Chapter 777: Examination (II)

Fifty-five million mysterious power stones were the equivalent of eleven hundred drops of Water of Life. If the little tree was to produce it all, then it would be forty-four million stones. An easy reduction of ten million stones... made this a feasible alternative in Li Hao’s eyes.

As for the option of challenging the puppets, that was a nonstarter in his eyes. Could he fight ten puppets by himself? Of course not. However, the little tree needed some time to convert the appropriate amount of Water of Life. Would he be granted that time?

“Make your decision!” The Black Armor grew irritated. “All of you will be executed if you still do not choose!”

Being the honest person he was, Li Hao didn’t choose to remain stubbornly against the natural course of action. “I choose to pay the fine...”

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Very good! A very wise decision!” The Black Armor nodded with satisfaction.

“Then... can I delay the payment somewhat?” asked the young man. “I’m going to convert Water of Life through a plant spirit, which will save me a little. Will that do?”

“That is acceptable. Payment within three days is fine!”

Li Hao breathed out with relief.

“Report, sir, then I...” Qian Wanhao’s eyes darted around.

“You will not be granted a postponement. Do you have a plant spirit?” The Black Armor was as remote as could be. “Or will you be able to create one out of thin air in three days?”

It wasn’t a fool. It supported Li Hao’s idea because it was a wonderful detail that the young man had a plant spirit by his side. Did this other fellow take the Black Armor for a fool? Could he convert energy stones to Water of Life by himself?

Qian Wanhao flushed and fell silent. He looked at the puppets and ultimately said, “I... choose to pay the fine!”

He grit his teeth and took out a storage ring, emptying it of vast quantities of origin weapons, Water of Life, mysterious power stones, and a motley array of other treasures.

“Sir... how much... can this be traded for...?”

A red light appeared in the Black Armor’s visor and it scanned the pile. “This is a bunch of trash, but it is present in sufficient quantity. According to the rules set by the Exchange Center, this is worth four hundred thousand pieces of energy stones!”

That was a lot! But Qian Wanhao wanted to collapse on the spot. Only four hundred thousand? His fine was one and a half million! This was everything he had on him apart from his most precious treasures! As the minister of Commerce, he was one of the richest men of the age. But now...

Qian Wanhao set his jaw. What could he do now? There were no other options available! After some thought, he asked slowly, “Then... can... I... owe some of my fine?”

“No!” The Black Armor seemed to be purposefully backing them into a corner. “Make haste, do not waste time!”

Qian Wanhao sighed and summoned a small sword without another word. It wasn’t a large item, but the Black Armor inclined its head upon seeing it. “Not bad! This is the Hover Sword from the hands of Director Lu Zhen himself. To think that it’d be in your hands, not bad!”

Li Hao started.

Lu Zhen?

“This is actual treasure. It was second to only items crafted by the Divine Forge Emperor in the New Martial age. I will value this at one million energy stones!”

Qian Wanhao knew the item was valuable, but hadn’t thought it would be so valuable. Similar to the Streamflow Sword Method that Li Hao encountered last time, it was an ultimate ace for the nine ministries. Not even Qian Wanhao was able to deploy it to its full capabilities.

Who would’ve thought that he would be able to trade it for so much? The minister quickly understood that he might have been fleeced, but what could he do about it now?

He was only one hundred thousand short in the blink of an eye. Another weapon manifested in short order—it looked like a golden coin and emanated a soft radiance. This was a personal weapon he’d used for many years and was his personal trump card.

“This is good too.” The Black Armor inclined its head. “I’ll count that as one hundred thousand to make it your full fine amount!”

Qian Wanhao spat out a mouthful of blood before he could say anything. All of the treasures and weapons vanished without a trace. Even his personal brand on his weapon was spontaneously erased. He suddenly looked more haggard than moments ago, but didn’t make a sound.

The rest of the group sighed and capitulated. “We’ll pay the fine!”

Everyone took out whatever treasures and lifesaving measures they had on them. The lord of Buddha Mountain brought out something that appeared to be the blood essence of a major monster spirit. He offered up his personal weapon and everything of value on him, but it still wasn’t enough!

A light glinting in his eyes, he focused on the three from the City of Supernaturals. “Report, can... I borrow from others?”

He abruptly realized the inappropriateness of his question right after asking it. Li Hao’s quartet suddenly regarded him with glittering eyes. His heart quailed!

He’d only thought of attacking the three from the City of Supernaturals in order to save his life, but he’d forgotten that if this was a feasible course of action, then Li Hao’s group was much stronger than him!

The three from the City of Supernaturals looked around with stark fear. Thankfully, the Black Armor’s response saved them.

“Students are not permitted to kill one another. You may spar, of course, but consider your actions carefully. If you know well what the offense of causing destruction is, yet still inflict it, your fine will double again!”

