Slaying the Formidable Foe, Escaping into the Void

Inside the grand hall. Li Hao could not care less about that. At this moment, the Starry Sky Sword radiated brilliant brilliance. Having devoured one of the eight divine weapons, it seemed extraordinarily excited. And the unexpected changes did not stop there. In this instant, Li Hao even sensed something more. He caught sight of the void Bagua diagram that should have been visible only in Silver City. For a fleeting second, he thought he was hallucinating. The void, the Bagua, the Star Gate. Yes, right here in the ruins, he was actually seeing all of it. ... And that was not all. At the same exact time. Silver Moon. An ancient city suddenly trembled slightly. Within it, figures in golden armor materialized, and the massive guardian demon plant even began to shudder. Inside the City Lord's Estate, a suit of golden armor hovered in midair, muttering, "The God-Breaking Hammer is shattered..." The Hong family's inherited divine weapon had broken! Who did it? Who had the ability to do that? A moment later, as if realizing something, it murmured, "The descendant of the Li family? Shattering the God-Breaking Hammer with the Starry Sky Sword... But why?" The eight families guarded Silver Moon as one united entity. The Star Gate could only be opened by the divine weapons of the eight families. Now that the God-Breaking Hammer was broken, did he have no intention of opening the Star Gate? Granted, legend held that the Starry Sky Sword alone could open it... but that was premised on the sword being in the hands of the Sword Venerable. What level of might had the Sword Venerable possessed? With the Sword Venerable gone, it could only be opened through the concerted effort of all eight families. "Why..." There was incomprehension, bewilderment, and a touch of sorrow. Without the God-Breaking Hammer, the Hong family's legacy ground was completely sealed off. Even if descendants of the Hong family remained, there was no longer any hope of entering their ancestral legacy ground. Without that inheritance, without the rise of a new generation, even if the Hong family's main city revived, would they still have a chance in this new era? ... Silver City. The void trembled. With the shattering of the Hong family's divine hammer, one corner of the Bagua diagram seemed to tremble and weaken. Of the eight bloodlines, seven were linked to Ying Hongyue, and one was linked to Li Hao. At this moment, one of the bloodlines shook violently, showing signs of snapping. In ancient times, the eight great families guarded Silver Moon. The Starry Sky Sword stood supreme. If it shattered the divine weapon of one of the eight families, it signified that the Li family had stripped that family of its duty as a guardian. This was an implicit custom, not an explicit rule. Right now, Li Hao using the Li family's divine sword to shatter the Hong family's hammer also signified that he had stripped the Hong family of their guardianship. ... Heaven and earth trembled. In this instant, the world seemed almost to rejoice. Energy began to fluctuate. The second revival had not yet begun, but now, as the Hong family's divine hammer shattered, traces of revival rippled between heaven and earth. Energy rapidly intensified, and across the land of Silver Moon, streaks of energy surfaced, quickly devoured by those present. ... Inside the grand hall. Hong Tu gripped the mirror and looked at Li Hao with disbelief and rising fury. "Do you realize what you've done? The Star Gate is the conduit connecting the Silver Moon world to the main world! Once it is completely sealed away, the main world and the Silver Moon world will lose all connection. You haven't just lost your freedom—you've lost an infinite future!" Even taking control of a small world did not mean one could open the Star Gate. And without opening the Star Gate, even if you knew the main world was nearby, you might never reach it in your entire life. That was a void passage forged by the Human King, by Sovereigns, by the Cast-God Sovereign, ensuring travelers would not be lost between heaven and earth. Otherwise, not only him, but even his forebear, Daoist Fengyun, might have been lost in the void. The cosmos was boundless, devoid of any markers. Sometimes, even if you knew the general direction, deviating by a fraction of an inch could mean a world of difference, leaving you forever lost in the chaos of heaven, earth, and the cosmos. Back then, top figures like the Cast-God Sovereign had joined forces to cross over from the main world. To trace the way back from a small world was impossible unless one could reach the level of the Human King. But... was that even possible? Hong Tu fumed with anger. "Li Hao, you are severing the future of this world!" Li Hao merely smiled and shook his head. "No, no, no. I'm severing *your* future! Hong Tu, tell me, why did you have to provoke me for no good reason? Now... I'm going to kill you!" *Boom!* A sword slashed out! This strike was far more powerful than before. With a thunderous boom, a faint crack appeared on the mirror. Though it healed quickly, a massive amount of energy was drained away. Hong Tu's face turned pale! After all, this mirror was not as well-attuned to him as it had been back in the day. Every use consumed tremendous power, and once cracked, repairing it drained him even more, instantly siphoning a vast amount of energy from his body. His expression flickered, and with a cold snort, he thrust forward with his own sword, sword light illuminating heaven and earth. Sword intent! Or rather, sword momentum. Except it was not as obvious as Li Hao's. His sword momentum had likely been masked by his divine ability, but one could see that his strike was exceedingly powerful! During the Neo-Martial era, several peerless swordsmen stood at the very pinnacle of the realm. The Longevity Swordsman was merely one of them. Another was the Underworld King Sword of the Li family of Zhenxing—the creator of the *Sky-Breaking Sword Art*—whose sword intent was exceedingly rare under heaven. Yet when it came to true paragons of the sword, even before the Longevity Swordsman, another person had been renowned throughout heaven and earth. Coincidentally, he was also celebrated as the Demon Sword. The Demon Sword had wielded the supreme divine weapon, the Heaven-Slaying Sword! When the Heaven-Slaying Sword