Star Gate

Chapter 570: Walking Out of Silver Moon (I)

What did this mean?

It meant that he had sixteen chances to save lives. This was an absolute lifesaver!

People outside want to kill me? It’s more like I want to kill them! I’ll kill whoever tries to kill me!

“Senior, I repeat what I said before. Are you willing to leave with me?”

“I cannot.”

Li Hao was disappointed, but said nothing else.

“Then rest well, senior, I’m leaving now.” He would drop the matter since the little tree wasn’t willing.

It seemed to be looking at Li Hao and sent a thought ripple after a while, “I’ll gift you one core origin talisman—it’s the same as before, but it’ll be stronger because I’ve recovered some strength. However, I have one request...”

Stronger? The one before could kill a mid or late Nova, so how much stronger was this one?

“What is your request, senior? How strong is the talisman?”

“It’s difficult for me to judge the strength of your powerhouses. If they are only a bit stronger than you, then you will be able to kill them! As for my request, it’s very simple. I need large sums of energy, a lot a lot of energy. If you obtain energy in the future, you can trade it with me for life essence. If you meet other people or plant spirits... Remember that I was the first to partner with you...”

What did it mean by that?

“Does senior mean that... there might be other existences surviving from the ancient times?” Inspiration struck Li Hao.

“I don’t know about the human race, but plant spirits... live long lives. They might be like me and regrow from their father’s roots even if they wither.”

“I understand, my first choice is naturally you, senior!” Li Hao understood.

“That’s good! The one in Battle Heaven is too strong. The energy that you’ve supplied to me is not enough to resurrect even one of his roots. Therefore, there’s no need to go to him.”

Li Hao finally truly understood! So you’re afraid that I’ll focus my efforts on General Pagoda? The young man nodded without saying much more.

The little tree truly invested a great deal and coalesced another crystalline root, sending it floating toward Li Hao. “Try not to use this if possible because it is condensed from core origin. I am unaware if current martial dao can tolerate it, nor do I know what the consequences might be from using it.

“I also do not know if there is an overlord of this world. If there is none, you can naturally do whatever you like. But if there is, they might be an enemy unless they are a heavyweight of New Martial. The particulars are unknown, so use it with care!”

A great deal of information was contained in those words. Li Hao was moved, but nodded without saying anything. He put away the crystalline root—this was likely his most fatal trump card. I wonder if this is more powerful, or the bomb that the Near River director general threw out before? That thing had even left Hong Yitang with a face full of dust.

Could the root be used against experts in metamorphosis? The little tree’s previous level of strength had been mid to late Nova. It was difficult to say if it could handle experts in metamorphosis. This was just a coalescence of core origin, after all, not the little tree itself.

But no matter what, having it tucked away in his pocket was better than not having it.

“Let’s go back.” Li Hao looked at the Demon Hunters. “We’ve all had some gains this time. I hope that all of you will make it to Dominator soon!”

If they continued to dither at the Sunderer level, the Demon Hunters would start to be less useful to Li Hao. Only when they were Dominators could they swiftly improve again, due to having strong organs. That was when they would be most helpful to the young man.

The group committed the exhortation to memory and quickly jumped out of the ruins. When they were gone, the tree was momentarily quiet before the hole vanished. It chose to seal off the area since that person wouldn’t come again for a while.

It swayed as it looked at the palace in the near distance. Would this discarded palace... stand to see the return of its master? Perhaps... not!

Did its father’s persistence have meaning?

The thoughts dispersed after a while. I am a tree. Since my roots are here, then let me be rooted here.

......

In the wilderness.

The inert Divine Kun Ship suddenly vanished and broke through the air. Up in the sky, Huang Yu blinked and quickly gave chase.

A group of people appeared in the distance. Li Hao didn’t look at anyone and directed his people into the ship as soon as it landed. They were a ways from Mount Cat Head—the commander may not find the ruins even if he was given a direction to search in.

The ship hovered in the air again and vanished on the spot. Huang Yu’s eyes darted forward, tracking it in the direction it disappeared in. Had the young man discovered him, or was he purposefully setting up smoke and mirrors to prevent the enemy from ambushing him?

No matter what, Li Hao had some skill up his sleeves to disappear beneath his nose.

......

Within the ship, the hold.

No one spoke, but Li Hao’s voice echoed within the armor. “Trouble has come for me. Many in Skystar Dynasty these days want to kill me. I won’t be sitting still to wait for death. I’d wanted to stay in Silver Moon for a while longer, but attracting too many powerhouses is not good for the province. I have no intention to harm anyone, but people want to kill me. Therefore, I’m going to leave!”

