Star Gate

Anguish and reluctance appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes after he swiftly swallowed a large sum of Water of Life. He’d already taken three drops before, now he gulped down seven drops at once. This was all the Water of Life that he had—that he’d bought with him on this chase. He had more, but it was stored with the powerhouses in the ruins. He couldn’t take it all with him, even though he was the Steadfast Duke.

Ten drops…

He’d taken it all to protect his organs. His organs couldn’t be allowed to collapse and his locks could not fully snap. A powerful presence swept through the vicinity as he was now overwhelmingly strong. He was so strong that Li Hao’s heart pounded with shock. Xu Qing was definitely much stronger than He Yong and had more saturated locks than Light Sword!

Light Sword had filled six locks to capacity, He Yong only five. This guy must have managed at least seven, which meant three of the locks around his organs were full. This was the lowest possible number, he might have accomplished more.

Yuan Shuo narrowed his eyes as he considered Xu Qing. Though he continued to call the man trash, he was inwardly very solemn. So this was how much one’s strength increased when they unsealed themselves! He himself experienced such a rise with the five areas combined, but at seeing Xu Qing unseal himself, he realized at once that he couldn’t measure up to the enemy!

But there was no harm in trying.

“I like challenging the strong!” Yuan Shuo licked his lips with a smile. “Xu Qing, you’re not trash anymore. You’re… strong trash! Hahaha!”

Boom!

An attack fired into the sky like a flash of lightning. Matchless eruption of force was fully demonstrated from Yuan Shuo’s side. He was so well-rounded that even his speed was unrivaled. Xu Qing focused on leg methods, but he wasn’t necessarily stronger than the Five Styles King.

Yuan Shuo leapt like a deer, climbed like an ape, and swept through the sky like a bird! Although he was suppressed and on the back foot, the destructiveness of the stone blade still painted a ferocious picture in Li Hao’s eyes!

In terms of momentum, Xu Qing still seemed apprehensive. The effects of yesteryear still persisted!

Yuan Shuo backed away after a loud explosion. The look in his eyes remained sharp and a dangerous curve played at his lips. His domineering arrogance knew no bounds despite the fact that he was bleeding. However, an irate voice sounded by Li Hao’s ears.

“Are you a freaking idiot?? Run! We can’t beat him and I’m going to be trampled after he’s unsealed himself!”

Yuan Shuo thought very little of his idiot disciple at the moment. The hell you staring for?? Are you going to run only after you see me pounded into the ground? The unsealed Xu Qing exceeded the Nova level—Yuan Shuo could not defeat him.

Li Hao didn’t make a sound. I want to run, but my injuries are still there. Hold on a bit longer, teacher. I’ll be able to run in a bit.

……

Yuan Shuo remained as dominating as ever, whereas Xu Qing slowly regained his composure. He just needed to conquer his internal fear as he knew full well that he was much stronger than Yuan Shuo at the moment. There was no question about it!

But Yuan Shuo was still able to occupy the upper hand! Why? Because Xu Qing was afraid! They seemed to have traveled back thirty years, to that time when he had absolute fear beaten into him. Today might be his chance to beat those internal demons.

“Yuan Shuo!” He slowly landed on the ground and looked at the old man striking a proud pose. Xu Qing ground his teeth and forced out, “I’m not afraid of you! You’ve given me a chance today to ascend to a higher level as soon as I defeat and kill you!”

“And are you sure you can manage it?” Yuan Shuo grinned. “Are you sure you’re not afraid? Don’t forget how badly off you were that day. If it wasn’t for your father putting in an appearance, I would’ve smashed your head in! Have you forgotten how close you were to death?”

He advanced instead of retreating! When Yuan Shuo took a step forward, Xu Qing trembled like he wanted to back away. The latter forced himself to a standstill and didn’t move. Instead, he raised his head to look at Yuan Shuo.

“You said so yourself, that was back in the day!” A cold look appeared in his eyes. “I’ve swept through the eastern region over the past thirty years and defeated everyone. Today, I am the Steadfast Duke of the east and you are nothing!

“You can only struggle for survival beneath Hou Xiaochen and Silver Moon’s protection! If it wasn’t for those metamorphosis guys hoping to use you to complete the method of the five elements and five organs, you would’ve died a long time ago!

“Do you really think that Ying Hongyue can’t kill you? Do you think that Hou Xiaochen and them can actually protect you? It’s all in your head! The truth is, you’re just a tool to them! Your only use is to perfect the technique involving the five organs. Even if you don’t teach anyone, killing you and analyzing your body afterward is all the same!”

He seemed to be encouraging himself and cheering himself on. Xu Qing shifted his foot and… took one step forward. It was a giant leap, a personal breakthrough in the face of spiritual intimidation!

