Chapter 1062: Difficult to Determine a Victor (III)

Li Hao set his jaw and shouted, “General Pagoda, dismantle the formation and join the battle!”

Good friends would start dying soon if the plant spirits didn’t help them.

Boom!

The sky split apart as the thirteen plant spirits showed themselves again. General Pagoda took humanoid form without second word and punched with an enormous rumble. The goddess of life suppressing the imperial guard flew backward!

As opposed to saying anything. General Pagoda utilized action to demonstrate that the replica of a Saint was stronger than these divine spirits!

A dozen more powerhouses joined the battle in the blink of an eye, stemming the tides. Only Li Hao and Li Daozong were still unable to match the queen. Li Hao didn’t seem to have any of his previous methods, he only had sword dao to utilize!

One sword stroke after another, but they were all parried and dispersed. The same went for Li Daozong—he could only utilize sword dao!

His being grew fainter the more he fought.

The Divine Nation queen commanded strength of at least sixth level Sun and Moon. Nine open meridians made one of Mountain and Sea, three meridians were required for each level of Sun and Moon.

Li Hao had the equivalent of twenty dao meridians, Stellaris, and a variety of supernatural characters to place him on par with fifth level Sun and Moon. His opponent was the equivalent of sixth level Sun and Moon at twenty-seven meridians.

The young man had previously used the will of the people to overcome his opponent, but that method had been defused by the queen. Without his previous capacity, he was clearly less than his opponent.

Li Daozong grew weaker and weaker. He could coordinate his movements with Li Hao at first and prevent the queen’s advances, but now his arm rose less readily to his intentions. He hacked again and forced the queen back, then turned to look at Li Hao.

“Don’t think too much.” The division leader’s tones were as remote as always. “She’s just borrowing the power she reincarnated with to reach these heights. You’re only twenty-one, you’ve done very well! The people’s will can be directed, but not now. It’s too early for that. They see what you’re doing, but this takes time!

“It took eighty years from the start of New Martial to when the Human King overthrew the Earth Dwellers to open the people’s minds and win their hearts. Li Hao, do you find yourself stronger than all of the New Martial exalted emperors? Do you think yourself better than the Human King or Supreme Zhang? Do you think you can educate the people and win them over in a few months?

“There is no rush to complete everything in one go, Li Hao!” laughed Li Daozong. “Come, I will teach you today what the Sword of Life is!”

The division leader’s form melded into his sword with a howl. “Life is never extinguished, sword dao reigns eternal!”

KABOOM!

The world shattered, as did the longsword. The blow sent the scepter flying; sword intent churned forward like it was alive. It was the charge of ten thousand people and it rushed the queen!

Countless bloody marks scored the queen’s arm. Blood dripped from her wounds. She repeatedly backed away until she was one hundred meters out.

“The descendant of the Eternal Sword Sovereign... truly does command fearsome sword dao!” she sighed with emotion.

The Ninth Division leader’s replica was gone. All that he left behind in his final moments was one singular sword stroke.

Li Hao looked coolly at the queen, she smiled back at him. “Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve without him?” She sneered at him with a supercilious tone, “Who will come save you now?”

The Divine Nation ruler looked around the premises, at the powerhouses that raged in a maddened fury. She seemed to be provoking them on purpose, tempting them to make a mistake and luring them to save Li Hao.

The queen grew stronger in the absence of a magnificent aura suppressing her.

Li Hao looked at the spot where the Ninth Division leader had vanished, at where fragments of the longsword drifted through the air. He blinked, slightly dazed.

He’d always wanted to fight this one, to take revenge for previous humiliations. Although Li Daozong’s primary body yet remained, his replica... was dead. There was no other way to put it. He’d died to save Li Hao!

“I was too full of myself before this and too young,” the young man laughed wryly. “Ever since discovering the new dao, I’ve felt that there is no one beneath the heavens that can stand against me. I felt myself invincible before the second awakening!

“I have so many methods to call upon and can borrow the will of the people. Although I haven’t said it, the thought of becoming the Human Emperor occasionally crosses my mind...” Li Hao looked at the queen. “Moon God, you’ve slapped me awake today! So I’m not invincible!”

The queen frowned and didn’t respond to the young man’s bout of self-reflection. She darted to Li Hao and stretched her hand toward him. A sun and moon seemed to crash into the ground.

Jiang Li erupted with power in the distance and forced the god of war into retreat. He wanted to rush forward to rescue Li Hao, but hesitated. It... wasn’t a bad thing if the young man died, right? Divine Nation was strong, but so was Skystar. If he died, there would be at least one less terrifying existence in the world.

Just as he hesitated.

A figure flung himself in Li Hao’s direction. Yuan Shuo still resembled a piece of charcoal, but he slammed a furious punch outward with the Five Styles.

“How dare you!” he yelled. This was his disciple!

The queen whirled around with her scepter, ready to kill the old man on the spot. Li Hao had crouched to defend himself; his expression shifted dramatically at the sight of the queen’s reaction.

