Star Gate

Chapter 209: Qimei Staff, Fire Heart Ape (I)

Tears streamed down the faces of Sun Hongxiu and the other young man. They quickly wiped their eyes dry. Sun Hongxiu knelt on the ground and kowtowed to her master, then put the corpse on her back to leave.

“Sun Yifei,” Yuan Shuo suddenly spoke from a distance. “Why not bury Sun Moxian in Silver Moon? He should remain here if he has no other family. Silver Moon’s martial world is the homeland of martial masters. Since he has fallen in battle here, he should be buried here!”

The martial world of Silver Moon!

Sun Yifei looked at him and smiled after a moment. He raised his staff to the sky and smashed a massive pit out of the ground.

“He has no family, I am his family!” Sun Yifei laughed. “Very well, you make sense for once, Yuan Shuo. If you die, I will offer your head to my disciple!”

“And if you die, I will bury the two of you together!” Yuan Shuo responded calmly.

“That is just as good!” Sun Yifei’s smile broadened. He stepped forward and reclaimed Sun Moxian’s body. Amid his two disciple’s teary gazes, he placed the corpse into the pit for burial. Sun Moxian had no family or master in the central region. It would be a lonely eternal rest. You might as well stay here! This is master’s home.

Whether it was Sun Moxian or Sun Hongxiu, they were all war orphans. Hence, their surname was Sun.

A long staff pointed at the heavens! Dust and rocks churned, filling the pit in the blink of an eye and leaving behind a covered grave. Sun Yifei withdrew his weapon and looked at his two living disciples. Sun Hongxiu hesitated briefly when her master looked at her, then spun on her heel and grabbed her junior brother’s hand. She took off running, departing from this land of heartbreak.

Such was meant to be a martial master!

It was to ensure one’s legacy carried on and await a chance for vengeance. Sun Yifei never spoke of giving up revenge—that concept did not exist. So long as the legacy of the qimei staff endured, then vengeance would be had until this inheritance fully vanished from the martial world. Otherwise, its heirs would one day arrive in Silver Moon and battle the heirs of the Five Styles again!

Yuan Shuo knew this, Li Hao knew this, all martial masters knew this, yet no one stopped the two young disciples.

Martial masters were always like this. They were a savage and cruel group, but also seemed hypocritically kind. It was very rare for an entire discipline to be exterminated over a duel. Despite knowing the benefits of eradication, very few people were truly willing to do so.

They knew that someone would be along for revenge, and so they waited for that eventuality. Or at the very least, they would not bring the fight to their enemy’s door before the enemy grew into their strength. As one aged and taught disciples, one accepted a final disciple to guard the home. They would await for the enemy to come knocking instead of visiting the enemy when one still had the strength to.

The reason for all this? The rules!

No one defined custom; it was just passed on from generation to generation. Yuan Shuo had killed so many people in his time, but mostly in the arena. He rarely moved against their disciples, not unless those disciples went on the offensive first. Thus, he had a lot of enemies. More than could be killed!

It would take these people thinking that they could never have vengeance or for their legacy to naturally disappear in the martial world for these feuds to fade away.

......

Sun Hongxiu and her junior brother left. No one stopped them, no one dared even move. Sun Yifei swept the surroundings with a vicious look, projecting especial ruthlessness. He stared at everyone except Yuan Shuo, waiting for his disciples to get a little further or even leave the province entirely. He didn’t look at Yuan Shuo as he knew his old enemy would wait.

In the distance, a cold grip wrapped around the hearts of anyone he looked at—whether Sunflares or Solars. The gaze was tyrannical, maniacal, and bloodthirsty.

This situation continued for another half hour. Everyone in the canyon suffered in silence with Sun Yifei. Whether it was the three great organizations or Night Watchers, all were in tacit accordance. No one wished to provoke the late Solar Sun Yifei in his berserk state. As for his two disciples, their strength was evident for all to see. No one cared about them, whether they bore a grudge or not.

Half an hour later, Sun Yifei suddenly took to the sky. He soared a hundred meters in the span of a breath and landed on the broken Rift Bridge. This was the bridge where he’d been once defeated!

Yuan Shuo likewise pushed off the ground and shot up like a rocket. He arced through the sky and easily landed on the other side of the bridge like a bird coming to rest. The matters of the martial world would be resolved in the martial world.

Down below, expressions shifted among the crowd. The two martial masters had easily ascended one hundred meters! While ordinary Sunflares could do the same, the two had accomplished it effortlessly through martial master means. This was very out of the norm.

......

Li Hao was drained after his battle. He tilted his head toward the sky, then quickly frowned. There was a flying ship partially obstructing his side view—the Light Island delegation. They’d parked their vessel close to Rift Bridge, approximately one hundred meters away. There were quite a few people on board.

Yuan Shuo and Sun Yifei faced off overhead. A duel between martial masters was usually limited to a small area. Even if the two expanded their arena, they would most likely land to continue the fight. Thus, Light Island hovered in place instead of relocating elsewhere. This was the best place to watch the battle. It afforded the best and clearest view.

