Star Gate

Chapter 758: Knowing Full Well (II)

“I just wanted you to broaden your horizons, not go crazy.” Hong Yitang blew at his tea. “You’re really not afraid of death, are you?”

“Why would I be?” Li Hao burst out laughing.

“How are you still not?” Hong Yitang sighed. “Even I want to run off in the middle of the night! And what did you bring my daughter here for? That’s an additional burden on my shoulders... My poor heart can’t take it!”

He sighed again, quite resigned to his circumstances. Little Li, I only told you to imitate the ancients, not surpass them! Not even the ancient Human King was as ferocious as you. He did all that he did when he had the strength to back himself up, when he had backers to support his deeds. And you? Who’s backing you right now? Who can cover you?

No one can!

“There’s no rush, the nine ministries won’t immediately make a move against me. It’s still the same old, I know what they’re thinking! They don’t even want to do anything to me out in the open right now. Therefore, they’re tacitly permitting me to run wild. I’m going crazy, but they’ve probably already thought of how to kill me.”

“And you?” Hong Yitang looked at him. “Are you ready?”

“Of course!”

Alright then. Hong Yitang said nothing further.

“I’m going to stay in seclusion over the next few days!” Li Hao continued. “I’m going to bring my full force to bear to help everyone advance—the Silver Moon Guard and Demon Hunters alike! I’m going to strengthen them with a legitimate excuse!”

Was there a purpose to that?

Not much, to be honest. In the eyes of others, what did it matter if he raised ten thousand people to Sunderer of Hundreds? Even Dominator of Thousands wouldn’t move the needle. The most important detail was found in the greatest powerhouse that each side could field!

The nine ministries would love for Li Hao to expend a great deal of resources to fortify those weaklings. That would leave less for Li Hao and the other experts under his banner. There was a limited amount of resources out there, could the kid materialize more out of thin air?

Hong Yitang frowned, but didn’t say anything. This wasn’t a good idea. In the current state of the world, all factions focused on enhancing their powerhouses. But Li Hao chose to train his weaker members instead? That was to proceed in a diametrically opposite direction; only the young man knew what exactly he had in mind.

“What about the people you’ve arrested?”

“We’ll look into their records and investigate, keeping them under observation if nothing comes up. If they have prior records... they’ll be executed at the commencement ceremony!”

His response drew another round of silence from Hong Yitang. Would you really dare to??

“I’ve given them ten days' time,” Li Hao laughed. “They’ve got at least five days to prepare. I hope more come, and that they even bring those of the three great organizations with them...”

Deputy Zhou didn’t say anything. Li Hao was setting a lure for big fish! As for how confident the young man was in reeling them in... it was hard to say.

......

At the same time.

The Inspectorate.

"He’s forcing everyone to go kill him.” The inspector general walked to the rear yard and looked at his father reading a book. “Tell me, where does he get his confidence from? Even if Battle Heaven supports him, they cannot emerge in this state of the world. Or does he feel fearless with the Windchaser Boots in hand? Does he think that no one can stop him?”

“I don’t know either.” The old man shook his head after some thought. “He brought Zhou back with him, so I thought he was going to proceed methodologically. However... these developments take me quite by surprise.”

Indeed, he couldn’t make heads nor tails of it.

“Does he think that he’s invincible after grasping three, even four elements?” asked the inspector general.

“That’s possible!” The old man fell into silent pondering. It was very possible from Li Hao’s current actions. He’d tried to obtain three elements yesterday, but didn’t seem to succeed. At the same time, he wasn’t injured from his attempt.

“He failed his breakthrough yesterday—but perhaps he healed his locks instead of failing his attempt,” the old man continued. “He should be able to grasp three elements. Maybe he thinks that he only needs two elements since that was how many he needed to kill Ole Hu. If he can stabilize himself after grasping three... Who else can stand against him then?”

“I can see why he’d think that, but does Hong Yitang and Yao Si think the same way?” The inspector general continued frowning. “Yao Si should be very aware that the nine ministries are more than this!”

It would be one thing if only Li Hao thought this way, but why was Yao Si losing his mind along with the kid?

The old man didn’t have an answer for that. These circumstances were indeed highly counter to their expectations. If Li Hao hadn’t arrested the nobles, if he hadn’t openly put the Night Watchers under his banner, then everyone would’ve turned a blind eye to his actions. They’d pretend not to see anything and permit him to be as arrogant as he wished.

But reality was not the case! The kid was being so cocky that it was like he was telling everyone beneath the heavens to come kill me! I have reasons to not be afraid! I have a trump card up my sleeves!

Indeed, all he needed to do was wear a sign around his neck saying Just try touching me, I’ve got more aces. The more he was thus, the more it made people pause.

