Chapter 1095: Gan Wuliang (II)

It was exceedingly quiet inside the city. Gan Wuliang walked around with his group, occasionally coming across a patrolling soldier. Most of them were similar to those of Battle Heaven—lingering obsessions in suits of armor.

A few of the higher level existences, such as Bronze Armors and above, possessed a bit of consciousness. They turned a blind eye to the strangers in their midst and even bore them faint hostility. They knew that the Zheng name had been dirtied by the heir to the Lis.

Yuan Shuo didn’t say much and silently assessed the situation.

If a city hadn’t fallen asleep and had always been awake, then there would be some traces of day-to-day living after one hundred thousand years. An entire city full of people wouldn’t have spent the whole time in closed door cultivation.

He poked around various corners and quickly finished a walkthrough of the entire city. Yuan Shuo even stopped at the city wall and considered the ponderous, but dim guardian plant spirit. It looked to be asleep. Everything was very similar to how Battle Heaven had been in the beginning.

Deputy Zhou and the others silently looked around with growing confusion. Based on the internal state of affairs at the Zhengs, it did seem that they’d just revitalized. There didn’t seem to be signs of sustained activity.

Could it be... that the Zhengs weren’t the traitors?

The enemy sent out dozens of replicas at the drop of a hat—plainly, a lot of their people had revived and the city had multiple powerhouses at their beck and call. It was more than ninety-nine percent certain that they’d occupied an ancient city with those numbers at hand. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t be able to avoid the suppression of the world given their sum of heavyweights.

A regular small city wouldn’t do, either!

Apart from Sword City, the group was yet to visit the Hongs’ Thunderblast city. If it wasn’t the Zhengs, then was it the Hongs?

The group looked at Yuan Shuo; he shook his head slightly. There was nothing to be gleaned from the walkthrough. There were no signs of mass occupancy within this city. A human face appeared on the massive tree trunk as they pondered.

“The Zhengs would never turn traitor!” the aged face spoke gently. “We know that this matter might have to do with the folk song in Silver City. Perhaps someone is purposefully misdirecting you. What Sun Xin spoke of may have been meant to cause a misunderstanding of the Zhengs.

“The folk song says the Zheng young master was trouble... But the family’s young masters have either died or followed the Sword Sovereign into battle. How would they turn traitor?

“The patriarch was busy that day and didn’t leave at first light with the Sword Sovereign. He rushed out the moment the world changed. As a peak Saint, the patriarch must have sensed something. He chose to support and reinforce New Martial’s rule, not head to Skystar Town to kill people!”

“Senior!” Yuan Shuo bent at the waist to indicate his respect. “Does the senior mean that the Zheng patriarch most likely marched off to support Skystar Town, but were killed by the traitors in turn and blamed for the betrayal?”

“It’s possible,” sighed the aged old man on the tree trunk. “The one who wrote the folk song may be the key! The folk song corresponds to Sun Xin’s testimony. These arrangements have been in motion for many years. Perhaps they were waiting for this day to plunge the Zhengs into desperation!”

Yuan Shuo raised his eyebrows, that was indeed possible. The folk song had described the other seven families in a very normal manner. Only when it came to the Zhengs did the description veer into the inappropriate.

Sun Xin had named a lot of people before his death; the Zheng patriarch topped the list! When compared to the folk song, people would naturally think that the Zhengs had turned traitor. But... what if the creator of the folk song was the traitor and all of this was to await the day of awakening, to ensure their own innocence first?

Yuan Shuo looked around the ancient city and the surroundings, furrowing his brows. Based on his assessment, there was indeed a lack of life in this city for many years.

This conclusion was very strange! Were the real traitors the Hongs?

The Hong ancestor hadn’t been among the first batch of powerhouses in New Martial. Contrary to the other families, the Hong ancestors hadn’t fought by the Human King’s side to create the glories of New Martial. The Hong city was also the only city that the group was yet to visit.

Could they really be the traitors and have fabricated charges against the Zhengs?

Yuan Shuo’s mind flew rapidly through various possibilities.

“If Li Hao is certain he wishes to cooperate and reach an agreement, then it is not out of the question that the Zhengs participate in his plan.” The Gold Armor appeared again. “However, he needs to right the Zheng name. Otherwise, the Zhengs will not partner with a fellow that throws mud upon the family’s honor!

“We do not kill you on sight simply because we do not wish to deepen this misunderstanding. Otherwise, Li Hao publicly accusing my patriarch already makes him the greatest enemy of Boundless city!”

“I will pass on the message,” Yuan Shuo hastily said. “Perhaps it truly is a misunderstanding! If that is the case, I will have Li Hao travel to the other cities to personally clear the Zheng family name!”

“I hope so!” The Gold Armor said nothing more.

“Senior, the matter is critical,” Gan Wuliang quickly said. “We will take our leave then. If there is an error with our information, that... might cause some trouble. We must notify the commander to prevent misunderstandings.”

The Gold Armor vanished, not inviting them to stay longer.

Yuan Shuo and the rest looked at each other before swiftly walking out of the ruins.

......

The group rushed toward Silver Moon when they left the ruins.

“Are we certain it’s not the Zhengs?” intoned Deputy Zhou.

