Star Gate-Chapter 1741: Desire (III)

“......” The supreme rolled his eyes. He could only be this carefree in front of the Human King. “Behead me? Like I can’t seize the dao of time?”

“It’s not that, but that I’m concerned you’ll be lost in time! The desires within your heart are too strong. If you are given the dao of time and New Martial lives on, you might be willing to lose yourself within. You would become a second War. That is not what I wish to see!” The Human King clapped the supreme’s shoulder with emotion. “Ole Zhang, this path is not suited for those of New Martial!

“New Martial is a civilization of fighters! War’s dao is too pacifistic, I am unable to break free from it...”

The supreme gently shrugged his shoulder to dislodge the Human King’s hand. The kid was forgetting his manners! Where was the respect he should be showing to his elders?? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“So you mean to say that the Silver Moon king, Li Hao, will be unable to emerge from War’s shadow?”

“It will be hard!” sighed the Human King. “Really hard. It’s not that I don’t think much of him, but that it’s harder than ascending the heavens. If he wishes to break through this point and shatter War’s influence, then his first step will need to be... giving up!”

“Giving up?”

“That’s right!” The Human King nodded and said with difficulty, “He’ll need to give up the prototype dao that War left behind!”

The supreme’s heart shook as he cast a sharp glance at the Human King. The latter shrugged.

“I said what I said,” nodded the Human King. “Time is a very strong dao, so strong that one might not wish to give it up after obtaining it. Would you do so? Would you be able to coalesce time again once you gave it up?

“Back in those days... I thought that it would be very hard for me to withstand temptation, so I decided to avoid it entirely. I permitted it to freely drift through New Martial and go where it would!”

“That’s true...” sighed the supreme. “But it’s also not a pity since it would be a grand outcome to become the second War. One would be truly unparalleled! He would be a dapper, refined gentleman with no equal in the universe. Perhaps Li Hao wishes for nothing more and might have a broader future than you!”

“That’s true too!” The Human King nodded, not refuting the possibility. “Eighth rank shouldn’t be hard for me after I’ve absorbed the energy of extreme yang. When it comes to ninth rank, however, I am still searching for the way.

“The dao of time is a shortcut to ninth rank! If Li Hao doesn’t mind following the footsteps of another, then there will be a seat for him at the table of ninth ranks, but there might not be one for me!”

Fang Ping abruptly threw his head back with cocky laughter. “But I would still be Fang Ping if I made it to ninth rank! I would be the one and only, able to sweep through the chaos wherever I wish!”

Supreme Zhang didn’t say a word. The two didn’t mention what they saw before, that what they’d seen around New Martial might be related to War. It was irrelevant. So they’d seen it—what of it?

Skyward was such an interesting place.

......

Skyward.

The world shook as dao ripples undulated through it. The entire world seemed to be resisting the changes it was being subjected to.

Li Hao abruptly lifted his head—nothing had happened or seemed on the verge of taking place, but he’d lifted his head nonetheless. He looked in the direction of Skyward’s dao universe, at where a few dao stars sparkled very feebly.

The countless stars... seemed to have formed an eye.

Li Hao studied the shimmering stars, feeling that... someone seemed to be looking back at him. The young man stared at them. Is it a misconception?

The four seventh ranks didn’t notice anything. Only the young man wondered if someone was peeking in on them.

Li Hao stopped, then called out after a long moment, “Senior Dao Chess!”

A gust of wind blew over the land, materializing the dao chess shadow.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.”

The shadow paused with annoyance. The hell?? Then why’d you call for me?!

“Are you familiar with this star’s presence?” Li Hao held a dao star aloft and showed it to the shadow about to depart.

It blinked, glanced at the star, and shook its head after a moment. “I am not familiar with it. Is something the matter? Granted, I am also familiar with it because you’ve been using it all along. What is the issue?”

“Has the War Sovereign ever visited Skyward and met the Skyward master?”

“Eh?” The dao chess knew this name; it blinked in surprise. “His era was not the same as the Skyward master’s!”

“What does that matter?” Li Hao chuckled softly. “Is this the only space and time that exists? How does one capture part of the past or descend unto reality? Even if there are millions of years between us, why can I not meet the Skyward master if I trace time and follow it to the past?”

“Ah... can you trace the past to visit a ninth rank major world?”

“I cannot,” Li Hao shook his head. “At least, not right now!”

He’d once traced the past to visit some Skyward personages, but he’d only observed them from afar. His primary body hadn’t descended in person. To interpose himself within like he had with New Martial and travel the era... that was beyond Li Hao’s reach.

