It was already too prosperous for the imagination when inhabitants of White Moon City spoke of their home. Skystar City was too distant for Li Hao to fathom. They would have to cross multiple provinces to get to the city. It already took Novas three days of travel to arrive in Silver Moon.
Based on what He Yong said, they needed to take a plane, a fast car, transfer a few times in between, and then ultimately fly their way to the destination. He didnât mention flying the entire way as that would be the death of the Nova. Ten thousand kilometers was an exceedingly far distance.
He Yong shut his mouth upon seeing that he didnât draw any interest from the young man. He was just shooting the breeze, it would be jaw dropping if Li Hao really did go. Meanwhile, the latter wasnât interested in asking anything more.
âSenior South.â Wang Ming recovered from his surprise and couldnât help his curiosity. His ego was ready for round two. âI hear that you battle constantly in the central region and that itâs incredibly chaotic. People are frequently displaced from their homes and wander aimlessly. Why does it sound like such a thriving territory in your words?â
âThe central region is too big!â He Yong chuckled. âThe chaos you mentioned is just one portion and the battles are decreasing in frequency. They donât really affect the common people anymore. Even if a large battle erupts, itâs not worth mentioning in the bigger picture of things!
âSilver Moon has only thirty-some cities, but the central region has almost one thousand. The battle of a city causes a great sensation in Silver Moon, but who cares about one city falling into disorder out of a thousand in the central region?â
Wang Ming nodded and almost crashed his bike in his distraction. âThere... arenât that many twenty year old Sunflares in the central region, right?â
Iâm only twenty years old!
âUm... thereâs quite a few!â He Yong roared with laughter. âOf course, theyâre mostly Heaven Favored. Some seventeen or eighteen year olds start as Sunflare in the supernatural academiesâbut thereâs not too many of them. Youâd barely count as a minor genius in the central region.â
A minor genius? Wang Ming struggled to come to grips with that label.
âSenior may be speaking the truth.â Li Hao was as composed as ever. He decided to speak up when he saw how much Wang Ming reeled from all of the new information. âBut the supernatural academies that you speak of, those Heaven Favored, all live under the protection of powerhouses, donât they? Thereâs not that many who forge their strength in fighting.â
He Yong didnât reply.
âSilver Moonâs martial world boasted of a big reputation back in the day. Everyone said to go to Silver Moon if you wished to fight! Perhaps this is the savage frontierâs only advantage in their eyesâweâve all seen bloodshed!â
Shouldnât that be the case for those who ate raw flesh and drank blood? Whether it was Silver Moonâs martial masters or supernaturals, they didnât feel much when they killed. Violence was something that existed in the depths of their bones. Neither Li Hao nor Wang Ming had experienced significant ripples in their emotions the first time they killed someone.
It wasnât just them, but a common trait across all Silver Moon denizens. As numerous as the battles in the central region were, those geniuses slowly developed under the auspices of stronger protectors, didnât they?
âThatâs true enoughâthere are still advantages to Silver Moon,â He Yong chuckled.
âAs a martial master from Silver Moon, senior mentions that there are many Dominators in the central region,â Li Hao continued. âThat there are many even in the royal family, yet senior is able to find his footing amid the royal family like a duck taking to water. I think that has much to do with your experience from Silver Moon, correct?â
âThatâs right!â He Yong replied approvingly. âYouâre right on this pointâthere are plenty of Dominators in the central region, but it would be speaking too highly of them to put them on the same footing as us. Of course, the same canât be said about later generation Dominators from the martial world. Your chief, Liu Long, may not be the top of the top in the central region. But your master, I, and any of the famous martial masters in Silver Moon during our times would be everyoneâs martial granddaddy in the central region!â
That was enough. Perhaps Li Haoâs new bodyguard was a little too full of it, but it was true enough that he was respected in the royal family. How else would they let him run around with complete freedom and maybe even give him some missions?
Li Hao didnât want to say anything elseâthere was no need to. The central region was too far away.
......
It was one thousand kilometers from Silver City to Rift Canyon. It was another one thousand kilometers past the canyon to White Moon City, making for a total trip distance of more than two thousand kilometers.
The newly fashionable motorcycles made quick work of the distance. They had no problem driving one hundred kilometers an hour, but the group only just made it past Rift Canyon when the sun dawned on the 4th. It would be evening before they reached White Moon.
On the other side of Rift Canyon.
The trio was strong enough that they could carry the bikes down the canyon, ride them through it, and carry them back up. Ordinary people werenât able to accomplish the feat.
They were all tired at this point. Their bodies werenât tired after a night of traveling, but they were tired on a mental level.
Roads could be glimpsed in the distance after they passed Rift Canyon. They appeared very neat and well-kept; buildings were outlined in the even further distance. Those belonged to other cities, White Moon was still far away.
In contrast to the bleak desolation around Silver City, the environment was no longer as stark around these cities. Li Hao could even see people working the fields, whereas any place too far away from a city on the other side was devoid of people!
