Star Gate

Skyward.

Battle was raging.

The Human King was flinging his blade around and Long Zhan throwing punches. These two overlords were formidable in their own right, but their opponents were no weaklings either!

On the contrary, they were very strong!

Although the Human King had suppressed the light and dark envoys, it was still difficult to ensure victory, much less kill them. Fang Ping fought in an increasingly enraged fashion and blood qi soared to the heavens.

Off to the side, the supreme and a few others jointly faced the exalted emperors of yin and yang. They were also having a slightly difficult time.

Most of New Martial’s seventh ranks were facing off against Skyward’s seventh ranks. The winning side was difficult to tell at first glance!

The Skyward contingent was finding their first battle after awakening to be much more troublesome than anticipated. The relaxed composure they’d all nurtured before was nowhere to be seen. In fact, they even wanted to request aid from Thunder Region!

But... there were ripples coming from Thunder Region. Perhaps they were fending off Silver Moon.

Skyward exalted emperors were having a difficult time against their opponents. Seeing that, the light envoy howled, “My master is about to return! All seventh ranks within the four regions are to take action against the interlopers and kill them! Skyward will reward you richly! The strength of a ninth rank is beyond your imagination...”

There were several dozen seventh ranks within the four regions that hailed from different worlds. They’d hovered on the outskirts of the battlefield, just watching quietly and even wanting to run.

But this wasn’t a good time to run.

Many jerked with surprise when they heard the light envoy’s words. A ninth rank was coming to them?

Um...

However, they still didn’t dare get involved when they thought of how domineering the Human King and Dragon master were. It would be the end of them if they set a toe into the battlefield!

“So long as you participate and kill them, Skyward will not share any of the battle spoils after our dao master arrives! There is no need to take too much of a risk! You simply need to assist Skyward seventh ranks in killing the seventh ranks beneath Long Zhan and the Human King!”

They did not need to participate in the battle of the eighth ranks! They only needed to attack the seventh ranks. That wasn’t too dangerous because Skyward also had two dozen seventh ranks in the field.

Although New Martial and Long Zhan had numerous seventh ranks as well, most of them were newly ascended ones. They would be dead without a doubt if they faced another dozen or two seventh ranks!

Some people stirred in the surroundings, tempted by the offer. To be honest, they liked neither Long Zhan nor New Martial. Both of these factions perpetuated slaughter and violence. The four regions had shook over the years and too many powerhouses had died.

They’d mostly died to these two.

However... they were still hesitant about attacking them.

What a bunch of trash! cursed the light envoy. There are so many of them, but all they do is watch. If there are just a few that are daring enough to join the fight, that might entice the rest. Several dozen seventh ranks will make for a force sizable enough to turn the tides!

Complete trash!

The light envoy then dropped a bombshell in order to induce these people to help.

“Everyone!” he yelled. “There is no need for you to kill, you just need to help stabilize Skyward. My master will be here in a moment.

“His dao strength is so strong that the chaos does not tolerate it at present. He needs us to expand the dao universe to encompass the four regions. Our dao master will be able to join us after it stabilizes for a while!”

The seventh ranks in the surroundings jerked when they heard the explanation!

Was that true?

But since Skyward cultivators had returned and the world revitalized, it seemed possible that the Skyward master would descend upon them as well.

This was when the Human King sent the light envoy reeling backward with a mighty swing.

“Who are you trying to fool?” Fang Ping sneered. “How dare you not concentrate in a fight with me?! Return my ass! The Skyward master is dead as a doornail! I saw with my own eyes how his body turned to ash...”

Of course that was bullshit, but the Human King was inwardly stern. Was it true? The Skyward master was about to return as well?

That wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. His primary body wouldn’t be able to manage it, but a replica... could possibly do so.

If that was the case, then they were in trouble.

Fang Ping flicked a glance at Long Zhan, feeling that the dragon might be hiding something. Otherwise, would he have just sat back and waited for death if New Martial hadn’t shown up?

That wasn’t possible!

That old worm must be hiding or know something.

“Long Zhan, get your father into the battlefield! We’re not afraid of shit like this guy!” the Human King bellowed. “I’d like to see any of you stick your noses into this! Do you think there’s nothing behind the rise of New Martial in just one thousand years? It’s not like we don’t have a ninth rank behind us as well! Who doesn’t have a few ninth rank patrons in this day and age??

“There’s a chaos exalted emperor backing Long Zhan as well, a ninth rank that attained his dao through chaos dao!”

Lying was just a matter of flapping his lips together. Who was afraid of boasts like that? Fang Ping was threatening the seventh ranks—just try getting involved!

