Star Gate

With certain ideas in mind, Li Hao slurped down a bowl of soup and burped with satisfaction. “Is that it, director?” He lifted his head merrily. “I’ll be done after I clean up the Colosseum for the Night Watchers?”

“Of course not.” Having long finished his meal, Hou Xiaochen casually sipped at tea. “I have two purposes with tonight’s visit. First, it’s best if they play nice and relinquish their claim over that enterprise.

“If not, then it’s the second purpose—we resist and strike back on all fronts! This will take place on all levels, whether on an official, clandestine, civilian, or noble aspect… You might even suffer assassination from the three great organizations! We’ll seize various chances throughout this period of resistance to strike with swift fury!”

Hou Xiaochen suddenly laughed in a rather eerie fashion. “So long as we properly seize the opportunity and don’t become a source of gossip, we’ll be able to kick them down however we wish! There are plenty of people who’d love to dismantle a ministry!

“It’s up to you what your concrete actions are—whether it’s timely control of events, permitting them to develop as they would, embroiling others into your plans, or carelessly wrapping things up… All of these are options!

“Different measures will result in varying consequences. If you simply wish to create a foothold in Skystar City, then just commence with the simplest course of action—eliminate their biggest stronghold! That’s much easier than the rest.”

Li Hao understood. Hou Xiaochen was trying to determine what the young man could or was willing to do. Whatever actions Li Hao undertook would naturally meet with varying degrees of backlash. The man himself would only be in charge of those above metamorphosis. Plainly, he was trying to gauge the limits of Li Hao’s abilities.

The young man ate a bit more before switching to drinking tea. “What about helpers?”

“You can do as you see fit. If you can utilize the Night Watchers, then do so. If you can’t or you don’t have the ability to keep them in line, then you know just as well that only Golden Spear is able to help you on the Silver Moon Guards side. We don’t have enough powerhouses!”

There weren’t many heavyweights among the Silver Moon Guards. Golden Spear was the equivalent of a Nova; the others, such as Mu Lin, were slightly weaker. As for Manager Yu, she naturally served only Hou Xiaochen since she was the man’s secretary.

“Understood!” Li Hao nodded with a grin. This meant that the rest of them would be of no help whatsoever. It was up to him alone!

Ole Hou really… thinks highly of me.

……

At the same time, the news spread explosively. Demon Sword was in the royal city! Li Hao had come to Skystar City and most stunning of all was that Hou Xiaochen had declared war on the Ministry of Finance when he visited the Nine Dragons Pavilion!

Indeed, he’d declared war!

It was only a struggle over the Colosseum, but it became war in the eyes and ears of others. It was a blatant statement that the minister should recognize the times they were in and withdraw from the Colosseum of their own accord.

If not, I’ll use violence against you!

As the only legitimately authorized supernatural law enforcement agency, that gave the Night Watchers the advantage. Yet sometimes, nominal power was required to be reinforced by actual strength. As part of the nine ministries, their indomitable strength did not need to be questioned!

……

The Inspectorate.

A senior official with a slightly pale countenance swiftly walked into the main conference hall. The inspector general who appeared rather young had already arrived. He smiled at the newcomer. “So you’ve received word?”

“Y-yes…”

“It’s fine, what are you in a panic for?” chuckled the inspector general. “This has nothing to do with us, it’s a declaration from Hou Xiaochen. Not to mention, he may not succeed. Why are you the one frantic? Hou Xiaochen’s reaction is interesting after Demon Sword Li Hao has come. He seems to think that Li Hao can suppress everything, or that he can keep the situation under control!

“They can have their own fun!” the man snorted. “The guy didn’t seem fit to notify me before he summoned Li Hao here. Does he want to use the fight with the Steadfast Duke to bring all sides under his heel? If that’s the case, he’s thinking too simply!

“The Skystar Colosseum touches upon many other issues.” The inspector general frowned. “It covers a very wide span of matters! Where do its supernaturals and monster spirits come from? Not to mention all of its priceless treasures and ingredients—the profits that are at stake are stunning beyond belief! It will be so much more profitable than raiding Xu Qing’s old hideout. Apart from the Four Seas Company, the Skystar Colosseum is Liu’s greatest source of profits. He even gave up some other benefits back in the day for it…”

The man sat back with a chuckle. “Forget it, we’ll sit back and watch tigers fight it out!”

“But… what if we’re dragged into this, inspector general?” asked a strong subordinate.

“How would we?” laughed the man. “If they fail, they’re on the hook for it! It’s just as good if they succeed. If they fully infuriate Liu, he’ll take to the field himself. We can act then—we may not be able to fully eliminate the Lius, but we’ll be able to weaken them significantly and take down half of the Ministry of Finance!

“So it’s a good thing! If considered from this perspective, we’re not responsible for any mishaps and we can share in the success. What is this, if not a good thing? I don’t mind it if Silver Moon martial masters are willing to volunteer to be the blade in my hand!”

