Who's More Ruthless

In the Great Desolation. A colossus of chaos stood upright between heaven and earth—none other than Li Hao. At this moment, Li Hao threw back his head and laughed wild and free. Suspended in the void was the little sword the Queen had forced out. It still hovered there, seemingly vexed, the will of heaven lingering within it. Only, nearly all those whom heaven’s will had blessed were dead. "It's time for you to be on your way as well!" Li Hao stared at the sword of heaven's will, then looked up into the void once more. The silver moon had vanished. At this moment, in this place, only this little sword of heaven’s will remained. As for the will of heaven out in the wider world, it had disappeared. Perhaps it had gone off to seek someone else—perhaps Lin Hongyu, perhaps Ying Hongyue... In any case, no further will of heaven gathered from outside. "Black Panther! Devour it!" Li Hao glanced at the Black Panther, who looked rather bewildered. *You’ve already swallowed the chaotic heaven's will. Why do you want me to devour the little sword of heaven’s will?* Just as that thought crossed its mind, Li Hao’s aura abruptly plummeted. With a heave, he coughed out a white horse. Everyone was taken aback. Why do that? If Li Hao had swallowed the chaotic heaven's will and then consumed the little sword of heaven’s will, neutralizing the two against each other, he might well have opened a small, independent world of his own. Yet now that all the enemies were slaughtered, he had actually spat out the intent of chaos. Redwood and the others were thoroughly astonished. Looking back toward the Black Panther... no one spoke, though their bewilderment remained. Was there any point in forcefully boosting the Black Panther? Li Hao, however, chuckled. "No hurry! If I swallow heaven’s will and the intent of chaos, taking a single step in this world will become genuinely difficult for me! But if the Black Panther swallows it... it will be the Black Panther who finds it difficult to take a step, while I remain largely unaffected! Heaven’s will is naive, like a child. Today I gave it a sound thrashing, and the portion that took the beating has been wiped out. The part that wasn't beaten might not even remember what happened here." *Are you treating heaven’s will as a fool?* The crowd was speechless. Li Hao smiled brightly. A fool was precisely what he was treating it as. "As long as my aura shifts, how would it know whether I'm Li Hao, Wang Hao, or Zhang Hao?" Heaven’s will had not yet matured. What was there to fear? If he swallowed this will of heaven now, that aura would linger indefinitely, and it would remember him forever. With that, he barked again, "Black Panther, swallow it down! Once you're done, we still have things to do!" *More things to do?* The Black Panther dared not complain. It let out a swift roar, and the power of devouring erupted, sweeping across heaven and earth. In an instant, it gulped down the white horse that had just been spat out, and then plunged into fierce combat with the will of heaven once more. Li Hao paid it no further heed. At this point, his aura began to slide downward. His combat prowess, once comparable to the Heavenly King Realm, tumbled down once more in an instant. Just then, a figure flew swiftly through the void from afar—it was Old Turtle. At this moment, Old Turtle was extremely tense and apprehensive, shouting from a great distance, "Disaster! Star Suppressing City has been captured..." Landing on the ground, Old Turtle was covered in wounds, his shell fractured in numerous places. He looked somewhat embarrassed. "Well... Zheng Yu's clone went to the ruins of Star Suppressing City. I was no match for him, so I..." He truly had been no match, so he had run. Had he not run, certain death awaited him! Yet this technically made him a deserter—abandoning city and territory. In Neo-Martial, that meant immediate execution. Consequently, Old Turtle was deeply uneasy. Li Hao, however, looked entirely calm. "Normal! Zheng Yu has had his eye on Star Suppressing City for a long time. When his clone didn't come and Ying Hongyue came instead, I knew he was very likely heading for the ruins of Star Suppressing City." The man was a half-step Sovereign. Even if it was merely a Saint clone, Old Turtle's combat prowess was only mediocre, so being unable to stand against him was entirely expected. As for fleeing... Stay, and you die. Fleeing was natural. "Marquis, this..." "No matter!" Li Hao brushed it aside and said rapidly, "Pay it no mind. Step into the boundary of the Great Desolation!" Old Turtle quickly stepped into the range of the Great Desolation. Seeing the Black Panther and the others still besieging the sword of heaven's will, he felt rather perplexed. Why wasn't Li Hao... stepping in to help? Li Hao glanced at the sky. In the next instant, he leaped up, stepping through the void, his voice reverberating within the sphere compressed from the Great Desolation: "Black Panther, hurry and devour it... When I need it, you will merge the two wills of heaven... Right now, I am taking everyone to Silver City!" Everyone was startled. What were they going to Silver City for? "To Silver City... into the seal for a fleeting moment! To see if we can shatter the Moon God's true body..." Everyone froze. Old Turtle urgently asked, "Does the Marquis intend to break the seal?" "No. Shattering the silver moon won't necessarily break the seal... Rather, it might constrain a powerhouse! Forcing the power she took away to return once more!" He was speaking of the true Moon God! The genuine Moon God had certainly taken away a massive