Star Gate

Chapter 204: Old Friends Meet (III)

Hao Kong said nothing else and vanished along with the Ghostfaces. They reappeared several hundred meters away, standing on part of a cliff that jutted out. They were plainly settling in to observe rather than leave.

Another group of people in black appeared a while later. They wore cloaks and chose another precipice to observe the battle. Sun Yifei flicked a glance at the group—the Celestial delegation. Red Moon liked ghost face masks. Although he was part of the organization, he didn’t wear one and no one forced him to. Celestials liked black outfits and cloaks. Their style of operation was even more peculiar than Red Moon.

When it came to Yama, not many of their people covered their faces, but they were wreathed with dense killing intent. They were probably the most bloodthirsty out of the three great organizations and killed in a very gory manner.

A group of rather ominous people also claimed a spot as Sun Yifei ruminated. Theirs didn’t jut out far enough, so they blasted away at the stone wall and had earth supernaturals create an observation platform for themselves.

The delegations of the three great organizations were thus all in attendance. The rest were not far behind. In a few minutes, people from the two local mid-sized organizations also came.

Those of Light Island wore white outfits and counted numerous female members among their ranks. They steered a floating ship to the premises—a supernatural object instead of a flying ship. It didn’t reach the level of an origin weapon. The organization docked their ship in the air and looked down upon the earth, quite visible in their presence.

As for the Sword Sect, Hong Yitang broke through the air with a longsword on his back. He stopped at a far distance away and raised cupped fists. “Big brother Sun!”

Sun Yifei tilted his head at the latest addition and actually addressed the man.

“Hong Yitang,” he jeered. “Ranked last among the Seven Swords, to think that you’d be living a fine life while the others are dead!”

“Perhaps I treasure my life more.” Hong Yitang sighed, not angry in the slightest. He nodded at his own disciples. “Big brother Sun seems to have brought some outstanding disciples with you. If there’s a chance, we can let the younger generation conduct some exchanges with each other when your challenge is over.”

Sun Yifei followed his line of gaze and saw a young woman behind Hong Yitang. The look in her eyes was sharp and she held herself with the air of a swordswoman. She also wore a longsword on her back and was dressed differently from usual supernaturals.

“Has she grasped the aura?”

“Not yet.” Hong Yitang shook his head with some regret. “The aura is difficult to comprehend. If there’s a reason for the decline of martial dao, this would be it!”

Sun Yifei nodded, not voicing any condescending opinions. “Let today be the day! Hongxiu, you’ll spar with this young woman in a bit!”

Hong Yitang looked at Sun Yifei’s female disciple with surprise.

“Hongxiu is a late Sunderer,” Sun Yifei explained calmly. “Your daughter is roughly the same, correct? She looks like your daughter as the resemblance is striking. However, she feels stronger than you as you didn’t have this air of keenness around you back in the day!”

“She is my daughter. Hong Qing, greet Uncle Sun!”

Hong Qing swiftly walked forward and raised cupped fists. “Uncle Sun!”

“Spare the pleasantries, there’s no point to them! I don’t think much of your father, so don’t imitate him and be too scared to answer a letter of challenge when it comes for you.”

Hong Qing felt a bit awkward, whereas her father didn't mind. “I might not be standing here if I’d accepted it. I’m less than him, big brother Sun, so why go looking for trouble?”

“Trash!” Sun Yifei cursed, then laughed. “But you’re right, you know yourself well!”

“Do you intend to go by the rules?” Hong Yitang looked at his remaining disciples.

“Can I not?”

“It’s not that, but Yuan... Yuan Shuo’s disciples don’t seem to be by his side. He only has a junior disciple that he took in a few years ago, and that one seems to have focused on civil subjects at first. He walked the path of martial dao only later and his tenure is less than three years.”

He meant to say, who’s going against him from your side?

Sun Yifei couldn’t be bothered to answer. What do you know?

“Step aside, I don’t have time to reminisce about the past with you!” He impatiently waved away the other.

Hong Yitang chuckled and walked back to the Sword Sect delegation with his daughter. As they moved away, Sun Yifei suddenly said, “Hongxiu and your daughter will be the opening act. They fight to first blood and the focus is sparring. You don’t have other opinions, do you?”

Hong Yitang’s expression shifted slightly—not because it was bad to be an opening act, but that the opening act was usually meant as an appetizer. The brutal fights would follow after, as would the strongest opponents.

What did this mean?

The sword master thought that Sun Yifei would send his Slayer disciple to open the matches with Yuan Shuo’s disciple. Plainly, this wasn’t what he intended. He was going to send his senior disciples into the field!

Though confused, Hong Yitang wasn’t at liberty to ask too many questions. “We can do that!” He nodded.

“Mmhmm, good!” Sun Yifei smiled and looked at his female disciple when the surroundings were clear. “We can’t have you make this trip in vain. Hong Yitang’s daughter is quite strong and roughly on the same level as you. That’s good. A good match makes for the best opponent! Don’t underestimate her.

