Chapter 1150: Each With Their Own Schemes in Mind (IV)

Li Hao had gathered vital intel worthy of further discussion thanks to this trip. The Red Moon exalted emperor, the Zhengs, and the separation point of the world as created by the Exalted Blood Emperor...

All of the information either pointed to an exalted emperor or an Empyrean King as his enemy. It levied quite a bit of pressure on the young man.

There was no helping it!

The best plan now was to go to Battle Heaven and hope that he obtained a satisfactory result from the ancient city. He and two Saints working in tandem might be able to eliminate the ancient at this site!

The young man stood a strong chance even if his opponent was peak Saint. But if the ancient was an Empyrean King... then they would be in trouble. After so many years, would the being have progressed to Empyrean King since he had originally been a Saint?

This time, Li Hao didn’t say that this was a Silver Moon fight. The chances for victory when it came to that were too slim! Three Saints, a number which included him, might not be enough against an Empyrean King.

Then.... what about the desolate beasts?

The young man looked into the distance. Barren Dynasty possessed multiple Saint level desolate beasts. Since Red Dust was now unable to revitalize the world through killing people, then perhaps his new goal was to obstruct the revitalization of the Barren wastelands.

In that case, could Li Hao have the desolate beasts join him if he ruined the ancient’s plans and permitted Barren Dynasty’s invasion to continue?

As for the invasion itself, that would naturally be defused when the desolate beasts were dead.

Various thoughts flashed through Li Hao’s mind. He wouldn’t have liked to speak of this before or scheme against someone with such ruthless methods. But now, he no longer cared so long as he could kill people and dispatch powerful enemies.

He left only a few people on guard to keep an eye on the situation from far away. Li Hao departed with the rest.

......

At a distance far from the ruins.

“I’m... not sure if that person is Yu Hai,” Director General Wang said slowly. “I am unable to confirm his identity! But based on what he said, there won’t be too much of an issue if the eight families converge here. Do you want to give it a try?

“If only replicas come and you stay out of the ruins, it shouldn’t matter if there is a conspiracy afoot...”

“That’s alright,” Li Hao shook his head. “That person is hardly as simple as they seemed. He looked honest and probably knows that we received some information from Xu Huan. He quickly gave an explanation, but the peak Saints that I’ve met from New Martial are all overbearingly proud. Since when are they so nice?”

When would one of them ever be completely candid the second they met someone weaker than them? Whether it was Zhang An or the old turtle, these Saints could hold contests in which who was haughtier. Had any of them been willing to speak with the young man when he first met them?

And explain themselves to him? They would never be bothered to explain anything to another person!

It wasn’t like they were familiar with Li Hao, so why should they volunteer anything to the young stranger? It would be gracious enough if they didn’t order him around!

Vice Commander Sun Xin of the Skystar Army had also been a Saint. He’d ignored Li Hao from beginning to end, even when the young man held Stellaris in his hand. That was typical behavior from a New Martial Saint!

Such was Li Hao’s stereotypical impression of Saints. Even after he became acquainted with the old turtle, General Pagoda, and Zhang An, they still wouldn’t go deeper into other secrets over the course of their conversation. It was the same way even now.

But the ancient that they’d just spoken to spilled the beans as soon as they met. He even discussed the confidential action they were taking against the Red Moon exalted emperor. These actions certainly spoke highly of Li Hao.

Director General Wang blinked. He was used to the young man being treated this way and felt that Li Hao was worthy of such treatment. But upon further thought, this was true. For a Saint unfamiliar with Li Hao and being the vice captain of an exalted emperor’s family guards... why had he been so polite to a new age weakling?

“Do you mean that... there’s something wrong with him?”

“Absolutely,” Li Hao nodded. “It’s apparent with a single glance—there’s plenty wrong with him! Perhaps you guys don’t think much about the details, but to me, there’s so much wrong with him and all sorts of problems...

“But heh, we can forget all that. Director General Wang, do you think I’ll receive the support of Battle Heaven’s two Saints with our visit to the city?”

The director general’s eyes widened.

“There... is a very high likelihood,” he said after some thought. “I’ll wax eloquent on the fact that I’m certain there is something amiss with the Zhengs. It is a point in our favor that we obliterated the Zheng city! But they are unaware of the situation, so I should enter first to explain it to them.

“Currently, hope to open the Star Gate dwindles with the loss of Stellaris. You... might be the only one who can open the Star Gate through the dao universe and walk out of Silver Moon world. I can think of no reason why Battle Heaven would not support you.

“The two Saints may not have taken the field in times past,” chuckled Director General Wang. “But once the Zheng betrayal is revealed, there will be much less consideration for them to make a move! And with the Ninth Division leader present, we are one family at the end of the day. Although he lacks a physical body, if we give him that tattered one... that will create the battle strength of another Saint!”

“But I have no evidence or proof against this particular ancient,” Li Hao smiled.

