Star Gate

Chapter 245: The Second Passageway (II)

“Li Hao, martial masters are all about integrity!” the Revolution King said coolly. “You must speak of whatever you know since you’ve taken my payment. Although your teacher and us do not really see eye to eye, he is one who keeps his word. As a martial master and the final disciple of the Five Styles discipline, dare you swear on your teacher that everything you speak of is the truth, that there is nothing omitted?”

“Why should I swear?” Li Hao raised his head with annoyance. “Is there a point to swearing? My teacher is my teacher, why should I be swearing on him? Don’t you think that’s so juvenile? You’re all powerhouses, but you want an oath... What a joke!”

Was it laughable? If it was so ludicrous, why didn’t the young man dare swear?

“Li Hao.” A smiling Hong Yitang muddied the waters. “Don’t mind this. We’re in a partnership here and everyone hopes to enter the inner city. If the situation continues as is, we won’t be able to take care of even the outer city in the time we have left. It’s also good for the Night Watchers if they can conceal their supernatural ripples. Did you make any other discoveries in the house?”

Li Hao remained silent.

“I see that you’ve grasped the aura of the sword,” Hong Yitang continued. “You’re not far off from Dominator of Thousands. Do you wish to continue along the path of martial masters, or switch to the way of supernaturals?”

“Martial masters!”

“Wonderful!” Hong Yitang nodded. “I sense that you’re not far away from Dominator. You’ll make it there as soon as your aura strengthens enough. I’ve given up on martial dao and see that you don’t have a good sword. If you don’t mind, you can have my Earthturner Sword!”

The gift of a sword?

Li Hao blinked. The Earthturner Sword was no ordinary sword! This was the sword with which Hong Yitang had built his reputation! The man modified it many times after he entered the supernatural world, making the Earthturner Sword a supernatural object. While it wasn’t on par with an origin weapon, it was much stronger than regular supernatural objects.

He’s just giving it to me? The hell? There’s no need for him to go to these depths if he just wants to play peacemaker!

The others were also surprised. What was Hong Yitang doing, offering up his beloved sword?

The Earthturner Sword flew toward Li Hao without another word. “I don’t wish for us to be bogged down by small issues like these.” Hong Yitang smiled. “This will delay more important matters. This sword will suit you for the moment, Li Hao! You’ll likely have no use for it after you become a Summoner.

“Tell us what you found so that we can better be prepared.”

Li Hao hesitated, then looked at the sword floating in front of him. “Thank you, martial uncle Hong!” he said in a muffled voice after a while.

Martial uncle was the polite term of address in the martial world. The various martial worlds were one family, as was Silver Moon’s martial world one family—even though this family often killed each other and never saw a moment of peace.

“I’ll speak about my discoveries on account of martial uncle Hong, then,” Li Hao continued his narrative. “I turned back for a glance the second I walked out of the house. There was suddenly a medallion in the darkness. Some ancient characters were etched on it and I could vaguely make out a ‘king’ character! There was a turtle carved on it, one that seemed very lifelike.

“I wanted to take it, but when I took another look at it, I found that it was gone.” The young man assessed his memories again. “Not only that, but I sensed a peculiar power from the medallion. It was very special! It’s hard to describe, but it felt quite vast. There was the enclosure of the cosmos, an invincible defense, and a destruction that was complete annihilation!”

Violet Moon’s expression shifted at this. A peculiar power! She seemed to know what it was. This place... really did have a connection to the eight families!

The enclosure of the cosmos, an invincible defense, and a destruction that was complete annihilation...

Her heart shook with shock. This might really be the ruins of the eight families!

Li Hao spoke of his experience so clearly it was like he’d seen it with his own eyes. Even Hao Lianchuan was a little dazed. I told you to lie to the others, not to yourself! Have you fooled even yourself with your lies?

Even I think it sounds so real! These details are incredible! What turtle, what ‘king’ character, what special power? I didn’t teach you any of this!

Impressive!

Li Hao’s recounting was too realistic. Those who’d never seen the medallion and felt the power for themselves wouldn’t be able to describe it. Whether it was the Revolution King or Violet Moon, both of their faces twitched. The cloaked Celestial powerhouse also held his breath to listen intently.

The three great organizations seemed to know more things than the Night Watchers. They instantly thought of certain things when Li Hao mentioned what he saw.

Violet Moon forced herself to remain calm in the face of extreme urgency. “Did you not manage to take the medallion?” she asked with a veneer of composure.

“No.” Li Hao frowned. “But I have a feeling that if I’m a Dominator... I might be able to capture it with the aura!” contemporary romance

He hesitated again, a pause captured by Violet Moon.

“What else is there?” she quickly asked.

The young man stayed silent before responding irritably, “Nothing.”

He must be keeping more to himself!

