Star Gate

“I still can’t do it!” Li Hao sent the Flaming Phoenix Spear flying with a clang. The origin weapon dimmed—the ninth mysterious power stone had been exhausted.

The young man breathed out heavily and sagged to the ground. He frowned at the dull spear. It’d eaten so many mysterious power stones, but remained just the equivalent of a training partner. The effects were decent the first couple of times, but the process grew increasingly boring as the situation progressed. The phoenix didn’t seem as strong as before and wasn’t much of a threat to Li Hao toward the end.

The young man scanned the mysterious power stones he had left—eleven pieces. He looked hesitantly at the Flaming Phoenix Spear, wondering if he should feed it another piece. Manager Yu was probably coming for it tomorrow.

“My sword is very fast now, but the sword aura refuses to manifest. Is it insufficient pressure? Or something else?”

Three days wasn’t long, but whether it was the earth sword aura, the fire sword aura, or the sword overview aura—comprehension had been swift each time after he grasped the heart of the concept. Identifying the main threads of the aura was the precursor to rapid success, so Li Hao thought it would be the same case this time. Were three days not enough?

Apparently, it was not.

Li Hao picked up the Flaming Phoenix Spear and gently caressed it. “You’ve been bringing the phoenix aura against me the past couple of days, but I’ve yet to sense Director Hou’s will or aura. He can’t possibly have refrained from utilizing them, you must know them. He was already strong beyond compare when he broke my master’s will twenty years ago, so why don’t you use his remaining will and aura against me?”

He Yong wanted him to borrow the Flaming Phoenix Spear so that the young man could perceive Hou Xiaochen’s will. But Li Hao was yet to come in contact with it throughout the past couple of days. The origin weapon was keeping certain things to itself!

Li Hao frowned when the Flaming Phoenix Spear shook. It was sometimes quite onerous to communicate with a weapon. He could only guess what it meant.

“Are you worried that displaying the director’s will might kill me?”

The weapon shook, just once, indicating that it was indeed worried. But after a while, it began shaking again.

“You need more mysterious power stones?” Li Hao guessed.

The weapon shook again.

The young man understood. One, the Flaming Phoenix Spear was worried about killing him and two, it wasn’t being supplied with enough stones. Plainly, the energy it was being fed now was insufficient for a self-activated spear to bring forth Director Hou’s will. This meant that the director’s will was stronger than the phoenix soul!

He Yong had said that it was a measure of Hou Xiaochen’s strength if Li Hao survived the director’s will. Was He Yong strong? The young man felt that his own assessment might not be accurate. The man might not be weak—could he be an initial Solar? It was difficult to say.

Li Hao looked at the Flaming Phoenix Spear and said, “How many stones do you need to bring out Director Hou’s will?”

The spear shook once, twice, thrice...

Three times!

It needed at least three stones to summon the lingering will. That brought a tight frown to Li Hao’s forehead. So many stones were needed for momentary display? One stone contained hundreds of cubes of mysterious power! Nearly two thousand were sufficient fuel for only a small eruption?

This was over the top!

The Flaming Phoenix Spear must be embezzling some energy, the young man was sure of it! He took a deep breath as he looked at the eleven pieces in his storage ring. He’d only have eight left if he went for it... and it wasn’t like he was spending them for an enjoyable time. He was spending his wealth to abuse himself. It would be an incredible loss if he still didn’t gain anything from this expenditure.

Was Hou Xiaochen’s will worth such a hefty price? Li Hao hesitated only briefly before coming to a decision. He experienced continued difficulties in manifesting the metal sword aura. Perhaps there wasn’t enough pressure being brought to bear on himself. If there was more pressure, he might be able to encourage himself to perceive the aura and break through.

There was no need for further consideration. Li Hao took out three mysterious power stones, all of the metal attribute. These were the only three metal stones he had left. He didn’t choose the fire attribute despite the Flaming Phoenix Spear being of fire. It was a spear, so the metal attribute could bring its strength into play as well.

He crushed the mysterious power stones as soon as he took them out. The spear immediately started absorbing them; it seemed to be very happy.

Li Hao adjusted his mentality and began waiting. Could the Flaming Phoenix Spear give him a surprise?

Three stones worth of mysterious power vanished in the blink of an eye. The spear sparkled and Li Hao seemed to see a small phoenix moving through it. This was different from before; the weapon seemed to be gearing up for something.

A faint aura brewed within the origin weapon—very, very faint. As Li Hao stared fixedly at it, the scene in front of him shifted. He sank into an illusory realm while his focus shifted in and out of a trance.

A spear appeared in his mind’s eye—one spear to pierce the heavens! It bore down soundlessly upon Li Hao, the weapon breaking through everything! He could even hear some sounds—Hou Xiaochen’s voice.

“To break the will!”