Skyward’s era was too long ago! That was one major reason. The other was that the powerhouses within that age were too strong. It was difficult for the young man to arrive in person. He would easily be killed if he did so.

Li Hao set the notion out of mind, but he had some speculations in mind. He smiled at the star of time in his hand. “Red Moon’s desire is too obvious and shallow. The desire inflicted by this star is the one that cannot be warded off!”

The shadow flicked a glance at him, finding the young man to be weird. What are you talking about? Time is not the dao of desire.

However, Li Hao grinned radiantly. Is it not? Perhaps other people don’t think so, but this is desire! It’s a desire so strong that one cannot pull free from it. Everything they do would be to fight for time; their hard work would be manipulated by time from beginning to end.

Could one... break time?

What kind of joke was that? Of course not. That was what was meant by being mired in desire and unable to extract oneself!

Time, there will come a day in which I abandon you!

That day would come. Time had already affected him to a point in which he could not remove himself. Perhaps he needed to reconstruct his own being and situate time within the myriad of worlds, permitting it to drift freely.

Time would be allowed to seek its own path while Li Hao rebuilt his!

I’m delving into your secrets, time!

Li Hao seemed to understand something in this moment and smiled. It’s not that I despise you, I really like you. But... you cannot have me sink into desire. I would not be me anymore.

It was only today that he seemed to understand this.

“The Human King...” Li Hao murmured. Had the Human King purposefully given up on this dao, as opposed to not being able to grasp it? If that was the case, then the Human King well deserved his reputation!

This theory was unconfirmed at present. After all, it was paradoxical for such immense resolution to appear within the Human King. He was the extremity of greed, after all.

Li Hao shifted his attention to other matters. The world of emptiness began to expand furiously and all things sank into silence! Dao foundation sites appeared one after another; endless dao remnants threw themselves at the world!

Two dao rivers manifested at the same time to keep Skyward under control. The dao chess emanated its might, as did grave seventh ranks follow suit. Any flare-up from a dao foundation site was swiftly suppressed!

Meanwhile, Silver Moon cultivators, including exalted emperors, were immersed in the happenings. All of the active dao remnants close at hand were impossible to resist!

The daos of Skyward!

Shadowy figures filled the air, each of them representing Skyward in its prime. There was an incredible number of them as the ninth rank world had possessed more exalted emperors than one could imagine.

Areas that were typically uninhabited all erupted with dao foundation. Some new dao foundation sites were also starting to appear during this great silencing.

......

In the distance.

Void continued to comprehend his dao. His presence fluctuated as the power of emptiness rose. A small flower grew within the domain of emptiness, collecting the strength of a myriad daos. It swayed in a mesmerizing fashion, beguiling anyone who saw it.

The results would be stunning after one devoured the matured flower!

Perhaps I can make use of this opportunity to take over the Skyward dao universe. I will be the master of a ninth rank dao universe then! Even if I don’t enter ninth rank, I will be a formidable seventh rank!

His world of emptiness was expanding at an even further pace, as was the small flower growing rapidly. Void sent his world to where Li Hao’s was—the two worlds began overlapping!

“Hao Moon, I’d like to try fully silencing one aspect!” transmitted Void. “Incorporate your world into my domain. Your blade of grass is too weak, so let me absorb it as well!”

Li Hao melded his world into his friend’s without another word. Presences fluctuated in the air as a tiny flower grew rapidly. It devoured the blade of grass and emanated an incredibly sweet fragrance with its undulations.

Li Hao frowned slightly when he looked at Void. The man was also looking back at him, as if contemplating... Hao Moon, how should I choose?

The presence of desire wafted through the air, affecting both Li Hao and Void.

Red Moon!

That was right. One person had absorbed all of the strength from the Red Moon dao universe and world. That hadn’t seemed relevant before, but its interference seemed to be a result now.

Void was wondering—why bother with the revitalization? I don’t have to do it! I’ll just devour the flower of emptiness and life, then be the master of Skyward’s dao and dao universe! I’ll be a seventh rank then, so strong that I will have no equal. I might even be able to go toe-to-toe with my father!

Li Hao had been affected by the power of desire all along as well, the two had just been unaware of it. But now, the young man sensed something and perceived the sensation of being spied upon by another. The piercing cold jolted him awake. He looked at his friend.

There... seemed to be something off about Void.

And yet, Li Hao simply watched without saying anything. It was hard for outsiders to wake someone who’d sunk into desire. The Red Moon master—the master of this dao—had been so deeply affected that he’d suffered from backlash as well.

Can you make it out of this, Void?

I don’t know.