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Chapter 787: All Sides Tremble (I)

Quiet descended upon the world when the quartet reappeared. It was like everything froze for a second. Li Hao was out!

Indeed, it hadn’t been five days yet—just four. Therefore, not that many noticed their reappearance. There were watchers on duty nearby, but the world itself was still. Jaws dropped when the watchers registered the quartet. Li Hao and his companions were out! Then... what about all of the powerhouses that’d gone inside?

The four ministers? The lord of Sky Roc Mountain? The lord of Buddha Mountain? The Stable Mountain Prince? Where were all of the overlords of the various locales?

Those in the surroundings watched silently, so motionless that it seemed even their thoughts were petrified.

The world was very, very quiet. Just as Li Hao’s quartet shifted uncomfortably, the void split open. A middle-aged man with stately features walked out. The manner of his appearance jolted Li Hao’s heart. Had the man ripped the void open?

...no... he’d simply moved so quickly that it looked like he had. But it also meant that he was astoundingly strong. Who was this?

The middle-aged man was wearing a military uniform. Ah, Li Hao could hazard a guess then.

The imposing middle-aged man looked at them for a long time before saying slowly, “Are they dead?”

Li Hao raised an eyebrow. Hou Xiaochen glanced at him and answered calmly, “They should be dead.”

“Did your group kill them, or did the existences inside the ruins do the deed?”

“What do you think?”

The middle-aged man didn’t respond. He looked at the ruin entrance, then at Li Hao. Still coolly composed, he proclaimed, “You may establish your Skystar Commander Office, but cease killing. Wait for the second awakening before you seek to resolve further problems!”

“Is your word definitive?” Li Hao frowned.

“It is!” The middle-aged man inclined his head. “Me and the other fellow have only stayed out of this because we are restricting the movements of the one in the royal family. Once your level of threat surpasses that one, however, I will be involved!”

“But I think... you may not be able to interfere!” Li Hao’s presence rose with a sneer. “The founder of the Ministry of Armed Forces is also spoken about in history books. Are you the Military God Qi Pingjiang?”

Indeed, this middle-aged man was the founder of the Ministry of Armed Forces. According to Yao Si, the old minister of Armed Forces, Administration, and the Inspectorate were the most terrifying existences among first generation ministers. They were of one civil and one military background, and the one at the Inspectorate was a bit of a wily old fox. He was skilled in both civil and military areas, but was suppressed all around. It was these three who led the other six old ministers in overcoming the royal family eighty years ago!

It was clear to see just how strong they were. One had to know that Li Hao had met quite a few old ministers by now and even killed two of them. Most of them... weren’t anything to write home about. The royal family was so strong that it took the three strongest old ministers to keep them under control.

Military God Qi Pingjiang was known throughout the lands for his military might. He’d even led his troops to triumph over the Black Armaturas back in the day—ample demonstration of his strength. Li Hao suspected that he was at least a six element Arcanus. He might have touched the threshold of Apex—also known as seven element Arcanus in the modern system. But it was difficult to determine what the specifics were.

Li Hao opened his eyes on the man; there was some energy leakage in his ball of light, but it seemed slightly piercing like that of someone converted back to martial dao. Qi Pingjiang might have been a supernatural before, then reverted back to being a martial master. It was difficult to determine his exact condition without exchanging blows with him.

Qi Pingjiang had come very quickly—as soon as Li Hao left the ruins. Clearly, he’d realized trouble was at hand. Qian Wanda and his group had all died! Not only that, but the plant spirit replicas with them had all perished as well. Their main bodies hadn’t sensed their replicas’ death yet due to the isolation effect of the ruins. Now that the doors were open again, their dead presence would quickly spread and be noticed by the plant spirits.

Too many powerhouses had been lost on this expedition. There were two lords of the seven divine mountains and a prince. The losses were more severe than last time as they were down another old minister and three current ministers.

The void shook as more people appeared. Some looked toward the ruins, others gazed sorrowfully upon the scene. Of them, there were the old ministers of Examinations and Foreign Relations. There were only seven left of the old ministers.

The old man from the Inspectorate also flashed into the scene. He looked at the ruins to the rear and then at Li Hao’s group. He said not a word and made no sound. His son was equally quiet and, in fact, quite wooden with shock. Li Hao... had made it back out alive!

His father had said that he should take the Inspectorate and join the Skystar Commander Office if the young man survived. The inspector general remembered that, but he’d thought that Li Hao would never be setting foot back out again. Even if he did, it would surely be a pyrrhic victory.

But at the moment, Li Hao’s quartet was out safe and sound. Apart from Hou Xiaochen’s presence being a bit disarrayed—the man seemed to have become a supernatural—the rest were fine. Even the dog was out, but everyone else who’d gone inside was absent. Their absence was indication enough that they were dead. How else would Li Hao’s group make it back out?

