Chapter 696: Chicken Soup for the Soul (II)

Chapter 696: Chicken Soup for the Soul (II)

Li Hao contemplated for a while before looking at the Silver Moon Guards below him. He then regarded the nobles who’d neither been sentenced to death nor ran away.

“Those who were not sentenced to death may go. But those who ran... I will bring all of them in for justice! Releasing you is also within the authority of the Night Watchers. Running away is against the law!”

The nobles beneath him blinked. They’d thought they were dead without a doubt! But they were released instead? Really? Those who’d run away were the descendants of major noble families. Li Hao was going to arrest them instead?

No one believed their ears!

Some were too fearful to move while others gingerly observed the situation. Upon seeing that Li Hao really was ignoring them, they cautiously moved their feet, then quickly fled the scene with glee!

One person getting away was the start of an avalanche. The rest of the nobles swiftly vacated the premises.

“Why aren’t you killing them?” Hou Xiaochen glanced at Li Hao.

“There’s no real meaning to that.” Li Hao shook his head. “That first batch is enough! I’ll find time to take care of the rest. That’s enough for today. Letting them go back will also intimidate the others and create some trouble for them...”

He laughed and looked down the Avenue of the Nine Ministries before turning back to Hou Xiaochen. “You should leave Skystar City as well, director! Go back to Silver Moon! It’s enough that I’m here.”

“You alone won’t do!” Hou Xiaochen frowned.

The young man turned to the rest instead of arguing. “Li Hao is grateful beyond words for the support shown by various seniors today! The seniors had to leave in a rush last time, please stay another day or two this time. I will release more sword energy when I have finished with my tasks at hand and help the seniors consolidate your organs!”

He looked at Yuan Shuo when he was done. The old man glowered, knowing what his disciple wanted.

“You want me to teach the path of Refiner of Spirit? It’s all theory apart from the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. You can choose to do whatever so long as it doesn’t involve the specific legacy!” Yuan Shuo truly didn’t care so long as the Breathing Method of the Five Styles wasn’t passed on. The rest was just theoretical concept.

For the rest of the crowd, however, the breathing method wasn’t necessarily the most useful for them. It was Yuan Shuo’s hypotheses that they were most interested in. Even Sky Sword halted his steps when he heard this and chose to stay.

This was when Panther abruptly reappeared. The black dog had been absent all this time and soundlessly slipped over to Li Hao’s side. It bubbled with delight, but didn’t make a sound. Li Hao looked down at it and raised an eyebrow.

“Panth, hand over everything from the people that the director and others killed!”

“Arf arf arf!” Panther protested. You want me to hand it over?? It’d just returned from scavenging the battlefield.

Li Hao knew it’d gone. He himself hadn’t collected any of the spoils, but he knew nothing would go missing, if for no reason other than there was a dog keeping an eye on everything. This was how they’d operated for each battle. Panther wouldn’t let a single scrap of treasure slip through its claws.

Who was in the frame of mind to stop and collect loot in the middle of battle? Only this dog. No wonder it’d disappeared after taking down one metamorphosis expert. It’d probably been cleaning up the battlefield ever since.

The group looked at Panther. There were so many powerhouses dead after the clash—Arcanus alone numbered fourteen. There were nine metamorphoses, a number that included Yellow Dragon and his colleagues, as well as numerous Novas.

With local sovereigns as the Steppe Prince, the Heaven’s Eye, and Hu Xiao, there was certain to be an abundance of treasure. There was also the North Sea pirate and his many years of plundering, as well as the old Steadfast Duke...

“What do you know! This would’ve been the greatest battle of our era if they’d forced my hand! The hell do you know!” he transmitted back.

“You have more trump cards?”

“No shit! Who doesn’t have a few aces up their sleeves?” Yuan Shuo blustered, but he was actually considering if he should make some more preparations. His disciple was growing ever more unreliable and he couldn’t always hope to rely on outside force.

......

By the sea.

Instead of discussing supernatural affairs, Hong Yitang asked, “What is your goal in staying here?”

“I don’t know.” Li Hao shook his head.

“You don’t know?”

“Mmhmm.”

“How are you engaging in all this nonsense when you don’t know?” Hong Yitang laughed. “You’ve actually broken a lot of unsaid rules with everything you’ve done. Silver Moon, for example, has been preparing an invasion by these powerhouses. And yet, the nine ministries and royal family aren’t ready... You left so little time that no one’s ready.”

“Isn’t that good?” Li Hao laughed as well.

“Oh, you!” Hong Yitang sighed with emotion. “Your master isn’t ready either. He’s always been confident, likely because he’s reached an agreement with a plant spirit or monster beast. Or he might know where they are located and hasn’t dug them up yet. But judging from his recent performance, he seems to have uncovered one...”

Li Hao nodded in agreement after some thought. “He might have discovered a plant spirit and reached an agreement with it, resulting in my teacher’s organs being rapidly strengthened.”

He’d seen some signs as well. Yuan Shuo’s combination of his five organs was the result of absorbing significant Water of Life. That hadn’t come from Li Hao, Yuan Shuo had dug it up himself. Perhaps he’d found a plant spirit in the central region and remained in contact with it.

However, partnership with plant spirits wasn’t necessarily a good prospect. Revitalizing them might lead to unpredictable results.

“Skystar City is not a kind place,” Hong Yitang nodded. “Staying here means being surrounded by tigers and wolves. The foundations of the nine ministries have not yet been fully called upon.”

“Are the old ministers not it?”

“Not necessarily.” Hong Yitang looked at the city again. “The one from the Ministry of Administration never took the field. Only seven old ministers appeared. The one from the Ministry of Armed Forces was also missing. They’re the two strongest. The third strongest... is probably the fairweather guy.”

“Him?” The old man from the Inspectorate?

Li Hao nodded upon further thought. That old man was indeed powerful. He’d killed the Chu River King as soon as he showed up. The young man hadn’t been able to read anything about him afterward because the old minister hadn’t done anything after. He didn’t cough either and rather seemed like a martial master. Li Hao didn’t read a ball of light from him.

There were martial masters and supernaturals among the nine ministries. Hu Xiao had been a supernatural, but the old fart from the Inspectorate seemed rather like a martial master. It was hard for Li Hao to read anything from them at their level of strength, but he could still determine who was a pure supernatural since their ball of light burned too brightly.