amount of energy long ago. If they shattered the true body she had left behind, she would definitely choose to return the energy she had taken in order to prevent the Sovereign from breaking the seal. The eruption and fusion of the two wills of heaven would surely generate unmatched, terrifying explosive power for that single moment! There was a very good chance of success! Of course, it would be exceptionally perilous. So what if it was? That Sovereign of the Red Moon might kill him, but Li Hao wasn't afraid... If the Red Moon Sovereign could kill him, it meant the seal could be broken. And once the seal could be broken, everyone's plans would be ruined... When that happened, whether it was Li Daoheng or Zheng Yu, they would all be left weeping. Among the various factions, Li Hao remained the weakest. He lacked enough top-tier powerhouses! Therefore, releasing a top-tier powerhouse was absolutely not what Li Hao worried about most. Cradling the giant sphere in his hands, Li Hao dashed toward the north. Zheng Yu's clone was currently at the ruins of Star Suppressing City... Zheng Yu was formidable, yet splitting off a Saint clone every time was also a toll on him. Even if he wanted to stop Li Hao... just how many Saint clones could he manifest? And how many Saints remained inside Hurricane City who could step out? Eight had just died at once, and two were currently fleeing alongside Ying Hongyue—whether they could even make it back was up in the air. Were Saints truly infinite? This was an opportunity! As for Star Suppressing City... if your clone can occupy it, then occupy it. If you can't occupy it and can't seize the weapon of the Blood Sovereign, but still choose to linger, your clone will sooner or later be besieged to death! Li Hao was exceedingly fast. Carrying the land of the Great Desolation, he charged straight toward the north. …… At the same time. To the north, over Silver Moon. *Boom!* A tremendous roar rang out, reverberating through heaven and earth. In an instant, a colossal city rose into the air. Within Hurricane City, Zheng Yu's expression turned grim. He rapidly appeared at the edge of the city and looked not far off, where Galaxy City floated in the sky. "Zhang An!" At this moment, Galaxy City hung aloft. Zhang An stood atop the highest point of the city, looking into the distance toward Zheng Yu, his face as cold and impassive as ever. "The Zhou family has rebelled. They deserve death!" With those words, he looked at Zheng Yu in the distance and said softly, "The Zheng family... will be no exception!" Zheng Yu looked grim. Meanwhile, within Hurricane City, surges of powerful auras stirred as Saint after Saint seethed with fury. There were also Saints from the Zhou family, gnashing their teeth in hatred! Galaxy City was close to Hurricane City, and some Saints had walked out to come to Hurricane City. However, some Saints had also stayed behind to guard Galaxy City. It was, after all, a main city. Yet Zhang An and his people had actually seized Galaxy City without a sound, without even alerting the members of the Zhou family. Evidently, as the grandson of the Supreme, this fellow possessed many methods, silently infiltrating Galaxy City. Zheng Yu's brows knitted tightly. A disastrous loss! Galaxy City had two Saints stationed within it; judging by appearances, both had been slain. And the ten Saints who had set out... as things stood... had likely met unfortunate ends, for someone seemed to have fallen over in the eastern Great Desolation. Only, heaven’s will was trembling, the four great cities were stirring the world, and the Great Daos had not severed. At the moment, he could not accurately gauge the specific situation. He had not expected Zhang An to pull such a move right at this juncture. Zheng Yu looked increasingly displeased. Even as he was turning this over in his mind, the great city suddenly ascended, shooting straight toward the sky. Zheng Yu's expression shifted drastically as he barked in fury, "You dare?!" That fellow was actually maneuvering an ancient city to charge into the seal! Zhang An paid him no heed. Dare or dare not... you can't come out anyway, so what are you shouting for? Zheng Yu was consumed with rage. In an instant, he split off a clone and barked, "Saints, follow me out of the city!" In a flash, the clone stepped out of the ancient city. Not only that, a massive flock of Saints followed behind him—at first glance, nearly twenty of them. Ten had already left, and several had been killed... If these were all the Saints he had, it meant the Zheng family had amassed over thirty Saints over the years. Yet the land of Silver Moon had never possessed many Saints to begin with. One could well imagine how prepared the Zheng family had been for Silver Moon, hoarding immense quantities of cultivation resources. Inside the city, another group of people remained, likely at the Heavenly King Realm or the Immortal Realm. At this moment, Zheng Yu's clone walked out, face ashen. He threw a punch toward the giant city and barked coldly, "You are courting death!" Within Galaxy City, Saint figures also manifested. Not many. Counting Zhang An, there were only five. The Second Elder from the Wulin Alliance and the Fourth Elder who oversaw military affairs were both at the Saint level. Only one Saint had walked out from the Zhang family's Ding Tian City—a vice commander who oversaw the Ding Tian Army. Their guardian monster plant had rebelled and had been slain by the Zhang family. The final Saint was somewhat surprising—seemingly a deity, yet indistinct and veiled, impossible to perceive clearly. Zhang An steered the ancient city straight toward the sky above. Ahead, Zheng Yu led dozens of Saints to block the path forward, even preparing to storm the city and slaughter these bastards on the spot! Infuriating! None of these people knew how to behave. *Boom!