Star Gate

Though Li Hao’s voice rang through the city, an unearthly silence answered him. He’d flung back the covers today to expose the depravity of the dynasty’s upper echelon, shaking the heavens! The young man’s gesture was immensely unwise, but he continued to wear a smile on his face.

His smile was cool, indifferent. He wasn’t afraid of others knowing what he’d done. What are you afraid of, since you don’t care about the people?

An incomparably majestic voice rang out from the palace that’d lain still for a very long time. “Li Hao of the Skystar Commander Office should be richly rewarded for excising this tumor! The royal family has no treasures to reward since we have long retreated behind the curtains. We hereby bestow Li Hao with the position of Skystar Duke, a nominal honor to indicate our sentiments!

“We also reward the young man with his own complex and look to Vice Commander Li to redouble his efforts on behalf of the people. Please return clear skies to the dynasty!”

Those in the city rustled with astonishment. The royal family! For someone’s voice to be heard throughout the entire city meant that he was an ultimate powerhouse—who? The Skystar King?

It was then that the shocked populace recalled that they still had an emperor! [1]

Those of the nine ministries listened to the announcement with grave expressions. Li Hao, you should know that your judgment of the ministries today gives the royal family an enormous opportunity. They couldn’t help but take it! You’re seriously a troublemaker!

……

At the same time.

……

The subject of all these thoughts, Li Hao, didn’t make a sound from where he stood in the distant sky. He neither expressed gratitude for the royal favor nor declined it. The Skystar Duke? Who wanted that position? Skystar was the name of the dynasty. Naming him the Skystar Duke… The royal family wanted nothing more than his death, didn’t they??

The nine ministries would be at odds with him so long as this position existed!

The young man suddenly smiled when his thoughts traveled here. That wouldn’t be bad either. Let’s all have some fun together. He looked at He Yong with a smile. “C’mon, let’s go check out the Skystar Colosseum. Take those guys with us. Kill whoever tries to rescue any of them!”

“Understood!” He Yong grinned radiantly. Li Hao was… really vicious. He was going straight against the nine ministries!

On one hand, it wasn’t all of the nine ministries, just the Ministry of Finance that he’d irreparably broken relations with. There might be many dangers to come, but wasn’t opportunity found in danger?

He Yong was in quite a good mood as he turned over those thoughts. As for exposing himself… he’d done so for some very decent benefits. What was the harm in that, then? He didn’t hide himself so he could become weaker. If it would help him grow stronger, then he could expose himself.

……

Li Hao’s name was known throughout Skystar City by now. Demon Sword Li Hao!

This was a terrifying guy who’d killed multiple metamorphoses and taken down the Four Seas Company and Skystar Colosseum in his first couple of days at the royal city! The Lius truly had many reasons to cry this time.

……

The young man was well and truly known throughout the capital city. The tens of millions of denizens of Skystar City all knew of Night Watcher Li Hao of the Skystar Commander Office. Although they weren’t familiar with the agency, everyone committed the name to memory. The long-vanished royal family had also spoken and decreed him to be the Skystar Duke.

Such titles were worthless now. Even the royal family was worthless, not to mention a duke. But in these eighty years, the royal family had bestowed exceedingly few titles. Thus, bequeathing Li Hao with a title and a manor raised an incredible uproar.

……

The Inspectorate.

The inspector general, also the minister of the ministry, strolled in with his customary leisurely gait. He was late. He ignored the looks of fear and consternation below and looked outside, sinking into deep thought.

Li Hao!

The lad had first taken down the Four Seas Company, instantly killed Liu Sha, and was now up against the Skystar Colosseum. He’d spontaneously killed three metamorphosis experts and a dozen Novas. And if that wasn’t enough, he’d also seized the Arcanus talisman created by the last Minister of Finance. It looked like that ministry was going to eat a heavy loss this time. Their minister had paid an enormous price to detonate his family’s own energy bombs. What a waste!

“The energy bombs were negated… What a scary kid!”

That sword was very uncommon, as was the dog. Multiple energy bombs likely represented the foundations of Liu family wealth. They’d all been devoured and Li Hao took on Liu Sha in frontal combat! Although he wasn’t the one to kill her, it was sufficient to prove that he had metamorphosis battle strength.

That was even more frightening!

