Star Gate-Chapter 1409: A Contest of Swords (II)

Silver Moon world continued to expand. All citizens prepared themselves to revitalize Li Hao.

At the end of the world, near the Star Gate.

Three figures suddenly materialized. A small residence stood near the threshold that no one dared approach.

Calm Tranquility. It was the residence that’d originally resided on top of Stellaris. It’d been left behind by the Human King and was the quarters of the Sword Sovereign.

A person sat in the middle of the yard, wearing a sword on his back. He tilted his head at Li Hao with a smile. “You’re here.”

It was like he’d expected Li Hao to visit, and the young man had been certain that he would be here.

Li Hao set foot through the void. Behind him, Celestial Pole and Lin Hongyu gaped at the sight. So Li Daoheng really was still alive? Incredible!

Li Daoheng’s long locks flowed in the wind. He wore an azure robe suitable for sword work and looked calmly at his visitor. “Have a seat!”

Li Hao sat down at a stone table. The two of them sat across from each other.

Li Daoheng looked neither at Celestial Pole nor Lin Hongyu. His presence wasn’t all that strong, but his sword intent flared robustly. He considered Li Hao. “I knew that you wouldn’t die that easily!” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“I knew that you wouldn’t die that easily either,” Li Hao responded in kind. “Do you drink?”

“Your alcohol isn’t strong enough.” Li Daoheng laughed and took out a jug of wine. A wine cup appeared out of thin air, instantly filling with liquid. It landed in front of Li Hao.

The young man lifted the cup and threw back the contents. Unbounded sword intent erupted in his body!

“Fascinating.” Li Hao took stock of the sword intent inside of him. “You’ve comprehended more of the sword than I have!”

“Even a pig would improve in something after one hundred thousand years.” Li Daoheng was calm. “Except, I am a little puzzled. How did you determine that I was here?”

“You have the Sword Sovereign’s heritage and nowhere to go in the world. The Star Gate is not yet open. Where else can you go but here? You also know that I won’t die that easily, that it’s only a matter of time before I find you.

“Zheng Yu said that you spent the last one hundred thousand years scurrying around like a rat. You are probably far from willing to accept that. In that case, you’ll be at Calm Tranquility.”

“That’s right! Where else can I go other than here?” Li Daoheng nodded. He laughed and drained the contents of the jug. Unbridled arrogance, pretentiousness, and contempt crossed his face. “What was Zheng Yu worth? He just thought that he was in charge of everything! Granted, I’m not worth much either. If I was, I wouldn’t be in these straits!

“The Sword Sovereign once said that those who learn his craft will prosper, and those who are like him will die. It is an honor for the family that the Sword Sovereign walked out of it, but also a burden!” Li Daoheng suddenly started discussing inconsequential matters. “Take Zhang An, for instance. Is his potential not good? Is he not strong? Does he not work hard enough?

“Of course that’s not it. He is where he is because there are others who have come before us. The more self-assured one is, the harder it is to make progress! If we only imitate, then Empyrean King, half step emperor, and even a weaker exalted emperor is easily within reach!

“Those of mediocre capability such as Senior Celestial Pole are perfectly at ease with such circumstances. He can make it far even if he’s not number one!”

Celestial Pole glowered at the potshot; Li Daoheng didn’t care.

“It’s people like us with unparalleled potential, yet not truly being matchless; with high spirits, but poor foundations; being strong, yet not infinitely strong... People like us have it the worst!” Li Daoheng looked at Li Hao. “If I was willing to only learn and not make modifications, then I would have had no issues reaching half step emperor!

“I may have stood a chance of becoming an exalted emperor if I left with the Sword Sovereign. However, I have more pride and ambition than is good for me. I did not only wish to learn, but was unable to fully consolidate my knowledge. It’s no surprise that I ended up where I am at then. I did this to myself!”

Regular people would find his words hard to understand, but Li Hao read him clearly.

“I understand,” the young man nodded.

“You don’t!”

“I do.” Li Hao shook his head. “My master was a martial master with very high potential. I once experienced what you speak of. My accomplishments would be high if I copied him, but I was proud enough that I wanted to carve my own path and shake off his influence. Now that was hard!

“Although I’ve reached my heights, it’s not because of superior martial dao potential. I’m not the strongest in that department. Thankfully, my master had one redeeming factor...” The young man paused and laughed. “He wasn’t very strong. I’m stronger than him, which breaks the fetters that he represented to me! If he was as strong as the Sword Sovereign and I eternally lived under his shadow, I’d despair too!”

“What you say makes sense.” Li Daoheng nodded with a sigh. “Therefore, to me, someone like Zhang An is stronger than his elder brother and younger sister. But he’s not as strong as the supreme. Therefore, he’s neither here nor there.

“And while I think I’m the strongest among the Lis apart from the Sword Sovereign, I am unable to surpass the Sword Sovereign. But I am also too proud to fully imitate him. Being stuck between a rock and a hard place, it’s only reasonable that I end up self-destructing!

“Senior Celestial Pole knew his own limitations well—he knows that he’s not as strong as his father or the Human King. So therefore, he docilely proceeded down the path already laid in front of him and didn’t seek to go beyond. He only sought to imitate and still reached the position of exalted emperor in the end.”

“That’s true enough!” Celestial Pole laughed. There was nothing wrong with what Li Daoheng was saying.

