Star Gate

Chapter 794: Probing for Partnership (II)

Chapter 794: Probing for Partnership (II)

“Our thanks for the commander’s mercy!” The old man kowtowed with gratitude.

It was a common outcome for an entire clan to be exterminated when their struggle for power ended in failure. With only Hu Xiao and his son dead, as well as a few others that’d made mistakes to be exploited dying as well, this was much better than the anticipated downfall of the entire family.

“Men, take them away!”

Demon Hunters quickly swarmed the rear residence and escorted the Hu men away. The Hu patriarch was the last to leave; he hesitated when he passed by Li Hao before saying, “Commander, there is a passage in the rear garden that leads to the family ruins. All of the families overseeing the nine ministries have such a ruin. My brother and his son maintained exclusive access to the ruins, the others were not permitted entry. I don’t know if there is a key or anything like that. My brother is dead and no one else in the family may enter...”

Li Hao inclined his head without further word.

The various families of the nine ministries all owned crucial ruins. Some controlled more than one, but the others they grasped might not be nearby. There was an entrance to a ruin inside each of the nine ministries—this was also why the nine ministries had been built at their respective locations.

In actuality, the royal family had built this layout when they ruled the dynasty. The nine princes protectively encircled the royal family!

As for why the nine princes had built such a layout... perhaps it had something to do with the ruins. It was Li Hao’s guess that the ruins around Skystar City were part of a larger whole during the ancient civilization!

This area might have been a sprawling metropolis back in the day. Although Battle Heaven said this land was known as Skystar Town, just their defenders alone numbered one hundred thousand. It was clear to see that this had been no ordinary town.

Ruins might be found everywhere beneath Skystar City. Evenround Martial University was one further away since it was on the outskirts. As for why they were located so close to each other... Li Hao had his speculations. They shouldn’t have been that close back in their day, but the terrain shifted with the times and the ruins themselves could expand or shrink in size. At the very least, Battle Heaven could do so. These ruins had gradually shifted near each other after these long years.

The rear yard quieted down when everyone from the Hus was escorted out. The place was free for the Demon Hunters to conduct their search. Li Hao looked at the depths of the rear garden. If there was a ruin here, then there would be a plant spirit.

The Hus...

Li Hao’s thoughts turned to the plant spirit replica that Hu Mingfa had brought to Evenround. His had been a... coconut tree, right? At least, the young man thought so. It looked like a massive coconut tree.

Deputy Zhou soundlessly drew near and said softly, “The ruins of the nine ministries are not ordinary ones. Out of the major ruins, their plant spirits awoke earlier than their brethren, despite their higher strength. It might have something to do with the royal family’s ruins.”

“Doesn’t that mean they’re weaker if they awoke faster?” Li Hao raised a brow. Only the weak revived faster since they needed less energy.

Deputy Zhou laughed softly, “That’s Silver Moon... This is Skystar City. It’s a bit different.”

“Why is that?”

And he wasn’t detected by Li Hao! That was terrifying. Had Sky Sword and the rest all become three element Arcanus? Chen Yao wanted to snort at them—were they that rich? Even when it came to advancing himself to three elements, it’d been a slightly painful affair for his finances. He’d required drops of Water of Life to the tune of several hundred million mysterious power stones to stabilize his cultivation level.

Breaking through was possible for Arcanus, but each breakthrough first relied on mysterious power stones, second on plant spirits. The third came down to whether one’s mysterious power, internal force, blood qi, and body itself was of sufficient caliber for the advancement. Otherwise, simply relying on Water of Life wouldn’t prove to be effective.

Each progression consumed a significant amount of resources. How could the poor beggars of Silver Moon improve so quickly? That was rather unexpected. Even if Li Hao had so many treasures on him, he couldn’t turn it all to strength so quickly, could he?

“Li Hao, I’m thinking that there might be some things that you don’t understand with the institution that you’re about to establish,” Chen Yao replied without a flicker of change in his expression.

Li Hao smiled. The Chen father and son... were an interesting duo. They were classic fairweather allies. If he was to say that they were corrupt, well, they weren’t fully corrupt. But neither was the Inspectorate all that good. In terms of good, the father and son had helped him last time. When it came to mundane cases, it was only the Inspectorate that did a passable job.

Father and son were the typical sort of not expending one iota more effort than needed, but also not committing one bit less than was required. Their deaths seemed imminent if anyone ever asked anything from them.”

When it came to the Inspectorate, it could only be described as mediocre! That ministry was as mediocre as Chen Yao and his father. It was neither here nor there, neither good nor bad. There were two old ministers ranked ahead of them; there were plenty of other ministers ranked behind them. Their authority wasn’t the greatest, but neither was it the smallest. Their strength wasn’t the greatest, but neither were they the weakest.

One had to say, sometimes it was people like this who seemed the most disagreeable and irritating. Exemplary in nothing, yet refusing to fall to the rear. They were a sight that offended the eyes.

“You’re too polite, Minister Chen!” Li Hao also found it wordless that the inspector general had snuck in like he was up to no good. The young man didn’t mind conversing with their visitor, however. He’d never had a proper conversation with this one. He was curious what the other was here for.

“Let’s just find a random place to sit. It’s my first time here as well, so I’m none too familiar with it.” Li Hao walked to a pavilion in the middle of a lake. This was quite a large backyard as it held an artificial lake and had space for a pavilion in its center. With the wintry gusts howling around them, it would be quite an outing if there was a grill in the pavilion. They could cook skewers and enjoy some wine.

“Folks... give us some space?” Chen Yao looked at the others still surrounding him. What are you still in my face for?

They laughed and vanished without a trace, just as they’d come. They were so strong that it put pressure on Chen Yao. These Silver Moon people improved too quickly.

......

Within the lake pavilion.

There were no cozy fireside chats, steaming mugs of tea, or grilling meat. There were only wintry gusts howling around the two. As the wind wrapped around Li Hao, it gradually began to calm. It was like the wind itself avoided the young man.

Li Hao took a seat; Chen Yao took a seat across from him. It was only now that Li Hao truly saw the inspector general clearly. He wasn’t old—forty years old at most. At the same time, looks didn’t mean much. The man was on the skinny side, not too tall, and a bit flippant. He seemed more like a hooligan on the streets.

Chen Yao suppressed the urge to shift uncomfortably, he wasn’t at ease here. Since the two weren’t drinking tea or wine, they were stuck staring awkwardly at each other.