong had a relatively easy time on her side. In just the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, she secured an easy victory.

She stood on the stage and called out to Wang Hao, “Is one hour enough for you to recover?”

Even after consuming pills, Wang Hao only had half his Spiritual Energy remaining. And even if he were at full strength, he had no talismans left to use.

He shook his head. “No need. I admit I am no match for you, Fairy. I concede!”

Wang Hao didn’t care about empty fame. The rewards for the top three were identical, so why fight to the death for first place? Defeating Qi Condensation Stage 8 opponents while only at Stage 6 was already drawing too much attention.

If he took first place, wouldn’t he be watched like a hawk every day?

The tallest blade of grass is cut first!

Of course, the practical truth was that Wang Hao simply couldn’t win and had no desire to go up there and get beaten to a pulp.

Everyone had witnessed the strength of both fighters. Since Wang Hao had conceded, no one had anything to say.

Li Derong, however, seemed somewhat unsatisfied. It was as if her anger wouldn’t be quelled unless she thrashed Wang Hao personally. She glared at him with her almond eyes. “Fine, we’ll let it go today. When you reach the Late Qi Condensation Stage, we will fight again!”

Returning to the area designated for the Wang Family disciples, Wang Hao noticed a significant shift in the way people looked at him. Many gazes were now filled with admiration.

However, cultivators were proud by nature; they couldn’t just swallow their pride and come over to fawn over him immediately.

Wang Hao disliked trouble above all else. This silence suited him perfectly, saving him the effort of forced pleasantries.

Wang Wenmei and Wang Wenzhi, however, were familiar enough to approach him.

“Congratulations, Fifth Brother (by clan seniority)!”

Both were similar in age and cultivation to Wang Hao, yet they hadn’t even passed the third round. Their combat strength was a world apart from his.

Wang Wenmei couldn’t help but ask, “Fifth Brother, how did you practice those spells? Their power is incredible!”

Others nearby pricked up their ears. No one ever felt they had too much cultivation experience.

“It’s nothing special. It is simply a matter of practice making perfect,” Wang Hao said, indulging in a moment of pretension.

“Three years ago, I began practicing spells. I trained for two sessions every day, not stopping until my Spiritual Energy was completely exhausted. If you can persist in this for three years, you naturally can achieve Great Perfection (Peak Realm) too!”

“This…” Wang Wenmei looked troubled. “If we practice two sessions daily, there won’t be much time left for cultivation!”

She possessed three Spiritual Roots and still held hope for Foundation Establishment. She couldn’t afford to waste time on spell drills.

Wang Hao gazed skyward at a forty-five-degree angle, his voice dropping to a solemn register.

“Since I was eighteen, I have slept only two hours a day. The rest of my time is spent cultivating. On the path of cultivation, there are no shortcuts—only diligence. Have you ever seen Qingniu Bazaar at the Hour of Yin (3-5 AM in the ancient Chinese timekeeping system)?”

“Fifth Brother? So as long as we are diligent, we can become as powerful as you? But doesn’t cultivation depend on aptitude?” a little girl with pigtails asked, blinking her large eyes.

How naive, Wang Hao thought. Besides diligence and aptitude, resources are king. With unlimited resources, even a pig could be piled up to Foundation Establishment!

“This is our Fifteenth Sister, Wenzhu,” Wang Wenmei introduced.

Wang Hao let out a heavy sigh. “I used to think that way too. I thought that those with four or five Spiritual Roots could never reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, no matter how hard they tried. But for some things… if you don’t try your hardest, how do you know it’s impossible?”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“I won’t speak of my own example; I am only at Qi Condensation Stage 6, and Foundation Establishment is still far away. Instead, let me tell you the story of Senior Han! Senior Han also had poor aptitude, possessing only four Spiritual Roots. But he never admitted defeat. From a young age, he set his heart on the great aspiration of immortality…”

Wang Hao gave a rough recounting of the story of Old Devil Han.

“Senior Han proved with facts that poor aptitude does not necessarily mean low achievement,” he concluded. “Aside from talent and resources, the most important thing in cultivation is the Dao Heart (the unwavering resolve and core purpose of a cultivator)!”

“Fifth Brother, what is the Dao Heart?” the little girl asked, only half-understanding.

“You can simply understand the Dao Heart as the reason why you cultivate. Once you figure that out, you possess a Dao Heart. Using that as your goal and guiding principle, your resolve will firm, and the path of cultivation will naturally become a smooth road!”