was drawn, heaven and earth shook. And his swordplay had been learned from the second son of Daoist Fengyun—the second prince of the Hong family, who was also first among the Four Sovereigns. That man had not made his name through sword intent, yet everyone under heaven knew his sword path was terrifyingly strong. Now backed into a corner, Hong Tu thrust out his sword, causing Li Hao's vision to waver. The twin blades collided! Hong Tu's sword seemed suffused with demonic nature and killing intent—a true sword of the demonic path! Pervasive killing intent instantly invaded Li Hao's body. Li Hao's already battered physical form immediately split with lines of blood, consumed by the killing intent. Hong Tu grunted and cursed under his breath! In a duel of swords, your Li family's Longevity Sword could not rival the Hong family's sword. Beyond the second prince of the Hong family, Daoist Fengyun himself had been a master of the sword in ancient times; a single Human Sovereign Sword from him could overturn heaven and earth. Even if Hong Tu had only learned a fraction, he had witnessed it firsthand. His comprehension was not inferior to Li Hao's. "A sword of the killing path!" Li Hao coughed, his body mangled, yet his eyes shone bright, red light flickering within them. "Now this is interesting. Your divine ability was too weak, yet you insisted on relying on it, keeping me from seeing your real skill. All I could see was how tough that mirror of yours was..." With that, he casually tossed the Starry Sky Sword, sending it crashing toward the mirror. "Divine weapon against divine weapon. Since we are both swordsmen, let us have a battle of swords!" "Lunatic..." Hong Tu cursed. If he could suppress his foe with a divine weapon, why wouldn't he? Of course, since his mirror was now pinned by the Starry Sky Sword, and Li Hao had cast aside his incomparably sharp blade... this madman was practically handing him an advantage. Excellent! Gripping his rapier, Hong Tu thrust toward Li Hao! In his current condition, he was far better off than Li Hao. If Li Hao wanted to clash swords, so be it! *Crack!* The strike tore through the void. Hong Tu vanished instantly, reappearing with his sword aimed straight at Li Hao's head. Li Hao condensed his divine characters into a sword, slashing forward as a fierce tiger roared! *Boom!* The tiger was pierced through by Hong Tu's blade. Hong Tu sneered. Even in swordsmanship, Li Hao was no match for him. His memories had merely been slightly muddled before; now, trading blows with Li Hao was making them sharper and clearer. Far from weakening, Hong Tu grew stronger as he fought! Whether it was Li Hao's momentum of heaven and earth, his divine ability, his divine characters, or his sword intent... All of them crumbled in the face of Hong Tu's sword of the killing path. Li Hao grew weaker with every passing exchange! Not far off, the Starry Sky Sword was indeed suppressing the mirror, but Li Hao was being utterly suppressed by Hong Tu. Hong Tu wielded his rapier, gazing at Li Hao with absolute coldness, delivering strike after strike. He had simply wanted an easier way to dispose of Li Hao, but if that didn't work... he certainly had no fear of him. Li Hao was not worthy of his fear. Furious that this bastard had shattered the Hong family's hammer, Hong Tu struck with ever-increasing ruthlessness. *Crack!* A sweeping blow shattered the sword formed of divine characters in Li Hao's hands! *Squelch!* Hong Tu's sword stabbed into Li Hao's throat, leaving an instant line of blood. Yet Hong Tu did not stop there; a surge of potent killing force poured into Li Hao's body, intending to obliterate him completely! Right then, Li Hao's shattered divine characters reconvened. Five rays of light flared over his hand as he caught the blade, looking at Hong Tu with burning curiosity. "You use a divine ability, so why is your sword intent still so formidable?" Hong Tu frowned slightly. With a grating hum, his sword vibrated violently, the tremors tearing through Li Hao's arms and splattering blood everywhere. Hong Tu sneered, "Who said divine abilities can't use sword intent? The path of energy was pioneered by my ancestor, and divine abilities are merely a variant of that path!" Though Daoist Fengyun had not originated the energy path from the very beginning, it was his son who had expanded and perfected it. There was little fundamental difference between divine abilities and the path of energy. Li Hao felt a sudden spark of comprehension. He nodded. Even as his throat tore and blood sprayed, he kept a death grip on the blade, the violent tremors causing blood to burst continuously from his arms. "So that's how it is!" "Sword intent is sword intent, and sword momentum is sword momentum. Intent arises from the heart; where there is heart, there is intent. Momentum is the Dao, while intent is the heart..." He seemed to understand! The next instant, just as Hong Tu was about to shake the blade again, his expression changed drastically. Li Hao spat a bloody sword from his mouth, saturated with killing intent to the absolute extreme! "So... this is an intent sword!" *Boom!* Sword intent pierced heaven and earth. "Lifeless!" *Squelch!* Hong Tu let out a savage roar and retreated rapidly. With a sickening crack, the Lifeless sword intent impaled his arm, piercing clean through his shoulder. Hong Tu grunted, staring at Li Hao in utter disbelief. Li Hao... his talent was terrifying! Yes, raw talent. For the first time, Hong Tu realized that someone could possess talent so absurd that hearing an explanation once was enough to master it. Perhaps it was the culmination of deep accumulation, or perhaps his innate gift was simply monstrous. Li Hao truly understood now. Sword momentum was sword momentum, and sword intent was sword intent. They were not the same! Hearing Hong Yitang and the others explain it ten thousand times could not match the insight gained from a single life-or-death battle. A smile spread across Li Hao's face. "A clash between swordsmen... has a wonderful flavor. The swordsmen of Silver Moon are unwilling to fight me to the death. After stepping into the seven elements, I believed myself unmatched under heaven, that no one aside from the ancient experts of the Neo-Martial era was worthy of my blade... I never expected to meet you!" Hong Tu snorted coldly. "Li Hao, do you think