Chapter 1005: Sparks (III)

“Milord, the second awakening will now be... very difficult to commence...”

“No, not at all!” said the man. He looked at the bright shadows around him. All of them were waiting for his orders. “This world is recovering and awakening! There are divine spirits to the west, Initial Martial to the north, the Forbidden Sea below... The revitalization of the divine spirits will stabilize the world. An eruption of the Forbidden Sea will cause an explosion of energy gathered beneath the ground. That will further stabilize the world!

“An invasion from Initial Martial will result in high casualties and also spark the return of energy. When war rages and powerhouses fall, that will replenish the world’s energy as well...

“There are so many ways!” he concluded softly. “Another is to restore communication between the eight main cities and complete the formation’s assembly. It will absorb the world’s energy and stabilize heaven and earth, bestowing it with the energy levels required to activate the second awakening!”

There was more than one option—there were plenty! It wasn’t worth it to go toe-to-toe with Li Hao at the moment, so it was only with these ideas could they swiftly break through the blockade and emerge from the ancient ruins. Only then could they kill the young man before he officially began his ascension.

The man looked at the sky and was silent for a while. “Do not engage in open hostilities with Li Hao’s group! Whether you utilize temptation or threats, somehow stoke wars into existence! I want to see strife mark Skystar Dynasty and wars with the other four nations! The more people die, the more life force the world absorbs and the stronger the world’s consciousness. That will further stabilize the world and facilitate the acceptance of heavyweights!”

“Milord... this...”

“You must understand that there is no path of retreat for us!” The man turned to look at the one hesitating. “Do not permit mercy to take root in your heart—there is no need! If there is a wish for mercy, that should’ve taken place when we rose up! We caused the deaths of hundreds of millions across Silver Moon Territory that year.

“There is no way out of this at all! You know better than me how vicious and powerful the Human King is.

“Is he dead?” the man laughed and shook his head. “I do not know, but it’s very likely that he is not! Those who secretly supported us back in the day have also been discarded. Silver Moon is still Silver Moon after all these years. What does this mean?

“It means that the Human King and others may have just veered off course. The plan to destroy the void worked and plunged the Human King into uncharted territory, but will he return?” The man looked at the rest. “I don’t know, but he might! Once he does and we still do not have control of Silver Moon, he will wrest the world from us and turn the very land against us to hunt us down! Who here dares say that they can withstand the Human King?

“No one can!” His voice wasn’t loud, but there was a biting chill in it. “We won’t be able to put up a fight against him even if we become this world’s master! There is no other outcome but death when we face the Human King! Therefore, we are struggling for our survival, do you understand me?

“If we do not start wars and cause untold casualties, then we will be the ones to die! Not only do we need to deepen every conflict, we need to kill certain people as well. We need to turn the world upside down with violence!

“Of course, we might not be able to kill our targets before war arrives. This task is also filled with danger. But we need to hasten the second awakening no matter what, do you understand?”

“We do!” chorused the crowd. This was a group of existences that’d once betrayed New Martial. There was either evidence of their misdeeds in another’s hand, or they were bitter about their circumstances, or they were jealous and envious of another... Regardless, they had chosen to betray their time period and the Human King in that era.

After so many years, not only was the world not under their control, but their original plan was in tatters and a new dao had appeared, alongside its new master. All of this meant that if they did not quickly make the world theirs, they would no longer have the chance to anymore.

Their goal was simple—take control of heaven and earth and flee with Silver Moon. This was a very important territory as it was a minor world split from the main world. Once it was under their control, they stood a chance of tracing the world back to its roots and conquering the main world!

Only when the Human King and Green Emperor were dead did they stand a chance of living.

Off in the distance, a powerhouse surrounded by golden light rumbled, “General, can Red Moon offer us any aid from their territory?”

“Scarlet cloak and his ilk are so incompetent, what aid can they render us?” the man said softly with a turn of his head. “Those on Red Moon are strong, but they lack in brains. Their leader has been sealed near the Star Gate and they’ve been plotting how to free him all along. Where do they have the time and energy to help us?

“It is better to rely on oneself as opposed to depending on others. It was our choice to turn traitor! We’ll kill those of Red Moon if the situation calls for it. Silver Moon is the basis of our negotiation—those of Red Moon wish to seize our territory so they can attack the main world. Meanwhile, we need Silver Moon to ensure our survival and possibly even create a new world!”

“I see!” The golden figure nodded after some thought. “Then the new martial dao being disseminated now...”

