Chapter 151: Battle (IV)

Li Hao already had his hand wrapped around the small sword when the shadow rushed him. This was his life-saving ace, but who cared whether or not it was exposed in this moment? It might be the only thing effective against the entity. He strongly suspected that he wouldn’t be able to touch the thing if he attacked with any other means.

The little sword glowed with a faint luster as Li Hao grasped it tightly and stabbed forward!

Pfft!

It sank into something as a muffled grunt came from the air.

“Hmm?” said the black shadow—another difference to the scarlet shadow. It was highly taken aback.

What was this?

“The sword of the Lis?” A thought occurred to it. Wasn’t that in the hands of the Night Watchers? Why was it still with Li Hao? So the sword of the Lis could harm it?

That seemed to explain things. The weapons of the eight families were no ordinary objects. Qiao Feilong had once speculated that the weapons were similar to origin weapons.

The void trembled after the black shadow was pierced and a humanoid shape revealed itself. A beet-red Qiao Peng with a broken leg and being dragged around like a sack of potatoes also saw the shadow. A word forced itself out of his mouth, “Mother...”

Li Hao reeled with shock!

Mother?!

How was that possible?!

Qiao Feilong’s wife had been dead for many years! How was it the shadow??

Although its features could not be discerned, the shadow shook and transmitted, “You... can see me?”

That singular question revealed a lot of information. Qiao Peng hadn’t been able to see her before and possibly didn’t even know she existed. It was very likely that she couldn’t make herself visible to the naked eye. Otherwise, there was no reason for Qiao Peng’s mother to hide herself all this time.

The only answer was if she was neither human nor ghost and unable to control whether or not she could be seen. That was the only reason why Qiao Peng didn’t need to know, in case the truth saddened him.

As much of a bombshell as this was, Li Hao was enormously delighted. Qiao Peng’s mother? Even better!

Although she was dead, Li Hao had once looked up her file. Its information indicated that she had been Qiao Feilong’s secretary and was highly trusted by him. She became his official partner and the matriarch of the Qiaos.

Being his right hand woman in life, much of the credit for the family’s rise went to Qiao Peng’s mother. She gradually withdrew from the company after giving birth to a son so she could focus on raising Qiao Peng.

Thus, it was apparent that she loved and doted on Qiao Peng.

To think that she would still be alive! But in this state? What was going on?

Far off in the distance, the belaboring Qiao Feilong suddenly turned in their direction. His eyes widened when he saw the shadow!

It was visible!

The black shadow was visible!

He could only hear but not see the shadow over the years. Yet today, in the thick of battle, his lover was here! How was this possible??

He’d tried many methods over the years but never found success. He could only hear her voice and eventually sense her presence due to the years they spent together, but never see her in physical form. Why was she visible now?

As baffled as Qiao Feilong was, he thought of something the next second. He looked at Li Hao and at the small sword in his hand. This might be the sword of the Lis; it might help his wife recover her physical body!

Energy from the ruins had rammed into her once and turned her into this ghastly state. Hope dawned now!

“Kill him and take the sword!” Qiao Feilong grunted. “We can have more sons if this one’s gone! We can have many children if you’re alive again!”

He worried that his wife would be too soft.

Bam!

Yuan Shuo sent him flying with a punch—the Qiao patriarch crashed onto the street, breaking through countless buildings in the process.

“Kill him, do you hear me?!” Qiao Feilong emphasized even as he spat out blood. He hadn’t wanted his son to die at first, but now... he changed his mind. Qiao Peng could die, but so must Li Hao. They had to have that sword!

The black shadow trembled and pounced on Li Hao. In return, the young man shook the ground with a light burst of aura, but it was immediately suppressed.

While it was far less than Qiao Feilong, the black shadow was still very strong. It projected the strength of a Sunflare—a level beyond Li Hao’s capabilities. He could put up a fight against a Sunderer, but a Sunflare was truly out of reach. He couldn’t even ambush one.

He abruptly raised Qiao Peng high when the shadow subdued his weak aura, smashing Qiao Peng down on the black shadow as a weapon!

Qiao Feilong doesn’t care, but do you?

Off in the distance, a grim Yuan Shuo delivered a crazed flurry of punches. Punch after punch connected, like he was a massive bear shaking the earth. He wanted to quickly beat Qiao Feilong to death so he could save his student. Li Hao could hold his own against a Sunderer; he could not do so against a Sunflare.

Yuan Shuo was able to sense the black shadow and its peculiar strength only when it revealed itself. It was a Sunflare level existence—beyond Li Hao’s abilities.

Teacher and disciple had miscalculated. Otherwise, Yuan Shuo was confident that he could suppress Qiao Feilong and prevent the man from affecting Li Hao.

Bam!

