Star Gate

Up in the sky, the moon that the Moon God occupied trembled slightly. The man with a sword on his back shook his head with a sigh. They'd really fallen into a pothole now!

The second generation had learned from who-knew-where the art of taking on another identity.Since the Moon God's reputation is in tatters, I'll just throw it away.Now that she was the Sky God, the real Moon God would have a terrible time of things.

If there came a day in which the Sky God's reputation was ruined, then she would change to another identity.

......

While many reeled with shock, those such as Ying Hongyue and Zheng Yu broke into silent laughter. After the queen's nonsense, who would believe the Moon God when she stopped forward to say that she was the real Moon God?

The prestige of the divine spirits would only continue to decrease!

......

Li Hao did nothing in the days to come. Nothing at all. He didn't pay attention to anyone and silently waited in Silver City.

Zheng Yu watched him for only a day; Galewind vanished on the second day. A Li Hao in this kind of state would not purposefully damage the seal. Such was the man's conclusion, so there was no point in continuing to keep an eye on Li Hao!

After three days, Li Hao abruptly opened his eyes. He looked into the distance, at where a shadow flashed by. He didn't chase after it.

The young man quickly landed on top of dilapidated ruins. There, a large seal and a mallet rested on the ground.

"Is it real or fake?" Hong Yitang transmitted with a frown. How would someone like Ying Hongyue hand over the items so easily? It was hard to believe!

"They're real!" Li Hao nodded and transmitted back, "He doesn't need these at present. It's best if he can send me into the seal. If not, these two items aren't that easy to keep ahold of either, particularly the mallet of the Hongs! Some changes might occur once the mallet is made part of Stellaris. He might even be able to seize Stellaris for his own!"

"I feel so exhausted for you when I watch you guys scheme and plot against each other!" Hong Yitang's head ached.

"There is unending happiness in scheming against someone!" laughed Li Hao. "Wouldn't life be boring if everyone was an idiot? It's fascinating to glean the truth from hints and clues. I liked to study old case files in the past and would often come to some unexpected results. It's a very interesting pastime.

"Martial uncle can go back for now. We're temporarily finished here after Zheng Yu's taken a look. There's not much use in following me around. We just needed to set Zheng Yu at ease."

Damn, so you were just using me, huh? You brought me along when you visited the god of Initial Martial and when you called upon Zheng Yu. You did all that just to put everyone at ease?

"You..."

"Martial uncle said so yourself—you're not afraid. In that case, I brought the martial uncle around to meet the various seniors, so that they would know that I, Li Hao, am back!"

"This rather sounds like I just met the parents..." Hong Yitang burst out laughing.

Li Hao grinned as well. That did sound like it! Meanwhile, Panther rolled its eyes.

If you two are quite done here...

......

Great Li.

Li Hao had come again, just him. Not even Panther followed by his side.

The Great Li king greeted the young man's arrival with deep resignation. So Li Hao really had come alone? What about the soldiers that he'd spoken of? The group of Saints? They were marching against someone who may have possibly been the god of Initial Martial, as well as whatever Ying Hongyue had plotted. This was ridiculous.If it's just you and me, who the hell can we fight?

We're just going to die!

"Li Hao!" The king couldn't help himself. Was he really here alone?

"Don't fret!" Li Hao smiled radiantly. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!"

Who's worried about you?? I'm worried about myself! Aren't we just going to our deaths like this?

"Ai!" The king had a very dim look of their future. "Perhaps this king should not have had such high hopes for you!"

"Are you trying to provoke me into greater effort?" Li Hao chuckled.

"......"Who's trying to do that? I just want to live!

The king was both resigned and helpless.Forget it, let's just stake everything on a gamble. If you aren't afraid of death, why should I be afraid?

"Are we going in just like this?"

"Of course not, we need to exercise caution and pull the wool over everyone's eyes if possible. Otherwise, Ying Hongyue might be the first to do something, to say nothing of anyone else. We'll be in trouble then!"

Alright!

The Great Li king also thought it better to keep a lower profile. Li Hao was strong enough among their trio, but he and Jiang Li did not measure up to par. They were only seventh level Sun and Moon and would be beaten to death if they encountered a premier existence.

The three of them quickly shot through the air. When they were gone, a shadow appeared within the temple. It looked curiously at the departing figures, its eyes resting a bit more on Li Hao. Why did he feel that this Li Hao was different from the Li Hao that he'd seen the first time?

It was very strange!

Of course, he didn't know enough about the new dao. Perhaps Li Hao had broken through again—his strength certainly showed significant improvement. He was very formidable and would be close to the strength of that corpse, if he still didn't rival it.

And with Jiang Li's bones of Initial Martial and the Great Li king's boxing gloves of the Tyrant Sovereign, they stood a good chance of success.

However, it was just a chance!

The god glanced in Li Hao's direction, still finding something to be uncoordinated. Had something gone wrong with the young man's cultivation to cause this disharmony?

......

As Li Hao left with his helpers.

The Forbidden Sea.

