Chapter 816: Why So Foolish (II)

Northern Fist looked at Li Hao; the young man hadn’t said anything about this one being here! Although there’d been news yesterday that the Wind and Cloud Pavilion had appeared and six Arcanus had been killed, he didn’t think much of it. Now he knew that the so-called six Arcanus were Silver Moon’s older generation martial masters.

“Seniors and Martial Uncles Northern Fist and Sky Sword,” Li Hao addressed the group. “Please rest for a while. I’ve also invited Tyrant Blade, Thunderleg, Commander Huang Yu, and Inspector General Kong Jie to join us. I’ll explain everything when they arrive.”

The crowd grew solemn; Sky Sword rumbled, “Is there a need for that? It’s just a Wind and Cloud Pavilion!”

“I have another goal in mind,” Li Hao chuckled. “And I’ll need quite some help from everyone.”

“Tyrant Blade is probably not too far away,” Sky Sword said after some thought. “It’ll take the rest three days at the quickest. The Wind and Cloud Pavilion will be publishing their ranking in three days, so they may not get here in time.”

“That’s of no matter, I’ve already sent word for the various provinces to speed their travel along.” Li Hao smiled. “Air transport and others will be utilized to bring all of the seniors here. If they’re fast enough, they’ll get here within a day.”

The group blinked, then muttered darkly to themselves. This guy was now one of the tyrants of Skystar! Who among the provinces weren’t afraid of him? Of course they would help with a minor matter like this. Who wouldn’t show him face in such a small matter? If they didn’t, Li Hao might find an excuse to take them out!

One day was sufficient to bring everyone here.

“Of the old heroes of thirty-six, I cannot get in touch with my master and Jadelight Sword is with him,” Li Hao continued. “Senior Berserk Blade seems to have been on a mission all this time and Senior Golden Spear is likewise unreachable. Is there anyone else alive out of them?”

Apart from those four and the rest that were dead, was there anyone else alive?

“The rest are probably dead,” Sky Sword said after some thought. “Some died a long time ago. Well, there might be some still alive, but they’re probably not in Skystar.”

Not in Skystar?

“Then... Great Li?”

“Do you only know Great Li?” Sky Sword laughed.

Li Hao blinked. That was... true?

“Great Li is just a savage dynasty closest to Silver Moon and located in the northern reaches,” Northern Fist also smiled. “Skystar is the center of the world and is a valley. It is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides. There are other dynasties in the other three cardinal directions that used to harass us, but after Skystar Dynasty unified the center, the dynasties on the other four sides haven’t dared to enter since. That ended the era of struggle over the central dominion.

“We’ve fought the four sides since the dawn of our time. Silver Moon’s main opponents are the savages from Great Li. They’re fierce, skilled in warfare, and known for their sheer strength.

“At the end of the southern continent is the Watercloud Dynasty. Their territory is covered by bodies of water and they possess a fearsome navy that battled with the south for many years.

“A large expanse of desert can be found at the end of the eastern continent. The Barren Dynasty commands a great cavalry that is unmatched throughout the world.

“At the end of the western continent is the Divine Nation...”

Divine Nation?

Li Hao started. Was that all they called themselves? It was his first time hearing of all these names.

“The Divine Nation is incredibly terrifying,” explained the highly experienced Northern Fist. “All of its citizens worship the Moon God. Their faith is the core of their culture and they’re more united than the other dynasties.”

“The Moon God?” Li Hao was growing ever more confused. Where did such a god come from?

“I know a thing or two about them,” Sky Sword said faintly. “There were apparently divine spirits that existed in Silver Moon in the primordial past. The Moon God was one of their most well known and many worshipped it. An ancient powerhouse eventually killed it, but that is a rumor as well.

“The Divine Nation started worshipping the Moon God after the demise of the ancient civilization. Gods were not revered in that civilization. Even the ancient Human King didn’t consider himself a god.”

A nation that centered on worshiping a god!

Li Hao quickly transmitted to the little tree when his thoughts traveled here, “Senior Tree, do you know the Moon God?”

“The Moon God?”

“It was apparently a god in the primordial past.”

“A god?” The little tree seemed to be rifling through its memories. “I know a detail or two. Silver Moon Territory was just one part of the ancient civilization. There were some local heavyweights that existed, but they were later killed. Have the divine spirits come back to life?”

That was a real possibility!

“But it doesn’t matter,” the little tree added. “These so-called divine spirits weren’t strong. Not to mention, the world has changed. Even if they have awakened, they will be the same as us and unable to bring their full strength to bear in this world. The Moon God... Moon God... Can it be the Moon Demon? Silver Moon Territory is indeed related to this demon.”

“So this means...” Li Hao raised an eyebrow. “That the ancient civilization... didn’t call this place home... but was an invader?”

“Not really!” the little tree tried explaining. “The main world of the ancient civilization once fell quiet for a while—that was also when the imperial majesty fell asleep too. Some of the world’s power seeped out and gave birth to a new world next to the main world.

