Star Gate

In the darkness.

The Black Armor stood silently, head tilted toward the sky as he contemplated something.

The Accounts of Evenround Martial was the university’s greatest offering. It was an ultimate art in the truest sense of the word. It imitated some of the Battle Emperor’s methods—the headmaster had used his own techniques to retell the story.

The Human King had personally reviewed the work. Though he found it lackluster, he gave it a glowing review.

The outsiders that had barged into Evenround should not have a right to read from it, but the Black Armor could tell that Li Hao and Hong Yitang had some skill to their name. They’d greatly modified the ultimate art of Tranquil Star, but they seemed to be stuck after that and could not identify the path forward. Perhaps the book… and the composite nature of its blood qi battle method would give them some inspiration.

They would inherit the wisdom of the past to pave the way for future descendants. If it hadn’t been for them utilizing the Incantation of the Blade of Blood in the third test, he wouldn’t have brought them here. One could only say that they’d stumbled onto their stroke of fortune through sheer luck.

“Whether it is Initial Martial, Mid Martial, or New Martial… all battle methods of martial dao are of this nature at their core. There are a myriad of battle methods and their only importance is to see which is most suited for the wielder. There are more great daos that can be counted, but they all become one in the end…” murmured the Black Armor as he stared at the sky. Can I… still go back?

When the heavens changed and the Star Gate closed, the teachers such as Mister Li had left first. The Black Armor had brought up the rear and wanted to settle everything at the university first before quickly joining them. Who knew that the heaven and earth would suddenly turn upside down, that energy would be spontaneously emptied from the surroundings, that the core origin dao would abruptly be severed from connection with the outside world?

He was forced to go into deep slumber and missed the timing to leave. And now, could he leave still? There must have been undesirable developments outside the Star Gate. Had powerful enemies come upon them? Who else could kill one of their greatest teachers, the Eternal Sword Sovereign?

The city lords of the eight great cities, commanders of the eight great armies, and tens of millions of troops had departed with the headmaster that day. How could they have all fallen in an ambush?

“Damn my lack of potential! I could only walk the path of core origin and couldn’t bring core origin into my internal world. Losing support from core origin dao meant that I was reduced to hibernation…” The Black Armor found his plight both helpless and tragic. If it hadn’t been for the infusion of energy this time, maybe he would’ve died in his slumber.

A red light shone in his eyes when he thought of something. “The spontaneous vacuum of energy and the breaking of great dao… means that there must be a traitor in the Silver Moon Territory! They worked with the enemies on the outside to kill the headmaster and teachers. Who dared be so bold?! They deserve death!”

The territory’s sudden loss of energy was certainly indicative of foul play, of inside agents who’d worked with the enemy to stab their people in the back.

A large current of thoughts ran through the Black Armor’s mind. When he looked at Li Hao and Hong Yitang again, he did so with sorrow. The end of New Martial had come upon them, the world completely changed, and a new age had arrived. Their time was over, and in this new era… were these people the strongest of humanity?

What an utter tragedy!

It was because he could read their thoughts that he found the situation to be even more wretched and helpless. Could the Star Gate be opened once more? Perhaps he could only stay in this place for the rest of his life and quietly wait for death. The one in front of him was the heir of the Li clan, he wielded Stellaris. Could he open the Star Gate?

Can you do it… Li Hao? I don’t know.

The Black Armor wanted to cry, but his body had long died up and withered to dust. He had no tears to shed.

The age that belongs to us has died in this land. But I don’t want to become like those from the primordial past… When the nine emperors sank into slumber and chaos gripped the world, people either died or surrendered. What should I do?

As a steady stream of thoughts rushed through his mind, he suddenly felt that it might be better not to awaken.

……

Inside the secret chamber.

Li Hao had completely lost himself in the book. Hong Yitang was the same. His ‘sword’ character shifted through a variety of permutations. He summoned various abilities and dismissed them with a casual wave of his hand.

Both of them knew that they’d truly encountered a fortuitous opportunity. As they perceived the changes of the character, they felt that an entire era had been printed in that book. It was so much more precious than the books they’d received from Battle Heaven. There was no specific secret art inside, just the description of the core nature of martial methods.

Yet this was incredible!

After an indeterminate period of time, Li Hao waved his ‘water’ character into existence. It instantly transformed into an ‘ice’ character and a world of ice froze around them. It then transformed into a ‘snow’ character, leading to snowflakes fluttering around them. However, they quickly dissipated.

“My mastery is incomplete and my comprehension insufficient,” Li Hao murmured after a grunt of surprise. “So it turns out that I’m far from where I want to be!”

“It’s been four days,” came the Black Armor’s voice when he turned over his reflections in his mind. “You guys seemed to want to leave in five days. You should not delay your schedule, it is time to emerge now!”

Li Hao immediately jerked awake and promptly found his head so full that it ached. “How many days?” he asked incredulously.

“Four days!”

