Star Gate

Chapter 735: You Have Bad People Working For You (II)

Li Hao raised a brow as he took a look at the prince’s entourage. Black Armaturas! There were only one hundred of them, but judging from their footsteps and aura, Li Hao could sense that they were very strong. Although armor concealed them, none of them was weaker than Sunderer and a haze of aura surrounded them. I wonder how many Dominators or greater they have?

The Demon Hunters behind Li Hao paled far in comparison.

A merry He Yong looked in the prince’s direction. “What are you still looking at him for, do you want a fight?”

“Is he strong?”

“Can you not tell?”

“I can read a little bit of his strength,” Li Hao replied thoughtfully. “He’s a strong martial master, but I can’t tell how many supernatural locks he’s saturated. How does he compare to Martial Uncle He?”

“I don’t know.” He Yong shook his head. “I knew a little before, but then he foraged in a couple of ruins. His strength should’ve risen greatly, so I can’t determine what his exact condition is. He hasn’t fought in a long time.” He turned to Li Hao and transmitted the next part, “What are you doing with the old guy from the administrative government?”

“He’s here to take care of some odds and ends for me.”

“You’re... really something!” He Yong concluded wordlessly. Damn, you stole even the deputy director general from Silver Moon! It’s a frequent topic of gossip in the province whether or not Zhou is a powerhouse.

There was a type of strength that came from cultivating among the raucous streets of the city. Everyone knew the old man was a powerhouse, but didn’t know how strong he was exactly... It was this unknown that prompted respect and wariness.

Director General Zhao and Deputy Zhou had administered Silver Moon for many years. No one believed that the two weren’t heavyweights. But how strong were they, exactly? No one had ever seen them on the battlefield.

Deputy Zhou looked at He Yong and nodded with a smile. “It’s been a long time, Sir He!”

He Yong couldn’t be bothered to respond to him.

“C’mon, let’s go into the city.” Li Hao cut the conversation short. “My place is small and a bit crude. The royal family gave me a marquis’ complex somewhere on the Avenue of the Nine Ministries. It’s huge, but... I don’t dare go. The nine ministries will probably beat me to death if I show up there!”

“Why not? They’ve given it to you!” Deputy Zhou roared with laughter. “The nine ministries are the core of the world. Holing up in the northern quadrant of the city is not an ideal long term strategy. It gives off the feeling of a temporary group hastily thrown together. Don’t dismiss the importance of location and appearances sometimes. Only when you’re located on the Avenue of the Nine Ministries do you enter the heart of the dynasty.”

Staying at the north end of the city was no proper long-term plan. People would only think that Li Hao was ready to run off at any time. The young man nodded thoughtfully and didn’t respond. He Yong looked at the young man and grinned widely.

This old guy is seriously annoying sometimes, he acts like he knows everything. I really want to punch him in the face!

“Martial Uncle He, has everything been alright in Skystar City in the days that I’ve been away?”

“What can happen here? Skystar City would be quiet for eighty years without you in the mix!” He Yong chuckled. “Oh, right, there is a small matter. Didn’t the Ministry of Finance relinquish a ruin recently? It’s the ruins of a martial university. The nine ministries, royal family, and some other aristocracies have designs on it.

“Although the Ministry of Finance explored it for a certain period of time, they haven’t fully excavated it. There should still be some treasures inside. Are you interested in taking a look?”

“I’ve heard about this one before.” Li Hao thought it over. “Someone said that it’s a grade two ruin. Are ruins divided into grades?”

“Of course!” He Yong nodded. “It’s just a simple categorization according to the level of danger inside—and it’s not a fixed level of danger. It’s based off of how many are lost on each expedition. Battle Heaven, for instance, is a special grade since not many make it back out alive.

“A grade one has over a fifty percent fatality rate. A grade two has between a thirty to fifty percent fatality rate. The one we’re talking about is a slightly more dangerous type. Under normal circumstances, the Ministry of Finance would’ve sent in at least Novas to a ruin that they’re exploring.”

Li Hao understood. So the categorization system didn’t represent anything. Not that many would’ve died in Battle Heaven if it wasn’t for him and the rest. So it was just a simple categorization via danger! He’d thought it was based off of gains or treasure.

“Ruins are currently categorized by three types,” Deputy Zhou said softly off to the side. “The first of an ancient city, the second of a martial university, and the third as the grounds of an ancient clan or sect. These three are the easiest to preserve. None of the rest really have a chance of standing the test of time.

“Every ruin that has survived to present day...” Here, the deputy paused. “Is due to only several possibilities. One, there is a treasure that exists, stabilizing the ruin. Two, there is a surviving powerhouse that can seal off the ruin. Three, there is neither treasure nor powerhouse, just the lingering echoes of some powerhouses who once lived there. For some ruins, these dao echoes are their greatest treasure!”

He plainly knew quite a bit about ruins. His knowledge drew a look from He Yong. “Old fellow, you government types must have dug up quite a few ruins to know them so well.”