“When the Human King awoke and saw the situation, he wanted to reclaim the world since it was formed of power that belonged to the main world. But for some reason, he decided to let it remain as a vassal territory. That was when the divine spirits were born. In reality, Silver Moon territory is almost completely projected from the main world...”

Li Hao frowned, but didn’t say anything. He left the storage ring and addressed the seniors again. “Does this mean to say that if there are more of the thirty-six alive, they may not be in Skystar?”

“Correct!” Northern Fist nodded. “I only recently returned to Skystar Dynasty myself, I’ve been in Great Li all this time. I have to say... we must be careful of them. There are many mountains and monster spirits there, so many more than Skystar. Great Li has been fighting the monster spirits all these years in endless battles, but it’s also forged their ferociousness in fire and brimstone. I think that once they settle the matter of the monster spirits... they’ll absolutely invade Skystar!”

The thirty-six of Silver Moon were avid travelers. Li Hao said nothing more and turned to the old men. “Seniors, are there many left of the previous generation of Silver Moon martial masters?”

“There were quite a few twenty years ago.” One of them shook his head. “When the supernatural domain first awoke, Silver Moon lacked energy because our supernaturals were essentially extinct. We thought to seize a few treasures from Skystar City—mainly mysterious power stones. But we suffered grave losses and nearly all withdrew from the martial world after that.

“We also heard that Skystar is where a massive mine is located. Only when we seize sufficient mysterious power stones could we ensure that Silver Moon’s martial world did not decline. We also wanted to prevent the nine ministries and royal family from growing strong enough to invade Silver Moon again...” The old man shook his head again and didn’t continue.

Large numbers of the old guard had died in that battle; they had been surrounded by the nine ministries and royal family at the Skystar Sea. So many had died that they’d turned the sea red!

Of course, there was nothing that the older generation would be regretful about, nor was there much about the outcome that they hated. Everyone simply served their own masters. They had come to suppress the nine ministries and royal family, and to seize the mines to facilitate Silver Moon’s development. Being met with the other’s counterattack and being killed in return was only normal. Their skill was less than their opponents’, so there was nothing that could be said about falling in battle here.

They’d thought that they were strong enough to wreak havoc through Skystar, but it wasn’t until they reached the royal capital that they realized they underestimated the heroes of the world. After that, the surviving older guard chose to withdraw to Silver Moon.

That was how Yuan Shuo’s generation became mainstream in the martial world. But it wasn’t long before they fell behind the times as well. The supernatural quickly became mainstream, which indirectly demonstrated how correct the old guard had been to go on the offensive. The supernaturals presented too great of a threat!

Silver Moon wouldn’t have declined so rapidly if the old martial masters had succeeded. But since they had, there was nothing to be done about it. Their choice was right, they’d simply lost in executing their plans.

“Apart from us six, there aren’t more than twenty left in Silver Moon these days,” said the old man.

Less than twenty... that... wasn’t many, but it would do!

Seeing that Li Hao found that to be a good number, the old man laughed. “Don’t think of us all as being that powerful. Don’t overestimate us! Us six are probably the best of the bunch. The rest were crippled a long time ago and there’s not more than three who are stronger than us.”

Li Hao furrowed his brows. That wasn’t much at all then. He’d thought all of them were very strong!

“Then why...”

“Do you want to ask why there are so few of us, and why we are so weak?” The old man laughed ruefully. “There aren’t enough resources in Silver Moon and us martial masters easily decline at our stage if we don’t have sufficient mysterious power stones or Water of Life. Our blood qi fades and martial masters have many hidden injuries to begin with. There were quite a few alive early on, but they died one by one. Their wounds were either too heavy to fully recover from, or their blood qi had declined to the point in which their life force withered away.”

Li Hao sighed, what a pity that the counterattack twenty years ago had failed! The ancient ruins in Silver Moon had swallowed so much energy that it turned the province into a desolate place. It greatly accelerated Silver Moon’s fall. After the dust settled, these were the only people who were left.

“Then where do you normally live, seniors?”

“In a ruin,” answered another old man. “There is still some energy left in the ruins...”

“Then... why don’t you leave Silver Moon?” Li Hao couldn’t help but ask. There were plenty of places with more energy, or they could interact with others if it came down to it. Cultivating in secret would be better than cultivating in Silver Moon.

“It’s difficult to leave home, and do you think the province has always been at peace?”

“Over the years, many people have wanted to invade Silver Moon ahead of time. We beat them off on a couple of occasions. What will the province do if we leave too? With the younger generation gone, Silver Moon’s martial world will truly be beyond redemption if we leave too.”

Alright then!

Li Hao did not agree with their line of reasoning, but he understood it. To him, it was all the same if one left first and came back after growing stronger. But upon further thought, what if the province couldn’t be adequately defended after they all left?

Not to mention, they might have much to do with the fact that his teacher was fine and survived to the present day. Ying Hongyue might have killed Yuan Shuo a long time ago if they all left, then there would be no talk of Li Hao now.