* A tremendous roar rang out, shaking heaven and earth. Below, countless buildings in Silver City were pulverized in an instant. The place was already deserted; now, tall structures collapsed, and the earth fractured, fissuring open in jagged cracks. Even a stone door beneath the ground was exposed. Zhang An steered the ancient city, barreling forward aggressively! A City Lord's Seal hovered in the air. Suddenly, the seal erupted with blinding radiance. Zheng Yu's expression changed slightly; a silhouette seemed to emerge from the seal, overlapping with Zhang An. This was the imprint left behind by Zhang An's grandfather, the Supreme. In the past, Director Wang had relied on this to slay a crippled Saint. Yet in Zhang An's hands, its power seemed even greater! *Boom!* The erupting radiance even made several Saints feel suffocated. Zhang An charged straight toward the firmament, refusing to entangle himself with Zheng Yu and his force. The ancient city followed one of the red lines, intending to force its way into the seal. Beside himself with fury, Zheng Yu shouted, "Zhang An, what good does breaking the seal do you?!" "Who said I'm breaking the seal?" Zhang An's voice remained calm. "I'm going in to have a look. Does suppressing the Sovereign have anything to do with you? Zheng Yu... the seal... might not be so easy to break. What are you worried about?" Zheng Yu looked grim. He knew the seal might not be easy to break. Yet what if it really broke? Dammit! The two sides tangled in midair. Zhang An's brows were also furrowed tight. Although he had seized Galaxy City, Zheng Yu had reacted swiftly, personally leading the remaining Saints to intercept him. If he expended a vast amount of strength in this endless skirmish... he might not have the means left to deal with the Moon God's true body after entering the seal. Just as he hesitated. Suddenly, the expressions of both sides shifted simultaneously. In the distance, a surge of chaotic aura swept toward them. Li Hao arrived in full sprint, wrapped in the might of heaven and earth, encircled by chaotic aura! Seeing Zheng Yu emerge with a great host of Saints... and seeing that Zhang An had seized Galaxy City and appeared poised to enter the seal, his expression twitched slightly. He abruptly looked toward the Black Panther and barked via voice transmission, "Devour, erupt, fuse!" Right then, the Black Panther abruptly swallowed the will of heaven in one gulp. In an instant, *rumble!* The Black Panther's flesh ballooned madly, instantly transforming into an unimaginably colossal, terrifyingly gigantic hound. The great hound turned entirely gold, then swiftly shifted to gray—the color of chaos—before turning white... Its colors cycled continuously as it roared maniacally, howling in agony. Inside its body, two forces of heaven’s will tangled and collided against each other with thunderous crashes, as if heaven and earth were being forged anew. The entire compressed Great Desolation underwent a cataclysmic upheaval, rumbling as violent transformations were born. Boundless energy erupted in a flash. Between heaven and earth, even faint, enfeebled phantoms of Great Daos flickered into view. Right at that moment, Li Hao transmitted again: "Condense your ancestor's bloodline and give them a blow!" The Black Panther let out a roar. Atop its head, a giant golden horn actually materialized. In the next instant, lightning flashed, mingled with the intent of chaos. The lightning detonated instantly, blasting toward Zheng Yu and the others in the distance! *Boom!* Heaven and earth turned upside down! The void shattered. Saint after Saint roared in fury, striking toward the lightning under Zheng Yu's lead! *Bang! Bang! Bang!* The lightning exploded. Many Saints were scorched black, and Zheng Yu's clone was left in a sorry state. At that moment, Zhang An glanced back at Li Hao, then suddenly drove the ancient city straight toward the seal! Li Hao raised an eyebrow slightly. Zhang An... was actually going to enter the seal as well. He had thought that fellow wouldn't show up. Yet now, he had seized Galaxy City. Since he had gone in... Li Hao might not need to enter after all. At this moment, Zheng Yu's side had numerous Saints, all burning with rage. On Li Hao's side, the Black Panther was still roaring, but although its aura was formidable, it was likely on the verge of shattering because it had been forced upward too hastily. Without the intent of chaos on him, Li Hao's combat prowess was also inferior to before. If he truly engaged these Saints... he might not gain any advantage. The massive Galaxy City was currently merging into the seal. With an ashen face, another clone of Zheng Yu manifested within Hurricane City. So long as he was willing to sever his own power, he could turn his entire self into clones... But if he did that, the death of a single clone would be a devastating loss to him. Splitting too much would strip him of his half-step Sovereign strength. "Li Hao!" Zheng Yu growled. One clone flew toward the seal once more, while the other clone led multiple Saints straight toward Li Hao, his tone harsh and biting: "You truly have immense guts!" "At this moment... can you even enter the Dao universe?" With those words, the Saints struck simultaneously. The firmament was torn open in an instant, and boundless power surged forward. Li Hao fled swiftly, turning