After recognizing Shi Hao, Li Hao felt immensely puzzled. He knew a bit about Shi Hao's situation, and in his view, they were quite alike.
The only thing he couldn't wrap his mind around was how on earth Shi Hao had managed to kill a level 95 demigod. That truly defied logic.
"What do you mean by that?"
Seeing Li Hao still just as confused as he had been himself before, Shi Hao sighed and said:
"Think carefully. Since we went into hiding, what has the Sun and Moon Divine Hall gained? The two major sects sealed off, removing two powerful rivals from the competition for resources. Two supreme prodigies who ruined themselves, wasting away gradually.
And what did they lose? Five demigods, but four of them were weak and elderly. The exception was the Sun Master, who died — but I suspect there was internal strife among them. Do you know who the current Sun Master is?"
"Liu Ru Yan?" Li Hao replied.
Shi Hao nodded, then said:
"This is the first time in ten thousand years that a master of the hall isn't from the Ri Yue family."
Li Hao furrowed his brows, his eyes flashing with understanding. Though he was in a ruinous state now, it didn't mean he was a fool.
He sensed that things were far from ordinary. It was clear that he had been unknowingly dragged into this and manipulated.
Thinking this, his expression turned extremely unpleasant. A terrible flame of anger ignited within him, his eyes filled with bloodshot lines. He roared:
"Sun and Moon Divine Hall! You all deserve to die!"
A hint of tears appeared at the corners of his eyes. He thought to himself:
"My life was clearly filled with happiness. I had a family, power, and a strong background. Why? Why did those bastards use me, play me for years without me realizing it?
Talk of hunting soul rings was nonsense — this was all a trap to wipe out the two top sects and root out freeloaders."
Suddenly, he looked over at Shi Hao. Clearly, the two were in the same boat, but the look on the other's face wasn't one of ruin at all.
Li Hao wasn't slow-witted. He immediately guessed part of Shi Hao's intentions in coming here. He asked:
"Shi Hao, you came here with some confidence in taking revenge, didn't you?"
Shi Hao smirked at that and said:
"This isn't just any revenge. It's not only the current generation of the Sun and Moon Divine Hall — I'm willing to bet even the generation of the gods themselves won't last much longer."
Li Hao was stunned. He understood what a god was.
Yet, the path to godhood was so unclear that no one had achieved it in the past ten thousand years.
"Do you have a way to deal with gods?"
"It's not me, but there's people who can. Who those people are, you don't need to know. Just know they'll help us seek revenge because we share the same goal."
Li Hao's eyes flickered with light. He didn't believe someone would do this out of kindness — there was simply too much danger involved.
But if they had the same target, that was easier to accept. After all, the enemy of his enemy was his friend, at least for now.
Shi Hao patted Li Hao on the shoulder, his eyes filled with determination, and said:
"So don't keep wasting away. We must focus on cultivating, rise in level, and make sure they never lift their heads again."
Li Hao clenched his fists, his eyes no longer filled with despair as they had been moments before.
Now, there was no defeated Li Hao — only the prodigy of a generation, the Thunder Hammer demigod.
"Alright, I was defeated before because I couldn't see any chance at all. Now that there's a chance, why would I have any reason to stay down?" Li Hao said solemnly.
His downfall wasn't just for himself but also for his son.
Although he wasn't the most attentive father, he at least ensured his son's safety, and it would be difficult for anyone to take advantage of his son.
Li Hao knew well how terrifying the strength of the Sun and Moon Divine Hall was.
Charging at them head-on was certain death. He wasn't afraid to die, but he feared that if he died, his son would be left all alone.
He may not look like much, but in reality, he wanted nothing more than for his son to live a life free of tragedy.
Shi Hao had been the same. With two children to care for, he couldn't afford to throw his life away recklessly.
Who would've thought that the heavens would bless him with two monstrous sons, making revenge within reach?
The reason he could be so confident, even without having awakened his martial soul, was because these two monsters didn't even need a martial soul to be the strongest beings in any world.
"Oh, that's right. You're probably wasting away because you have a young child, aren't you?" Shi Hao said.
Li Hao nodded and replied,
"Little San is my son."
"I don't need to meet him in person, but could I at least take a look at his situation?" Shi Hao asked.
"After all, with additional support, our revenge would have a better chance of success."
Li Hao nodded and led Shi Hao to see his son.
Since they shared the same goal, a bit of trust could make cooperation easier.
They arrived to find Li San playing seriously with flowers and plants. Shi Hao raised an eyebrow, thinking:
"This is strange. Why does he remind me of those two old monsters at home?"
"Are you sure what he's doing is typical for a three-year-old?" he asked.
Though Shi Hao didn't know exactly what use the flowers and plants had, he was certain they weren't ordinary toys.
Li Hao wasn't slow, he'd just been too consumed by sorrow to notice. Now, focusing on it, a rather wild thought emerged in his mind.
"What do you mean?"
"What else could it mean? Could he be some kind of master or powerful soul reborn? If that's the case, we're quite fortunate."
"Fortunate? If that's true, I'll stomp him out for daring to take over my son's body." Li Hao growled, on the verge of exploding.
He'd already lost his wife, if he lost his son too, he'd go straight to the Sun and Moon Divine Hall for a life-or-death battle.
Seeing Li Hao's reaction, Shi Hao laughed and said:
"Think of it differently. Why not consider that the heavens, feeling pity for our fates, allowed a great master to be reborn as your son? I'm certain he didn't do it on purpose but rather was a powerful soul given a rare chance to live on at the end of his life."
Hearing this, Li Hao's eyes brightened, and he almost burst out laughing. He thought to himself:
"Yes, exactly! If that's the case, it's fantastic. If I can hold on for about thirty years, Little San will be strong enough to fight on the front lines. This is truly a blessing from the heavens meant to comfort me."