Chapter 1109: Killing Earthflare (I)

Jade Mountain Town ruins.

Li Hao was back. Earthflare’s expression shifted slightly when the young man set foot into the ruins again. He looked sharply at Li Hao, furrowing his brows.

The dense Red Moon power present in the boy’s body after their last fight was out of reach again.

Why was that?

Even if Stellaris and the bloodline of the Lis could eliminate the effects of the scarlet energy, they shouldn’t spontaneously erase it!

Earthflare’s face flickered through a series of emotions as he took another look at Li Hao, then at Zhang An. Unease was starting to creep in.

“This is our final match, senior.” Li Hao wore a smile on his face. “I’ll pay you the promised benefits after we’re done.”

He walked toward Earthflare, once more reflecting how the ancient was such a nice person. Without him, Li Hao would have to take an enormous risk to open dao meridians. But now, he didn’t need to bet on such a chance.

This was a Saint! Li Hao hadn’t been able to injure Earthflare even after repeated attempts. It was a result that levied significant pressure and was an enormous blow to the young man. Could he injure his opponent or not?

As for killing his opponent... that completely exceeded Li Hao’s abilities. A Saint, one still in possession of their physical body, was not an easy target. Stellaris trembled in his hand.

“It seems that the commander has grown stronger again,” Earthflare murmured. “I find this incredible as I myself would not have improved as much as the commander, even if I’d spontaneously broken through on a battlefield.”

“My thanks to the senior for your help!” Li Hao smiled. “Let us continue!”

A sword ripped through the world and sword light radiated in all directions! The premises had turned into indistinct chaos once more.

Earthflare’s eyes widened and he disappeared. This time, the sword light was so fast that his sleeve disintegrated when he waved his hand. Astonished, he whirled around with his hand curled into a fist.

The scene of chaos broke, but sword light descended again and endless rays of sword light enveloped him.

“Shield!” shouted the man.

Bam!

Multiple shields of light appeared in front of him to collide with the sword light. Both shattered upon impact.

Li Hao suddenly closed his eyes; sword light danced in them when he opened them next. Earthflare was no longer a person in his vision, but countless balls of energy. There were places in which the energy was stronger and places in which he was weaker.

The sword eye!

There was no need for fancy technique, just a focus on the weaker spots. Li Hao abruptly understood why there were sometimes no marks left behind on a target after the Sword Sovereign made a move. The forefather wasn’t using any specialized sword techniques, but concentrating his moves on his enemy’s weakmesses!

The sword struck soundlessly!

It pierced through a shield of light with a crack. Earthflare vanished again—Li Hao registered the man’s response, but reacted one beat too slow. The young man wrenched his head around as an explosion sounded in his ear.

The void exploded! The resulting spatial fissure cut into Li Hao’s ear, but the young man smiled. He could sense it now!

While his reaction speed was still a bit too slow, he could now detect his opponent’s movement trajectory!

Bam!

Another loud explosion sounded. Li Hao tilted his head to avoid a punch.

“Oh?” Earthflare was surprised that his attack had been dodged. Although the young man was still reacting too slowly, he was showing signs of being able to predict his opponent’s moves.

The Red Moon powerhouse pummeled the air, turning the void into chaos.

Stellaris circled around Li Hao, providing defense so that the young man didn’t have to keep ducking and dodging. He repeatedly punched outward, not in offense, but defense!

Indeed, defense. Li Hao was employing Earthturner Sword’s method to ensure safety in his proximity. He kept quiet and looked to the four corners, knowing that his reaction speed and mental strength did not measure up to his opponent. Therefore, he could only wait until he determined where the next attack would come from and erupt with a countermove.

That move would have to be fatal!

Bam bam bam!

Stellaris trembled as a Saint’s blows buffeted it. Blood seeped out of the corner of Li Hao’s mouth, but his condition wasn’t as bad as it had been in previous fights. Piercing sword light patrolled the surroundings to block Earthflare’s fists.

Li Hao’s defensive ability was much stronger than before. The Red Moon powerhouse could only sense that his target had much improved, but it was still nonsensical if he wanted to overcome a Saint. The young man would never land a single blow on him.

Even if Li Hao could come close, he would only graze Earthflare.

The man could only marvel at the kid’s tenacity. The Red Moon power also seemed to have dispersed again. Why was this?

Punch followed punch. Li Hao took a beating from beginning to end. Even though he was only defending himself, the number of injuries on his body steadily increased.

......

Zhang An watched nearby, his brows knit in a slight frown. Li Hao was much stronger than he’d been at the start of the sparring match. Although he still seemed to be fifth level Sun and Moon since his number of open dao meridians hadn’t changed, he’d improved from his battle strength barely reaching mid Immortal to being able to block a Saint’s killing moves.

This kind of improvement... exceeded expectations. It was extraordinarily fast! The young man was likely to be invincible unless he met a Saint or Immortal.