Ying Hongyue's face flickered through a variety of expressions when he suddenly opened his eyes with a cold snort.As expected, here you are! I knew that you wouldn't give up so easily!Given how smart Li Hao was, Ying Hongyue knew that the little bastard would be back with designs on himself and the Forbidden Sea!

The mallet of the Hongs had been given away to great effect!

Ying Hongyue's body trembled as he incorporated himself into the Forbidden Sea. Deep within its depths, a jade white skeleton opened its eyes. There was a slightly lost look in the depths of its eye sockets.

"What a pity that I'm missing a few bones... it's not fully complete," Ying Hongyue said softly. "But Li Hao may deliver them to me!"

He frowned slightly. How many people were coming with Li Hao? It would be difficult to handle them if too many came.

Figures appeared around him—almost all of them Saints.

"Disperse around the Forbidden Sea, don't gather here!" Ying Hongyue frowned slightly.

"But if they come... we might not be able to reinforce you in time..."

"That's fine! I'll need a bit of time to obtain the full skeleton. Will Li Hao show his face if we assemble here en masse? Go on, spread out!"

The figures swiftly vanished on the spot, leaving behind a Ying Hongyue that remained slightly uneasy. He looked at the skeleton again. What a pity that it was incomplete. Perhaps it would be whole after this encounter. The owner of the skeleton must've been frightful in life and perhaps rivaling a half step emperor!

If the bones were fully assembled... he might have a chance to stand against a half step emperor. Only then would he truly possess the foundation of holding his own against everything.

"Li Hao..." Ying Hongyue murmured.Your plots may be something, but don't underestimate me either. You've been doing all the winning these days. It's my turn now. Once I win, it won't just be a tiny victory!

......

At the same time.

Li Hao paused when he neared the source of the Forbidden Sea. His personal domain came down over the vicinity and he frowned slightly. "Something seems to be wrong... there's no movement in the Forbidden Sea. Perhaps they're planning something. We should get more people here and wait a while. Summon all of the New Martial Saints!"

The Great Li king heaved a sigh of relief.Damn, you're finally afraid too, huh?? I was worried that you're a complete daredevil who's going to throw himself straight in. You scared the crap out of me!

Messages were transmitted in a steady string and the three settled down to wait. The world could tolerate Saints again, so it wasn't long before multiple Saint presences shook the air.

The king was overjoyed; there was more than one. Li Hao was being serious this time!

......

Although it seemed like everything was conducted with utmost secrecy, the movement of Saints immediately drew attention since a spotlight was basically shining on Li Hao's Saints at all times.

Galewind.

Zheng Yu laughed and looked at the Celestial Sword Immortal. "It looks like Ying Hongyue will find it difficult to attain his goal of refining the Forbidden Sea! Li Hao has just emerged from seclusion with a tremendous gain in strength. He's on par with regular Empyrean Kings now!

"Well, there's a good chance he's that strong, but he'll be a difficult opponent all the same! Added to that several New Martial Saints... we're in for a good show!"

"Milord, should we interfere?" asked a Saint standing next to him.

Zheng Yu thought it over and laughed again. "Bring Galewind closer, but not too close. We'll adjust our position based on the situation at hand. Everything is taking place within Great Li. Trouble might develop if we're too close!"

The group sank into deep thought and didn't say anything.

"He can rival an Empyrean King?" the Celestial Sword Immortal suddenly asked.

"It's possible!" Zheng Yu raised an eyebrow. "Don't underestimate the favored son of heaven in any age. Why would I have him fixed in my sights if this wasn't the case? It's because people like him improve too quickly. Li Hao also has a meticulous mind. He quickly determined that Ying Hongyue is refining the Forbidden Sea.

"If he doesn't stop Ying Hongyue now, the latter may truly be on par with an Empyrean King once he has the Forbidden Sea. He'll be the only Empyrean King who can walk through the world, so this is the best time for Li Hao to make a move!"

"Does the lord know what he was doing?" asked the Celestial Sword Immortal after a moment of silence.

"I guessed a thing or two since I'm well aware of what Li Hao has been doing over the past couple of days!" Zheng Yu laughed. "This guy won't undertake useless action. He's visited Great Li a few times recently to form a plan against Ying Hongyue, no?"

"What does the lord have in mind?" The Celestial Sword Immortal was puzzled. "Shouldn't we be allying with Ying Hongyue to eliminate Li Hao?"

"There's no need for that!" Zheng Yu sipped from a cup of tea. "Just watch the show!" He tilted his head back to the sky. "I'm not the only one, everyone's watching at the moment! They all want to see what Ying Hongyue is capable of. This is his chance and only opportunity to wrench his fortunes around! It'd be nice to see all of his trump cards!"

The Celestial Sword Immortal said no more. Everyone was happy to see a clash between Li Hao and Ying Hongyue. In this age, the only two sovereigns were Li Hao and Ying Hongyue. People like the Great Li king didn't register at all.

There may be an official clash today! Would it be Li Hao that pulled out ahead or Ying Hongyue's craftiness that won?