Star Gate

Chapter 529: Safeguarding Silver Moon (III)

“Supernatural locks and aura... The supernatural locks restrain the aura, but do they do that purely to immobilize the aura?” Li Hao sank into deep thought. Locking the aura away may not be just to confine it, but also to nurture it!

But how could he release some of the power sealed in the locks to nurture the aura? Partially snap them like He Yong and the others did? That seemed... so unreliable!

Various thoughts flashed through his mind after reading through the Fundamentals of Sword Theory. He had many more reflections regarding martial dao as well as his teacher’s theories. It’d looked so simple to him before, but seemed quite deep and profound upon further consideration! Summoner of Spirit was not as straightforward as Li Hao had previously thought. Of course, Yuan Shuo himself may not have perfected the realm either.

“Forget it, there’s no sign of teacher to be seen at the moment and his theories may not be complete. Perhaps I can try to complete them myself.”

His teacher had given him some precursors and theories. All Li Hao needed to do was to overcome certain difficulties, such as how to use the strength inside the locks to nurture the organs and aura. They couldn’t just take in energy indefinitely, could they!

If that was the case, regular martial masters wouldn’t have the right to set foot into this level if they couldn’t utilize blood pearls. Li Hao could do it only because he could borrow sword energy to strengthen himself. His teacher had said that only a path that everyone could walk was a true path of martial dao. That was what made a real cultivation level!

Therefore, the peak of current martial masters ended at Dominator. The paths beyond it were not the normal order of things. Only Yuan Shuo and Li Hao utilized Summoner of Spirit. No one else was qualified to walk it.

The key lies in the supernatural locks. Li Hao had eaten most of the Mind Fruits by now and his four auras were stronger, but he wasn’t satisfied with that. That wasn’t enough. If his body also reached the ten thousand cube level, then he might fully surpass the previous Sea Shark. However, he would still fall short if he encountered a late Nova.

Faceless Shark had been a late Nova, which meant that White Shark was either a peak Nova or at metamorphosis like the golden eagle and other monster spirits. The latter didn’t seem likely. Those he knew of this level were Hong Yitang and others. He knew the limits of their strength before being unsealed—metamorphosis was a stage of change.

With Li Hao’s current strength, he wouldn’t stand against White Shark. As for the dog, he could tell that it might not be able to kill late Novas on its own. But if it ambushed those close to this level, it would be able to take out the target. Panth appeared to be slightly stronger than the young man, but not by much. It would be difficult for the two of them to accomplish anything against an enemy that already knew he’d killed a late Nova.

“Not to mention, there may not be just one Nova. There are also the Solars to consider. A plentitude of ants will bite an elephant to death. Causing trouble for the White Shark Raiders at this current stage is to court death.” Li Hao flicked the little sword around like willow leaves drifting through the wind. The motion brought a frown to his face. Grasping the wood aura through the Weeping Willow Sword might take a very long time. After strengthening the other four auras, it somehow felt a bit awkward to use the Weeping Willow Sword.

“The Five Styles...” His thoughts traveled to the first method he’d learned. According to Yuan Shuo, the deer style corresponded to the wood aura. How that exactly mapped to the wood aura was up to each person. Yuan Shuo’s thoughts differed from Li Hao’s—the young man felt that the deer style should map to the wind aura. How did it match the wood aura? One couldn’t say the deer style was of the wood attribute just because deer ate grass.

It was up to individual comprehension. Just as Yuan Shuo’s tiger was one of water, Li Hao’s was one of fire.

“It makes sense that the ape style corresponds to the wood aura as this animal is expert at traveling through the mountains via climbing trees...” Li Hao smiled at this. He returned to the book instead of thinking about it further. Perhaps the ancient book could give him some hints or other comprehension.

The sky was fully dark outside and the owner of the tavern didn’t dare rush the customer that’d taken over the best room. He’d recognized who the person was and couldn't wait to fawn over the young man—how would he ever dare say that they were closed for the day?

Granted, there was no end of internal muttering that the young man was seriously miserly. A small jug of wine and some pastries were all that he ordered... The one in the room was an important heavyweight, after all, is there a need to be so stingy?

If it wasn’t out of concern that the other would dismiss him out of hand, the owner wanted to send up a plate of fruit or something similar. The young man was so miserly to order so few dishes after sitting in the room for the entire day!

Li Hao didn’t walk down the stairs until the night was fully dark and neon lights flickering brightly outside.

“General, would you like a bite to eat?” The owner quickly stepped forward in welcome.

“That’s alright.” Li Hao flashed a smile and took out one hundred Skystar coins. “Is this enough for a jug of wine and a plate of pastries?”

“......” The tavern keeper paused. That is... definitely enough... but... ah forget it! It’s not like I charged you a private room fee. “That’s enough, more than enough!”

