Star Gate

“The sword of killing dao!” Li Hao coughed. Despite his broken body, his eyes were bright and a red light danced in them. “Now this makes things interesting. Your supernatural abilities are too weak—why did you learn them? It’s impossible to gauge your true strength from them. I can only see how strong your mirror is…”

He casually tossed Stellaris at the mirror. “Weapon to weapon, you and I are both swordsmen. Let’s have a duel of swords!”

“Idiot…” Hong Tu cursed. Why won’t I use my treasure on you if it can suppress you?

His treasure was suppressed by Stellaris, but Li Hao had chosen to forgo his incomparably sharp sword. This madman… Hong Tu raised his thin sword and rushed his opponent. His condition was much better than Li Hao’s. Since the young man wanted to duel with swords, then they could have at it!

Crunch!

The void cracked open with Hong Tu’s move and he swiftly vanished. When he reappeared, his sword was already aimed at Li Hao’s head.

The young man wielded a sword made of supernatural characters. A ferocious tiger howled when he brought his weapon to bear!

Boom!

Hong Tu pierced through the tiger with one move; he grunted dismissively. You’re no match for me even when it comes to the sword. It was just his memories that were slightly befuddled. Now that Li Hao exchanged moves with him, it was helping his memories sharpen with clarity.

Not only was Hong Tu not becoming weaker with prolonged battle, but he was growing stronger instead! Whether it was Li Hao’s aura of the world, his supernatural abilities, characters, or sword intent, all of it faded away when met with Hong Tu’s sword of killing dao.

Li Hao wilted the longer battle drew on! Although Stellaris overcame the mirror, it was Hong Tu who firmly occupied the upper hand.

The reincarnated ancient glared coldly at Li Hao while he whipped the thin sword forward, bringing move after move to bear. He just wanted to quickly resolve the battle. Even if he couldn’t, he still wouldn’t be afraid of his opponent.

There was nothing about Li Hao that was worthy of fear. That bastard had broken the mallet of the Hongs! Hong Tu was furious and struck with increasing venom.

Crunch!

Li Hao’s sword of supernatural characters broke!

Pfft!

Hong Tu stabbed his sword into the young man’s neck, drawing a bloody line. That wasn’t enough to make Hong Tu stop—a surge of killing dao intent rushed into Li Hao’s body and sought to tear the young man apart!

Li Hao’s broken supernatural characters reformed. Light of five different colors gathered in his hand, which closed around a longsword. He looked curiously at his opponent. “You are an Arcanus, so why is your sword intent still this formidable?”

Hong Tu frowned. His longsword shook with a screech and sent out reverberations that ripped through Li Hao’s arms. Blood sprayed in all directions.

“Who says Arcanus can’t use the sword?” he sneered. “My forefathers created the dao of energy. The supernatural is just a mutation of that dao!”

Although it hadn’t been Daoist Wind and Cloud who pioneered energy dao, it’d grown stronger through the efforts of his son. There wasn’t much of a difference between the supernatural domain and energy dao.

Li Hao nodded, understanding the response. He permitted his throat to collapse and blood spray out, but retained his death grip on the other’s longsword. The violent quaking shook more blood out of his arm.

“I see! Sword intent is sword intent and sword aura is sword aura. The intent springs from the heart. Where there is heart, there is intent. Aura is dao and intent is heart…” Li Hao seemed to grasp something!

Hong Tu shook his sword again, but his eyes widened with shock when Li Hao spat out a sword made of blood. The blood sword’s killing intent was so concentrated that it was almost tangible!

“So this is… a sword of intent!”

Bam!

Sword intent ran through the world. “Lifeless!”

Hong Tu roared with agony and furiously backed away when Lifeless sword intent pierced through his arm. It ran straight through his flesh. He grunted and stared incredulously at Li Hao. The young man’s potential… was too great!

Indeed, potential.

It was Hong Tu’s first time realizing that someone’s potential could reach such heights. It took only one verbal explanation for them to learn his method. Perhaps it was the result of strong accumulation from previous training, or perhaps the young man potential was really so strong that it was undefinable.

Li Hao truly understood it. Sword aura was sword aura, sword intent was sword intent. The two were different!

What Hong Yitang and the rest had said a thousand times was better off being experienced once in actual combat.

“It’s so interesting when swordsmen cross paths.” Li Hao smiled. “None of the swordsmen of Silver Moon are willing to truly fight to the death with me. I’ve considered myself invincible throughout the world after setting foot into seven elements Arcanus. Only the powerhouses of New Martial are worthy of me drawing my sword. But today, I meet you!”

“Li Hao, do you think you can scare me in this fashion?” Hong Tu snorted.

