Star Gate

“I’ve finally seen through the heart of the matter that in this day and age, strength is the only true fundamental in everything! I am fearless and have smashed the terror in my mind. No one can dictate my life. I would not have come to Skystar City if I was afraid!

“Senior Golden Spear, you’re old!” Li Hao looked straight at the man. “None of the thirty-six that I met are afraid! Southern Fist isn’t, Earthturner Sword isn’t, Light Sword isn’t, not even Yu Luocha shows fear! The only ones afraid are Black Widow and… Golden Spear!”

BOOM!

Spear intent ignited as Golden Spear erupted with rage, suffering, and agitation. He was also slightly on the brink of losing his reason as he could not accept this kind of humiliation! He gnashed his teeth and tightened his fists as he looked at Li Hao. The accumulation of his aggrieved suffering could be fully felt by others in this moment.

“Li Hao…” Golden Spear ground his teeth so hard that his gums nearly bled. “You’re right… Silver Moon martial masters are not afraid! They are not and so am I not. Black Widow… Are you making the analogy that I made it to my position today through Director Hou, just as she did with Ying Hongyue?”

Li Hao didn’t respond. Becoming irrational in his rage, Golden Spear ultimately snorted and stalked off. He knew that the young man was purposefully antagonizing him, but provoked he was all the same. He really was furious!

He didn’t care about the stings and taunts from He Yong and the others—alright, fine, he cared about those too. But for a junior such as Li Hao to compare him to someone who’d slept her way to the top and even put them on equal footing, it was cause to make him lose his sanity.

The young man was out of line! He wanted to stab Li Hao to death with one jab!

Golden Spear didn’t think much of women like Green Peacock and Black Widow. He didn’t find them worthy of being martial masters and considered those women an affront to the rest of his peers. Their positions were the result of their association with Ying Hongyue. He further looked down his nose at women such as the Heartjab Daughter since she came into her fame through maneuvering between men as well.

But for Li Hao to categorize him the same meant that He Yong and the rest possibly did so as well! He was the same as those women to them! In those people’s eyes, Golden Spear had no right to hold the women in contempt!

Golden Spear was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He feared that he would lose control if he didn’t walk away.

……

Mu Lin sighed as he looked at Li Hao. “Don’t poke him too hard, Boss Golden Spear hasn’t been in a right frame of mind lately. He’s on the verge of an emotional collapse. I’m worried that he won’t be able to cope with what you just said to him!”

“For Golden Spear, if he continues to grapple with his internal demons and fails to surpass himself… he might as well die than be stuck in his condition forever!” Li Hao said with a soft sigh. “Even now, he’s not the weakest among the thirty-six, but his mentality is the poorest. From what I know, Berserk Blade and Jadelight Sword are both in better positions than him.

“If this continues, he’d be better off dead. It is a constant torment for a martial master if he is forever unable to break another’s will…”

None of the one thousand martial masters standing in front of him denied his words. It was true, perhaps Li Hao was right. For Golden Spear, he’d been the strongest among the Three Spears back in the day. Yuan Shuo had stood at the head of the overall rankings, of that there was no doubt. The second was Sky Sword, but there was some controversy about the third. Some declared it to be Tyrant Blade, others said Northern Fist, and sometimes Golden Spear was put forward as a candidate…

No matter what, the lowest ranking that Golden Spear had stood in those times was number five, and potentially number three. But in this age, Golden Spear was just Golden Spear. He wasn’t an inviolable Silver Moon martial master. The difference between him and the rest was too great, a gap that was highlighted as more powerful martial masters appeared out of the woodwork. If this continued, he would completely collapse even if he wasn’t killed by another.

Thus, the martial masters present could completely understand his predicament.

“Our ranking officer… ai!” Chen Jin sighed.

“C’mon everyone,” Mu Lin called out merrily to break the leaden silence. “Grab a few storage rings each. Don’t you dare keep any loot for yourself, do you hear me? Don’t embarrass us Silver Moon martial masters or the Silver Moon Guard…”

“Would we ever!” someone snorted with laughter. “The Silver Moon Guards definitely wouldn’t, and it depends on who we’re talking about for Silver Moon martial masters. Southern Fist apparently committed his fair share of shady deeds like this back in the day.”

“……ahem!!” coughed another as they dug their elbow into the first speaker’s side. “You idiot, Southern Fist just beat a metamorphosis to death with one punch!”

“……” The first speaker instantly awoke to his senses and laughed dryly. “I’m joking! Senior Southern Fist is amazing and super impressive. I was speaking all nonsense!”

Li Hao wanted to laugh, but contained himself. He Yong didn’t seem to have a good reputation anywhere. He sounded more like a gangster… Well, that was also close to the truth.