and bolting. Now that Zhang An had gone in, he had no desire to enter. Yet Li Hao wasn't fleeing aimlessly—he was flying straight up toward the sky. Behind him, Saint after Saint gave chase, while Li Hao climbed continuously, punching through the void and shattering the astral winds. Behind him, Zheng Yu frowned slightly. If he kept flying upward... he would hit the world barrier. When that happened, Li Hao might truly have nowhere left to run. Had this fellow lost his head in panic? …… Meanwhile. Above, atop the silver moon. The sword-carrying man said nothing, merely watching everything below in silence. Today, the world had undergone a drastic transformation! Zhang An had carried an ancient city into the seal by force. Li Hao, carrying the Great Desolation domain, charged straight toward the firmament. Over in the Divine Kingdom, Lin Hongyu was still slaughtering with her puppets, actually gaining some blessing of heaven’s will. With no other vessel to choose from, heaven’s will seemed to have no choice but to pick Lin Hongyu. The four great ancient cities were siphoning energy across the four quarters, shaking the realm and disrupting heaven’s will. And now, Zheng Yu was personally leading a host of Saints to hunt Li Hao down, heading straight toward the edge of the world. Behind him, the statue of the Moon God shimmered with light. "Zhang An... has entered the seal!" This was not good news! A person like Zhang An had entered the seal most likely not to destroy it. In that case... he had very likely come to deal with her. The Moon God also felt rather helpless. Today, nothing was going smoothly. These people truly had enormous gall. A Sovereign was right there—did everyone take him for a corpse? "I know." The sword-carrying man looked down, glancing at the rapidly approaching Li Hao, and murmured, "It seems Li Hao really did guess it." Li Hao was charging straight toward them, very likely to lure Zheng Yu into confronting him. Not very likely... it was a certainty. If Zheng Yu discovered that the moon in the sky was not a projection, but the true moon... how would he react? All along, everyone had believed this bright moon to be a projection of the silver moon near the Stargate. "Only... can he discover it?" The sword-carrying man chuckled softly. At this moment, the moon suddenly grew somewhat ethereal. In the next instant, as if the firmament had cracked open, the silver moon transformed into a streak of silver light and vanished from the spot, leaving behind only a few afterimages that still looked like a genuine moon. The true body of the giant moon had vanished from the world. In the distance, Li Hao's expression shifted slightly. The Dao universe! As expected! The other party had shifted the silver moon into the Dao universe! The illusory Dao universe! The Dao universe truly had two sides. Li Daoheng controlled the other side, and the moon left behind now was the true projection. "Finally confirmed!" Li Hao muttered to himself and glanced back. Zheng Yu was thoroughly enraged, still leading his subordinates in relentless pursuit. Carrying the Great Desolation domain made it difficult for him to enter the Dao universe. The Black Panther had not yet stabilized. At this moment, four great cities were also approaching from all directions—those were several Saints coming to his rescue. Behind him, Zheng Yu seemed determined to resolve the nuisance that was Li Hao once and for all. As for Zhang An's side... he didn't care anymore. The man had already gone in, so what could he do? Li Hao, on the other hand—of the ten Saints who had set out with Ying Hongyue, not a single one had returned... To Zheng Yu, Saints were painstakingly cultivated by the Zheng family at great cost. Suffering such disastrous losses... if he didn't kill Li Hao, he had to at least force him to abandon the Great Desolation domain. He was, after all, a half-step Sovereign, and by now he had spotted some clues. Li Hao actually wanted to devour a domain of heaven and earth, even if it was a small one! Of course, it seemed it wasn't Li Hao devouring it, but the descendant of the Demon Suppressing Emissary. Yet it made no difference—he would not give Li Hao this opportunity. "Li Hao, surrender the Great Desolation! Flee into the Dao universe, and you might have a path to survival... Otherwise, you will not live through today!" Zheng Yu's clone was chillingly cold. He threw a palm strike that caused heaven and earth to tremble. A massive palm print appeared in an instant, descending behind Li Hao. Two Saints, Redwood and Old Turtle, struck simultaneously to block it. With explosive crashes, the two Saints were battered until their forms nearly fell apart under the clone's strike. Terrifyingly formidable! Right at that moment, Li Hao looked back and suddenly smiled. "Zheng Yu... you really don't fear death!" Zheng Yu was taken aback. What other tricks could you possibly have? "Black Panther... self-detonate heaven’s will and the intent of chaos!" At this moment, Li Hao was chillingly aloof. Through his armor, he transmitted a voice message to Lin Hongyu: "Lin Hongyu, detonate your Great Daos! Leave only one primary Dao... and detonate all the rest!" In the Divine Kingdom, Lin Hongyu was also startled. Yet without a second thought, she followed orders immediately. Not only that, countless divine characters materialized around Li Hao. In an instant, all of them shattered, turning into great dragons of the Great Dao that abruptly snapped apart! At the same time, thirty-six non-attribute Dao meridians manifested. In a single instant, half of them shattered outright. All of that power poured into the bodies of the Silver Moon martial masters present. Aside from Director Zhao and a few others at the seventh level of the Sun-Moon Realm, everyone else received vast amounts of energy and Dao power. Not only that, right at this moment, Li Hao forcefully opened the Dao universe, shoved Old Turtle, Redwood, and the others inside, and smiled faintly. "Don't wander around. I will come find you!" Li Hao's aura plummeted in an instant, tumbling from the Dao Integration Realm down to Sun-Moon in the blink of an eye. Ninth level Sun-Moon, eighth level Sun-Moon, seventh level Sun-Moon... At the same time, the Black Panther let out a shrill howl. *Boom!