Chapter 41 - 41: Basic

Yun Hao's vision blurred as the thousand lanterns that littered the ceiling of the restaurant seemed to flicker. It felt like his face was hit by a truck, his nose bleeding profusely from the shoe that almost made contact with it.

"Yun Hao!"

If it wasn't for his palm absorbing most of the damage, then he would have definitely lost consciousness right there and then. Just who the fuck is this man that suddenly kicked him out of nowhere? Yun Hao then quickly bared his teeth as he stood up and looked at the man straight in the eyes.

The man was wearing a navy blue robe, indicating that he was at least part of some old-fashioned cultivation clan. He also had long silver jet-black hair, almost reaching to his waist. But most importantly, Yun Hao didn't like the smug look on his face.

Yun Hao then stretched his arms, loading his fists as he slowly approached the stranger. But before he could even take 3 steps, Huang Yi blocked his path.

"Don't, Yun Hao! He is at least a rank higher than you!"

As soon as Yun Hao heard that, he could not help but grit his teeth in distress. But still, his eyes did not leave the stranger. Based on Yun Hao's research, there are 9 known ranks of Cultivators.

Mortal Realm.

Spirit Realm.

Master Realm.

Grandmaster Realm.

Grandmaster Realm was the last rank of Cultivators that were allowed inside the Safe Zones, as those that were stronger were considered too dangerous to live amongst the normal population.

Sovereign Realm.

Great Sovereign Realm.

Celestial Realm.

And finally, God Realm.

There really wasn't much information about those at the top, the only thing that Yun Hao knew about them was that they could destroy cities with just their breaths. Whether or not there was any truth in them, Yun Hao would have to meet one to find out.

Each of the 9 ranks was further separated into 9 levels. Levels 1 to 3 were considered as Early Stage, 4 to 6 was Middle Stage, and 7 to 9 was Pinnacle.

Since Yun Hao just had his meridians awakened and the man in front of him was a rank above him, then he should already be at the Spirit Realm. He doesn't know the difference between their strength, so the only thing that Yun Hao could do was put down his fists and open his mouth.

"Why did you do that?"

"No one gets near my Hannah without my permission," the man said as he placed his phone on one of the chairs, "That goes for every else here, no one touches Hannah besides me!"

"Tough talk for a man who attacks someone off guard!" Huang Yi, who was checking on Yun Hao, stepped forward and got in between the two, "Even worse is you attacked him knowing full well that he just became a Cultivator!"

Seeing Huang Yi in front of him, Yun Hao could not help but be reminded of his ex-girlfriend, Zhang Angela, and the "accident" that took his eye. He was reminded of how much of a fool he was.

Because right here, in front of him, was a woman she barely knew, trying to protect him. Quite a stark contrast from Zhang Angela who even pushed him deliberately so that he would have no choice but to fight and ultimately lose everything he had.

But still, even though this felt nice, he can't have a woman covering for him. Surprisingly, Yun Hao had already felt like he recovered from the hit as he gently pushed Huang Yi to the side before smiling at her.

"Is killing allowed in this restaurant?"

"...No? Of course not," Huang Yi blinked a couple of times from Yun Hao's question, "But the staff usually doesn't get involved until it becomes dange--"

Before Huang Yi could finish her words, Yun Hao suddenly turned around, his feet slightly denting the marbled floor as he rushed towards the stranger with his fist already tightly rolled, threatening to hit the man straight in the face.

"Hmph, pathetic," the man only let out a scoff as he calmly opened his palm to catch Yun Hao's fist… but it never came. Instead, he felt the scenery in front of him shift as Yun Hao's fist made contact with his left cheek, causing his body to fly and roll several meters on the floor and hitting some tables along the way as he truly did not expect for Yun Hao's fist to suddenly come from that direction.

"...What?" The other people that were watching the scene unfold could not help but let out fettered gasps. It was a common occurrence that someone would fight inside the restaurant for whatever reason, but since the one involved was someone who became famous overnight, they truly were expecting for something good to happen… but this? This was truly unexpected.

Even Huang Yi, who was nearest to the two, could not believe what she just saw. Did a baby cultivator that just opened up his meridians able to connect his punch against someone of a higher rank?

"Hmph, pathetic," Yun Hao imitated the stranger's words as he started bouncing his feet on the floor, once again putting up his stance. He would lie if he said that he wasn't a little afraid of the man, but as soon as he heard that killing was not allowed here, he went ahead and had his little revenge.

The man was already offended by him even though he hasn't even met the guy, so there was already a high chance that he would continue to harass Yun Hao outside even without Yun Hao retaliating.

"Seriously?" Yun Hao's attitude completely changed as he playfully waved his hands, "You personally blocked your own vision? Who taught you how to fight, a retard?"

Huang Yi wanted to stop Yun Hao from further enraging the long-haired man, but she decided not to do so as she wanted to see what Yun Hao truly was capable of. She could just step in if the situation becomes dangerous for him, as even though she was still at the Mortal Realm as well, she at least had artifacts she could use to protect herself.

And so, Huang Yi continued to watch as Yun Hao mocked the man, who still seemed to be in shock as he was no longer moving from his spot, his eyes wide awake.

"Wait, wait. Don't tell me the only technique you could do is sucker punch people? Are you from the sucker punch sect? Or are you perhaps from the sucker punch retarded sec--"

"You dare!"

Finally, after a few more of Yun Hao's insults reaching his ears, the man quickly stood up and rushed towards Yun Hao.

Yun Hao swiftly tightened his arms as he watched the man's movements. He became slightly nervous as the man seemed to be leaving crevices on the floor with each of his steps, but still, his eyes did not leave the man for even a single millisecond.

"What is this, a soundboard? Why do you cultivators always say the same thing!? Do you guys have like a default sett--"

"Die!"

"Seriously!?"

The man then leaped almost 4 meters into the air, before raising his leg, threatening to smash Yun Hao's face once again with his feet.

"Dodge it!" Huang Yi could not help but scream as she saw Yun Hao just staring at the man as his foot speared towards him. But Yun Hao, instead of dodging, even jumped into the air, meeting the man's strike head-on.

"Fool!"

A loud crack whispered into the air as soon as Yun Hao's right arm was grazed by the man's foot. The expression on Yun Hao's face, however, did not change as he continued to ascend.

And as soon as his and the man's body met halfway, Yun Hao's fist started to move… straight towards the man's chin.

Another loud crack in the air reverberated into the air as the man violently rotated in the air, spinning almost 3 times before his body splattered into the ground like a wet noodle… it even sounded like one.

"..."

The people that were watching the fight were once again covering the restaurant with silence. The only sound that could be heard was Yun Hao clumsily landing back to the floor.

He then carefully walked towards the man, moving him with his feet to check if he was still conscious-- he didn't want him suddenly surprising him with another attack, after all.

And as soon as he saw that the only thing moving in the man was his chest, he let out a sigh of relief, "Well…

....that shit was basic."