A Fight to the Death!

Beside the peach tree in Boundless City, the Starry Sky Sword gleamed with brilliance. A rift suddenly tore open in the fabric of the world. The Peach Guardian and the golden-armored warrior had both been captivated by the glowing Starry Sky Sword. The golden armor had not yet come to his senses; his gaze remained fixed on the blade, completely oblivious to the rift. Yet the Peach Guardian was a Saint, after all. In a split second, a sudden sense of mortal peril arose within it. The illusory figure's expression changed drastically and vanished at once, every trace of greed wiped away in the blink of an eye. Yet it was too late. Whether it had truly not revived or had merely pretended not to, the colossal trunk of the peach tree was far too massive and close at hand. The spatial rift opened right beside the tree's true body, less than three meters away. At such close quarters, to experts of their caliber, that distance was practically zero. "Kill!" A low shout resonated in everyone's ears. In that instant, the golden armor seemed to see a roaring tiger, crushing mountains and rivers, shattered heavens and earth—and the Sword Venerable! The flickering Starry Sky Sword instantly fell into a person's grasp. The newcomer was remarkably young. He was clearly not the Sword Venerable, yet at this moment, he seemed to become the sword itself, fusing into one with the Starry Sky Sword. A single thrust stabbed forth—the hidden blade bared at last! The Longevity Sword! The golden-armored warrior dazed for an instant. The Sword Venerable... The thought flashed and vanished. Beside him, dazzling golden light erupted from the colossal peach tree like an immortal, invincible body, radiant golden brilliance illuminating heaven and earth as its aura surged wildly! Only... it seemed to be too late. Crack! A faint snapping sound rang out. The tiny human, wielding a slender sword, drove the blade straight into the gargantuan trunk. The strike carried absolute killing intent; there was no need for Li Hao to predict, wait, or seek out an opening. The enemy was right before him! The sword pierced straight through the giant tree! With a sharp crack, the trunk was transfixed. Strands of sword energy erupted within the tree's body, obliterating everything, slaughtering all in their path, severing its life force. The massive Heart of Life, like a pavilion of crystal, was shattered in an instant by ten thousand rays of sword Qi! At that moment, the Peach Guardian's true body thrashed uncontrollably, and an agonizing shriek echoed across the world. "Bastard!" A lifelong hunter had been blinded by a fledgling bird. Li Hao had been right. It had not engaged in battle for far too many years. Even though the Peach Guardian was a Saint and had sensed danger, it failed to react in time. All it could manage was a mournful wail before a thunderous explosion rang out. The Heart of Life shattered instantly. Countless torrents of the Spring of Life gushed from the colossal trunk, even submerging Qian Wuliang in an instant. There was simply too much of it. Over boundless ages, just how much Spring of Life had a living Saint tree accumulated? And this... also seemed to prove that the tree might have been awake the entire time. It had merely feigned extreme weakness. For monster plants, the Heart of Life was the primary source of their physical strength, followed by mental power, and then the origin path. Yet in this era where the origin path was severed, as long as the physical body shattered and the mind was wiped out, it meant total death with no hope of recovery! The Peach Guardian's tremendously powerful true body had actually been cleaved apart by Li Hao's single sword strike! In an instant, an illusory figure materialized in the air—aged, furious, and hysterical! That was the Peach Guardian's mental power! Never in its wildest dreams had it imagined being ambushed inside the main city. Such a thing should have been virtually impossible, not to mention that this was an era before the second resurgence had begun, when heaven and earth could not even accommodate a Saint. Yet today, its physical form had been shattered with a single sword strike. The illusory figure solidified into a human silhouette. The aged Peach Guardian had gone somewhat mad, its mighty mental power sweeping across heaven and earth. It was a Saint; even with its physical body destroyed, it was still a Saint! Its physical body had pretended to be weak, but its mental power was not weak in the slightest, even though a substantial portion of it had been torn apart by that sword strike. And at this very moment, Li Hao, though deathly pale, did not hesitate for a second. Suddenly, numerous Dao meridians shattered inside his body. He was no longer merely opening acupoints; he was detonating his Dao meridians directly. Piercing through heaven and earth, his physical body swelled, and a surging torrent of immense power welled up once more. Wielding the Starry Sky Sword, Li Hao peaked in an instant, even surpassing his state from just moments before. "Slash!" Another sword strike slashed out! The Peach Guardian's illusory form was horrified. It had thought this person had reached his absolute limit, never expecting him to unleash a second strike. It turned to flee, jolted out of its rage by a surge of terror! Too many ages of comfort had made it fear death. Yet no matter how fast it was, how could it outrun this sword? Boom! A world-shaking blast erupted. With a crisp crack, the void seemed to turn to glazed glass. The entire sky and earth, along with that phantom, shattered and crumbled into dust beneath this single strike! An unfathomable second sword strike! Only now did the silhouette of a battleship emerge behind Li Hao. What met everyone's eyes was a towering tree cleaved in two by a sword, and the mental power of a Saint obliterated by a single strike. At