Chapter 1041: Thinking Too Much (I)

The effects of the battle in Silver Moon were far reaching.

Li Hao’s match with the Great Li king upended many people’s understanding of martial dao. Not everyone had seen the ancient powerhouses before or even knew about them.

But the world knew of Li Hao.

His open acupoints were as if the sun. Many saw them on this day, after which the northern continent fully bent the knee. It was impossible to stand against Li Hao! The young man was so strong that some of the northern tyrants despaired. Could even an army take down this kind of existence? Was this level of being attainable by human standards?

Based on Li Hao’s explanation, he was just a Sun and Moon. The Sun and Moon cultivation realm!

Could Great Li defeat him? Their king was strong, but everyone had seen the young man summon the stars and universe. He’d sent the king flying with a punch; the latter couldn’t stand against him at all.

Outsiders could not see many things or were privy to deeper details. They could not sense the restrictions that the young man struggled with, that he could only achieve this level of invincibility within a small area. What everyone could see was that the Great Li king had lost!

That was enough!

......

And that wasn’t all.

The armies around Silver City were still on the battlefield. Great Li did not call their troops back. It was at this time that the unexpected happened.

The Skystar Commander Office gave orders for the local armies of the northern provinces to build martial dao academies, pave roads, and prepare for spring planting. They were to construct waterworks and excavate barren land.

Li Hao seemed convinced that he would win. He didn’t care how tense the frontlines were, he just knew that it was almost time for the spring planting season. If the proper arrangements weren’t made and the planting delayed, there were nearly two billion people in the north that would eventually starve. It was not possible to rely on the grain raised by the plant spirits.

Were billions of people supposed to sit around and idly use up provincial resources?

Apart from the ancient cities in Silver Moon being troublesome and Great Li being annoying, Li Hao registered no other issues elsewhere in the north. The various provinces had armies of nearly ten million. Were they just sitting around and eating their heads off?

Since they weren’t marching into battle, they might as well become civil corps and work for their rations. Even though the northern provinces didn’t rely on the central government—and neither was the central region able to feed them—Li Hao felt that they shouldn’t be enjoying free meals and accommodation.

Hence, a command swiftly dispersed from the Skystar Commander Office. It traveled with the prestige and intimidation that Li Hao newly earned from defeating the Great Li king. The northern region was right at his feet. Those who disobeyed his orders did so at their own peril!

Apart from the three northern provinces, Silver Moon, and Near River, there were fourteen more provinces in the north. Despite a round of hearty cursing in their hearts, the various provincial leaders dutifully carried out their orders. Order after order was issued from the provincial governments. The local armies began constructing and maintaining irrigation infrastructure to ensure a smooth spring planting season.

None of the armies dared defy their instructions. Even their generals didn’t dare mutter a word of complaint or insinuate that Li Hao was insulting soldiers with menial labor. They would have, in the past, but the catastrophic downfall of the three northern provinces and Near River showed them that they were nothing to Li Hao.

Following the young man’s defeat of the Great Li king, this kind of fear was deeply rooted in provincial leadership ranks. Although it felt that Li Hao hadn’t killed that many people, there was a huge swathe of dead executives in the central region and northern continent, as well as countless dead among the royal family, nine ministries, nobles, governor generals, and director generals...

He’d killed the Steadfast Duke of the east early on and then the Tranquil Duke of the west. Li Hao’s rise was marked with a very conflicting impression.

He seemed to be a saint as he built infrastructure, enacted policies for the people, focused on education, and popularized martial dao... Any of these policies demonstrated that he was a good man.

And yet, if one counted the number of people who’d died to his hand, it would induce palpitations of horror. He’d executed nearly half of the dynasty’s senior levels. What was most frightening of all was that not many recalled this fact. Everything passed in soft whispers and gentle movements.

Li Hao kept a stunningly low profile after he eliminated the nine ministries and royal family. He didn’t even mention them when he announced that the Skystar Commander Office was taking over the central region. That resulted in people nearly forgetting about these institutions.

As time went on, even the local tyrants nearly forgot about the nine ministries and royal family. But... did those still exist?

There were likely just bones left of them!

......

On this day, the various provinces of the north mobilized their people. Task forces were set in charge of spring planting and to raise the general literacy level.

......

Also on this day, the Great Li military camp.

An affable Director General Zhao was led to the Great Li king. He casually mentioned that the three great organizations had gone to Great Li and carefully observed the king’s face as he spoke.

The king presented complete calm.

“This king knows.” He didn’t seem much concerned. It was rather Jiang Li who showed some twitches in expression, but he quickly concealed his reaction.

Director General Zhao grinned radiantly—the elderly man laughed as usual. “All is well since the Great Li king knows. That is a good answer to the commander’s concern regarding Great Li’s internal security.

