Star Gate-Chapter 1525: Rules (I)

It was already one big question whether a major world would allow a New Martial outsider to join them. Even if they did, the applicant in question might not take the risk. Wouldn’t they be afraid of retribution from the supreme and Human King?

It would undoubtedly be forthcoming!

But joining Silver Moon... that was New Martial territory from the very beginning! There was nothing wrong with that course of action! It used to belong to the Sword Sovereign himself!

It made perfect sense!

And the key was, it didn’t require Celestial Pole or the Pagoda King to do anything. They just needed to incorporate their own dao into Silver Moon. If the vassal world really did possess a dao universe, then the dao master’s strength would swell severalfold from the action. It would be two exalted emperors strengthening his dao universe, after all!

Not only was it two exalted emperors, but it was one second rank and one third rank. With how much the dao master’s strength would balloon, he’d be able to swat his enemies straight out of existence!

If he couldn’t, he would at least be able to make a clean getaway!

By then—as veteran exalted emperors of Silver Moon—Celestial Pole and the Pagoda King could be elevated to mid ranks through no additional effort of their own, couldn’t they?

Next time... I mean countless years later, if another opportunity like Silver Moon comes up, I might be able to pick up being a high rank exalted emperor without having to do anything!

Granted, the caveat was that he had a good eye for making the right choice and that the new king of Silver Moon needed to be capable enough.

“We’ll have to take a closer look at the situation!” Celestial Pole responded via transmission. “Let’s assess the circumstances in greater detail—we can’t just randomly plop ourselves up on a plate and offer it to him. If we’re going to do this, we have to see how he is. Will you go through with this if he’s trash?”

The Pagoda King nodded with approval. That’s right, they needed to take their measure of the Silver Moon king first. But being able to become the new king of a world under New Martial jurisdiction, one that had a group of New Martial citizens present, and being able to unite Silver Moon, was already impressive enough.

A further crucial point was that he dared raise Celestial Pole’s replica to the exalted emperor level. That was even more extraordinary.

In any case, the Pagoda King felt that he could give up thinking and just look to follow the new Silver Moon king. If the situation didn’t differ too much from their analysis, that was exactly what he was going to do.

Hard work didn’t measure up to making a good decision. If he could make a good choice, then why work so hard? He’d win without lifting a finger if he chose correctly!

The two looked at each other and smiled. That’s exactly how we’re going to proceed! They’d come to a general agreement of things and would immediately integrate with the new dao when a suitable moment presented itself.

Not only would they not have to fight, but they would leave a good impression on the Silver Moon king. The king wouldn’t think twice about them loafing around for the next era after such actions.

Celestial Pole had felt out of sorts and hadn’t been looking forward to meeting his replica, but now he was slightly excited. He was also impressed by the Pagoda King’s idea. Even I didn’t think of this possibility!

As he thought, it was the right decision to set out with the Pagoda King. This guy was very bold at crucial moments. Just this idea alone would never have been proposed by any in New Martial other than him.

He was a second rank, at the end of the day, and Celestial Pole was a third rank. They weren’t ordinary cultivators who could kick up their feet and sit back without a second thought. This was a decision that regular people wouldn’t be able to make.

“We need to pick up speed... and try to meet up with them within the next two months!” Celestial Pole was abruptly motivated and accelerated his pace. The longer their journey took, the more people that would be drawn to them.

The flying ship zoomed toward Silver Moon at a faster pace than before.

......

At the same time.

Celestial Pole’s replica was also puzzled by what he was sensing. Why was the primary body traveling faster? Doesn’t he know what’s going on with me? Why does he want to stress me out by going so quickly??

C’mon, we know each other. You’re either going so fast because you have a death wish, which isn’t that possible, or you’re in so much danger that my primary body can’t handle it anymore.

The replica was actually more at ease with this development. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

This is just as well. I’m gonna be done for if he doesn’t show up soon. Lately, I’ve fought more than I have in my entire life! I’ve even gone several rounds with exalted emperors. Me, someone who swore to never sit if I could lie down. This is torture!

“Panther, pick up the pace,” said Celestial Pole’s replica. “My primary body is coming to us. The danger will be defused once he is here!”

His words excited everyone. It looked like Celestial Pole was highly confident in his primary body! That made sense, a New Martial exalted emperor would have a certain level of strength to his name!

Only Zhang An was bemused by his announcement. What is Celestial Pole in such a hurry for? Isn’t he afraid of his primary body dying here? Or has he gotten braver after fifty years?

In that case, that’s nice too. Perhaps his primary body had grown stronger after these decades of fighting. Celestial Pole might be a fourth rank now! He’d been a second rank fifty years ago, and not one of the weakest second ranks.