this is enough to scare me?" "No, no, no... I hope you're even stronger!" Li Hao licked his lips. "It's been so long since I felt this way. I thought perhaps only Ying Hongyue could pose such a threat to me. Encountering you today makes me truly happy!" Hong Tu's gaze shifted. This lunatic seemed genuinely thrilled! "Die!!" Li Hao barked a low cry. In this instant, the world seemed filled with swords; all creation became swords. A fire sword, a wood sword, an earth sword, a water sword... Swords of the five elements! Faintly, a sword of lightning manifested, alongside a sword of wind, and even swords of light and darkness! All things were swords! Li Hao was overjoyed. Perhaps his opponent could help him complete his wind and lightning swords. He cast everything else aside, refusing to dwell on outside matters, the ongoing battle, or who this fellow was. He had only a single thought: as a swordsman, kill his opponent with the sword and grant him a dignified death. As his teacher had said, the sword was the weapon of a gentleman. And to be a gentleman meant delivering a swift, honorable death! Yes, that was what his teacher had taught him. The Shadowless Sword appeared, followed by the Willow Catkin Sword. The next moment, with a fierce roar, heaven and earth seemed to invert—the World-Inverting Sword! At this point, Hong Tu felt as though he were facing a sword-crazed lunatic. Countless sword techniques shifted endlessly. Roaring again and again, he swung his rapier, constantly shattering those bizarre maneuvers. Both men were soaked in blood, and Hong Tu grew angrier by the second. "Li Hao..." *Boom!* Just as he shouted, a colossal sword appeared, like an overlord returning, like a Sovereign surveying the realm. *Boom!* Hong Tu was hammered down violently by the strike. With a resounding crash, his bones shattered into pieces, and he vomited mouthfuls of blood. Glaring in annoyance at Li Hao, he saw that not an inch of good flesh remained on Li Hao's body; scraps of meat hung loose, fluttering and dropping in the wind. Yet Li Hao's sword momentum only grew more overwhelming! Beside Li Hao, a divine character suddenly emerged. *Thunder!* Yes, a thunder divine character. The previous sword strike, resembling lightning and a Sovereign's inspection, had been infused with the power of thunder. Now, the thunder divine character naturally manifested. Li Hao smiled faintly as a legitimate sixth divine character came into being. As for the character for "Extinction" formed from sword momentum, that had merely been a makeshift hodgepodge thrown together to simulate wind and thunder. "Now, I truly have six elements!" His words baffled Hong Tu. *What six elements? Did you fail math?* *Why did the number decrease?!* *You were clearly at seven elements earlier, so what nonsense are you babbling about six elements?* Yet in Li Hao's eyes, only now was he a true six-element practitioner. The five elements and thunder were now divine abilities; only when wind was transformed into a divine ability character would he truly master seven elements. Transforming into a gentle breeze, he vanished in a flash, reappearing with a sword thrust! Hong Tu bellowed, striking back with his blade, a blow steeped in even greater murderous intent! Li Hao was only growing stronger the more he fought, making Hong Tu grind his teeth in rage. Perhaps Li Hao truly was heaven's favored, while he was merely trying to seize that fate. *Boom!* The twin swords collided, and Li Hao vanished again. The next moment, the Wind-Chasing Boots flared to life. He materialized in a flash, thrusting downward once more. *Bang, bang, bang!* *Clang, clang, clang!* Sparks erupted in rapid succession. Both men moved at blinding speed. The more they clashed, the more delighted Li Hao became. Knowledge gained from paper was always shallow; only through practice could true understanding emerge! After a long while, a sharp *crack* sounded... A fissure appeared on Hong Tu's rapier. Hong Tu's expression changed, and he retreated rapidly. Dodging Li Hao's blade, he panted heavily, gritting his teeth as he glared coldly at Li Hao. "You brought this on yourself!" At that moment, an object suddenly manifested beside Hong Tu: a crystal-like bead. A faint pressure radiated from it. It seemed to carry the aura of a Saint! Li Hao had encountered a Saint before; there was one at Yuanping Martial Arts University. Right now, the bead beside Hong Tu carried the pressure of a Saint—not like that of a sacred weapon, but like that of a living being. As a scion of the Hong family and the reincarnation of a Saint, Hong Tu possessed an unimaginably deep reserve of trump cards. Yet right now, he hesitated. This was the mental power left behind by his true self—the real Hong Tu. If he chose to assimilate this bead, it would mean abandoning his new identity and fully recovering all of his ancient memories. He would become Hong Tu once more! He had known for a long time that his reincarnated self had issues, but he felt that this was his new life, with no need to constantly measure himself against the Hong Tu of old. Yet by assimilating this bead, he would return to being that ancient Hong Tu. Hong Tu felt conflicted, but Li Hao was growing stronger as they fought. If a person like this was not killed promptly... disaster would follow. Hong Tu knew this much. Gritting his teeth, he thought: *We're the same person anyway, so what does it matter?* He swallowed the bead whole! At worst, he would simply return to his past state. Perhaps White Venerable and the others would be overjoyed, believing their true young master had returned. Hong Tu mocked himself inwardly; those fellows probably thought he fell short of the ancient Hong Tu anyway, didn't they? Regardless, once he swallowed this bead, he would have the certainty to slay Li Hao. To slay this detestable pest! "Damn it, you're not playing by the rules!" At that moment, Li Hao, who had looked calm and detached just moments ago, suddenly grew furious. *I'm dueling you one-on-one. It was fine that you cheated again and again, but now you pull out a bead carrying the pressure of a Saint?