Star Gate

"Thank you for your pointers, Senior Sword Tree!" Li Hao beamed radiantly. Although he was rather weak at the moment, his spirits were very high. "The western cliff is indeed worthy of its reputation as a sacred land of sword dao!"

"......" The sword tree felt that the young man was mocking him!Damn it!

However, Li Hao was quite sincere.I mean it! I don't know how long I would've spent searching for the Sword Sovereign's cultivation spot. The sword intent wasn't that noticeable and the city isn't small. It wouldn't have been easy to find.

You're such a good person! I mean, good tree!

He'd benefitted handsomely from this trip. The Sword Sovereign's sword intent was secondary, most important of all was that he'd gained a deeper understanding of the power of time. He was much more adept with it after employing it nonstop for seven days.

The old saying was right, people needed to walk out of their homes to experience more of the world. Only then would they come to new understanding and gains.

"But... I need to apologize for comprehending and gaining so much that I forgot about the cliff... That's why it shattered..."

The sword tree took shape as an illusory woman and said coldly, "It is of no matter! It is a testament to your skill that you could destroy it!"

In its eyes, Li Hao's every word and gesture was mockery and a taunting demonstration of his strength! The tree, stone, and seal had wanted to discuss potential next steps, but now they were no longer interested.

"Since you've had your own gains, it looks like you don't need any help from me. You have so much potential that you could attain enlightenment from just a cliff, what do you need others for?"

There was no shortage of jeering in her tone.Aren't you the favored son of heaven? You can learn something from even a random cliff face. You don't need anyone else!

"Has the senior... misunderstood something?" Li Hao smiled.

"There's nothing to misunderstand!"

"I really have gained some new understanding..."

"That's great, that's wonderful, congratulations!" sneered the sword tree. "The Sword Sovereign would be delighted by a new heir if he knew! He would be so gratified that there is someone who can glean understandings from the cliff!"

"......" Why wasn't this woman—female tree making any sense?

You don't ask what kind of knowledge I've gained, but you're certain that I haven't learned anything. You're doing all of this on purpose!

He was gaining a new appreciation for Lin Hongyu. She would never do something like this. She wouldn't make trouble for no reason or talk back for talking back's sake.

Li Hao said nothing more, but summoned Stellaris with a soft laugh. He waved the sword forward—actions spoke louder than words! There was no need to explain himself. All would be revealed by his move!

The wind and clouds changed color when he slashed with his sword! All of Sword City seemed to tremble. The stone and seal hidden in the shadows shuddered, materializing at the same time. The sword tree shook violently!

All three tattered existences manifested at the same time to withstand the attack from the sword intent.

Bam!

Li Hao had just wanted to prove his words, but when he saw two more things pop up out of nowhere, he increased the amount of force he was bringing to bear. Sword intent wafted out as pure sword dao. The qi suppressed the entire world with a loud boom!

One stone, seal, and tree flew backward with incredulity and shock.

"The sword intent of the Eternal Sword!" shrilled the tree. This was the true sword intent! But this wasn't possible!

No matter how similar the technique, capable the cultivator, or high potential, no one could comprehend the method the same way as the Sword Sovereign had. While others may not be able to determine the difference, the sword tree was all too familiar with the sword intent since it'd kept the Sword Sovereign company for a very long period of time.

One could imitate or modify it, but no one could bring the same unique sword intent to bear as the Sword Sovereign could!

But in this moment, the sword tree felt the sheer pureness of the blow! This was exactly the same thing!

Not only that, but the city shook as well. It seemed to be very excited.

Shocked gasps also came from the stone and seal. This was the sword intent of the Eternal Sword! They were sensing that familiar sword intent again after one hundred thousand years! How was this possible??

The Sword Sovereign?

No, he'd left Silver Moon world!

So who was this person?!

Even though shame of the Li family, Li Daoheng, was a sword dao powerhouse, his sword intent wouldn't be the same as that of the Eternal Sword. That wouldn't change no matter how strong his sword intent was!

Was this person the reincarnation of the Sword Sovereign?

That was equally impossible!

The Sword Sovereign was peerless and unrivaled. Outsiders may not be aware, but the three knew that he might have resolved the issue of not being able to fight for extended periods of time. He may have been on par with the supreme one hundred thousand years ago.

But those were just their speculations since no one had truly fought the Sword Sovereign then. However, he would neither die nor reincarnate. If he did reincarnate, he would not come to Silver Moon world. Therefore, this person was not the reincarnated Sword Sovereign!

The three powerhouses were immensely shocked. Li Hao also swiftly retracted his sword and looked at them with surprise.

A tree, a stone, and a seal.

The seal was probably the city lord seal... but it was very damaged.

