Star Gate

Li Hao was at a complete loss for words. “How strong is martial uncle now when you unseal yourself?”

“Less than Arcanus," He Yong had to say. “Let’s put it this way. People like me are primarily judged by how many supernatural locks we unseal. It depends what degree we unseal them to and how saturated they were. It’s difficult to define martial masters at this stage, everyone’s situation is different.

“The metamorphosis of a Nova is a very protracted process. Do you know what that stage entails?”

Li Hao shook his head.

“The metamorphosis stage refers to those who have broken one lock of their organs and all four of their limbs. As we know, breaking five locks makes one a Nova. Arcanus is when another of the five organs have been shattered, so why is there a separate mention of metamorphosis?

“This stage is one of adjustment, in which the second elemental attribute is slowly released into the body. The sixth lock cannot be abruptly shattered all at once, that will cause an internal explosion! It’s a similar situation to our unsealing—supernaturals gradually wear away at the second lock of the organs and release the energy within. They are Arcanus when it fully breaks. Before that, they are in the metamorphosis of change.”

Li Hao finally understood! So this was the meaning behind that stage.

“Those undergoing this deliberate fracturing are naturally also divided into strong and weak. One supernatural might have cracked one tenth of their lock, another might have worked on one fifth. It really is rather similar to our unsealing.

“Whether it is Xu Qing, Hong Yitang, or me, we are all in this stage. It’s just that I… can’t reach Arcanus even after I unseal myself. Hong Yitang, though, will rival an Arcanus when he fully unseals himself.”

“What if martial uncle saturates a few more locks?” Li Hao thought rapidly.

The look in He Yong’s eyes changed and he stroked his chin. He suddenly flashed a brilliant smile at Li Hao. “Then that’s another story entirely. If that’s the case, I’ll beat whoever you want me to beat up and kill whoever you want me to kill. But… is there enough time for that?”

“Why wouldn’t there be?”

“Aren’t you going to take some action tomorrow…”

Li Hao laughed before he had the chance to finish. “Why tomorrow? Everything thinks I’m going to listen to Director Hou and start kicking down doors tomorrow, but why must I go tomorrow? I’m going to go into closed door cultivation for a few days, can I not?”

He Yong blinked. Could he do that?

Actually, he could!

“If your two friends are willing to help, I’ll pay them in advance. What does a peak Nova on the cusp of metamorphosis want? Energy? Sword energy? Elemental energy? Or others? I’ll pay for them to be my bodyguards!”

He Yong stared at the young man for a very long time before grinning widely. “You’ll do!”

Everyone thought that Li Hao would put in an appearance tomorrow since Hou Xiaochen had declared war tonight. Damn, the kid was going into seclusion instead! That was… unexpected! The Ministry of Finance must be ready, but Li Hao would run off instead!

“Alright… where are you going for seclusion?”

“Skystar Sea. Three days should be enough.” Li Hao beamed radiantly. “As opposed to benefiting outsiders, I should let the good stuff go to martial uncle instead, shouldn’t I? We’ll make full preparations and soar to fame with one move. We’ll be rich beyond belief as the Colosseum is definitely swimming in wealth…

“Also, there’s no need to just stick to the Colosseum,” the young man said upon further thought. “Can martial uncle find evidence of the Four Seas Company colluding with pirates? If there is, we’ll take them down first!”

He Yong took a deep breath, then another deep breath. He looked at Li Hao. “You’re a vicious one!”

“Just listen to yourself, martial uncle!” Li Hao chuckled merrily. “The Four Seas Company may not be poorer than Colosseum—it might even be richer! The key thing is, they probably definitely work with the pirates!

“How can they navigate the troubled waters so smoothly if they don’t?” the young man ended with a sneer. Any fool would know that there must be an agreement or even partnership between the two. It was also possible that the Four Seas Company secretly conducted pirate business, that they were one faction. Otherwise, regular merchants didn’t command profit margins as high as the pirates did. Deals without any costs involved were the most lucrative.

He Yong looked at Li Hao for a while without saying anything.

“The Four Seas Company is headquartered near the Skystar Sea because they sail the four seas. Skystar Sea connects directly to the four bodies of water as well. It’s just sealed so that no passage is possible,” Li Hao continued.

“Their boss is Wu Yong—I’ve met him once, a metamorphosis expert. He’s most likely staying in Skystar City now though. However, I can’t do anything to someone of the Ministry of Finance without any evidence. If there is and it involves supernaturals, then I have the authority to attack them directly!

“The Four Seas Company have operated for so many years that, even if most of their gains are handed in to the ministry, part of them must have stayed with Wu Yong. They don’t belong to him alone, however, so we’ll be rich if we raid the company!”

He Yong smiled and nodded. Their food was served at this time and the pub owner returned to his nap when he was finished with his duties.

Li Hao and He Yong ate and drank their fill.