Li Hao’s irritation grew as he saw how eager the woman was. “Isn’t Red Moon more familiar with it than me? What are you asking me for? I say there’s more than one medallion, that there’s eight! I only had one detailed glance in the dark—there might be more there. There should be eight medallions total and special effects might occur with all of them in hand. As for what they are, I don’t know. Red Moon should know better than I do!”

Eight medallions!

Violet Moon immediately shut her mouth and didn’t ask further questions. Eight families! This city must have something to do with the eight families!

It wasn’t just her, but all of the others who understood in this moment as well. No wonder Li Hao hadn’t mentioned it. This made his identity as the heir of the eight families even more important, which was also a dangerous development. Hong Yitang grasped the ramifications and looked apologetically at the young man.

“Martial uncle didn’t know about this before...” he said in a lowered voice. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I’d known.”

“It’s fine!” Li Hao mumbled. “It’s not the first day that they’ve had their eyes on me. I just think there’s more to this ancient house than meets the eye... Whatever, you guys are the ones going inside, not me!”

Hao Lianchuan was also frowning off to the side and looking at the others. “We... didn’t notice this medallion before.”

Did people believe him?

Maybe!

If they hadn’t discovered it before, then it might have something to do with Li Hao’s bloodline. Naturally, no one asked anything further at this point. They’d understood what they needed to understand, the rest would come with experimentation.

A grumpy Li Hao retreated behind Hao Lianchuan. The deputy director looked over the sword before returning it to the young man. Li Hao was still out of sorts. He’d revealed his secrets for a measly one hundred fifty cubes of water energy and an Earthturner Sword! He rather regretted his actions!

Okay, so he didn’t regret that much. Perhaps these guys would’ve given him more if he asked. What did any of this matter to these people? One hundred fifty cubes was nothing!

Damn, I really asked for too little. The Earthturner Sword was an accident. When Violet Moon opened her mouth, I should’ve asked for a few blood pearls. Maybe I could’ve gotten some!

Oh these missed opportunities!

Liu Long grunted with disapproval and lectured in an exceedingly quiet voice, “Idiot! Hong Yitang’s not necessarily a good person either. How could you tell him these things? You idiot, you’re in trouble now. Everyone’s eyes will be on you!”

Although he kept his voice down, it was still audible. The three Solars could make out his words. Hong Yitang’s expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Li Hao kept his head down, dejected. “They wanted to force me to swear on my teacher,” he ultimately responded in a muffled voice. “Those of the Five Styles can fall in battle, but cannot let our masters suffer humiliation. I can’t just use his name like that. Teacher saved me from certain death multiple times and laid down his life to wrestle more benefits for me. I... couldn’t bear to curse him like that. Not to mention, there are indeed gods and spirits in the world. Even the heavens favor a certain group of people. How can I live up to him if something really does come true?”

Liu Long sighed and said nothing more. The premises fell silent.

“Liu Long, is it?” the Revolution King suddenly said. “You’ve gone inside before. How about the Night Watchers send Liu Long in with us this time? Of course, we won’t have people make the trip in vain. Whether it’s Liu Long or anyone else, those who are willing to go inside will receive one hundred cubes if they make it out alive!”

The crowd rustled when they heard the offer. One hundred cubes? How generous!

For the leaders of the great factions, it was best if people willingly entered the house. They weren’t afraid of spending resources—there would be payouts only if these people survived the encounter.

They needed to stay alive first.

Volunteers were much better than coerced participation. Anyone forced into the house might conceal important information.

“In addition, hefty rewards will go to anyone who obtains that medallion!” continued Revolution. “Yama is willing to purchase it for a high price. I’m sure we all know that some things cannot be claimed even if you lay your hands on it.”

This, the assembly was well aware of. And it wasn’t like they were guaranteed to gain the medallion either.

“Milord Revolution King,” asked a Sunflare survivor from one of the small organizations. “Is everyone one hundred cubes? Both Darkmoon and Sunflare?”

“Sunflares will receive two hundred,” chuckled Revolution.

“Milord is wise!” The Sunflare smiled. Two hundred cubes of mysterious power was no small sum. He’d just asked off the cuff—who would’ve thought that really would increase the payout?

As expected of a large organization! They were magnanimous and strong!

“If you make it out alive, you can also join Yama!” continued Revolution. “Yama welcomes all those unaffiliated with an organization!”

Some more independent supernaturals were tempted after this. Yama was one of the three great organizations! These organizations had taken all comers at the beginning of their formation. But with the rise of the supernatural world, its stabilization and increasing numbers, these organizations now had quite the set of rules and conditions for recruitment.

It wasn’t easy for those of small organizations to join the three greats.

Neither Celestial nor Violet Moon said anything. They needed to survive braving the house first! Not to mention, joining Yama at this stage meant becoming cannon fodder. Only when a new recruit exited the ruins did they have a chance of becoming an official member. Hence, the other organizations couldn’t be bothered with saying anything.

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