Star Gate

Chapter 251: Breaking Through to Dominator of Thousands (IV)

A figure in black hid between two walls in a small alley, propping itself up in the air with its legs. It silently waited for prey to present itself. Darkness wrapped around the figure. Having braved the second passageway, its supernatural ripples were obscured and further concealed it in the gloom.

He was a dark supernatural of the Sunflare level and thus held an exceptional advantage when placed in this city. If it wasn’t for his supernatural ripples, he would be as comfortable as a fish in water in these surroundings. Sadly, the telltale signs of his power were enormously troublesome and prevented him from drawing too close to his opponents.

But ever since entering the second passageway and having his power obscured, he realized that this was a playground for dark supernaturals! As a Celestial member, he bore his own mission. It was simple—kill as many people as possible.

Whether it was the Night Watchers, the other two organizations, the Sword Sect, or independent supernaturals... he was to kill whoever he came across.

Celestial’s goals had always been strange and their style eerie. They were more like assassins, sometimes killing anyone of any kind and sometimes helping the very same. If it wasn’t for how formidable the organization was, one as inconstant as they were would’ve been jointly eliminated by others a long time ago.

Naturally, Celestial possessed its unique strengths if it could survive to present day. They recruited large sums of dark attributed supernaturals, claiming eighty percent of all dark supernaturals as their members. That further added a layer of mystery to the organization.

They kept a very low profile, but were deemed sinister all the same. Randomly killing others without a clear motive was one of the reasons why. Therefore, not only did the Night Watchers label them as a terrorist organization, but so did Red Moon and Yama exclude their brethren from the list of people they could work with.

In the supernatural domain, they were more frequently regarded as an independent organization of assassins.

Just as the figure reviewed his mission, his ears twitched—someone was here. A person had slipped into the other end of the alley amid the darkness.

A mark’s here! The Celestial member rejoiced. The other’s face gradually came into view, becoming visible enough for the Celestial member to also catch a glimpse. He furrowed his brow. Li Hao?

A Sunderer!

That wasn’t the key, but the young man’s identity as one of the heirs to the eight families. Celestial’s standing orders were to avoid killing Li Hao if possible and to get any information they could out of the young man. The best case scenario was if they could capture him alive.

As the man pondered whether to let Li Hao go since it wasn’t ideal circumstances to take a captive... The young man approached from the other end of the alley.

“You seem to be a Celestial powerhouse,” Li Hao suddenly said when he was ten meters away. “Is it not tiring to climb these walls? It’s very dangerous if you go too high. Why don’t you come down and show me the might of a Sunflare?”

He hoped for direct combat with the Sunflare. His opponent might not be able to respond in time if he ambushed the man.

The Celestial powerhouse jerked with surprise and immediately landed on the ground. He turned to leave. Celestial members preferred operating in the dark. It was time to retreat if they were found out. He was decisive even when the target was just a Sunderer. Direct combat was not the Celestial way.

Sword aura erupted behind him as he set out to leave!

“Did you ask to be excused before trying to leave?”

“You court death!” The Celestial Sunflare twitched with anger upon finding that a Sunderer dared attack him. Although Li Hao had killed Sun Moxian, a Sunderer was a Sunderer in the end. The young man was no Dominator!

The Celestial powerhouse whirled back around with a small sword in his hand. He stabbed it at Li Hao’s throat. Fast, accurate, vicious, and covert! Such were the characteristics of an assassin with the dark attribute.

Clang!

A clear collision rang out as Li Hao brought his sword up to check the blow. He raised an eyebrow as he was forced back a few steps. Sunflares were indeed much stronger than Darkmoons. This was his first time fighting a Sunflare by himself. Liu Long or his teacher had been involved on prior occasions and he was just a helper.

Li Hao swung his sword without a word, deploying the aura of the sword! At the same time, a mighty surge of earth aura manifested with a stomp of his foot.

“Eh?” The Celestial powerhouse started. What was going on? He seemed to see the earth rise and fall—was this what they called the aura? But... he knew that Li Hao commanded an aura of the sword. “Two

He suddenly grasped the situation. Yuan Shuo was known for fusing five auras together; his disciple had also comprehended two auras! No wonder the kid dared attack him. “Heh, I’m not staying around to play with you. You are a genius indeed, what a pity...”

Humm!

A sword reverberated in the air as Li Hao stabbed it forward without a word, preventing the other from leaving. “Someone must die when martial masters fight. You won’t be leaving unless you die!”

The two exchanged blows once more. A small sword darted in and out of the shadows. Li Hao tilted his head to the side, evading an attack, then turned for a kick. A Sunflare and a Sunderer grappled with each other in the tiny alley!

The Sunflare prepared to stay—or maybe he no longer had a choice in that matter. Li Hao seemed to want to test himself in single combat. In that case, he would kill Li Hao first because he sensed more people outside the alley.

