Star Gate

Extreme anguish racked Li Hao! He reached out with his uninjured left hand at the same time to grab at the Flaming Phoenix Spear. The phoenix pecked him again when he did so!

Pfft!

His defenses were pierced through as the beak sank into his left arm, but this time, it didn’t go all the way through! The young man smiled as he sensed the two kinds of pain.

That was right! It was different! His right arm was wracked by pain after being run through, but the intact nature of his left arm meant that the spear’s power had weakened!

I see... so the bird style focuses on speed, but its core is that momentary explosion of ultimate speed...

The young man’s comprehension was vastly different from Yuan Shuo’s, but the paths of martial masters all differed from one another. Li Hao didn’t find anything amiss with his conclusion. He took to the air as he suddenly thought of something. He was fast, much faster than before.

The Flaming Phoenix Spear kept up the pursuit!

Li Hao accelerated and accelerated, and continued to accelerate... He sped up until he could go no faster and suddenly turned back. He punched, transforming all of his speed into an eruption of spontaneous sharpness!

It was a process of eruption, retraction, and eruption again!

Boom!

A massive collision rang out. The Flaming Phoenix Spear fell back from the punch, leaving the young man’s hand covered in blood. He didn’t care! He smiled as he thought of something and bared his teeth at the origin weapon. “Run! Run as fast as you can or I’ll hack you into two!”

The spear erupted reflexively and fled! The young man followed it with every bit of strength!

Faster! He thought back to the process he’d gone through for acceleration and erupted with all of his power, relentlessly giving pursuit. His speed picked up until he transformed into a bird that continuously pecked at the void!

Humm!

A sound echoed in the air as Li Hao ripped through the void, his right hand curved in a claw. He grabbed the handle of the Flaming Phoenix Spear and yanked on it!

The young man’s fingers broke with a loud crack, but a few claw marks also appeared on the durable origin weapon. They instantly vanished, returning the spear to a pristine condition, but the phoenix manifested from it bore a hole in its body!

Joy deepened in Li Hao’s eyes. However, the phoenix promptly disappeared and left the spear clattering to the ground. The young man blinked at it, then realized that it’d been depleted of energy! The power from the mysterious power stone was gone!

There might have been a bit left, but the phoenix absorbed it when his last attack injured the weapon. That was the end of the energy reserve.

Li Hao grabbed the Flaming Phoenix Spear and wanted to vomit blood as he stared at it. “That fast??”

That was an entire mysterious power stone! You consumed it in the blink of an eye?! What the hell?!

Irate, the young man frowned ferociously. He ignored his wounds, despite both arms being pierced through, his palm and foot run through as well. Li Hao had suffered quite a few injuries in a short amount of time. His ear lobe was even more of a bloody mess.

He really didn’t mind the state of his body—he didn’t even feel pain. All he felt was despondence, but his eyes were bright.

“I see...” murmured the young man as he thought through something. “Birds... fly exceedingly fast and can transform into a keenness that kills... The metal attribute?”

Golden Spear paused in the process of drawing near the young man. What was that? He knew full well that the bird style was used for escape. It was a very unique body method that was employed in defense. What was Li Hao talking about?

The height of speed and a keenness that killed? The bird style could kill?

Although the young man was still putting his thoughts together, Golden Spear interrupted, “The bird style is one of unfettered freedom and carefree ease. That is what it means to be a bird!”

He didn’t want the old demon’s disciple to comprehend a wrong concept or for a martial dao genius to take a wrong turn.

“Nonsense!” Li Hao blurted out. “No matter what kind of bird it is, even a lofty eagle, they are living creatures and need to hunt. The Five Styles is a method that kills and injures. What is this talk of unfettered freedom and carefree ease? There is only slaughter. The root of the secret method is to kill!”

What did this random voice know? The Five Styles imitated the hunting styles of different animals and so, the five kinds of secret arts were all used to kill people. What was this ridiculous talk of being free and easy?

Complete bullshit!

The young man jerked to his senses after responding and observed a figure that rose like a spear in the distance. He realized who it might be and coughed, “Greetings to the ranking officer. I thought it was Brother Second Mu and cracked a joke!”

Golden Spear, however, didn’t respond. A confused trace appeared in his eye. The Five Styles... are all for killing? He frowned, this differed from Yuan Shuo’s Five Styles.

The Five Styles was a comprehensive secret art that wasn’t employed offensively, but Li Hao’s instinctive answer was a completely different concept. Or rather, it was different from Yuan Shuo’s interpretation. But Yuan Shuo was the creator!

Who was right and who was wrong? And did Li Hao truly possess such a bloodthirsty attitude? A secret method used for fleeing was one of immense violence to him! To comprehend the bird style as an ultimate move for killing...

One had to say, it was hard for a veteran martial master like Golden Spear to suddenly turn his thinking around. Yuan Shuo’s impact on them was too profound and they weren’t able to walk out of the shadow that he cast over the Five Styles.