“The commander is merciful and does not wish for the people to suffer!” the director general announced in self-righteous tones. “All people in the world are part of the human race. Whether it is Skystar or Great Li, the people are innocent! The three great organizations stop at nothing in their depravity. The commander will not sit by and ignore the suffering if they commit mass crimes in Great Li!”

The king’s expression remained as before—he continued to watch and listen.

“In addition, the commander has sent me to discuss a few things with the king. Please dismiss the rest of the people in the tent before I relay my messages.”

“Speak!” The king showed no inclination of sending anyone out. The director general didn’t mind.

“Then I will be frank.” The old man was still smiling. “First, the commander requests that the king invites ancients from all over to participate in the war. The more the merrier—we can split the spoils. The greater the battle loot, the stronger you and I become!”

Jiang Li nearly choked on his breath. What?? The young man wanted Great Li to invite ancients from all around?? How did this idea even occur to him??

“Second, the battles continue! We must have one battle a day. If new troops from my side take the field, we request that the Great Li king takes care of them and sends out your weaker soldiers in response. Our numbers should be on even footing, with no one seeking superiority in numbers!”

The king’s expression froze over.

“Third, we will pit our generals against each other everyday! The Dominator as well as Mountain and Sea cultivation levels will be the primary participants. Each combatant is responsible for their own life and death. Powerhouses are not permitted to participate or interfere!”

The Great Li king looked coldly at him, a foreboding expression creeping onto his face.

“Fourth, cultivation levels are to be unified between our nation. The commander wishes for the king’s troops to be grouped according to Slayer of Tens, Sunderer of Hundreds, Dominator of Thousands, Mountain and Sea, Sun and Moon...”

This request set off the king’s temper. “What do you want to do? Or what does Li Hao want to do?”

“Not me, these are words directly from the commander!” laughed Director General Zhao. “The commander says that whether it is him conquering the world or Great Li, our languages, education, martial dao, and cultivation levels need to be standardized. We need to drive the same sort of vehicles and write the same characters!

“Great Li has few citizens, how is it to conquer the world if it does not become part of Skystar?” The old man grinned radiantly. “The commander says that it is only when those of Skystar administer others of Skystar that we need fewer people in leadership positions. Does the Great Li king lack the ambition to rule over the world?”

The king’s face flickered through a variety of expressions. This was assimilation! Li Hao was invading their culture!

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

As expected, Director General Wang continued, “The commander says that there must be a standard of measurement! Great Li’s currency system must be connected to Skystar’s. The conversion ratio between our currencies must be fixed. The superhuman domain will transact with mysterious power stones and our nations can conduct trade with each other. Of course, there’s no rush for that at the moment!”

“Does Li Hao think that he is guaranteed the victory?” snapped the livid king.

“No!” Director General Zhao shook his head. “The commander says that the Great Li king is a phoenix or dragon among men, that you are an exceedingly rare talent in the world. Although you were born in the barbarous territory of the north, you have become a supreme ruler among this age’s overlords! If the Great Li king wins, the commander hopes that the king will continue to carry out these policies and unify the world!

“The Divine Nation to the west, the Barren Dynasty to the east, Watercloud Dynasty to the south... The commander says that the Divine Nation believes in gods, that the gods are king. He doesn’t like that,” smiled Director General Zhao.

“The Barren Dynasty is as its name and conducts themselves like bandits. They come and go like the wind and are nomads without permanent homes. Watercloud Dynasty lacks a bit of the magnanimity and dominance of the north. As good as their land is, they are not as generous as the north. Great heroes arise in troubled times, but that will not be happening in the south!

“The commander says that the king has great talent and ambition to dare move against the ancient cities. Therefore, only Great Li’s king will be willing to accept these terms!”

The king looked coldly at him, not thinking much of Li Hao’s assessment. The young man didn’t have the right to judge him.

“And what if this king doesn’t agree to these demands?” The king looked at Director General Zhao. Li Hao was plainly bullying them with these requests.

I’m going to train my troops with you, have my generals practice with you, and also invade you from a cultural and financial perspective. You just have to deal with it.

This was too hard to accept for the Great Li king. The young man was riding on his shoulders and taking a dump on his head! Li Hao went too far! Did he think that he was destined to win just after a minor victory last night?

“If the Great Li king does not agree, then the value of your continued existence is low!” Director General Wang’s voice remained as quiet as before. He pulled himself upright to look the king in the eyes. “The commander says that if the king does not agree, four hundred Apexes and thirty Immortal plant spirits will come from Evenround Martial in three days. We will also have an additional one hundred thousand Battle Heaven troops, one Empyrean King, and various local powerhouses. We will eradicate you within a day!”

The king looked coolly at him. Jiang Li spoke with an arctic chill, “Anyone can run their mouth!”

Who did he think he was fooling? An Empyrean King? What Empyrean King? How could there be an Empyrean King in this age? Everything else he spoke of awaited further confirmation.