* One didn't need to guess to know it was exceedingly dangerous! This fellow refused to follow the script. Usually, Li Hao was the one cheating; since when did enemies cheat on him? So what if you come from a powerful family? Are you looking down on me? Just as Hong Tu was wondering what his opponent could possibly do, Li Hao produced several bomb-like objects in his hands. In the next breath, tattered golden armor formed over Li Hao's body. That was not all. In that same instant, Li Hao's six divine characters enveloped him, and six forces erupted simultaneously! Not to kill, but to defend. Several mirror fragments also surfaced, shielding his entire body. Hong Tu's expression changed slightly. The next moment, he roared in fury, "What are you doing? You madman, this place is completely sealed! If energy artillery shells detonate, the blast will kill both of us!" Yes, energy bombs. Military munitions. Li Hao had acquired twelve hundred of them, and right now, he brought out a full hundred. In ancient times, these were used to breach cities; the blast of a single shell was no weaker than a full-power strike from a six-element expert. A single shell might not seem like much. However... a hundred of them combined surpassed the might of the seven-element realm. Li Hao ground his teeth. "I played swords with you, and you played dirty. I played divine weapons with you, and you played dirty again... Then let's play something even more thrilling!" The next instant, before Hong Tu could even begin absorbing the bead, Li Hao detonated one of the bombs. In a flash—*boom!* A deafening roar echoed across heaven and earth! *Rumble!* A shockwave of explosive energy swept through heaven and earth, roaring across the entire grand hall. Everything in its path shattered to pieces; only the Starry Sky Sword and the mirror remained intact, while all else was pulverized. Explosions resounded ceaselessly! The mirror fragments shielding Li Hao were blown apart. His six divine characters shattered one after another. Li Hao frantically guzzled massive amounts of the Spring of Life, yet it was still barely enough to resist the force of the blast. The flesh on his body had scarcely regenerated before being blown away, only to regenerate and vanish again... Opposite him, Hong Tu roared, attempting to summon his mirror back, but the Starry Sky Sword held it fast. Gritting his teeth, he was forced to spit out the bead. It instantly formed a defensive barrier that shattered and reformed in rapid succession. Potent mental power clashed with the shockwaves of the energy bombs, obliterating each other. At this moment, Hong Tu didn't know whether to rejoice or despair. Any hope of restoring himself to the Hong Tu of old was completely ruined; the backup plan he had left behind had been blown to bits by Li Hao. This raving lunatic! Didn't he realize that blowing things up like this would only result in mutual destruction, and that Li Hao would fare far worse? Hong Tu looked across the room; the flesh on Li Hao's body had been vaporized entirely, and even after regenerating, there was no blood left to spray. His newly reformed body was simply torn apart once more. With every tear, Li Hao grew weaker. Now, only a few fractured divine characters, shielded by a battered, dying tiger, struggled feebly, barely keeping Li Hao from being obliterated altogether! ... Outside. Deafening rumbles sounded without pause as the massive grand hall shook violently. The shockwaves did not spread outside, trapped entirely within the hall. The detonations continued relentlessly, causing the entire hall to tear free from the ground, tumbling and crashing through the ancient city with thunderous booms! The combatants outside were struck dumb by the sight. What was happening? Director Wang stared blankly at the tumbling hall, murmuring, "Why does it feel like an entire energy mine just blew up..." Yes, that was exactly what it felt like. Yet he knew that, in all likelihood, it was not an energy vein. Rather... energy artillery shells! Once those things detonated, their power was terrifying. And to cause such a commotion—to blast even a divine weapon hall into such a state—would take nothing less than eighty to a hundred shells. And he knew that Li Hao had recently obtained a large quantity of energy artillery shells in Battle Heaven City, strategic weapons equipped to the newly formed division. Meanwhile, White Tree, which had been taking a beating the entire time, also blanched. "Young Master..." With an explosion of this scale, even if Li Hao had intended it as a suicide attack, Hong Tu would not fare well facing it outside of his prime. Yet this hall was the former headquarters of the Wind and Cloud Pavilion in this region. No one could open it except Hong Tu. And for Hong Tu to open it now would require time, because he was no longer the Hong Tu of the past, and the divine weapon was not fully attuned to him. That was why, when Li Hao had entered earlier, Hong Tu had spouted so much nonsense—simply to buy time to seal the hall. Now, would Hong Tu still have time to open it? ... Inside the hall. The explosions went on and on! After a long time, Hong Tu coughed up blood, the mental power around his body nearly exhausted. He felt a lingering sense of emptiness and loss. That bastard Li Hao... at this moment, Hong Tu didn't know whether to thank him or despise him. He had ruined his plans once again! Hong Tu's injuries were not overly severe, though the shockwaves had ruptured his internal organs. Looking across the space, he could no longer see any trace of Li Hao. Dead? Such a terrifying blast wave would have been beneath notice for Hong Tu in his prime, but right now, both sides possessed only seven-element strength, trapped inside a completely sealed space. Facing such an explosion, neither had anywhere to run. Was Li Hao... dead? Had it not been for the Saint's mental power protecting him, Hong Tu likely would have been killed as well. Though Li Hao had used divine weapons, divine characters, and various treasures for protection, those mirror fragments now lay motionless on the floor, stripped of all luster. As for the divine characters... only a few broken remnants seemed to remain. Had Li Hao... blown himself to death? Hong Tu sneered mockingly. "Madman!" Knowing full well it was suicidal, this lunatic had insisted on trying it anyway. So what if he had disrupted Hong Tu's plans? Now, Hong Tu supposed he should thank Li Hao for making him give up on that idea. Yet right at that moment, a breeze seemed to stir within the hall. A gentle wind swept past. Wind? In a completely sealed space, where would wind come from? Just as the thought crossed Hong Tu's mind, the breeze brushed against him, and his expression warped as streaks of blood appeared on his face. The next moment, boundless energy coalesced in the void, forming a divine character in the blink of an eye—*Wind!