Star Gate

“Then I’ll send people to immediately seal off the other eleven ruins,” Lin Hongyu said. “But it won’t be for too long. Our actions will be exposed if they’re made off limits for a prolonged period of time.”

“Mmhmm, that’s fine. It’s alright if the other factions learn of the happenings after I eliminate the Wind and Cloud Pavilion!” Li Hao laughed. “The news just needs to be kept under wraps for this period of time. As for the one million supernaturals in the city… Announce a bounty as a reward for them establishing a cabinet. Lure all of the greatest lawbreakers, troublemakers, and hard to keep under control to the ruins for cultivation. Kill them all there!”

Lin Hongyu’s heart spasmed. There was none like Li Hao when it came to viciousness. After the lawbreakers, troublemakers, and hard to keep under control were eliminated, those remaining would docilely go with the flow.

“Don’t worry, commander!” promised Lin Hongyu. “But I’m afraid my abilities will be limited if I act alone. Do you think you could spare Senior Earthturner Sword to assist me in a thing or two? We can coordinate our movements together.”

Li Hao smiled, as did Hong Yitang. This was an interesting woman. How were the abilities of a peak six elements limited? There might not be a single Arcanus left in the city by now. Word was yet to spread of the real events at the cabinet meeting and the Lin family still had two Arcanus left among its ranks. She made for Arcanus number three, which meant they had plenty of strength to bring to bear.

“Martial Uncle Hong needs to stay with me,” Li Hao responded after some consideration. “For you…”

Upon further thought, he understood that Lin Hongyu was doing this to set him at ease. So who should he deploy to help her at the City of Supernaturals? It was at a time like this that Li Hao realized he didn’t have many trusted subordinates at hand. Although he could call upon numerous powerhouses, there weren’t many he could use at a critical moment.

For instance, who should stay to act in concert with Lin Hongyu and take the City of Supernaturals for themselves? Hou Xiaochen might be able to and Deputy Zhou definitely could, but Li Hao was going to move against the Wind and Cloud Pavilion next. If they stayed, that would raise attention as these two were well known.

Sky Sword was not a candidate for staying. He might fall to one of Lin Hongyu’s plots—the woman was too cunning and shrewd by far.

“Commander, I say… why don’t you make a trip back to Silver Moon!” said Deputy Zhou. “We need plant spirits for one, and let’s also have Commander Yu come!”

“Commander Yu?”

“Yes!” nodded the deputy. “We need a powerful person to hold down the fort at the City of Supernaturals. City Lord Lin will be in charge of pacifying the people, which means we need someone to eliminate opposition!

“Commander Yu is decisive, having been in residence at Silver Moon for many years. He’s a quiet man, but worthy of trust. He also has many years of military experience and oversees the troops with a firm fist. His troops are orderly and follow the rules. If they’re equipped with armor… Commander Yu will be able to quell even riots and suppress all dissent!

“This is something that the martial world cannot do!” The deputy didn’t mince his words. This was indeed beyond the abilities of martial masters. They might be strong, but all they knew to do in the face of unrest and turmoil was to kill the offenders.

Silencing dissension might be a good method, but it would do nothing to calm agitation. It would only rise up again

Huang Yu had led troops to put an end to many rebellions—he was the key to why the Silver Moon Army abided by the law and adhered to their duties. As a man of few words, he rarely asked for anything. He’d left as soon as they finished killing the golden coconut and chose to return to Silver Moon.

Of the province’s four defenders, Kong Jie was the most impulsive, Hou Xiaochen possessed both daring and wit, but was at times more like a wandering hero. Deputy Zhou was highly deliberative and strategic, and Huang Yu seemed more like a pure soldier.

When Li Hao’s thoughts strayed to the man, he nodded. One had to say, the deputy was right. The young man himself had forgotten about Commander Yu, but he was the best man for the job.

Huang Yu was Cannibal of the three commanders. His moniker wasn’t the most elegant, but he had indeed cowed Silver Moon’s martial world back in the day. He took action with extreme ruthlessness, but never killed when he shouldn’t. He was more well known than Laughter or Sickly, but fewer were those who knew his true identity.

Almost anyone who saw him died because only the unforgivable criminals saw his face. He rarely showed mercy and didn’t give any consideration to the notion of loyalty in the martial world.

That’s right, how could I have forgotten him? Li Hao mentally smacked himself.

“I’ve long heard of Commander Yu.” Lin Hongyu raised an eyebrow. “I will be certain to work well with him if he is willing to come to the City of Supernaturals. I will give Commander Li an intact, peaceful city. There is no need to worry.”

“Don’t misunderstand, City Lord Lin,” laughed Li Hao. “Commander Yu will only put in a showing if there’s any unrest. Your word is still law the rest of the time.

“That’s settled then!” The young man grinned and cut Lin Hongyu off. “It looks like I have to make a trip back to Silver Moon after all. What a pity that we don’t have transportation formations. Every journey is wasted time.”

Thankfully, he had the earth driller now, but it consumed too many resources. It had to make almost twenty trips to return to Silver Moon, consuming almost two million mysterious power stones in the process. Li Hao wouldn’t be willing to expend the resource that way, but it was very fast. One trip covered at least five hundred kilometers.

