Star Gate

Chapter 190: The Martial World of Silver Moon (III)

“Master, so it was through true strength that Yuan Shuo was able to kill a Solar, not by employing cheap tricks?”

“Of course!” Sun Yifei answered emphatically. “How can any tricks be involved? What tricks are there to be played in the absence of true strength? The supernaturals of the central region are arrogant and outrageously conceited. They think it’s pure coincidence that Yuan Shuo killed Brokensky, that it was an accident or an ambush. Bullshit! Those fellows belittle martial powerhouses just because they lucked into strength. There’s no growth possible for them!”

Although he himself was a supernatural, contempt was clear in his voice. It didn’t necessitate an explanation. Sun Yifei looked around with obvious pride.

“I would still rather be a martial master if I have the chance to. I will be one that exceeds Dominator! So what of late Solar? Remember this well, Moxian, martial masters have a far brighter future than supernaturals!”

Such words from a late stage Solar would shake the supernatural world if it became public knowledge.

Sun Moxian quickly nodded and couldn’t help himself, “Then... master...”

“Are you worried that he’ll kill me?” Sun Yifei chuckled. “I am no ordinary Solar. Remember, I am a martial master who almost made it to Dominator! I have also killed late Solars in the central region—they’re nothing worth mentioning! Yuan Shuo is strong in my eyes, but he delayed his development for many years. I actually wish that he has the strength to fight me! It would be a real pity if I kill him easily.”

His battle spirit flared to life; he looked forward to their battle with extreme anticipation!

“Master, which do you think is stronger—Yuan Shuo or Grandmaster Cloud Above?” asked Sun Moxian.

Grandmaster Cloud Above was a premier martial master in the central region. He once slayed a peak Sunflare with one sword stroke on a supernatural battlefield and met a Solar in direct combat. While he wasn’t able to kill that Solar, he injured the supernatural to the point that the Solar had to run for his life.

There were a few elite martial masters in the central region who could defeat Solars. It kept the embers of hope and anticipation alive for some of the martial masters in that region.

“Cloud Above...” Sun Yifei thought for a bit. “Cloud Above’s been in closed door cultivation after injuring that guy a few years ago. Some say that he’s found the path beyond Dominator. If it’s Yuan Shuo, the old man should only be on par with Cloud Above from a few years ago since he’s just broken through. Yuan Shuo should still be unable to rival him for the moment.”

That’s good! Sun Moxian relaxed. Cloud Above had only injured an initial Solar, but his master was a late Solar who’d crossed over from being a martial master. In that case, it seemed that despite being very strong, Yuan Shuo would not be able to match his master.

They stood next to the boundary marker as they conversed about Silver Moon’s martial world. The names of central region powerhouses came up one by one. Dominators and Solars were the usual, with very few Sunflares or those above Solar.

After a while of conversation and a brief overview of the glories of yesteryear, Sun Yifei took one large step forward and entered Silver Moon territory. He set course for Rift Canyon instead of Silver City. He wanted to defeat or even kill Yuan Shuo in Rift Canyon! That was where he’d once been defeated, and that was where he’d crawl back up to regain his dignity!

......

White Moon City.

Hou Xiaochen sat in an office chair, watching messages fly by. One caught his eye. “Sun Yifei has crossed Silver Moon borders with three disciples!”

“Sun Yifei...”

He’s here!

Hou Xiaochen drew his brows together. This was a thorny character. Would Hao Lianchuan be able to manage him? It was too soon after Yuan Shuo’s breakthrough, so he likely wasn’t a match for Sun Yifei. Even if he advanced rapidly and reached peak Dominator, he would still be hard pressed to rival a martial master turned supernatural. It was rather Hao Lianchuan and the Flaming Phoenix Spear who might be able to defeat or hold off the newcomer.

A knock sounded from the door before Manager Yu entered. “Director, there’s news from the central region that a rebellion has started in our neighbor, the Northern Ge province. The situation is critical, so they wish for the director to travel to Northern Ge with the origin weapon and help settle the chaos!”

Hou Xiaochen’s eyes narrowed sharply; he recovered his calm in the next second. “Reply that Hao Lianchuan has led a team to the ruins. There is no one else to hold down the fort at White Moon City, so I cannot leave!”

“Understood!” Manager Yu lowered her voice. “The Revolution King of Yama and Violet Moon of the Red Moon organization would like to meet with the director outside the city.”

“And what are they afraid of?” Hou Xiaochen laughed.

“That the director will secretly make a move from the shadows!” Manager Yu smiled. “They are well aware of the director’s strength, so they want to take up your attention with everything possible so that you will not be free to go to the ruins.”

Such was the strength that Hou Xiaochen employed! The leading representatives of Yama and Red Moon in the province had come together to prevent Hou Xiaochen from leaving the city.

“Very well, tell them I await them at the summit of Mt. White Moon. Don’t they dare not show up!” chuckled the director. “And what of Celestial’s Half Mountain?”

Celestial also had a leading representative in Silver Moon. He styled himself as “Half Mountain” and was exceedingly mysterious.

“There is no intelligence regarding Half Mountain. It has been very long since his last appearance in the public eye. Either he is in seclusion from an injury, or he’s ascended!” Manager Yu gave her judgment.

Hou Xiaochen inclined his head. It was possible that the supernatural had broken through.

“Forget it then, ignore him. There’s nothing that can be done if he’s advanced. The Celestial organization operates in an even more bizarre manner than Red Moon. They are very difficult to get a handle of.” Hou Xiaochen looked in Silver City’s direction, retracting his gaze after silent consideration.