The inspector general had seen through the heart of many things. Just as Hou Xiaochen had said, if the profits were big enough, even Silver Moon martial masters could come under his protection. The precursor was that they didn’t just bring trouble without profit. No partnership would survive for long if that was the case.

“The Night Watchers have made Li Hao the Skystar vice commander,” someone raised in a low voice. “Does that Director Yao of ours have ulterior motives in mind?”

“Hahaha, it’s hard to say!”

“What about Yellow Dragon?” laughed another. “Will Yellow Dragon involve himself? Even if he doesn’t, he won’t sit by to watch Hou Xiaochen succeed, will he? If Hou Xiaochen wins out, then it’s Yellow Dragon’s turn to be on uneven footing!”

All of these people had clearly analyzed the situation and saw to the heart of all issues.

“They can fight among themselves!” the inspector general said faintly. “If the Silver Moon martial masters can’t overcome even a single Yellow Dragon or take down the Colosseum, then they’re just a bunch of troublemakers who can do nothing but make life difficult for themselves. We won’t have to pay attention to them then.”

“Inspector General, what does Hou Xiaochen want for his ultimate goal?” Someone looked quizzically at their superior officer. Apart from solidifying his standing and making his name known throughout the city, did he have other aims in mind?

It was too great a risk to take just for the sake of cementing his position in the city. All out war with one of the ministries wasn’t worth the payoff.

“His ultimate goal?” the inspector general mused meaningfully. “What ultimate goal does he need? He just needs the nine ministries to start fighting each other—that will let everyone know that the Silver Moon savages are not people to provoke. Isn’t it enough to let a certain portion of people witness the might and fighting spirit of that province? Why must there always be a final result?”

The man rose with a laugh. “Alright, don’t bother me with these trifling details anymore. As for Li Hao, since he’s come to Skystar City given that he’s part of the Night Watchers… He can do as he wishes as he apparently isn’t scared of being assassinated!”

“Understood!” came a chorus of acknowledgement. No one said anything else as they quickly left on their own business.

……

At the same time.

Many similar meetings were being held elsewhere.

The Ministry of Finance.

“People pick on the easiest targets.” The chubby Minister Liu still wore a smile on his face as he sipped tea. “It looks like Hou Xiaochen thinks that our ministry is the fattest lamb for the slaughter! Li Hao also thinks we can be a stepping stone to his success. He wants to use us to intimidate the four corners and stabilize his footing. He also wants to lure all sides to the feast…”

“Then… how should we respond, Minister Liu?”

“We will certainly not back down,” the merry minister laid out. “We cannot at a time like this! I already gave way to Hou Xiaochen today, but if I do so tomorrow, then my Four Seas Company will be gone. It will be the tax revenues from the various provinces the day after that, and myself entirely after that!”

He only had two options at a time like this—to advance or retreat. But he could not take another step back! Once he did, the rest would be like sharks that smelled blood and instantly rip him to pieces!

“Judging from Hou Xiaochen’s words, he intends to use this bloodthirsty Li Hao as his blade!” The beguiling woman gnashed her teeth. “Then we kill Li Hao! His reputation is sky high since he just killed the Xus. Once he dies, not only will two divine weapons fall into our hands, but also large sums of wealth and a tremendous reputation…”

It was easy to dismantle the straits they were caught in—just kill Li Hao or even Hou Xiaochen. That would put an end to everything. Or, they just needed to defeat those two to the point where their weaknesses were apparent to others. Countless people would turn to devour them instead. The results would be the same no matter which side it was. Whoever displayed fragility in this conflict would soon be torn to pieces by numerous ferocious tigers.

As for why Hou Xiaochen had the Ministry of Finance in his sights and wanted to use Minister Liu as his whetstone… the minister felt that it was probably because he was too easygoing.

“Are you confident in taking down Li Hao?” The minister smiled at the woman.

“Yes!” the woman said calmly. “I am a metamorphosis expert. As for him… he must be strong to be able to escape from a sealed Xu Qing. He should be at least late or peak Nova. Added to that the use of the Windchaser Boots means that he can reach metamorphosis.

“However, even in that case, I am still confident of bringing him down!”

“That’s not enough…” Minister Liu proclaimed after momentary thought.

“Not enough!”

It was a simple declaration, but it raised ripples of emotions in people’s hearts. The minister felt that one metamorphosis expert wasn’t enough against the young man! Granted, Li Hao was indeed very aggressive. He’d once escaped being hunted down by numerous metamorphosis experts in the east.

etvolare’s Thoughts

Thank you to Icke on Discord for suggestion a chapter reading! It’s been a while since our last one and he’s pointed out that 666 would be a most auspicious chapter to do a reading for, heh.

In light of that, I’d like to take a quick poll to see what would be a good time. Would midnight my time (GMT +8), which is noon US EST, 9am US PST, on a weekend be the best?