“Is he maybe just setting up smoke and mirrors?” the inspector general suddenly mused. “Maybe he’s using this unyielding attitude to tell everyone that I have more plans in mind, so don’t try to touch me, but in reality, he’s very worried about the nine ministries making a move on him?”

That was a possibility as well. The old man inclined his head, but wasn’t too sure. He looked at his son, but the inspector general was looking at him.

“Don’t look at me,” the inspector general said with a headache. “Those guys at the Ministry of the Judiciary keep messaging me and want me to join a discussion. He asks if the nine ministries can still stand together. If not, they will be excluding the Inspectorate. I’m very conflicted right now!”

He and his father had taken action last time to kill a Celestial powerhouse. That put them on Li Hao’s side. His thinking then had been that the young man was under the Inspectorate’s banner, so it was no loss to them. But now, Li Hao was about to declare his independence! The intent behind his actions was too obvious.

Not only did he wish to be independent, but he was going to ride roughshod right over them.

“How do you think I should choose this time, old man? If we still stay out of it again and just remain neutral, we’ll land ourselves in difficult straits. You said to embrace a thick thigh for help in our moment of need—whose thigh is it?”

“Are they ready?” the old man asked slowly after some thought. “If Li Hao is an Arcanus of three elements and he has the Windchaser Boots in hand, no one’s stopping him unless they field a four element Arcanus!

“And what if he can call upon four elements when push comes to shove? It’ll take a premier Arcanus to kill him, a truly elite one!”

“So you mean that... you don’t think well of their chances if they don’t send out a five element heavyweight?” the inspector general raised a brow.

“Correct!” The old man nodded. “It won’t be that easy to kill him unless they send a personage of that caliber into the field. All attempts otherwise will only serve to strengthen Li Hao further. If people haven’t lost their minds yet, if there’s no five element Arcanus willing to take action, then we should not be involved!

“‘And even if there are five element Arcanus willing to fight, we need to be on guard against him running away! My thoughts are that luring Li Hao into the ruins is crucial!”

The ruins! This was the opinion of the joint collective. The ruins were the key; unexpected developments would appear too easily otherwise and reinforcements show up to the battlefield. They would also have to worry about Li Hao running off since the Windchaser Boots weren’t for show. Only in the ruins was such an exit strategy not a worry.

However, would the brat go inside? Would he not have thought of the same concerns? What a joke! Even if he didn’t, the powerhouses by his side would caution against such a course of action.

The inspector general’s transmission pendant vibrated as they conversed. His expression shifted slightly when he took a look at it. He glanced at his father, the old man sighed in response. “Out with it, what is it now?”

“They intend to make use of a mine!” The inspector general took a deep breath.

“What do you mean?” The old man didn’t quite understand.

“They mean to create an artificial vein of a tremendous supply of mysterious power stones in the grade two ruins! The sum will truly be astounding. Li Hao relies on Battle Heaven and naturally knows that the ancient city’s powerhouses will require energy if they wish to revitalize themselves. They’ll need an astronomical amount of energy!”

Regular sums wouldn’t do, an astronomical amount was required.

“What are they planning to do?” asked the old man after a long silence.

“Each of the nine ministries will supply five million stones. The three great organizations, Buddha Mountain, Yonder Mountain, and City of Supernaturals will be participating as well. We’ll collect enough for one hundred hundred million!”

Nearly twenty organizations were gathering one hundred million mysterious power stones! The heavyweights of the nine ministries knew full well what this figure entailed. It represented that Li Hao would be able to revive the tree in Battle Heaven if he obtained it—assuming that the tree was alive.

Li Hao wouldn’t need it if it was dead. He would absolutely need it if it was alive. Only such a figure would entice him to take such a risk. Once he succeeded, he would have a tremendous backer in the form of a premier plant spirit.

“They’re crazy!” frowned the old man. “If Li Hao really makes off with that and revitalizes the plant spirit of Battle Heaven... They do know what they’ll face after the second awakening, don’t they?”

“They do, so they won’t let Li Hao succeed!” breathed the inspector general. “Li Hao won’t be lured within if the bait isn’t enticing enough. Only with this will it force him to throw caution to the wind and take the risk. He knows just as well what the one hundred million represents, so he’ll do it even if he also knows that this might be a trap...”

People were starting to understand Li Hao’s character.

“How will you guys make him believe?” asked the old man.

“They’ll open the ruins first and let his people, or someone he knows, see it for themselves. He’ll believe it then!”

The old man still felt that it was too risky! One, it might not goad Li Hao to action. Two, if he successfully claimed it, he’d run back to Silver Moon and revive that powerful plant spirit. That would create another peerless heavyweight after the second awakening.

“Who will be in charge of killing him?”

“The various faction’s... plant spirits!”