The Celestial powerhouse abruptly understood everything. The one waiting possibly wanted to use him as a stepping stone for the young man. How dare you! I’ll have you taste regret when I’m done with Li Hao!

A sword pierce. A soundless killing. Li Hao’s sword aura shifted without noise—the Ghost Shadow Sword.

Two swords clashed against each other. The young man’s sharpness knew no bounds when he drew upon his recollection of that stroke that severed the heavens. While he comprehended only a fraction of what that blow entailed, every move that he deployed as a result was sufficient to raise the hairs on the back of his opponent’s neck.

Meanwhile, the Celestial powerhouse’s sword was uncanny beyond belief. It struck from inconceivable angles and almost stabbed Li Hao a few times.

The two exchanged blows in a rapid frenzy and continuously changed positions. One blade sank into the target’s body—Li Hao was the first to be injured. The sword stabbed so deep that bone could be seen.

He didn’t care and punched with his other hand, as if a vicious tiger swiping its paw. His right hand gripped the sword and his left hand waved a fist, forcing the other back so he had space to slash his sword forward again!

The Ghost Shadow Sword was formless and intangible; Li Hao slashed a dozen times in quick succession and exhaled a breath of sword qi! It pierced through the Celestial member’s shoulder with a soft puncture!

“Oof!” A muffled grunt came back on the wind. The Celestial Sunflare was shocked; it wasn’t that he’d never seen Sunderers before, but those who could stand toe-to-toe with Sunflares were few and far in between. Or rather, he only knew of a few veteran martial masters who\'d grasped the aura for many years that could accomplish the deed.

Li Hao was too young!

The young man didn’t care—all he thought about right now was how to kill his opponent. He might be able to break through after that! If not, then he would have to try breaking through heaven and earth with his sword.

The Sunflare was target practice to see if he could meld his auras. After a series of probing maneuvers, Li Hao suddenly found it regretful. This guy wasn’t that strong. Indeed, he might be able to win the battle if they kept fighting like this. He didn’t need to advance to the next cultivation level.

So this was all that initial Sunflare was good for! Li Hao didn’t find himself any weaker, not when he was equipped with two auras.

Can this guy even force me to use the sword aura to break the earth aura? The young man frowned. If his opponent’s caliber was too low, it would not lead to good results if he forcefully used the auras on his own.

The dark supernatural seemed to fly into equal parts rage and urgency after his shoulder was pierced through. His thoughts of easily killing Li Hao were no more. He’d wanted to save some strength for those to come, but the young man was more difficult to resolve than previously imagined!

“You have a death wish!” he snorted and flooded the surroundings with the power of darkness. Both the supernatural and Li Hao were pulled into a ball of dark light. Soundless and formless, not even Liu Long waiting outside sensed anything amiss.

Li Hao, however, did. He was enveloped by the gloom and caught in a swamp of darkness. It felt like cotton filled his surroundings and deadened his senses. The next sword stroke that arrived shot straight at his throat. The young man’s reaction was slower than before. He brought his sword up to check the blow, but was just slow enough that his opponent waved it aside. The thin sword once more aimed at his throat.

Li Hao’s eyes widened with surprise and joy. And here I was, thinking he’s a bit weak. So this is why—he was pulling his punches!

Internal force roiled within the young man’s body as the enemy attacked him once more. The aura of the earth appeared and a faint sliver of consciousness manifested near his throat. It blocked the small sword with a clang, but a tiny bloody mark formed on Li Hao’s throat.

This was what he wanted!

Li Hao was delighted. This was the kind of opponent he hoped to meet, one that could threaten his life!

The dark supernatural grew more alarmed as the fight recommenced. He no longer held anything back, but he still couldn’t defeat Li Hao. The boy was growing fiercer the more they battled!

The two were snarled in the murk. Bloody marks appeared on Li Hao’s body, but each one excited him further and he continuously tried to meld the two auras together. Although he was unpracticed, he tasted some success when he occasionally attacked and defended in the same breath.

The battle formation of Black Armors appeared in his mind’s eye. The shields focused on defense and gave way for spears and swords to jab outward. That was also a type of coordination between attack and defense, and it was very strong! A group of Black Armors had withstood a crowd of Solars. If it hadn’t been for enemies to their rear as well, the expedition team wouldn’t have so easily defeated the soldiers.

The moment defense vanishes is when I attack! Attacking is a type of defense too, killing the enemy is naturally defending myself. Li Hao sensed the coordination and fusion between the two auras according to his own comprehension. Did the sword have to break through heaven and earth?

Not necessarily! Had the swords and spears smashed the shields? No! Coordination wasn’t necessarily at the cost of one or the other.

Li Hao suddenly had a deeper understanding of the two auras. The aura of the earth vanished, instantly replaced by an upwelling of the sword. The Earthturner Sword flashed forward and left a trace on the Celestial powerhouse’s body. The dark supernatural’s heart spasmed with surprise.

Li Hao was growing stronger!

Meanwhile, the young man exulted in this coordination of his auras.