“It’s tough running a business, so I ought to pay this amount.” Li Hao left after settling his bill, sighing with appreciation at the cost of living in Southern Ford. One hundred coins for a meal? When he’d been a new inspector at Silver City, his wages during his probation period had been one thousand coins a month. It’d be gone after ten small flasks of wine.

The young man shook his head. No wonder the city’s tax revenue could sustain thirty million throughout the province! The cost of living is so high here that I would be able to feast in Silver City for the price of that meal.

Li Hao wasn’t in a hurry to head to the beach after he left the tavern. He wandered through the city, in a rare mood and frame of mind to take in the streets and lights of Southern Ford. It would be nice to utilize this free time to cleanse his thoughts and heart. What he saw at the Near River town today was also fresh on his mind...

Li Hao smiled, a new sensation in his heart. Silver Moon was wonderful now that he looked at it!

......

As Li Hao roamed through Southern Ford, the Demon Hunters partied it up in the city.

......

At the same time, White Moon City.

Several senior executives were hosting a video conference. Several figures were projected on a crystalline screen. Kong Jie leaned back on his office chair with weariness. “Did none of you sense Li Hao running off last night?”

“No.” Huang Yu raised an eyebrow on screen.

“Then that means there are problems with our system!” Kong Jie said brusquely. “We’ve been on guard against supernaturals, but martial masters are the true latent threat! If Li Hao and his people could leave with no one the wiser, that means martial masters can soundlessly invade us!”

Huang Yu inclined his head and didn’t argue. After a while, he said, “We can indeed be stricter against martial masters. I’ll take this into consideration and have the army enhance our preparations for martial masters.” He promptly set the concern out of mind. “So Li Hao killed Faceless and Sea Shark?”

“The black dog was also there, it might have participated.”

“That’s a major monster spirit...” Huang Yu hesitated. “What are they doing in Silver Moon? It doesn’t feel to be of the supernatural system either, it seems rather like the martial master system.”

Director General Zhao coughed; his figure superimposed on Huang Yu on the screen. “Perhaps it’s a descendant of an ancient monster spirit and has had its bloodline awakened. The bloodline heritage of the monster spirits is slightly stronger than that of the human races. We might have some ancient monster spirit descendants in our midst.

“You’ve seen the data, too, that Li Hao inadvertently took in the dog. It comes from Silver City. Since the heritage of the eight families is in that city, it’s to be expected that there are descendants of ancient monster spirits there.”

Everyone nodded slightly.

“Hou Xiaochen’s departure means that some issues will crop up with our system of the four institutions,” Kong Jie said after momentary consideration. “It was Ole Zhao in charge of internal affairs, Ole Huang for external enemies, me for domestic security, and Ole Hou being a mobile unit to cleanse us of random nonsense.

“But the Night Watchers lack sufficient strength after Ole Hou’s departure. We also lack critical powerhouses to make decisions. Hao Lianchuan is too weak...

“I recommended Wang Henggang as a replacement, but Ole Hou didn’t agree and caught us off guard when he left by promoting Li Hao. The lad’s not weak, but I... didn’t think he would do before!

“He’s like his master, a proper vagabond. They’re not reliable if you want them to shoulder any responsibility. If Hong Yitang had been willing to take over... I think he would’ve been the best candidate. Sadly, he wasn’t willing.

“Thus, I am hopeful after seeing some new developments. I’m wondering whether we should bring Li Hao into the fold and revive the four institution system of Silver Moon.”

The Inspectorate, Night Watchers, provincial army, and provincial government had overseen Silver Moon for many years. Bringing Li Hao into the fold meant acknowledging his position, that he would eventually replace Hou Xiaochen and become the leading figure in the province’s violent law enforcement agency.

“No, it’s too soon!” Even Director General Zhao frowned at the suggestion. “You’d be pulling the sapling up by the root to help it grow. We can’t think that Li Hao is ready for responsibility after one operation, that’s not appropriate! As the bloodline of the eight families, we hope that he can safeguard this ancient sacred land. But right now, he completely lacks sufficient strength, experience, thoughts, and foundation.”

“You’re being a bit frivolous, Ole Kong,” Huang Yu declared solemnly as well. “Li Hao did well this one time, but he only did well. It’s not a good idea to put his name forward after a single operation.”

“That’s true!” Kong Jie nodded after some thought. “But I think we can consider it. The White Shark Raiders won’t give up so easily. They’re strong and also backed by the Jiangs, correct?”

“We’re not sure, but there’s a distinct possibility,” Huang Yu answered. “What are you saying?”

“The pirates will come for revenge no matter what, or they won’t be able to stand within the North Sea. The other seven factions will divvy them up sooner or later. Therefore, I’d like to see how Li Hao handles the problem. He’s created it, but says that he will resolve it. I’m thinking that if we don’t make a move and leave it alone, shall we bring him in if he successfully handles the situation?”