Star Gate

Chapter 747: Li Hao’s Childishness (II)

It’s quieter in the Four Seas... Li Hao pondered, that would be particularly true when the water aura was established. It might have a better effect in the sea.

The young man couldn’t wait to put his ideas into motion and studied the fire character again. The tiger seemed to be breathing in and out. Strength moved in circles inside the young man’s heart, forming a circulation.

The character really was breathing!

The thunder and lightning attributes within his body no longer rampaged. But if he only had these two attributes alone, he probably wouldn’t be able to complete the set of characters anytime soon. He hadn’t comprehended their auras yet.

“I’m going out real quick, Martial Uncle Hong. I’ll be back soon!” Li Hao transmitted—he was already gone.

Hong Yitang furrowed his brows. Out? Where are you going at a time like this? And, did you complete your third element or not? To be honest, he couldn’t tell. But since Li Hao had already said so, there was nothing else he could say.

“Be careful, everyone has their eye on you right now. Hou Xiaochen scared them all a bit so the nine ministries won’t easily probe you. But you should still come back soon if you head out!”

“I understand!” Li Hao swiftly retracted his fire aura, suppressed his wind and thunder energies, manifested his gold armor, shrouded himself with the mirror fragment, and withdrew all of his energy into himself. He vanished in the blink of an eye.

......

The young man didn’t tarry over the Skystar Sea. He plunged straight in and swam for its end, heading for the boundary of the Four Seas. The Skystar Sea wasn’t big, but it was very, very long. It stretched outward, running from east to west. In fact, one could directly enter either the East or West Sea from it.

After some thought, Li Hao set course for the east. He was going to head for the East Sea! He’d killed its tyrant Big Beard and there weren’t many powerhouses there. If he underwent his attempt in the West Sea, he might arouse the attention of the western provinces. These days, no one among the Xus of the east dared run around, so they wouldn’t investigate the East Sea even if anything unusual developed.

Li Hao traveled extremely swiftly and shot through the Skystar Sea. He was going to complete the water character in the East Sea!

......

The young man sped through the waters, reaching the East Sea when night fell. He continued onward to the center of the sea. He ought to be able to complete the character before he exhausted his resources. At the very least, he would have sufficient Water of Life to support his efforts.

......

At the same time, Skystar City.

The royal city was once more at peace. The disturbance from the northern city quadrant was gone. No one knew if Li Hao had successfully grasped a third element or not.

Inside the Nine Dragons Pavilion.

Several ministers sat inside a private room, quaffing wine by the cupful and not saying a word. None of the old ministers were present, it was all the present ministers.

The minister of the Judiciary looked around sternly as he drank and said after a while, “Are we going to just let him continue to improve like this? If he’s grasped the third element today, will he be far off from his fourth and fifth? Must we permit a snake to rest easily by our side?”

No one answered him. What could they do about it? Fight with Li Hao to the death? The young man wasn’t alone—he had the backing of the Silver Moon martial masters, as well as Hou Xiaochen and Hong Yitang being physically located in Skystar City. Not to mention that the royal family had been sitting back and watching their struggle all along. Who would it really benefit in the end if they truly fought each other?

Although they’d lost a batch of Arcanus to date, they hadn’t really suffered any losses. Well, the Ministry of the Judiciary had truly suffered a loss. Its minister was consumed with thoughts of revenge after Hu Xiao had been killed.

The minister of Internal Affairs was a slightly chubby fellow with beady eyes. He placated softly, “Don’t be hasty, Ole Hu. What’s in it for us if we duel Li Hao to the death right now? Let’s wait a bit longer. Once the second awakening begins, we’ll be able to use some of what we control to great effect! What can Li Hao bring against us then?”

“Don’t forget that he has Battle Heaven behind him!” the minister of the Judiciary denounced coldly.

“I know, I know!” The minister of Internal Affairs bobbed his head. “But will Battle Heaven really have a chance to revive and emerge in the world then? How many people are just waiting to march on Silver Moon? That province will be the first to fall then. It’s not just us, but the royal family, three great organizations, seven divine mountains, and some fellows who’ve remained in hiding all this time...

“The ancient civilization has fallen and their armies have become thorns in the sides of many factions, as well as a great resource...”

Essentially, he meant that they could not touch Li Hao. At least, not right now. It wouldn’t be a worthwhile trade.

“The most pressing task at hand is not this, but that we need to strengthen ourselves as well.” The minister of Examinations joined in. “We were hesitant and cautious before, but that state cannot continue! I’m sure that everyone senses the pressure as well. We cannot continue to be miserly or tentative! We need to expend mysterious power stones and trade them for Water of Life so we can strengthen the five organs. Yuan Shuo is not willing to teach anyone his breathing method...”

No one had conducted mass trades of Water of Life before, for no reason other than a lurking worry! They were worried that the plant spirits would grow too strong and awaken by too much. They would break free of human control and in fact, turn the tables instead.