Another person broke through the air at this time—the long vanished Minister of Finance, Liu Yunqing. The fat man looked at the ruins, then at Li Hao. Confusion and wariness lurked in the bottom of his eyes.

He’d mounted an expedition to the ruins before and visited the classroom buildings. There were incredibly strong puppets inside. He hadn’t known about them at first until a younger cousin of his accidentally barged into a restricted area. Numerous puppets instantly appeared to kill his Arcanus cousin. It only took them one move, which immediately informed him that these ruins were a deathtrap!

The puppet was likely an Apex, and there were at least one hundred of them!

He couldn’t begin to fathom just how terrifying this martial university was. That was only puppets they encountered, they hadn’t provoked anything hidden deeper. Therefore, his thought was that all explorers would die once they started fighting each other!

Liu Yunqing knew that outright dumping mysterious power stones in the ruins was the easiest way to provoke ancient powerhouses into reviving. However, reality proved him wrong. Someone had died, yet it was Qian Wanhao’s side instead of Li Hao’s group.

Had they died to the existences inside the ruins? Li Hao had emerged a day earlier, which was very possibly a sign that something had changed inside the ruins. Why else would the replicas of the plant spirits die otherwise? They were all five or six element Arcanus, and there were so many of them!

He did not believe that Li Hao would be able to kill them. The situation stared him in the face. Li Hao was out, and he’d inspired the old monster from Armed Forces to arrive. The one who’d suppressed countless powerhouses eighty years ago was in the habit of keeping a low profile and balanced out the one from the Ministry of Finance. They raised up the nine ministries to defeat the royal family.

One had to know that this one hadn’t put in a showing when the three great organizations rose. Neither did he appear when the seven divine mountains declared supremacy. He still didn’t display himself in the public eye when the City of Supernaturals was built. Yet today, here he was to warn Li Hao!

At the same time, it was just a warning. Plainly, he was starting to feel threatened as well.

All was quiet on the four sides, the group simply looked at Li Hao and Qi Pingjiang. No one could believe the results that their eyes registered.

“Do you want to give it a try?” Qi Pingjiang asked solemnly.

“Why not?” Li Hao smiled.

BOOM!

Overwhelming aura exploded as a domineering sword aura manifested, striking with unparalleled speed!

BAM!

Qi Pingjiang struck at the same time, seeming to break the very void. He was also as fast as lightning!

A loud impact rang out as the resulting shockwave erased a small mountain that’d stood in the western outskirts for many years. A haze of light appeared—the door to the ruins.

Li Hao took a few steps back, blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth. “So that’s all there is to you! You’re just around a six element Arcanus and you might be able to call upon more, but the void won’t support more power. It’s impossible for the Apex level of the ancient cultivation system to appear before the second awakening. In that case, what are you throwing your weight around for?”

All sides trembled when they heard Li Hao’s words! A six element Arcanus! Qi Pingjiang’s might was dreadfully shocking. However, it was Li Hao who was more appalling. Although he reeled from the blow, there wasn’t a significant gap between the two of them. How could that be??

Surprisingly, Qi Pingjiang wasn’t taken aback. If Li Hao could suppress Qian Wanhao and the others, he had to grasp at least five elements.

“You have the right to be so arrogant and impudent.” Qi Pingjiang looked calmly at Li Hao. “That is why I said that you can establish your Skystar Commander Office. The old and current ministers of Judiciary have all perished, so you can take over their duties if you so wish. However, that does not mean you can continue to slaughter people!”

“You make it sound like I’m the devil and you’re the saint!” Li Hao sneered. “Look around, does the Ministry of Armed Forces have a better reputation, or does my Skystar Commander Office? Qi Pingjiang, are you worthy of being the military god?”

“So what if I am, and so what if I’m not?” The man was as coolly composed as before. “Do you think you would be able to make it to today without the nine ministries suppressing the royal family for the past eighty years?”

“Those of Silver Moon carved out our own world,” Li Hao snorted with laughter. “Whether it is the royal family or the nine ministries, their reach does not extend to Silver Moon!”

Qi Pingjiang didn’t bother arguing that point. Silver Moon denizens were so ferocious that the royal family had also found them hard to contend with. Instead, he repeated, “Whether you make use of the existences inside the ruins or the replica of a premier level plant spirit, none of them can emerge into the world at present to help you! Do you know what you will face once we release that old fart from the royal family?”

“Is he very strong?”

“Of course!” Qi Pingjiang looked noncommittally at the young man. “Would he be able to confine me and the fellow from Administration if he wasn’t? Li Hao, you are indeed strong with your weapon in hand, but have you forgotten about the weapons that stood against you that day? We just aren’t willing to use them yet. You already have what you want, don’t you?”

Li Hao raised an eyebrow. If possible, he wanted to outright kill this old guy. But this one had the power of six elements and didn’t seem to be utilizing his full strength. He seemed to be on high alert against the royal family. As strong as the royal heavyweight was, he couldn’t be stronger than seven elements, right? So why were they so cautious?