Star Gate

Boom!

A sixth boom rang out. Li Hao excitedly steered the tiger ahead and marked down all the places that the tiger paused at.

The other exalted emperors in the vicinity looked around oddly when the sixth boom rang. None of them were in a hurry. Even the impatient Human King comprehended dao as he walked around. They wanted to conserve as much mental strength as they could.

Everyone had just reached six thousand, but Li Hao blew through all the previous squares in a split second. He was... going rather fast.

“Youngsters are so impatient!” grinned the Human King. He no longer presented himself as a youngster. It had been easy for him to reach six thousand and he was planning on taking it easier after that.

As it turned out, the little fellow next door couldn’t wait.

Boom! came again just as he thought with amusement. It was the seventh rumble. The Human King jerked with shock!

He wasn’t the only one. The other exalted emperors also started and looked in Li Hao’s direction with surprise. Seven thousand wasn’t notable either, but what was he suddenly in so much of a hurry for?

......

The exalted emperors watching outside were flabbergasted.

“So either he doesn’t progress through the chessboard, or he reaches seven thousand as soon as he makes a move. This is the limit for so many seventh and eighth ranks, with quite a few eighth ranks not making it this far. That was so fast!”

“As expected of the dao master of Allheaven Hall! He’s formidable even if he ends up losing!”

“Is he cheating? Why do I hear a tiger’s roar?” came some confused voices.

More disturbances could be heard from the other boards. The others had planned on pausing for a break to take in the great dao, but they picked up speed as well. All of them smashed through the seven thousandth square in the blink of an eye!

Five exalted emperors smoothly crossed the seven thousandth threshold!

It was an extremely envy-inducing sight as this was a true demonstration from premier exalted emperors. Some eighth ranks within the crowd clucked their tongues in astonishment. They’d walked the dao chess before, but it was very hard to reach seven thousand. No one was yet to make it to eight thousand.

The key was, the group currently in the dao chess were making their way through it at an astonishing speed. It’d only been a short while since they entered.

“Will the Human King and Silver Moon king continue?” some eighth ranks transmitted to each other. Having made deep forays into the dao chess, they knew how hard it was. Not everyone could make it to eight thousand, right?

“It’s hard to say... I think it’ll depend on if the dao chess will help them cheat... And if they’re shameless enough to accept it...”

“No way!”

“Who knows? Look at the Silver Moon king spontaneously passing seven thousand. I suspect he’s already cheating!”

That made some exalted emperors fall silent. Was there a need for that? Would he cheat for the purposes of winning?

But he was the owner of the dao chess, so such a possibility did exist. The young man had reached seven thousand at an unbelievable rate.

The group consensus gradually solidified that Li Hao was cheating!

Another boom sounded.

Li Hao!

Eight thousand!

“He’s... definitely cheating!”

“What a dick!”

“I thought the Human King was shameless, but I see that they’re feathers from the same bird!”

“Is Venerated Chaos Sky and the others going to stand for this? It’s several billion dao crystals on the line, after all!”

“I don’t know... but I think the others won’t admit to it even if he wins!”

Who believed that someone could flash through eight thousand like that?

......

All of the other exalted emperors were looking in Li Hao’s direction. The Human King was no exception. Not only that, but he couldn’t help but call out, “Are you cheating, Li Hao?”

Cheat if you must, why make such a large fuss in the process? We need to keep a lower profile! Who’s going to give you dao crystals if your cheating is so obvious?

The illusory cover over Li Hao’s board vanished and the young man flashed a grin from the back of a ferocious tiger. Everyone sharpened their gazes upon him.

A flurry of whispers started from the crowd on the ground. As they thought! Look at that tiger!

But the overlords paused and blinked at the sight.

“A spirit?” Chaos Sky’s eyes widened. This was a type of spirit! It wasn’t just a simple mental entity, but a unique spirit!

“A dao spirit!” Li Hao corrected merrily.

Chaos Sky jerked, then colored with understanding. “No wonder!” He inclined his head. “That’s incredible. I must have a good conversation with the fellow daoist once I complete eight thousand squares!”

“Dao rules?” Spring Autumn and Long Zhan also addressed the young man. “You are definitely extraordinary. Is it yours or did it exist to begin with?”

“It is the fire of the heart!” responded Li Hao before vanishing. He was concealing himself again.

The others quieted for a moment, then turned their attention back to their chessboards.

