Star Gate

"Why do humans scheme so much?" The stone's voice was still muffled. "They're already so strong, why do they have to plan and plot against others?"

"Because we're still not strong enough!" Li Hao laughed.

"Eh?"

"Powerhouses don't scheme, they're not the ones who need to cook up plots!" the young man continued laughing. "Why does Li Daoheng keep coming up with plan after plan? It's because he's not strong enough!

"People like the Sword Sovereign or Human King aren't bothered with any of that! They'll cut through all conspiracies with one stroke! If Red Moon wants to fight, then we will start the war first and exterminate them all in the cosmos outside. That is to be a true powerhouse.

"Those who are a tier down, such as Li Daoheng and others, do not have the ability to do so. Their strength isn't first rate and they are unable to stand against powerful enemies. How should they proceed forward if they do not scheme against their opponents?

"Take me, for instance. If I had the strength that the Sword Sovereign and others wielded, I wouldn't care about any plots or plans at all. I'd run them all through with one stroke and be done with it!" Li Hao chuckled softly. "Why would I need to devote so much effort to guessing my enemy's thoughts? That's very tiring, y'know.

"Powerhouses also undertake the same actions when they are weak, but can't be bothered to do so when they grow strong enough. It's such a drain on time, effort, and energy. It's much easier to smash through everything with one blow!"

"So do you mean that... if you're powerful enough, you don't need to care about any of this?" asked the seal.

"Of course!"

"Then why do powerhouses fall to schemes by the weak?" retorted the seal. "They are so strong and knew how to plot against others when they themselves were weak, so why are they tricked when they grow stronger?"

"......" Li Hao blinked and paused for a long moment. That... made sense!

"It's probably because the strong aren't strong enough," he laughed ruefully. "Not to mention, we are born of anxiety and woes, but die of happiness and contentment. They think they are strong enough, so they no longer care. That is why some people fall for traps!

"You guys have experienced much, so you know just as well that troubled times produce heroes.

"Why? Because people will think of ways to save themselves or improve their situations when danger lurks around them. And why are such characters hard to come by in times of peace? It's because we are content with our lot!"

The trio could just barely accept this response.

"I'll take you to the Sword Sovereign's residence," the sword tree said with a sigh.

"Do you not suspect me anymore?"

"Is there a need to?" the tree responded ruefully. "It's just like you say, if you and Li Daoheng are working together, then do the three of us... have any hope of fighting back? We are not the Sword Sovereign—he can take on ten at once. Perhaps you're correct, that we need to take a gamble. If we win, then it'll be an enormous payoff for a very small wager!"

"That's more like it!" Li Hao grinned radiantly. "But..." He turned solemn again. "We likely have a tough battle ahead of us if we encounter Li Daoheng's sword! I'm more worried about potentially meeting him here... Although I've trapped him in the dao universe because the world does not tolerate his presence, if he's somehow able to walk out and enter the seal... I'll really be in trouble!"

Strength was not limited in this place. Otherwise, the exalted emperor would've died a long time ago!

"You do not need to worry." The sword tree seemed to regain some confidence. "He could easily come and go before, but a woman came by not too long ago and removed the station through which he enters Sword City. He probably can't enter that easily anymore, so he might have to undergo the same hassle you did!"

Li Hao blinked, then roared with laughter. He'd forgotten about this detail! The primary body of the moon! That idiot queen had taken the whole thing!

"So that guy can freely come and go from that half of the moon?" The young man suddenly snapped to seriousness after letting loose with laughter for a while.

"That's right!"

Li Hao breathed out.Your Majesty the queen... you seem to be safe, but you're actually in more danger than anyone else!

Li Daoheng hadn't revealed any hint of his intentions last time.Perhaps he wants to utilize the queen's dao meridians to enter my corporeal dao universe... That guy is full of bad ideas!

It should've occurred to me, but my thoughts then were that the moon might not serve the same sort of function after the queen took it out of Sword City.

It looked like he'd been careless, but this was also a good thing. Li Daoheng was scheming against the queen, yet lost his base inside the seal for it.

Li Hao couldn't help but snicker again. That stupid queen had accidentally helped him again!

As the saying went, the idiot teammate of an enemy was a god-tier teammate for himself. The queen was wonderful!

Maybe I should be nicer to her... Nah, she might be moved if I'm too nice and decide to join my side. That will be the start of the end for me.

Please don't ever think of joining forces with me... that's such a scary thought!

......

Li Hao walked forward with the three battered survivors of Sword City; his thoughts kept churning furiously.

This visit to the ancient city had cast light on many matters; there were almost no secrets left in Silver Moon world to the young man. Of course, there were a few small details that he'd yet to sort through, but they didn't impact the bigger picture.

Overall speaking, the sealed exalted emperor possessed the fewest contingencies and plots, but he was the strongest. After all, his presence here was abrupt.