this moment, Li Hao did not look towering in the least. Instead, he seemed so weak that anyone could poke him to death at any time. Young, diminutive. Yet standing tall with longsword in hand, Li Hao remained upright. With two strikes instead of the expected three, he had slain a Saint—a fully intact Saint—on the spot! "Impossible..." The ethereal mental power was ground to pieces in an instant. The human form into which the Peach Guardian had manifested fragmented into countless pieces, still laden with disbelief. It had all happened too fast. It was a Saint! How could a Saint die so easily? "You are Li Hao..." A murmur echoed between heaven and earth: "You are courting death... I will return..." Carrying deep resentment, the sky and earth blasted apart with a boom. A great dao faintly flickered before disappearing in an instant. It was dead, yet not dead in the strictest sense. The origin path was not completely severed. As long as someone was willing to lend it a hand, or once the origin path re-emerged, it had a chance to be reborn and return! Only at this moment did the golden-armored warrior finally snap back to his senses. Without looking back, he turned and fled. Yet in that very breath, someone struck. Qian Wuliang had already made his move from behind, supernatural powers erupting as if fiends and ghosts swarmed around him, enveloping his foe in an instant. Beside the golden armor were two other figures: Yuan Shuo and Deputy Director Zhou. Deputy Director Zhou was slightly weaker. Revealing his golden body, he hurled a fist technique he had spent a long time charging up. Yuan Shuo transformed into a giant bear, slapping down a palm that threatened to shatter heaven and earth! The three of them had long been prepared. The golden armor, however, had only just recovered his wits. The moment the battleship fully manifested—boom! Another thunderous blast erupted, followed by the golden armor's anguished wail. "It hurts!" "No, I won't die..." The agony seemed to be magnified a hundredfold in an instant. At this moment, the golden-armored warrior, endowed with the power of the Immortal Realm, suddenly experienced unspeakable torment. His sensation of pain had been drastically amplified by Qian Wuliang's supernatural power. Even his fear and cowardice were magnified! As a New Martial expert, even when caught in a surprise ambush or struck by a direct punch, he would never easily cry out about pain. Yet right now, he screamed in agonizing torment! It hurt so much! The golden armor encasing his immortal body cracked under the punch. Yuan Shuo's fist slammed into his chest, and with a thunderous bang, the chest was pierced through... and blood sprayed out. Blood! Indeed, this was no empty suit of armor; actual blood had splattered forth. Yuan Shuo and the others took on grave expressions. Just as expected! Both the peach tree and the golden-armored warrior had been putting on an act. This golden-armored figure possessed a living flesh-and-blood body; he had merely looked weak. Wailing in agony, the golden armor tried to strike back. Yet at that exact instant, countless sonic booms erupted from behind him. Crack! A sword struck first. It was not Li Hao, but Sky Sword, who had somehow outpaced all the others. As Sky Sword's blade descended with a boom, the golden armor was thoroughly pierced. Immediately following, countless powerful attacks tore through the air. The golden armor shattered completely, revealing a human body that was torn to pieces in the blink of an eye. The moment his mental power surged forth, a deafening roar sounded, and it was ripped to shreds. An expert around the mid-stage Immortal Realm had been utterly obliterated and torn apart in an instant beneath the collective onslaught. In death, he was filled with resentment and terror, every emotion amplified beyond measure! At this moment, rumbling sounds shook the world! Li Hao and his companions had moved with extreme speed, but this was a main city. The instant they dispatched the two experts, a radiant beam of light shot up from within the city. The next moment, figure after figure materialized. However, there were no supreme experts among them; judging by their auras, the strongest were only in the Immortal Realm. Just then, a sigh echoed through the heavens: "Father was indeed wrong... He shouldn't have been soft-hearted..." At that moment, the entire Boundless City seemed to expand countless times over. It stretched endlessly across heaven and earth! The previously dark zones emerged in an instant. The main cities were originally colossal, compressed only due to an energy deficit. Now, the darkness receded, revealing the true appearance of the ancient city. Immensely vast! From the darkness stepped a golden-armored warrior who wore no helmet, his voice laced with regret and lamentation: "To think someone actually breached Boundless City. What a pity!" A pity for the Saint-tier guardian monster plant. As for the golden armor at the Immortal Realm, he was merely a director in Boundless City; his death mattered little. But the death of the Saint-level peach tree was truly lamentable. Rumble! Inside the city, it sounded as if a vast army was awakening. Tens of thousands of armored legionnaires emerged from the shadows in an instant, silver-armored warriors appearing alongside one golden armor after another. Not only that! At this exact moment, an expert clad in sky-blue armor manifested. Li Hao knew that once an officer reached the level of corps commander or legion commander, they could customize their armor at will, no longer bound by color designations. Whether sky-blue or any other hue, so long as it was not gold, it almost certainly denoted a rank beyond division commander. As for the other golden-armored warrior who had spoken earlier, though he still wore gold armor, his aura was terrifyingly potent—he had likely already reached