“Help me take down Skyward!” The Human King roared with another slash. “Skyward is sure to sweep through the chaos universe when they find their footing and devour all of the worlds...”

“......” The exalted emperors that’d been tempted to help Skyward abruptly fell back. Pretend we don’t exist! We won’t be getting involved!

It was hard to determine if the Human King was speaking the truth or not, but New Martial had indeed risen very quickly. Silver Moon under its banner had risen even faster!

Were there ninth ranks behind them?

No one knew for sure. The Human King was just not someone to piss off, was all. They couldn’t be blinded for a moment’s worth of fortune. That would spell their doom.

The light envoy nearly broke out in curses. The New Martial Human King was full of bullshit, but it was bullshit that worked!

“Fang Ping, don’t be thinking that my words are as empty as yours,” he growled with a savage look in his eyes. “You have a chance if you leave now with New Martial. Otherwise, when the dao master descends is when your New Martial will be exterminated!

“The dao master once said that New Martial has survived to present day not because of your own strength, but because of the cultivator of time in your era! The chaos is far more complex than you think.

“Also, chaos beasts are just animals at the end of the day. We are humans! You court death in siding with animals! None of the ninth ranks are chaos beasts. Are you going to do something that is acceptable in the eyes of no one??”

Intimidation and threats!

This continued failure to exterminate New Martial was truly ticking off the light envoy. He was even being pushed back by the man! The madman didn’t care if he was hurt or not. It seemed to be the greatest victory of all to him if someone else was injured. He whooped and hollered like he’d personally killed the two envoys.

A few rounds was sufficient to create a very unpleasant experience for the light envoy. He grew increasingly incensed as he fought with the dark envoy.

Damn that bastard!

......

Long Zhan fought the envoys of the five elements at the same time, but he was slightly distracted. The light envoy might not be bluffing. Skyward’s replica might be soon upon them.

The expansion of Skyward’s dao universe was obscuring everything. Perhaps that might actually provide a medium for the Skyward master to descend...

The dragon grew uneasy. That was a rare emotion for him! Indeed, he was uneasy.

If it wasn’t for New Martial’s reinforcement, he might not have had the idea and certainly not a chance to succeed. But since New Martial had, he might have a chance to... destroy Skyward’s replica!

The replica of the foremost powerhouse in the chaos was certainly an invincible existence among the eighth ranks, despite it not measuring up to the primary body or a real ninth rank. It would be stronger than even Chaos Sky!

Could he take it?

If he could, then he might become an existence on par with or even slightly surpass Chaos Sky. That would ensure he had sufficient capital to fight for supremacy over the chaos in the battle to come!

He surveyed the surroundings out of the corner of his eye. So long as New Martial wasn’t defeated and no accidents occurred, there was hope for him to accomplish his goal. They couldn’t be defeated here... if they were, he would have no choice but to utilize his contingency plan ahead of time.

And if that failed, he could only flee the four regions.

Also, it was best if Thunder Region was preoccupied with Silver Moon. It would greatly change the game if the Calamity contingent came to reinforce Skyward as well. Li Hao would be doing something there, right?

“Hang in there!” Long Zhan roared. His golden body swept through the area and pushed back the five envoys!

The envoys recollected themselves with a grave look. Their opponent was too thorny!

The look in Long Zhan’s eyes shifted and they snapped to the distance. How could that... be?!

Ripples of time??

Indeed, those were ripples of time!

He was the strongest one here, so he was the first one to sense them. They had to be ripples of time! Was Li Hao crazy?! Was he coming alone?? Then who was fighting in Thunder Region??

Is he insane?!

Is he leaving Fog Mountain and the rest to fight in Thunder Region and coming to help... or take me out? No matter what, Fog Mountain and any combination of his people are no match for Thunder Region. He’s sending his people to their death!

This guy is always solid and dependable. Why is this happening??

Someone who shouldn’t be acting out of the ordinary is acting up!

Long Zhan’s unease deepened.

......

The Human King also sensed the ripples moments later. His expression shifted as well.

Time rippled and the sound of a river flowing traveled into everyone’s ears. The light envoy and the rest paused as well.

A surprising possibility occurred to them and two of the elemental envoys looked at each other. Was it... the cultivator of time?

Li Hao?

Was it him?

What was he doing here? Who was in Thunder Region then?

A sudden uproar exploded from Thunder Region and Thunder’s voice blasted out, “It’s not him, damn it!”

They weren’t fighting Li Hao!

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out and the river rocked. Someone seemed to enter it. Eighth rank presences rose into the air as the Thunder Emperor, Fog Mountain, and dao chess erupted with power.

“We are the ones who will kill you!” they snarled, as if saying that they didn’t need Li Hao’s help.

We can kill you ourselves!