Chapter 1227: Open and Aboveboard (II)

The Great Li king had aged immensely over the past couple of days. While he had been old before, he was in fine mental spirits. Now that the desolate beasts had been taken care of and Barren was at peace, he seemed to be completely decrepit and behind the times instead.

It didn’t matter to the king that he hadn’t been assigned to a position or given a mission yet. He just... feared for the future when he saw the million strong elites of his army being divided up. Some were still under lock and key.

As the king of Barren Dynasty, he’d constantly teetered on the edge of collapse the past couple of days. How was Barren to proceed from here?

The king’s expression grew uneasy when he next saw Li Hao; his heart pounded painfully. What was the young man doing in the Barren wasteland?

“This guilty subject...” The king inclined his body, keeping himself calm with effort as he glanced at the city in the distance.

“That’s enough of that,” Li Hao interrupted. “I told you that day that I would show mercy to your nation if you could do as I said. There is no need to characterize yourself as a guilty subject. You are not my subject and I am not an emperor!

“I’ve brought you here to discuss moving your people onto the Hao Cosmos Continent.” The young man looked at the city in the distance. “However, Barren citizens are ferocious and independent. I’d like to split them up and scatter them throughout the dynasty. That will prevent any unrest from developing!”

The king’s expression shifted and he wanted to say something, but Li Hao didn’t give him a chance to.

“Listen to me! Whether it is Barren or the other three nations, you are all the same in my eyes. Be it hostilities or simple harassment, it has ever been the senior levels’ desires for power at play. They have held those beneath them hostage since time immemorial.

“Would regular citizens wish to rebel when they have food on the table? This is not a good age, but it is also a good one at the same time!” Li Hao said softly. “It is not a good age because there are too many wars and powerhouses throwing order down the drain. Everything is a mess and destruction is always one step away!

“It is a good age because there hasn’t been war between the four nations and central plains in several centuries. While there might have been grudges and enmity between us before, they have all been forgotten now.

“The four nations were routed before they made incursions into the central plains. Although the armies suffered some casualties, that was to be expected given that this was a war. No nation is going to be obliterated just because a few soldiers died...”

The Barren king heaved a sigh of relief.

“Therefore, this is a supreme age of integration!” Li Hao continued. “This is a good time to integrate your people into Skystar Dynasty because the four continents are consolidating at the same time. There will be less of a backlash to the appearance of strangers in their midst. Thanks to the migration of cities, there are strangers all around. The population’s dislike of newcomers will be at an all-time low.”

“The marquis spares time and effort for the people’s livelihood...” the king couldn’t help but murmur. “You are a dragon among men alright...”

“Does this count as the people’s livelihood?” Li Hao broke out in laughter. “Your view of the people’s livelihood is much more shallow than mine...”

The king looked on awkwardly.

“The people are easy to arrange for.” The young man ignored the king’s discomfort. “The key lies with the senior levels, even when there are a lot of people to deal with. I mention this to you in advance because I hope that you will cooperate. Otherwise, I will kill and make an example out of you! I treat you the same way I treat Watercloud, Great Li, and everyone else...”

“This subject would never dare!” the Barren king quickly said. “The marquis possesses unparalleled battle strength and countless ferocious soldiers. In the age of superhumans, your strength alone surpasses all. Who would dare rebel?”

Li Hao simply looked at the man; the king fell mute. That was the truth. The young man was exceptionally strong and his talented troops numbered so many that no one would dare mutiny at a time like this.

“That is good! Then I will trouble the Barren king to summon your powerhouses and begin the migration of your people.”

The king nodded, unable to voice any of the resignation in his heart.

“Director General Zhao, you’ll have to bend your mind to this task as well. Don’t segregate the people too clearly. Citizens of Watercloud, Barren, and the four continents can be intermixed when assigned to their new homes!”

Director General Zhao nodded. That was just as well, except there was still a very high degree of difficulty in his mission. He would lose more hair while accomplishing this task. It wasn’t just him, but the others that would be tormented by their workload to come.

Li Hao wanted to do more than this. He looked at the Barren king again. “Before I go, I wish to strip all of the chaos presence from the Barren citizens. Can you do that?”

“Ah...” The king blinked, conflicted. “This... will be very difficult to accomplish! It’s not impossible if we employ the will of chaos, but doing that will strengthen it and perhaps cause some other accidents... Things would be troublesome then.”

“Strengthen it? By how much?”

“Unknown, perhaps to the Saint level?” Who knew? The king had never experienced it before.

“Have you ever traveled to the end of the Barren wasteland?”

“Once, it’s an expanse of chaos! It used to be the habitat of the desolate beasts and was similar to the void. It is said to be the limit of the world and impassable.”

As Li Hao thought. It looked like that was where the world barrier was located.

“I see. Take everything you can with you from the Barren wasteland! Have your daughter and the white horse come to me. They’ll stick with me for the short term...”

“Your Lordship, this...” The king was confused, but a new thought quickly struck him. He nodded firmly. “Alright!”

Li Hao seemed to be unmarried.

Can we be connected by marriage?

