âDoes the Ministry of Commerce have such a feud with Li Hao that it brings forth that one...?â
âNo, itâs probably that the others arenât willing to take the field. The Ministries of Finance and the Inspectorate donât care. Administration and Armed Forces are the main parties confining us,â replied the Skystar King. âThe ministers of Examination, Foreign Relations, and the Judiciary are here. The only one missing is Internal AffairsâI donât know whatâs happened with Mu Hai...â
The king furrowed his brow with thought after the old minister of Commerce arrived.
âSo Qian Wanhao has come. I thought itâd be the old fart from Finance this time.â
The Liu father and son of the Ministry of Finance had been invisible lately. It was surprising that they were nowhere to be found at this moment either. This was even harder to understand than the Inspectorate.
As for Internal Affairs, the Skystar King absolutely understood the situation there. Fatty Mu Hai was extremely frustrated after his daughter was taken. He felt that the nine ministries and royal family had abandoned him, so he refused to be involved now. There was nothing he wanted more than for the nine ministries to suffer an enormous loss!
âAll parties should be present and accounted for now!!â However, the king suddenly shot to his feet with a frosty look in his eyes.
A presence flared through the surroundings! All of the royal descendants blinked, looking at astonishment with someone whoâd appeared in the image. They werenât the only onesâthose assembled were equally surprised!
......
The western outskirts.
Someone came striding through the air with an aloof expression. He wore yellow robes, a crown on his head, and inclined his head at Qian Wanhao. âYou donât mind, do you, Old Minister Qian?â
âAh, the Stable Mountain Prince, this...â the slightly rotund old minister flicked a startled glance at the newcomer.
After the death of the Steppe Prince, there were only eight princes left in the royal family. And today, the Stable Mountain Prince was present.
His features were clear-cut and marked with a grave expression. âI am here today because Hong Yitang killed my younger brother. Out of the nine princes, only the Steppe Prince and I shared the same mother. Our other royal brothers likely donât wish to make a showing, so I am the one who comes!â
While the assembly was surprised, no one said a word. The nine princes of the royal family were from the same generation as the Skystar King. They were blood brothers, the sons of the previous king. As for their royal uncles... they were all gone. No one knew whoâd killed them.
The previous Skystar King had given his sons their respective titles. Only the Steppe Prince and this one shared the same mother. At the same time, there were many talented members of the reigning royal generation. The current king was a brave talent and a brilliant strategist. The nine princes were premier powerhouses whoâd led the Black Armaturas in battles across the land back in the day.
The Steppe Prince had established the Skystar Guards, while the Stable Mountain Prince had once led troops in victorious skirmishes throughout the world.
âVery well then, this makes all of us with the Stable Mountain Prince in attendance too,â laughed Qian Wanhao. With him included, there were four ministers of previous and present. There was one prince, representatives from three great organizations, three Arcanus from the City of Supernaturals, and a few other powerhouses from the other ministries...
There were almost more Arcanus alone in this expedition compared to the last battle. They werenât even the keyâthat lay in the plant spirit replicas that they carried with them. Would there be an issue in killing Li Haoâs quartet with the show of this force?
Qian Wanhao, in particular, looked to the Stable Mountain Prince and Orange Moon. Although many felt that Ying Hongyue wasnât placing the proper importance on this expedition, Qian Wanhao inclined his head after taking a few more glances. He was rather stunned at how heavily Ying Hongyue had invested in this operation. So it seemed that he could no longer contain himself!
âSince weâre all here, letâs go inside!â Qian Wanhao smiled at the vortex in front of him. âDemon Sword might be so excited by the sight of all of those mysterious power stones that heâll dive right into the pile. It might be hard to find him in it.â
The group of thirty roared with laughter and walked inside together. Quiet immediately descended upon the western outskirts. More powerhouses appeared before long, but they waited inside instead of entering the ruins. If all went well, Li Hao would be dead after this. It wouldnât take long, but no one would be emerging for five days. They had to be wary of the royal family during this time. However, a prince had gone inside. What did the Skystar King have in mind?
......
The royal palace.
The Skystar King remained ominously quiet until someone cursed lowly, âRoyal Uncle Stable Mountain... is truly... unruly!â
The royal family had said that they wouldnât participate, but that prince had gone anyway. It was clear to see that he didnât think much of the Skystar Kingâs authority.
The king simply swept a look over the speaker, cowing the royal descendant into silence. It was a long moment before the king spoke.
