Chapter 1152: Reaching An Accord (II)

“General Pagoda is wise! No wonder you are the guardian!” Li Hao smiled. “My proposed partnership with Battle Heaven is very simple. The city simply needs to fend off some powerhouses for me—that’s all! In return, I will do my best to help everyone return to peak battle strength!

“I can also help you to the fullest extent of my abilities if you desire to change to a new path. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement to begin with—not one in which there’s a loser and a winner. That has been my mindset from the very beginning.”

“We are limited in the outside world,” said the Ninth Division leader while the Battle Heaven group turned over his words. “You seem to be able to bring our primary bodies out into the world, but our movements will be slightly restricted in turn. We wish to obtain our freedom...”

“Does the Ninth Division leader have old friends to visit?” Li Hao laughed.

Li Daozong looked coldly at the young man. Li Hao’s tone was rather... odd when he said ‘old friends’.

Li Hao shook his head at the reaction. There was no way to joke around with this one. He was as warm as an iceberg.

“Naturally,” said the Ninth Division leader. “And when the circumstances are unclear, we only kill the person. We will not sever their dao.”

“That is acceptable.”

“Stellaris has broken. If there comes a day in which you are able to open the Star Gate, you must escort us out and help us find the main world...”

“Not a problem,” Li Hao promptly agreed. These requests were trifling matters.

“The final point is that if the Star Gate cannot be opened, we require a territory of our own that belongs to New Martial!” the Ninth Division leader concluded.

“Territory of your own...” Li Hao raised a brow. “That can be done! But the caveat is that you must respect Skystar laws!”

“Naturally.” Li Daozong nodded.

The old turtle and General Pagoda hadn’t said anything from beginning to end of this conversation. They seemed to have tacitly agreed to the terms being proposed.

“It’s said that the reserve commander is still alive and asleep in the city, is this true?” asked the young man.

“That is true,” Li Daozong nodded. “The reserve commander sought to force his way into the world that year and suffered heavy injuries for it. He fell deeply asleep and still shows no signs of awakening. Therefore, I have been filling in as commander all these years.”

“He is a Saint?”

“Yes, an initial Saint...”

“Can I meet him?”

The others exchanged looks. Meet a reserve commander who was yet to awaken?

“You can... but... he is asleep, so he may not be able to converse with you,” the old turtle said after a long moment of silence.

“So this means to say that there are three Saints in residence at Battle Heaven,” Li Hao nodded. “If the Ninth Division leader is counted among those ranks, there might be four, is that right?”

“That is correct.”

“The primary bodies of the guardian and General Pagoda are all present. The Ninth Division leader lacks one—are you prepared to shift to the new dao or reforge one of New Martial?”

“One of New Martial!” Li Daozong did not hesitate with his response.

“That is fine, I happen to have a tattered Empyrean King body lying around unused. Dean Zhang says he has no use for it at the moment. If I also utilize the components of Director General Wang’s previous body, I’ll be able to craft a powerful body for the Ninth Division leader!”

This surprise was not met with any particular reaction. They knew about Zhang An’s half-step Empyrean King body. Did the man not want it anymore?

Did he not want it, or did Li Hao feel that there was no reason to give it to him anymore?

“It’s not that I wanted to retrieve it, but that Dean Zhang said himself that he doesn’t want it anymore.” Li Hao smiled when he saw that they weren’t immediately responding. “He said that he wishes to return to Evenround Martial. That is why he has no need for this body.”

“I will use it!” The Ninth Division leader promptly nodded. They didn’t exchange too many pleasantries as there was no need for that.

“I do have a favor that’s a bit awkward for me to ask,” Li Hao suddenly said after reaching an agreement with everything else. “I wonder if everyone will agree to it?”

The atmosphere turned solemn again. Being shrewd and crafty, the old turtle immediately guessed what it might be. “That would not be appropriate!”

Li Hao hadn’t said anything yet. The Eighth Division leader wasn’t as familiar with the young man and was completely oblivious about the situation. The conversation had been going well! How was it inappropriate all of a sudden?

“Can I borrow it?” the young man asked softly.

“That is the foundation of Battle Heaven, it is our soul!” General Pagoda intoned.

“I know, but everything we undertake is in pursuit of eliminating enemies, is it not?” Li Hao nodded.

The two guardians were silent and the Ninth Division leader asked quietly, “You can remove it from the premises?”

“I’m not sure, but I can try.”

“This... is the foundation of Battle Heaven.” Director General Wang grew nervous upon understanding what was at stake. “It is the reason why we are strong...”

Li Hao couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “And can the city use it? Can you comprehend anything from it?”

No one could respond to him.

“What are you guys talking about?” the Eighth Division leader blurted out.

“Commander Li would like to borrow the ‘Battle Heaven’ characters,” the old turtle responded softly.