“Leader, we’re coming with you!” Voices shouted in the channel, everyone vying to stay with their leader.

“Too weak!” Two words from Li Hao silenced the clamor.

Too weak!

They knew they were too weak. Apart from Liu Long and the supernaturals among them, Li Heng was the only lucky one to barely make it to Dominator. Of the rest... There were a few half step Dominators, but this level of strength was far from enough!

So far from enough!

“I killed some people on an earlier trip out,” Li Hao said. “Some late Novas, even some peak Novas. I killed the son of the Steadfast Duke, a general of the Steppe Prince, the younger brother of the lord of Buddha Mountain, and a duke of the greatest pirate faction in the North Sea...

“I’ve finished offending all of the three great organizations and most of the divine mountains,” chuckled the young man. “There may be those in Silver Moon who are still willing to shelter me after all that, but why should I allow them to do that? I would owe favors left and right with the amount of trouble I’m bringing to the province. I hate owing favors!

“It would be a sin if I attracted large numbers of powerhouses to attack Silver Moon and cause general misery. I don’t have much tying me to the world—I’ll live much the same even after leaving Silver Moon. Some of you guys... I can’t even put a name to the face. This is good. I might grow attached to you as time goes on and won’t want to leave you.”

Let’s just leave at that! He was prepared to leave the Demon Hunters behind in Silver Moon. Their future wouldn’t be too bad in the province. They would be powerhouses sooner or later if they crossed the Dominator threshold. At that time, their strengthened organs would help them understand what they’d gained from Li Hao.

The entire ship’s hold and the communication channel within the suits of armor were eerily silent.

“Leader...” Li Heng raised. “I’m a Dominator!”

He was a Dominator! After his advancement, he could sense that he was still swiftly improving. His progress was even faster than when he was a Sunderer! With his strengthened organs, he could even begin walking the path to Summoner of Spirit.

Even if he only had one spirit, he would still rival a Solar once he broke through.

“Mmhmm.” Li Hao nodded. Not bad. But... so what if he managed to make it to Summoner?

“The director took the Silver Moon Guards with him when he left, why don’t you take us with you?” The group looked at Li Hao, who looked back at them. Did they want to join him purely out of loyalty?

Not necessarily!

They hadn’t spent that much time together. Perhaps it was out of respect or worship, or perhaps they simply didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. No matter what it was, they all demonstrated a willingness to follow Li Hao out of the province, even if the path ahead was difficult.

Was this not the life that a martial master should lead?

“Leader, our Ten Rings Mountain Seal Formation is very strong. If all of us work together with a Dominator as a core, we’ll be able to kill Solars even if we can’t measure up to Novas. I’m sure that many of us will quickly become Dominators as well. By then, we’ll rival Novas. Even if we can’t kill enemies for you, we’ll be able to hold them back for a while...”

“You should stay!” Li Hao declared after some thought. “Settle in for a bit. Everyone’s progressed very quickly during this period of time and hasn’t had time to digest your gains. Stay in Silver Moon, exterminate some of the minor pirates, and also kill the three great organizations!

“I hope that everyone is a Dominator when I return. If you think there’s no motivation to be found in Silver Moon, then you can head to the three northern provinces. There’s a war there and I saw supernaturals and martial masters fighting each other on my way back...”

Li Hao made up his mind when Kong Jie told him that there were people coming for his head. He’d held the same thoughts when Hou Xiaochen left, but he hadn’t been resolute enough then. His decision had been decided for him when Kong Jie explained that people throughout the world wanted to kill him. The time had come to leave Silver Moon. There were many secrets buried here, but many things were not issues that he could resolve now.

This was not something he could take over. Whether it was Battle Heaven, the Martial University constructed by the eight families, the other seven families, the land of inheritance behind the stone door, the diagram of the eight trigrams in the sky, the palace, Human King, Star Gate...

Too many secrets were hidden here, sealed with the disappearance of the ancient civilization.

He would be back.

The tiny place of Silver City was where he’d grown up. His friend was buried there, and while his parents’ grave had been dug up, that was still his home. However, it was time for him to leave now.

Those in charge had their secrets and their responsibilities. He didn’t know what they were thinking, but since they were hiding something, that meant there were enemies that could not be fathomed or overcome. He was not of the mindset to force them to give up their secrets, to reveal their strength or expose their trump cards for him.

Favors were the hardest to repay.