“Then let’s get to work taking an inventory of everything. Help me summarize it, Brother Second Mu. I’m going to meet our director first.”

“Don’t you worry!” Mu Lin promised. “Nothing will go missing while I’m here. Ah, the storage rings…”

“One each!” Li Hao chuckled. “I have no use for them once they’re emptied. Everyone can take one each when we’re done!”

The crowd was overjoyed. To them, even a storage ring was a precious treasure. Aside from their centurions and a few half step Dominators, almost no one else possessed one. The ones who did have storage rings received them after coming to Skystar City. Even some of the centurions lacked such equipment in Silver Moon.

Everyone would have one all of a sudden! Greatly invigorated, they roared, “Our thanks to the commander’s largesse!”

……

Next door.

Hou Xiaochen had just come back and blinked when he heard the shouts. He laughed and cursed lowly, “Those ingrates!”

Manager Yu looked at him.

“I’m the principal commander, he’s just a vice commander!” Hou Xiaochen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I’m almost an invisible person these days!”

There was no sight of his office to be seen yet, but the name of Skystar Commander Li Hao was known throughout the world. And now the guy had come to bribe the Silver Moon Guards? What, did he have his eyes set on them as well?

……

Li Hao wasn’t in the mood to think about those considerations. After leaving behind the storage rings, he trotted straight to Yao Si’s office building. It was only right and proper that he greeted the one in charge since he’d just arrived. They hadn’t officially met before, but he’d known from a glance across a conference room that the man was strong.

The director’s office building.

Secretary Little Ye respectfully led Li Hao in and knocked before entering. She didn’t dare say anything and left very quickly.

“Greetings to the director.” Li Hao was very polite, despite not knowing what he was being polite for. In any case, he was in the director’s territory.

Yao Si smiled from his cup of tea and pointed at a chair. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks!” Li Hao sat down without further ado.

“A young champion.” Yao Si smiled at him. “From the young springs heroes—this has held true since the ancient times. We’re all old compared to you.”

“You praise us too highly, director.”

“Not at all.” Yao Si looked at Li Hao again and didn’t say anything of note. “When the nine ministries wanted to establish the Night Watchers and have the agency oversee all superhumans in the world, as well as handle the ambitious three great organizations, I immediately rose to meet the occasion. I was a Dominator when I accepted this lousy mess.

“But the longer I stayed in this position, the more resigned and anxious I became. There are too many restrictions and too many considerations at hand. There’s too many limitations levied on me to do anything!”

The old man sighed again. “I am old now, and less than the youngsters. I once had the same drive you guys did, but it faded away.” He smiled at Li Hao. “I just wanted to say that when I saw you. How do you view me?”

“Eh?”

“I said, what is your first impression of me?”

“Benevolent, amiable, friendly…” Li Hao answered merrily with a professional smile. It was one he’d perfected after a year at the Inspectorate.

“Too fake, can you say something real?” Yao Si burst out laughing. “At my age, I like to hear youngsters speak from the heart. Don’t worry, I’m not one of the nine ministers. I wouldn’t get mad at you.”

Li Hao thought quietly for a while before laughing as well. “Does the director really want me to?” he whispered.

“Please, go ahead.”

“What you mean by too many restrictions, considerations, and limitations can be summarized as being afraid of death. You choose to quietly quit instead, forgoing your initial aspirations and permitting yourself to be assimilated. You are incompetent and abandon your duties, yet seek to find an excuse for yourself. Sometimes, dereliction of duty is more terrifying than a wrong strategy. At least you’re doing something if you engage with the wrong strategy. Dereliction is doing nothing at all.”

Li Hao was absolutely forthright with his response, possibly because the director’s hypocritical words rubbed him the wrong way. Maybe he was also more confident now since he was stronger. Since the director wanted him to speak his mind, then he would do so to the utmost!

“Look at the sorry state of the Night Watchers! I’d thought that the Silver Moon Night Watchers were pathetic, but compared to the ones here, they’re very diligent in their duties! The real tragedy is that they aren’t paid much for it!

“The Night Watchers are completely without system, guidance, and responsibility. They spend their high salaries gambling and whoring on Four Seas Island, turning a blind eye and deaf ear to monster spirits eating humans. They even hail the pirates walking among them as brothers! Hah!” Li Hao jeered, full of disdain and contempt.

He’d wanted to be more polite at first, but this one seemed to be explaining just how difficult his situation was, how reluctant he was to accept it and how sorrowed he was by it…

Yao Si seemed to be saying that his blood had once flowed just as hotly as Li Hao and he’d stretched himself greatly by accepting a difficult post in the face of danger!

etvolare’s Thoughts

Kinda like "I’ve tried nothing and I’m all out of ideas!"