A dao spirit!

How interesting, how very fascinating. They greatly yearned to discuss dao with Li Hao and were no longer surprised that Li Hao had reached eight thousand squares. Even the Human King’s eyes glittered.

A dao spirit from the aura? Was this what Silver Moon’s auras could transform to?

He was excited, but also resigned. What are you being so generous for? Why did you have to tell these guys? Just cultivate it in secret! You’re too high profile! You should be more like me, I keep a low profile.

But no matter what he thought, he swung his blade around and forged onward. Although everyone knows that I keep a low profile, I’m going to crush them this time no matter what!

The others seemed to be also spurred onto greater effort. They picked up the pace and crashed through more squares.

Eight thousand squares was as difficult as ascending the heavens to regular eighth ranks, but not to this group. The remaining four passed through it at the fastest speed possible, leaving onlookers tongue-tied.

Even the eighth ranks were aghast. Was the gap between them really that enormous?

No one had been able to get past eight thousand prior to this, but the five had just done so in quick succession. It also seemed like they had plenty left in the tank. Would someone make it past nine thousand today?

Based on what the dao chess said, those who could reach nine thousand possessed the dao comprehension of ninth ranks!

The audience had thought that the winner was obvious. Those guesses were being turned on their heads. Who would be the ultimate winner?

The Silver Moon king’s tiger seemed quite unusual. And judging from the reactions of the other four, it wasn’t the product of cheating. So what was it and why could it help the Silver Moon king race through the dao chess?

Expectation built on the scene.

......

Eight thousand squares!

The five exalted emperors broke through eight thousand one after another. Li Hao was extremely excited and suddenly called out to the sky, “Dao Chess!”

The treasure appeared. Do you want to cheat? Of course you can! I’m the master of this place, I can do whatever you want.

But that wasn’t what Li Hao had in mind.

“Let’s put the five boards together! Ask the others if they’re willing to do so. Since we’ve all passed eight thousand, all of us have the right to participate in a joint fashion. There’s no point in having separate boards. We should combine them to discuss dao together!”

The dao chess paused. Combining the five boards so that their efforts would be completely visible to each other? Was that... appropriate?

Would the others be willing?

Spying into someone else’s dao was a real possibility at their level.

But since Li Hao had spoken, the dao chess said nothing else. Its shadow quickly appeared on the other boards. “Seniors, the Exalted Hao Moon Emperor has a message for you. He would like to combine all five boards and jointly discuss dao. What might the seniors think about this proposal?”

Although they were enemies, this was also a rare opportunity. Under normal circumstances, they would never share dao. But today, they had a chance to.

Having passed eight thousand indicated that they were all true eighth ranks. True eighth ranks meant that everyone had the opportunity to attempt ninth rank. Those yet to reach eight thousand were far away from the ninth rank threshold!

What point was there in such an existence conversing dao?

The four thought it over and Chaos Sky quickly smiled, “I can do that!”

“I don’t mind!”

“Sure, why not.”

“Whatever.”

The five boards were promptly made one, causing a stir in the crowd.

“The five exalted emperors have decided to combine their boards to jointly walk the dao chess and share dao...” The dao chess’ voice rang out.

“Um... ah...” An eighth rank couldn’t help themselves. “May we... may we listen in as well?”

Eighth ranks were asking if they had the right to be an audience! The question elicited a further wave of reaction throughout the crowd. Such was the draw of premier exalted emperors.

At Li Hao’s level, while the young man himself wasn’t strong, he still had much to share since this was a site for discussing dao.

“You may not!” responded the dao chess. “It’s not that the seniors are unwilling, but that you have not reached eight thousand squares. Partaking of such a conversation will just cause incomprehension and perhaps make you lose your way.

“Understanding more dao rules might be the only answer for you right now. What they say might not result in any benefits to you if you listen in. Neither are eight thousand squares a requirement for reaching ninth rank.

“Whether you pass the threshold with strength or dao comprehension, possessing just one is enough. But if you lack both, ninth rank will be far out of reach for you!”

The dao chess delivered this with some emotion as there was almost no hope for someone to ascend to ninth rank if they could not clear eight thousand squares. Although there were a lot of eighth ranks in front of him, how many of them could actually make it to eight thousand?

The New Martial supreme might be able to, but the others... were tough to determine. None of the eighth ranks that’d attempted the dao chess thus far had reached eight thousand.

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