Hong Yitang’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked blankly at Li Hao. “Four days?”

How was that possible? It’d only been a moment!

“Your mental strength is weak and you were lost inside. Four days passed by in a heartbeat for you!” The Black Armor appeared in front of them and waved the book closed. The two looked at it longingly.

“I don’t have treasures to give you, this is your ultimate reward!” he said calmly. “You may go now, this place will continue to be sealed off. I need a period of quiet. If you wish to come next time… come after I have recovered!”

“Are you… going to revitalize as well?” Li Hao was still in a trance.

“Revitalize?” murmured the Black Armor before he laughed. “That is not on my mind. So what if I do? I’ll think about it. You should convene with the rest!”

The surroundings spun around them as they vanished from the room. Instead of leaving, the Black Armor sat down cross-legged and read the book closely with some nostalgia.

……

Four humans and one dog were present in the field. Hou Xiaochen was rather envious when he saw Li Hao and Hong Yitang appear. “Did you get anything good?”

He was so envious! Of course, he’d also learned quite a great deal over the past couple of days from the free material that’d been available to him.

Li Hao breathed out and wanted to say something, but found that he couldn’t. He was shocked by the inability, then looked at Hong Yitang. Hong Yitang was likewise stunned and nodded, “I can’t speak of it either!”

“We tried earlier and found the same,” Sky Sword said faintly. “That’s a normal development. The secret arts available in this place are too high level and it seems that some powerhouses have set up unique methods to prevent their sharing unless unauthorized! We don’t need to discuss what you’ve gained. Is it time to leave now? It’s been four days.”

Li Hao suddenly thought of their fines. They hadn’t paid the penalty yet! Had the Black Armor forgotten about it? Regardless, thanks to the enormous gains they’d reaped from the book, the young man didn’t mind if they still had to pay the fine. Of course, it was best if they didn’t have to. That would mean they’d gained some material goods from this expedition.

Paying the fine meant that their gains would be erased. Everyone needed Water of Life at their current stage of cultivation. This trip had almost completely depleted his resources.

“Senior Black Armor, can we leave at any time?”

“You may with the medallion!” came the Black Armor’s indifferent voice. “But you still have to pay the fine, that is a rule set by the headmaster. I can grant you a postponement of a period of time—don’t think I’ve forgotten about it. The Skystar Mine is nearby, you can go for a look. There seems to have been some plant spirits there and they might still be alive. If they don’t give an Evenround student and Battle Heaven Army division leader what you wish, that makes them traitors. As such, you can kill them!”

Li Hao, however, was focused on the fact that the Black Armor still remembered the fine. As for killing supposed traitors? Please, he knew full well how weak he was. Anyone he encountered in the ruins would be at least an Apex. Am I supposed to head butt them to death or something?

So Skystar Town was nearby. Evenround Martial might have been constructed there for that mine.

“Is that mine… big?”

“If the trash stones that you had before came from small mines, then the difference between those mines and the Sksytar Mine is the difference between a creek and the sea. A true mine can supply an entire world with energy. There were countless powerhouses back in the day, the trash you use can hardly measure up to it!”

Li Hao sucked in a sharp breath, he understood! I was wondering how so many powerhouses could rely on just one mine. So it was a huge mine! I wonder how much of its reserves are left?

“Then… can we go at any time?”

There was no reply forthcoming. Plainly, the Black Armor couldn’t be bothered to respond. He gave them no further instructions or bid them farewell. It was different from its brethren, and Li Hao wondered if he was stronger or Director General Wang. Perhaps… he was?

However, this Black Armor was more eccentric and seemed quieter than the director general.

“Let’s go!” Sky Sword intoned. No one knew what the Black Armor was thinking and this was no place to linger for long. Although he’d given them some benefits and treasure, his casual killing of the lord of Buddha Mountain was still fresh in their minds.

These ancient powerhouses didn’t seem to think much of modern experts. Perhaps… they found their modern counterparts to be too weak. Why would an elephant care about ants?

Just as the group prepared to leave, the Black Armor’s voice sounded by Li Hao’s ears again. “They seemed to place high hopes in you… and even Battle Heaven may find some hope in you. But I must remind you to not seek to open the Star Gate even if you collect all eight heritage weapons. That is all. You can go now!”

The world spun around Li Hao’s group again as they were sent out. Once they were gone, puppets manifested behind the Black Armor. He turned around to regard them solemnly.

“You do not need to be thus, teacher,” one of them suddenly said. “We feel no regret—we are… at least alive! Although we are now puppets, we are still alive, are we not?”

The Black Armor was silent for a long while before he responded, “I’m sorry… that I could not complete my protection duties like the rest…”

There was no sound forthcoming. The puppets thumped their chests in lieu of any response.

“Eternal glory to humanity!”

The Black Armor remained quiet. Did New Martial exist anymore? When could they go home? He missed home!

etvolare’s Thoughts

So this world wasn’t their home, it was just... something like an outpost.