Star Gate-Chapter 1131: Dawn (II)

Li Hao laughed merrily amid a backdrop of bloody rain drifting in the wind.

“What’s with all the long faces?” he shouted. “We won! We conquered an ancient city and toppled Divine Nation!

“All those who have died are just asleep. They will return! I, Li Hao, will spend the rest of my life seeking control of the world so as to perfect life and death, as well as reverse time. They will return!”

The group’s hearts quailed! Even the world shook violently—heaven’s will blustered in protest!

“I would show you some respect if you did as you were told.” A cold light glinted in Li Hao’s eyes as he looked up and around him. “If you try to stop me... I will show you that even heaven’s will can be killed!”

Heaven’s will was still howling; thunder and lightning crackled into being. The deaths of the divine spirits had harmed its foundations! freёweɓnovel.com

Sword intent pierced through the world as Li Hao took to the air. He smashed through all of the lightning with his sword. The world immediately quieted down; only the bloody rain continued.

“How will Watercloud command its troops?” Li Hao turned his head to the Watercloud empress dowager.

Her expression flickered and she quickly responded softly, “The commander is mighty. Watercloud Dynasty is weak and was forced into the joint offensive between the four nations. Watercloud can become part of Skystar Dynasty. The south is indeed unsuited for inhabitation.”

Li Hao inclined his head and turned to the Great Li king.

“Great Li... will retreat!” intoned the king after his face shifted through various expressions. “We will retreat behind Ash Mountain! There are countless tribes within my nation, so this king... cannot surrender!”

“Skystar... can wait for your final decision!” Li Hao said quietly after a long look at the king. “Be well, king of Great Li!”

The king didn’t say anything to that and lifted his hands in a cupped fist salute. “Then I take my leave!”

“I will leave you to your devices and set aside one-tenth out of all battle spoils. They will be delivered to Great Li to thank you for your contribution!”

“My thanks!” The Great Li king promptly disappeared. The second awakening had been halted, Divine Nation had been defeated, Barren Dynasty could not leave its desert, and Watercloud surrendered...

Who in the world could stop Li Hao now?

All the king wanted to do was to return home. He’d been immensely concerned about Red Dust’s faction before, but now that the second awakening could not take place, Red Dust could try whatever they wished. A general slaughter would not revive the world anymore, so it wasn’t likely that they would send people to Great Li anymore.

This battle had completely broken the blockade against Skystar Dynasty. Who could contain Li Hao now?

......

The bloody rain continued over the land.

Silver Moon province, the ancient city of the Lius—Galewind.

Outside the city.

The land was fractured. Red Dust materialized, breaking through the firmament. The void cutting into him was only a minor discomfort, but endless thunderbolts crashing into him drew a frown on his face.

A young man stood in front of him with a solemn expression, holding a book in his hand.

“Go back,” the young man said softly. “I cannot do anything to you, but you will not be making it out either!”

Red Dust looked calmly at him, permitting his body to split open as it would. “He killed Zheng Gong!”

“Should he not have?” The young man looked at Red Dust, sighing after a long moment. “What a pity that... I cannot do anything to you. I thought you were your father, but... it’s you, Zheng Yu. So you’re the one behind the folk song, however, you were a victim of your cleverness in the end. You exposed the truth of your family!”

“If it wasn’t for concern that ripping through the void and destroying the world would permit that exalted emperor to return, do you think this world can hold me?” Red Dust looked at the sky around him.

“Then go ahead and tear right through it!” Zhang An was unperturbed. “Zheng Yu, it looks like you’ve walked a bit of the Empyrean King path. But are you able to set foot into the emperor level in this day and age?”

“I stand a greater chance than you!” Red Dust suddenly smiled. “Zhang An, I will be the greatest among the latter-day cultivators of New Martial!”

“With betrayal as your foundation?” Zhang An was unflappable. “All traitors eventually die!”

“Then you will not see that day come to be!” sneered Red Dust. “Even if I die, it will not be at your hands. Zhang An, we can change our destiny! The future is forged by our hands. Would I have had a hope of reaching exalted emperor if I didn’t chance everything on the throw of a dice?

“There were countless geniuses among New Martial, how many of them made it to exalted emperor aside from the initial batch? Immortals, Saints, Empyrean Kings were all possibilities, but exalted emperors were too strong and claimed too much of the world’s energy.

“The Human King divided the world into three—he claimed one portion, the Green Emperor took one portion, and the exalted emperors seized two-thirds of the remaining portion. Only what was left of that was available to everyone else! I would only amount to Empyrean King if I didn’t take a gamble!”

Zhang An simply looked silently at him instead of responding. He wasn’t too familiar with this person—Zheng Yu had visited on the day of Evenround Martial’s inauguration. That was their only point of contact. He’d come with his father and was a humble character compared to his brothers.

