Star Gate

The little girl that’d just walked out of a passageway tilted her head, seeing through the haze of the man not too far away. She smiled sweetly at the real face underneath. “Long have I heard your name, Chaos Sky!”

She looked very young and innocent, but spoke in a very experienced and elderly way. Her tones were laden with meaning.

So Chaos Sky was here as well! How interesting!

It was like they’d agreed upon this beforehand, to visit Allheaven Hall today. Just as the two greeted each other, the secret realm shook once again. A massive dragon seemed to howl before an incredibly strong body appeared.

He was very tall and bulky!

A cold light glinted in his eyes as he looked around him. They briefly rested on the little girl and middle-aged daoist. He inclined his head without saying anything.

Long Zhan!

Daoist Chaos Sky also looked over, as did Spring Autumn. This was the leader of the chaos beasts that’d risen in the four regions. No one underestimated him, despite the dragon not immediately showing his capabilities.

He’d been able to easily defeat Reincarnation, if nothing else. He’d also killed one of Reincarnation’s eighth ranks right in front of the man. That was a formidable demonstration of strength!

New Martial and Silver Moon ruled over the east, but did not encroach on the four regions. The dragon had thrown them out of that area. Such was his strength.

They’d witnessed it on that day and at the overlord level, everyone was acquainted with each other. While they might not know each other in great detail, they were aware of their peers.

Many people filtered in after Long Zhan’s arrival. There was nothing to be sensed about those newcomers. Powerhouses had their own sense of perception between them.

Long Zhan ignored the two overlords and looked up at the chessboard hovering overhead. He was aware of the dao chess, but never walked it. It was truly piquing his interest now.

An incredibly domineering presence drifted their way at this time. It even aroused the attention of others in the secret realm. Everyone’s heads snapped in a certain direction!

There, many shadows were appearing. It was as if a dao master had brought all of their exalted emperors out on a field trip.

When the lead shadow crystallized, it came with a tyrannical air!

By now, others in the secret realm were starting to wonder if someone so brazen in Allheaven Hall could be a certain cocky figure that they were aware of.

The Human King!

It was hard to say if this person was the Human King or not, but to raise such a high profile and throw his weight around as soon as he entered... This wouldn’t be an ordinary cultivator, even if he wasn’t the Human King.

......

Beneath the secret realm, Li Hao shook his head. So many people had come! Had they all decided to visit on this day?

Either you guys don’t show up at all, or you come at the same time. Do you have a shared mind or something? The Human King was the last one to arrive. Did he sense something, or did he purposefully wait until he was the last?

Is Five Elements going to send anyone?

Li Hao hesitated. Had a Five Elements representative not arrived yet, or were they unwilling to send one? Or was it something else entirely?

Despite his confusion, Li Hao ignored that faction. Someone stood by his side as well, having sensed certain things. Myriad Changes sweated profusely. He’d just emerged from closed door cultivation.

“Dao master... things seem... a bit off!” He looked nervously at Li Hao. Being the creator of the mirage realms, he could sense certain happenings. They’d spontaneously lost connection with some entrances!

“I know, some preeminent heavyweights have come,” Li Hao nodded. “Chaos Sky, Spring Autumn, Human King, and Long Zhan are all here.”

Color drained from Myriad Changes’s face! These people were all here?? That was... horrifying. They were premier personages to him, even though he was an eighth rank. Overlords such as Chaos Sky and Spring Autumn were existences he could never amount to.

While he was an eighth rank now, these people were still figures that he could only look at from afar.

“Ah...”

“It’s alright, they’re just replicas. Oh, the Human King isn’t,” Li Hao laughed. “A replica doesn’t possess much mental strength. They only have dao comprehension. Even if a replica is here in person, they’d be regular eighth ranks at most. There’s no need to worry!”

“Are they here... because of what the dao master said about dao rules?” Myriad Changes suppressed the agitation in his heart.

“Yep.”

Is there a need for that? Myriad Changes goggled to himself. All of them are suddenly here! That’s so scary!

Li Hao said nothing else and refocused on establishing his worlds. Countless exalted emperors walked the dao chess now; the treasure passed on their reflections to Li Hao. The young man’s understanding of the great dao had deepened greatly recently.

Worlds popped up one after another—empty worlds without energy. He was creating the next set of one thousand. Once he reached three thousand worlds, he would truly be equipped to stand toe-to-toe with premier eighth ranks.

Three thousand worlds would be the equivalent of five thousand great daos, yes?

That would finally put him on a proper footing in the chaos. He might be a bit worse off than Reincarnation, but he would be second to only the overlords then.

Li Hao returned to the task at hand and didn’t interfere with the powwow that’d developed.