the Saint realm. This man was probably a son of the Zheng family patriarch. If not the second son, Zheng Gong, then the third son, Zheng Yu. And the expert in sky-blue armor was either the commander of the reserve guard army left behind or the vice commander of the Boundless Army. That person... possessed a fierce, tyrannical aura, and was also a Saint! The worst-case scenario... No, it was slightly better. The Zheng family patriarch did indeed seem absent from the city. Yet counting the giant tree, there had been three Saints presiding over this place. Three Saints! While it wasn't the absolute worst misfortune of crashing straight into their main powerhouse, it was still one more than the expected two. Li Hao gave a faint smile inward. Fortunately, there was no fourth. He felt some helplessness, but zero regrets. At this moment, Director Wang's face changed drastically. Gritting his teeth, he roared in fury, "Zheng Gong!" Turning his gaze to the warrior in sky-blue armor, his anger burned even hotter: "General Han Jiang of the Boundless Army! You people truly have betrayed us!" Their military organization remained intact, fully revived, and their physical bodies uncompromised! Retaining the combat strength of Saints! At this moment, what more needed to be said? Nothing at all! Furthermore, the immense amount of Spring of Life released by the peach tree had almost engulfed and covered them all. Such a staggering volume could never have been produced in just a day or two of revival; they had likely revived a very, very long time ago. The darkness receded, laying bare the ancient city's true visage. Zheng Gong, the second son of the Zheng family, clad in golden battle armor, paid him no heed. Instead, he scanned his surroundings with a solemn expression. "Director Zhang An, why do you hide and refuse to show yourself?" This was the reason he had not attacked immediately. For Li Hao to dare launch an assault... in everyone's mind, he must have received the backing of Zhang An and Battle Heaven City. They still held a degree of wariness toward Zhang An. Beside him, Han Jiang in his sky-blue armor, the vice commander of the Boundless Army, remained silent. He transmitted orders to the garrison army, and in an instant, the forces mobilized. Heaven-Covering Shields manifested one after another, sealing off the entire sky and earth. The Lockhole Chains, originally intended to prevent enemies from fleeing, also appeared instantly, locking down the void in case Zhang An should suddenly charge out and shatter through space. The two Saints instantly completed every defensive preparation. At the same time, golden-armored figures quickly assembled within the city—one, two, three... In the blink of an eye, at least thirty golden-armored warriors gathered. Golden armor almost universally represented the Immortal Realm. Beyond that, among the army, some silver-armored regimental commanders also seemed to be alive, their blood energy soaring to the skies, their auras not inferior to the Immortal Realm in the slightest. At a glance, the dense, sprawling army numbered at least several tens of thousands. However... not all of them seemed alive. Many, like those in Battle Heaven City, had already perished. Yet quite a few of the bronze and silver armors were living flesh. Several of the golden-armored division commanders were living people as well. In an instant, the opposition formed a massive defensive formation. Not only that, radiant light bloomed along the massive city walls surrounding the main city, and a gigantic barrier of light enclosed the entire metropolis. Suddenly, countless supernatural cannons emerged upon the walls, all trained directly on Li Hao and his group. "Director Zhang, as a descendant of the Supreme, must you hide your head and show only your tail?" The youthful-looking Zheng Gong maintained a watchful gaze, yet spoke with composure: "Boundless City merely revived a few years early. Without discerning right from wrong, you had Li Hao slay our guardian monster plant. If you ask me, it is you, Director, who has committed treason, is it not?" "Hiding away and refusing to come out—is this the conduct of the Supreme's house?" He was utterly convinced that Zhang An had come. He simply did not know where Zhang An was hiding, which kept him intensely vigilant. Even without a physical body, and even in this day and age, Zhang An remained so terrifying that Zheng Gong could not detect him while he was concealed. At this moment, Li Hao did not utter a word. His physical body was crumbling, but the surrounding Spring of Life was so abundant that it almost completely submerged and blanketed them, as if they were steeped in a river of life. Right now, Li Hao's shattered body was rapidly mending. He had never anticipated that the enemy would mistakenly believe Zhang An was present, remaining on high alert and choosing passive defense instead of taking advantage of his weakness after he slew a Saint! This... was completely unexpected! Two Saints, dozens of Immortals, tens of thousands of troops—yet the enemy had opted to defend, apprehensive of Zhang An because they could not locate him. And Li Hao certainly had no intention of telling them that Zhang An had not come. Thus, he frantically absorbed the boundless life energy. Not just him—everyone else did the same. It was not merely life energy, but also countless shattered particles of indestructible substance and vast amounts of dissipating origin energy. Both the King of Dali and Empress Dowager Shuiyun remained dead silent, uttering not a word as they absorbed everything in silence. In their hearts... was wild ecstasy! The remnants of a Saint! Under normal circumstances, even after killing a Saint, the enemy's remaining two Saints would have charged over in an instant. No one would have had the time to absorb and digest these treasures—who would ever grant such an