Chapter 724: Stealing Away Talent (II)

“Sir, I don’t intend to erase everything he’s accomplished or deny who he is,” Deputy Zhou explained, “I’m just stricken with the fact that this guy doesn’t know to cherish the results from the Skystar battle and the exceedingly good name that he built for himself. He wasted a huge opportunity!

“Hou Xiaochen isn’t cut out for this either, he didn’t consider these issues much or to this degree. After the defeat that the nine ministries and three great organizations suffered, the nine ministries plainly don’t want to fight anymore. At this time, the Ministry of Finance is probably laughing at the rest since they’ve suffered the least. The Inspectorate is being opportunistic because they haven’t lost anything. Li Hao can absolutely rope them in to form a new line of defense!

“As for the Ministry of Armed Forces, your senior brother is there. Drop the lines about him leaving a long time ago, did your master actually remove him from the rolls? If not, then he is still your senior brother. You can go to him and see if you can reach an accord with the Ministry of Armed Forces. Of course you’ll have people there that you want to eliminate or settle grudges with, but that can be saved for later.

“And the Ministry of Administration—they don’t see you as a major enemy for the moment. Their enemy is the royal family. Why can’t you negotiate some of your problems away?

“People also helped you before in the east, like the East Pole Duke or Yu Qiao of the Firebright province. You’ve now killed three generations of the Steadfast Duke’s lineage and the Xus are threatening to topple over. Are you going to just leave it at that? You can absolutely send representatives to the east and meet with those two. Even if you don’t partner with them, you must lay claim to the outcome of battle. You’re the one who killed the Steadfast Duke, why aren’t you doing anything about it?

“And the City of Supernaturals, are you not going to say anything after you killed one of their Heaven’s Eye? Only martial blockheads do that. You guys... even if it’s just a gesture, you should send someone to the city to threaten them or offer compensation. You can’t just decide to do nothing!

“The same goes for all of the supernaturals that were killed that day, particularly the Starlight Pirates and their dozen dukes. If you don’t wish to partner with them, you should at least contact the other pirate factions and have them divvy up the Starlight Pirates. You can just offer them moral support for that action. That will spell the end of the Starlight Pirates and not create an enemy that might come after you in the future!”

The more Deputy Zhou said, the more disappointed he became. “Li Hao, you are a very good candidate for being the leader of the martial world, but you are truly unsuited to be this kind of leader. I’ve been observing you all along and find that you are the same as your master! This was how your master conducted his affairs back in the day. He felt that since the people I defeated could no longer rise again or have a change in fortune, what did he care about them?

“And then what happened? Ying Hongyue, the Celestial Sword Immortal, Yama, Buddha Mountain, Yonder Mountain... All of them rose again! Your master is in the most dismal straits these days and you resemble him more by the day!

“Will you be stronger than your master? No, you will be the same! Do you think that the Starlight Pirates aren’t worth much with the death of the North Sea King? Do you think that the Xus are worthless with both generations of Steadfast Dukes being dead? Do you think there is no threat from a heavily injured lord of Buddha Mountain who’s become a supernatural? Do you think nothing of the City of Supernaturals with one million supernaturals? They’ll stop after killing you, one Arcanus!”

“......” Li Hao was shell shocked. He thought back to his recent actions, his thoughts and conclusions, and nodded after a long moment. He had nothing to say.

Deputy Zhou’s words were not easy to listen to, but they did touch upon some key points. Li Hao hadn’t had the mental bandwidth or capacity to consider certain things before. Some subjects had never even been on his radar.

Leader of the martial world...

Just like his teacher? His teacher had left many enemies behind in the world and the young man sometimes snorted at Yuan Shuo for not bothering to see his job through to the end.

He suddenly understood his teacher’s actions today! It wasn’t that Yuan Shuo had left the job undone, but that he simply hadn’t cared enough. Take Li Hao, for instance, he felt that there was no further threat from the Xus and North Sea pirates. Eradicating them was a waste of time and money.

But... what would the situation look like many years later if he didn’t improve at all? He would be the greatest public enemy, just like his teacher! At that time, people would say that the Demon Sword of yesteryear dominated the world, but now he was in such pathetic circumstances. He was less than a dog!

“Deputy Zhou, how about you come to Skystar City with me?” Li Hao lit up.

“......”

Dead silence.

“Li Hao...” coughed Director General Zhao.

“Sir!” Li Hao interrupted solemnly. “Silver Moon needs only you! It is a waste of talent for Deputy Zhou to be here! Perhaps Skystar City is the best stage for him! I don’t know any of this, but that is alright!”

