Chapter 968: Happy Cultivation (II)

“Then the Ninth Division leader and the Li Daoheng who betrayed New Martial...” Li Hao raised a new thought that suddenly occurred to him. “What’s the difference between them and us? An auxiliary branch? Side branches means there is a main branch. Are we the main branch?”

“Yes,” nodded the Black Armor. “The Sword Sovereign didn’t really care to oversee the Sword City. It was mostly your ancestor—my classmate—administering the city. She later gave birth to a few children and her eldest son inherited the city lord position. That is the so-called main branch of the family!

“The rest of her children sought their own fortunes, which is where the auxiliary family branches come from. Li Daoheng’s branch descends from my classmate’s second son. He is what everyone would term a side branch.

“Most of the families are such, but the so-called main or side branch monikers are but a joke. There were many opportunities in New Martial. Staying in residence at a main city wasn’t necessarily better. This was just a minor world. Some of the side branches went to the main world and thus lived better, more prosperous lives...”

I see!

“Then... why are the main branches of the eight families in Silver City, as opposed to living in their main cities?”

“Why are you asking me that?” The Black Armor stared at him.

How would I know?

Li Hao swiftly looked at Director General Wang. This one hailed from a side branch as well. “Director General Wang, you serve in your family’s main city, how come the rest of us don’t?”

“That’s normal!” laughed the man.

“What?”

“I said that’s normal!” the director general repeated with resignation. “When disaster occurred, everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the main cities fell. They would fall silent sooner or later without energy. Hence, the families left in search for a chance of survival and passed on the keys to their cities. The main cities were death traps—to remain there was to wait for death! The Battle Heaven Army’s mission was to stay behind and defend, so they had no choice!”

Those who had to remain and hold down the fort had no option otherwise. Branches of the eight families roamed the outside world in a need to pass on the heritage keys that would open the Star Gate.

“Then why... didn’t the Wang family leave with their key?” Li Hao asked curiously. Their weapon was the old turtle, right? If the main cities wouldn’t stay safe, then all of the keys should have been removed.

“That one was different!” explained Director General Wang. “Senior Black Tortoise’s spirit was densely concentrated. To leave the cities then was to kill the spirit within any weapon! There was no energy in the outside world anymore. The guardian would fall completely asleep if it was brought outside and prove very hard to resurrect. The other families had weapon spirits of lesser energy concentration, so they could leave their cities.”

“So the old turtle was left behind for this reason? What if it ended up lost?” Li Hao frowned. Since there was a tacit understanding among the eight, why did the Wangs not follow that agreement?

Director General Wang remained silent and looked meaningfully at Li Hao.

“Who were you guys guarding against?” The young man suddenly understood.

The director general started, then nodded. “The convergence of the eight heritage weapons would open the Star Gate. To prevent any mishaps from happening, the Black Tortoise Shield of the densest concentration chose to remain in the main city.

“Battle Heaven was the safest out of the eight. Any of the other seven might fall, but it was unlikely for that to be Battle Heaven’s fate due to the two characters written by the Exalted Blood Emperor. Not even the Sword Sovereign could match the exalted emperor’s actions.

“Therefore, if the other seven weapons were collected and the Star Gate needed to be accessed, they could come to Battle Heaven to seek out Senior Black Tortoise.”

“There would be a test involved when they came, wouldn’t there?” Li Hao suddenly asked.

Director General Wang didn’t respond. Yes, there would have been.

Since this precaution had been taken, the eighth weapon wouldn’t be given to just anyone who came asking. That would render their safeguard useless. The old turtle was the final line of defense.

But now... Director General Wang laughed ruefully. “There’s not much meaning to it now. You’ve broken the other weapons, so there is no hope for the eight weapons to gather again!”

This was all useless!

“The Zheng family should’ve also sent out people back in the day.” Li Hao still didn’t understand a key point. “They’d turned traitor, so how were the other seven families permitted to leave the cities with their heritage weapons? The eight families lived peacefully with each other then. Why not take advantage of the other seven’s ignorance and seize all of their weapons?”

“How would I know? I was dead.” Director General Wang rolled his eyes. “My family didn’t leave, only those who did knew the truth of the matter. The eight families made their own decisions back then and this was just a preventative measure. It wasn’t a joint decision made after a round of communication. Perhaps the Zhengs did this to fish for bigger gains, or for some other reason.

“Maybe those who left the cities promptly lost their strength. Perhaps the world didn’t support the revival of the weapons, which made obtaining them pointless. There’s too many reasons, so how would I know?”

Do you think I’m all-knowing?

“In that case, everyone who left the cities should’ve died.” Li Hao nodded. “Because they lacked energy, right?”

“Correct.” Director General Wang nodded. “There was some energy left in the ruins. Without any in the world, any who left the ruins have long died. Not to mention that the world was an unstable place in those times. Core origin dao had vanished and we were safe only in the cities. The main family branches left only because they sought to search for the hope of survival from a future of certain death...”

“But I heard that the Sword Sovereign took all of the powerhouses with him,” Li Hao asked. “Why did the Zheng patriarch leave with them?”

“......” Director General Wang rolled his eyes again.

Don’t ask me, I wasn’t a senior executive.