opportunity? Yet... nobody had expected the enemy to misunderstand the situation. At this point, Zheng Gong seemed to grow angry, his voice dropping low: "Zhang An, you are as cowardly as ever! Everyone said that among the Zhang family, you were the most useless—spineless and incompetent, inferior to Zhang Peng and inferior to Zhang Xue. To this day, you haven't changed!" "Do you think that by hiding, you cannot be found?" The moment his words fell, a beam of light suddenly rose above the gigantic ancient city. Piercing through heaven and earth, it swept through the surrounding void in an instant! As a main city, how could it lack contingency measures? Facing an enemy intrusion, how could it have zero precautions? The light swept past, enveloping Li Hao and the others, and even covering the empty void behind them. Yet as the searching beam swept through, Zheng Gong's expression shifted in the distance. What was going on? How was that possible?! Zhang An... was nowhere to be found. Had he not come, or had they failed to detect him? Not come... That made no sense. If Zhang An had not come, could Li Hao have come alone? Yet Wang Ye was here! Li Hao was strong, certainly. Just moments ago, Zheng Gong had watched Li Hao appear abruptly and slay the peach tree with two instantaneous strikes. But he also recognized that those two sword strikes had pushed Li Hao to his absolute limit, even shattering his physical body. For a mortal of the new era to reach such heights was already terrifyingly formidable. Yet if they were certain the Zheng family had rebelled, a single Li Hao was far from enough—it was practically a suicide mission. Where was Zhang An? Beside him, Vice Commander Han Jiang's expression also flickered. He cast a cold gaze at the surroundings, finally settling his eyes on Li Hao and his company. His gaze shifted slightly. Could it be... they were truly the only ones here? Was that even possible? …… Li Hao rapidly absorbed massive amounts of the Spring of Life. His eyes remained fixed on the opposing side. At this moment, his voice echoed in everyone's ears: "I didn't expect two Saints to be holding the line here. Of course, it seems there are only two, which is better than our worst-case scenario..." "Even better, they didn't charge us just now, giving us an opportunity..." This was truly a blessing from the heavens! The more one overthought, the more cowardly one became. Had these people been reckless brutes who paid no heed to Zhang An and simply attacked, Li Hao would have only been able to muster a single sword strike, completely powerless against two Saints. But now, his physical body had recovered, and his Dao meridians were sealed once more. This was the true stroke of good fortune! "I cannot take on two Saints working together. Master, King of Dali, Empress Dowager Shuiyun, Director Zhao—the four of you join forces to tie down one of them... Hold down Zheng Gong, and I will deal with Han Jiang!" The King of Dali's face turned green. We agreed we would handle those below the Saint level. How did it turn into fighting a Saint? Are you kidding me?! Yet Li Hao had even assigned his own master to the task. Yuan Shuo was only at the third tier of Sun and Moon, possessing combat strength at the peak of the Peak Realm, an immense gulf away from a Saint. Did he... truly have no fear of his master being slain in an instant? "The rest of you, quickly lock onto your own targets. As for the army of tens of thousands... once we clash in melee, the army will be useless! But stay cautious—beware of their battle formations, which might instantly grant those silver-armored commanders the combat strength of the Immortal Realm. Be on guard!" Since the enemy had bought them time, Li Hao naturally did his best to optimize every arrangement. Earlier, the situation had been obscure, but now it was clear. The real threats came from the two Saints. Fortunately, their gambit had succeeded, allowing them to slay one in advance. Otherwise... facing three whole Saints would have spelled catastrophic disaster. …… Inside the city. Zheng Gong's expression fluctuated. He turned to Han Jiang: "Commander Han, do you think... Zhang An didn't come?" Han Jiang could not say for sure either. The next moment, an idea struck him, and he sent a transmission: "Young City Lord... why not... test him by invoking the Supreme..." Zheng Gong's face tightened slightly. Even to this day, he still feared those figures. Yet right now, they could not simply stand by and watch, could they? Watching Li Hao and his cohort slay the guardian monster plant and devour the vast Spring of Life it had left behind? He swiftly suppressed his fear and spoke in a cold, aloof tone: "Zhang An, you useless coward, do you not dare show your face because you feel you have disgraced the Zhang family? It doesn't matter; Supreme Zhang was quite useless himself. He clearly could have seized the throne of Human Sovereign, yet he insisted on putting on an act of generosity, ceding the seat of World Lord to the Human King! Otherwise, the Zhang family would be the masters of the world! Zhang An, your grandfather was just like you—both of you hypocrites..." The moment these words left his mouth, even though Zhang An was absent, Wang Ye and the others flew into a violent rage! Even within the city, some of the silver and golden armors stirred with slight commotion. Wang Ye was consumed with fury: "Bastard! You treacherous rebel, how dare you insult the Human King and the Supreme!" Jiang Yingli's face was livid: "Zheng Gong, you dog! You are merely a branch descendant of the Zheng family, yet you dare insult the Human King and the Supreme!" Zheng Gong had felt some trepidation as well, but when he uttered those words, he received no response whatsoever. The fear on his face gradually faded. Now, looking at Li Hao with a mixture of disbelief and surprise, he murmured, "You... truly