Chapter 788: All Sides Tremble (II)

Li Hao looked around as he pondered the situation. Almost everyone was here, apart from the old minister of Administration. There were eighteen old and current ministers from the nine ministries; Li Hao had killed five of them—two old, three current. There were more than ten ministers present, making for only two or three that hadn’t come.

More powerhouses materialized after a moment. Some wore armor and were completely enshrouded by black armor—the Black Armaturas. So the royal family had also sent their people. Moments later, a figure floated gracefully to the ground—the seventh princess from the Nine Dragons Pavilion.

“Congratulations, Commander Li.” She smiled radiantly and looked at Li Hao. “Royal Uncle Stable Mountain... showed signs of an obsession. Royal Uncle Steppe turned traitor and colluded with external enemies, yet Royal Uncle Stable Mountain could not discern right from wrong and followed in his footsteps. However, can we... bring back my royal uncle’s body to inter it in the royal mausoleum...?”

“I’ll give you the body if you guys take action right now and kill the rest of these guys for me. How about it?” Li Hao smiled back at her.

“......” The princess nearly choked on her spit and squeezed a smile out. “Surely you jest, commander...”

“Why would I be joking?” Li Hao looked at her. “With the situation as it is, you and I can work together. Other than Qi Pingjiang, I’m sure I can end all the rest = for you. Can the royal family not even handle two six element Arcanus? Then what good is your talk of conquering the world? And you wish to rise again after your defeat? You’re an absolute joke!”

The seventh princess hadn’t thought that Li Hao would be so unforgiving. She suddenly found herself at a loss for a proper response and overcome by his overbearing presence!

Li Hao watched the scene for a while before sneering, “What a nest of rats and snakes. All of you are incompetent to the extreme and simply watch as the perfect timing slips out of your hands. None of you will amount to much!”

He left through the air without another glance at these people. Qi Pingjiang didn’t stop the young man. Of the others, some were furious, others were saddened, but no one stopped him either. Hong Yitang and the rest followed him without a word.

“I welcome everyone to the inauguration ceremony taking place the day after tomorrow!” Li Hao laughed heartily as he sailed through the air. “Come take part! I won’t bother sending invitations!”

He was the very definition of being cocky as he traveled through the air and his voice echoed in the four corners. Skystar City shook as they knew that Commander Li had returned. Had this powerful being accomplished something major again?

Li Hao announced peremptorily, “Qian Wanhao of the Ministry of Commerce, Hu Mingfa of the Minister of the Judiciary, Zhang Zhen of the Ministry of Examinations, Yu Qing of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, and the Stable Mountain Prince Jiang Chao colluded with the City of Supernaturals, three evil organizations, monster spirits of Sky Roc Mountain, and bandits of Buddha Mountain to attack enforcers of the Skystar Commander Office!

“They have all been brought to justice and executed! I hope that all sides take warning from this, that the Ministries of Examination, Foreign Relations, and Commerce learn a lesson from it! We must punish even our own relations when it comes to right and wrong, as opposed to blindly following what our elders say. The Skystar Commander Office welcomes these three ministries to deliver their traitors at any time! Do not employ unauthorized punishment of your own initiative. Only the Skystar Commander Office has the right to enforce the law!”

The city was eerily quiet after his announcement. No one was able to immediately digest the news. Who’d died now?

Some hotshots it seemed...

Had they heard wrong, maybe? Four ministers had just been named and one of them was the old minister of Commerce that was mentioned in history books. Hu Xiao had just died a few days ago, and now another renowned existence was dead too?

As for the lords of Sky Roc and Buddha Mountain... they were set aside. No one was familiar with them anyhow. The Stable Mountain Prince... was one of the nine princes. A Steppe Prince had died last time, and here was another one dead?

The entire city was busy digesting the news.

......

The Night Watcher headquarters.

Yao Si’s face shifted rapidly through various expressions. He was rather stunned—had the young man truly succeeded? Were they all dead? Li Hao was... certainly vicious!

Little Ye kept taking large mouthfuls of air next to him and murmured, “I knew it, Commander Li can do anything! He’s terrifying... How dare the nine ministries and royal family provoke him? Do they have a death wish?”

“......” Yao Si didn’t say a word.

C’mon, I knew he was a four element Arcanus before he went in, but still I thought he was gambling with his life. What did a little girl like you know to be saying things like this?

Yao Si walked out of his office and looked out. The entire headquarters was eerily silent. Dao Sword and his group were also quiet. That one... really had become invincible. He was so brazen right now that he publicized the deaths and even fabricated charges against them. Well, it wasn’t fabricated charges—to the victor went the spoils. Anything that Li Hao said now was right.

“How horrifying!” Having held a begrudging view of Li Hao all this time, Big Eyes was also scared at the moment and rather shocked. Had so many died in one go??

Dao Sword looked toward the west and observed rays of splendor cross the sky—Li Hao’s group. He followed their trajectory with a complicated gaze. Was killing Arcanus as easy as stepping on ants? Had that one... reached that level? Apparently the latest edition of the Divine Masters Ranking was about to be published, but was there any meaning to it anymore?

