Chapter 822: All in Readiness (IV)

The look in Li Hao’s eyes grew colder the longer he stared at the name. His previous thoughts were that Ying Hongyue was probably weaker than those such as Qi Pingjiang and the old Skystar King, because he was younger than them. As such, Li Hao might not be afraid of him even if Ying Hongyue was a peak six element Arcanus.

But now? The old Skystar King was ranked number three! Number four was Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Administration and Qi Pingjiang was neither fifth nor sixth...

Number five was Lin Hongyu—a name unfamiliar to the young man. He was soon enlightened as there was an addendum after the name that identified her as the city lord of the City of Supernaturals.

Number six surprised him enormously—Zhao Shuguang, director general of Silver Moon! Number seven was also an unexpected mention of the current Skystar King! Qi Pingjiang only came in as number eight and Chen Zhongtian as number nine. Was this ranking targeted at him or the royal family? The two kings were placed in the top ten!

The young man soon came to know which party the ranking targeted. Number ten was Zhou Chuan, deputy director general of Silver Moon. Number eleven was Yama. Number twelve the Flying Sword Immortal. Number thirteen was the lord of Yonder Mountain. Number fourteen was Hong Yitang, number fifteen Yao Si, number sixteen Hou Xiaochen. Number seventeen was Sky Sword, and number eighteen Liu Hao. That was another unfamiliar name, and Li Hao looked at the addendum to see that he was the minister of Finance. How unexpected! His battle strength was listed as late six element Arcanus.

Therefore, there was a lot of falsehood in this ranking. All Silver Moon entrants were promoted upward and listed around peak six elements. That was bullshit and entirely too fake!

And yet... upon knowing that the rest of the ranking was true, then people would still pay additional attention to the beginning of the ranking, despite knowing that it bore certain parts of falsehood.

There were three Silver Moon heavyweights among the top ten and nine in the top twenty! Number nineteen was the lord of Phoenix Mountain and number twenty was... Yuan Shuo!

Indeed, Yuan Shuo. Would anyone believe that? Li Hao absolutely didn’t, especially as his master was listed as peak five elements! Peak bullshit, more like!

The young man didn’t know what to say. The ranking’s estimation of battle strength deviated severely whenever it mentioned those of Silver Moon; it wasn’t possible for these descriptions to be correct. That was nine Silver Moon names among the top twenty! What kind of nonsense was that?!

Everyone else on the ranking was the leader of their faction. Other than the lords of Phoenix and Yonder Mountains, the lords of Buddha and Sky Roc were dead, Sky Sword was counted among the Silver Moon crew. The remaining two mountain lords weren’t even part of the top twenty! There didn’t seem to be anything amiss with the explanations related to the battle strength of the others, which meant there was much amiss with the descriptions affixed to Silver Moon.

“Hmph!” Li Hao snorted coldly.

Why don’t you include yourself, huh?

The ranking listed only the top twenty before stopping. There was no reason given as to whether this was by design or if this was the most that the Wind and Cloud Pavilion could probe into at any given time. There were probably more that they could look into, but they purposefully didn’t list any more.

Just these twenty were enough. This ranking would cause a great uproar as nine Silver Moon personages entering the ranking was the stuff of legends! There were countless heavyweights on the nine ministries' side, yet their strongest—the minister of Administration—was ranked only number four. The one at Armed Forces was only at number eight. Not a single current minister was listed.

Apart from the Arcanus Ranking of these twenty, there was also a separate Divine Masters Ranking. There were ten more spots on that list and the first among them was Dao Sword. Since he was from the Night Watchers, that made him part of Li Hao’s camp.

This made the top of both the Arcanus and Divine Masters Ranking hail from Li Hao’s side. Although the Divine Masters Ranking was essentially worthless, it represented future potential. As such, this ranking was very important.

“Trash trying to scheme against me! Do they think that everyone’s stupid?” Li Hao cursed, then sighed. Indeed, everyone was stupid. They all thought that they’d hidden themselves very well, but their full strength had been completely plumbed by another. No matter if it was true or not, Silver Moon would become the target of great suspicion.

There would be many feints and probing moves to come; could Li Hao simply take them all lying down? If he killed any powerhouses that came calling... that would immediately prove that the ranking was true. That was when true trouble would descend on Silver Moon.

“What a pity that your ranking won’t be distributed!” Li Hao decided that the ranking had to be modified from the few that were mentioned. Some people didn’t need to be listed, while others must make an appearance.

“Everyone’s here!” Sky Sword called from outside the door. A smile crossed the young man’s face. Good! Everything was in accordance and it was time to visit the ruins.

He quietly left with a group of people half an hour later. Six elderly martial masters, Northern Fist, Tyrant Blade, Thunderleg, Kong Jie, and Huang Yu made for eleven premier martial masters. Combined with the earlier Sky Sword, Hong Yitang, Hou Xiaochen, Yao Si, Southern Fist, Light Sword, Yu Luocha, and Li Hao himself, as well as a Panther of unknown strength—this group represented the sum total of battle strength that he was going to bring to bear against the coconut tree.

