Chapter 1292: Next Steps (II)

The rest of the excited group approached Li Hao after Zhang An left. Meanwhile, the Great Li king and Jiang Li hung back, somewhat apprehensive.

The skeleton was still present and wreathed in a domineering presence. It brought great pressure to bear, but it was just a set of bones now. It might have awakened somewhat before, but after Ying Hongyue nearly detonated it and most importantly, after the god of Initial Martial smashed it again... Whatever little bit of consciousness it had before had completely dispersed.

Li Hao looked at the Great Li king, then at the skeleton. Every single bone was jade white in color and brimmed with a powerful presence. There was also a hint that it stemmed from a primordial time—or rather, from Initial Martial. This had belonged to a true Initial Martial powerhouse, possibly even a first generation Initial Martial heavyweight!

If it was a first generation personage... then that was terrifying indeed!

The Great Li king was uneasy, but Li Hao smiled at him. “Although the Great Li king did not contribute much to the battle, the god of Initial Martial did very much so. In that case, you can have the skeleton!”

“What?” The king jerked.

I can have it? Have it all?

He’d agreed to Li Hao taking half before and was actually worried that he wouldn’t even receive half now.

But you’re letting me take all of it? Really?

The Great Li king couldn’t believe it, to which Li Hao said faintly, “It looks like the king feels that he doesn’t need it...”

“No, I...”

“That’s no matter, take it,” Li Hao smiled. “But I have a small request to make!”

The king waited, on tenterhooks. He was well and truly afraid of Li Hao now. The notion of a request made him uncomfortable.

“Please speak of it, Marquis of Silver Moon!” He pretended not to care. Meanwhile, his mind raced through a variety of possibilities. Was this a conspiracy?

Is Li Hao plotting against me? Is he trying to trick me? Is there anyone left in the world that he hasn’t tricked?

Everyone’s suffered at his hands! There’s no way I can match wits with him!

“I’m actually not that interested in Initial Martial, but I have someone who is—Deputy Zhou of the administration. He cultivates the golden body and never brought core origin dao into himself. Therefore, he counts as walking the path of Initial Martial and not core origin!

“His golden body is the bestowment of a senior, so it cannot be relinquished. His cultivation process has been slow because of it. Deputy Zhou has accomplished great deeds for Skystar, so after the king takes the skeleton, I would like him to visit Great Li.

“All the king needs to do is help him enter the Fused Dao level!” Li Hao pointed at the bones. “You have a chance of ascending to Empyrean King once you fully utilize the bones. I’ll give you an Empyrean King, you give me back a Fused Dao. How about it?”

The Great Li king rapidly ran through calculations in his mind. Was this a worthwhile deal?

Of course it was!

Not only was it acceptable, but it wasn’t an outrageous request either. The king was familiar with Deputy Zhou. The man’s potential was decent; his progress had fallen behind only because he’d been cultivating the golden body all this time. And strictly speaking, Deputy Zhou’s heritage shared some of the same origins as the king’s.

They might both have something to do with the Tyrant Sovereign, or rather, the Exalted Hard-Headed Emperor.

“Very well!” The king nodded. Elevating what should be a mid Sun and Moon golden body cultivator to Fused Dao in return for an Empyrean King skeleton was a very good deal. It was also quite reasonable as the complete skeleton was much more powerful than an incomplete one!

The king also wanted to say something else as a token of his sentiments, such as promising not to be enemies with Li Hao or similar...

But the young man said first, “Greet the senior for me. However long he refrains from participating in battle and setting foot on the Hao Cosmos continent, is however long you and I are allies and friends!”

He left the rest unsaid, that he would meet that one in battle, no matter how strong the Initial Martial god was, if that one invaded! Li Hao was unafraid even if he was weaker than the other!

“I will relay these words!” The king nodded solemnly.

“Of the rulers of the four nations, the queen stands a chance of becoming an Empyrean King, as do you,” Li Hao nodded. “The queen doesn’t have all of her wits sometimes and I don’t have the effort to spare to always keep an eye on her. Keep tabs on her for me if you really do break through!”

“Alright!” the king agreed readily. Even if she made it to half step emperor, much less Empyrean King...

Okay, well, he would still be afraid of a half step emperor. But considering how the queen conducted herself like a bull in a china shop, there didn’t seem that much to fear from her either.

It was Li Hao and Ying Hongyue that gave the king a headache as one never knew how much they had up their sleeves. One might think they’d won, but in reality, had lost very dismally.

The king’s heart skipped a beat.

Have I actually lost despite thinking that I’m getting the better end of the deal?

I don’t know!

Whatever, let’s just take it one step at a time. Li Hao’s showing me so much face because of the Initial Martial god. Otherwise, he may not bother with me at all.

The king swiftly grabbed the skeleton and left with Jiang Li. He didn’t want to stay for a second longer than he had to!

Capsize Sea stamped its hooves with their departure. “That was the skeleton of an Initial Martial half step emperor! Are we giving it to them, just like that?”

