Star Gate

At this moment, in the sky.

Someone else was watching as well. The silver wheel of lunar radiance drifted north and passed Ash Mountain. As furious as the Moon God was over the second generation's actions, she was calm for the moment. Scenes of the situation within Great Li appeared inside the temple. However, they were very intangible and blurry.

"Can you really not gather more details?" the Moon God said softly. "Is that Initial Martial god really that difficult to handle?"

"He's very difficult!" laughed the man with a sword on his back. "These two guys chose to have their battle within Great Li's borders, likely to avoid our eyes. With that guy present in Great Li, whether it is me, Zheng Yu, or even the Red Moon exalted emperor with a lot of influence in our world, none of us will be able to see clearly..."

Great Li was an excellent spot! Even if they exposed some of their trump cards there, likely only the god of Initial Martial would know. The others wouldn't be able to see any specifics, just a vague outline. They could see clearly into other locations, however.

"The old turtle, little pagoda tree, Li Daozong from Battle Heaven, Capsize Sea, redwood, and even the spurge tree of Martial Alliance have set out," said the Moon God.

Six Saints! If Li Hao was thrown into the mix, that was seven Saints!

"There's more than that!" the man laughed. "Take a closer look!"

The Moon God peered more closely at the surroundings, but failed to discover anything new. The man waved his hand and displayed a scene of chaos. There, Lin Hongyu, Hong Yitang, and Panther laid in wait around the outskirts of Ash Mountain.

"I don't know enough about the new dao," the Moon God sighed with emotion. "They nearly got past me! It looks like Li Hao is very much on the alert as well. There's far more than seven Saints in play from his side. He's plumbed the depths of his resources to send out ten!"

The man inclined his head. These three were so mysterious that he almost failed to notice them. One had to say, cultivators of the new dao were too hard to fully grasp once they reached this cultivation level.

The man frowned slightly and looked around some more. "Is Star River not here to watch the show?"

He probed the vicinity for a period of time... and found Star River in the end. The man only briefly drew near, but didn't study it in detail. A book of great dao hover in the air over the city. Any moves he made would be easily discovered under such circumstances.

Since Star River was close to Ash Mountain... it might be ready to take action anytime.

That was certainly interesting!

"Now we're all present and accounted for..." the man laughed. "It looks like everyone's interest is piqued by a battle between two favored geniuses of the new era. It's the first official clash in their blood feud. Ying Hongyue slaughtered Li Hao's entire family and Li Hao executed some of his wives, ruining many of his plans. This is the most fun we're had in the last one hundred thousand years!"

"That's true enough..." said the Moon God. She abruptly snorted, "How dare she come!"

An opulent figure had appeared within the screen. It lifted its head at the sky and pierced through the firmament with eyes as radiant as the moon. The scenes projected on the screen turned indistinct. Her heart itched with burning fury as she looked at the second generation Moon God!

"It's normal for her to be here," laughed the man. "All powerhouses in the world are making their way here. She can sense a thing or two. This fight over the Forbidden Sea may determine the true sovereign of this age!"

"Who do you think will win?"

"It's a fifty-fifty!" laughed the man. "They both have their sources of confidence and are reassured of success. They are also very strong. These two are powerhouses who made their way step by step from a weak state to their present day condition.

"On one side is a very decisive and charismatic person who uses himself as bait. On the other is a young man in the full fettle of life. His potential is unparalleled and he was born to rule over the great dao. It would be very normal if either of the two won!"

The Moon God asked no more. To draw attention from all of Silver Moon world with their battle meant that these two had truly reached the peak of this age.

......

The Great Li king grew ever more nervous! The congregation of multiple Saints brought enormous pressure to bear on him.

In the distance, the Forbidden Sea was also churning. The king didn't know whether Ying Hongyue had noticed it or not. He was very nervous that Ying Hongyue would discover his aims or that the Forbidden Sea would run off!

"Are you still not going to make a move?" The king turned solemnly to Li Hao.

"There's no rush!" smiled the young man.

No rush??The king cursed to himself. This guy wasn't in a rush when he should be in a rush, but was more in a rush than anyone else when he didn't need to be. It was so aggravating!

The look in Li Hao's eyes shifted constantly. After a long while, he coughed, "We can wait a bit longer. We'll take action once it's dark!"

Once it's dark?

There's no difference if it's daytime or nighttime to powerhouses. Must you try to make it more ceremonial and insist on having fun with a night ambush?

What a... droll guy!

......

At the same time, the dao universe.

The river of stars shimmered with scintillating radiance!

The river that'd sunk to the bottom of the universe suddenly transformed into a person and walked out of the depths of the universe. "Dean Zhang!" its voice echoed in all corners, reverberating the great dao.