Li Hao threw Qiao Peng squarely at the black shadow. The shadow hastily dodged out of the way, so restricted in its movement that it didn’t dare utilize too much force out of fear that it’d kill Qiao Peng alongside Li Hao.

The young man still had his hands wrapped around Qiao Peng’s leg and yanked the man back. He saw his teacher erupt with increased fury and heard more collisions ringing out, even the rare shout of anger. Urgency nipped at his teacher’s heels.

Neither of them expected the black shadow’s appearance and the small sword wasn’t as effective as expected. It forced the black shadow to reveal itself, but it couldn’t kill the entity like it could a scarlet shadow.

What is this thing?

Li Hao didn’t know, but he knew that he was no match for it and would die. He stomped his foot once more and flared his weak aura, shaking the ground. The tremors barely rebuffed the poised black shadow. Although he felt the gravity of the situation, the young man didn’t panic.

There was nothing to be panicked about. His opponent feared for Qiao Peng’s life—this was the best possible outcome. Of course, this situation wouldn’t endure for long. He would die soon.

Thankfully, the shadow seemed to be wary of the little sword. It shied away when Li Hao waved the weapon around.

......

Not too far away.

Yuan Shuo was extremely anxious at the sight of Li Hao warding off the enemy with difficulty. Though he professed to be uncaring of his student’s death, that was just all talk. His disciple was the next potential Dominator, how could he die here?

When his thoughts traveled here, Yuan Shuo couldn’t resist the urge of activating the Incantation of the Blade of Blood. He hadn’t planned to when he set foot onto the battlefield. There might not be enough sword energy to heal him, so he might be gravely injured after this battle. However, it was the only choice available to him.

He was as decisive as ever; blood and qi rose in his face, gathering together while his consciousness erupted in full fury. Even the stone blade in his hand seemed to grow a portion longer.

Yuan Shuo sent Qiao Feilong flying with a punch. He roared, accumulating qi, blood, and consciousness to form a dragon of blood and qi.

I wonder if I’ll be able to recover this time...

But he did not turn back. It was similar to when Li Hao chose to stay in the face of obvious danger when he saw the black shadow and elect to capture Qiao Peng. That was how things should be between master and disciple.

There was no need to quibble too much.

“Incantation of the Blade of Blood!” the professor roared. The stone blade was somehow the size of a regular blade, and it was blood-red!

Qiao Feilong immediately sensed fatal danger! He’d originally wanted to wait until his wife killed Li Hao. It was taking so long because she was concerned about her son’s life. She would kill Li Hao given just a little more time. After he was dead, she might be able to meld back into the shadows. No matter how Yuan Shuo was prepared then, he would have to exercise caution. That was when Qiao Feilong could counterattack.

But at this moment, he sensed danger. Billowing fire energy erupted out of the air! He was bringing his full strength to bear. Qiao Feilong was a Solar! How could he be so downtrodden by Yuan Shuo to the point where he faced a lethal threat?! This was infuriating!!

A pillar of flame illuminated all of Silver City as a powerful presence was fully exposed. Flames and a blood-red stroke threw light over the city. Two mighty surges of strength emanated in all directions.

BOOM!

A massive collision shook half the city as blade light cut through fire, extinguishing the sea of flames. A bloody stroke arced through the sky and obliterated a head in its path.

......

At the same moment.

The Inspectorate.

Hao Lianchuan jerked his head up, clearly sensing everything only now. He’d faintly heard a bit of a disturbance earlier and barely picked up anything as they were more than ten thousand meters away from the battle site. Given the number of supernaturals present, he could only send Mu Sen to take a look.

But now, his expression shifted drastically. This wasn’t a regular fight between supernaturals!

Fuck! Where is this Solar coming from? And was that Yuan Shuo? Which Solar is Yuan Shuo fighting now??

The director looked at the hall of supernaturals and bellowed, “Everyone, quiet!” A clamor was rising as they’d heard the clashes too. Hao Lianchuan flared a foreboding aura and snapped out, “Everyone, quiet! Any who dares incite unrest now will be executed on the spot!”

Unease shone in his eyes. What was going on? Was it Red Moon? Or the other organizations? What was that damned bastard Yuan Shuo doing now?? He picked endless fights with Solars after rising to Dominator.

Hao Lianchuan wanted to take a look, but he hesitated after looking at the crowd of attendees. Would these guys riot as soon as he left? And that damned Liu Long, were all of them in on this together? They’d left him here to keep the local supernaturals under control so the latter couldn’t join the battle.

That must be the case!

Liu Long, you bastard. How dare you treat me as your guard dog!

While Hao Lianchuan cursed everything he could about Liu Long, he was also worried.

Yuan Shuo, you idiot. Killing one Solar was good luck, why are you trying your luck again? Do you really think you’re stronger than Dominator?