If Chen Zhongtian joined them, that would make for twenty premier heavyweights. Even their weakest of Yu Luocha was an Arcanus. Li Hao had also given Yang Shan and Qin Lian a generous amount of Water of Life. It would be more than twenty Arcanus if they succeeded in ascending as well.

If the little tree was also thrown into the mix... then his side would be terrifying!

......

As Li Hao left with his people, Chen Zhongtian returned to the Inspectorate. He grabbed his son without a word and beat him so thoroughly that Chen Yao wanted to strike back at his old man.

“You unfilial son!” Chen Zhongtian intoned after a long while. Chen Yao glowered back at his father. The old man took a deep breath. “If you trade the family fortune for cultivation resources, they should be sufficient to support your entering four element Arcanus. I’m going to leave for a trip tomorrow. If I don’t return... go to the Ministry of Administration that night or just flee secretly. Abandon the Inspectorate and find a place to hide...”

Chen Yao blinked and looked more closely at his father, not knowing if he was putting on a front or truly speaking his heart. Chen Zhongtian didn’t bother explaining further—he had come to a decision to put it all on the line for once!

He had high hopes for Li Hao. Although the young man was crazy, it was as he said. The gamble would pay off enormous dividends if it succeeded—not in terms of wealth, but of mind and spirit.

Chen Zhongtian looked at the rear yard, a keen light glinting out of his eyes. Everyone in the world feared the ancient powerhouses, finding them impossible to overcome. He was among their number, but if they managed to shatter their internal demons, that would be a massive step forward for martial masters cultivating their heart!

Even Qi Pingjiang and the others don’t dare say that they dare to move against a plant spirit, but I... do! There’s a ninety-nine percent chance that Li Hao’s going to attack the plant spirit left behind by the Hus. Since he dares gamble with his life and the lives of many Silver Moon martial masters, he must have his confidence in doing so. Then I... I shall be involved as well.

Chen Zhongtian had made up his mind.

Tomorrow night...

was prior to the revealing of the ranking. Li Hao’s thoughts were not difficult to guess. He would eliminate the plant spirit before turning his attention to the Wind and Cloud Pavilion. If he succeeded, then the latter wasn’t worth worrying about. If he failed... then the ranking didn’t matter anymore. It wouldn’t be important anymore!

“Old man... you’re just joking with me, aren’t you?” Chen Yao raised an eyebrow. “I sent you to Li Hao to pick up an easy job, not to send you to your death. What are you putting up such an attitude for?”

Chen Zhongtian couldn’t be bothered to respond and brought a little girl close for some kisses. He turned to his eldest son. “Take everyone to the Ministry of Administration if I have not returned by morning of the day after tomorrow. You can do with yourself as you see fit, but your siblings are too young to get away.”

Chen Yao frowned and continued staring at his father. Chen Zhongtian ignored him, walking further in and setting course for a secret room. Chen Yao’s heart shook to see his father walk inside! That room held the divine weapon enshrined by the Chens. It was their strongest weapon, the one that suppressed the old Skystar King. It was related to the methods they’d employed back in the day. What did his old man want with it?

Taking that weapon with him really was putting his life on the line!

Chen Yao looked around in a daze. What... was going on here? He didn’t get it.

I just wanted you to earn some money, not go die!

What had Li Hao said to his father?

......

Evenround Martial University.

Martial masters were astounded by the supernatural characters that flowed from Li Hao and the rest. Meanwhile, the Black Armor that remained on the athletic field was completely lost for words.

Do you really treat this place as your secret cultivation haven? You come here for no reason at all and you return day after day, it’s truly... aggravating!

At the same time, it was surprised by this set of visitors. These people were interesting. They possessed strong auras—a manifestation that bore some semblance to the core origin dao of old. However, they were plainly not very strong. Ancient cultivators who did not reach peak comprehension found it hard to grasp dao.

These cultivators, on the other hand, seemed to have already touched the threshold of dao. Their physical bodies were mediocre and their mental strength run-of-the-mill. And yet, the perception of fledgling dao was plainly noticeable from them.

The Black Armor chuckled to himself. Each era bore their own cultivation style. What these visitors demonstrated was a good development, but also a drawback. Coming into contact with dao too quickly made it difficult for them to truly strengthen their own body and endure the force of great dao. Was it better to sip and nibble at the fount of great dao instead?

Li Hao finished teaching his newest pupils as the Black Armor pondered over his thoughts. Almost no one had reservations about the method. Being able to retain their auras while commanding supernatural power was their greatest yearning.

Everyone eagerly practiced this new skill. This process naturally required Water of Life. Li Hao calculated their needs at two or three hundred drops, and that was an optimistic estimate. It was a significant consumption of resources. Of course, the young man felt that he could make it back if they eliminated the coconut tree.

He walked into the school campus after he finished his instruction. The puppets at the school gates were still conducting regular patrols for unknown reasons. Li Hao set a course for the athletic field. The Black Armor watched silently, not knowing what the young man wanted.