Star Gate

Yang Shan said nothing further and murmured a few instructions. Servants quickly brought over and set up a large screen. The man took out an item from his storage ring—some people recognized it as a videotape.

The Tranquil Duke was frowning ferociously by now. He’d thought the rebuttal was fake, but now he realized the truth of Yang Shan’s claims. No one should’ve known that he would cause trouble on this occasion, so Yang Shan was equally in the dark about his plans. That this was ready ahead of time could only mean one thing—it was real and truly existed!

The duke’s expression flickered and he said faintly, “These things can be faked as well! What we see with our own eyes may not be real, to say nothing of ancient technology that can be easily modified.”

“So the duke means that this is not evidence either?” demanded Yang Shan. “That everything hinges on one word from you? That I am guilty simply because you say I am? You must be mistaken about something, this is not your territory!”

He lifted his head and frostily regarded the duke. “In that case, then the duke needs to produce evidence that I have stolen from you and killed people. I killed pirates, seized their loot, and have already turned it into the Skystar Commander Office. Does the duke have a new story to spin about that?”

He maintained his hold on the videotape and didn’t put it down to be played. You’re picking at me, huh? Thank goodness I bought the tape with me! But… he didn’t actually have the courage to play it. On the tape were recordings of his intimate affairs with his wife. It… ah… demonstrated some of his… particular kinks. He’d be the first one scared to death if he really played it!

Yang Shan was betting that the duke wouldn’t let him play the tape!

Hidden in the shadows, a petrified Qin Lian was dripping with sweat. I’m going to hack you into pieces after we’re done today! she cursed her husband. Her heart had leapt into her throat when he brought out the tape. How could you actually bring it out!

“Forget it, we can discuss this later since you aren’t willing to admit to it.” The Tranquil Duke smiled faintly. “Today is the inauguration day of the Skystar Commander Office. This duke will not put a damper on things!”

It was best if he could humiliate Li Hao, but if he couldn’t, then the matter would be dropped. There was no need to force open hostilities between him and the young man.

Li Hao looked at the duke, then at Yang Shan. He really wanted to say, play the tape already damn it! I’ll kill this guy as soon as you play it! He’s got some nerve to spoil the day! He feels like he’s lived too long and wants to die, doesn’t he? I’m going to wring his neck today even if he’s brought a true Apex plant spirit with him…

But Yang Shan wasn’t playing the tape. Seeing as beads of sweat were dotting the man’s forehead, Li Hao realized that something else was afoot.

“Very well then, let’s leave it, Yang Shan,” he commented casually. “The Tranquil Duke just wanted to vent his ill will. We can investigate later whether evidence truly exists. The wrong will not be acquitted and the innocent will not be convicted!”

“This subordinate understands!” Yang Shan lowered his head and waved for soldiers to dismantle the screen.

Some among the audience found the turn of events strange, but since the Tranquil Duke was no longer protesting, they were even less inclined to offend Li Hao.

Yang Shan put away the tape with an inward sigh of relief. That scared the shit out of me! Thank goodness for my kinks. Betchu they didn’t think that I’d carry some tapes around with me. Mm, this is a good kink. I’ve got to keep it.

The man was highly satisfied by his quick wits. Otherwise, the Tranquil Duke really would have turned him into a criminal in front of the crowd and doused Li Hao’s might.

The young man set the matter aside, as if he didn’t care at all. “Such are the matters that I mentioned! In addition, I want to say that the Skystar Commander Office will be consolidating the superhuman domain in days to come. We will be setting down some superhuman rules to be followed throughout the lands. I hope that you leaders of the dynasty will set an example in applying the rules!”

“What will these superhuman rules entail?” Chen Yao asked from the Inspectorate’s side.

“They’re simple and won’t levy any major restrictions. Being superhuman myself, I know how our minds work,” Li Hao laughed. “They center around the points of not harassing ordinary citizens, forbidding the wanton destruction of citizen property, banning flying through cities, and a requirement for all superhumans to register themselves.

“They can do so at their local Night Watcher branch. All superhumans will be entered in the records and those who are not listed will be regarded as evil supernaturals!”

Eyes widened at the explanation.

“According to what I know, some superhumans cultivate inside the ancient ruins. Are they to emerge to register themselves?” someone asked coolly. “Then what about the existences from the ancient civilization? Are they to register as well? Since we are all equal, will the Skystar Commander Office kill everyone who does not register?”

“And is there anything wrong with that?” Li Hao smiled. “It’s just registration, there will be no restrictions levied on people. They can register at first light when they leave the ruins. Is that hard to do? If they do not register after leaving the ruins and break the law, then execution is naturally in store! You don’t need to worry about that!”

Some were sneering inwardly at how importantly Li Hao thought of himself. Those from the City of Supernaturals also laughed. Superhuman registration could be a serious or trivial matter. When it came down to it, which faction would be willing to follow this rule?

If Li Hao insisted on this course of action, it was only a matter of time before he faced enormous backlash! Did he want to register the secluded powerhouses and those who’d withdrawn from the world? Just look at those ambitions! Silver Moon might be the first to refuse, to say nothing of anyone else.

You might be deserted by all of your followers after this!

“And what of the monster spirit factions?” someone else laughed. “There are major monster spirits in our various territories. Is your hand going to stretch to them as well?”