“Then I’ll contact those two fellows,” He Yong said after a while. “If possible, let’s go together. If not, then just us two.”

“That works!” Li Hao didn’t say anything else.

He Yong asked the young man to wait for a bit and ran outside. The young man didn’t know if he was utilizing a communicator or some special method. The man returned with a smile after almost half an hour.

“Done!” He nodded. “Those two were very worked up, but they also have a request. They want to join the Inspectorate or Night Watchers after the job.”

“Eh?”

“For safety,” He Yong said bluntly. “You’re not razing the Ministry of Finance to the ground, so you’re not afraid. But they are and retaliation is easy after the fact. I’m different since I’m associated with the royal family. They’re on their own, so they must be allowed to join one of the institutions at the end of this. They can be the sort without any duties, kind of like guest elders. Is that doable?”

“That’s fine, we can do that now. A Skystar commander office is being established and I’m the vice commander. It’s just a title and I can make the call for any rank below first rank inspector. They can even be commissioner inspectors—it’s just the matter of another two medallions.”

“Your confidence is completely different in your new role!” He Yong laughed, then switched to transmission. “I had them go to the Skystar Sea first. When we part ways in a bit, you should go before I do. Just contact me through the armor.”

“Alright.” Li Hao quickly departed after a few more words with He Yong.

……

The young man didn’t take the car. Instead, he melted into the darkness and headed straight outside the city. He Yong disappeared before long as well.

The sky gradually began to brighten. All of Skystar’s senior executives hadn’t been able to sleep on this night. They were waiting, waiting for the arrival of the next day.

……

The Night Watcher headquarters.

Hou Xiaochen hadn’t slept either. Golden Spear, Mu Lin, and Manager Yu were waiting in his office. He gave a long exhale and couldn’t help but laugh, “Li Hao… you’re really something!”

Damn it!

Manager Yu was likewise at a loss and had a headache. “The director has just erupted in open hostilities against the Ministry of Finance and is ready to go on the offensive… Has the kid gotten lost?”

Li Hao had said that he had some business to take care of and would be back soon. But… where was he?

Gone!

Was this the vanguard that he’d promised Hou Xiaochen?

Fucking… hell! Has he run off?

“Has Li Hao… possibly… run away?” Mu Lin asked carefully. “Maybe he fled in the middle of the night with the dog…?”

It wasn’t that they wanted to think this way, but that everything had been agreed upon yesterday. Li Hao was missing before the scheduled action today! It… was a logical conclusion.

“I can lead people to the Colosseum if he’s gone…” Golden Spear sighed. “Otherwise…”

Otherwise, there was no way out for Hou Xiaochen. He’d completely offended the Ministry of Finance, to say nothing of reaping any rewards.

“Forget it,” Hou Xiaochen chuckled with some resignation. “If he’s really run off, it’ll take my personal attention to accomplish anything. Not even little Yu will do. Ai! Forget it!”

Didn’t you agree last night? I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to declare war if you hadn’t come.

So he’d thrown down the gauntlet, but his general had run off. Once news spread of his disappearance, Hou Xiaochen would become the laughingstock of the city. There was no helping it!

“Is he repeating an old tactic and already slipped into the Colosseum under a disguise?” Manager Yu mused.

“That’s not outside the realm of possibility.” Hou Xiaochen nodded with a smile. “Let’s leave it at this! Everyone, go rest.”

There was nothing else to say.

……

At this moment, in the Night Watcher headquarters.

“Li Hao’s gone missing?” Yellow Dragon sneered. “He didn’t come back?”

“No.”

“Has he concealed himself in the Colosseum?” Yellow Dragon thought for a bit before sniffing, “Does he think this to be the east? He wants to use the same trick twice!”

“Can he have run away?” one of his subordinates asked softly. Li Hao would be very familiar with this voice. “I know a bit about Li Hao,” Hu Qingfeng said carefully. “I’ve also seen him before. I’m very surprised by the enormous disturbance he caused in the east. Based on what I know about him, he shouldn’t be this bold. Perhaps he’s already gone as he’s up against a ministry this time.”

“Run off? Isn’t he afraid of Hou Xiaochen…” Yellow Dragon asked with surprise.

“His master Yuan Shuo and others such as Earthturner Sword and Light Sword are his backers. He won’t be afraid of Hou Xiaochen.”

“It’d be for the best if he has run off!” Yellow Dragon grinned brilliantly. “Things will be really interesting then. Hou Xiaochen issued his challenge with such flair, but his general ran off in the middle of the night. He’ll certainly be the butt of every joke and lose every shred of dignity, and he’ll also have completely offended Minister Liu. There will be vengeance sooner or later, so I’d like to see how Hou Xiaochen will take care of himself next.”

Hu Qingfeng laughed dryly and didn’t offer his opinions.

etvolare’s Thoughts

This is actually a rather brilliant tactic.