“More or less!” Yuan Shuo frowned. “There were no traces of long-term inhabitation. No matter how strong they may be, that only pertains to cultivation level. One’s strength does nothing for concealing signs of residence. Unless we’ve all fallen victim to mass hallucination and everything we saw was fake... Otherwise, Boundless does not show any hints of powerhouses occupying it for a prolonged period of time.”

The deputy looked at Gan Wuliang, the latter sighed. “I didn’t sense too many emotions from them. There’s some anger and rage, which is only to be expected given the circumstances. They’re certain to be wrathful if they’ve been unjustly accused. It’s also normal that they view us with some hostility.”

“Then it’s the Hongs?”

“Possibly.”

“......” The group didn’t say anything else after that discussion and swiftly flew toward Silver Moon. They only had the Hong city left to visit. That family had neither sent any word to them nor had their Thunderblast city been located. That the Hong ancestor wasn’t among the first batch of New Martial powerhouses, which further amplified his suspicion.

......

Silver Moon, Silver City.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Li Hao laid eyes on Gan Wuliang and the others after half a day. He breathed out more easily when he saw that they were alive and well. Powerhouses sent in various directions once more gathered at Silver City.

“Congratulations on safely making it out of the Zheng city!” laughed Hong Yitang. The rest of the group was very curious at how the trip had gone.

“Give us an overview, Gan Wuliang,” said Li Hao.

Gan Wuliang quickly summarized the results of his expedition, drawing frowns from everyone including Director General Wang.

“So this means that the traitors might really be the Hongs?” posited the director general. “It’s... possible. Only the Hongs lack a deep foundation among the eight families. It would be understandable if their forefather was disgruntled by this. As a family that came into power later, the Hongs had no foundations to speak of in the main world.

“The Hong forefather graduated from Demonic Martial, but that university had too many alumni. His potential was great, yet remained stuck at peak Saint for many years without any sign of progress. That was why he came to the minor world, because the Sword Sovereign was also the headmaster of Demonic Martial...

“The Hongs have no foundation to stand on,” concluded Director General Wang. “If the enemy gave them sufficient benefits or even promised to help the forefather become an Empyrean King, exalted emperor, or the master of a minor world, then it’s highly likely he would be willing to turn his back on New Martial.

“The Zhengs... the Zhengs had an exalted emperor among their ranks. Although it was only the family’s minor branch that came to this world, they might be truly misunderstood according to your explanation.

“That’s good, there’s much less trouble if the Zhengs aren’t the traitors. Otherwise, if the Zhengs turned traitor, there were also members of the Zhous, Lius, and Zhengs stationed at Tranquil Star. It would further involve their main cities.”

Director General Wang was reassured upon concluding that it wasn’t the Zhengs behind the traitors. Of the eight families, it was easiest to accept that the Hongs had turned their backs on New Martial. It was a far less disappointing outcome.

“If the Zhengs haven’t betrayed us...” The director general looked hesitantly at Li Hao.

Then it was best not to touch the other three families at Tranquil Star.

“I will consider it!” Li Hao nodded, knowing what the director general’s considerations were.

Wang Ye hesitated, but said nothing else.

“General Gan, you guys must be tired after visiting two main cities.” Li Hao smiled. “You can go back and rest for a while. Ah, never mind, I’ll take you back myself and tell you guys about my recent discoveries. They’ll greatly help with cultivation and you may not know about them yet.”

The group looked at each other. New discoveries? In that case, don’t mind if they fully accepted the commander’s goodwill!

“Very well, my progress has stagnated recently. It’d be nice to have new discoveries.” Yuan Shuo smiled.

Li Hao and the rest left together, leaving a sighing Director General Wang behind them. Perhaps... Li Hao had still decided to move against the ancient cities, but was just unwilling to say too much to him.

What a headache!

If the Zhengs really had turned traitor and Li Hao moved against the Lius, Zhous, and Zhengs as a result, then the rest of the New Martial representatives wouldn’t think much of it. There were certain to be problems at the three main cities in that case. Tranquil Star was a microcosm of the eight main cities.

But now if the Zhengs were innocent... Director General Wang would be very hesitant about this battle. And yet, there was nothing he could do to stop Li Hao either.

......

Silver City, Veteris Institute.

Yuan Shuo’s home.

Now that they were back, Yuan Shuo returned to his residence. The group walked in to see a front yard in slight disarray and dust covering all of the furnishings.

Li Hao casually waved the dust away and opened the front door with a familiar air. He looked at the others. “Let me take you to the Hao Cosmos to see my new discoveries...”

The group blinked; Li Hao’s sword pierced through the firmament in the next instant. The void split open and the young man disappeared.

“Come with me. There’s not much of a problem if we don’t walk too far.”

The group darted into the void fissure without second thought. So Li Hao could bring others into the Hao Cosmos now! Yuan Shuo had visited before, but it was Deputy Zhou and Gan Wuliang’s first visit to the dao universe.

They were stunned by the vast magnificence of the sight in front of them! Countless stars gathered around them and Yuan Shuo quickly took in what was different from before. The celestial bodies had been randomly scattered before, but now rested in their specific sectors. He looked at his student, not pointing out the difference.