“Why not?” Li Hao answered faintly. “Skystar Dynasty is human territory and the monster spirits have long bowed their heads to us. A registration log means they will be granted protection from humanity, enjoy harmonious relations, and delight in brotherly affection. That is the proper way forward! Those who stubbornly cling to the old ways will be killed!

“What, does the noble human race need to bow down to the monster spirits and wait on them hand and foot? Some humans go weak at the knees when they see monster spirits these days and do everything those monsters want. In return, they are scathingly harsh toward us while we live without dignity and principles!”

Ninety-nine percent of expressions shifted at his words. Plant spirits were also monster spirits. Some looked at Li Hao with an inscrutable look.

“Has Commander Li… not come in contact with any plant spirits?” Quiet all this time, the Prince of Southern Conciliation suddenly spoke up.

“I have, but I do not bow my head or bend the knee to them. My Water of Life from them requires only three thousand stones a drop. That is an equitable trade that leads to mutual benefit and profit…”

BOOM!

The audience shifted restlessly. Seriously?? Three thousand pieces?

“I did not say that we cannot work with monster spirits or show them respect,” Li Hao said faintly. “Both sides can coexist in peace. Everything is possible when the laws are adhered to! It is fine for monster spirits to enter our world as well. Everything is possible so long as they do not violate our laws!”

The people did not care about his last set of words. Chen Yao couldn’t contain himself. “How many mysterious power stones did you say you needed for one drop of Water of Life?”

“Three thousand!” Li Hao frowned.

“You don’t mean cultivation energy stones, do you?”

“Of course not!” the young man dismissed out of hand. “I expended nearly one thousand drops of Water of Life recently. If it was thirty thousand energy stones, wouldn’t that mean tens of millions mysterious power stones? I don’t have that kind of money to spare as I didn’t get a single stone from the pile that you guys dumped at Evenround Martial!”

The group looked at each other, whereas Li Hao looked at Liu Yunqing. “Minister Liu knows of the particulars, don’t you? A bunch of idiots randomly threw stones onto the ground and ended up reviving an ancient powerhouse… They deserved their deaths!”

Eyes widened as people looked to Liu Yunqing for confirmation. The man was expressionless and didn’t say a word. Judging from that reaction, the group knew that he possibly did know what had truly happened in the ruins. Damn it!

Liu Yunqing was caught between a rock and a hard place. Staying silent was the best course of action. Anything he said would be a mistake.

But now, everyone knew why the entire expedition and the plant spirit replicas were gone. Perhaps no one had been awake at the ruins before, but with all those mysterious power stones thrown onto the ground… and absorbed wholesale… how would nothing revive then?

It’d been one hundred million stones! Even a Saint could be brought back with that amount!

The more they thought about it, the more dejected they grew. So this was how their previous failure had come about?? Damned if they didn’t want to vomit blood from it!!

And three thousand pieces per drop… was a heart-spasming figure. The least any of them paid was fifty thousand, with some of them paying sixty thousand. Wasn’t that ten to twenty times what Li Hao’s price was?

They knew that the plant spirits were certainly keeping some for themselves, but they hadn’t expected that the plant spirits would be so greedy!

It also rang certain alarm bells as this meant these plant spirits might be much stronger than the group thought. They were accumulating strength in secret. More care needed to be taken!

Chen Yao was wholly fixated on this and nothing else. “Then… Commander Li, are you interested in trading for some Water of Life?”

“Sure.” Li Hao nodded with a smile. “The caveat is that you join the Skystar Commander Office and earn some merits! By then, each drop will cost only three thousand pieces or less. The exact price will differ according to rank, which is only fair, isn’t it?”

Chen Yao fell silent. Forget it, pretend I didn’t say anything.

The rest of the group was rapidly considering that they couldn’t continue trading with the plant spirits like this. Li Hao could trade for ten drops to their one, or not even. No wonder he improved so quickly and didn’t lack resources.

Fucking hell! This wasn’t fair! They had to renegotiate with the plant spirits no matter what. The plant spirits were fish caught in a pond. Having their arrangement break down would be good for no one.

“Then, is Commander Li willing to sell your Water of Life?”

“Of course! I’ll charge only thirty thousand a drop. That’s cheaper than what you can trade for.”

No one jumped on his offer. Although that was cheap, Li Hao would benefit massively from the transaction and he was their enemy… That wasn’t acceptable. They could not give such a good deal to Li Hao, even if the plant spirits charged them more. However, the possibility lingered in the back of some minds.

Thirty thousand stones a drop wasn’t bad! The royal family sold theirs for one hundred thousand stones a drop and they still had buyers! It didn’t matter to them if Li Hao earned the profits or someone else did.

Around the crowd, others watched certain expressions with dawning trepidation. This couldn’t be allowed to stand! If someone really did trade with Li Hao and the young man kept ninety percent of the profits, would he continue to go stronger? But… were they supposed to sell below cost if they didn’t want this situation to develop?

Headaches flourished throughout the group. The little bastard had certainly done this on purpose! He was forcing everyone to sell below cost at thirty thousand stones a drop! Not only would he still earn money from the endeavor, but he would earn the gratitude and strength of a batch of heavyweights! This guy was too black-hearted!

etvolare’s Thoughts

Lol, are you guys learning that only now?

And... um... did not need to know that about Yang Shan’s kink LOL.