Chapter 1529: A Cultured Gentleman Killing People (I)

Li Hao had sunk into deep thought again; Mo didn’t interrupt him. She’d discovered that the young man in front of her liked to contemplate things. Perhaps it was how he’d become an exalted emperor at such a young age. He was a young man who liked to think.

That was good!

She liked youngsters who were academic and bookish, but... he wasn’t a simple nerd, was he? This trip was depicting him as someone who thought a bit too much. Any random word easily sent him into deep contemplation. It would not be good for this to happen during battle.

At the same time, it was tough for Mo to imagine how he might fight. Maybe... he was all looks with no skill to his name?

That possibility quite disappointed Mo. She didn’t want the young man in front of her to be an empty vase. But if he only knew how to barge around like the rest of the martial brutes around her, that would rather shatter her illusions as well.

This was an irritating experience!

Li Hao clearly wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to whatever Mo was agonizing over. He was contemplating a number of other matters. The conversations that he’d had with these exalted emperors along the way had been a new experience. Even if they didn’t discuss the great dao, he felt that he’d gained a great deal more understanding of many matters. While he may not be able to advance his cultivation level, it was a rare experience for him.

In addition, Silver Moon seemed to be nearby. A fight might’ve broken out. Otherwise, this group shouldn’t have caught up to his world since they weren’t traveling that fast. That shouldn’t have happened.

Who’s moving against Silver Moon?

Li Hao explored this new line of thought.

And... should I make a move if we run into Silver Moon before we find Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King? If I do, should I kill all of the exalted emperors in this group?

It’s a tough choice! I’ve grown to like them along the way. I also wonder if there are powerful exalted emperors keeping an eye on me from the shadows?

A myriad of new thoughts appeared in his mind, resulting in a strand of hair drifting off his head and floating away.

There’s wind in the chaos??

Li Hao goggled at it.

I need to stop thinking about things. I’m gonna go bald at this rate and be unable to show my face to others.

......

The chaos universe, near the border of Red Moon Region.

A chaos beast traveled through the void. Several powerhouses hovered over it, each of them nervous and glowering. The enemy had caught up to them!

These people had had their eyes set on the Silver Moon group ever since Skyward. Silver Moon had sought to throw them off a few times, but they’d failed to. It was all Panther’s fault!

The dog was too slow!

It might be a second rank, but it traveled very slowly due to a mid world being in its stomach. It traveled at the same pace as only a regular first rank. Thus, it allowed their pursuers to catch up, despite it being difficult to search for one monster spirit in the chaos.

“I really wish it was the Human King after us!” Celestial Pole’s replica was quite dejected. The Human King was very skilled at getting lost. It was common for him to lose sight of his quarry.

Others said that him getting lost was just an excuse to make trouble, and sometimes it was. But oftentimes, he truly had gotten lost. Celestial Pole was well aware of this, and that it didn’t matter to the Human King when he did get lost.

In this moment, he really did hope that the bastards behind them were hopeless at directions like the Human King. Perhaps they’d take a wrong turn. It would take them another few decades or one hundred years to locate the Silver Moon contingent again.

What a pity that they were not!

Celestial Pole turned back with a frown, seeing two third ranks, one second rank, and one first rank. This was an organization or a small team. There were certainly more than that in search of Silver Moon, but these were the only ones who’d followed them to the end.

Four exalted emperors!

On Silver Moon’s side, they had Panther, Celestial Pole, and the two dao masters who barely managed to rival an exalted emperor when they combined with each other. That was three exalted emperors, and the strongest of them was only second rank.

Granted, the two dao masters were about to become exalted emperors. If they tried, they might stand a chance of verifying their dao today. But even if they succeeded, they would only be first rank. They would match their enemies in number, but the difference in cultivation level could not be bridged. Even though everyone was a low rank exalted emperor, a first rank could not match a third rank.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“My primary body is still very far away. We might be able to convene in about a month...”

A month truly wasn’t long when it came to the chaos. But when it came to battle... The dust would be settled and long gone after a month. It would be too late to even recover the bodies by then—there would be no bodies to collect.

Lin Hongyu and the rest were riding on Panther. They also looked back at this time. Their pursuers were a short distance away, but they’d already split up. It looked like the enemy wanted to block off avenues of escape and kill them here.

Hiding wasn’t even an option in the chaos, not unless there was a world nearby. It also had to be strong enough and its powerhouses willing to provide shelter. Otherwise, barging into another world in search of shelter was just to entertain a death wish.

“Gan Wuliang and I will attempt to advance our cultivation right now!” Hong Yitang said solemnly with a somber expression. “Our strength of great dao is about sufficient after a year of accumulation and the entire dao universe is stronger than before. It shouldn’t be too hard to break through!

“After that, we’ll attempt to combine as one. We may be able to delay a third rank exalted emperor then!”