* The power of devouring erupted, and the two colossal forces of heaven's will exploded in an instant. Boundless energy swept across the world, battering heaven and earth as the Great Desolation shattered completely! At this moment, Zheng Yu understood what he had done. He could only stare blankly at Li Hao. Across from him, Li Hao smiled with brilliant radiance, his smile blossoming like a flower. "This world... these Great Daos... aren't stable, you know! I am the upper limit of this world, understand? If I drop in cultivation, the world compresses, understand? Zheng Yu... you actually dared to lead so many Saints to hunt me down. Who gave you the courage?" *Rumble!* Heaven and earth crumbled! At this moment, the very firmament seemed to wail in agony. The four main cities rapidly swallowed boundless energy, instantly exhausting the world's energy reserves. A section of heaven’s will shattered, the Great Desolation blew apart entirely, and over in the Divine Kingdom, Lin Hongyu also pulverized a massive amount of heaven's will, which dispersed into the skies above. The powerhouses blessed by heaven's will had gravely wounded heaven's will in a single instant. The entire Silver Moon shuddered violently! The world's energy thinned by an immense margin in a flash. A realm that could previously accommodate Saints suddenly generated an enormous compressive force. To protect itself, to stabilize the world, spatial rifts appeared, brutally powerful! Zheng Yu's expression changed drastically! "Fall back to Hurricane City!" In the distance, Hurricane City pulled free of the ground, shooting toward the sky, while Zheng Yu led those Saints in a mad flight back toward Hurricane City! In the void, in this single instant, countless thick, jagged rifts sliced directly forward. Every single Saint was slashed by countless rifts. "Ahhh!" Screams of agony tore through the air! Endless and piercing! At the cost of severing his own Daos and dropping his own cultivation realm, Li Hao had reset everything the world had recovered back to before. The world... could no longer accommodate powerful figures. Being too strong would cause the world to collapse. At this moment, the entire world was compressing, crumbling, mountain ranges snapping apart! A single spatial rift was not overwhelming. Yet when a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand appeared... Even Saints, even Heavenly Kings, would be sliced apart! *Crack!* *Boom!* A Saint was slashed until he exploded outright. His Great Dao manifested, only to be sliced to powder by the spatial rifts in an instant. Hurricane City continued to push through the pressure, flying upward into the sky. Once back in the ancient city, they would be safe! Zheng Yu's clone bellowed, "Hurry!" *Rumble!* One Saint after another wailed shrilly, detonating in an instant. The energy released from their explosions briefly stabilized the world, yet soon that energy was devoured by Li Hao's side as the four main cities drew near. Zheng Yu seemed to want to lead his people into the four ancient cities... but very quickly, the four main cities retreated again, having all received Li Hao's order to stay far away from this area. Spatial rifts did not target the weak. So long as one did not exceed the world's upper limit, there was no problem. Yet the stronger one was, the more ruthlessly one was targeted! At this moment, far in the distance, the expressions of Ying Hongyue's group of three changed wildly, and the fleeing Queen also turned pale with fright! All of them were Saints. And at this moment, the world no longer permitted Saints to exist. …… High above. Li Hao's aura continued to slide downward, his physical body still cracking. Watching Saint after Saint perish, his smile was blindingly radiant. Looking at Director Zhao and the others, who stood dumbfounded, his smile grew even wider. "Isn't this amusing? Since it's so amusing... why aren't you devouring the power to cultivate?" Li Hao barked, "What are you staring at?! Have you all gone stupid? Hurry up, or the world will devour all this energy to mend itself!" Everyone snapped out of their stupor as if waking from a dream! Though utterly dazed, they began madly drawing in the energy. There was simply too much energy here right now! Far too much! Li Hao's voice also resounded in all directions: "All practitioners of the New Dao across the world, cultivate together right now and devour the world's energy!" Even if only for a brief moment, it was enough for them to absorb high-quality energy. Li Hao's aura was still sliding. Soon, just as he was on the verge of dropping below the seventh level of the Sun-Moon Realm, it finally stabilized. Not far off, Zheng Yu's clone roared continuously, shattering countless spatial rifts. After a while, he retreated into the ancient city with seven or eight Saints, while the rest had been sliced apart until they exploded! Even their Great Daos had been sliced to pieces! World