are mad!" He was certain: Zhang An was not here. Otherwise, after insulting the Supreme, when even outsiders flew into such a frenzy, Zhang An would have definitely revealed himself. This had nothing to do with falling for provocation; it was a disgrace that anyone of the Zhang family had to wash away! For the honor of the Zhang family, Zhang An would never hide away. This could only mean one thing: Li Hao... truly had not brought Zhang An along! He suddenly laughed: "Li Hao, you couldn't possibly think... Boundless City is like the other main cities, having only just revived with limited combat strength? Did you think that just because you have the power to slay a Saint, you could fear nothing?" At this moment, he suspected that Li Hao had assumed Boundless City was no different from the other ancient ruins. Otherwise... where would he find the audacity to raid Boundless City? Having determined that Zhang An was absent, his fury turned to self-reproach. Had he known Zhang An was not here, he might have had a chance to intercept Li Hao when he unleashed that second sword strike. But at that moment, paralyzed by his fear of Zhang An, he had not dared to charge out rashly. The light in his eyes grew chillingly cold. Zheng Gong bellowed, "Sallie out and slay the enemy! Annihilate them!" In an instant, the protective barrier vanished. Zheng Gong disappeared in a flash, and Han Jiang vanished right behind him. With Zhang An absent, what could a lone Li Hao accomplish? Behind them, a massive host of golden-armored experts surged forward, the void trembling as a terrifying might enveloped heaven and earth. In all directions, monster plants emerged as if laying down a grand formation. Extremely furious, they only dared to appear now, stabilizing and solidifying the void to lock Li Hao and his group into this area. Meanwhile, Li Hao leaped into the air, charging straight toward Han Jiang. A commander of the military possessed formidable prowess. He did not know whether he could wear the man down and seize an opening as he had done against Di Yao, but... he had to try. As for the King of Dali and the others, hesitation showed on their faces. The next instant, spurred by Yuan Shuo's furious roar, the group took to the sky one after another, charging straight at Zheng Gong. …… Boom! The moment both sides clashed, just as Li Hao intercepted his opponent, Han Jiang slashed down with his heavy saber, as if cleaving through heaven and earth. Just as Li Hao stabilized his footing, a deafening blast rang out, and the Starry Sky Sword shook violently! Li Hao's body fractured instantly, the ferocious killing intent causing him to tremble all over. Not far away, the King of Dali threw a punch. A chain manifested in the void, snapping shut around his fist with a sharp clank. With a savage yank, flesh and blood splattered, nearly severing his arm, and the gauntlet was almost ripped away. The mighty King of Dali was like a child before his adversary. Zheng Gong remarked coldly, "The Overlord Emperor's gauntlet? Incredible. Yet an ant like you presumes to wield it?" Just then, a massive seal crashed down, causing Zheng Gong's bloodline to stir slightly. He sneered, "The Eight Directions Seal? That was used to discipline and suppress the juniors of the great clans, yet you dare use it against me? Laughable!" He could hardly be considered a junior. Back then, he had already reached the peak of the Immortal Realm, and now he had stepped into the Saint realm, standing among the pinnacle existences in Silver Moon. Could the Eight Directions Seal, meant for disciplining students, possibly suppress him? He threw a punch. The Eight Directions Seal shuddered violently and was blasted backward. Director Zhao, having just stepped into the fifth tier of Sun and Moon, suffered a horrific backlash, his body instantly torn to ragged shreds by the shockwave! Director Zhao was filled with shock! Is this... a Saint? A mere casual punch had swatted away the Eight Directions Seal and shattered his body. The combat power he had felt was invincible across the world just moments ago was suddenly rendered utterly insignificant. Li Hao was also at the fifth tier of Sun and Moon, yet he had slain a Saint. They had even thought... joining forces might give them hope of slaying a Saint as well! Yet in this instant, they were snapped back to reality. The King of Dali was battered and bloody, his other hand desperately gripping his gauntlet, despair and panic surfacing in his eyes. Was this... the might of a Saint? His formidable combat power was worthless here; his gauntlet was nearly wrested from his grasp. Right at this moment, a sword strike flowed forth like a babbling brook. A slender sword pierced through heaven and earth. Seeing this, Zheng Gong suddenly stepped back, a look of shock flitting across his face as he retreated several paces in succession. Only when that sword struck and severed the chain binding the King of Dali did he freeze, before turning red with humiliation and fury. "Who... are you?!" This person actually knew the Stream Sword Art! Not only that, it carried a terrifyingly formidable presence. The level of power was not the key; rather, it was that unique suppressive aura that sent chills through his heart. As a member of the Zheng clan, he was well-traveled and knowledgeable, recognizing the sword technique instantly. Empress Dowager Shuiyun's expression was grim to the extreme. He was far too strong. With that all-out strike, had it not been for the sword art's unique nature that frightened him into retreating a few steps, she doubted she could have severed the chain holding the King of Dali. A Saint... how could they possibly contend with this? Empress Dowager Shuiyun felt like weeping! How could they fight this? The three of them had struck with everything they had, each possessing combat strength of the middle Sun-Moon