“That’s already settled—their god is too strong!” Li Hao smiled. “Not to mention, it’s a difficult task to propel Deputy Zhou into Fused Dao. I’d like to see how Great Li will help him break through. Deputy Zhou’s cultivation stems from the Tyrant Sovereign... if he’s unable to progress this time, then I’m not sure how I can help him either!”

Capsize Sea said nothing further.

Li Hao looked at the group, then at the spurge tree from Martial Alliance. He’d had very few dealings with this one and the tree had joined him late in the game. At the moment, it had taken the form of a muscular man who emanated golden light. Its strength was on par with General Pagoda’s.

Everyone had contributed to the battle. Although they hadn’t encountered much danger, there was still much merit to be awarded in the deeds of killing eight Red Moon Saints and suppressing the skeleton.

Li Hao inclined his head at the spurge tree and turned his attention to the tattered Forbidden Sea. “Although Ying Hongyue and the skeleton are gone, the sea, its treasures, and energy are still here! I’ll have to task the Saints to work a little harder and compress the sea, taking all of its treasures and the entire sea!

“Tomorrow, Battle Heaven, Thunderblast, Steadfast Sky, Boundless, and Martial Alliance will meet me in Skystar City!”

“Understood, sir!” The Saints looked at Li Hao in a new light. They were completely won over by the young man today. Whether in terms of strength or stratagem, Li Hao had reached the pinnacle in their eyes. They’d faced so many powerful foes, but it was the enemy that limped away after a round of struggle.

By now, neither the queen nor Great Li king could shake Skystar, even after ascending to Empyrean King. And while the world had recovered to the point of supporting Empyrean King existences in the land, would Zheng Yu truly dare send out his Empyrean Kings?

Not necessarily!

So before half step emperors could set foot into the world, Skystar Dynasty stood at the apex of Silver Moon world. No one could threaten their position!

It wasn’t that the dynasty was strong or that the newly defected New Martial powerhouses were that strong, but that Li Hao was too unpredictable.

......

The New Martial Saints quickly busied themselves with compressing the Forbidden Sea. Li Hao looked at Hong Yitang, then at Lin Hongyu, and finally at Panther.

“What are you guys thinking about? C’mon, let’s go back to Skystar City.”

A river appeared with a wave of his hand. Li Hao set foot on it; the rest were hot on his heels. The river flowed through the void, startling Lin Hongyu and Hong Yitang. Was this another kind of treasure?

“Is that person... possibly not Li Daoheng?” Li Hao asked after a period of contemplation.

“What?” Hong Yitang blinked.

“Does... the marquis mean that the person who was just in the field may not be Li Daoheng?” Lin Hongyu was also confused.

How could that be? Hadn’t they been saying all along that that person was Li Daoheng? Who else could it be, if not him?

Li Hao raised his head to the sky and said after a long time, “His sword intent is very strong and his strength is equally strong! It’s just...

“Is that really Li Daoheng? The Li Daoheng of my mind is someone who is unparalleled in schemes and plots. This should not be all he can bring to muster. This person’s battle strength is strong enough, but... it’s not quite up to my expectations?”

This isn’t up to your expectations?

Neither of the two said anything. That person was terrifying; he’d casually split apart the energy mushroom from the detonation of the exalted emperor’s blood! And that was when he was being suppressed by the world. If he brought his full strength to bear... He’d probably slash through Saints in one move!

Was that supposed to not pass muster?

Li Hao, however, turned over the matter again and again. He never thought little of an enemy. Even the Zheng Yu that looked incredibly dumb at the moment... was he really that dumb?

Could an idiot become a half step emperor?

Zheng Yu might have some of his own plots and schemes in mind.

As for Li Daoheng... The Ninth Division leader described him as someone who could easily read others at a young age, that he toyed with their playmates. How was this battle the showing of someone like that? He’d supposedly been prepping for one hundred thousand years, yet Li Hao had made more preparations than him.

The droplet of exalted emperor blood essence was one issue, the dao universe was another!

Li Hao had considered somehow summoning the heart of the universe if Li Daoheng intervened. The other side of the star was the material universe. If he attacked it through the river... then Li Daoheng might be forced to retreat...

That was his true plan!

The detonation of the exalted emperor's blood essence had grievously injured the Moon God. To be honest, Li Hao would not have succeeded if Li Daoheng was as infallible as he was said to be!

Would someone so shrewd and conniving not know that Thunderblast had a droplet of an exalted emperor’s blood essence?

And yet... Li Hao had succeeded!

This was where the young man was most confused. Everything had gone too swiftly. Although his preparations had been ample, he was somewhat disappointed at having forced Li Daoheng into a dead end so easily!

When it came to matching wits and courage, the greatest happiness lay with an evenly matched opponent! For Li Hao to emerge victorious at their first encounter... the young man wasn’t too happy about that. It was deflating to the point where Li Hao wondered if his opponent was Li Daoheng at all!

Or maybe it was Li Daoheng’s replica?

But would a replica have the strength of a half step emperor?

Granted, Li Hao himself possessed a replica, so why couldn’t Li Daoheng?