compression! Even for a minor world, it was not something a Saint could withstand. Perhaps only upon reaching the half-step Sovereign level could one hope to resist the compression of a world. Were it not so, the Saints would have emerged long ago! At this moment, Zheng Yu's true body stared at Li Hao in silence, saying nothing! A catastrophic loss! Of course, not just on his side, but for Li Hao himself. He had actually severed countless Great Daos and ruined the Great Desolation domain, purely to slaughter this group of Saints. Ten Saints had perished this time. And the ten who had gone out... could they still survive? Likely... all gone! And now the world could once again accommodate only the seventh level of the Sun-Moon Realm. Damned bastard! Li Hao smiled brightly. "Don't fret. With so many dead this time, everyone will grow stronger very quickly. Once the world stabilizes, it will soon be able to accommodate Saints again! Next time, even if I self-detonate, it probably won't do much... because heaven’s will truly hates me this time, thinking I torment it every single time... Next time, it probably won't give me the chance, and the Great Dao won't give me the chance either... It's just this once. Don't be scared—it's only a few dead Saints!" *Only a few?* Zheng Yu said nothing. So many had died! Saints! The entirety of the Zheng family's foundation was here. This time, the majority of their Saints had fallen, leaving fewer than ten inside Hurricane City, though a few Heavenly Kings remained. Yet such strength... compared to before, how had things come to this in such a short span of time? Furthermore, for a brief period, Saints would once again be unable to step outside. Li Hao had actually given up the majority of his strength on his own. Dammit! This should have been a period of rapid advancement for him; he might even have reached the second or third level of the Dao Integration Realm. Yet now, Li Hao was at the seventh level of Sun-Moon, the peak of the Immortal Realm. Of course, although Li Hao's Dao power had collapsed, it had all benefited the Silver Moon martial masters. He had bestowed all of the shattered Dao power upon the others, and right now, those people were advancing frantically. Sky Sword and the rest were all surging toward the seventh level of the Sun-Moon Realm. The Black Panther, however, was in a wretched state, looking at Li Hao with immense resentment... It had thought it would reap a massive windfall this time, only to discover that Li Hao was truly a dog, specializing in screwing over his own allies! No wonder he had told it to do the job! Because it was of the demon race, with a sturdy constitution, coupled with the bloodline of the Demon Suppressing Emissary, it could survive even after shattering heaven’s will... Anyone else... would probably have died. Pit a dog, why don't you! Feeling the battered and broken Dao meridians within its body, feeling its enfeebled flesh, dog blood dripping steadily down, the Black Panther felt rather forlorn. It glanced at Li Hao, agonizingly miserable! *You screwed me over again!* "Woof! Woof!" The Black Panther's barks carried innocence, pitifulness, and grievance. Li Hao, meanwhile, looked up into the void at the moon. He began to laugh. *Li Daoheng, now that you've gone in... you probably won't be able to come out for a short while.* The world currently could not accommodate Saints. He then looked toward the motionless Hurricane City, toward Zheng Yu, his smile dazzling: "Don't stare! Given the current situation... in about a month at most, it should recover to the point of accommodating Saints again! This is merely a temporary fracture, not permanent damage! In essence, the world is still recovering. So many Saints died, and so much energy was devoured, merely drained away temporarily by the people of the world... It will recover naturally very soon!" Zheng Yu stared at him coldly. He knew that! Yet with so many Saints dead, he remained enraged and helpless. He said slowly, "One month... Can you return to the Saint tier again? Li Hao, next time, the world will only be sturdier. You detonated your Great Daos and your Dao meridians. One month from now, will you be able to return to the level you were at today?" If not, Li Hao would be finished. This was also a probing question. He wanted to know: what backing and confidence did Li Hao have to dare do such a thing? To have so many of his Saints entrapped and slaughtered in a single day... It was a testament to Zheng Yu's endurance that he hadn't gone mad on the spot. Ying Hongyue was very likely alive, since the seal hadn't broken, but the remaining Saints... would probably never return. As for the Queen... no one cared whether she lived or died anymore. Not only that... if other ruins held Saints who happened to be outside peering about and failed to flee back in time... they would likely all be dead as well! This counted as a clean sweep by Li Hao! Zhang An and his companions were gone, having entered the seal. Li Hao didn't know any other Saints. His own Saints were staying in the ancient cities, while Old Turtle and the others had been shoved into the Dao universe by him. If any Saints remained out in the open world at this moment... regardless of which faction they belonged to, none of them were good people anyway. If they died, then so be it! Li Hao maintained his beaming smile. "One month? I still have twenty-eight non-attribute Dao meridians, barely maintaining the seventh level of Sun-Moon... Opening eight more will put me at the ninth level of Sun-Moon... Entering Dao Integration again is just a matter of opening ten or so