Chapter 1344: Killing Ying Hongyue (I)

The strength of the exalted emperor thoroughly faded from Ying Hongyue’s body. The stately look disappeared from his eyes, replaced by a hideous grimace.

“Are all of you this stupid?? Li Hao’s the biggest threat! Do you guys think you’ll be able to seize the star of time? Kill him and seize the corporeal dao universe!! That’s the real, tangible benefit that you can grasp in hand!”

Ying Hongyue was both appalled and terrified!

The Red Moon exalted emperor had chosen to give up taking possession of Ying Hongyue; he’d relinquished the chance to place a replica in the world. Instead, he was choosing to wait for Li Hao to kill the man and for leaks to develop in the seal!

The three greatest powerhouses in Silver Moon world were preoccupied by the star of time. They didn’t care about anything else anymore.

Just one star had thrown everyone’s plans into disarray!

Li Hao smiled winningly. Ying Hongyue ground his teeth; someone appeared next to him—the Celestial Sword Immortal. No, Violet Moon!

She no longer presented herself as the Celestial Sword Immortal, she looked like Violet Moon. Lightning crackled over her and the look in her eyes shifted rapidly. Ying Hongyue, however, was not happy to see her.

“Didn’t you leave already?!” he rebuked. What was she doing back here??

“Can you not openly fight him in a fair and square manner for once?” Violet Moon asked calmly. “You wouldn’t have to be this way even if you lose! Father, you’ve been hiding in the shadows this entire time and will ultimately lose your last shred of dignity. Li Hao’s scheming against all of life, will he let me off the hook? When you’re a chess player, will you leave a chess piece like me alone?”

Ying Hongyue’s expression changed rapidly!

“Fight him,” Violet Moon continued with cool composure. “Even if you lose, you’ll die with dignity! The Thirty-Six Heroes of Silver Moon, Lover Swordsman Ying Hongyue, should not be afraid to do battle!”

“How dare you!!” Ying Hongyue raged.

Li Hao had sealed off the vicinity and shifted the world around them. At present, the trio hovered over Silver City. He looked indifferently at the two.

“Are you done? Is this amusing?” he asked softly. “Have you become so twisted that you’re developing multiple personalities? Or do you think I’d view and treasure you as a fellow hero with this show?

“I’m not a hero and you are even less of one! Today is when you meet your end!” Li Hao laughed. Was Violet Moon... still Violet Moon?

Ying Hongyue, are you trying to pretend that you’re two different people? Whatever it is, you will die today!

......

In the skies over Silver City.

The seven main cities hovered in the air, three people stood in the void. Li Hao had brought them here with a spin of their surroundings. Silver City... was where everything had begun. This was the start of their story.

It was here that the young man had set foot onto the path of martial dao and started his journey of vengeance. He made his way to present day step by step and would behead his parents’ murderer here today!

It was like the cycle of reincarnation. Li Hao had gone to the depths of exposing the star of time and trapping all three powerhouses in the immaterial dao universe so they would give up supporting Ying Hongyue.

This ambitious heavyweight who once thought of himself as a hero would have to face Li Hao alone. They would conclude everything at Silver City!

Ying Hongyue brooded as he looked at Li Hao across the way, then at the seven main cities nearby. He then looked at the Saints in the surroundings... Li Hao’s accumulation over the years was all here.

Silver City!

A special place that he would never forget. He looked at Li Hao, then at Violet Moon beside him. He smiled, seeming to return to days gone by and recovered his trademark dashing grace.

“My dear daughter...” he sighed softly.

Violet Moon looked quietly at him, calmer than Ying Hongyue was in this moment. “Why keep this up at this stage?” She shook her head.

What daughter?

Just as Li Hao had said, Ying Hongyue was deeply contaminated by Red Moon power and filled with the eight bloodlines. What descendants did he have to speak of? His dozen descendants were just his experimental subjects!

Ying Hongyue laughed self-deprecatingly and shook his head with a sigh. “That’s right... Li Hao has the three selves of past, present, and future. Li Daoheng has the replicas of sword dao, core origin, and the new dao. Zheng Yu also has replicas of new dao and core origin. It looks like everyone likes to direct their replicas to do stuff that shouldn’t come into the light.”

He looked at Li Hao with a smile. “Violet Moon doesn’t really count as my replica...”

“I know,” Li Hao inclined his head. “Yama, the Celestial Sword Immortal, the other six Moons, and the Yonder lord make for nine total! That’s replicas for the eight bloodlines and one for Red Moon.

“Violet Moon seems to have been present each time the others died. Therefore, it’s actually Violet Moon that absorbed the other seven replicas and the Red Moon replica...” Li Hao reeled off with great gusto. “Violet Moon isn’t a replica, is she? She should be a scarlet shadow... a special kind of scarlet shadow.

“She’s similar to the ones I saw at first, right? Perhaps she’s

your

scarlet shadow. All Red Moon organization members have one except the seven Moons! They don’t have one because they’re your blood puppets to begin with! Ying Hongyue, do you have anything else to say for yourself?”

Ying Hongyue looked at Li Hao and laughed. “How interesting! Li Hao, why do I feel like you know me better than I do myself?”