“You don’t need anything other than the name of Tranquil Star!” The director general remained merry. “Using this name makes this place suspicious! It’s not appropriate even if this site really is the satellite city of Tranquil Star. There is only one such Tranquil Star, and for another place to assume its name, we can arrest everyone inside first before having to deal with anything else!”

“Director General Wang, do you think this is what they intended by naming this place Tranquil Star?” Li Hao started as he suddenly thought of something. “Everyone’s first reaction will be that this place is fake, and those of New Martial will naturally seek to contain it. If someone comes for that ancient and is killed in return...”

“He’s fishing?” Director General Wang blinked as well.

“Yes!” Li Hao nodded thoughtfully. “He’s fishing!”

“You’re saying... that he might be stronger than the Saint level?” The director general’s expression shifted slightly. “Saints would have been sent to dismantle this place otherwise...”

“Correct!” Li Hao nodded again. “They established themselves here with great fanfare and disturbance. The nine ministries knew of this place, everyone knew that the Xus of the east controlled a set of ruins called Tranquil Star. Even its ultimate arts were known in the world!

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“Everything that the nine ministries knew about the arts came from the Xus. This ancient knows Tranquil Star’s secret methods and everyone knows about the existence of the ruins. Do you still think that things are as simple as they seem?”

“I understand now.” Director General Wang nodded continuously. “I will tell them...”

“Let’s go to Battle Heaven together!” Li Hao chuckled. “There will be a strong friendship between Battle Heaven and Skystar if we can convince some powerhouses to join us. May this friendship be long lived!”

Director General Wang turned these words over in his mind and smiled. He did indeed think that there was a high chance that the Saints would agree.

Setting aside the Ninth Division leader, General Pagoda was one with a very keen grasp of the times. It had inherited the personality of its ancestor’s companion exalted emperor. That exalted emperor had been a typical fairweather ally, it supported whoever was stronger. At the moment, that was obviously Li Hao, at least in the outside world.

As for the turtle guardian, it wouldn’t be able to refuse once both Director General Wang and the Ninth Division leader agreed. It was just a weapon at the end of the day, after all. Its core essence was that of serving Battle Heaven.

Whether or not there were problems with this Tranquil Star... didn’t matter. They would just capture it first.

As the first New Martial powerhouse to embrace the new age, Director General Wang had a very open mind about things. He and Li Hao quickly vanished on the spot.

The shadow reappeared on the pine tree when they were gone. It seemed to sense something and looked quietly into the distance. It tilted its head at the sky, its heart heavy. This world was growing ever more complicated. If it walked out now, it would have to be wary of forcing the seal open. Just what had happened before?

Zheng Gong... was likely dead! But who’d killed him?

Li Hao’s group? Could they kill Saints?

Countless thoughts flew through the ancient’s mind. How would Li Hao choose?

......

Battle Heaven.

This was the first ruin that Li Hao ever entered and the ancient city that he was most familiar with. He was promoted to the position of division leader in this city and had much to do with many of its inhabitants’ revival.

The young man set foot into this city once more on this day. The city defenders were no longer the Ninth Division led by Li Daozong—another division was in its place. Clearly, another batch of soldiers had awakened in the ancient city. They weren’t familiar with Li Hao, but still rendered the appropriate salutes because they recognized him as a division leader.

Li Hao returned the greeting and turned to sit at the city gates instead of entering the city or conversing with General Pagoda. There was a new Silver Armor on duty there. He was rather curious at how Li Hao simply stared at the city gates after reaching the spot.

Indeed, the young man was staring at the two characters of ‘Battle Heaven’. This time, he refrained from extracting his blood to peer into what the characters held. He simply quietly sensed the presence they exuded.

Battle Heaven!

It was said that the Exalted Blood Emperor was the reincarnation of the War Sovereign—one of the four ancient sovereigns. However, he did not admit to being that august personage, so the Exalted Blood Emperor was the Exalted Blood Emperor, not the War Sovereign.

Therefore, it was a sign of great importance that the exalted emperor had given the city the name of ‘Battle Heaven’. He hoped that the city would inherit the War Sovereign’s aspiration.

The Exalted Blood Emperor also happened to be the one who’d sectioned the world into eight and put it back together again. Therefore, perhaps Yu Hai had spoken truly when he said that the Tranquil Star ruins were the spot in which the world had been divided into eight.

At the same time, had the emperor left something behind on that spot?

Li Hao sank into deep thought, recalling what had flashed through his mind’s eye when he was immersed in the scene. He hadn’t seen too much, so he wasn’t aware if the Exalted Blood Emperor had left anything behind.

However, he knew that the ‘Battle Heaven’ characters came from the exalted emperor’s own hand. They were written with emotion and perhaps the truest treasure within the city. Could the failsafe against the Red Moon exalted emperor have something to do with these two characters?