* The character swelled instantly, expanding with the wind, and in a flash, it transformed into Li Hao. A completely naked Li Hao! Li Hao swayed, appearing as though he might shatter at any second. Streams of the Spring of Life poured into his body, revitalizing his frame. Li Hao wore a weak, provocative smile as he looked at his foe. "Hong Tu, I'm alive and well. Thanks to you, really. Earlier, I was pondering how to comprehend the existence of wind... Now I understand. Wind is omnipresent! An explosion is wind, air is wind, everything can become a gentle breeze..." Hong Tu stared at him, his face icy cold! He survived even that? Though Li Hao looked exceedingly frail, he was indeed still alive. "Li Hao!" Hong Tu gritted his teeth. "Is this what you rely on?" What on earth were these divine ability characters? Why could they reform after being shattered? Why could new characters be birthed endlessly?! Li Hao's face was deathly pale and weak. He took step after step toward Hong Tu, grinning brightly. "It's not as impressive as what you rely on. You can rely on your ancestors; mine didn't leave me anything, so I can only rely on myself!" "Still... those energy bombs worked pretty well. How about... I give you a few more?" As a fellow seven-element combatant, Li Hao could not help but sigh. Fighting someone of the same tier had forced out all his trump cards and nearly killed him. This Hong Tu truly lived up to being from a great family of the Neo-Martial era; any random trump card he pulled out was enough to torture Li Hao half to death. Having a wealthy elder really made a difference. Aside from a Starry Sky Sword that did nothing but gorge itself on items, his ancestor had left behind nothing at all. Worse yet, the Starry Sky Sword was genuinely useless, knowing only how to eat. Look at this guy: mirrors, beads, endless divine energy stones, and endless Spring of Life... Compared to Hong Tu, Li Hao, who had previously considered himself quite well-off, suddenly realized how poor he truly was! Was this the life of a second-generation heir? Li Hao was intensely envious! If not forced by circumstances, who would willingly fight and scrape on their own? If his ancestor were still around, providing him with delicious food and fine drinks every day, why would he bother working so hard? Being a rich kid, a martial second-generation heir, sounded wonderful. Of course, rumors had it that his ancestor had been dirt poor. Even if he were alive... Li Hao might still have had to go out and work to earn a living. That was entirely possible! At this moment, all sorts of wild thoughts drifted through Li Hao's mind. He looked down at his body. He was exceptionally frail, reduced to little more than a layer of skin freshly formed by the Spring of Life. It was fortunate his physical body had not been overly strong to begin with; otherwise, regenerating even a layer of skin would have been difficult. The stronger the physical body, the harder it was to heal—this was something Li Hao knew well. With a weaker body, recovery was somewhat simpler, at least not requiring things like imperishable substance. Opposite him, Hong Tu's expression was grim. "Li Hao, do you really want to throw your life away? You survived just now purely by luck! If you do it again, I might suffer, but I'll still have a chance to live. You... you won't have any chance at all!" He saw Li Hao's condition clearly: skin and bones, energy virtually drained, the fragments of his divine weapon devoid of power, and the golden armor almost completely wrecked. What did a Li Hao like this have left to fight with? Mutual destruction? "As long as you teach me how to condense these divine ability characters, Li Hao, I promise not to kill you... Even if you don't teach me, I already have some ideas. Li Hao, once I become the master of this world... I won't shortchange you on benefits..." Trapped in this hall, he truly had no desire to continue trading self-destructive blows with Li Hao. Li Hao gave him an odd look. "You're awfully confident!" Things had reached this point, his own losses were devastating, yet Hong Tu still expected him to teach him, even painting rosy pictures of the future? What was he thinking? Of the more than ten thousand drops of the Spring of Life Li Hao carried, between what had been wasted and consumed, he had burned through over a thousand drops. What a tremendous loss! He was down a hundred energy bombs, his golden armor was all but ruined, and the Hong family's divine hammer was gone... One could say that from the start of this battle until now, brief though it was, Li Hao had suffered catastrophic losses. His divine characters were also battered and fragmented; repairing them would take who knew how much effort. And yet, this fellow was telling him to stop fighting, promising benefits once he made it big in the future. What a joke! Hong Tu glared at him coldly. "Then what do you want? Aside from energy bombs, what else can you do? But if you do it again, the first to die will definitely be you!" At the very least, his condition was far better than Li Hao's. As for turning into a gentle breeze, Li Hao had only pulled that off the first time because he had divine weapons protecting him, giving him time to disperse and withstand most of the blast. Try it again, and turning into a breeze wouldn't save him. Li Hao smiled. "I have a move that I've never used, and never dared to use... Do you want to try it?" Hong Tu's expression changed slightly. *He still has a trump card?