......

Within the secret realm.

The Human King was indeed here and not hiding anything. He could sense some premier existences, but didn’t care about them!

So what?

I’ve always operated with a high profile! That’s how I roll!

He roared with cocky laughter. Truth be told, his arrogance depended on the audience. He would keep a low profile if the others were present with their primary bodies. But since they weren’t, what was he afraid of?

I’d already be running if you guys were here in the flesh!

“Number one on the ranking only reached 7,400 squares? What kinda trash did that?”

“......” Some shuffling could be heard throughout the crowd. Damn it, this person had to be the Human King! No one else would talk this way apart from him. Or they might be bold enough to, but they wouldn’t say it out loud.

This guy really had no filter! He was out of control!

The supreme and rest of those from New Martial quietly put some distance between them and the Human King. This guy... seemed to have an extra mouth sometimes. He hadn’t been this tyrannical before. But after he became the boss of New Martial and had no one to keep him in check anymore, he ran wild off the leash!

“This king is here to walk the dao chess today and so, will not hide my name...” The Human King chuckled at the dao chess, then thought of something. “But it’s so boring to go alone. I like some thrill and adventure. Does anyone wish to walk it with me?”

Doing it alone would be humiliating if he ended up with too few squares. He needed to find a way to salvage his dignity now that he’d insulted number one!

It was usually the villains who went first. The main character always went last. When the Human King thought of this, he decided it’d be better to drag a few others in with him. He could adjust accordingly based on how they did.

I’m the best at spontaneously breaking through! If it comes down to it, I’ll just brute force the results!

The others were the mental entities of their replicas, he was the mental entity of his primary body. He was reasonably confident in his chances if it came down to a fight. However many squares he could clear was one thing. It wouldn’t do much for his comprehension of dao.

The Human King wouldn’t bother with these arrangements if he wasn’t concerned about someone else making it past more squares than he did. He couldn’t lose face!

No one paid attention to him. And so, the Human King looked merrily at some shadows in the crowd.

“Let’s go together,” he said meaningfully “It’ll be fun, why not? We’re all here, anyways. This king counts as half a host. It won’t be appropriate for you to not show me any face, right?”

Daoist Chaos Sky looked at the Human King for a very long moment before he rose into the air with a smile.

“Human King, this is a place to discuss dao. There is no need to be so competitive and show such a keen edge when you’re here...” he said calmly.

“Martial dao is about competition!” sneered Fang Ping. New Martial cultivators stood at attention around him after this declaration.

“There is nothing that cannot be fought over!” the Human King said solemnly. “Who doesn’t fight each other in this chaos and universe? Would it look the way it does if you and I aren’t competing for something? We fight each other for a way of survival!

“What kinda bullshit is it that there is no conflict in great dao?” The Human King looked around gravely. “That is all there is in martial dao! We must fight for the great dao! Get out of here if you don’t want competition!

“I hate hypocrites. You say one thing and do another. Who here isn’t fighting for something?”

Daoist Chaos Sky blinked, then quietly inclined his head. Martial dao is about competition!

Was that true?

Of course!

If not, why would he dominate a region? Why did he seek to unify the chaos?

There was nothing wrong with the Human King’s words. Chaos Sky simply felt that there was no need to fight in everything. Was gaining an empty title the end goal?

But some things did not need to be said so explicitly.

“So you must compete for martial dao, huh?” Another figure rose into the air with a giggle. “I don’t cultivate martial dao because I have my sights set on time! Someone here cultivates time—it is the greater enemy of us cultivators!

“To be undying, eternal youth, and indestructible through the ages... This is worth fighting for! They say that the passage of time is merciless. Human King, do you think that martial dao can overcome time?”

Fang Ping seemed to both understand and not understand the question. He gave a bark of laughter. “I break through a myriad daos with martial dao! No matter how strong time is, it is just one dao! So what if you enjoy eternal youth or are indestructible? A rock can live longer than a mundane and even many cultivators. What of it?

“Life should be resplendent! Fireworks are resplendent! Are you time itself just because you cultivate or seek it?” he smirked. “Are you known throughout it? Does anyone remember you? So what of living eternally when everyone next to you dies of old age or sickness, or simply reaches the end of their lifespan?”

The newcomers were yet to enter the dao chess and were holding a conversation outside, but they were already fighting over dao!

Chaos Sky and Spring Autumn revealed their faces. Some exalted emperors had guessed their identities upon hearing their voices, but it was another thing entirely to see their speculation confirmed!

This was incredible!

Allheaven Hall had gone mad, hadn’t it?? It was seeing the arrival of these apex cultivators!

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