Chapter 1379: My Turn to Take the Stage (III)

The two rivers of time disappeared, as if they’d never existed in the first place. Li Hao was close by, his face ashen and the power of time dissipating from his body.

Not only that, but he spontaneously aged a great deal.

Without the river of chaos and replenishment from a myriad daos, each utilization of the power of time depleted his lifespan. He became aged and haggard in the blink of an eye.

Everyone blinked at the sight, even Zheng Yu and the rest were surprised. This Li Hao... seemed to be the future Li Hao that they’d seen last time!

The two were so similar!

Whether it was Lin Hongyu or the Great Li king, they didn’t inspire wariness from the three half step emperors despite their strong presences. But Li Hao... seemed to have been ravaged by the passage of time. He was so alike to the Li Hao they’d seen last time. Could it be that future Li Hao came from today?

The river of chaos circled Li Hao. Within it, Hong Yitang’s heart skipped a beat. He knew some of the details!

Li Hao was destined to face a certain calamity after drawing once from his future. They’d thought that it would be after he became a half step emperor, but he so closely resembled the Li Hao of that day that perhaps... it was already upon them?

After all, if Li Hao succeeded today, he might be able to rise to a half step emperor position.

However, the young man did not have the move of one thousand sword daos in his arsenal yet, so there were differences between the current him and the self of that day.

But the future was fluid. Was it today or not? If it was... he would lose all strength at a critical moment!

The three half step emperors also came to their senses. The Red Moon exalted emperor looked at the group and sighed with appreciation. “Impressive, very impressive! Welcoming the past and summoning the future... But this kind of power almost seems a bit... flimsy, and it looks like there’s a significant drawback to it. Of course, it’s also terrifying to behold!

“Gentlemen, it looks like things are more interesting than we anticipated,” smiled the man. “This will be more difficult than we thought!”

He teleported away, but his target wasn’t Celestial Pole!

He reappeared over an ancient city instead. He didn’t want to go to Celestial Pole for the moment. Instead, he wanted to try breaking the eight main cities. His primary body may be able to walk out then.

If that was the case, why would he pick a fight with that half step emperor replica?

Li Hao didn’t say a word, but Lin Hongyu, the Great Li king, Zheng Yu, and Li Daoheng promptly appeared over the ancient city. They locked onto the exalted emperor, surrounding him on all sides.

“What do you lot mean by this?” The exalted emperor’s face reddened.

“Exalted Emperor of Red Moon, I think you’re better off playing with the one in the north,” Zheng Yu said softly. “Even if you don’t pay him a visit to fight him, you can go have a chat or watch the show. Anything is better than staying here, wouldn’t you say?”

Li Hao still remained focused on integrating his dao meridians. He wasn’t worried that the eight main cities would fall. At the very least, no one wished for an exalted emperor to roam the streets at the moment. In that case, he wasn’t the one who should be worried.

The exalted emperor glowered!

He’d thought his chance had arrived after two powerhouses summoned their future selves. But none of these guys were good people! No one allowed him to release his real body!

Granted, this was to be expected. He was just unwilling to accept the truth.

“Lin Hongyu, king of Great Li, you need to think through this,” the exalted emperor said frostily. “Your strength is flimsy and you will be no match for these two. Once this emperor walks out of the seal, I will be their opponent! You just need to delay them for a while and loosen the seal created by the eight main cities. You’ll be the fishermen reaping a harvest in the end!”

He also looked at Li Hao.

“If the exalted emperor doesn’t wish to participate, then keep your distance and just watch the show!” The young man opened his eyes, a sharp look stabbing out from them. “If you wish to participate, then choose if you want to kill me or them! As for your true body emerging in the world, that can wait until our fight is decided or when the exalted emperor becomes the fisherman yourself!”

The Red Moon exalted emperor looked around him and suddenly leered, “How very interesting! Li Hao, you really are full of yourself to expect two temporarily ascended half step emperors to fight two veteran ones. Your opponents are just a hair’s breadth away from becoming exalted emperors! It looks like your brain isn’t good for much either!”

There was no need to even attack Lin Hongyu or the Great Li king. Their strength would fade away by itself after a period of time. Did Li Hao really think they could stop Zheng Yu and Li Daoheng? Or did he think that this was enough time for himself to stop them?

The Red Moon exalted emperor sneered and vanished. The ripples in the void indicated that he was headed north. Since the four heavyweights refused to let him attack the city, he would avoid them for now!

Just because he headed to the north didn’t mean that he was going to Celestial Pole. Perhaps there would be a result here soon, so he didn’t need to go to Celestial Pole. Why would he do so if both sides ended up heavily injured?

He’d just smash through the eight cities then!

Over in the north, Celestial Pole watched silently. He knew that the Red Moon exalted emperor needed to break the cities and eight bloodlines first if he wished to emerge from the seal. In that case, the blade of blood would be key.

He would ignore the other so long as he was left in peace. If the Red Moon exalted emperor didn’t do anything that affected him, he would stay out of everything.

Besides, he was only here as a replica. So what if these guys killed him?

......

Four immense presences immediately erupted in the battlefield. The Great Li king couldn’t wait for the action to start. He could sense how strong he was, how infinite his strength ran. In this moment, he felt that even exalted emperors were no match for him!

Thus, he was the first to go on the offensive among the four. Twin fists broke through the sky!

