Chapter 767: A Grade Two Ruin (II)

You guys need to know that my Water of Life can be sold for one hundred thousand stones a drop! Well, I probably won’t have any buyers at that price, but there will definitely be some at forty or fifty thousand stones per drop.

It appeared that Li Hao would have to wait a while longer before he could bathe in Water of Life.

Light Sword frowned slightly, as was Manager Yu disgruntled.

What, do you think of us as too weak?

Light Sword, in particular, was discontent. She’d absorbed a great deal of energy by Li Hao’s side and a lot of dark energy. She’d saturated eight out of the nine typical locks, and the ninth was almost complete.

Strength such as this was hard to combat Arcanus without being unsealed, but the difference wasn’t great. If she unsealed herself, she would be another Arcanus.

Do you think nothing of even Arcanus?

Light Sword looked away after some internal grumbling.

“Then... let’s go, everyone!” Li Hao smiled at the other three.

“Let’s go!” The four vanished like gusts of wind. A big dog behind them also vanished without a sound. Panther was getting ever lazier these days, but always found incredible courage at times like this. No matter how dangerous the situation was, it always followed. That was also how it always came in for a share of the spoils.

Ever since departing Battle Heaven, the dog was present for every instance of Li Hao’s closed door cultivation sessions. However, its strength seemed frozen at the level it’d reached when it left the ancient city. It showed not a single hint of improvement since then.

Four humans and one dog promptly vanished.

......

The western outskirts, the small mountain.

The void shattered as four humans and one dog appeared. There were people in the mountain valley—He Yong as well. They were startled by the sudden appearance, so strong! The key was, was it just these couple of people?

The newcomers could sense a presence enveloping the vicinity—the presence of a mirror fragment. Someone was keeping this area under surveillance!

......

Inside the palace.

The Skystar King leaned back in a chair, watching a projection in front of him. It depicted the city’s western outskirts. He smiled as he watched the proceedings. “Sky Sword, Earthturner Sword, Demon Sword, and Sickly...”

Just these four? Who would’ve thought that Li Hao wouldn’t even bring Yao Si and the others? Was he that confident or felt that it wouldn’t make a difference if they were part of the expedition?

Some royal children were standing beneath him, including the seventh princess of the Nine Dragons Pavilion. She watched for a while before saying softly, “Royal father, will the nine ministries send out their old ministers?”

“They will... but not that many. It could be just one or two people. Perhaps only one—to oversee everything,” the outwardly youthful Skystar King laughed softly. “Those from Armed Forces and Administration probably won’t go. They won’t easily leave their posts.”

“Then... should we intervene?”

“We don’t need to send any powerhouses, just in case they get surrounded,” responded the Skystar King after some thought. “Send some of the Black Armaturas to observe and take notes. It’d be best if they can safely exit the ruins.”

It wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t.

The group nodded while the king continued chuckling. “Keep watching. See who sends who after they go in. I’m thinking that there will be more representatives than from the nine ministries this time!”

No one made a sound as they silently watched the screen. Li Hao smiled dashingly in the image. “Martial Uncle He, you shouldn’t stay here for long. Head back to Skystar City, to the Demon Hunter Army. Help the others hold down the fort and await my triumphant return!”

“Are you sure?” He Yong raised an eyebrow.

“Yes!”

He Yong thought for a bit and nodded before breaking through the void.

Inside the palace.

“Ole Nine.” Someone looked at the ninth prince. “He Yong is an ingrate who will never give us his loyalty. He’s received so much from the royal family, but still doesn’t recognize us as his masters!”

This ingrate had been working on Li Hao’s behalf lately, drawing ire from many in the royal family. He Yong had been given a lot of royal benefits during his tenure. The ninth prince even brought him on expeditions into ruins because he possessed great strength. Those were places reserved strictly for the royal family.

In the crowd, the ninth prince was genteel and polite. He gently bowed from the waist. “Third brother is right, but Master He started teaching me martial dao when I was very young and is from Silver Moon. Now that his homeland is in danger, the enormously loyal Master He must take action. That’s not to say that he’s an ingrate... at the very least, he hasn’t attacked anyone of the royal family.”

“He hasn’t created any value for us either!”

“Enough!” cut off the Skystar King. “Stop fighting about this, there’s no point to it! All of you are brothers and sisters and should be of one mind. The world is in such chaos that it is a question of whether or not we Jiangs are still the royal family of the dynasty.”

The group fell silent and continued to watch the screen. They saw He Yong leave and Li Hao’s group land elegantly on the ground. The group sprinted for the ball of light at the end of the tunnel. Four humans and one dog immediately vanished without a trace. That instantly sent off a chain reaction of dozens of people outside surging in!