“How dare you!” The young man immediately flung everything to the back of his head. He had no family left in the world! None at all! His teacher was the only one who protected him, whether he was weak or strong!

Although Li Hao was saddened by the destruction of the Ninth Division leader’s replica, it was just a replica at the end of the day. The young man’s mind was still clear.

But in this moment, his mind was no longer clear.

“You court death!” he bellowed. His original thoughts were that they could retreat if they couldn’t stand against the enemy. Their losses weren’t significant if they withdrew now. His survival was assured—his teacher might have forgotten that the young man could escape into the Hao Cosmos.

Li Hao wouldn’t die that easily.

His teacher might be in a panic due to his concern and had forgotten this detail. Yuan Shuo threw himself at the queen!

The old man could also enter the Hao Cosmos, but ever since Li Hao broke the blade of the Zhangs, his teacher didn’t have a proper treasure at hand to fix his coordinates. He might be lost forever if he darted into the Hao Cosmos.

Granted, in his current enraged state, his teacher might’ve forgotten everything and was only fixated on saving his disciple.

Li Hao shouted with indignation and slashed with Stellaris. Not only did he make a move, but all of his incomplete dao meridians manifested over his body. All of the acupoints that he’d yet to clear were forced open!

The young man spontaneously cleared twenty acupoints, making for a total of 250 acupoints. That meant four new dao meridians were open, placing him at fourteen out of the thirty-six dao meridians. When combined with the nine attributed meridians that he’d already opened, it meant he commanded twenty-three dao meridians. Unfortunately, his body was a bit worse for the wear after these exertions.

Li Hao roared with anger and swung Stellaris with his right hand, punching with his left like a ferocious tiger!

Boom!

The void shattered as he pierced through the air. His punch flung the surprised queen back for several dozen meters. She broke the void when she planted her foot for stability.

Stellaris connected with the scepter and threw it back. The young man grabbed the sprinting Yuan Shuo, but the power exploding from the scepter still washed over the old man and drew currents of blood from newly inflicted injuries.

Li Hao’s faintly disappointed mood vanished when he saw how berserk his teacher was. Only fury was left in its place!

“How dare you!” shouted the young man. More acupoints opened in his remaining dao meridians, some outright exploded. “Do you really think that I have my hands tied when it comes to you?!”

Li Hao whirled around and threw his teacher into the distance, behind the old turtle. “Protect my teacher!” The young man’s body collapsed!

Stellaris seemed to sense Li Hao’s madness and directed a vast surge of sword energy into his body. The young man slashed so swiftly that his move could not be described!

The queen summoned her scepter back and flourished it in a series of gestures!

CRUNCH!

Li Hao outright cut off a portion of the scepter. The queen’s jaw dropped. How was this possible?! Why had Li Hao suddenly grown so much stronger? If he could open more dao meridians, why hadn’t he done so earlier?

However, she quickly grasped the ramifications of the young man’s newfound strength.

“Your body is too weak for all of these acupoints that you’ve forced open,” she sneered. “I may not need to kill you, Li Hao. Your body will collapse on its own!”

Li Hao had forced open a large number of acupoints; his grand total of open dao meridians was more than twenty-five. No wonder he was so strong!

But in this vein, it was only a matter of time before his body crumbled.

Modern martial masters did not possess strong bodies and crucially, their mental strength was also mediocre. A collapse of the physical body might mean complete death, as opposed to living on in a mental form that New Martial powerhouses could manage.

Li Hao was seeking his own death.

“Then... we’ll see if you can save me!” he laughed as he looked at the queen. “Moon God, I have comprehended and experienced a great deal in this battle. Even though I have not won, that doesn’t mean anything!”

More acupoints exploded in his body; a piercing light radiated the world like the young man was the sun!

“You really do have a death wish...” gasped the queen. Li Hao seemed to have cleared all of his acupoints!

“Because

you

pissed me off!” Li Hao growled, pieces of his body falling off him. He didn’t care about the state of his health and scored the air with his sword, hacking the scepter into two.

The queen’s eyes went wide and she flared her aura, suppressing Li Hao. However, the young man howled and summoned several supernatural characters, sealing away heaven and earth!

Bam!

A sword slashed at the world and a foot kicked at chaos. The mostly uninjured queen flew backward, suffering significant injuries and continuously coughing up blood.

Li Hao instantly drew close. The alarmed queen smashed the moon on the young man!

Li Hao abruptly dug out his own heart; drops of blood essence flowed through it. “There is... a seal in the moon!” he grinned, breaking the heart and permitting the essence to dissipate.

A special power suddenly appeared within the world. A tiny diagram of the eight trigrams flew over from Silver City, whereas the one over the city proper trembled. The energy of the moon projected from it was abruptly sealed away!

Something shook in the air over Silver City, like a powerhouse was howling with indignity.

The Moon God had summoned the moon and utilized its energy. To the powerhouse sealed in the Star Gate, these actions damaged the seal. But now, the heir of the Lis used his own blood essence to strengthen it!