Li Hao was bold and had the benefit of Battle Heaven backing. Not to mention, the little tree was young and naive. For the nine ministries, trading for too much Water of Life meant that the plant spirits would awaken to a greater degree. This meant that risk and opportunity went hand in hand.

But with Li Hao having grasped a third element, they could no longer sit back and watch.

The group exchanged glances, everyone uncertain.

“But... if the plant spirits regain too much strength...”

“At the very least, they’re unable to emerge into the present world!” rumbled the minister of Examinations. “We should not quit eating for fear of choking. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of either dying to the plant spirits or to Li Hao! Also, the royal family are starting to act brazenly as well. They’ve probably traded a great deal of mysterious power stones to their plant spirits! If they’re acting like that, what should we be wary of?”

In that case, everyone should trade for Water of Life en masse!

“Let’s not keep secrets from each other anymore,” the minister of Internal Affairs said softly. “Shall we be frank? How much is our plant spirits demanding for payment? The royal family is selling theirs for one hundred thousand stones per drop. The plant spirit that they have must be pricing their drops at a minimum of fifty thousand stones per drop. And you guys?”

Plainly, each of the nine ministries had their own individual ruins and plant spirits. No one knew whether each ministry had one ruin or multiple.

No one replied as they all dwelled within their own thoughts. What price? Knowledge like this shouldn’t be easily revealed at times. It was a classified secret.

No one purchased from the royal family as they knew it was too pricey. But for those powerhouses without access to a plant spirit, they might make an occasional purchase.

“I think we’re all in the same boat...” someone murmured after a while. “Mine is pricing each drop at sixty thousand, so slightly more expensive than the royal family...”

“Is that so?” the group laughed, able to roughly estimate that their prices were all approximately the same—fifty thousand stones per drop.

“We’ll need at least one hundred drops to stabilize the five organs and body enough for a third element. That alone will cost five million or so mysterious power stones. Does everyone think that is worth it?”

This was no small sum! It was an astronomical figure! As for whether or not it was worth it, that depended on the person. It took less than fifty drops to stabilize two elements and far more to stabilize three. Five million mysterious power stones was a large sum for any faction.

The group exchanged glances again, this time collectively staying silent. It was difficult to say if they would execute this plan after they returned to their institutions. They most likely would, but who could say for certain?

“Plant spirits don’t need that much to coalesce one drop of Water of Life,” someone muttered. “I suspect that they’ve exaggerated their needs at least five times over. Perhaps just ten thousand is enough for one drop...”

No one picked up that tone of conversation. What could they do about it? Water of Life was in those plant spirits’ bodies. If they didn’t pay up, the plant spirits wouldn’t produce the resource. What could they do about it?

“They’ve embezzled too much in preparation for recovering their strength and emerging back in the world. The more they recover today, the more they can immediately walk around after space stabilizes upon the second awakening. Perhaps we’re all just working for them?”

The plant spirits had to be kept in check, but no one spoke of it. They just continued to nourish their own thoughts.

“Right, do you guys think that Li Hao has stabilized his three elements through Water of Life or the sword of the Lis? No matter what, he should’ve exhausted all of his previous battle gains. I just don’t know what he may have obtained in Battle Heaven. But according to what I know, the plant spirit in Battle Heaven is particularly strong and hard to revitalize. What has he given to it to help it recover?”

This was what the ministers didn’t understand. What was the young man making use of?

“Can it be another plant spirit?”

“Li Hao is so young and hasn’t explored that many ruins. Where can he go to find a second plant spirit...”

That was true! The more they thought about this, the more of a headache they had. All they could do now was just watch Li Hao grow stronger. Although, he would end up depleting all of his previous gains if he continued to improve.

“The martial university that the Ministry of Finance relinquished...” someone raised in a low voice. “Whether it’s their plant spirits or ancient monster spirits, none are able to leave the ruins. But there is a secret inside the ruins and it is stable. If Li Hao consumes everything he has, he may wish to enter the ruins and search for treasure. It’s hard to kill him outside, but what about inside? What do you guys think?”

The group shifted, but no reply was immediately forthcoming.

“Will he undertake an expedition?” Someone asked softly. “This isn’t a dangerous ruin and there aren’t many treasures. Will he risk an excavation?”

“What if there’s treasure? He’s a Silver Moon martial master without many mysterious power stones. Silver Moon only has one massive mine that was depleted by its various ruins in the first awakening. Only the central region has an enormous mine in the entire dynasty. Would a martial master of Silver Moon take the risk if there are enough treasures inside?”

“That’s true... we can give it a try!” The conversation halted as everyone briefly grappled with their own thoughts. The price would be too high to pay for one ministry to undertake on their own. But if they joined hands and buried Li Hao in the ruins... that would be for the best. If not, depleting the plant spirits would also be nice.

“The plant spirits are strong and are even willing to part with their core origin if you pay them enough, or even a replica! It’d be best if we can end Li Hao there, but if not... it will be interesting if Li Hao kills the plant spirits instead!” The minister of the Judiciary left after these words. The rest of the group didn’t say anything and switched to tea, each minister contemplating certain matters.