Wang Hao didn’t understand a damn thing about the Dao Heart. But ignorance didn’t stop him from spouting nonsense. A dose of inspirational rhetoric—everyone loved to hear it, so why not serve it up?

“Then, Fifth Brother, what is your Dao Heart?”

“My Dao Heart?”

Wang Hao turned his back to them, feeling a bit awkward. Since coming to this world, he had only thought about crouching in the shadows and cultivating. He had never truly considered such high-minded concepts.

But he had already boasted so much that he couldn’t back down now. The ladder was already set up. If he didn’t keep climbing, the fall would be ugly.

Fortunately, fabricating tales was his forte.

“I often read biographies in Qingniu Bazaar. I learned that our location is merely a corner of the South Sea, and the South Sea is but a small fraction of this world. Top sects, clans with ten-thousand-year legacies… we have none of those here in the South Sea…”

“So Fifth Brother’s Dao Heart is to lead our Wang Family to become a Ten-Thousand-Year Clan?”

Wang Wenzhu felt as if Wang Hao was physically glowing. Her admiration for him surged.

“Ahem, cough,” Wang Hao choked slightly.

“Fifth Brother is so great.”

“Yanzhao, it seems Wenhao holds no resentment toward the family. He gets along well with his peers. It appears we elders have been the petty ones,” Wang Longyou sighed.

Wang Hao was of the same generation as Wang Wenmei and Wang Wenzhi. Within the family hierarchy, he ranked fifth, so his formal name included the generational character “Wen,” making him Wang Wenhao.

In formal contexts, elders often referred to him directly as Wenhao.

Wang Yanzhao didn’t entirely believe it, but Wang Hao’s performance over the past few years had been exemplary, and he had ceased causing trouble. As a father, he couldn’t tear down his own son’s stage.

“Hao’er had a difficult childhood,” Wang Yanzhao said. “It is understandable that he harbored some resentment when he was young and ignorant. But in recent years, he has cultivated diligently and learned the art of alchemy, often selling his excess pills to the clan. It seems he is truly as Sixth Uncle says! Though… he still has a bad habit of arrogance.”

“No matter. Young people should have such sharpness,” Wang Longyou dismissed the concern. “A firm Dao Heart, tyrannical combat strength, no shortcomings in conduct, and skill in alchemy—he is truly the best candidate to manage the shop in Qingniu Bazaar. Do not worry about the Council of Elders; I will explain it to them myself!”

“Then this nephew thanks Sixth Uncle on his behalf!” Wang Yanzhao bowed.

“We are all one family. Since Wenhao has ability, we must naturally reuse him. How can we abandon him over a few resentful words from his youth? That would be the clan’s loss!”

Wang Hao had held back for years, only unable to resist showing off a little today. He never expected to gain Wang Longyou’s approval so easily.

If he had known, he would have postured even harder.

On the other side of the venue, Li Derong, Li Dexi, and Li Qinxin—who had lost to Wang Hao in the first round—were also discussing him.

Li Qinxin pointed a trembling finger at Wang Hao. “Aunt, is that man really your son? Does that mean I have to call him cousin?”

Li Derong glared at her. “What nonsense are you spouting? Your Aunt Dexi only married into the Wang Family a little over a decade ago. That man is over twenty. How could he be your aunt’s son?”

Li Dexi shook her head gently. “Derong, what Qinxin said isn’t entirely wrong. He truly is Yanzhao’s child.”

“Great! So he really is my cousin!” Li Qinxin exclaimed. “He beat me so badly earlier. Aunt, can you teach him a lesson for me?”

She shook Li Dexi’s arm, pouting and acting coquettishly.

“How can one hesitate or hold back on the arena stage?” Li Derong cut in, seeing no fault in Wang Hao’s actions. “If you want revenge, cultivate harder! However, he did go too far in one regard. Knocking someone off the stage is one thing, but burning Qinxin’s clothes? Making her lose face in front of the crowd? That was improper.”

“Ai,” Li Dexi sighed, then proceeded to explain the inside story to the two of them.

“It is not that I am making excuses,” she finished, “but given our awkward relationship, how could I dare to scold him?”

Li Qinxin listened, her expression shifting. “Oh. So he’s just a Five-Element Spirit Root cultivator, a bas—”

“Silence!” Li Derong scolded immediately. “Do you want to ignite a war between our two families?”

After learning of Wang Hao’s history, Li Derong held no personal goodwill toward him. But the facts remained: without family support, he had suppressed the young disciples of all the major clans.

If Wang Hao was a waste, then what did that make the young geniuses of the Li Family?