Star Gate

Chapter 747: Li Hao’s Childishness (II)

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.

“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.