“You should read more.” Deputy Zhou looked back at him. “This isn’t governmental knowledge, but knowledge contained in a book that Yuan Shuo published many years ago—Memoirs of Ancient Civilization Explorations. Granted, it was banned before it reached one thousand copies. The government doesn’t encourage people to go exploring ruins, it’s too dangerous.”

He Yong blinked, then cursed to himself. Who was the old man insulting on the sly, huh? He might as well announce through a speakerphone that He Yong doesn’t read books!

“Is that so? I haven’t read that book yet.” Li Hao was also surprised.

“Indeed, we banned it very quickly.”

Li Hao laughed. His teacher likely had forgotten the book or couldn’t be bothered to mention it due to annoyance. Yuan Shuo had never mentioned it.

The young man nodded at what Deputy Zhou said. There were innate reasons for why ruins could be preserved. He debated if he should explore the martial university. He would certainly go if this was Silver Moon, but here... he might fall victim to a trap.

The Ministry of Finance didn’t necessarily have good intentions in giving up this ruin, and Li Hao had never visited such a ruin before. He actually hadn’t explored that many, just Battle Heaven and the imperial palace. He’d discovered numerous treasures at each locale.

A martial university was a frequently heard term. The key point, according to Deputy Commissioner Zhang Liang of Military Supplies in Battle Heaven, was if the university still possessed full functionality. One could trade in trash for treasures, assuming that the university still had treasure in stock.

It seemed that all regular martial universities possessed this functionality.

There was no hurry to explore this ruin, this wouldn’t be the first expedition into its depths. Any treasures that remained would’ve been claimed a long time ago. If not, that represents danger so great that normal people could not obtain them.

......

The procession of people walking from the city outskirts to the temporary headquarters of the Skystar Commander Office in the northern city quadrant raised some attention. The current headquarters was just some old houses connected together. It did indeed lack a certain stateliness.

This area had been the slums before and was a far cry to the skyscrapers of the city center. It also lacked the august majesty of the Avenue of the Nine Ministries. It was such a display of shabbiness that no wonder Deputy Zhou said that it was not a good decision to remain here in the long term.

Their continued presence in the northern city quadrant also made business difficult for the locals. Many residents had to walk further to beg for a bite to eat.

Li Hao came to certain decisions as he walked along the street. Perhaps it was time to move to the avenues! At the very least, the flow of information would be more comprehensive there and operations more convenient. He had to pass through half the city now when he wished to visit the Night Watcher headquarters.

......

The Night Watchers.

“Li Hao’s back!” Big Eyes ran through the door, chattering nonstop. “Apparently the royal family sent the ninth prince to welcome him—this prince is the hottest topic right now! They didn’t exchange many words before before the prince left, however. Dao Sword, are you going to the northern quadrant?”

“What would I be doing there?” Dao Sword chuckled.

“To spar with him!”

“He’s an Arcanus and I’m just a metamorphosis. Wouldn’t I be asking for humiliation?” Dao Sword broke out in laughter. “You goad me to spar with him, but it’ll be more like being smacked around by him.”

“Hey, didn’t you challenge people beyond your cultivation level before? And you have the Heavens Dictate...”

“There’s no need for that.” Dao Sword shook his head with disinterest. “I also hear that his temper isn’t the best. If it’s roused during our spar, that will make a laughingstock out of us for others to jeer at. You guys should also keep it quiet. There’s no need to clash with him.”

“Not us!” Big Eyes denied. “It’s not us, but that a lot of the Night Watchers are waiting to fight him! It’s said that Li Hao wants to bring us under his command! He is strong, but would you be willing if he wants to turn us all into his minions? I’m not the only one, a lot of beings are unhappy and unwilling!

If they were to categorize Li Hao with malicious intent—that would be inaccurate. But he was too brazen! News had leaked the past couple of days that Li Hao wanted to recruit the Night Watchers and create his own agency. He didn’t want to take over Yao Si’s endeavors, but seize his efforts entirely and devour them!

One had to know that the Night Watchers possessed tens of thousands of supernaturals in the central region. Although some in select areas didn’t readily obey commands, there were more than three thousand in Skystar City alone. They were a force to be recognized with. There were several dozen Novas at headquarters alone. Li Hao was certainly showing them lack of face to do so when Yao Si was still alive!

“Let’s wait and see!” Dao Sword simply pressed his hands down. It was all rumors and hearsay at the moment, nothing to be overly concerned about. Even if the Night Watchers agreed, so would the Inspectorate have to render approval. If Li Hao wanted to claim the Night Watchers for himself, it didn’t just come down to a matter of pure strength.

The young man seemed to be thinking too simplistically. Just because Yao Si had helped him last time didn’t mean that the old man was willing to offer up his own troops with both hands. Yellow Dragon had toiled in the agency for five years, but in the end, most still supported Yao Si.

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