Chapter 1049: Dao Meridians of the Body (II)

In the same vein, there was movement in the western and southern directions.

From the south, warships teemed in a massive river. They headed to the southern continent from the southern waters.

Aboard a massive warship.

The Watercloud empress dowager enjoyed an easy rule. Outside, the toddler emperor of Watercloud Dynasty frolicked around.

“Watercloud possesses a strong navy, but limited land combat capabilities,” fretted the empress dowager from behind a pearl curtain. “We also have limited powerhouses. Our operation can only encompass the southern continent. Watercloud does not desire to conquer the world, we only seek to occupy the southern continent so we can move some of our people to it. Disasters related to water are all too frequent and severe within our borders...

“It is said that the military was unparalleled in New Martial! Battle Heaven has sent out ten thousand soldiers for Li Hao to stand against one million of Great Li’s valiant troops. It is even said that soldiers of the Battle Heaven Army are the lingering obsessions of the dead. Can the revered one also send out ancient soldiers to help a small nation such as Watercloud?”

A black robe stood weakly outside the curtain. Ever since he set foot in this nation, the dowager empress kept up nonstop whining of how weak, poor, and bleak her nation was. If she truly had no intention of sending out her navy, she would’ve long sent him packing. In contrast, her ambitions were plainly outsized. She just wanted to wring as many benefits from him as possible.

“Dowager empress, I cannot make the decision in this matter either...”

“The revered one is too humble. We will need the revered one to speak on our behalf after we enter the southern continent. Watercloud is but a small nation of few people, my son is weak, and the two of us are alone in the world. If our losses are too great, I will find it difficult to withstand the opposing factions in Watercloud...”

“I will do my best!” was all that the black robe said. The lord could worry about that. This Watercloud dowager empress was not one to irritate. He vaguely felt that she might have a stunning inheritance. There had been too many powerhouses in New Martial that traveled the worlds.

Watercloud Dynasty had greatly developed their water capabilities. Perhaps someone had left behind a powerful heritage in the nation. He even suspected if it was that one skilled in the longsword?

It was said that the Chens of New Martial were adept at water abilities and there were many of them during the age, but very few who were skilled at the longsword and knew the Streamflow Sword Method. The most famous was naturally a follower of the Human King and ultimately became his consort.

The black robe couldn’t make sense of it. Had that one ever visited this minor world? If it wasn’t for the faint tingling of sword intent he sensed from the dowager empress and a hunch of water attribute sword methods, he would never proceed down this path of thinking.

It might not be that one. There were quite a few who knew the Streamflow Sword Method that attended Demonic Martial. He would have to wait for the dowager empress to utilize her skill to glean more details.

......

Whether it was the Barren or Watercloud Dynasty, they treated the black robes as honored guests. In contrast, a giant city floated through the air from the west. The Divine Nation’s main temple hall stood at the center of the city. There was also a black robe in residence, but its status wasn’t high.

The Divine Nation didn’t even go through the motions of honoring their visitor. There was only a young woman with a dignified expression standing within. Her voice rang as if a divine command and she peered down her nose at the black robe.

“Our partnership is over if your lord still does not show himself once we reach Skystar!” She was simply indifferent, as opposed to adopting an unfriendly stance toward the ancients. “Skulking around in the shadows does not make you of New Martial! So many years have passed, but I still recall how New Martial powerhouses once killed our gods. You were domineering and unparalleled, but now slink around. Are you not ashamed??”

The black robe opened and closed his mouth a few times. The young woman continued haughtily, “There is no need for reasons or excuses! You are too simpleminded if you think one replica is sufficient to have the Divine Nation toil on your behalf!

“In addition, the divine spirits have awakened in my nation and received heaven’s favor. Our god wields the heavenly dao! Therefore, we are destined to conquer the world even without your presence! If there is no one left from New Martial anymore, we will eradicate the remnants of the New Martial armies as part of our campaign!”

That shook the black robe. “It is simply that the world hasn’t awoken yet,” he said after a long moment. “Once it does...”

“It is a sign of your incompetence that the world hasn’t awakened yet!”

“......” The black robe had nothing to say. The only thought that ran through his mind was that it was so damned annoying to deal with these people!

The Divine Nation revered divine spirits. New Martial had killed a great deal of divine spirits back in the day; the Divine Nation hated the ancients as a result. If it wasn’t in pursuit of a partnership, they would’ve killed the black robe on sight.

The black robe considered himself quite unlucky to be assigned to the Divine Nation

......

Armies from the three nations approached Skystar in a magnificent manner.

Silver Moon, Silver City.

Shouts and battle cries dominated outside the city. Small skirmishes continued everyday—tens of thousands of soldiers fought at close quarters without end. Corpses littered the wildness and casualties were here.

Leading the pack were each army’s generals; they fought each other as well. The fighting was utterly chaotic and generals died over the days as well.