Zhang An couldn’t help but think back to when he first met Li Hao. The kid had found it difficult to go against even seven element Arcanus then. A stronger six element or sixth level Mountain and Sea would’ve dispatched Li Hao.

How long had it taken for him to progress from sixth level Mountain and Sea to fifth level Sun and Moon? His actual battle strength exceeded sixth—even seventh level Sun and Moon. It was incredible!

Of course, Zhang An knew that a Saint was far stronger than Li Hao imagined. Earthflare had not brought his full strength to bear either; this was also out of self defense.

Earthflare should be an initial Saint, but his physical body yet existed and he’d never endured the weakening that came with the world losing energy. This kind of Saint was not fragile like the Sun God or god of prophecy. Neither was he pure mental strength like Zhang An.

Zhang An was confident he would be able to kill Earthflare, but it would require some time and even the payment of a small price. It wouldn’t be hard to kill a Saint like this one if his physical body still existed. He was a half step Empyrean King if he had a body. Without one and a lack of energy reserves, he was only initial Saint.

The gap between the two Saints was further minimized with the disappearance of core origin dao and an inability to use some of the dao’s methods.

This is already good enough!

While he wouldn’t go so far as to say that Li Hao would surely win, Zhang An estimated that the young man could at least ensure his own survival if he met a Saint yet to revitalize. The encounter wouldn’t be as dangerous as before.

Of course, killing a Saint was still as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

He watched as Li Hao concentrated on defense, wanting to wear down his opponent. Zhang An did not find that to be an appropriate strategy. For a weakling to settle in for the long haul against a powerhouse... The weak would certainly not triumph over the strong.

At the same time, this was already a good outcome. Did Zhang An really wish for Li Hao to emerge victorious?

The dean was compelled to laugh at his own state of mind. Who wasn’t a genius at these heights if one could challenge those of higher cultivation levels? Not to mention, it was nearly impossible for geniuses to fight those stronger than them.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Li Hao’s core nature was a fifth level Sun and Moon. A Saint was no longer of the Sun and Moon cultivation realm, but after it. Li Hao would have to open all thirty-six dao meridians to truly be able to withstand a Saint.

......

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Punch after punch followed, so fast that they were difficult to make out. Li Hao could only keep his head down in defense. There was no sign of impatience in his eyes, just gravity. They darted to and fro, observing the trajectory of his opponent’s movements.

Everyone fought with their own type of logic. Their moves might seem nonsensical, but this logic known only to the self would be repeated in the end.

Li Hao had reviewed many case files in his year at the Inspectorate. Whether the crime was committed out of impulse, in the heat of the moment, or premeditated, there was always a certain rationality to the actions. It might take a very long time for things to come full circle, but they nearly always transformed from a series without order into a circulation of order.

Countless hunches had materialized in Li Hao’s mind, he’d exchanged numerous blows with his opponent. He examined all of Earthflare’s previous moves and locked his gaze on a spot to the left.

There!

As expected, a fist broke through the void. Instead of backing away, Li Hao meant it with a sword in defense. His gaze settled on a new spot. “There!”

Bam!

The void exploded once more. Li Hao stumbled as he was hit, but his lips were stretched into a smile.

So long as I don’t change the order of my moves, my opponent will follow his previous logic and continue in the same vein.

Repetition didn’t occur often. The sequence was very long and restarted after a long while.

Saints were said to be unfathomable, but who said they were impossible to read? Earthflare was used to his style; it wasn’t so easily changed after countless eons. Li Hao stopped watching his opponent and took up a defensive stance according to his theory.

One move, two moves, one hundred moves...

Li Hao’s body was covered in wounds! And yet, Earthflare didn’t dare brashly kill the young man. He simply felt that Li Hao’s defense was a lot more capable than before. The Red Moon powerhouse solemnly reassessed his opponent. No wonder Li Hao was one of the leaders of this age. He truly did have some skill to his name.

Although Earthflare wasn’t employing his full strength, it should be enough to overwhelm Li Hao. The man was starting to lose his patience.

Li Hao couldn’t harm Earthflare as the biggest gap between the two was that Li Hao was unable to capture him. Despite a strong battle strength, it was ineffective as the greatest deciding factor between a weakling and heavyweight was one’s reaction speed.

That was an area in which Li Hao was naturally deficient in.

The young man had begun to retract his strength and build his aura. Acupoints burned brightly over his body, radiating ever more illuminating dazzles.

“The commander is a favored genius of this age, alright.” Earthflare’s tone remained soft. “You are a hero among men! But you are certain to have expended a great deal of energy up till now. Why don’t we call it quits?”

He maintained the image of an ethereal, detached savant who was wholly unconcerned by everything.

You can’t hit me, much less defeat me. So what if you’re accumulating energy? What use is it against empty air?

An eruption of force wasn’t everything. At their cultivation level, it was downright useless.

Granted, you can kill me with the aftershocks if you have the ability to, otherwise spontaneous eruption is completely ineffective if you can’t connect with the enemy.