If Li Hao wasn’t number one, who dared say that they were stronger than him? Not only was he incredibly strong, but more critical was that he wielded power and influence. There was a host of powerhouses under his banner; Silver Moon martial masters flocked to support him and some local overlords had already openly declared their support.

In the past couple of days, unrest had shaken the eastern continent. Some of their local rulers hunted down the Xus in the name of the Skystar Commander Office. Perhaps they were just borrowing his name... but now that the young man had subdued the four corners, one might have to sell themselves in order to borrow his name. Was Li Hao’s influence that easy to borrow?

......

News swept through the land.

The City of Supernaturals.

Various terrifying existences stood in the middle of an opulent hall. A breathtakingly beautiful woman sat primly over the assembly.

“Li Hao!” she breathed out after a while before taking a look around. “The City of Supernaturals was formed without restrictions as we meant to construct a paradise for supernaturals. We wanted to become a sacred land for superhumans, just like the Tranquil Star City of the ancient civilization was! But now, that one doesn’t seem willing to let matters proceed in such a fashion. The nine ministries and royal family have chosen to give way before us, but this Li Hao chooses to kill four Arcanus from our city...”

“The Jiangs of the royal family and the nine ministries are all trash!” someone bit off below her. “The three great organizations are hardly good for anything either. They sent so many powerhouses, but still failed...”

“Enough of that!” softly rebuked the woman. “Did you think we would fail before this? We even sent plant spirit replicas with our people, so did you really think that Li Hao’s side would win? There’s no point in touting the wisdom of hindsight! Li Hao and the one at Armed Forces have reached some sort of agreement. A lack of condemnation of the young man is proof enough. Then his greatest remaining trouble lies with the City of Supernaturals and three great organizations...”

The three great organizations were difficult to pin down, but the City of Supernaturals was situated in the central region and towered like an immobile structure.

The female city lord sensed threat creeping in around her and sighed, “Li Hao likely won’t suppress the nine ministries further if he wishes to establish his authority. The movements of the three great organizations and seven divine mountains are difficult to forecast. Only we have a million supernaturals gathered under our banner! More than half of the supernaturals in the central region have joined the City of Supernaturals. Who does everyone think is a suitable target if the Skystar Commander Office wishes to denote some rules for supernaturals?”

The answer was extremely obvious. It was the City of Supernaturals, of course!

“Li Hao is no fool,” an old man intoned beneath. “If he offends the three great organizations after offending the nine ministries...”

“Do you want to say that he won’t dare offend us?” the woman laughed. “Do you think that’s a realistic notion?”

He wouldn’t dare? What a joke! Was there anything that Li Hao didn’t dare undertake?

“Even if he does, he’ll understand why the City of Supernaturals stands where it does if he comes to us,” the old man continued. “There is a reason why we stand firm, the nine ministries give way before us, and the royal family treats us with respect!

“Ancient aristocracies are not a matter that he can comprehend...” he sniffed.

“Don’t bother mentioning this in front of him, that would just be making a laughingstock of yourself,” laughed the woman. “When it comes to ancient aristocracies, is there any more ancient than the Lis of Silver Moon?”

That shut the old man up. The Lis were indeed most ancient... but did they even count as a family anymore? On the other hand, Li Hao’s domineering appearance awakened the people to a fact—large numbers were not needed at times, one was enough. Whenever the Lis of Silver Moon were mentioned now, discourse only said that their feats were as expected of an ancient clan!

“Then... what might the city lord have in mind?” The old man looked up at the woman. She wasn’t elderly, yet was the lord of the City of Supernaturals. She had the support and tacit acceptance of the various families. It was certain that she must have some aces up her sleeves.

The woman looked into the distance and said slowly after a while, “Just wait and see. Doesn’t Li Hao wish to lay down the law for supernaturals? Let’s see what his rules are first and if they will affect us. If the effect is not great, then he can do as he wishes!”

“Do you mean to say that Li Hao’s rules can be applied to City of Supernaturals?” someone immediately protested. “That cannot be allowed, that would make us his vassal...”

“Are we to pit ourselves to the death against him for such a small matter?” chuckled the woman. “Why is he so brazen and unprincipled? It’s because he faced the nine ministries, royal family, and three great organizations! Those were not one singular faction and brewed many of their own plots! Most of them wish to sit on the side while tigers fight.

“Our losses aren’t great for the moment and Li Hao is caught in the throes of his cockiness. If we beat him back when he comes, how much will we have to lose for it? They will be the ones watching our show then.”

The crowd fell silent. Despite knowing beforehand that this would be the outcome, they still couldn’t help but participate. All sides had participated in the expedition, but they’d lost everything they put in!

Do they try again? Would they have a chance to? Perhaps everyone was waiting for a good opportunity—but what would be that good opportunity after this failure?

The second awakening, perhaps!

Would these people dare take continued risks in the absence of that? Perhaps even Ying Hongyue wouldn’t dare!