Li Hao once more studied the old man in front of him. Golden Spear should be roughly the same age as his teacher, but appeared to be in his fifties. In actuality, he should be in his seventies. As for what the man had just said, the young man mulled it over and took in the meaning behind the words. Golden Spear was likely referring to his teacher’s mind intent!

However, his teacher’s path wasn’t the only path. Golden Spear was heavily influenced by his teacher! Yuan Shuo himself had once said that Li Hao didn’t need to walk the same Five Styles as he did. Hong Yitang also noted that auras differed according to person. Liu Long’s father manifested a fire dragon spear, but Liu Long’s was a water wave ax. The same secret art absolutely could lead to different results.

In this moment, Li Hao suddenly felt that Golden Spear might not measure up to Hong Yitang! Indeed, that was his perception. Not in terms of strength, but understanding of martial dao and aura.

Golden Spear was undoubtedly very strong, the young man knew that without needing to probe the man. He just needed to stand there to give Li Hao an unbeatable feeling. But as strong as he was, Golden Spear didn’t project a sense of wisdom.

Indeed, wisdom! Hong Yitang exuded that most out of all the martial masters Li Hao had met. He Yong... partially. Yuan Shu definitely did. Due to prolonged exposure to Yuan Shuo, Li Hao hadn’t thought much when he first met Hong Yitang. But right now, he blinked dazedly after being acquainted with Golden Spear and others like He Yong.

Although Hong Yitang was no longer a martial master, he seemed to have a very deep understanding of martial dao! Even if Manager Yu was Yu Luocha, she didn’t give him the same feeling. Hou Xiaochen slightly did, but he exuded more mysteriousness and not the clarity of seeing through all things.

Li Hao grew lost in his thoughts. Was Hong Yitang... the cowardly martial master of the thirty-size heroes and the second among the Seven Swords... really that bad? He blinked, suddenly seized by an impulse to see the man and witness his sword aura! Not even Golden Spear’s presence could quench his desire.

Why did Hong Yitang walk the path of the supernatural? Was it just to be stronger? Li Hao was more curious about Hong Yitang than Golden Spear. The Earthturner Sword was more interesting and Golden Spear plainly just an old stuck-in-the-mud martial master. That was Li Hao’s only conclusion. No matter how strong the ranking officer was, there wasn’t the feeling of having learned something from him.

“Sir and Brother Second Mu, I’m injured and need to make a trip back to town...” Li Hao abruptly ran off. Having just made it to the scene, Mu Lin started with astonishment. What are you running away for? What is this?

Golden Spear also blinked. What... had happened to Li Hao? As a notable figure in the martial world, Golden Spear commanded reverence and respect from many martial masters that he met. He didn’t demand the same from Li Hao, but wasn’t it inappropriate to leave them here and run off by himself?

Does the old demon often speak ill of me in front of his disciple? Golden Spear couldn’t help the turn of his thoughts. A small smile appeared on his stern face. This would be interesting. He refrained from commenting on Li Hao’s earlier comprehension of the bird style. Perhaps the young man was right. It wasn’t like Golden Spear was his teacher, so there was no need for the man to say anything further.

......

Li Hao traveled at full speed. He didn’t let anyone give him a ride—instead, he launched himself into the air like a bird and covered one hundred meters with one stride. He shot out with lightning speed because he suddenly had the thought of going to see Hong Yitang. Even though Golden Spear was close at hand... he had no desire to discuss martial dao with the man.

A thousand cups was too few when drinking with a good friend.

The young man hadn’t had much interaction with Golden Spear and, in fact, exchanged only one sentence. Yet, this sentence alone let Li Hao know that they were not the same type of person. Golden Spear might be a good person, a good teacher, a good general, and a good martial master...

But none of that was important. All Li Hao wanted was someone with a unique perspective on martial dao. The renowned Golden Spear had given Li Hao a particular impression in that split second. The young man thought of certain people he knew before, some classmates that hadn’t come to mind for a very long period of time.

They followed the prescribed order, gave the standard answers, and vied for the position of valedictorian. They always received full marks on tests!

Li Hao’s grades were fine—he wouldn’t have been accepted to Silver City’s Veteris Institute otherwise. But good grades didn’t mean that he aced tests with full scores. He was actually a problematic student in some teachers' eyes as he often voiced strange thoughts. The answers were fixed on tests, but he wanted to make a large circle and ignore the proper formula, taking a few twists and turns before returning to the proper destination.

Only Yuan Shuo thought that it was wonderful that the young man didn’t walk the conventional path. Not everyone was Yuan Shuo. Thus, when Li Hao heard Golden Spear say that the bird style was one of unfettered freedom, he understood that the martial master was a prim and proper, old-fashioned man. He didn’t know what true freedom was.

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