more, just one Dao meridian every three days... Zheng Yu, why do you underestimate me so? On the other hand, how many Saints will you have left under your command by then? Bring them all out and see if I can't take care of them! Besides, you've forgotten... my side still has several Saints! With the measly handful of remnants under your command, do you really think you can kill me?" Li Hao's smile grew increasingly devilish, increasingly radiant: "Only this can be called safety. Otherwise, having dozens of Saints hunting me down at every turn is terribly uncomfortable! Look, right now, I'm the big boss of this world once again! As long as I don't enter the ruins, what can any of you do to me? If I'm not going to be a powerhouse, fine; but if I am, I'm your daddy, your eldest brother! Zheng Yu, you got a problem with that?" Watching this madman, Zheng Yu looked terrible. In an instant, he steered Hurricane City to vanish. With a flash, it sank into the ground and disappeared! Damned bastard! This fellow Li Hao harmed others without benefiting himself! He had opened over eighty Dao meridians, yet without batting an eye, he had crippled more than half of them, all just to play big boss for one more month! Of course... to Zheng Yu, the pain cut straight to the bone! Far too many Saints had died! From here on, even if Saints could step outside, he wouldn't dare send them out. If they went out, Li Hao wasn't without Saints either—he had several on his side. This time, there would be no overwhelming advantage. If they truly went out and encountered the other side, they might very well be crushed instead. In truth, it would be far longer than a month. Unless the world could accommodate Heavenly Kings. Otherwise... no one on Li Hao's side would be able to constrain him. At this moment, Qian Wuliang and the others opened their eyes one after another. Their auras surged wildly as they looked at Li Hao with complicated expressions. At this moment, multiple Silver Moon martial masters had reached the seventh level of the Sun-Moon Realm. Director Zhao, Qian Wuliang, Sky Sword, Tyrant Saber, Bright Sword... Nearly all of these people had stepped into the seventh level of Sun-Moon. Meanwhile, the King of Dali, Empress Dowager Shuiyun, the King of Dahuang, Jiang Li, Director Wang... this group had also almost all reached the seventh level of Sun-Moon, either making no further progress, holding steady, or advancing slightly. Previously, Li Hao had stood alone at the summit, but at this moment, many people stood on equal footing with him! "Marquis!" Qian Wuliang called out to Li Hao, his emotions thoroughly tangled. At this moment, everyone's feelings were intensely complicated. Having truly reached Li Hao's height, who would ever do such a thing? Now, a whole group of people had stepped into the seventh level of Sun-Moon, as had Li Hao himself. Among those at the seventh level, he wasn't truly invincible—did he have no fear at all? He had severed several of his own Daos and distributed the Dao power among everyone. This time... Li Hao had gained nothing for himself, yet had elevated everyone from Silver Moon by an entire tier. Along with them, Liu Yan's group, the cultivators of the Five Elements Dao meridians, had also drawn close to the seventh level of Sun-Moon. It was truly a single leap to the heavens! With so many Saints dead, anyone in the world with sufficient opportunity might well have produced powerhouses on this day—even stepping into the Mountain-Sea or Sun-Moon Realms was entirely normal. Impoverishing Li Hao alone had enriched a great multitude! Li Hao, however, looked entirely unperturbed, chuckling softly. "What's the big deal? Just severed a few Dao meridians! They were cluttered and chaotic anyway; cultivating them anew is a good thing! The Great Desolation domain was merely a counterfeit world. I hadn't originally intended to do this... but then Zheng Yu lost his head and chased me down with dozens of Saints. If I didn't show him what's what, he'd think I, Li Hao, was easy to bully!" Li Hao's smile grew even wider. "This time, it was quite fun! I didn't expect to resolve so many Saints in a single day—probably over twenty! When Zhang An and the others come out... hopefully they won't be in too much of a rush. Better to wait until a month from now. If they come out now... they'll inevitably take a few slashes... Still, with Galaxy City around, it's no great matter, unless someone steps outside the ancient city." The ancient cities were currently the greatest defensive shields. The spatial slicing avoided those ancient cities. Perhaps because the ancient cities suppressed heaven and earth, serving as cornerstones for the world. Without ancient cities, Saints in ordinary ruins might have been sliced to death. Everyone remained silent. Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Li Hao laughed. "Everyone has advanced. What's there to be unhappy about? As for the King of Dali... my apologies. My original thought was that through a sleight of hand, you might be able to enter Dao Integration... As you saw, things got out of hand. You don't mind, do you?" What could the King of Dali say? He could only remain silent. Seventh level of Sun-Moon... that was where everyone was now. Even Li Hao himself! What could you say? Yet it also meant that this time, he had gained nothing. Jiang Li, on the other hand, was somewhat stronger than before, but... the gains still fell far short of the losses! He had nothing to say! Whether Li Hao had done it intentionally or truly had no other choice... only Li Hao himself knew. In any case, after this ordeal, the Silver Moon martial masters had made out like bandits, Zheng Yu had suffered catastrophic losses, the Divine Kingdom had suffered catastrophic losses, and while it was hard to say whether Li Hao had gained or lost, so long as his enemies lost, he had won! Truly formidable methods! Empress Dowager Shuiyun, the King of Dahuang, and the others were also in tangled spirits. Li Hao... truly had capability. He had strengthened Silver Moon and weakened his enemies. As for himself... he might truly be able to step back into the Dao Integration Realm very soon, and when that happened, the immense loss would be entirely his enemies'. Along the way, he had even swept clean the unknown powerhouses and hidden foes! If any Saints had slipped out into the open across the Silver Moon lands recently to roam about, they had likely been wiped out just now. Because Li Hao had entered Dao Integration, everyone had forgotten—or no one had considered—that this fellow would actually weaken the world once again. Yet he had truly done it! Everyone cast sideways glances at Li Hao. Lately, Li Hao had seemed very easy to talk to, his smile perpetually dazzling... yet the more one looked, the more one felt a chill run down their spine! Just then, Li Hao patted the Black Panther, consoling it, "It's fine, it's fine. Isn't it just losing a bit of heaven's will and intent of chaos? Isn't it just failing to step into Dao Integration? That was only a fake world anyway... Once we take Silver Moon, I'll let you be the Lord of Heaven and Earth of a real world..." "Woof?" The Black Panther gave a mournful whimper. *Whatever you say, I don't believe a word of it anymore!* It had been so thrilled this time! In the end, it had reaped nothing at all—except a body full of severe injuries! Li Hao chuckled and glanced at the crowd. "Alright, disperse, everyone! Go about your business! Later on, I still have to go look for Turtle Guardian and the others. Things were urgent, and I don't even know where I tossed them! If they get lost, I'll be down two Saints!" Redwood and Old Turtle had been tossed into the Dao universe by him on the fly, through a hastily opened channel. Whether they would get lost was anyone's guess. "Nearly everyone has stepped into the seventh level of Sun-Moon now. This opportunity is rare, so cultivate diligently of late. The ninth level of Sun-Moon isn't hard!" "I level the playing field again and again because I hope everyone can walk further alongside me!" Li Hao looked toward the sky, smiling happily. "The road ahead is long. Going to see the sea of stars together is far better than traveling alone! The Silver Moon martial masters each have their own strengths; in chasing after me, you've given up too much. Don't chase so frantically—reclaim what belongs to you! A month from now, the world will likely recover to the point of accommodating Saints again, but there's no need to fret. With fewer Saints, they won't dare step out easily. When the day comes that it can accommodate Heavenly Kings... I might just pull this on them one more time, and it won't necessarily fail!" With that, he waved toward the ground and shouted, "Senior Zheng Yu, keep a close eye on your Heavenly Kings! You shouldn't have many left. Don't lose them by accident, or dealing with the Sovereign will become quite troublesome!" With that, he laughed loudly, tearing through the void as he departed with the crowd. After a long while, Hurricane City emerged from beneath the ground. Zheng Yu frowned, staring at the sky. Li Hao... what a damned bastard. Still, had that fellow crippled his own combat power truly to deal with the Saints under his command, or... to deal with someone else? Earlier, he had kept flying straight toward the world barrier before detonating his Daos. Could it be... to force certain individuals to leave this world? The illusory Dao universe? In his heart, faint speculations had already begun to form. …… Meanwhile. Within the Dao universe, a bright moon shone across heaven and earth. The sword-carrying man attempted to tear open the Dao universe... Moments later, he chuckled softly. "Truly ruthless!" The voice of the Moon God came through: "Trouble! Going out now, the world's slicing is severe. Furthermore, my true body... seems to have been heavily affected..." Li Hao was a thorough bastard! Nothing he did was fit for decent folk. Harming others without benefiting himself! Now, rashly stepping out into the world would mean facing severe spatial slicing. Even if one could survive it, the slicing would create an enormous commotion, instantly drawing everyone's notice. "Let's stay here for a while." The sword-carrying man shook his head, slightly amused. Li Hao was growing more and more interesting. …… At the same time, Li Hao hummed a little tune. Only now had heaven and earth finally grown quiet. *Let you act arrogant!* Though his strength had fallen, he truly felt no heartache. Just as he had said, the Great Daos he had opened before were too cluttered and messy. Because there had been no road ahead, he had forged every path on his own, making the results extremely disordered. This served as an opportunity to reorganize himself. Along the way, he had also purged the tumors of the entire world in one fell swoop. However, at this moment, he couldn't help casting a glance toward the northernmost edge. That God of Initial Martial in the north seemed to have made no move at all. Had he hidden back inside long ago, or was it that... the spatial slicing had little effect on him? If the former, all was well; if the latter, the sheer toughness of that fellow's physical body was truly terrifying!