“That’s also normal.” It was the Black Armor who chuckled. “I didn’t leave either—some of us were slated for the second batch. The Sword Sovereign’s group was the first batch, we were the second batch.

“Unfortunately, we were one step too late. The enemy should’ve been like me, slated for the second round of recruitment. Sadly, the Star Gate sealed shut before we were able to leave.

“The premier powerhouses left in the first batch. Some weaklings were included in the second batch and needed some more time. I don’t mean me, but the students!” the Black Armor supplemented when he saw Li Hao look at him. “I intended to leave with the students. Perhaps the Zheng patriarch had a similar reason. He might have had some descendants to take care of. The weaker heavyweights were to leave later, which meant they were easily among the list of those who stayed behind. The Sword Sovereign wasn’t an unreasonable person. If you had business to take care of, he wouldn’t refuse your reasonable request even if it caused a slight delay.”

“I see!” Li Hao brightened with understanding. “It’s always been said that all of the powerhouses had left, but more kept popping up later. I thought it was Director General Wang and the Ninth Division leader being afraid of battle!”

“......” Director General Wang wanted to curse out the young man!

“Wang Ye is a bit weak, he is just an Initial Immortal, it was normal that he stayed behind!” the Black Armor said faintly. “The requirements for war that year were at least Immortal—Initial Immortals were recommended not to join. Of course, the military was an exception!

“Wang Ye was the director general of Security and in charge of internal affairs. He was part of the military, so it only made sense that he stayed behind!”

Director General Wang looked on wearily at these words.

The Ninth Division leader remained to safeguard the city. Wang Ye was in charge of the city’s law and order. People like them and stayed behind on purpose.

“Where is the list of the second batch of powerhouses to depart?” Li Hao suddenly asked. “You guys can’t have randomly withdrawn without a list. If there is, we can cross-reference it with the people who stayed behind. That will make it obvious who are the traitors. Anyone who stayed on beside the necessary defenders should be subject to an investigation!”

“The Sword Sovereign has the list, go look for it yourself.” The Black Armor didn’t bother seriously considering the notion. It had naturally crossed their minds some time ago. Apart from the commander-in-chief—the Sword Sovereign—the list wouldn’t be easily circulated, despite its minimal importance.

“......” Li Hao sheepishly fell silent.

Pretend I didn’t say anything.

He put the matter out of his mind and quickly changed the topic, “Forget it, let’s ignore all that. I’m going to keep working on the new cultivation system. Since the dean is willing to construct a model for me...

“But the dean is unfamiliar with modern humans...” The young man shook his head and turned to Yuan Shuo. “Teacher, why don’t you work with the dean to create a new model!”

Li Hao felt that his teacher was the most knowledgeable in the world when it came to the modern human. He even grasped a deep understanding of concepts such as the aura! Although the Black Armor was strong, who knew if he understood the human body?

Zhang An didn’t say anything, but Yuan Shuo smiled and looked at the young man with gratification.

It’s my disciple who knows me best after all, I’m omnipotent!

“Ah, yes, I conducted experiments on some supernaturals before this and discovered something...” Li Hao paused. “It has to do with the Heaven Favored. Their supernatural locks are open at birth and release energy. My sense is that they’re linked to the Hao Cosmos from birth, so they are indeed favored by the heavens!

“I was wondering before if this was a bad honor to have, but then I determined that the Heaven Favored might be those who are innately tied to the Hao Cosmos. Therefore, I may have discovered that universe, but it existed among the universe of dao before!”

“You’re right, the universe of dao has always existed. Discovering it is the key!” nodded the Black Armor. “Those so-called favored by heaven stood more of a chance to discover it, but you were the one who did. That can only mean that this path, this dao universe, is meant for you!

“It also represents that you are not favored or chosen by the heavens! Humanity can triumph over them! It likely also has to do with the fact that descendants of New Martial powerhouses will find it difficult to be Heaven Favored.

“That there are countless ones in the world today means that their ancestors were either mortals endless generations ago or weaklings. They are a closer fit for this world.”

Li Hao blinked, then nodded. So that was the case. No wonder Hong Tu had wanted to change his destiny and be reborn. He was of New Martial, the mark of its great dao was still on his soul. It would be very difficult for him to find favor in heavens’ eye if he didn’t reincarnate and completely erase these things from him. Replacing the consciousness of the world would be even more impossible.

“The dao universe should’ve always existed,” said Yuan Shuo. “The aura wasn’t only discovered today, but a very long time ago! It’s just that we are able to draw closer to it in this day and age.”

Li Hao nodded, he agreed with that. It might have something to do with the first awakening.

“The energy of the world disappearing might actually be an opportunity,” the Black Armor proposed. “This age of silence has completely isolated the world from the influence of core origin dao. All New Martial citizens have been sealed away and lost their control over the world. That creates an interval of time for the world to birth its own consciousness!

“Therefore, it’s difficult to say whether the great silence was created on purpose or out of necessity. Perhaps... someone did so to create this opportunity! This minor world might not be the important factor, what’s important is the Hao Cosmos that you speak of! Someone wishes to be like the Heavenly Emperor of New Martial and be the first to discover the dao universe.”

Li Hao blinked and sank into silence. “Is that possible?”

“Very possible.” Zhang An nodded.