Li Hao continued to frown. A cold glint appeared in Liu Long’s eyes when he followed the young man’s gaze. They were courting death!

Martial masters did indeed stay within a limited confine when they fought—the same went for supernaturals. They wouldn’t infinitely enlarge their battlefield, not to mention that when the opponent was in the air, it was tough to extend the arena in any way unless both sides were in the air.

Whether it was martial masters or supernaturals, they rarely fought in the sky unless they commanded an ability of the sky. The earth was where they belonged. However, were Yuan Shuo and Sun Yifei ordinary people?

“Ignore them,” Li Hao whispered. “There’s always some people who think they’re very special and beyond the ordinary. Light Island is formed by a Heaven Favored, right?”

Wang Ming nodded beside him. Light Island differed from Sword Sect in that a martial master had established Sword Sect, while a Heaven Favored with great potential formed Light Island. Their founder was an early Sunflare and swiftly ascended to Solar not long thereafter. He was one of the few Solars in Silver Moon.

For martial masters, the second battle between disciples had been splendid. To others, that was just a fight between initial Sunflares. It was too far removed from Solar. Some were extremely thickheaded; the leader of Light Island fancied himself exceptional. Wouldn’t it be downgrading himself if he suddenly shifted his vessel?

In the meantime, Li Hao knew that they were placed much too close. They didn’t understand a martial master’s aura! What was one hundred meters once his teacher fully deployed his aura? The Solar might be fine, but anyone below Solar would be injured or die to the incredible impact.

They absolutely had a death wish.

Li Hao turned his gaze back to the two combatants. He hoped that Sun Yifei would be affected by Sun Moxian’s death, or his earlier duel with Sun Moxian would become a little bit meaningless.

......

In the air, upon a bridge broken from the middle.

One person stood on each side. Tyranny still raged through Sun Yifei’s eyes, but he’d recovered a modicum of calm. He stared at Yuan Shuo.

“You were the downfall of Silver Moon’s martial world!”

“You can say that,” Yuan Shuo chuckled. “So you’ve learned to bring the principles of righteousness down on my head?”

Could he say that? Well, he could!

Yuan Shuo’s inability to become a Dominator twenty years ago had a great impact on Silver Moon’s martial world. If he advanced, so many more half step Dominators would’ve lived. The remaining ones might’ve broken through.

Such were martial masters—they were an interesting bunch. So long as the great oppressor Yuan Shuo did not progress, everyone else seemed to be bottlenecked as well. But if Yuan Shuo had stepped forward, then Dominators would’ve sprang forth like bamboo shoots after the rain. This was seen in multiple eras past—one person determined the upper limits of the martial world!

Many people rose with the wind when this limit was smashed, breaking through in quick succession and locating the next upper bound. If that limit constantly remained in place, that would be the extent of that era unless someone killed them.

It was an exceedingly marvelous state.

“I’m not bringing anything down on you!” Sun Yifei was calm. “I’m just filled with hate and regret! Your limitation prevented us from comprehending the beauty of Dominator of Thousands. We could not make any progress! I hate that we were unable to defeat you and pull you off from your throne!

“My second hate is that I became a supernatural and cannot use the strength of a martial master to battle you!

“My third hate is that I am less than my disciple. Perhaps I should’ve valiantly fought to the very last that year. Jumping from the cliff is my eternal shame!”

“You can fight to the last this time.” Yuan Shuo nodded at him.

“I hope you don’t disappoint me!” Sun Yifei raised his staff with one hand and pointed it at Yuan Shuo. “To battle!”

BOOM!

Leaping flames roared into existence before any technique deployed. They burned with a fury to immolate heaven and earth!

A fire supernatural! This attribute was suited for offense. Many supernaturals who excelled at attacking were of the fire attribute. Fire represented explosiveness.

Hao Lianchuan’s eyes widened when the flames appeared. He was also a fire supernatural and a Solar. But when Sun Yifei’s fire manifested, he suddenly felt that his flames were so much more inferior. They were both Solars, yet the gap between them was so great! It was incomprehensible.

He might be able to wield such might if he utilized the Flaming Phoenix Spear. Although Sun Yifei’s qimei staff was forged from premium materials, it was far from an origin weapon.

Across the bridge, Yuan Shuo narrowed his eyes. The leaping flames were concentrated on the staff, turning it into a ferocious fire dragon. Sun Yifei’s intent was clear—he wanted to use the methods of a martial master to defeat Yuan Shuo. He was only using fire supernatural abilities as internal force.

Yuan Shuo underwent a change as the flames were too hot for the human body to endure. The professor seemed to turn into an ape of fire, an image that shone into the eyes of all those watching. The fire heart ape was upon him.

Sun Yifei’s eyes lit up—he seemed to see and discover something! He looked at his foe with unconcealed euphoria and the glee of meeting a good opponent!