Star Gate

Countless people looked at Li Hao; Zheng Yu and his group goggled at the young man. What nonsense was Li Hao getting up to now?

A transparent river ran through the universe!

"I have a past that I shall never forget!" Li Hao shouted.

Rumble!

A translucent figure stepped out of the river. Time reversed, the world overturned, and the skies shifted color. An illusory Li Hao walked over the river.

Li Hao shouted, letting loose with the power of time!

His illusory figure immediately closed the distance. A longsword materialized as Li Hao grunted, "I carry my past self with the Firmament Sword and bring it to my present. There is no past, there is no future!"

BOOM!

The Firmament Sword melded into the void, reaching out to the illusory shadow. As it walked toward Li Hao, both Zheng Yu and the man with the sword on his back widened their eyes for a good look.

Bam!

The dao universe shook and changed. A thunderous river reverberated throughout the world. It appeared in everyone's eyes, running from past to present!

The illusory figure resolved itself to truly be Li Hao. There were two Li Haos present, connected by the Firmament Sword. They approached each other and became one, spontaneously bolstering the young man's presence by a very noticeable amount!

Zheng Yu's expression changed drastically! What was this now?? Li Hao had suddenly set foot into fifth level Fused Dao from fourth level!

"I welcome my future self through the river of chaos! The future... will meld with my present!" Li Hao suddenly seemed to leap out of the world.

The long river ran through the end of the world, where a formidable figure awaited. Though it was separated by space and time, its unparalleled dominance was clear to see. It padded over from the edge of the world.

It was another Li Hao!

There were a few more aged and weathered hints to this one and his footsteps seemed a bit unsteady, but his presence was overwhelming!

A star was suddenly visible in the depths of the dao universe. It was both curious and confused as it flew out. The world trembled when the star appeared; everything quieted for a second.

Great Li in the north.

The god of Initial Martial blinked as he stared at the star flickering in and out of sight. His jaw dropped before a new light entered his eyes!

The god's feet twitched—he was ready to break through the air! For the first time ever, shock and desire dawned in his eyes. What was that? What kind of personal dao star was that? That seemed to be... time!

Li Hao had grasped time! He had control over time and could connect to the past and future!

Even someone as aloof as the Initial Martial god could barely sit still. He wanted to rush forward for a look and possibly capture the star for himself.

......

Galewind.

Zheng Yu could hardly sit still when Li Hao connected to his past and future. He was stunned by what was taking place and could no longer control his urges when the star appeared. Glancing at the frozen Empyrean Kings beside him, he threw all thoughts of a trap out of mind. That didn't matter anymore! This was the star of time! It could bring forth the past and future, the wielder could manipulate time!

"Get out there!" He blared into the queen's mind when he tapped her awake. The queen didn't dare delay. The current Zheng Yu seemed ready to kill someone, anyone—she was quite startled.

A bright moon materialized in the sky as she rushed for the world. However, it wasn't long before she was affected by the star again and froze. Zheng Yu hovered within the moon, delighted by the development instead of being dismayed.

The star really could freeze time! Even an Empyrean King like the queen couldn't resist it!

"Charge!" he shouted again. The queen awoke once more and rushed forward, her mind in a haze.

In the air, the other moon was also sparkling. Light flared from the man's eyes as he growled, "Wake up, quick!"

The sculpture of the Moon God was at times awake and at times in a daze. There was nothing the man could consider now but rush straight into where the stars were gathered.

There, a half illusory and half tangible star was cautiously approaching the two Li Haos. The entire world and its inhabitants seemed to be frozen, leaving only select heavyweights free from its effects!

The god of Initial Martial shot into the sky. His face twitched when another thought occurred to him. He looked into the stance, clenched his jaw, and landed again.

I can't! My mission isn't this! I can't get involved! There's nothing good in it for me if I get involved!

Something as pivotal as this... I'm just a replica. I need to stay out of this. I need to stay out of it at all costs...

He turned around and ran!

I'm going back to sleep! I can't look at this anymore! I'll be tempted if I do. I managed to keep myself in check for one hundred thousand years, I can't stop now. ...but is that time?

Does the new dao have time as its core? Doesn't that mean it has more potential than core origin then?

......

In the air, Li Hao looked dumbly at himself.Is this really the future me?That person seemed so weak, but also endlessly strong at the same time. He appeared to have weathered endless battles...

Future Li Hao's face overflowed with killing intent and seemed a little insane for it.