“That is a cultivation method of the dao meridians, we do not have those.” The man shook his head. “We do not know where the dao universe is either. Any practice is useless without dao meridians or the universe coordinates. Li Hao is not afraid of those from New Martial practicing his dao because it would be futile effort!”

The group found it quite regretful.

“But, at present, they only touch the threshold of Immortal even if they take their dao to its limits,” the man continued. “That so-called ninth level Sun and Moon is simply an opening of thirty-six locks. That is on par with the Apex of yesteryear and just compares to a modern initial Immortal...”

The group nodded, much reassured. They’d also seen the thirty-six meridians—it would be very difficult to fully open them. Cultivation was easy in the beginning, but grew harder as one progressed. This was apparent to them even without walking that path because they’d all once experienced something similar.

The man spent a few more minutes pacifying the crowd before moving onto the next topic. “We all have our jobs to perform. Insignificant dangers like these will not threaten us, not after so many years of survival. We can cause some more trouble and let him know that not even the Sword Sovereign could do anything to us, much less a brat wet behind the ears!”

The crowd nodded again, not offering any commentary. Those words made sense, but the Human King had only been in his early twenties when he killed the Heavenly Emperor. Some had even personally witnessed that feat. One’s age was never a reason to invite disdain.

The Human King was present during New Martial, striking fear into the hearts of their enemies. The people were thus at ease. But in this age, Li Hao’s appearance and subsequent deeds such as popularizing a brand new dao... some were reminded of the Human King.

The man was aware of the direction of their thoughts, but he couldn’t prevent them from thinking so. Even he felt the same way. At times, he felt lost and dejected. Was this to be their destiny?

When the Star Gate closed and core origin dispersed, the world became so weak that it could not support them. They’d thought that heaven and earth might recover soon, permitting them to walk around again. But that ‘soon’ turned out to be one hundred thousand years!

Even though they’d made preparations beforehand and had stored so much energy that their cultivation had taken a step forward instead—he himself had set foot into unfathomable heights—the Human King had killed the Heavenly Emperor when he was twenty!

No matter how strong the speaker was, he knew that he was still a bit removed from being an exalted emperor. The second awakening was at hand and he could complete all of his wishes when the world could host his presence... Who would’ve thought that the unexpected would develop at the last possible second?

How... ludicrous!

He sighed inwardly and vanished on the spot. There was still a chance!

He wouldn’t be afraid even if Li Hao and his people reached the so-called Sun and Moon level or higher. They could be Saints or Empyrean Kings, it didn’t matter. Time was on his side.

The existence that carried the most threat in this world was not Li Hao, but the leader of Red Moon. That was certainly not Ying Hongyue.

There was a fellow embedded in the void near the Star Gate—the Sword Sovereign and his comrades had delivered a parting shot during their departure to suppress their enemy. That person had been a true exalted emperor.

But after all of these years spent outside of the Star Gate, the dispersal of energy, and the sectioning of the void... How much strength did that one have left?

At the same time, an exalted emperor was an exalted emperor! The speaker may not be a match even if that one only had thirty percent of his strength left!

Li Hao... the Human King...

The man returned to the hall, musing over these two characters. He shook his head after a long time and dismissed these thoughts. There was no need to scare himself! There was only one Human King in all of history.

Not everyone could be the Human King.

......

At the same time, Skystar City.

After announcing the new martial system, it would take some time for results to show. Li Hao wasn’t interested in discussing this with the people in front of him.

“Continue building schools,” he said rapidly. “And open more classes to teach reading and writing. All plant spirits in Skystar Town are to raise grain!

“We will officially begin excavation of the Skystar mine as well. The energy stones that we obtain will be given to the military. Our first priority is to strengthen our armies and martial students! There are important tasks for the others as well.

“I want to clear out all of the ruins in Skystar’s central region! Whether it’s taking them into custody, killing them, or discussing cooperation, we will eliminate all plant spirits that do not answer to the Skystar Commander Office!

“We will also locate the nine communication towers and repair the base stations... There has been such a great disturbance throughout the dynasty that our enemies will not idly sit by. I wish to complete all of these tasks as soon as possible and build a strong rear for our armies. Only in a peaceful nation will powerhouses continue to be born. War is not the only venue to create heavyweights!”

The people suffering in abject misery might be a catalyst for enhancing strength, but it was not the only way. Li Hao felt that the saying was wrong—war was not the only time when powerhouses rose.

A tranquil era had more time, energy, and ability to nurture the strong. They could be honed in battle, not necessarily born only in battle.