Chapter 940: Curtains Fall on Skystar (III)

Qi Pingjiang furrowed his brows and halted in his tracks. As he expected, Li Hao was here. And there was also Yuan Shuo! And a dog and a tree—the imperial guard.

“Who would’ve thought!” Zhao Tianyang sighed. Li Hao truly had brought all of these powerhouses here. They weren’t interested in how the young man had done it. At the moment, they were just very resigned by the situation.

“There’s nothing to think about.” Li Hao smiled and looked at the old man in yellow robes. “Are you the previous Skystar King?”

Jiang Chen nodded with a smile, demonstrating a gracious bearing despite the circumstances. Apart from the two ministers of Examinations and Foreign Relations showing some timidness, the rest of the group was very calm.

“To the victor go the spoils,” Qi Pingjiang said solemnly. “It looks like we still lost in the end! Except... Li Hao, the ancient powerhouses are yet present in the world. Though you’ve taken our place, you will ultimately follow our footsteps!”

We cherished certain dreams in the past as well, but the ancient civilization is powerful and the nine ministries changed after the plant spirits seized control of our institutions. The world was plunged into chaos. Your blood may run hot now, Li Hao, but how long will it be before it’s doused and you’re like us?

“Then let’s wait and see!” laughed the young man. “Of course, those of you present will likely not have a chance to see.”

The ministers erupted with presence and summoned a weapon into their hands. All of them were extremely formidable!

Zhao Tianyang kept his composure. He was the foremost minister among the nine and leveled an even stare at Li Hao. “Defiance is given, you can save yourself the talk of having us give ourselves up. However, whether we win or lose, can Commander Li enlighten me regarding a matter or two?”

“What questions do you have, Minister Zhao?” smiled Li Hao.

The old minister smiled in response. “After taking down the nine ministries and royal family, the world will be in disarray and ancient powerhouses running rampant through our lands. The Silver Moon that you hail from possesses the most number of ancient powerhouses. Even Battle Heaven has thrown their full support behind the commander. What does the commander intend to do next?”

“I don’t know, I’ll take it one day at a time!” Li Hao looked at the other with surprise. “We’ll clear out the tumors first, then ensure that everyone has a full stomach. After that, we’ll stop the wars, then focus on education and technology. Martial dao and the supernatural domain will not be toppled, but their development will be restricted by the government. Other than that, I don’t have any good strategies yet when it comes to the ancient powerhouses.”

“This is what the nine ministries once sought to do,” sighed Zhao Tianyang. “But we soon found ourselves hobbled at every turn! The plant spirits have a massive appetite and either want energy, resurrection, or even to open the Star Gate so they can leave this place. Some wish to reign supreme through the land. Won’t you be repeating our actions with your plan?”

“I’ll simply do my best. Not everything can go according to my preferences, after all!” Li Hao smiled.

“True enough, the ancient civilization is a hard threshold to pass,” Zhao Tianyang said with some regret. “But the commander is young, so you might stand a chance... Then show us the strength of Old Demon Five Styles and Demonic Sword, the two Silver Moon heavyweights of the demonic Five Styles discipline!”

He slashed forward with his sword!

Yuan Shuo had been shifting with impatience for a while. He snorted and answered with a punch. A ferocious tiger howled its outrage at the sky!

The two clashed in battle with a thunderous rumble.

Jiang Chen chuckled as he summoned a spear. “I am Jiang Chen of Skystar royalty... please demonstrate your skill, Skystar Duke!”

He jabbed with his spear!

Li Hao laughed and disappeared on the spot. Jiang Chen was very strong, a seven element Arcanus. The young man was much weaker than before with the destruction of his supernatural characters. But what of it?

Seven elements was strong, but Li Hao wasn’t the slightest bit afraid. He was itching for some action after watching all of these premier heavyweights do battle.

“Qi Pingjiang, come at us with the rest of you!” Li Hao shouted, brandishing a longsword. It wasn’t Stellaris, just a more powerful ordinary weapon.

A longsword swept through the air, crossing with a spear. Sparks sprayed in all directions.

The other three ministers, Qi Pingjiang included, frowned and ignored the young man. They turned to attack Yuan Shuo instead.

“Yuan Shuo, I will avenge my wife today!” Qi Pingjiang snarled.

“Come at me!” Yuan Shuo sneered.

Bam!

The other two ministers erupted as well, instantly suppressing Yuan Shuo and forcing him back with every move.

Panther and little tree merely ensured that the perimeter was clear so that combatants would be undisturbed; they didn’t participate in the battle proper. These martial masters insisted on fighting each other in solo combat, so they didn’t want to be involved either. That would draw human ire instead.

......