Moments later, a star broke through the void. There seemed to be a figure on top of it, looking at the river with incredulity and disbelief.

Li Hao?

If Li Hao was here, then who was the Li Hao in Great Li?

"I am going to rip through the void and enter Star River!" Li Hao said impassively. "The book of great dao needs to cover for me!"

The resplendent star did not respond. Neither did Li Hao say anything further. After a long while, the star trembled, as if responding to the young man.

Li Hao smiled faintly; the void in front of the star split open. An ancient city hovered on the other side, a book of great dao over it.

The young man walked through the void and swiftly entered Star River. Everyone in the city greeted him with openmouthed expressions of shock. Zhang An soon arrived on the scene as well, looking at Li Hao with only dense confusion.

Was the one in Great Li... not Li Hao?

But how could that not be Li Hao, given that dense power of great dao and immense presence? If so, who was the Li Hao in their midst?

He... somehow exerted a presence that made them faintly wary.

Li Hao reached out with a hand—a mirror materialized in the air. He looked at it, then said, "Take a trip with me!"

Zhang An frowned slightly.

"The book of great dao needs to cover for me!" Li Hao repeated calmly.

"Go where?" Zhang An's frown deepened.

"You'll know when we get there!" Li Hao was being very presumptive!

Zhang An thought for a moment and nodded. He was about to say something more when Li Hao looked calmly at the rest. "Everyone, this place will be temporarily sealed. No one is permitted to leave!"

"How dare you!"

Li Hao looked at the protestor. "Dean Zhang, can you do that?"

Zhang An thought for a bit and nodded. "Yes!" He turned to the group. "Activate the main city formation. No one is permitted to enter or leave before I return. Whoever dares venture out of the main city will be executed with no exception!"

Eyes widened at his command; there were no more further protests. Zhang An took down the book of great dao and sent a city lord seal into the air.

In his hands, the seal was no less weaker than the book of great dao. A figure appeared over it, as if cracking a whip in his hands. He simply stood there, but reverential respect appeared on everyone's faces!

The supreme!

Some outside gazes that'd been flitting over the city promptly vanished. Whether it was the man with a sword on his back or Zheng Yu, or anything else, they all withdrew their scrutiny!

The shadow of the supreme!

It wouldn't be worthy of much note in someone else's hand, but in the hands of the supreme's grandson, it might bring terrifying power to bear.

Under the protection of the book of great dao, Li Hao and Zhang An vanished together.

......

Great Li was as quiet as before. It awaited nightfall!

All sides were ominously quiet. Underground, two people walked through Silver Moon province. Zhang An extended his senses in all directions. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"If you really are going to Thunderblast... According to what you say, there may be numerous Empyrean Kings inside..."

"That's right! So no one will believe that I'll show up there. Even Senior Zhang doesn't believe it, will anyone else?" Li Hao responded calmly. "It's because no one will believe it, not even Ying Hongyue, that I'm going to show up there! I'm going to fight my way in and kill them all in one sweep!

"Empyrean Kings? So what of Empyrean Kings? They've completely relaxed their guard and think of themselves as invincible. Though they cannot emerge from their city, they are unconcerned because neither can anyone go in. They're just a bunch of cultivators contaminated by Red Moon power who later became Empyrean Kings. They're false Empyrean Kings!

"Even if there's a lot of them, they're completely defenseless at the moment and even fast asleep. Why do I need to fear them? If I can kill them in this battle, I would be chopping off Ying Hongyue's claws, one of the exalted emperor's arms, and one of Ying Hongyue's arms. I'm going to turn him into a homeless dog wandering the streets!"

Zhang An didn't say anything, his heart was still reeling from what he'd just learned.You're really fucking crazy! Where do you get the balls to do all this?!

Li Hao was taking him to Thunderblast, the city that may have been fully occupied by Red Moon powerhouses. There may be numerous Empyrean Kings there.

This guy looked like he was going to do battle in the Forbidden Sea. Even I accepted it. The entire world is waiting to see him and Ying Hongyue duke it out. But... he's not going?

And... is that really not Li Hao?

We all have eyes. Someone would've long identified it if that Li Hao was a fake. Of course, he's in Great Li right now so we can't see him clearly, but... as blurry as the images may be, his strength is no lie.

"Can Dean Zhang fight Empyrean Kings?" Li Hao suddenly asked.

"False Empyrean Kings... yes. Real ones, no."

"That's good enough."

"I didn't say I'm participating in battle!" Zhang An couldn't help but retort.Did you just make the decision for me? We're not on the same team!

"Then forget it!" Li Hao was unfazed.

"......" Zhang An didn't know what to say.

"We're here!" Li Hao said with a twinkle in his eye.