Yuan Shuo’s reappearance had induced him to change some plans. How much remained of the Old Demon Yuan? The old demon who’d almost single handedly caused an extinction event in Silver Moon now focused on health and refinement of character. With his low profile, it was difficult to determine his current strength.

Chuckling, Hou Xiaochen looked in the direction of the central region. It was such chaos there that even the Night Watchers were affected. Some were in favor of war, some didn’t want to fight. Some wanted to defend, others wanted to attack. Complete pandemonium reigned!

Who knew if Skystar Dynasty could continue its rule? What kind of bedlam would engulf the ninety-nine provinces if it fully collapsed?

......

Time passed day by day.

Silver City.

Li Hao immersed himself in martial dao these days, training without sleep for hours on end. He rarely returned to his massive house, spending most of his time in the law enforcement building and training, constantly training.

The Nine Forged Force, Five Styles, and Ghost Shadow Sword.

He repeatedly practiced the three secret arts. While he’d reached five levels with the Nine Forged Force, it wasn’t enough. Liu Long could employ all nine when he was a half step Dominator. His father could also utilize nine layers, so Li Hao felt that he was far from enough. Five layers was too little.

He also experimented with how to rapidly switch between the Ghost Shadow Sword and Nine Forged Force, particularly the latter!

The Nine Forged Force required its own breathing method, consigning the Five Styles and Ghost Shadow Sword to supplemental positions. This was not to Li Hao’s desires as he could not utilize them in conjunction. He polished every step and move, trying to examine how he might use them together.

After an indeterminate period of time, he stabbed forward with his sword and swiftly withdrew it. His next exhale became a sword of white smoke! He immediately tried to shift to the Nine Forged Force when he breathed out, wanting to exhale five layers of sword qi in one breath. His first breath was successful, but while he instantaneously switched breathing methods, there was nothing in his second breath.

“It still doesn’t work!” Li Hao frowned. The key to shaping his breath as a sword lay in his lungs. The lungs were of the metal attribute and could open it's supernatural lock if it was strong enough. Then, could he connect the second stroke to his move if he stored more qi?

All he could manage now was one successful exhale—it was hard to keep going. This was due to limitations created by insufficiently strong lungs.

“Teacher says that the spirit of the lungs is the bird...”

Of the Five Styles, the bird aura corresponded to the lungs since both were of the metal attribute.

“Assigning auras of the Five Styles to the five visceral organs... But it doesn't necessarily have to be this way. That’s just the best choice because teacher succeeded with his auras of the five animals.” Li Hao’s thoughts turned back to himself. He’d grasped a sliver of the aura of earth. The earth element mapped to the spleen, where blood and qi were strengthened. Now he looked to master the aura of the sword. The sword mapped to metal, and metal to the lungs. Was it a logical conclusion to draw that he could use the aura of the sword to replace that of the bird?

Though he theorized as such, Li Hao didn’t dare make the attempt. The aura of the sword was so sharp that there was nothing but death ahead if he wasn’t careful.

Not to mention, he wasn’t even a Dominator yet.

What he needed to do most at the moment was to strengthen his aura of earth and condense the aura of the sword—not achieve the same accomplishments as his teacher and meld five auras into one. He would be entirely satisfied if he combined the aura of earth with that of the sword. That would open the door to Dominator and even place him beyond Liu Long as the chief only possessed one aura. Not to mention, his sword aura was hardly commonplace!

He’d only created a sword of internal force at the moment. The real aura of the sword was yet to appear. Li Hao was well aware that it might take the spilling of blood for the true sword aura to form!

How was there a sword that never saw blood? It might take this expedition to the ruins for him to hopefully complete the aura of the sword.

Li Hao turned over many notions and trained for a while longer. He performed a general clean up when he looked at the clock on a nearby wall, then strode out of the basement. It was already dark outside. Midnight.

His teacher had said to go to him after five days. It was the fifth day as the clock had already ticked over to August 26. The expedition was set to begin on the 28th.

......

The Yuan residence.

Li Hao waited in the yard, watching silently. It’d been five days! Would his teacher emerge from his closed door cultivation of the fire heart ape?

A yawning Wang Ming walked out of the house. He’d been here these days as well, focusing on making the breathing method an instinctive reaction. He operated it day and night without leaving the house. He wanted to talk to Li Hao when he saw the young man, but the latter waved him off as he was unwilling to talk. Wang Ming had to stay silent as well.

He knew a little of the situation after these days. Yuan Shuo seemed to be in seclusion and wasn’t even eating as he hadn’t walked out of his study. After a few days of absence, Li Hao’s sudden appearance meant that the professor was possibly wrapping up.

The two sat in the yard, waiting silently. The sky was still dark and there was no movement from the room. There were no ripples of internal force or surge of mysterious power. Just dead silence.

The sky brightened after an indeterminate period of time. Liu Long arrived, bringing Liu Yan with him. It was the 26th and there were roughly a thousand kilometers to travel before they reached Rift Canyon. They couldn’t drive the entire way and it’d take at least a day to reach the location. They might miss the exploration if they didn’t set out today.

Liu Long nodded at the two young men when he saw them waiting in the yard. He didn’t say anything, just quietly waited off to the side. He’d guessed that Yuan Shuo might be looking for the way forward during these days of continued unavailability. Liu Long could only look up to Yuan Shuo for doing so.

He himself had just entered Dominator, so he was far from the next level. Yuan Shuo had only broken through a few days before him, but he was already marching toward the next cultivation level.

An unknown level!

Various thoughts and concerns kept the four company as they waited for the professor to emerge.