“While I don’t think much of her father, there are no weaklings among the Seven Swords of Silver Moon! As the Earthturner Sword, Hong Yitang turned heaven and earth upside down when he unsheathed his sword. Being a swordswoman as well, his daughter will not be weak. Swordsmen are still very strong among martial masters...”

Hongxiu nodded and asked hesitantly, “What about senior brother, master?”

“His opponent is that Li Hao! You and Hong Yitang’s daughter will be sparring—treat it as a practice match between another of the same sect.” Sun Yifei looked at Sun Moxian. “Meanwhile, you and Li Hao don’t need to have any reservations. You are on a battlefield! You will attack without regret even if he can’t take a single one of your blows. If you kill him, that’s his fault for being too weak!”

Sun Moxian nodded heavily!

A new group of people walked in at this time. The Night Watchers had arrived!

Sun Yifei saw that person from a long distance away, that familiar figure that haunted his mind these many years. He straightened upright. “Yuan Shuo!”

“Sun Yifei!” Yuan Shuo grinned, as if seeing an old friend. “I thought you really did die that year, but to think that you’re still alive! That’s quite worthy of congratulations! Few are those who live after an encounter with me. I’d like to see if I can still beat you to death after all these years of living!”

“Give it a try!” Sun Yifei laughed heartily. “I’d like to see if you still possess your demonic air after cowering for so many years. I had the time of my life killing people in the central region. You had the same hiding in Silver Moon, didn’t you?”

Yuan Shuo chuckled without a response. Neither did Sun Yifei say anything else.

The professor waved everyone back and walked forward with Li Hao. An empty clearing of roughly one hundred square meters had been cleared beneath the bridge. It stood out as it was level and free of rocks.

“Same old rules?” Their exchange was blunt.

“Same old rules! We don’t need to say anything else!” Yuan Shuo grinned. “This is my disciple Li Hao. Are yours going to attack together or come one by one?”

“Only Moxian is needed!” Sun Yifei responded faintly. “I choose the venue, you set the rules. Nothing else needs to be said between us. Will our disciples be sparring or dueling?”

In sparring, one did not fight to the death. Opponents fought to the death in a duel!

“Have you gone soft?” Yuan Shuo smirked.

“I’m worried that you’ll be distracted when your disciple dies!” Sun Yifei sneered. “In that case, we duel!”

“My wishes as well!” Yuan Shuo glanced at Li Hao. The young man nodded, a motion echoed by Sun Moxian. Both sides were ready to destroy each other.

“Big brother Yuan,” Hong Yitang called out. “Big brother Sun says that my daughter and his female disciple can open the matches. Do you agree, big brother Yuan?”

Yuan Shuo tilted his head with a smile. “I do!”

Hong Yitang smiled back. Even though he was a Solar now, he was still less than fully confident when facing two martial masters of the same era as him. It wasn’t that he was weaker than them, but that he’d never felt confident in front of them. That was the case then, as was the case now.

......

Yuan Shuo backed out of the circle with Li Hao and lowered his voice. “This is just as well, you can observe the girl’s moves. Since she’s also from the qimei staff discipline, her techniques and secret arts will be similar. While I believe that you’ll win... it’s best to be careful!

“Forfeit the match when you find yourself unable to win. Don’t force yourself to remain in the arena! If he kills you because you refuse to concede, that will make things dicey for me too!”

Li Hao nodded. That was all Yuan Shuo had to say. Some things weren’t that simple either. If Li Hao was defeated and had to forfeit in front of the public eye, that might heavily damage the aura of a younger martial master—particularly one that had to sense their aura.

The ancient records spoke of nurturing an aura of invincibility! If the martial master suffered a defeat during this process, it was the worst kind of failure to endure. Nine out of ten would falter at this step and never become a Dominator.

Much of the blame for so many Silver Moon martial masters being unable to break through lay at the feet of Yuan Shuo and the others. The candidates either died or were defeated during their process of nurturing the aura. How was it possible to advance to Dominator then?

Hong Qing strode over from the Sword Sect delegation, a longsword on her back. Sun Yifei’s disciple Hongxiu also walked out with an aloof expression, a long qimei staff in her hands. Various powerhouses on all sides cast their attention to the two girls.

Two Sunderers! And two late Sunderers at that. This was a practice match of the Fullmoon level; it drew a lot of interest. Most in attendance were Darkmoons, this was a fight they could understand. Few were those that’d crossed paths with martial masters, so they looked forward to this sparring match as well. How strong were martial masters?

“They’re really strong!” someone grunted with shock when the two entered the field.

There was nothing to see yet, but internal force flared when the two set foot into the ring. Gusts whipped around the area and sent some small rocks flying, enabling certain supernaturals to sense the might of martial masters.

Li Hao watched intently as well, not underestimating them just because they were weaker than him.