Is this... me?Li Hao wondered. He didn't even pay attention to the two moons rushing toward him. He simply looked at his future self in silence. It seemed to be both one step away and an eternity away.

A star interposed itself between the two people in the next second. Li Hao jerked awake! The star of time... was out!

The star was quite curious to have cut through the void in a split second. It neared the future Li Hao, seeming to regard it with confusion. What was this?

Two giant moons on their flanks sped toward them! The presences of two half step emperors blazed through the world!

The man with a sword on his back and Zheng Yu looked at each other. What did any potential traps matter in this moment? None of it mattered! They needed to kill Li Hao, seize the dao universe, and capture this star!

......

Zheng Yu was here, as was Li Daoheng. While they knew full well that Li Hao must have something up his sleeves, they still joined the fray the moment the star of time appeared. Anyone who didn't at this stage was truly on another level!

Opportunity was at hand. No matter what, they had to fight for it. Not to mention, Li Hao likely didn't have the ability to kill a half step emperor. The most likely outcome for the two was to be trapped by the young man—such was both Zheng Yu and Li Daoheng's conclusion.

Two moons rose into the air and charged the star of time. The world changed color, the universe revolved around itself, and countless stars in the sky blazed with sword intent.

Sword intent cut through all directions and the mental sea roared. The mental world began to contract. It enveloped its inhabitants!

However, it was still connected to the dao universe at present, so this was still a dangerous moment. Once the two detected the problem and broke through the firmament, they could speed straight to the dao universe. At present, they might still be able to seize it.

The two half step emperors knew that there was something wrong! But this was no time to consider that. They rushed for Li Hao and the star of time. Everything else was secondary! They needed to kill Li Hao and seize the star! That was their goal!

A crazed look was beginning to develop on Zheng Yu's composed face. The past, present, and future! This star could control time and connect the three selves! For a half step emperor like him, wouldn't he spontaneously become an exalted emperor as soon as he grasped this star and melded the three bodies into one?

The path of an emperor was right in front of him! No danger or risk was important in light of that. This was his chance!

"Kill!" A low growl echoed through the universe as a strong whip cracked through the world. It lashed out at Zheng Yu as he wanted to stop Li Daoheng. The man with a sword on his back didn't say a word as he slashed in response with his sword!

Sword light and whip light collided against each other in mutual destruction. The world shook and parts of the universe crumbled away. Two half step emperors had finally met each other in battle!

Their opening, probing move brought an inward tensing to both participants. The enemy was stronger than they'd anticipated!

Zheng Yu's expression was solemn; he cursed to himself when he saw that the queen's moon was unable to draw nearer. Deriding her for being useless, he extracted himself from the moon and disappeared, rushing for the star.

In a similar vein, the Moon God couldn't withstand the star's illumination and continuously sank into silence. Li Daoheng walked out of the moon and broke through the cosmos.

The two shot for Li Hao from left and right, their speed so fast that it could not be imagined. The star was right there! Li Hao would have to die first before they could claim it.

......

Li Hao still stared dumbly at himself from another time. He wanted to walk forward and approach his future self, but found that there seemed to be a world separating them.

It was impossible to approach his future self; this was a different situation from meeting his past self. There was only one past, but an unlimited future!

Li Hao was well aware of this logic. The future was as if a mirage, able to be seen but unable to be touched!

The past had already taken place, which was why he could capture his past self. However, there were unlimited possibilities for the future. Any sort of change could ripple to different effects in the future. Therefore, his future self appeared particularly intangible.

Perhaps any one of his random moves in the seconds to come could change everything. The beaten down Li Hao in front of him would become another future. He might not even have a future!

Therefore, he couldn't touch that version of him. Even with the river of chaos traversing the universe, he was still no closer to his future self that was right in front of him. He could not become one with the future!

Meanwhile, the star of time seemed to be able to touch the future. It hovered there with both curiosity and bafflement. It seemed to be saying, how did this thing come to be?

The star of time also possessed such capability to manipulate the future. Li Hao was only borrowing a bit of its power. This was the undefined future!

The two powerhouses were bearing down on him as Li Hao stared at the untouchable future self. He was prepared to retreat into the dao universe when that intangible Li Hao looked at him, then at the star. Knowledge dawned in his eyes, as well as something else!

He sighed softly, one that rang through the world and in people's hearts. It somehow rang in Li Hao's ears with resignation. "I knew that I would lose some for every bit I gained!"

Li Hao's heart shook!