Granted, if he was traveling alone, he’d make the journey in less than a day.

The group returned to the plaza as they chatted. The Lin third elder seemed to have regained his calm. There was more color in his face when he greeted them.

“Greetings to the commander, long live the commander!” He hastily bowed.

“……” Li Hao burst out laughing. “You’re too polite, third elder. You are the family elder of City Lord Lin, which makes you my elder. The Lins only have a few Arcanus left now and the vast City of Supernaturals needs your family to stabilize it.

“The third elder should aid the city lord well. Once the world is at peace again, the city lord will have accomplished a deed of great merit in pacifying the City of Supernaturals for me. The Lins will sit at the top of the list of achievements and enjoy great fortune!”

“You speak too solemnly, commander,” an overjoyed third elder quickly responded. “I… this subordinate will support Hong… the city lord well!”

“Has anyone come by in our absence?” Li Hao nodded with a smile.

“No, but… some members of other families showed up. I sent them away, saying that the powerhouses of various families are sparring and need some time. I emphasized that they cannot be disturbed at this time…”

“Good, very good!” Li Hao looked at Lin Hongyu. “Then I leave the city in your hands. The city lord can wrap things up neatly. Whether you wish to have people pretend to be the powerhouses that were here or keep the meeting going, it’s up to you. I would like these events to remain a secret, at least in the short run before I finish dealing with the Wind and Cloud Pavilion!”

“They will!” The woman quickly nodded.

Li Hao smiled when he saw that she had more to say. “The city lord can visit me at Skystar City when you’re done here. The supernatural characters are not a big secret.”

Lin Hongyu beamed, that was what she wanted! She’d seen the others use the characters and refrain from needing origin weapons to protect their meridians. It was very tempting knowledge that she wanted to wield as well. It was a delightful surprise that Li Hao had mentioned it first.

The young man was a very sharp person indeed. He knew what she wanted before she said a word. No wonder he’d been able to rise so quickly in such a short period of time. A powerhouse that brought one benefits, could quickly defeat enemies, and showed his subordinates hope…

She’d made the right choice, alright.

“My thanks to the commander!”

“Not at all, as I should.” Li Hao smiled. Deputy Zhou and the rest smiled as well, particularly the deputy.

Last time the young man returned to Silver Moon, he hadn’t shown any signs of being a sovereign. That was why the deputy had said a lot to him. However, it hadn’t taken long before the hints of being a king rose from Li Hao. He’d won over the hearts of many heavyweights in a short period of time and made them willing to fight with him.

Profit, sentiment, future, hope…

Li Hao displayed all of this in a very short period of time. He really had grown. The young man doled out favor and threats in equal amounts to swiftly assemble everyone on the same battlefront. The old martial masters of Silver Moon, brash martial world characters like Sky Sword, wily bureaucrats such as Hou Xiaochen, Yao Si, and Chen Zhongtian…

Even local tyrant Lin Hongyu had fallen into step beneath his banner. There was nothing to describe his rise but as meteoric and unstoppable. It might have to take a joint effort from the three great organizations, nine ministries, royal family, and seven divine mountains to stop him now.

“Time waits for no one, I can’t stay here much longer!” Li Hao needed to transplant plant spirits to the City of Supernaturals and prevent an energy tide from erupting. He also needed to pick up Huang Yu. It was time for a trip to Silver Moon to take care of these matters. As for the Sky Sword Mountain… the jujube tree could continue to stay there.

Sky Sword Mountain was more convenient for him, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was going to pay a visit to Silver Moon. Since he was, everything could be handled there.

“Please have a good trip, commander!” Lin Hongyu and the third elder respectfully sent off the young man’s group.

Li Hao activated the earth driller and departed.

……

The third elder suddenly sighed when they were gone. “Hongyu… you… I know your mind, but if we hadn’t killed the senior elder and the rest… We would’ve had a place anywhere in the world, even if we joined the Skystar Commander Office! That would’ve been eleven Arcanus in our family. But now… look at how numerous the Silver Moon martial masters are. They’re all very powerful and one family.”

“You don’t understand,” Lin Hongyu answered calmly. “None of those people were good and some had feuds with Silver Moon martial masters. Commander Li wouldn’t have let them off the hook once he investigated them. In that case, I might as well take care of them myself as a demonstration of loyalty.

“The commander won’t look into the rest of the Lins after that. Besides, those elders were just a bunch of useless trash that got in the way. All they have in their minds is world domination. It’s only a matter of time before they bring disaster down on our heads! The third elder saw it too—these guys are incredibly strong! Do you still think that our family has a right to vie for supremacy?”

“I hadn’t thought…” sighed the third elder. “I really hadn’t thought… They’re terrifying! They casually butchered one hundred Arcanus in a very short amount of time!”

He really had been horrified out of his mind.

“Screw that Arcanus Ranking, what kind of shit is that!” he laughed ruefully. “Earthturner Sword, Sky Sword, and that Zhou Chuan are so strong, but none of them are on the ranking. Some are even ranked number forty or fifty behind the patriarchs of the other families. But, I feel that any of them are just as strong as you! That ranking is a piece of crap!”

etvolare’s Thoughts

I hope we see more of LHY, I ilke a smart woman myself. Women are all too often dumbed down in xianxia.