tier. Yet they hadn't even grazed the hem of his clothes; instead, two of them were severely injured. As for Yuan Shuo, he was only at the third tier of Sun and Moon, even weaker... How could a group like this match a Saint? What a joke! The next instant, Zheng Gong came to his senses: "It's not her... You obtained her legacy... The sword in your hand... is extraordinary. To think that Silver Moon holds that lady's inheritance. How could this be?" He was taken by surprise! And infuriated. Today, he had first been spooked by Zhang An, and then unnerved by the sword art of the Queen of the Human King. Damn it all! In his fury, a chain that resembled a whip materialized in his hand. He lashed out! The void shattered instantly, a tempest sweeping across heaven and earth. The three converged, roaring in unison as they staked everything. The Overlord Emperor's gauntlet, the Silver City Martial Arts University's Eight Directions Seal, and the sword of the Queen of the Human King—all were peerless divine weapons. Together, they struck at his whip! At this moment, they had completely forgotten about Yuan Shuo; his presence wouldn't change anything anyway. Yet all three wore expressions of despair and helplessness. The disparity was simply too vast. Li Hao had told them to hold him off... but could they even last thirty seconds? Lasting that long would be pure luck! They were dead for sure! Right at this moment, five divine characters suddenly flared to life around Yuan Shuo: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Above his head, a miniature world seemed to hang suspended. Within the Bright Star Realm, the cosmic expanse trembled. The five divine characters swept up the countless surrounding Dao meridians, wrapping around them as an overwhelmingly potent Five Elements power erupted from Yuan Shuo's body. His physical frame was not sturdy enough, tearing into ragged ruins in the blink of an eye. Even with boundless Spring of Life swirling around him and burning furiously, it could not mend the damage in time. His bones snapped under the strain. Yuan Shuo said nothing. He merely cast a glance at Li Hao not far away, who had been suppressed the instant he engaged his opponent! To count on Li Hao to come to the rescue right now... was unrealistic. A smile crept onto his face, ferocious and grim. A Saint? Truly formidable! To think that I, Yuan Shuo, would actually trade blows with a Saint! Once upon a time, could I ever have imagined that one day I would fight a legendary Saint? Five immense Dao meridians enveloped his entire body. A tiger, a bear, a golden eagle... Five beasts converged, coalescing into an unclassifiable chimera. Each of the five beasts carried a Dao meridian and a divine character. Yuan Shuo smiled. The flesh on his body vanished in an instant, and his pale bones were fracturing, yet he laughed heartily. Even though not a shred of flesh remained, he still laughed with pure abandon. My foolish disciple... Saints are truly tough to handle. I don't know if I can hold him off, let alone kill him... Yet I will do everything in my power to keep him pinned down. Even if... from now on, you must rely entirely on yourself. Yuan Shuo let out a fierce shout. From the depths of his skeletal frame came a thunderous roar. In an instant, he threw a punch, shaking heaven and earth. Of the four weapons that had clashed, three were sent flying; the trio had failed to withstand even a single exchange. Yet at this moment, accompanied by Yuan Shuo's punch, the power of the Five Elements enveloped heaven and earth. Yuan Shuo shattered the whip with a single blow—it had merely been a whip forged of energy. He roared furiously: "Go kill the others!" The trio was shaken to their core. Yuan Shuo bellowed again, "Get lost!" Zheng Gong was somewhat surprised and bewildered. What kind of path was this? The next instant, a pair of skeletal divine fists bore down upon him! A madman! Indeed, the moment the three departed, Yuan Shuo became completely deranged, throwing punch after punch. He did not defend, did not guard, did not wait... He had no time to wait. He couldn't hold on for long, able to endure for only a brief moment. If Li Hao could not slay that Saint before he collapsed... then all was lost! "Tiger Roar!" Yuan Shuo's voice resounded across the world. At this moment, like a skeletal sovereign, he punched forth, his roar shaking the mountain forests. Rumble! Heaven and earth were engulfed as the power of the Five Elements formed a colossal domain, sealing both him and Zheng Gong within! At this moment, Yuan Shuo held only a single thought: As long as Han Jiang is not dead, I cannot die. Only when Han Jiang falls may I perish... Strike! Tiger Fist, Monkey Fist, Bear Fist... Punch after punch rained down. At this moment, the formidable power of the Five Elements caused even Zheng Gong, a Saint, to look solemn. With a low shout, he lashed out with whip after whip! Bang! Bang! Bang! Deafening crashes shattered the void. Yuan Shuo's white bones were fracturing apart, yet how could he care about any of that? All he could do was punch! A martial master knows no fear! …… At the same time, Li Hao was unleashing sword strike after sword strike. Yet Han Jiang was too fast. Wielding a massive saber, he showed none of Di Yao's restraint, hacking down with stroke after stroke. For every sword strike Li Hao thrust out, the other had already slashed three times! With a sharp crack, Li Hao's Starry Sky Sword was deflected. The saber cleaved downward, opening a tearing wound across Li Hao's torso, nearly cleaving him entirely in two. Han Jiang's expression remained impassive. Li Hao's defense was not weak, nor was his offense; his speed was simply too slow and his reactions too sluggish. When such an entity clashed with a Saint, unless he took them completely by surprise, he could never slay any Saint! The Peach Guardian had fallen