He hadn't come with that many preparations because he'd planned on finishing his conquest in one move. There'd been five or more exalted emperors against two, but the outcome still didn't seem to be in his favor. His comrades might've all died and New Martial the victor outside the Star Gate.

If Red Moon had won, they should've charged in a long time ago and taken the fight to the New Martial main world. Only with a New Martial victory and the Sword Sovereign being required on the frontlines would the man be continuously absent.

And as usual, these were all just Li Hao's speculations. The war outside might have ended a long time ago. A concerning possibility was if battle was still ongoing outside, and most frightening of all was if it was still occurring outside the Star Gate!

They say that time flows differently in the chaos, what if it's been one hundred thousand years here and only a few days out there? If those exalted emperors are still beating each other up... and we rush out... we'll be in deep shit among a bunch of brawling exalted emperors!

Li Hao shook his head, wanting to laugh at himself. Look at him worrying about the sky falling in! There were plenty of internal Silver Moon troubles to take care of, but he was thinking of the outside world.

"What is happening to you?" The woman that the sword tree had taken shape as looked at Li Hao, perplexed. Why was the young man laughing at such a dangerous time? Was he a lunatic and not worried at all?

"There must be a soul within that sword!" it said solemnly. "We've fought it for many years and, just as you say, it only grows stronger while we grow weaker. It possesses the strength of an Empyrean King without anyone wielding it. It may even be stronger than that!

"If it's having us temper it like you say, then it's purposefully letting us attack it. It'll be stronger than it appears! A weapon with a soul can be treated as a legitimate cultivator! You should've seen the Black Tortoise Shield of the Wangs before, that is a Saint-level treasure!

"If it was Saint level, do you think this sword is Empyrean King or half-step emperor level?"

A weapon without a soul and no master was very weak. Even an Empyrean King-level or emperor-level weapon, such as the Exalted Blood Emperor's blade, was just an inanimate object in the absence of a master or a weapon soul. It would be very strong with someone wielding it, but only passable if not.

An Empyrean King should stand a chance of seizing it!

But if there was a weapon soul within, such as a fully formed one like the old turtle, then an Empyrean King-level weapon would fully possess the strength of an Empyrean King. The same went for an emperor-level weapon, but it might be a bit weaker than human peers.

At the same time, there was no difficulty for an Empyrean King to defeat a Saint!

When a weapon soul was involved, the weapon could be treated as a real cultivator. Without one involved, then it was an inanimate object that needed a master to wield it.

Li Hao nodded. That was true, if there was only a weapon here... that would mean Li Daoheng was very confident that no one would be able to take it. For him to be that confident... the sword would have to be at the Empyrean King level at least, if not much higher. Mid, late, or even peak Empyrean King were all possible.

Li Hao was approximately third level Fused Dao at the moment. He'd opened 108 dao meridians and completed three major circulations. That placed him around late to peak Saint. As a cultivator of the new dao and having many tricks up his sleeves, it was possible for him to face a false Empyrean King.

Therefore, he'd been able to dispatch the previous Empyrean Kings in single combat. Such was Li Hao's battle strength—initial Empyrean King.

His ability to take on those of a higher cultivation level wasn't all that remarkable. Compared to some perverse geniuses, Li Hao was downright... ordinary. It was said that the Human King could challenge those several levels higher than him and even kill them.

Li Hao rarely challenged those stronger. When he'd been late and peak Saint , he'd only pitted himself against a few initial Empyrean Kings.

This was in line with his teacher's sayings—so long as my cultivation level is high enough, then there is no need for me to face others stronger than me. So long as my plans are sound, my opponents are always those of the same level or even lower!

I'll be able to crush them with my cultivation level!

Thus, Li Hao's battles had always been smooth, like clockwork. His most dangerous endeavor was when he fought Saints at Boundless. He'd been a Sun and Moon then and there'd been no plans he could make.

Today, his opponent was at least an initial Empyrean King. However, he had another trump card to play—a blow that contained the true sword intent of the Eternal Sword!

As for whether or not his blow could dispatch the other sword... that was difficult to say.

"Where did the Sword Sovereign live?" the young man asked.

The sword tree looked ahead, at a pile of disheveled rubble. "The Sword Sovereign's residence is within the formation! It's hidden because too many people wanted to visit him and he didn't want to be disturbed. The residence is connected to the true core of Sword City..."

"So the city is the actual Stellaris?"

"I don't know." The sword tree shook its head; it wasn't keeping information away from the young man. "The Sword Sovereign hasn't used the sword in a long time. There weren't that many fights in late New Martial and he didn't use swords on a day-to-day basis. Even if he did, he used the one in your hand!

"But he mostly used them to teach juniors or give pointers. Rarely did he employ a sword against an enemy. Therefore, I really have no answer for you."

Li Hao inclined his head. The Sword Sovereign no longer used a sword because at his level, the sword would become a restrain instead. Everything could be the sword!

All the same, the young man judged that Sword City was very likely to be the real Stellaris.

The three peculiar life forms observed Li Hao while he was lost in thought. They were very curious about him.