Aloof, tyrannical, arrogant. The will broke when the spear was unleashed! The Broken Will Spear!

Li Hao was in a daze. He seemed to see Hou Xiaochen standing in front of him, stabbing the spear at him just like how he’d killed Red Hair. As Li Hao’s mind wandered, he also felt the sensation of being cut down.

Death... was right in front of him. His mind started splitting apart with the spear on one side and the suffocating sensation of death on the other. He seemed to return to the day that his good friend was murdered. It was the same stifling feeling... His heart was clenched by an iron grip as he watched from a few meters away.

That had been his first time seeing the scarlet shadow and witnessing the power of the supernatural. It was like his soul had been plucked out of him. He could only watch as his friend died meters away, staring as his friend struggled in agony and soundlessly warned him to run.

Run! Danger!

It was that same despairing feeling, the feeling that he would be next! It was present again and the first time in a year that Li Hao sensed such helplessness and an overwhelming stifling sensation of death. His heart clenched tight.

......

At the same time.

Rift Canyon.

Hou Xiaochen suddenly frowned and looked toward White Moon City. His expression was dark and unpleasant. The Flaming Phoenix Spear... was completely active!

Who’d done it?

He knew about the weapon being lent to Li Hao, but he’d sealed off the spear so it couldn’t be activated unless it encountered imminent danger. Li Hao wouldn’t be able to do so even with mysterious power stones.

Little did Hou Xiaochen know that the Flaming Phoenix Spear had absorbed so many stones that it’d long broken through his seal. He didn’t know either that the phoenix was worried about being cut into two if it didn’t satisfy Li Hao. Stellaris would strike it down. It didn’t want the Eternal Sword to come for it, so the phoenix didn’t hold back in the slightest. Li Hao could see what Li Hao wanted to see.

Frowning, Hou Xiaochen looked wordlessly in the direction of his weapon. It was too late to go back and he didn’t know what’d happened to Li Hao. Had the Flaming Phoenix Spear encountered something? At the same time, Hou Xiaochen knew that once his spear intent erupted, even a peak Solar’s mental spirit might be cut down by it.

Mental spirit was mind intent. Both martial masters and supernaturals possessed them. It wasn’t that supernaturals lacked it, just that they were unable to use it. How could strong supernaturals not command it?

Once the Flaming Phoenix Spear was activated, his lingering will would crush the opponent’s mind! Hou Xiaochen waited for a while and set the matter aside. There was nothing he could do. He could sense this happening because the Flaming Phoenix Spear had recognized him for its master. They were so far away from each other that it was the limits of possibility for him to feel something, however faint. It was impossible to suppress the weapon again when he was hundreds of kilometers out. He wouldn’t be able to do that no matter how strong he was.

......

At the same time.

Someone else was also startled. Golden Spear sensed a familiar presence the second Li Hao activated the Flaming Phoenix Spear. He disappeared on the spot and reappeared several hundred meters in front of the young man. The look in his eyes shifted and his expression was displeased. Why had Li Hao suddenly provoked Director Hou’s will out of the weapon? And the key was, the Flaming Phoenix Spear was erupting with too much force! It was like the director was right in front of him!

It reminded him of when the director pierced through his internal demon with a singular spear jab. He’d also seen vague hints of Hou Xiaochen smashing through five beasts at the same time. It was a kind of mental suppression from the five beasts, which he’d broken on a mental level.

‘Director Hou’s spear intent doesn’t connect with the body... This is bad!” Golden Spear looked on with an unpleasant expression. He wouldn’t be afraid of meeting this move head-on, but the Broken Will Spear had already been deployed. This was now a battle of mind intent and the consciousness. Although he could suppress the weapon now... it wouldn’t be of any use. The spear’s will had already entered Li Hao’s mind intent. Golden Spear wasn’t capable of expelling the attack from the young man’s mind.

......

Not too far away.

Blood streamed from Li Hao’s orifices as his body swayed. There was only that inexorable spear in his eyes—it was about to kill him.

“The scarlet shadow...” Li Hao murmured to himself. He could see a scarlet shadow in this moment. While the two could not be more unalike, they both brought to him the enormous risk of death.

I was once terrified into retreat!

Zhang Yuan had been so close to him, yet Li Hao had been so worried, afraid, and terrified that he didn’t step forward despite wanting to.

If Yuan Shuo was the internal demon of Silver Moon martial masters, then the scarlet shadow might be Li Hao’s. Even though he’d killed multiple scarlet shadows by now, Zhang Yuan was still dead. Li Hao had shrank back in fear that night. Even though he knew it wasn’t his fault and he’d just been a mundane, he was still deeply afraid when he saw that kind of scene. He was so afraid that he shook.

It was a fear he could not control.

But when the same sensation came upon him today, a crazed glee dawned in his eyes after the initial terror.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m