The inspector general turned to the palace, then beyond the Avenues of the Nine Ministries. A raucous din spontaneously exploded there. The heavens were shaking!

No one thought that such an enormous show would occur at Skystar City today, that the new Skystar commander would be so bold. Everyone meant Li Hao with that title, not Hou Xiaochen. Hou Xiaochen was overlooked by many at this point now. They cared only about Li Hao, even though he was just a vice commander.

“Inspector General…” Someone looked at the man; he looked back at them and suddenly grinned.

“Let’s pay the Ministry of Finance a visit!”

“For what?”

“For a bite to eat!” sneered the inspector general. “One of his factions colluded with pirates and brutalized his own race to feed humans to monster spirits. Does Liu Yunqing think he’ll smooth things over so easily?”

He headed straight for the Ministry of Finance—he wasn’t the only one. Members of the other eight ministries were all charging there. Since something they could all make use of had been publicly revealed, then they could only tender their apologies. The Ministry of Finance was so rich that it was overflowing. As much of a nuisance Li Hao was, the Lius had to pay in blood first to pacify the events that’d just taken place!

……

Within the Ministry of Finance.

The smile dropped off of Minister Liu’s face. A cough sounded in his ears moments later.

“Ai! To think that… very well, it seems that this is to be our fate. Although I didn’t expect that this would be the result, we should’ve been ready for failure. This is just as well, we can lay low and bide our time for a while to come. Other than the business of collecting taxes, they can take anything they want from the ministry.”

“Father!” Minister Liu set his jaw. “Are we losing them all, just like that?”

“Where there are losses, there are gains. This may not be bad,” the old man’s voice sounded again. “With the situation as it is, Li Hao and that Silver Moon gang are in their peak. It is good that we have suffered such a heavy loss. Since the royal family has surfaced, let them fight! Other than the business of collecting tax revenue, we can lose the rest. All of the merchant companies with the Four Seas Company, the Colosseum, and the industries in Skystar City. Give them all up!

“If they continue to go after us, then relinquish the second rank ruins that we have.”

Minister Liu’s expression shifted drastically and he tamped down the shock in his heart. “Father, we’ve just temporarily lost the advantage,” he murmured. “It is indeed difficult to accept the death of two metamorphosis experts, but…”

He abruptly deflated as he thought more, then nodded. “Alright then, I understand! Li Hao is a guy who doesn’t play by the rules. The Ministry of Finance does need to lay low for a period of time to offset the effects of these events. Li Hao… doesn’t seem to have any scandals to his name yet. The nine ministries and the royal family certainly wouldn’t turn on each other…”

The minister smiled ruefully. No one typically publicized such deeds because there wasn’t a fully clean institution out there. Hence, no one would dare rip off the covers like this! Everyone was the same, but Li Hao dared take such action. If they exposed the Inspectorate’s scandals in order to strike back at him, that would be creating a laughingstock out of themselves.

Would Li Hao care about that?

Not at all!

The more that they threw out, the more excited he would become. One who watches the show loves it when it grows grander. There was nothing that one could pick at him since he’d just emerged on the scene. Just try finding a blemish on his record!

“Heh heh…” the minister suddenly sneered. “All of them just want to watch the show, but they fail to consider where Li Hao is from. He’s a barbarian from Silver Moon! They might be just spinning a cocoon around themselves since all of us have some shit beneath our asses!

“Father’s right, we’ll batten down the hatches for a bit since we’ve suffered such a great loss. I’d like to see what kind of waves Li Hao can raise!”

Alright then, they wanted a show, did they? And even the royal family wanted a piece of the action? Then, very well, let’s wait and see. Li Hao wasn’t a kind soul; everyone simply kept their eyes on Hou Xiaochen. Who knew if Li Hao would soundlessly advance to the metamorphosis level at some point?

Just wait! No one would be in for a good time if this continued.

The minister sneered again when he sensed that he had visitors. Were they all just so eager? This works, I need some time to stabilize my cultivation level, anyhow.

1. SG is interesting in that they refer to the ruler of the dynasty as an emperor, but the ruler’s title is that of a king. I’ve translated it faithfully without treating it as a mistake. ☜

etvolare’s Thoughts

It’s interesting that the Lius are giving up so much so easily. No matter what they say, it’s still a lot to give up...