“The senior’s mentality is your greatest asset.” Li Daoheng inclined his head. “It would be difficult for me to muster the same kind of attitude! It was here that the Sword Sovereign told me the future was unlimited if I could break the limits of the world. If I could not, I would live forever in his shadow and not meet with a good end.

“I listened to his words, but were highly rebellious against them. His assessment rankled and I was confident that I would break the limits of the world...” Li Daoheng shook his head. “Reality has shown me that I failed!

“I got hung up on some details and arrogantly thought I could do it. Perhaps I was nothing but a joke to the Sword Sovereign!”

“Probably,” Li Hao nodded.

“You’re certainly blunt!” Li Daoheng laughed.

“What’s the point of beating around the bush?” Li Hao laughed as well. “The truth is what it is! Honestly speaking, you and I probably aren’t worse than any of the seniors when it comes to potential, but we live in different times.

“As the saying goes, the era makes the hero. Since you didn’t live in that era, it’s hard for you to perceive the unique characteristics of that time. Sometimes, hard work, determination, and potential don’t add up to the good luck of being in the right age. If one falls behind the times, it’s very difficult to catch up and surpass them.”

Li Daoheng listened thoughtfully and nodded minutely in agreement. “Are you trying to comfort me? ...I suppose!” He smiled and brought out another jug of wine. “Have another cup. Although you’re young, you’ve comprehended much of the world and great dao. Your mentality is better than mine!”

Li Hao didn’t turn the offer down. Another cup of wine went down his throat; he savored it. Across the way, Li Daoheng once more quaffed the jug.

After a long while, when Lin Hongyu and the rest started shifting restlessly, Li Daoheng raised, “I want to go at it again!”

Li Hao blinked, then nodded. “Very well!”

“My sword is unmatched!” Li Daoheng enunciated while looking at Li Hao dead in the eyes. “So let’s have a contest of swords! If I am still defeated this time, I will leave all of the sword intent to you. You can learn from it or give it to others, do whatever you want with it! If I win...”

Li Daoheng paused at this point.

“I will leave the sword intent for my useless younger brother. It will be my compensation to him!”

Whether it was a victory or defeat, it would be the same outcome regardless. Li Daoheng was fated to die when Li Hao returned to life.

There would be no cherishing of a fellow talent here. There was no goodwill between them and he was no hero.

Did Li Hao count as one?

Perhaps!

“We can do that!” Li Hao nodded. The current Li Daoheng wasn’t all that strong—he counted as a half step emperor at most. There was still a gap between the two of them. If they really clashed in a fight, death was the only outcome for Li Daoheng.

But if they matched swords, Li Hao’s sword might not measure up to him. After all, Li Daoheng had immersed himself in sword dao for one hundred thousand years and was very well versed in it.

“I’ll be the arbiter!” Celestial Pole stepped forward. “I shall oversee this fight. What say you two?”

“I am not opposed to that!” Li Daoheng nodded.

“That’s fine with me!” Li Hao smiled.

The two vanished in the next second and a special part of the void appeared in Calm Tranquility airspace. They faced off against each other, a sword in their hands and brimming with sword intent.

Their swords were unsheathed!

Their longswords met soundlessly in a very ordinary move. The first exchange was a draw, the two backed away.

Lin Hongyu and Celestial Pole watched silently, not seeing anything that unusual about their opener. It was just an elementary sword move that ended as soon as they came in contact with each other.

One stroke, two strokes, three strokes...

Lin Hongyu started to frown. This duel was too commonplace and humdrum. They struck, but withdrew as soon as they collided. There was no devastating battle or might that broke through the void.

It was all... very unremarkable.

......

Li Hao struck again in the void, his 181st stroke! It swept forward in a smooth motion like the flow of time. His opponent made a move as well, lashing out to destroy everything.

The two swords met!

But this time, the Firmament Sword trembled and the longsword in Li Daoheng’s hand spontaneously crumbled away. There was nothing left of it!

Li Daoheng stared at the young man for a very long time before chuckling, “The Sword of Time... is very interesting!”

His body began drifting apart and he continued speaking in slightly mocking tones. “I lost a long time ago, didn’t I? You’re nicer than the Human King, Li Hao, you were willing to give me a chance. The Human King wouldn’t show me the same mercy!”

Li Hao watched quietly and peered at the sword in his hand. There was a faint char mark on it.

“I am less than you when it comes to the sword, there is no need to be so humble,” he said softly. “You’ve absorbed the destructive force from the chaos tribulation. If it wasn’t for you lacking a good sword, time is still weaker than destruction for now! If not, the tribulation wouldn’t have nearly eradicated it before...”

Li Daoheng’s body continued to crumble and left him as a ray of sword intent.

“A contest of swords isn’t just of the weapon, but of the dao!” His voice was as calm as before. "I understood that a long time ago, I just didn’t want to accept what I learned! The Sword Sovereign had long reached the stage of the sword being the form and dao being the base, but I... I was far away from that!

“I sought the form, but lacked the base! A sword without a base of dao means I only cultivated an obsession...

“You see things more clearly than me and know that the sword is just a form. If it is insufficient, then it can be relinquished! But I hung on for one hundred thousand years. If I’d given up early, I might have stood a chance.

“However, I would not be Li Daoheng if I did so! This is my personality, I was stubborn for my entire life!” Amusement crept into his voice. “Dying to you was not my wish. My only dream for these one hundred thousand years was to receive one blow from the Sword Sovereign. I felt that I would die to him, and that is why I slaughtered the entire Li family!”