* Right then, a fierce tiger materialized beside Li Hao. Though battered and scarred, it remained unyielding and proud, holding its head high as it stared coldly at Hong Tu. Li Hao stepped forward, walking straight into the tiger's body. In that moment, he seemed to become one with the beast. He was the tiger, and the tiger was him. Li Hao sighed. "I don't know... if I'll still be able to survive, or if I can ever come back... But even so, I have to kill you first before I can be satisfied!" With that, a pile of energy bombs materialized. Hong Tu's face drained of all color! This time, there were even more than before. "Li Hao, let's talk this out! This is just a small world; there are countless worlds in the vast cosmos! At worst, I'll give up on this world... Li Hao... don't be reckless..." Li Hao had already fused completely with the tiger, smiling brightly. "They say the human body has a secondary space. I've always wondered: if I enter my force, could I step into that secondary space? But I was a bit afraid of dying, thinking it too dangerous. If I couldn't come back out, wouldn't I be finished? But now... you second-generation heir, you've provoked me. Who told you to cheat!" He glanced back at the Starry Sky Sword nearby and smiled. In his heart, he murmured silently, *Little Sword, remember to guide me back, understand?* The next instant, the tiger let out a roar that shook heaven and earth! *Roar!* In a flash, the tiger slipped into the void. Before Hong Tu's stunned eyes, the tiger vanished—vanished completely, without leaving the slightest trace of life behind. Meanwhile, the mountain of energy bombs began to ignite. Hong Tu's face twisted in sheer terror! "Open..." He roared in desperation. *Open! Why hasn't this damned hall opened yet?!* *Damn it, damn it all!* *Li Hao, you beast!* *Where did he go?!* Just as Hong Tu saw the hall about to open, an energy blast far more terrifying than the previous one erupted in an instant! *Boom!* Heaven fell and earth cracked. Cracks snaked across the grand hall. The mirror tried to return to Hong Tu's side, but the Starry Sky Sword tangled with it relentlessly, preventing its escape. The explosion blasted crack after crack across the mirror's surface! *Snap...* The cracks continued to repair themselves, but eventually, they could no longer keep up. Hong Tu roared continuously, throwing out treasure after treasure, only for each to be reduced to dust in the blink of an eye. He hurled out relic after relic, each divine weapon shattering under the blast. *Boom!* His physical body blew apart with a shrill scream, yet his mental power endured, desperately lunging toward the mirror. Right at that moment, the Starry Sky Sword burst with radiant light, slashing down with a single strike! Hong Tu bellowed in rage! "No... I am of the Hong family..." Without a master controlling it, the Starry Sky Sword was actually still trying to execute his mental power! Everyone knew the Starry Sky Sword lacked a spirit, so why could it still fight on its own? Hong Tu was utterly unreconciled! To become the master of this small world, he had given up far too much. He had given up evacuating, given up returning, given up his strength as a Saint, given up his powerful physical body, giving up everything to start from scratch. All so that he could integrate into the new era, gain acceptance from heaven and earth, and replace the world's consciousness with his own mind to become the world master of the new era. Yet... why had it turned out like this? When Li Hao first rose, Hong Tu had known something was amiss. No matter what, he had wanted to eliminate Li Hao, believing there was no reason he could fail. Li Hao had entered his territory, just as expected. Here he had White Venerable, his own seven-element strength, and multiple protectors and commanders. Here, he had the Fengyun Auxiliary Mirror, the formidable mental power left behind by his previous life, enough that even an Immortal realm expert might fall to him. Li Hao was merely at the seven-element level... the same as him, perhaps not even as stable or powerful. Why had it ended like this? A true chosen of heaven was supposed to be undefeated among peers. He had believed he was that chosen one. Yet now, facing Li Hao, nothing had gone right. Why? His mental power shifted, suddenly splitting into two identical figures, though their temperaments differed vastly. One was more mature, calmer. Looking at the incoming Starry Sky Sword, he let out a sudden sigh. "Is it truly impossible to force what isn't meant to be yours? But... isn't the spirit of Neo-Martial to fight for the martial path? Was I wrong to fight for my own future?" "The Hong family boasts four Sovereigns under one roof. Born into such a clan, there was too much glory, too much pressure... I wanted to walk further. Was it wrong of me to claim what the Sword Venerable discarded?" There was bitterness, and there was rage! *Was I wrong?* *No!* If there was a mistake, it was simply that he was still too weak. The martial path meant fighting for one's destiny. To see an opportunity and not fight for it—that would have been the greatest regret of all! *Buzz!* The long sword slashed down, instantly cleaving the formidable mental power in two. The other Hong Tu shrieked in despair and defiance. Was his era ending before it had even begun? "Li Hao... you won't be coming back!" He suddenly screamed with all his might! *If I die, don't think you can return either.* *Using the Starry Sky Sword as an anchor?* *Anchor my ass!* With a furious roar, his mental power ignited. In that moment, the mirror suddenly expanded into a void, blanketing heaven and earth, instantly enveloping and sealing the Starry Sky Sword within itself. Hong Tu's mental power began to crumble, yet his expression carried cold malice and disdain. "You want to return... keep dreaming! What I cannot have, you won't have either!" *Boom!* The final sliver of remnant mental power detonated completely. At the same time, the mirror enveloped the Starry Sky Sword. The sword struggled, unleashing burst after burst of dazzling sword qi, but it was quickly swallowed, vanishing without a trace. With a clatter, the mirror fell to the floor. Inside the vast grand hall, only countless fractures remained, along with a battered mirror that seemed to seal a sword within. In this instant, the world fell silent! ... At the exact same time. Outside the grand hall, the battling crowd froze as the violent rumble of explosions echoed once more. At that moment, neither White Tree nor Director Wang had any heart left for combat, both rushing toward the tumbling hall. Cracks had split across the hall's surface. The man and the tree peered inside, then both froze in stunned silence. Gone! Everything was gone! Inside the massive hall, there was only a battered mirror; everything else had vanished. Li Hao was gone, and Hong Tu was gone. "How is that possible..." Director Wang could not believe his