by his hand... That could only be described as a tragic, frustrating fluke. Had its true body not been so massive and unable to react in time, how could Li Hao have ever killed the peach tree? "You have slain a guardian monster plant, an existence at the Saint realm. Your death... is well worth it!" Han Jiang's tone was calm: "It simply exceeded my expectations that you truly dared to come alone without bringing Zhang An... Truly a mad little fellow! Are the genes of the Li family destined to make you all madmen?" As for Zheng Gong, he was not worried in the least. For a Saint to handle those weaklings—even if Zheng Gong had only ascended to the Saint realm recently—was not something Yuan Shuo and the others could withstand. And as for Li Hao, he shouldn't dream of overcoming him. Li Hao remained silent. Swirling with boundless Spring of Life, he struck with his sword once, twice... As always, he showed no haste. He didn't even glance at the other battlefields, nor did he have the luxury to. He believed... everyone could hold out until he slayed his opponent. They definitely could! All around, explosions continued without end. …… At this moment, Li Hao had neither the time nor the energy to look. Around them, the conflict had split into dozens of battlefields, the grand battle erupting in an instant. There were far too many in the Immortal Realm, each comparable to the fourth tier of Sun and Moon or even stronger, whereas Li Hao's faction possessed far fewer mid-tier Sun-Moon combatants. Only after the King of Dali and the others joined in did they barely manage to balance the scales. In the distance, Southern Fist roared continuously, throwing punch after frantic punch. The shadows of his fists shattered the void. His opponent was a golden-armored warrior, while he possessed only the combat power of the first tier of Sun and Moon, barely brushing against the second tier, still falling somewhat short. He relied solely on a chest full of blood and courage! "Fuck your ancestors!" Southern Fist roared a curse, striking again and again, smashing the void to pieces. Even as the enemy's sword pierced clean through him, his valor remained undiminished! Yet the disparity in combat power was not something raw courage could bridge. He was wounded, and grievously so. In merely the blink of an eye, he had suffered heavy injuries, his aura beginning to plummet. Forcibly detonating several Dao meridians, he barely managed to throw another punch. Across from him, the golden armor's eyes held only cold mockery. This man's punches were fierce, but... let alone killing him, even injuring him was difficult. The formidable golden armor had not demonstrated its peak efficacy against Li Hao, yet on his body, it was impregnable. Southern Fist had only managed to leave a few dents on the armor, unable to even crack it. Across the entire battlefield, even the King of Dali and his companions failed to gain any upper hand or advantage against the powerful golden armors. Southern Fist took a split second to glance around... No reinforcements were coming. Some had to group three to five people together just to barely hold off a single golden armor, completely unable to spare a moment to help him. High above, Li Hao and his master fought with frantic abandon, throwing swords and fists, yet both teetered on the brink of collapse! This battle... just as predicted, was a brush with certain death. Southern Fist bared his teeth in a grin and threw another punch, muttering under his breath in an almost inaudible murmur. In war, people must die. I never thought I'd be the first to fall in battle. I always thought there were people weaker than me. I always thought that since I survived even the darkest era of the Silver Moon martial arts world... I also thought about how every Silver Moon martial master called me shameless... Wasn't it just dining without paying? Later, whenever I had money, I paid. You... bunch of bastards! Why did you always pick on me? My reputation was entirely ruined by you lot! I wasn't as lustful as Thunderbolt Leg, not as cowardly as Earth-Overturning Sword, not as overbearing as Tyrant Saber, not as aloof as Sky Sword. I should have been loved by everyone... Northern Fist has bullied me for years. Your whole family is Little He! Who do you think you are? You're not my father, yet you bully me every single day! The New Martial people before them were too strong. And they were numerous! The grand army had not deployed yet, but it wouldn't be long. A Saint... was an unreachable height, but an Immortal... could it be that I, Southern Fist He Yong, can't even kill one? It didn't look that hard when Li Hao killed them! "Silver Moon, Southern Fist, He Yong!" At this moment, Southern Fist had made his decision, suddenly bursting into wild laughter! "The martial arts world of the realm stems from Silver Moon, and among Silver Moon's pugilists, there is only me, Southern Fist!" "Heaven-Shaking!" A furious roar tore through the heavens as countless Dao meridians inside his body shattered in an instant, a burst of terrifying power erupting forth. At the same time, dozens of city-destroying bombs manifested before his eyes. With a ferocious bellow, his punch sent the opposing golden armor flying backward. He lunged forward, locking the enemy in a death grip in an instant, laughing maniacally: "Who says New Martial is invincible?! Silver Moon... is invincible!" Boom! A world-shaking blast resonated in all directions. The immense explosive force tore through the golden armor in an instant, exposing the golden flesh beneath, which was likewise shredded apart! "Get off me!" The Immortal expert was terrified, roaring in fury as he threw a punch, only for his fist to be blown to pieces in an instant! In his final moment, Southern Fist forcibly blasted through a massive number of Dao meridians, casting everything aside, pouring all into