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 ringâsome people recognized it as a videotape.
The Tranquil Duke was frowning ferociously by now. Heâd thought the rebuttal was fake, but now he realized the truth of Yang Shanâs claims. No one shouldâve 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 thingâit was real and truly existed!
The dukeâs expression flickered and he said faintly, âThese 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.â
âSo the duke means that this is not evidence either?â demanded Yang Shan. âThat 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!â
He lifted his head and frostily regarded the duke. âIn 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?â
He maintained his hold on the videotape and didnât put it down to be played. Youâre picking at me, huh? Thank goodness I bought the tape with me! But... he didnât 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. Heâd be the first one scared to death if he really played it!
Yang Shan was betting that the duke wouldnât let him play the tape!
Hidden in the shadows, a petrified Qin Lian was dripping with sweat. Iâm going to hack you into pieces after weâre 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!
âForget it, we can discuss this later since you arenât willing to admit to it.â The Tranquil Duke smiled faintly. âToday is the inauguration day of the Skystar Commander Office. This duke will not put a damper on things!â
It was best if he could humiliate Li Hao, but if he couldnât, 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! Iâll kill this guy as soon as you play it! Heâs got some nerve to spoil the day! He feels like heâs lived too long and wants to die, doesnât he? Iâm going to wring his neck today even if heâs brought a true Apex plant spirit with him...
But Yang Shan wasnât playing the tape. Seeing as beads of sweat were dotting the manâs forehead, Li Hao realized that something else was afoot.
âVery well then, letâs leave it, Yang Shan,â he commented casually. âThe 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!â
âThis subordinate understands!â 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 didnât think that Iâd carry some tapes around with me. Mm, this is a good kink. Iâve 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 Haoâs might.
The young man set the matter aside, as if he didnât care at all. âSuch 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!â
âWhat will these superhuman rules entail?â Chen Yao asked from the Inspectorateâs side.
âTheyâre simple and wonât levy any major restrictions. Being superhuman myself, I know how our minds work,â Li Hao laughed. âThey 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.
âThey 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!â
Eyes widened at the explanation.
âAccording to what I know, some superhumans cultivate inside the ancient ruins. Are they to emerge to register themselves?â someone asked coolly. âThen 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?â
âAnd is there anything wrong with that?â Li Hao smiled. âItâs 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 donât need to worry about that!â
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 whoâd 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!
âAnd what of the monster spirit factions?â someone else laughed. âThere are major monster spirits in our various territories. Is your hand going to stretch to them as well?â
âWhy not?â Li Hao answered faintly. âSkystar 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!
âWhat, 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!â
Ninety-nine percent of expressions shifted at his words. Plant spirits were also monster spirits. Some looked at Li Hao with an inscrutable look.
âHas Commander Li... not come in contact with any plant spirits?â Quiet all this time, the Prince of Southern Conciliation suddenly spoke up.
âI 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...â
BOOM!
The audience shifted restlessly. Seriously?? Three thousand pieces?
âI did not say that we cannot work with monster spirits or show them respect,â Li Hao said faintly. âBoth 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!â
The people did not care about his last set of words. Chen Yao couldnât contain himself. âHow many mysterious power stones did you say you needed for one drop of Water of Life?â
âThree thousand!â Li Hao frowned.
âYou donât mean cultivation energy stones, do you?â
âOf course not!â the young man dismissed out of hand. âI expended nearly one thousand drops of Water of Life recently. If it was thirty thousand energy stones, wouldnât that mean tens of millions mysterious power stones? I donât have that kind of money to spare as I didnât get a single stone from the pile that you guys dumped at Evenround Martial!â
The group looked at each other, whereas Li Hao looked at Liu Yunqing. âMinister Liu knows of the particulars, donât you? A bunch of idiots randomly threw stones onto the ground and ended up reviving an ancient powerhouse... They deserved their deaths!â
Eyes widened as people looked to Liu Yunqing for confirmation. The man was expressionless and didnât 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?
Itâd 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 didnât 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. Wasnât that ten to twenty times what Li Haoâs price was?
They knew that the plant spirits were certainly keeping some for themselves, but they hadnât 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. âThen... Commander Li, are you interested in trading for some Water of Life?â
âSure.â Li Hao nodded with a smile. âThe 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, isnât it?â
Chen Yao fell silent. Forget it, pretend I didnât say anything.
The rest of the group was rapidly considering that they couldnât 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 didnât lack resources.
Fucking hell! This wasnât 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.
âThen, is Commander Li willing to sell your Water of Life?â
âOf course! Iâll charge only thirty thousand a drop. Thatâs cheaper than what you can trade for.â
No one jumped on his offer. Although that was cheap, Li Hao would benefit massively from the transaction and he was their enemy... That wasnât 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 wasnât bad! The royal family sold theirs for one hundred thousand stones a drop and they still had buyers! It didnât matter to them if Li Hao earned the profits or someone else did.
Around the crowd, others watched certain expressions with dawning trepidation. This couldnât 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 didnât 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!