Of the three Zheng sons, the eldest had reached peak Saint. Now that was a true genius. Second son Zheng Gong was a peak Immortal, and this one... was a good-for-nothing. He was weak and his cultivation mediocre, but now it seemed that that may have been an act.

He’d been able to set foot into peak Empyrean King and even half step emperor in an era that lacked core origin. That was terrifying indeed!

It was just, he didn’t dare set foot out of the ruins either. Although he could tear through the void and firmament, the world was damaged. It would be his doomsday once the seal over the moon was broken. There was another exalted emperor sealed there!

“Zheng Yu, the pressure of the world will converge upon this spot if you do not retreat. It may be that Silver City’s seal will be immediately broken,” Zhang An explained. “It’s very difficult for you to enter the outside world!”

Red Dust Zheng Yu simply looked at Zhang An, ignoring the world trembling around him.

“Zhang An, you can block me for a moment, but you cannot block me for a lifetime!” he snapped after a long while. “The world will stabilize sooner or later. That is when I will kill you!”

“Then I await that day,” Zhang An sighed. “My only fear is that... it will never arrive!”

“Hmph!” Zhang An snorted and looked up at the sky. The bloody rain instantly blurred his vision. He looked in Silver City’s direction, at where a massive diagram of the eight trigrams shook violently.

His eyebrows knit together in a frown. Damn it! He stood a chance of setting foot into Boundless and stopping Li Hao if he could’ve walked out even for a split second. He was unable to maintain his battle strength in the outside world.

The world targeting him was one reason, but more importantly was that if he erupted with too much force and accidentally broke this fragile world, that might easily break the seal!

That could not happen no matter what for the moment.

An unpleasant expression spread across Zheng Yu’s face as he withdrew to Galewind behind him. The city shifted, as if preparing to teleport away from the premises.

Zhang An did not stop them as he was unable to. That was a premier existence! He might be able to offer some resistance outside the city, but with his current level of strength, he would be going to his doom if he entered one of the ancient cities.

“Although Zheng Gong has died, Li Hao’s side will not have an easy time of things either,” Zhang Yu transmitted coldly. “Zhang An, you spent your time obstructing me instead of joining the battle. If any of Li Hao’s friends or family died... it’s the end of the line for you and Li Hao!

“I’d like to see if you two can withstand the test of the human heart. If you say that you were absent to stop me... I’ll find a way to invade the other main cities and topple them in return. I’ll do that whether Li Hao believes you or not!

“Of the eight main cities, Sword City is out of the equation, Boundless has been taken, and my preparations can be found in all of the other cities. I’d like to see how you handle this, Zhang An!”

“You don’t need to worry about that!” Zhang An’s expression was aloof. “You should focus on who the Red Moon exalted emperor will kill first when he breaks free of the seal. Is it you, or will it be someone else?”

“I will return those words to you! I have no need to be threatened by a Saint! You were one of the first batch of students at Demonic Martial. Your grandfather is Supreme Zhang, your father is a statesman of great achievement, you are good friends with the Human King and his younger sister, but you are only a Saint! What right does trash have to judge me?”

The sneer rang through one’s heart as the earth trembled like the advent of a devastating earthquake. The ancient city disappeared.

Zhang An didn’t chase after the man, he watched on quietly and turned to the west. He looked in that direction for a very long time before disappearing, returning to the ruins he was at.

Divine Nation had been toppled, Zheng Gong was dead, Boundless had been taken. There was nothing for the Skystar Commander Office to worry about for a while.

The world was weak, so Zheng Yu wouldn’t dare show himself again. He’d taken the risk this time because he wanted to save his brother. His presence had already overburdened part of the world; the seal couldn’t take much more strain. Zheng Yu likely wouldn’t even dare send out a replica in the days to come.

It was just... how much had Li Hao lost?

Zhang An didn’t want to think further on it after giving the idea some thought. There was no Saint on Li Hao’s side, but he’d had to battle multiple Saints. There’d been at least two in the enemy camp. This fight would not have been an easy one.

Zhang An returned to the ruins, dismissing the power of the new martial dao around him and resuming his mental strength form. He sat down cross-legged without a word.

Was he trash?

Perhaps.

The son of a Zheng side branch could reach half step emperor, but he’d only ever touched half step Empyrean King. That was an entire cultivation level of difference.

Am I really that useless?

...maybe!

If I wasn’t, why would I be afraid of disturbances in the other main cities? I would send messages to the other cities and raise an army. That might have given us another chance then.

“But...” Countless thoughts ran through his mind.

How many cities apart from Boundless and Galewind were occupied by the enemy?