that single Heaven-Shaking punch! Boom! Tremendous explosions erupted continuously. The golden body was instantly ripped apart, shattered, and reduced to dust. A wisp of mental power drifted forth, slowly coalescing into a human silhouette, laden with sheer disbelief... A self-detonation! Only New Martial possessed such sheer valor; since when had a New Martial warrior been dragged into a mutual destruction by someone else... The thought had barely formed when, in an instant, a divine character emerged from the wreckage, suddenly detonating! Southern Fist's voice drifted over, tinged with cold indifference: "I'm dying, and you still want to live? In this battle... He Yong takes the lead!" Bang! The colossal blast flattened everything. A golden armor, alongside Southern Fist, vanished from heaven and earth. Not far away, the aging Northern Fist had hollow eyes. He cast a glance in that direction, spitting blood continuously under the blows of a golden armor, suddenly offering a self-deprecating smile. Little He... has gone. In truth, we already knew, didn't we? Everyone knew! When that fellow said he wanted to bring city-destroying bombs to blow them up, he had known. Everyone had known... Silver Moon martial masters had always followed through on their words. "No one was really cursing you... Everyone just... knew you didn't care... You had a good temper and a good nature, which was why we picked on you..." He whispered in his heart: Little He, everyone actually liked you very much. Did you know that? Of the thirty-six heroes of the past, Southern Fist has gone. Next... is it my turn? Just as that thought surfaced... In the distance, a spear intent pierced through heaven and earth! Golden Spear wore a calm expression, lacking Southern Fist's uproarious laughter. He merely cast a quiet glance at Hou Xiaochen not far away. In this life of mine, I succeeded because of Hou Xiaochen, and failed because of Hou Xiaochen. In the end, it was my own doing. Others could shatter the demon of Yuan Shuo, yet I, the leader of the Three Spears, retreated again and again, losing to others time after time. In the way of the spear, there are too many powerhouses. Huang Yu, Hou Xiaochen—all of them are spear experts, and all have surpassed me by far... Better that I go first! Golden Spear let out a light laugh, his voice faintly carrying across: "If we win this battle, please remember the name of Golden Spear! Golden Spear Fang Sheng—do not forget my real name... Minister Hou, thank you for looking after me back then!" Hou Xiaochen was like a madman, his spear piercing through heaven and earth, driving straight through a golden armor, shredding the mental power within. At this moment, Hou Xiaochen's eyes were icy cold. The Fire Phoenix Spear erupted with an unrivaled, bloodthirsty intent. The spear shredded the spirit! He looked into the distance. Golden Spear looked back at him, his physical body instantly turning to ash as a golden spear impaled a golden armor through the void, pinning him in midair. The next instant, dazzling brilliance erupted. Countless city-destroying bombs swept in all directions, detonating with a thunderous boom! The shockwaves shook the four quarters! Nearby, other experts roared in fury, fighting like demons! Today, Southern Fist had fallen first, followed by Golden Spear. Of the thirty-six heroes of Silver Moon's martial arts world, two more were gone! Just as Hou Xiaochen was about to find another foe to slay, a sonic boom tore through the air behind him. A golden armor materialized like an assassin, thrusting a sword forth. It was simply unbelievable that Hou Xiaochen had just slain a golden armor... The instant the sword thrust out, an overwhelming wave of baleful energy surged forth. A pair of hands wrapped around the blade, the hands shattering instantly. Her face drenched in blood, Jade Rakshasa wore a smile, clutching the longsword in a death grip. Even with her hands mangled, she let the blade pierce her body, using all her strength to lock the weapon in place. With a faint smile, she said: "That day... you didn't kill me. Did you think... I was beautiful?" That day, the Sick Ghost hadn't killed her. She was a devil! To exact vengeance, she had killed far too many people. If the Jade Rakshasa didn't kill, was she still a Rakshasa? She smiled, radiant beyond measure: "That day... you must have thought I was beautiful... What a... lecher..." The Fire Phoenix Spear pierced through heaven and earth! Hou Xiaochen let out a beastly roar. A Dao meridian inside his skull opened in an instant. With a single thrust, he impaled the golden armor whose sword was locked in place—once, twice, thrice... Until the golden armor shattered completely, revealing the physical body, which also disintegrated instantly, its mental power long wiped clean. Only then did Hou Xiaochen stagger forward, a wide smile on his face, walking toward the woman whose physical form was coming undone. He smiled brightly: "You are very beautiful... That day, I thought... the Silver Moon martial arts world shouldn't just be full of women like Bright Sword... My apologies to Bright Sword. If we win this battle, I will marry you... all right?" "Mm." Jade Rakshasa nodded shyly, her physical body instantly dissolving into dust and vanishing without a trace. Hou Xiaochen reached out, clutching only empty air. He staggered, dazed for a moment, and tilted his head to look at the sky, looking toward Li Hao, who was being driven back step by step... Can we win? Only if we win can I marry her! She accompanied me for so many years, yet I never gave her a proper title. "Kill!" A ferocious roar pierced the clouds. The spear intent of the Fire Phoenix Soul-Cleaving Spear burned stronger than ever before! I must win! Only by winning can I marry her. Li Hao... don't you dare lose! This is only Silver Moon's very first battle—don't you dare lose!