Having familiarized themselves with the chaos for a while and listened to others explain the layout of the universe, the group was aware of the hierarchy among exalted emperors. It was clear to see that there were two third ranks behind them.

Presences were difficult to conceal when walking through the chaos. If the two of them successfully ascended and held off one of their enemies and Panther utilized the power of their mid world to hold off another third rank, that left the second and first rank to Celestial Pole!

Celestial Pole scowled darkly.

I’m just a replica! Although I’ve reached the exalted emperor level, I’m at the weakest level of first rank! I’ll have some confidence if I fight another first rank, but a second rank as well? You guys think too highly of me, don’t you?

Well, I would stand a chance if it was my primary body here and I was reinforced with the power of a major world. These chaos wanderers seriously cultivate a random mishmash of daos.

But right now, the key point is that I’m just a replica! I’m no different from these chaos wanderers, and they’ve got one more than us!

Lin Hongyu and the rest hadn’t verified their daos yet, so they couldn’t stand against an exalted emperor, not even if they were premier half step emperors. While Lin Hongyu walked the path of life and death, it was still difficult for a half step emperor of that dao to handle an exalted emperor.

After so many years of existence, this might be the year in which he fought the most exalted emperors. Celestial Pole was rather dejected. His primary body was too slow! He’d banked on the additional measure of safety that his primary body would bring. It now looked like that wouldn’t be a possibility at all.

“Do we keep running, or do we stop and fight?” Hong Yitang looked at Celestial Pole, then at Lin Hongyu. “We might be quickly surrounded by them if we run and won’t have a chance to react. If we stop and fight... we won’t have the chance to run at all if we don’t resolve this problem.”

Lin Hongyu didn’t say a word—she looked into the distance. For some reason, she felt that Li Hao might not be too far away from them.

But how far was too far?

She didn’t know—it was too difficult to determine. She was not the master of the river of life and death. Li Hao could sense her location, but she could only vaguely determine where he might be.

“I’ll fight the first rank!” she said after a brief pause. “Panther can fight a third rank when it wields the power of a world. You two need to swiftly combine as one and meet the other third rank in battle. Senior Celestial Pole, we leave the second rank to you!

“We need to play for time!”

Everyone frowned at her orders.

“I think that Li Hao may be returning soon,” she said softly. “Of course, I’m not sure. But we’re out of options. They’ve caught up to us and it will be very difficult for us to shake off pursuit from four exalted emperors. We can only meet them in battle!

“Will it take a long time for you guys to ascend?” She looked at the two dao masters. “Will it be hard?”

“After a year of being connected to the chaos, we’re pretty topped up on energy,” Gan Wuliang replied after a quick internal assessment. “The world has newly ascended and everyone’s cultivation is doing well. Added to that a portion of the population giving up on walking all daos and just focusing on some... It shouldn’t be that difficult for us. We just need some time. We can even break through as we run!”

“It’s not difficult,” Hong Yitang said bluntly. “The key lies in...” The man paused. “The dao universe will be tied to us once we ascend as exalted emperors!”

There was a meaningful connotation to these words. The two masters of dao had fulfilled the requirements to become exalted emperors, but they were yet to take the final step. They were waiting for something, and so they hesitated, despite danger staring at them in the face.

Lin Hongyu knew what they were concerned about. After they became exalted emperors, they would bring the dao into themselves.

What dao?

The great dao! The dao universe and the river of chaos. It would be very difficult to disengage from those after that step and it would take a high price to do so.

The two dao masters weren’t wet behind the ears when it came to dao universes anymore. They were more or less familiar with this construct, how many exalted emperors wanted one, and how many sixth ranks would kill for one.

Especially one of twin daos!

Li Hao was the overlord of Silver Moon. Although he’d let them become masters of dao before... perhaps he would realize just how rare and precious a dao universe was after he set foot into the chaos.

What would the young man do if the two of them ascended now and irrevocably tied themselves to the dao universe? His river of life and death was not bad, but strictly speaking, it didn’t hold as much potential as a dao universe. There was also an entire population helping advance the dao universe through their cultivation. This was a fortuitous opportunity that would make countless peak sixth ranks see red.

The two men had dragged their heels for a year. In actuality, they’d stood a chance to advance long after the dao universes connected with the chaos. However, they’d given that strength to Celestial Pole instead of using it themselves.

Hong Yitang wanted to return his dao universe to Li Hao, whereas Gan Wuliang was truly worried. Although the young man had been a first rank when he left, the two men knew just how hard further ascensions would be. Li Hao might still be a first rank now...

No, he probably was still just a first rank. It’d only been a year!

And so, Gan Wuliang was afraid.

What if he comes back and feels like we took his dao universe? At least Hong Yitang is close to him, but I’m not! What do I do if he beats me up?

I’m so conflicted!

Hence, both of them were very torn on what to do, despite the circumstances.