âItâs fine, he could not understand the death of our younger brother. That is only to be expected! But some sacrifice is inevitable if the royal family is to rise again! He will understand sooner or later!â
The Skystar King wasnât willing to speak further on this topic and changed the subject. âMake the preparations and be ready in five days. If Li Hao does not emerge, the nine ministries are sure to act against Yao Si and the others. Letâs see if Silver Moon will send more people this time...â
No matter what the result was, it was to his benefit either way. When dog ate dog, there was no difference as to who died. It was best if they all ended up on the brink of death!
âRoyal father, Li Hao has taken a few people of the Ancient Academy from the Nine Dragons Pavilion...â said the seventh princess.
âKill them in secret if Li Hao doesnât come out!â
These people could not be left for the nine ministries! The Skystar King left without another word. They couldnât see anything anymore, nor was there a need to see anything.
The assembly slowly dispersed after he left. A small tree extended mental ripples toward the king when he entered a rear garden. âHave they all gone inside?â
âYes.â The Skystar King nodded. âI wonder how many plant spirits are present on the expedition.â
âSince that Li Hao dares make a move, he must have his confidence in doing so...â the little tree seemed to be laughing. âNo matter what, letâs wait and see first. This martial university... may not be as simple as it seems. I hope nothing else develops.â
âNot as simple?â The Skystar King furrowed his brows. âItâs just a very small university thatâs a university in name only. The Ministry of Finance didnât obtain any treasures from it in all their years of excavation...â
âItâs called the Evenround Martial University, is it not?â
âCorrect.â
âIâm not certain either... There wasnât anything special about this university when it was established, but the Skystar Army commander-in-chief went in person to congratulate them during their commence ceremony. Ordinarily speaking, having a division leader in attendance was honor enough. But they had a commander-in-chief!
âNot only that, but if I recall correctly, powerhouses from the eight main cities visited the university on that day as well. There were many martial universities across the land, with some branches of premier universities in Silver Moon. The most famous on Skystar Island shouldâve been Skystar Martial University. The rest were small-scale institutions of learning.
âRepresentatives from the eight main cities came when Skystar Martial was founded, but they sent only some weaklings...â The little tree swayed. âYou must know that Skystar Island was just a mine back in the day. All of Silver Moon Territory was just one of the human domains. Iâm not certain of certain things either. Perhaps... they came from the main world?â
âYouâve mentioned the main world a few times.â The Skystar King raised an eyebrow. âWhat do you mean by that? Isnât the entire dynasty, four seas, and eight wildernesses the entirety of the ancient civilization territory?â
The little tree seemed to both be laughing, jeering, and recollecting. âYou must know that this... was only Silver Moon Territory!â
The Skystar King frowned.
âYou still donât understand. Here, even the greatest of the eight families, the Lis, were but one of the emperorâs families. Battle Heaven was just an auxiliary branch. Back in the day, the Human King was unparalleled in the battlefield and had countless powerhouses following his banner. Once he conquered the world, he spent one thousand years in quiet and marched on deeper expanses when he emerged...â
Here, the little tree seemed apprehensive and didnât speak further. âJust remember that everything is just a beginning. Only after opening the Star Gate will you witness the true ancient civilization! The eight families safeguarded the Star Gate and the Ying Hongyue you speak of likely wishes to collect the eight bloodlines for this goal...â
The king listened quietly before suddenly declaring, âOne day, We will sweep through the four corners and revitalize the glories of the ancient civilization!â
â......â The little tree didnât respond, but viewed the words contemptuously.
The glories of the ancient civilization? You? You will never know how wondrous the ancient civilization was at its peak! Silver Moon Territory alone was staffed with an army of tens of millions. Just their general alone numbered one thousand Apex! What splendor it was, what an age of magnificence! Are people like you supposed to restore it?
What a joke!
It didnât say anything as, being the royal familyâs plant spirit, it was in a favorable position for special advantages. Itâd absorbed many mysterious power stones from the royal family over the years and thus had awakened a bit more compared to other plant spirits. That was how it barely managed to cross beyond the ruin and extend its mental strength here.
It didnât care about the others, it was just slightly curious about Evenround Martial University. Its memories showed that this university was a very mysterious institution. Very few students graduated from it and most didnât stay in Silver Moon. The tiny school was said to have fewer than one thousand students in its heyday.
Are there... secrets there? It wondered, but didnât didnât further converse with the king. It retracted its mental strength and returned to its ruins. There was a preeminent palace underground with a beguiling rose blooming in it.
An old man sat in the center, cross-legged and wearing yellow robes. There seemed to be nine locks crisscrossing over him, locking him in place. He opened his eyes when the little treeâs mental strength returned.
âCan you break it?â
âNot for now, those two have not left!â
The old man frowned and closed his eyes again.