“No no, I hope for you to be stronger!” Li Hao licked his lips. “I haven’t felt this way in a very long time. I’d thought that maybe only Ying Hongyue could level this kind of threat at me. I’m delighted to bump into you today!”

The look in Hong Tu’s eyes shifted. This guy really did seem very happy!

“Kill!” Li Hao grunted. There seemed to be swords all throughout the world—everything was the sword. The fire sword, wood sword, earth sword, water sword…

The swords of the five elements!

There were even the swords of thunder and lightning, wind, light, and darkness appearing! All matter was the sword!

Li Hao was overjoyed. His opponent might help him comprehend the sword of wind and thunder! He chose to forget everything and put all thought out of his mind. He didn’t want to think of how battle outside was proceeding or what this guy’s background was. His only thought was that, as a swordsman, he would use the sword to kill his opponent and give him a dignified death.

This was what his teacher had spoken of—swords were the weapon of gentlemen. A gentleman helped his opponent die a clear-cut death in a stately way!

Indeed, Yuan Shuo had told him this. Li Hao deployed the Ghost Shadow Sword and Weeping Willow Sword. A frenzied cry rang out as the premises spun. The entire world seemed to be spinning as the move overturned heaven and earth!

Hong Tu felt that he’d encountered a sword fanatic. Countless swords underwent endless permutations. He shouted in quick succession and waved his longsword around, shattering the strange sword techniques that surrounded him.

The two were bathed with blood and the longer they fought, the more furious Hong Tu became.

“Li Hao…”

Bam!

A massive sword manifested as soon as he howled with outrage. It was like the return of a tyrant, an emperor patrolling his territory.

Boom!

Hong Tu suffered a blow that broke all of his bones. He vomited blood and glared furiously at Li Hao. There wasn’t a single piece of intact flesh on the young man’s body. There were even bloody bits that clung to him, ready to be blown off at any second. And yet, his sword aura grew ever more domineering!

A supernatural character suddenly appeared next to Li Hao. Thunder!

Indeed, it was the thunder supernatural character. The sword stroke from moments ago had struck like a clap of thunder and bolt of lightning. It contained electricity within it, and this was when the thunder character chose to appear. Li Hao smiled, his sixth supernatural character had finally fully appeared.

The ‘exterminate’ formed by his sword aura was just a massive melting pot that pretended to be wind and thunder.

“I am now a six element Arcanus!” His declaration left Hong Tu floundering.

What bullshit six elements? Have you never learned math? You’re one short! You were seven elements a long time ago, so what’s this talk of six elements?

In Li Hao’s eyes, it was only now that he was truly a six element Arcanus. His five elements and thunder element had become supernatural characters. Only when the wind element followed suit was he a true seven elements.

The young man turned into a breeze and vanished once more, striking with a sword when he reappeared!

Hong Tu gave voice to a battlecry and charged Li Hao. His stroke brimmed with killing intent!

Li Hao was someone who grew stronger the longer he battled. Hong Tu grit his teeth with impotent fury. Perhaps this was what was meant by a person truly favored by heaven. He was just someone trying to seize some dribbles of fortune for himself.

BOOM!

The two swords clashed; Li Hao disappeared again. The Windchaser Boots lit up and brought him back into view elsewhere. He stabbed his sword down again.

Bam bam bam! Clang clang clang!

Sparks flew as both parties were exceedingly fast. The more they exchanged blows, the more delighted Li Hao was. Theory always seemed too shallow, only in practical application was there true knowledge to be gained!

A long while later, cracks finally appeared in Hong Tu’s sword. His eyes widened and he swiftly backed away, evading Li Hao’s pursuing weapon. He panted heavily and grit his teeth, staring coldly at Li Hao. “You asked for it!”

An item appeared next to Hong Tu—a crystalline bead. A faint pressure emanated from it, the pressure from a Saint!

Li Hao had seen Saints before, there was one at Evenround Martial. The bead floating next to Hong Tu brought with a Saint-level pressure that seemed to exude from a living person, not a treasure.

As a Hong and a reincarnated Saint, Hong Tu had more trump cards than one could imagine. However, he hesitated in this moment. This was mental strength left behind by his primary body—or rather, the real Hong Tu. If he chose to swallow this bead, that would mean he would forgo his new identity and recover all of his memories.

He would be the ancient Hong Tu again!

He’d known long ago that there was something wrong with his reincarnated self, but he also felt that this was the reborn version of him. There was no need to put him with the past Hong Tu. After taking this bead, he would be that person again.

etvolare’s Thoughts

That would also mean his reincarnation would be a waste, yeah?