The stone... Li Hao peered at it. It looked... a bit... a bit special. What kind of stone was that? A paperweight? A whetstone?

Marks from sword intent crisscrossed it. Actually, sword intent marked all three of them. The entire city seemed to be an ocean of swords as everyone walked the path of sword dao!

These three were very strong. Although they were very battered, they might all be Saints. It was terrifying that they were able to maintain such battle strength given their weak condition. As expected, anything to do with an exalted emperor was a force to be reckoned with.

While Li Hao was surprised, the three that faced him were far more than that. They were disbelieving and even a bit fanatic.

"How do you know the Eternal Sword technique?!" shrieked the tree.

"This is impossible!'

"Who are you??"

"Have you met the Sword Sovereign before?"

"......"

They fired off a string of questions that Li Hao didn't answer. He quietly sensed something, the look in his eyes dancing. Sword City... had shook just now.

The entire city trembled when sword intent exploded. What did that mean?

After thinking it over for a while, he looked at the agitated survivors. "I told you that I had comprehended something from the cliff, but you guys didn't believe me. Therefore, I had to prove it to you. Do you believe me now?"

"That's still impossible!" protested the stone in a muffled voice. "Absolutely impossible! There's nothing at the cliff! Even if there is, you can't possibly comprehend a complete stroke from it! Who... who are you? Are... are you..."

"Am I who?" Li Hao smiled.

"The Sword Sovereign's replica??"

That was the only possibility. There was no helping it; the Sword Sovereign would never reincarnate, so this had to be his replica!

But... that was also impossible!

"Did you really comprehend the Eternal Sword intent from the cliff?" The sword tree was also skeptical. "But even so, you would understand your version of it, not recreate the original. There would still be some differences, don't lie to us thinking we don't understand!"

Who was he trying to fool?

"I never said that this was the sword intent of the Eternal Sword," Li Hao laughed. "I simply demonstrated what I comprehended. It's your business if you guys think it's the same, no?"

"......" They had no answer to that. Still, they couldn't understand the situation at hand. It shouldn't be happening. No matter how strong one's potential was, one shouldn't be able to exactly replicate the Sword Sovereign's intent!

"Sword Tree, is he the Sword Sovereign's replica?" transmitted the stone.

"Impossible," the seal interrupted. "How about... the reincarnation of Stellaris?"

"That's absolute bullshit!"

"Stellaris?? Reincarnate?? You're crazy!"

"Then you guys tell me how he did it!"

"I don't know."

"......" The three were highly confused.

"It's also possible that he captured the collection of sword intent on the cliff," transmitted the calmer sword tree. "He... he wields Stellaris and became one with that ray of sword intent..."

"But that's just not possible! How can anyone collect that bit of sword intent on the cliff? It was only seven days! He wouldn't be able to accomplish that in seven hundred years, much less sevendays!"

The three couldn't make sense of the situation and they struggled with a complicated mix of emotions. But no matter what, the young man had deployed the real Eternal Sword. What they'd discussed before might have to be modified.

Li Hao remained relaxed and carefree. How interesting! These three seemed to know a lot! But that wasn't important. What was important was that if they were able to recover to prime condition, they would be peak Saint at least, correct?

Perhaps even Empyrean King?

Empyrean Kings of this age!

If he could take them out with him, that would be three premier personages under his banner! They'd served by the side of an exalted emperor and comprehended endless sword intent. Their offensive power must be very strong. In contrast, there didn't seem much to Zhang An, the grandson of the supreme.

These three might not be weaker than Zhang An when they recovered to their original condition. Zhang An seemed so pitiful in comparison!

He was the same era as the Human King, an elite of the human race, and the grandson of the supreme. How was his demonstrated level his only strength? It was unfathomable! He should at least be an Empyrean King, no?

But upon thinking of the book of dao and the motley array of great daos contained within its pages, perhaps this Dean Zhang wasn't as indifferent as he appeared to be. Perhaps he also nursed great ambition?

He'd incorporated the supreme's will, the Human King's will, the Exalted Blood Emperor's will, and countless powerhouses' wills into his book of great dao. Did he wish to soar to the heavens with one step?

Who knew?

The book of great dao seemed ordinary at the moment, but there was great potential to it. The prerequisite was that Zhang An was able to integrate all of them together. If they stayed separate, all he would be able to do was kill some weaker Empyrean Kings.

"Would the three seniors like to chat?" Li Hao smiled when his thoughts traveled here. "Or perhaps you can take me to where the Sword Sovereign truly trained? I can reproduce the Eternal Sword! Now that the Sword Sovereign is gone, a bunch of petty thieves are besmirching his name. Why don't you let me comprehend more of his sword intent so I can cut down my enemies and right the sovereign's name!"