“That cannot be permitted!” erupted the Eighth Division leader. “‘That is the exalted emperor’s own handwriting and the source of Battle Heaven’s fortunes...”

“I’m just borrowing it for a period of time,” Li Hao explained softly. “Since it is an artifact from the Exalted Blood Emperor, it might be related to some other things. I will return it when certain troubles have been taken care of !”

“That cannot be permitted all the same!”

“Why must the Eighth Division leader be so firm? I’m just borrowing it,” the young man smiled. “I suppose we’ll have to defer to majority rule, as is the Battle Heaven tradition! Does anyone present reject the proposal apart from the Eighth Division leader? I will not borrow the characters if more than half of those attending decline.

“We have the two guardians, Commissioner Zhang Liang, Director General Wang, the two commanders, and me makes for seven total. I will abandon the idea if four people refuse.”

“You...?”

“I am the Eleventh Division leader, can I not participate in the vote?”

The Eighth Division leader was at a loss for words! Four refusals?

“Let’s make things snappy.” Li Hao smiled when the group remained silent. “We’ll do it with a show of hands. Raise your hand if you do not agree!”

“......” The Eighth Division leader set his jaw. How could they lend out such a precious treasure?!

His hand shot into the air, but he looked around to find that he was the only one. Even Zhang Liang agreed??

The coolly composed Zhang Liang refrained from looking at the Eighth Division leader. His current position of commissioner had come about with help from Li Hao. While the ‘Battle Heaven’ characters were integral to the city’s identity, there was room for negotiation if the young man was simply borrowing and not taking.

“We need to summon the other division leaders as well, the awakened director generals, and the commander for a discussion!” griped the Eighth Division leader. Were all of these people entranced by Li Hao??

That was Battle Heaven’s most important possession. It didn’t matter if it was usable or not, it symbolized Battle Heaven. It was the city’s core and the only proof that the Exalted Blood Emperor had left behind.

“They can’t awaken for now, so it’s just up to us!” Li Hao refuted.

“You...”

“It’s fine that the Eighth Division leader isn’t familiar with me. You will be sooner or later!” Li Hao furrowed his brows. “If I say I’m borrowing it, then I will return it! If I’m the sort to break my word, are the rest of those present fool enough to agree?

“Eighth Division leader, I’m of the mind to say that soldiers should focus on fighting and exterminating enemies. They should not be acting as lone wolves. I am not asking you to betray New Martial, there is no need to be thus. If you do not understand, then spend more time listening and observing. What do you think about that?”

The Eighth Division leader blinked and harrumphed without saying anything else. It was true that he didn’t understand Li Hao, but these guys that’d awakened ahead of time also trusted the guy too much.

Borrow? The kid was probably going to just take the characters! But the rest of his comrades seemed to think that he really would return them?

“Then there’s not a moment to lose.” Li Hao changed the topic. “Since we’ve reached an accord, the most important task at hand is to help everyone fully revitalize! There is a lot of ore left in the Skystar mine, but prior to that, I must conduct a simple probe of everyone to ensure that you are not the enemy.”

“And how will you conduct that?” asked Li Daozong.

“It’s simple,” Li Hao replied. “The traitors are almost all infiltrated by Red Moon power, so they contain that energy within their bodies. It will only have grown after all of these years as opposed to declining. I’ll be able to tell from a single glance if any of it is present!”

“Very well!” Li Daozong nodded after the others exchanged glances. “I would also like to see if there are any within Battle Heaven that are beguiled. Except, I don’t think there are any. At least, not in the army. Even the Eighth Division leader’s continual objection of you is a normal occurrence. Do not conduct your probe with personal motives. We will not agree to it if this is the case!”

“Does the Ninth Division leader not trust my character?”

Li Daozong nodded.

“......” Li Hao burst out laughing.

How are you agreeing to working with me if you don’t trust me?

This guy really keeps a stiff upper lip! “Then why don’t we try with those present? We can go in one by one—I don’t think I can drag all of you into the dao universe at the same time.”

“We can do that!” Li Daozong agreed decisively. “I’ll go first!”

Given that he was so forthright, Li Hao didn’t stand on ceremony either. It was a bit difficult to tear open a passageway from the ruins to the dao universe without Stellaris. However, he was much stronger than before, so there wasn’t much of a problem with that.

He quickly disappeared with Li Daozong amid a void fissure.

“What if he has ulterior motives?” the Eight Division leader asked hesitantly when they were gone.

“Don’t worry, he won’t do anything to you so long as there’s nothing wrong with you!” Director General Wang smiled.

“Do you guys really trust him that much?”

“It’s not that we trust him...” answered the director general. “It’s that we have no other choices! I am certain there are traitors out there and that they are very strong. We have no path available other than cooperating with him. Must we wait for the second awakening to begin and an Empyrean King to raze us all?”

The Eighth Division leader said nothing else.