Star Gate

Li Hao looked up from the dragon throne and tilted his head at the ceiling.

“This throne is so uncomfortable, it’s too hard!” he laughed after a moment. “Whether it’s authority or position, none of that needs this thing to draw attention to them. It looks like it’s made of gold… I’ll just melt it! Ah, never mind, we can keep it around so anyone who wants to sit in it can do so!”

He kicked the dragon throne aside and waved a chair to him. this was much softer.

“Let’s leave the matters outside to the Demon Hunter Army. Come in, everyone! We’re going to have a quick meeting!”

Powerhouses quickly filed in.

“Have a seat, everyone!” chuckled Li Hao. “All of you are my seniors, so there’s no need to stand on ceremony. The imperial court is the martial world too, the martial world is everywhere. Please be at ease, seniors!”

Yuan Shuo immediately plopped down into a chair. His actions inspired the others to do the same. Although there were quite a few people in Li Hao’s group, the massive hall was much more sparsely populated than a regular day at court.

“Who would’ve thought that we’d complete our encirclement of Skystar City so quickly?” Li Hao sighed emotionally as he looked at everyone. “I’ll cut to the chase. Conquering the world is hard and keeping it is even harder. I don’t wish for the world to be shaken with unease just because we’ve eliminated the nine ministries and royal family…

“Therefore, I need everyone to help me complete a stable transition of the dynasty. Skystar City will remain sealed for the immediate future. Deputy Zhou will oversee Administration, Chen Yao will continue to manage the Inspectorate. As for Armed Forces… I will send Commander Huang Yu over as soon as possible.

“Examinations and Foreign Affairs don’t need anyone at present. We can leave Internal Affairs alone for now. The Liu father and son will stay on at Finance for a limited period of time, so we’ll need someone to take their place. This is an important post—who is up to the task?”

The group looked at each other; no one made a sound. Everyone knew that it was time to divvy up the spoils. The world was theirs, and while they hadn’t fully conquered the dynasty, taking a position at one of the nine ministries now might mean that it would be theirs in the days to come.

However, everyone was of the martial world. Few were those who could excel in these positions.

“Is no one skilled at this kind of work?” Li Hao asked with a frown. “Then let’s set it aside for now. Putting both Director Yao and Director Hou in charge of the Night Watchers is a waste. Director Yao will continue to hold down the fort at the Night Watchers, whereas Director Hou will take over at Commerce. We still need that ministry as society will not advance without business…”

Hou Xiaochen wanted to decry the young man for what was surely a joke. How come I’ve been sent to the Ministry of Commerce?? What kind of commercial abilities do I have?! Li Hao, you’re just randomly assigning people to places!

“I trust Director Hou,” smiled Li Hao. “The director is a great hand at conducting transactions. You’ll have help from others and will be primarily there to manage people. I’m not sending you to open a business. The director’s been an official for several decades—too few of us have this kind of experience. You’re it!”

“……” Hou Xiaochen felt a weariness deep in his soul.

“Also, the director has tremendous mental strength. That will be useful for tasks involving calculation and numbers. It’s a good fit!”

A resigned Hou Xiaochen could do nothing but nod in silence.

“Of course, this is just a temporary post.” Li Hao looked back out over the group. “These duties should be left to professionals in the end. We’re all laymen and this isn’t the time to relax with enjoyment. The three great organizations are still active in the world, the ancient ruins and plant spirits are still present. The three dukes have yet to be eradicated as well…

“We’ve only defeated a portion of leaders installed by the previous government. This was more of a special ops mission than anything. It will not result in peace throughout the land…” Li Hao rubbed his temples. “I’m not adept at any of this either. In fact, I’m rather lost when it comes to organizational stuff! A greater burden falls on those who are capable. Anyone who speaks up can give anything a try.”

Still, no one made a sound. They simply looked at each other. It was one thing to kill people, but to run the world… forget it.

“Ahem!” someone coughed at this time. “Director General Zhao of Silver Moon can do it! He’s overseen the province for decades and it’s always remained in good order…”

Deputy Zhou was a good candidate as well, but there was only one of him. He couldn’t clone himself to finish everything. So it came down to Li Hao to transport more people from Silver Moon.

Of the four guardians of the province, three of them were at Skystar City. That only left Director General Zhao at Silver Moon.

“No, Silver Moon cannot fall into disorder.” Surprisingly, Li Hao shook his head in refusal. “We have great things to accomplish next. Disarray can grip Skystar, but it cannot find Silver Moon! The province is close to the Great Li dynasty. Although there is no news of the dynasty, that doesn’t mean it is gone. Senior Northern Fist once traveled through it and knows that its armies and martial dao are very strong.”

Silver Moon could not be left empty. If all personnel were redeployed from it, then even their home base would fall.

Li Hao sighed. It was… such a hopeless notion for a bunch of martial blockheads to administer the world. He wanted to set a few tasks for Hong Yitang, but he knew what the man was thinking. Therefore, it was better to have Hong Yitang focus on the Skystar Martial Academy first.