eyes, and White Tree was equally stunned. How could this be?! It was even more shocked! Horrified, even! It knew Hong Tu had countless methods at his disposal. Beyond the mirror, he had retained some of Saint Hong Tu's mental power, which could be restored at a critical juncture; even if it didn't return him to the level of a Saint, it would grant him formidable strength. An ordinary seven-element combatant could never have killed him. From the very beginning, when Li Hao stepped into the hall, White Tree had believed Li Hao was doomed! Yet now, where were they? That battered mirror had lost all aura. Hong Tu... was dead! White Tree's trunk shuddered in sheer disbelief and denial. Director Wang was even less able to accept it. Bordering on madness, he roared furiously, "Damn it! Fuck! Bastard! This is my first time coming out, my first mission with him! We agreed to help Battle Heaven City be the first to revive..." With Li Hao dead, not only could he not answer to Battle Heaven City or the Ninth Division Commander, but he also couldn't get out. Beyond that, with Li Hao dead, the Star Gate could never be opened. The Starry Sky Sword was gone! The Li family bloodline was gone! Everything was gone. Could they open the Star Gate and return to the main world on their own? Impossible! Which meant... this world had become an absolute prison, trapping every single one of them. Hope... was shattered. Completely shattered! In this instant, Director Wang was enraged, thoroughly enraged, driven entirely mad. Glaring at White Tree, he bellowed, "Damn it, you treacherous dog! No matter how high the price, I will butcher you!" Everything was ruined anyway. He couldn't leave, and even if he did, he couldn't return to the main world... If he didn't kill this bastard, he would never find peace! Did it truly think being a former Great Saint made it invincible? Earlier, he had simply assumed Li Hao possessed many tricks and might not come to harm, which was why he hadn't been willing to pay a heavy price! In an instant, blood qi surged into heaven and earth—the Blood Blade Technique! Spirit, energy, and mind unified as one! That was not all. Reaching out, a Black Tortoise Seal manifested in the void, bearing a row of large characters, seemingly penned by an invincible supreme expert! Under the surge of boundless blood qi, the characters flared to life! "*Execute!*" Yes, Execute! Director Wang roared, "There are traitors in Neo-Martial! The demon plant has rebelled! I, Wang Ye, Director of the Battle Heaven City Security Bureau, acting on behalf of the City Lord, offer my blood qi as a sacrifice to summon the divine might of Supreme Zhang, to execute this traitor!" With a furious roar, the character for "Execute" on the seal blazed with dazzling brilliance, absorbing boundless blood qi. White Tree's body shook violently! Filled with panic and dread, it stammered in terror, "No... I did not rebel! I was... I was obeying the young master's orders! I never rebelled..." "Execute the demon!" With a thunderous bellow, before the shocked eyes of countless onlookers, a faint phantom manifested, holding a wooden stick—perhaps a pointer. The phantom was extremely faint, carrying a chilling detachment, as if passing judgment. "Deserving of execution!" Faint words drifted from the void. In that instant, White Tree's terror reached its absolute peak. The two puppets trembled in abject horror, wishing they could burrow into the earth. Li Shengzhang pulled its massive cat head back, trembling with fright, terrified of drawing the phantom's gaze. The moment the words "Deserving of execution" rang out, the world seemed to shift, as if countless people were paying homage, offering sacrifices. The entire city seemed to come alive. At this moment, several dormant demon plants within the city began to awaken. Having had their Spring of Life drained by Hong Tu, many of them had fallen into slumber. Now, they awoke one by one. Catching sight of the phantom between heaven and earth, every single awakened demon plant bent its trunk, bowing prostrate to the ground. Panic, dread, terror! White Tree was utterly frantic with fright. "No... Supreme, this small demon never rebelled, I never harbored such thoughts..." At this moment, upon hearing that Li Hao was gone, the phantom of the Demon Suppressing Emissary that Black Panther had been condensing vanished instantly. Black Panther shivered, not daring to move a muscle. In the entire expanse between heaven and earth, only that phantom stood supreme. "Deserving of execution!" Those same words echoed through the void once more. *Boom!* The blood-red character for "Execute" plunged downward alongside the great seal. With a deafening crash, White Tree's Great Dao, which had been pinned down by the staff, collapsed instantly! White Tree screamed in agony as its colossal form emerged, only to crack and shatter the next instant. As the word "Execute" descended, the overwhelmingly powerful White Tree was blown to pieces, disintegrating on the spot! A wave of mental power roiled forth, carrying sorrow and helplessness: "This small demon... truly never betrayed Neo-Martial..." Truly! It didn't dare! Yet there was no way to plead its case. This was merely an imprint left on the City Lord's seal, not the real person, unleashed through a blood sacrifice by an acting City Lord—an execution force unique to the major cities. White Tree had never imagined that this man had actually brought out the City Lord's seal. "Was it... worth it?" White Tree's mental power turned toward the deathly pale Director Wang, full of bitterness. "Was it worth it? This is the Supreme's measure, a means for main cities to execute Heavenly Kings or even greater beings... To execute me... was it worth it?" Director Wang was ashen-faced, swaying on his feet as he ground his teeth. "Worth it! Damn you, bastard! You severed my hope of returning home... If I didn't kill you, how could I appease my hatred!" *Boom!