The three sat down on the ground to rest, drink water, and eat some cookies. Seeing that Li Hao was staring into the horizon, Wang Ming sidled over.
âThe closest city on this side is Rift Cityâitâs only a few dozen kilometers away from us. Weâll pass by Flare City next, then ride another two hundred kilometers to finish at White Moon!â
Li Hao inclined his head as heâd read the map before they started. âThere are thirty million inhabitants in White Moon, but I made some calculations after looking at the map and see that the city isnât that big. Itâs not thirty Silver Cities, at the very least. Donât you find it crowded when you live there?â
Wang Ming laughed, as did He Yong.
âHow would we ever?â Wang Ming grinned with mirth. âYou think too little of White Moon, Li Hao. Letâs put it this wayâthe buildings you see in Silver City are mostly three stories tall, with tall being defined as six stories, and tallest at ten stories at most. But in White Moon, buildings that are thirty stories tall are everyone!â
âI get it,â Li Hao chuckled as well. âYou build upwards to alleviate the pressure of limited space. Doesnât that still feel uncomfortable in its own way? Living among high buildings... that would make me claustrophobic.â
âI donât think so!â Wang Ming shrugged.
âWhite Moon is decent,â He Yong interrupted. âSkystar City has buildings over one hundred stories tall and there are even supernatural buildings now. An earth Nova can create a skyscraper more than one hundred or even one thousand meters tall in a day...â
âLi Hao, donât lose face for yourself when you arrive in White Moon,â Wang Ming continued. âItâs different from Silver City. There are a lot more cars and people in the capital. Another major difference is that while the Inspectorate calls the shots in Silver City, the provincial government, Inspectorate, Night Watchers, and military are essentially on the same footing in White Moon. The Night Watchers arenât involved in the day-to-day administration, so itâs the provincial government that makes the decisions.
âWhatâs nice about a small place like Silver City is that thereâs not really anyone we have to steer clear of. We should keep a low profile in White Moon so we donât accidentally bump into a commanderâs son or get into a fight with the director generalâs grandson. Apart from that, thereâs a lot of large business groups in White Moon that are developing in the direction of a consortium. Theyâve recruited a lot of supernaturals too...â
Wang Ming was highly concerned that Li Hao would easily run afoul of trouble if he didnât know about the environment of his new post, so he painstakingly introduced all of the moving parts to his colleague.
âOf course, no one will dare provoke you since the Night Watcher director himself has personally recruited you. At the same time, we canât rely on the director for everything, right?â
Li Hao nodded in agreement.
âBut donât worry, you have me!â Wang Ming chuckled. âMy family has a bit of power and authority to its name.â
Li Hao hadnât inquired more closely beforeâhe grew curious now. âIs your family also in the Tiger Wings?â
âNope,â Wang Ming explained. âThe local army is split into three divisions, the Tiger Wings is just one of them. Thereâs also the Silver Moon Division, which is the central division of the three. The other is the White Dragons, where my family is stationed.â
The White Dragons.
âIs your dad a commander like Hu Dingfang?â
âAhem...â Wang Ming coughed. âOf course not, commander? Would I be part of the Night Watchers if my identity was that amazing? My dad... my dad isnât much. Itâs my grandpaâheâs the vice commander of the White Dragons.â
His grandpa was the highest ranked out of his family. It wasnât a bad postâit was actually quite impressive! Li Hao just didnât find it as monumental because heâd met Commander Hu Dingfang of the Tiger Wings.
No wonder the commander hadnât recognized Wang Ming when the young supernatural greeted him, it made sense. His counterpart was the commander of the White Dragons, and heâd know the vice commander of course. But his grandson? That truly wasnât worthy of attention.
âHu Dingfang doesnât seem that old, how is he the commander of the Tiger Wings?â Li Hao wondered, was it simply due to superior strength? Did the military only judge competency based on strength?
âCommander Hu is indeed young. Heâs around forty.â Wang Ming thought for a bit. âThat does make him the youngest among the division commanders. He assumed control of the Tiger Wings eight years ago, which made him a commander in his thirties.
âIâm not certain of the details, just that something happened with the Tiger Wings about ten years ago. I donât know if there was a mutiny or ambush by supernaturals... but a lot of them died during that time. Commander Hu almost died as well.
âUnrest simmered in the Tiger Wings after that and continued for several years until the commander stepped forth and decisively quelled the disturbances with overwhelming strength. The army division was reconstructed and he oversaw it after that. Quite a few lost their heads in the process.
âDue to the deaths of their veteran leaders, Hu Dingfang enjoys a high prestige in the Tiger Wings despite his age!â
Li Hao pondered over the fact that Hao Lianchuan had mentioned Hu Dingfang knew the Five Styles and its breathing method... Had he improved so quickly to late Solar because of the breathing method? Whoâd taught it to him?
It couldnât be his teacher, his teacher would mention it otherwise. His senior sister?