There were six other leaders of Red Moon organization apart from Ying Hongyue. There were also Yama and the Celestial Sword Immortal for their organizations, as well as the lord of Yonder Mountain. That made for nine people total. None of them had scarlet shadows by their side, which fulfilled Li Hao’s theory of replicas for the eight bloodlines and Red Moon.

“You’re called the Lover Swordsman, but you should be the Coldhearted Swordsman!” Li Hao sighed. “The martial masters that left the province with you back in the day have long been refined into your puppets. Yu Luocha was lucky enough to make it out alive because she relinquished the identity of Violet Moon.

“If not... the modern Violet Moon would not exist. But these are just my speculations. You don’t seem to care about the deaths of the others in the organization, even when it comes to the other Moons. Yet someone seems to have witnessed each of their deaths...” Li Hao turned to Violet Moon. “You appear to have been present whenever I killed the others.

“Therefore, I’m guessing that there’s a connection between these two events. Ying Hongyue, would you say that I’ve guessed correctly?”

“Not entirely.” Ying Hongyue shook his head with a smile. “Some of your guesses are right, some of them are wrong. I haven’t created a Red Moon replica, so Yonder wasn’t one of them. I only created eight to map to the eight families!

“Have you forgotten what my name is? The surname Ying is to reflect, and Hongyue stands for the red moon. I myself am part of the nine—the Red Moon replica!

“The others among the seven Moons died a bit too early, which is a massive pity all thanks to you. The eight bloodlines hadn’t fully matured yet, so I wasn’t able to absorb them. Violet Moon had to do it for me!” Ying Hongyue looked at Li Hao with some regret. “My biggest regret is that the bloodline of the Lis was the weakest!

“If I’d kill you earlier or if you hadn’t resisted half a year ago, then my eight bloodlines would be balanced and all of them strong. Li Hao, I would be the one standing here today, dictating the future of the world!”

He seemed to recover his fighting spirit and looked coldly at the young man. “I’ve borne disgrace and heavy burdens in order to become stronger! Everyone says that you are willing to fight for the future, but do you know the price I paid to grow stronger?! I was willing to become part of the seal and used the wariness of three sides to win the greatest profit for myself. I turned myself into someone they wouldn’t kill!

“Li Hao, where would you be today if you hadn’t repeatedly ruined my plans?! Your master may not be dead either! How many Silver Moon martial masters did I kill when I left the province?” He looked at Li Hao with condemnation. “I know better than you that they are the future of the world. Therefore, although I could’ve killed them and your teacher, I didn’t do so! Their deaths rest on your shoulders!”

Ying Hongyue’s presence built as he spoke; Violet Moon also seemed to relax and was freed from her existence. She began fading away, her strength absorbed by Ying Hongyue.

Li Hao did not stop what he was seeing. He simply watched and listened.

“Do you think I’m the cause of how much you’ve had to sacrifice for your current achievements?” Ying Hongyue rebuked. “No, it’s those guys from New Martial! It’s the Red Moon exalted emperor! It’s not me, I’m a resister too!

“There was a need for the eight families to be sacrificed because this world is the evil fruit from the labor of their ancestors! Are people like Zhang An the good guys?” Ying Hongyue jeered. “Silver Moon world is in its current straits because of them, do you understand?

“But you partner with them, which makes you the real traitor to Silver Moon! I should’ve been the hero! Whether it was the eight families, New Martial, the traitors, or Red Moon, all of them are my targets! And what about you??

“Who have you killed apart from a batch of unimportant lackeys? Which of the top brass have you eliminated? Instead, you’ve killed many Silver Moon martial masters!”

Ying Hongyue’s voice boomed with a thunderclap! He was more righteous and just than Li Hao in this moment!

Li Hao was the reason why all those people were dead! Ying Hongyue was a resister and a protector on the side of good! He hadn’t killed that many Silver Moon martial masters. He’d made only necessary sacrifices for a better future, to fight back!

Li Hao was the true villain that walked in their midst.

Meanwhile, the young man continued to watch and sense Ying Hongyue absorbing the free-flowing power of the eight meridians. People like Violet Moon were only part of his plan. Ying Hongyue was very ambitious, competent, and had started planning everything from a very long time ago.

He’d absorbed the eight bloodlines, separated them into eight replicas, connected himself to the seal, and balanced his interactions with the three sides...

If he’d succeeded in killing Li Hao, then he might’ve been able to manipulate the eight cities through a perfected eight bloodlines. He would then seize the blade of blood, become a premier powerhouse, and stand at the peak of Silver Moon.

What a pity...

Li Hao suddenly laughed, prompting Ying Hongyue to glare frostily at him. “What is there to laugh about? Those who lose are always in the wrong, and it’s not like I’ve lost yet!”

“It’s nothing,” Li Hao continued laughing and shook his head. “I was just wondering that, out of all the books I’ve ever read, whether it’s the leaders, two-bit cowards, heroes, or traitors...

“Has there ever been anyone who made it to the highest position of all through schemes and underhanded plots from beginning to end?

“I’ve read a ton of history and see moments of biding their time from the final victors, but I don’t think I’ve seen a single person who spent their time pretending to be a coward, acting this way and that, and spending most of their energies on conspiracies!

“Ying Hongyue, do you want to become the first to do so? You’ve bided your time for decades and given up everything—women, status, reputation, and dignity. You don’t want anything as you play the dog and pig in front of three major powerhouses. But... doesn’t that make you a pig through and through in the end?”