The sudden thought occurred to the Barren king. The young man was the king of the world. Whether it was Zheng Yu or the Red Moon exalted emperor, neither of the two were emerging from their locations. That left Li Hao to reign over all.

Since Barren had already put down its weapons, it would be nice if they could deepen their alliance through marriage.

Li Hao didn’t care what the king thought or how he came about these ideas. These people’s thoughts would never align with his.

How vulgar!

He was going to absorb some of the power of chaos from the wasteland and compress the chaos so that his domain would find it easier to enclose it. Zheng Yu and the others were likely brainstorming ways to kill him. Li Daoheng was probably trying to strengthen himself so he could capture the heavenly intent.

Li Hao was in a race for time. He had to make the Barren wasteland his first.

......

The Barren king left as quickly as he arrived, off to make arrangements for the migration. Princess Jun and the white horse arrived before long.

The horse seemed a bit frail, whereas the princess looked boldly and curiously at Li Hao. She sized up the young man, wondering what kind of person it took to corral the fearsome troops in the battlefield.

There were many valiant soldiers and generals on Silver Moon’s side. She hadn’t come in contact with many, but those she had were all characters to be reckoned with.

Ready with a gentle smile, Lin Hongyu was like the big sister next door. She hid daggers in her smiles.

A scholarly air wrapped around the genteel Gan Wuliang. However, his gaze was somehow horror-inducing. Her skin had crawled the few times he’d looked at her.

Benevolent old man Zhao Shuguang’s face creased with wrinkles when he chuckled merrily, but there was a note in his laughter that chilled the soul.

Then there were the New Martial powerhouses. Every one of them was immensely self-assured.

The princess was baffled that all of these people were working for Li Hao. There... seemed to be nothing special about the young man. He was simply a bit stronger than the rest. Even so, the New Martial Saints didn’t seem to be any worse than him.

Why were the New Martial Saints willing to bend the knee to him?

“What is your name?”

“Jun!”

“What is your surname?”

“Don’t have one!”

Li Hao blinked.

“Barren’s customs in naming are different from those of the central plains,” the princess explained further since she knew that he didn’t understand. “We are more carefree and relaxed in our ways. We do bear surnames, but we’re not that willing to mention them. The pronunciation is difficult and they’re related to the desolate beasts.”

Li Hao suddenly understood. Perhaps their surnames were the species of the desolate beasts? Horse, monkey, and tiger? He dropped the topic and looked at the white horse. “Is this horse intelligent?”

“A little,” nodded the princess. “Its name is Whitecloud.”

Whitecloud?

Li Hao smiled. “That’s a good name. The one by my side is Panther, they can be friends.”

Panther rolled its eyes.

Who wants to be friends with that thing?

Princess Jun looked curiously at Panth. “It is a dog, correct? Why do you call it Panther?”

“......” Li Hao’s grin broadened. “I once wished for it to be as ferocious as a panther! I later discovered that dogs have always been more powerful than panthers since the ancient times. The name turned into a misstep on my part. The Exalted Heavenly Dog Emperor of New Martial was said to be strong beyond compare, whereas there were no exalted emperors from the panthers.

“Has your father mentioned it to you? I would like the white horse to collect all of the chaos presence from the Barren citizens. It should not be brought to the central plains. Can you complete this mission?”

“I can.” Princess Jun nodded, then suddenly asked, “Will the great king eventually kill Whitecloud?”

The white horse shifted restlessly. As the will of chaos, it’d recently seen desolate beasts slaughtered and heavenly intent roil over the surroundings. It seemed to know that its own destiny was death—it was just a matter of time.

Li Hao looked at the white horse and took a second to say, “The will of chaos must be broken. I will not pay further attention to it if it survives that breaking. If it dies in the process... I will not be able to do anything about that either.”

The princess was a bit despondent, but also knew that this was Li Hao’s most sincere response.

“I understand. I am the wasteland’s strongest rider! I do not wish to become a caged bird that those of the central plains speak of. Can I join the Demon Hunter Army or lead my calvary into battle beside them?”

“Into battle?”

“Yes!” Princess Jun tossed her long hair wildly. “It was no fun at all to fight Skystar. I want to participate in more battles!”

“You can go to Commander-in-Chief Huang Yu after Barren is appropriately resolved.” Li Hao glanced at her, nodding approvingly. “Have him make the arrangements. Your ten thousand elites can join the Demon Hunter Army as a complete whole. But since the enemies of the four corners have been defeated, your opponents may be other powerhouses if you are called into the battlefield!”

“We know. Thank you, great king!”

Li Hao wasn’t interested in expanding effort to have her change her honorific. “Go on!” He waved her off.

“Huh?”

“Go absorb chaos presence!”

Princess Jun looked at the young man with confusion, but quickly steered the white horse away. The white horse was obviously very important, yet she was being permitted to leave, just like that?

Li Hao had no further orders for her? And no one was being sent to watch over her? Weren’t they concerned that... fine, there didn’t seem to be anything she could do either.

The princess and white horse quickly disappeared, off to extract chao presence from the Barren citizens.