Li Hao set everything out of his mind. They were all martial masters here, so the fight took place in a straightforward fashion. Jiang Chen was stronger than him at the moment, but the young man had seen much of the world. He’d once fought a premier seven element Hong Tu, so he was quite at ease in battle.

Every single one of his sword strokes were executed perfectly and his weapon flowed through various sword methods. The Nine Forged Force exploded with domineering fashion.

Jiang Chen regarded his opponent gravely. At a time like this, everyone forgot about any other enemies on the field. As the most premier personages of this era, laser focus was an integral component in one’s arsenal.

A spear jabbed forward like a dragon or a rainbow! It was wielded by the old Skystar King; he fought with an overwhelming merciless style. Hints of a saintly dao exuded when he swept his spear through the void. Li Hao fractured the earth when he was forced to the ground.

Seeing this development, the other two six element ministers rushed the young man!

Jiang Chen wanted to speak, but didn’t have a chance to before Li Hao’s longsword disappeared like a wreath, then reappeared after severing the old Examination minister’s neck. The old man’s head slid off with a wide-eyed look of incredulity on his face!

How was this possible?!

The young man... had demonstrated the strength of only peak six elements! That was all there was to him, so why was he... like this?

“He wasn’t worthy of a single blow!” Li Hao frowned. These two ministers were much weaker than those of Armed Forces and Administration. His sword was very fast.

The minister of Foreign Relations backed up in horror; his weapon erupted with force. However, Panther opened its mouth and the projection of the imperial palace appeared as well, suppressing the weapon. The dog then swallowed the weapon.

Li Hao didn’t say anything as he would find it difficult to go against a Saint-level weapon at this point in time.

Even though it’s fair combat, don’t you guys see that I’m not using Stellaris? How come you’re using your ministry’s ultimate weapon, the one that was once used by a Saint?

The Foreign Relations minister floundered around, lost after his weapon was no more. Li Hao evaded a spear jab and brandished his sword with a whirl. The Foreign Relations minister was sent to join his Examinations counterpart.

“We’ve gotten old,” Jiang Chen sighed and took a few steps back. “A young’un was able to kill two Arcanus of six elements right in front of me...”

He shook his head and suddenly smiled, snapping all of his supernatural locks!

“I can maintain this for three minutes, Skystar Duke, care to try it out now?”

Li Hao could tell from his forbidding presence that the old king had snapped all of his locks. “With the methods of a martial master? Now that’s interesting, let’s do it!”

He slashed out with his sword and an eruption of supernatural abilities! Although he no longer had his supernatural characters, his supernatural abilities still remained and light illuminated the world!

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Battle commenced on all sides; fierce action was underway!

......

Jiang Chen grunted two minutes later as Li Hao stabbed his sword through the old man’s heart. However, he laughed as he was able to jab his spear through Li Hao’s stomach and run it straight through!

“Skystar Duke, my organs were broken to begin with. Trading injury for injury... is not a good deal!” The old king smiled. He was going to die regardless, so it didn’t matter if his heart shattered. Li Hao was fully aware of this, so trading an eye for an eye was a very unwise decision.

“Martial masters naturally need to bring our full strength to bear before the enemy is dead!” Li Hao swiftly backed away the moment he yanked his sword out.

“How interesting!” Jiang Chen roared with laughter. “It has been many years since young heroes have appeared in the dynasty. The so-called younger generation... used to refer to your master’s generation. An abnormality has appeared in yours!”

His spear danced through the air as a stalwart mountain! Ripples reverberated through the air when it swung forth.

“I have long lost my ambitions and lofty aspirations after being trapped for eighty years. The ancient civilization has its advantages and drawbacks. They were a critical part of establishing Skystar Dynasty, but the dynasty has grown corrupt and cannot leave them.

“I thought I was cautious and conscientious, but I became a servant in the end as well! People of our generation... wish more to see you overthrow these guys!”

The spear illuminated the void and pierced through the firmament!

“I have brought dishonor upon my ancestors. My ancestors died in battle and did not betray the dynasty. I would request the ancient powerhouses to right my ancestor’s name!” Jiang Chen’s physical body fell apart when he was finished. He threw the spear forward, to which Li Hao quickly brought up his sword in defense. However, the sword was completely shattered this time.

The young man rapidly backed away and deployed the Five Styles, buffeting the spear however he could. Ultimately, the spear pierced through him again and nailed him to the ground.

Li Hao coughed up blood, but saw that a broken, ragged Jiang Chen had toppled over in front of him.

He was dead!

Li Hao coughed up more blood and pulled out the spear with a shake of his head. Jiang Chen was very strong, but it wouldn’t be that easy to kill the young man. His last move had been the last vestiges of splendor. He would still be dead without a doubt if the battle continued.