Both sides controlled the scope of conflict to a manageable range, but the casualties were still high. However, it was plain to see that both armies were in better discipline than before. They no longer mobilized in a haphazard fashion or feared combat. Some elites were even chosen out of the millions of ordinary soldiers and assembled into a new regiment. They took the field once as well, but their casualties were enormous.

Skystar selected thirty thousand elites from the ordinary soldiers; Great Li sent out ten thousand in response. Great Li swiftly defeated the new troop and nearly completely routed them. Thirty percent of the new regiment was dead after that engagement, almost petrifying the survivors with horror.

Thank goodness their numbers were swiftly replenished and the Demon Hunters picked a few hundred to be officers of varying ranks! Only then was the new regiment stabilized.

......

To the rear of the Great Li camp.

The king observed the battle, shifting his gaze to Silver City in the distance after a while. It’d been five days since he fought Li Hao.

The two armies had clashed against each other multiple times over the past five days. The Great Li Army hadn’t suffered much and it was assembled from the tribes. The Great Li king didn’t care about the losses at all.

Meanwhile, at least ten thousand were dead on Skystar’s side. Even the king was somewhat admiring of Li Hao’s ruthlessness by now. He threw new troops into the field against elites! If it wasn’t out of concern that killing too many of those new troops would cause Silver Moon’s powerhouses to enter the fighting, the ten thousand Great Li troops could’ve slaughtered all of the thirty thousand rookies.

Even so, showing mercy had resulted in significant casualties.

“My king, there is word of the three nations.” Jiang Li appeared and murmured next to the king’s ear. “They are on the move and not too far from the three continents. Li Hao won’t stay here with us for too long!”

The king avoided the priest's mouth. What was Jiang Li standing so close to talk to him for?

Jiang Li sensed the king’s reaction and frowned slightly. What’d gotten into the king lately? What had he done to irritate his liege?

“Tell me, how will Li Hao decide with the invasion of the three nations?” intoned the Great Li king. “Will he set this place aside and rush to their rescue, or will he throw everything he has into battling us, hoping to defeat us before helping the three continents?”

He couldn’t get a handle on Li Hao’s thinking, he really couldn’t. The young man was ten years younger than the king and as such, incredibly young. However, there was no sign to be seen of a youngster’s impulsiveness or overbearing inclination given his strength. Li Hao seemed more lackadaisical than anything.

At the same time, one could not say that he was uncaring of Skystar. If he really didn’t, he wouldn’t expend any effort on this.

Li Hao had been administering Skystar all along.

The Skystar Commander Office was apparently recruiting soldiers in the central region these days in preparation to reinforce the three continents. There was already a fleet of ships shuttling civilians across the four seas.

All of this indicated that Li Hao’s people were doing their best to prepare and save themselves. But what of Li Hao?

Other than rumors of Li Hao reaching an agreement with Martial Alliance a few days ago and receiving ten thousand suits of armor for it, the young man had disappeared. The Great Li king hadn’t sensed the young man over the past couple of days, so he hesitated with the new development.

It was unsettling when Li Hao chose to be mysterious.

“The kid is very irritating!” complained the king. “He should either send out his army or explain himself what he’d like to do. What does he want in keeping Great Li bogged down here and ceaselessly training his troops?”

It’d been ten days since Great Li crossed Ash Mountain. Other than the enormous battle between the two of them, Li Hao had strictly adhered to the terms of their agreement. They matched soldier to soldier and general to general. There was no response forthcoming even when Great Li killed someone said to be one of the original Demon Hunters.

If it was the Great Li king in his shoes, he would be grief-stricken. He’d been quite sorrowful when his royal guards died. Li Hao was more cold-blooded than he was! He didn’t even show himself!

......

It wasn’t just the Great Li king who was in a hurry, but all of the Silver Moon powerhouses.

There was news from all three continents. The three nations had long shown themselves and Chen Zhongtian constantly received a steady stream of intelligence. He wished to relay them to Li Hao in person, but there was no sight to be seen of the young man.

No one dared to mobilize the troops without Li Hao’s command. He once said that he would protect the three continents, but didn’t make a peep now that they were here. This would easily cause the people’s faith to crumble.

......

Li Hao wasn’t in the outside world at the moment. He was in the Hao Cosmos.

Inside the Hao Cosmos.

A person sat cross-legged in the void, permitting energy to buffet him as it would. Light sparkled over him. A bone of white jade floated in front of him.

After a long while.

Li Hao opened his eyes and picked up the bone. This was a divine bone of Initial Martial. According to Li Daozong and the others, the one with the strongest physical body since the start of Initial Martial might not be the Human King, but the Tyrant Sovereign.

The Tyrant Sovereign was a body cultivator of Initial Martial. The golden body cultivation method only started in New Martial, and its results were not as strong as the Tyrant Sovereign’s body. He started training his body in an era without core origin, making him too strong to be fathomed!