The young man spoke excitedly, like he hadn’t suffered a blow from the lecture. “Someone told me that it’s fine if you don’t know everything. So long as you know how to use people and dare use others, then it’s fine!

“No one is omnipotent, I’m not! I’m young, I haven’t seen much of the world, I don’t know anything... but none of that matters! I can learn, and while the process may be long and arduous, it’s not an issue if I surround myself with the right people!

“Didn’t the royal family make me the Skystar governor general?” He looked raptly at Deputy Zhou. “If you come, I’ll make you the Skystar deputy governor general. The royal family won’t say anything, I’m entrusted with all the power! You’ll be the deputy, Martial Uncle Hong Yitang will be the headmaster, Director Hou will look after the Night Watchers, and me... I’ll be in charge of killing enemies!”

Li Hao waved his hand and spoke seriously, “As for what I base my confidence in and what you guys can place your hopes in...” He thought it over. “First, Stellaris and the identity of the heir of the eight families! Second, I’ve been promoted and I’m a division leader of the Battle Heaven Army now...”

Gold armor flashed!

The two old men started.

Gold armor? Division leader?

Li Hao was putting to practice what he’d just learned.

It’s just a trick! My reinforcement troop is no different from being a division leader, right?

“Third, I can unite the Silver Moon martial world. At the very least, a lot of people find me trustworthy and that I am worthy of striking up a relationship with. At the same time, they find that the official authorities are not worthy!

“Fourth, I have some clues to my next cultivation level. My strength will continue to rise!

“Fifth, I know a very easygoing plant spirit. It will even fight for me!

“Sixth, Battle Heaven may be able to fully awaken soon. I’ve already become part of their inner workings and have very good relations with them. They’re willing to put their full force behind me. Some of their premier powerhouses will awaken very soon...

“Seventh, the strongest heavyweight of our time—Ying Hongyue—is afraid to face me at the moment. He has not successfully assimilated his seven bloodlines together...” Li Hao listed all of his strengths to enhance his standing, ultimately looking at Deputy Zhou. “Therefore, you may think I’m wet behind the ears, sir, and that I don’t know much. But I’m not a saint and it’s not like I was born knowing all this. I’m just an ordinary person who made it to this position step by step. It hasn’t been long since I left Silver City. Is this enough?

“If not, I’ll continue to add to my list of strengths. I’m sure I can do it!”

Director General Zhao stared at the young man. Deputy Zhou also looked at him before suddenly grinning. “You’re... an interesting one!”

“Come with me, Deputy Zhou!” Li Hao smiled widely.

“I was just pointing out some problems to you...”

“I’ll give you one hundred drops of Water of Life!”

“......” Deputy Zhou blinked.

“Li Hao...” coughed the director general.

“Two hundred drops!” Li Hao waved his fists around and set his jaw. “And that’s not it. I’ll give you more benefits when I get richer! Your job will be easy. Go to Skystar City and settle all this for me! Take care of all this! Whether it’s negotiations, recruitment of others, you can say whatever needs to be said to whoever you meet.”

The deputy looked at Director General Zhao; the latter wanted to roll his eyes. “Ole Zhou, we’ve worked together for forty years...”

“He’s offering two hundred drops of Water of Life!” Deputy Zhou continued looking at his superior officer. That was so much!

The director general wanted to vomit blood. The hell was this?? Li Hao was trying to steal his subordinate right in front of him. How was this appropriate?!

“Li Hao, how do you have so much...”

“I do!” the young man answered emphatically. “Of course I do! My plant spirit charges me twenty thousand stones per drop. I collected more than seven million stones before this and traded them in for three hundred drops. I’m giving most of it to Deputy Zhou!”

“......”

Twenty thousand stones? For one drop?

“Where... is this plant spirit?” the director general asked ponderously.

“Eh?”

“Ah...” the old man coughed. “I’m asking if it will affect Silver Moon. Is it near Mount Cat Head?”

Li Hao instantly went on the alert. What did the old man want?

You want to lure my people away from me?

“Don’t even think about it, sir. That’s a guardian plant spirit that only I can contact. Anyone else who goes will be killed! It’s already recovered to the level of an Apex and can tear through the void. It’s powerful beyond belief!”

“......” Director General Zhao sighed. What a pity!

“Sir.” Li Hao turned to Deputy Zhou again. “You can see where the problems are, which means you can take care of them! As the saying goes, the prudent bird chooses a fine tree to nest in. I’m sure that the director general won’t mind and won’t obstruct your future. Nothing will happen in Silver Moon before the second awakening. There’s not much point in staying here to waste the deputy director general’s talents!”

“......” Deputy Zhou stroked his mustache, then looked at his superior officer again.

“Are you mocking me, Li Hao?” Director General Zhao laughed with anger.