He aimed for Zheng Yu, bypassing Li Daoheng. Li Daoheng was a swordsman and Lin Hongyu used the blade. While she employed the Human King Consort’s sword at the moment, she was still matchless in this field. It was only right and proper that she faced Li Daoheng.

Zheng Yu was his!

The sky shattered when his punch flashed out; it was like even the void was breaking. The Great Li king felt that he’d never been so powerful!

BOOM!

An ear-splitting explosion rang out. The king even had a feeling that Zheng Yu would outright die to this singular punch! Whether it was the queen, Moon God, Li Hao, or anyone else... no one could withstand this blow!

The pressure that the others had levied on him before evaporated.

Bam bam bam!

The king was still exulting in his strength when his eyes widened and he whirled around with a punch. There was no sign of Zheng Yu in the collapsed void in front of him—Zheng Yu was on his right.

The man silently regarded the king, revising his assessment when the king whirled around.

“You’re very strong, but borrowed strength is not yours in the end! King of Great Li, it would be easy for the Tyrant Sovereign or Exalted Hard-Headed Emperor to kill me with one punch if they were here. But you... are very far off from achieving that!”

He gently waved a hand. Nine cracks of a whip sounded in the air; the void trembled as a whip appeared. The king’s boxing shadow immediately crumbled!

Although the king bristled with a ferocious air, he was defeated in one blow all the same. Zheng Yu was as if a demon god. His smiling image was branded in the depths of the king’s mind. “You... will not do!”

Boom!

The king was sent flying, blood sprayed through the air as blood qi churned in his body. A bloody gouge scored his formidable body after one blow—even the bone underneath shattered!

An incredible pain burrowed into his soul. The king frowned with anguish, registering the stream of blood shooting out of his body with incredulity. His presence was clearly on par with his opponent, but he was the one who suffered a bitter defeat after one exchange!

How was that possible??

While he fell back in abject defeat, Lin Hongyu split the world with one blow not too far away. A goddess of death faced sword light that seared through the air like a sun. One titanic clash later saw the blade light dissipate and the deathly air extinguished!

A sword mark appeared on Lin Hongyu’s body, but no blood flowed from it. Only unbounded deathly chill wafted out of it.

“So this is the advantage of being dead!” Lin Hongyu laughed.

The king looked in her direction, but the sound of a whip breaking through the air echoed in his ear. He quickly tumbled out of the way, breaking through the void and disappearing on the spot.

The whip landed on his hand as soon as he materialized again!

Bam!

His head bled profusely!

Immense strength only seemed to have enhanced his opponent’s defensive capabilities. Nothing else had been similarly fortified. Compared to a real half step emperor, not only could the king not land his attacks, but he couldn’t even avoid his opponent’s attacks!

“Li Hao, are these two your backup?” Zheng Yu laughed. “They’re a bit weak. If that’s the case... you don’t seem to think too much of us!”

Lin Hongyu and the Great Li king would be fine against regular peak Empyrean Kings. But who were the ones they faced?

The two with the most potential and strength in Silver Moon!

It was completely delusional to think of defeating them with strength borrowed from the past and future! Even dogging their footsteps was difficult to achieve.

In the distance, Zhang An’s presence changed. He seemed to have set foot into the Empyrean King level. The man took a step forward, breaking through the void. He looked solemnly at the Great Li king and intoned, “Your strength is too wispy and you are not yet familiar with the great dao. How can you stand against him? You can focus on defense. I’ll fight him!”

The king’s face twitched and he gnashed his teeth with fury!

I... can focus on defense?

You’re a newly risen Empyrean King and may not be as strong as I am when I’m equipped with the past Tyrant Sovereign. How can you fight him?

Zheng Yu, however, viewed his new opponent gravely.

A book of great dao appeared in the air, as did currents of dao strength. Zhang An’s presence built as shadows melded into him. There was a book, a ruler, and a blade in his hand. The book overshadowed the world, the ruler was on his left, and the blade on his right.

“I do not have the strength of my grandfather.” Zhang An looked at Zheng Yu with a calm expression. “Nor do I have their potential. I was very mediocre in the early days of Initial Martial. If it wasn’t for my grandfather and his companions, I would be less than even Demonic Martial students of my time!

“I know a lot, but it’s a random assortment of knowledge. I’ve delved into none of it... but I have some advantages.” Zhang An smiled. “You’ve never seen the world. I once stood by the Human King’s side, I defended our homeland alongside the Sword Sovereign. I once set foot into other universes and fought in all directions.

“Although I am still very mediocre, I have seen worlds that you have not!”

A book of great dao unfurled through the land and suppressed the four cardinal directions! Endless great dao swept over the group and Zhang An’s presence built dramatically.

“Those who betray New Martial deserve death!” he growled. The ruler swung down and the blade darted forward. The former went for the head and the blade targeted the spirit!

Zheng Yu’s eyes darted around and he cracked the whip!

However, a figure appeared and grabbed the whip. His arms were lashed to bloody ribbons for it, but the boxing gloves that encased the hands erupted with brilliant light. They reverberated a force that repulsed the action!

“I may not be a match for you, but you won’t be hurting anyone in front of me!” The Great Li king had returned to his senses and gnashed his teeth, thinking through his fury. Since he couldn’t fight this guy, then he would be a good shield!

Damn it all to hell! I’m weaker than two women! Lin Hongyu can at least exchange a few blows with them, but I was defeated in a split second. This sucks!