That extinguished the brewing agitation in everyone’s eyes. It would be an unmitigated disaster if they caused more destruction. The lord of Buddha Mountain frowned. He’d put up everything he had, but it still wasn’t enough. What should he do now? His fine was about the same as Sky Sword and the rest—one million stones. All he had on him only amounted to five hundred thousand stones.

He sighed and looked at the Black Armor. “I choose the challenge!”

It was the final struggle of the desperate! There was nothing else he could do otherwise.

“You may do so!”

Ten puppets appeared. The lord of Buddha Mountain armed himself with another word and went on the offensive.

Boom!

The ten puppets sent him flying with a loud impact. His chest was caved in, but he was only heavily injured as opposed to dead.

One move!

The puppets had only needed one move to defeat him. The mountain lord sat down dispiritedly on the ground, coughing up blood. A bleak expression hung on his face.

The others scrounged up sufficient treasures in the meantime. While the three ministers gathered sufficient funds, they had to offer up even their last golden booklet. It was plain to see that their pockets were empty after this.

Of the three from the City of Supernaturals, two were unable to locate enough for payment. The one with a fine of two hundred thousand eventually managed to pay it off. The other two looked at the mountain lord, then at Li Hao’s quartet...

They knew that Li Hao had a lot of mysterious power stones. Ultimately, the young female from the City of Supernaturals looked pleadingly at Li Hao. “Commander Li, will you lend us some stones? We promise we won’t say anything once we leave and will be at the commander’s beck and call...”

There was no hope of mounting a successful challenge against the puppets. Borrowing money was the only way. Li Hao, however, remained coolly aloof. Wordless, he didn’t even look at them.

“Commander... there is no great feud or hatred between us. If you are willing to help us, that would be helping the City of Supernaturals. We have a certain place and status in the city. There are many ancient aristocracies within it and more than one million supernaturals. If they are willing to help the commander, they will deliver the world to you!”

Li Hao continued to ignore them.

A vicious look flashed through their eyes before they suddenly charged the young man!

“We’ll fight to the death if you don’t help us! We’ll destroy everything here! Let’s see how you pay for the damages then!”

Their backs were against the wall. Perhaps this was the only way that they could force Li Hao to help them!

Qian Wanhao’s group quickly backed away. They didn’t want to be dragged into this.

Li Hao frowned at the two charging him and glanced at the Black Armor. “Can I retaliate if someone attacks me?”

“You can, but the caveat is that you cannot destroy school property...”

The characters of ‘water’, ‘fire’, ‘metal’, and ‘exterminate’ materialized as soon as the Black Armor said that Li Hao could. Sword intent pierced through heaven and earth. The two Arcanus lost focus in their eyes as soon as they drew near the young man. Their spirit was instantly snuffed out.

Li Hao reached a hand into the air and summoned the characters back to him. Stellaris vanished.

“Intent of the Lifeless Sword?” The Black Armor was rather surprised by what it’d just seen. “The heritage of the Sword Sovereign?”

But it seemed somewhat different. It partially resembled the ultimate art of Tranquil Star, yet was also altered.

Despite the Black Armor’s surprise, it didn’t say anything as it watched the two humans die. It didn’t intervene as these weren’t real students. It knew the situation very well, so it didn’t care that much about their life or death. Killing was strictly forbidden under these circumstances in a real martial university!

Li Hao pointed haughtily at their bodies. “Can I claim their belongings?”

“Of course!” the Black Armor responded calmly. “To the victor goes the spoils. Your sword is quite nice!” Some interest perked up its tones. “If you’re willing to hand over the sword, it will pay off all of your debts in full!”

Absolutely not! How would Li Hao ever agree to that?

“No way, this was passed down from my ancestors. It stays with me so long as I draw breath!” Li Hao shook his head.

“Nonsense!” rebuked the Black Armor. “The Sword Sovereign broke countless blades in his day, was he to die each time his weapon shattered? Swords are but external objects. It doesn’t matter if you have enough belongings to pay off the fine, I will reward you if you hand it over.”

“No!” Li Hao refused without thinking. Stellaris was his greatest resource in his development, how could he hand it over?

The Black Armor didn’t insist. It didn’t matter. Fair transactions were the norm. The matter was dropped if any party involved was unwilling. Such were the rules of Evenround Martial. It would not take by force.

“Can you pay the fine?” It looked at the lord of Buddha Mountain.

“I’m afraid... I cannot...” The mountain lord’s face was ashen.

“Then I regret to say that since the vanguard is no more and you are not an official student... I gave you a chance for redemption, but you were unable to grasp it...” The Black Armor waved its hand when the mountain lord wanted to run. He lowered his head to look at his chest... his organs had been pulverized!

He turned to look at Li Hao’s quartet and then at the Black Armor. His eyes dimmed as a downcast expression stole over his face. He hadn’t thought that he’d die here or that he’d die in such a manner! An existence in the ruins had killed him!

The corpse thudded heavily to the ground and his belongings disappeared. They belonged to the Black Armor now.