Urban God-level Youth

After several days of travel, Qin Hao found a tavern in a city and rested for a night.

The next day, the journey continued, repeating this pattern. After being away for over ten days, he finally arrived at Su Yun City, the northernmost city of the Southern Continent.

Outside Su Yun City lies the Desolate Plain stretching for billions of miles, crossing which leads to the territory of the Central Continent.

This morning, while Qin Hao was having breakfast in the tavern, the people at the adjacent table began to talk: "Did you hear? The Su Family discovered a large middle-grade Spirit Stone Mine deep within the Desolate Plain a few days ago. They're mining it now, and a large number of Spirit Stones are being brought back daily."

"Recently, someone found the cultivation cave of an ancient expert in the Desolate Plain, which contained many Spirit Stones, elixirs, and weapons. That person has vanished now; no one knows where they're hiding and cultivating."

"Ever since the great change in the world, treasures found inside the Desolate Plain have increased significantly, but the strength of the beasts within has also grown stronger than before. Now, the death rate for Transformation Realm experts entering is several times higher than it used to be."

Qin Hao listened to the surrounding conversations while eating, sometimes picking up useful information from people's discussions.

After a pause, Qin Hao got up, settled the bill, and left. His current attire was very plain; he didn't wear any luxurious clothing since it would attract a lot of attention.

Right now, he looked like an ordinary person, dressed simply. Except for his handsome appearance, there was nothing remarkable about him.

Leaving the tavern, Qin Hao headed towards the north city gate. A few hundred miles beyond it lay the Desolate Plain.

Su Yun City was more bustling than many inland cities, with a massive flow of people due to its proximity to the Desolate Plain, which contained various resources that cultivators needed.

Many people ventured into the Desolate Plain to search for treasures; finding something valuable would ease their cultivation journey.

Qin Hao soon arrived at the north city gate, but people leaving the city were queued, with soldiers conducting checks ahead.

"There seems to have been an assassination attempt within the City Lord's residence yesterday; the whole city is under lockdown, searching for the assassin." A message quickly spread from the front.

"An assassination attempt on the Su Family? Did the assassin escape?"

"It's said they escaped injured, but likely haven't left the city yet. The city gates and transmission array were sealed last night, making escaping impossible."

Soon it was Qin Hao's turn; the soldiers at the gate compared a portrait in their hands and then said, "Go ahead."

Qin Hao left Su Yun City with an indifferent look. Shortly after his departure, the gate search came to an unexpected halt.

"Qin Hao has left Su Yun City!" A message spread within Su Yun City, but where it reached no one knew.

...

Qin Hao would never have thought that this city lockdown was actually meant to find him. If he had disguised himself, perhaps he wouldn't have been detected, but he hadn't considered much about it.

On the road leading to the Desolate Plain, many people traveled together in groups, while lone travelers like Qin Hao were rare.

However, those who dared venture alone into the Desolate Plain were either experts or too weak to have been accepted by any team.

From Qin Hao's appearance, many assumed he was someone who hadn't been taken in by any team, as he dressed plainly and showed no signs of Spiritual Energy.

A red-haired woman approached Qin Hao with her team: "Little brother, would you like to join us? We'll give you one-tenth of what we find on the plain."

The red-haired woman led a team of six, consisting of four women and two men, with her at the forefront.

Qin Hao slightly shook his head: "No need."

The red-haired woman paused, then smiled and said, "In that case, sorry for disturbing you!"

Once Qin Hao walked far off, the others curiously asked, "Wei, why did you invite that person? He looks like an ordinary non-cultivator and would only slow us down if he joined."

"Yes, what use is a non-cultivating wastrel?" scoffed one of the men in the team.

The red-haired woman hesitated then said, "I feel he's not ordinary. His refusal only reinforced my thought. If he were just ordinary, would he refuse our invitation? Yet, he did!"

Upon hearing the red-haired woman's analysis, the team looked towards Qin Hao ahead, wondering if he was a formidable person.

Half an hour later, Qin Hao exited the mountain path to reach the outskirts of the Desolate Plain. Emerging from the mountains, he gazed upon a vast yellow grassland with no end in sight.

The grassland was covered with a kind of dried yellow grass, a peculiar kind that naturally appeared withered in color, though not truly withered.

Seeing this vast seamless plain, Qin Hao experienced a unique feeling, similar to a person standing before the majestic ocean, indescribable.

He deeply inhaled and suddenly accelerated, disappearing from his spot.

He used only his physical speed, which reached an extreme, accompanied by intense sonic booms.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh"

Many people heard the sound and turned only to feel a fierce wind pass by, unable to discern what it was.

"What... what was that?" someone asked, utterly stunned and in awe.

Where Qin Hao sped by, the dried grass tilted aside, revealing a distinct path.

Later, Qin Hao shielded himself with Spiritual Energy, silencing the sonic booms.

Half an hour later, he already traveled thousands of miles, stopping to stretch his muscles after sprinting. He wasn't the least bit tired; instead, he felt like he just finished warming up.

Every cell in his body softly trembled with excitement, feeling an intense sense of freedom like birds flying high and fish leaping wide.

"Roar"

A beastly roar emerged; Qin Hao turned to see a mid-stage Transformation Realm demon leopard several tens of meters away.

Upon spotting the demon leopard, Qin Hao sneered, his figure instantly vanishing from view.

"Bang"

His punch landed on the leopard's head, exploding it instantly, killing the mid-stage Transformation Realm demon leopard.

Qin Hao collected the beast meat; crossing the lengthy Desolate Plain would take at least several months, so having food was necessary.

Gathering the leopard's corpse, Qin Hao continued advancing at full speed, far too fast for the surrounding beasts to catch up.

By nightfall, he had penetrated tens of thousands of miles, with most surrounding beasts now at Extreme Realm levels.

The plain was largely devoid of trees, leaving Qin Hao to rest on the grassy land, staring at the bright moon in the starry sky.