* The mental power detonated, sweeping through heaven and earth. Director Wang paid it no mind, grabbing chunks of the debris and devouring them frantically. This method could not be used lightly; right now, he was on the verge of collapsing. As an Immortal realm combatant, using such a technique could easily spell his own doom if his luck were just slightly worse. Yet earlier, he had simply been too desperate, too enraged. Had he known, he would have slain White Tree right from the start, even at the cost of his life. But at the beginning... how could he have anticipated that Li Hao would simply vanish! Heaven and earth were dead silent, save for the sound of Director Wang frantically devouring pieces of White Tree. The Black Tortoise Seal lost its luster, its characters fading completely. Yet everyone, ally and enemy alike, stared blankly. What was that? A single character, a trace of might left behind countless ages ago, had wiped out a former Saint who still possessed Immortal combat strength in an instant! There had been no resistance. Even in death, White Tree had not dared to fight back, only weeping that it had not rebelled. *Gulp!* Someone swallowed hard. The next moment, Hong Yitang and the others blanched, rushing toward the shattered grand hall. Director Wang's sudden frenzy had nearly made them forget that something had happened to Li Hao. The group dashed over, peering through the cracks in the hall... Not a soul was in sight! *Woof, woof, woof!* Black Panther barked a few times, its canine eyes full of confusion. *Li Hao... is gone?* *Where did he go?* Across the city, all the revived demon plants were exceedingly weak, prostrated on the ground, none daring to rise. Director Wang continued devouring fragments of White Tree, biting down piece by piece with clenched teeth! He glared coldly at the surviving members of the Eight Divisions and the protectors. Gritting his teeth, he let out a cold sneer. "You're all dead! None of you get to live! Suffer the same despair as me..." *Boom!* A palm slammed down. One protector attempted to flee, only to be smashed into fragments in an instant! Director Wang gritted his teeth so hard they nearly snapped! *I'll just wait to die in this ruin, I'm not going out! Going out is pointless anyway, and the Ninth Division Commander will probably want to butcher me! I was supposed to protect Li Hao! I'm fine, yet Li Hao is gone!* *When I left, I brought the City Lord's seal!* *And a strand of the Old Turtle's origin!* It was fair to say the entire Battle Heaven City had told him to take the best treasures and protect Li Hao. Yet he had been too careless, derelict in his duty. He hadn't dared to use the City Lord's seal earlier out of cowardice. For a Neo-Martial warrior, that was an unforgivable sin! "Ahhh!" Director Wang roared madly. Previously disdainful of striking the weak, he now ruthlessly slaughtered the members of the Eight Divisions and the protectors, littering the ground with corpses in the blink of an eye. Yet he felt not the slightest joy, only utter desolation! Just as he was bordering on frenzy, a figure suddenly barged into the ruins. Director Wang, his eyes bloodshot from the slaughter, was about to strike the newcomer down. The newcomer suddenly bellowed, "Why didn't anyone call me for the fight?! Damn you all, I said I wanted to join in killing the Wind and Cloud Pavilion! Why did everyone leave without telling me?!" A figure landed—Yuan Shuo, furious to the extreme! Seeing Director Wang killing people, and not recognizing the man, Yuan Shuo threw a punch without a second thought. The man was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes like a sworn enemy—who else would he hit?! *Boom!* Yuan Shuo threw his punch with absolute confidence. In this vast world, who could block a punch from him? He had undergone another transformation! *Boom!* A massive recoil sent him stumbling backward, his arm blowing apart. Director Wang was startled as well. He had seen Yuan Shuo before, though Yuan Shuo hadn't known it, back when he was still wrapped in a cocoon. "It's a misunderstanding! I'm from Battle Heaven City!" Yuan Shuo stepped back, just about to draw his blade to strike down the foe, when he froze and looked at the man. From Battle Heaven City? Just then, the Earth-Overturning Sword's anxious voice came through: "Yuan Shuo, Li Hao... is gone!" "What?" Yuan Shuo froze, vanishing instantly to reappear before him, glancing left and right with a slight frown. *Gone?* He gave a slight sniff, and five forces surfaced instantly. Sensing something, his expression shifted. "Idiot, reckless fool!" The next moment, he circulated the Five Animals Breathing Art, causing heaven and earth to fluctuate! Five forces erupted simultaneously! A surge of formidable power burst forth. Yuan Shuo let out a fierce roar, spraying mouthfuls of blood as he reached out and suddenly pulled forth a stone saber! Radiant beams of light flared across the stone saber. Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, Yuan Shuo seemed to slice through the void. A fierce tiger materialized—not Li Hao's, but Yuan Shuo's. The tiger clamped the stone saber in its jaws and vanished into thin air! Immediately after, Yuan Shuo struck his chest, spitting another mouthful of essence blood, and cursed loudly, "Find him, drag him back!" *Boom!* The void rippled. Director Wang watched in dumbfounded amazement. *What is he doing?* *Where did that tiger go with the Zhang family's saber?* At this moment, even he couldn't detect where the tiger had gone. Yuan Shuo continued to curse, "Good thing I showed up! Every damn time, I have to wipe his ass! What's the bloody point of raising a disciple? What good are so many experts if you let him slip into the secondary space?" "Ancient people, modern people—all useless! Fighting a measly Wind and Cloud Pavilion, yet you let someone get tossed into the secondary space! I don't know why Li Hao keeps a bunch of deadbeats around!" "..." He unleashed a torrent of furious curses, yet not a single person dared to utter a peep. Even Director Wang was awkward beyond measure, asking cautiously, "He... isn't dead?" "Bah! Even if you die, he won't!" Being chewed out didn't upset Director Wang in the slightest. Instead, he let out a massive sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground, his eyes filled with profound relief. Li Hao... wasn't dead! Right then, a faint voice seemed to drift out from the void: "Where's my sword?" The voice sounded somewhat bewildered. *Where did my sword go?* *Why can't I locate it?!* *Fortunately, at the critical moment, another tiger showed up carrying a saber, locking onto the void... By the way, aren't this tiger and saber a bit familiar?* On the field, everyone was overjoyed! It was Li Hao's voice! He was truly alive!