The ball of light immediately shifted to something like a black hole, permitting only entrance and no exit. Another person appeared at this time, snorting as he looked at a particular point in the sky.

The Skystar King ignored his reaction, but didn’t withdraw the mirror fragment either. He waited, as did those outside the cave. Various figures rushed over from all sides... Some wore masks, others were shrouded in black robes. Some had an indistinct haze around them, and there were even monster spirits as well.

The royal children inside the palace sucked in sharp breaths.

“The ministers of Examination, the Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs...” One of them identified the newcomers. These ministers were all here in their true appearances, and what was surprising was that the one from Internal Affairs wasn’t here.

Neither had the Ministry of Finance sent their minister. The other eight ministries had sent representatives of varying strength, with their weakest being metamorphosis. They watched the premises gravely, waiting for something.

A prince gasped in the palace hall, “Is that the lord of Buddha Mountain? Is that him?”

A figure materialized in the air, his features impossible to make out as he was wreathed with golden light. The crowd quickly identified him as the lord of Buddha Mountain. He’d been forced to become a supernatural in the previous great battle. Yet when such a premier martial master became a supernatural and was the lord of a divine mountain, it made it very possible that he was a three element Arcanus now.

Another premier powerhouse appeared among the seven divine mountains. A blindingly fast existence arrived with a gust of wind—the Sky Roc mountain lord!

“The lord of Sky Roc Mountain is here too!”

“And... that’s... people from the City of Supernaturals!”

Three figures swiftly landed—one woman and two men. Their true features were unconcealed and they looked very young.

“There are approximately twelve ancient aristocracies of varying sizes in the City of Supernaturals. They sent three Arcanus in one go! It looks like Li Hao killing one of them last time raised their general ire.”

“Have the three great organizations sent anyone?”

“That’s the Fortune King!” someone called out. [1]

A figure strode through the air like he was a demon god. Expressionless and dignified, he looked at a certain spot in the air. “Have you never seen me before?”

In the ten court masters, the Fortune King was second to only Yama. There were even rumors that he was stronger than Yama. Who would’ve thought that one of these great personages would arrive this time!

The various royal descendants were shocked. This was... quite a stunning array of people! And they were still waiting for more! Who were they waiting for? Those from Red Moon and Celestial?

A few more figures appeared as speculation buzzed among the crowd. Like the rest, the new arrivals didn’t conceal their features. Surprised, frowns crossed faces when they recognized who’d come from Red Moon.

Why was it this one? She was captivating and beguiling, but they knew her to be part of Ying Hongyue’s harem—Orange Moon, the Black Widow. She was only a metamorphosis, what was she here for? to die?

“Ying Hongyue has made an interesting move!” the Skystar King suddenly spoke up.

“Royal father... Red Moon has only sent Orange Moon... They’re... being careless, aren’t they?”

“No!” The king looked at Black Widow in the projection and raised an eyebrow. “Ying Hongyue is placing great importance on this operation!”

“Eh?” No one understood, and the Skystar King wasn’t forthcoming with more.

“It’s rather Celestial who doesn’t think much of this venture!” The king shook his head after another look. “They are indeed an organization of assassins—they won’t exert themselves to much effort if the payment is not great enough. They’ve sent only a vice pavilion master, one that’s barely made it into Arcanus. It looks like he’s just here to watch the proceedings.”

Out of the three great organizations, Celestial was the most materialistic. They’d only sent a vice pavilion master as their leader didn’t seem to think much of the expedition. Perhaps she’d only sent someone to see if there was any cut of the profits to be had. If not, her representative could just leave.

The group still did not move out after the three great organizations arrived. There were a lot of powerhouses on the scene—three ministers, the Fortune King, and the lords of Buddha and Sky Roc Mountain. Such strength was incomparable, but the assembly did not seem to find it enough.

The Skystar King suddenly sat bolt upright as a person drifted down from the sky. The princes didn’t recognize him at first, until one person’s eyes widened. “Is he the one overseeing this operation?”

Seeing that the ninth prince didn’t recognize the newcomer, the seventh princess transmitted quietly, “Ole Nine, this is the old minister of the Ministry of Commerce. He rarely shows himself in public these years and wasn’t present at the previous battle...”

The ninth prince suddenly understood. No wonder he didn’t recognize the man. All trade beneath the heavens fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce, and its first minister had been a renowned merchant before helping the ministry! The Four Seas Company of the Ministry of Finance was nothing compared to him.

These days, the Ministry of Commerce controlled nearly fifty percent of the major consortiums in the world. They held a monopoly on food, drink, housing, and transportation. The cars on the streets and houses that people lived in were overseen by this ministry. They were so much richer than the Four Seas Company and less flamboyant, so they attracted less hate.

1. King Qinguang, first of the ten Yama Lords, in charge of life and death and the fortunes of humans. ☜