Just as Golden Spear had been unable to shake off Yuan Shuo’s intimidation, he was now stuck beneath Hou Xiaochen’s hand and unable to make any progress. That Xu Qing had cultivated his way to this stage didn’t necessarily mean that he’d broken Yuan Shuo’s shackles. It was that he’d chosen to gradually forget the man over the years, to avoid the pain points of his heart. That was how he evaded the crux of the issue as he did not choose to face it head-on.

But today, he needed to clear this obstacle or he would be caught beneath the heel of a boot each time he saw Yuan Shuo.

“Not bad!” Yuan Shuo raised an eyebrow. “Xu Qing, being a duke for thirty years has helped you grow a spine. You’re able to voluntarily take a step forward in front of me. Congratulations!”

Xu Qing gritted his teeth and took another step forward.

“I am one of the most premier martial masters of this land! My blood qi is unrivaled, my body is invincible, my mind intent is full and complete. Someone like Light Sword is but a servant in my eyes! Yuan Shuo, I will shatter my internal demons by killing you and then ascend to the peak of this world’s martial dao!”

Xu Qing roared and finally went on the offensive! One could not remain in an unsealed state for long. He also ardently wished to use his own immense strength to suppress this guy, this demon of the martial world!

Yuan Shuo, you’ve missed out on twenty years of brilliance. You won’t be invincible forever!

“Kill!!” A foot shook heaven and earth; it whirred through the air and opened fissures when it landed on the ground. There seemed to be only that pair of legs beneath the heavens! It was too powerful to consider!

Only now did the Steadfast Duke demonstrate his true might. Yuan Shuo was the nightmare of his generation’s martial masters. Whoever could break Yuan Shuo’s curse was truly worthy of being hailed as the most premier martial master of martial dao.

“Roar!” Tiger Roar Through Mountain and Woods!

Yuan Shuo was a ferocious tiger that breathed out a cloud. It brought with it wind and rain—the five elements and five auras!

It was now that Li Hao seemed to understand what was mind intent and the aura. It was dao! Martial dao! This was the martial dao of the modern world. His teacher once said that those above Dominator were hailed as walking gods. They could do anything with the key of this level—their mind intent and auras. The physical body, blood qi, and others were naturally strengthened when the aura was strong.

Li Hao hadn’t understood it at first, then found it potentially wrong. If the rest of the body was strengthened with the auras, why were the organs weak? It wasn’t until now that he began to understand some of it. He stared raptly at his teacher, beginning to comprehend some of what he saw.

Yuan Shuo summoned the wind and rain. The power of the five elements drifted through the air, part of it entering his body to strengthen his organs. This was to summon the spirits and nurture the auras, which then nurtured the body!

In other words, Yuan Shuo only lacked time, he hadn’t reached a bottleneck. If time was sufficient, he could absolutely strengthen his organs himself. After all, he could absorb the five elements and incorporate them into his body. For anyone else, the five organs were almost impossible to strengthen.

Yuan Shuo fortify out and manifested a small stone blade. It transformed from part of his brass knuckle into a short blade. He was obviously much weaker than his opponent, but in this moment, he manipulated the five elements and struck with his sword. It was like great dao had descended from overhead to subdue the world!

A massive bear floated out of the clouds and stepped down ponderously, looming like a descending mountain. It transformed into a storm, the waves, and into thousands of sword incantations…

“Break!” Xu Qing howled. Wind, rise! A gale wind swept through the scene—not the same level compared to Yuan Shuo’s of phenomenon, but one that was incredibly intense. Winds howled and churned through the land, breaking the bear into pieces and dispersing the clouds and fog.

“Nothing compares to strength!” Xu Qing shouted. “Yuan Shuo, didn’t you say that no matter the amount of tricks, trash is still trash in the end?”

In that case, so what if you have a lot of tricks up your sleeves? You’re trash too!

Yuan Shuo backed away and combined fire and water with a wave of his hand. Heaven and earth exploded and the gale wind stopped. He took another step back without a word! Tricks? He wasn’t employing tricks. Trash like Yu Qing wouldn’t understand. He was using the least possible resources against his opponent. He might be smashed to death in their current straits. Was he supposed to be a fool and present himself for close combat to be tortured?

All he wanted to do was stall for time. Either he tired out Yu Qing or Li Hao could regain movement. The kid looked like he was still healing his injuries. Otherwise, with his smarts, he would’ve run without needing Yuan Shuo to say anything.

Battle erupted once more. Yuan Shuo had shifted from suppressing his opponent to being entirely suppressed. Passively defending, he brought all manner of methods to bear. Nothing was left alive after they passed through it, the fissures in the ground began spreading and seawater flowed into the land.

The coastline was collapsing and towering waves in the distance rearing towards the shore. They were a result of Yuan Shuo’s city annihilation missiles. The waves were coming. As they approached, Yuan Shuo’s tiger seemed to grow stronger.

A surge of water aura burst forth and Li Hao suddenly leapt into the air. He punched with a fist instead of using his sword, nine layers of force drawing the waves forward and aiming for Xu Qing.