Zhang An relaxed, more at ease. Li Hao’s continued absence and Silver Moon being exposed to the chaos at large had put him on edge. He would feel much more at peace if Celestial Pole was around.

......

The chaos universe.

Time passed quickly as the group of people traveled through the universe. They mostly spent their time in silence; there wasn’t too much communication that took place. Such was the chaos to these exalted emperors—silent, lonely, boring. The worlds were their entertainment and where they could live it up for a while.

They journeyed through the chaos in search of various opportunities. Every exalted emperor remained committed to progress along the path of cultivation. Otherwise, each and every single one of them could be a tyrant in a minor world and enjoy the rest of their days in such a manner.

Li Hao had originally borne a lot of hostility for these chaos wanderers, especially as they wanted to hunt down New Martial powerhouses. But after spending a period of time with them, he discovered that they simply shared a difference in perspective.

These exalted emperors were simply part of those who sought their own dao. They didn’t choose to give up, passively sit back, or retire in a minor world...

They chose to journey through the tedious chaos and grasp any possible chance to grow stronger. Hunting New Martial powerhouses was an incredibly dangerous proposition, but they were all willing to risk it all for that little bit of resources.

No one could deny that they worked very hard!

The two sides simply held different points of view and concerns. If Li Hao didn’t know the New Martial heavyweights and hadn’t benefited from so many opportunities, would he be part of the chaos wanderers?

Would he seek to kill his opponents to supplement his lack of resources and to win a major world’s bounty?

He... might do so. Such was the way of survival and seeking dao. Slaughter was never the end goal. These exalted emperors didn’t kill for the sake of killing. They did so for resources and to strengthen themselves.

Of course, they also deserved their deaths given their choices. It was not the hallmark of justice or a hero to kill others in search of personal resources. This could only be described as a bid for survival. It didn’t mean that operating in this manner was correct.

Life and death must be answered for!

Li Hao seemed to understand some things as he moved with these chaos wanderers—he saw through the core nature of the chaos. Or rather, he saw how bloody the true essence of cultivation was.

It was a fact that no one was willing to admit, but existed all the same. Everything could be summed up in one phrase—law of the jungle.

Or to be more direct—dog eat dog, man eat man!

Everyone fell under this categorization. Major worlds incorporated smaller worlds, eight ranks wished to kill seventh ranks, seventh ranks wanted to execute sixth ranks, and sixth ranks were trying to reach seventh rank. They would become an overlord of a faction then and swallow other factions.

While the worlds were very far away from each other in the chaos, the covert and overt struggles between them were unending. Such was the martial world!

Where there were people, there was a martial world. Where there was the living, there was a martial world. Silver Moon was a small martial world and the chaos was a large-scale one. Was there a difference between exalted emperors and regular martial cultivators?

No.

They still could not escape fame and wealth at their level, albeit, those terms might mean different concepts. Perhaps it meant greater strength, a louder voice at the table, or more resources.

Regardless, the ultimate conclusion was that even exalted emperors could not escape the shackles of these concepts. They hardly lived as carefree as one might think.

Everyone was struggling.

......

And so, Li Hao asked an exceedingly stupid question as he conversed with Mo.

“Mo, can there be no peace in the chaos?”

Mo stared blankly for a moment, suddenly finding the young man to be so... childish. Is it because he’s too young? Peace?

“It’s not up to us!” she said bracingly after some thought. “Take Red Moon Region, for example. The war between New Martial and Red Moon has raged in all directions, dragging in the entire region down with them. Major worlds are topping, much less minor worlds. Exalted emperors are cannon fodder in this conflict.

“Weaklings like us wish for peace, but... who will give us a chance to achieve it?” she laughed self-deprecatingly. “You are too young, Hao Moon! Why do we chaos wanderers travel through the universe? It’s because we lack sufficient strength! We may be masters of minor worlds or members of mid worlds, but whatever we are, we’re cannon fodder when major worlds go to war!

“Our worlds are annihilated when high ranks twitch with rage! We have no ability or ways to fight back. We can only passively suffer everything!

“It’s not like we wish to be this way.” She looked at Li Hao. “We don’t want to roam through this empty, barren chaos. We’re exalted emperors!”

She was both proud and self-conscious; it was a complicated mix of emotion hard to understand. “But so what if we’re exalted emperors?” she laughed at herself again. “Numerous major worlds have fallen in Red Moon Region and exalted emperors die in droves. Do you think Utmost Dark or Elysian Fields did anything wrong?”

Li Hao didn’t make a sound.

“Everyone understands that New Martial is exterminating some of Red Moon’s helpers. Whether it was Elysian Fields or Utmost Dark, both of them were connected to Red Moon. They wouldn’t have met their ends if Red Moon hadn’t invaded New Martial, so is Red Moon the source of the crime?”