“The commander has forgotten one person…” Sky Sword suddenly said.

“Who?”

“Lin Hongyu!” Sword Sovereign answered candidly. “That woman can keep the mess that is the City of Supernaturals in order. There are more than one million supernaturals and a dozen aristocracies in the city. Each of them try to cheat or outwit the other.

“Not only is she strong, but she has the potential to be quite a bureaucrat. Since she can bring a million supernaturals to heel, I’m sure she can do the same for Skystar City even though there are more people in the capital!”

Eyebrows rose at his words. Lin Hongyu! This was someone that no one had thought to consider.

“Is this a good idea? She’s not from Silver Moon…” someone asked.

“You’re being too narrow-minded. Can you run the world’s operations? She is not of Silver Moon, but we sit in Skystar City at the moment. This is the heart of the world. Are we to rule the land with just Silver Moon people?”

“Fair enough.”

“……” A lively discussion ensued. Some people disapproved of the suggestion, others found it rather nice. Li Hao felt that it was a sensible one after some thought. It was proof of her competence, if nothing else, that Lin Hongyu was able to manage the City of Supernaturals sp well.

Everyone present was a solitary wanderer—Sky Sword was the only master of a faction. But to be blunt, his Sky Sword Manor was just a den of swordsmen. People went back to train and sleep when they had nothing else to do. Who would remain at the manor if they did?

“Do we still use the name of the Skystar Commander Office, or is it something else now?” Yuan Shuo suddenly asked. It would be an illegitimate and unjustifiable usage of the office in their future endeavours. Although they had to conceal their movements for the time being, they needed to play new cards later on. They couldn’t use the office’s name forever, could they?

Everyone looked at Li Hao now.

“Let’s just have Li Hao be the emperor,” Northern Fist said frankly. “All of us can be an army general or governor general or something. We can do anything we want then!”

Eye rolls abounded in the crowd. They were turning themselves into bandits!

Chen Zhongtian coughed gently. He hadn’t said anything yet, but now chuckled, “Commander, I think we should use the name of the Skystar Commander Office for a bit. Everything else can wait for the moment. We can discuss them after we resolve the most pressing matters at hand.”

“There’s no need to decide on that right this minute,” Li Hao nodded. “We don’t possess sufficient strength. It’s wintertime and the ground is frozen solid. Let’s get through winter first and send out our troops after the land thaws. We’ll exterminate whoever needs to go when spring arrives!

“Our operations are spread too thinly for now, we lack sufficient people. We should slow our pace for a while. The central region needs to be stabilized, to say nothing of the other locations…

“There are many factions in the central region, but the biggest one that has been in constant contact with Skystar City is the City of Supernaturals. However, that is now ours. So long as we force the three great organizations to leave or outright eradicate them, it won’t be difficult to claim the central region. We’ll be able to swiftly wrap up the central region when spring is here.”

Heads bobbed through the crowd. It wasn’t like they cared much about what should happen next—or rather, they didn’t know what should happen next.

Li Hao didn’t know either. He sighed heavily. When others conquer the world, they have plenty of people who march under their banner. I… have a bunch of martial brawn. They could fight and kill, but when it came time to govern, the young man felt ready to explode.

They had a great time killing people, but after they finished the deed… who could administer the world?

“Let’s set that aside first. There’s a lot of supernaturals at the City of Supernaturals going through the registration process. There are also supernatural armies at the nine ministries and royal family that we need to swiftly take control of. Those places can’t be permitted to dissolve into discord!” Li Hao made snap judgments for people to take charge of the supernaturals. Any of his people were good at killing and setting fires.

……

After the hubbub died down and the meeting concluded, Li Hao left the palace. This cold and cheerless place was no location to linger in for long. It was strewn with bodies and a highly uncomfortable residence.

The copy of the Mirror of Wind and Cloud remained in place over the palace, keeping the area sealed off. The situation would remain under wraps for a while longer.

……

Silver Moon martial masters mobilized in all directions. Residences that held nobles were quickly seized. A great disturbance embroiled Skystar City on this night.

The Skystar Commander Office announced to the public that the three great organizations were causing trouble through a general uprising. Evildoers were being arrested, so all that citizens needed to do was remain at home.

The blockade against the eight ministries and royal family was gradually relaxed. Those not in the know thought that Li Hao was giving up on pressuring these factions.

……

Red Moon headquarters.

Ying Hongyue’s brows had been knit in a deep frown for a very long time. “Is there any word from Skystar City?” he asked slowly.

“In response to the leader, the Skystar Commander Office has temporarily given up on the eight ministries and royal family. A portion of Silver Moon martial masters have withdrawn, but the city remains under lockdown.”

Ying Hongyue lifted a tea cup; its contents had long chilled. “Summon all Red Moon members and have them retreat from the central region as soon as possible!”

His people stared blankly. Retreat? Why?

Ying Hongyue didn’t explain himself. He simply gazed into the distance and lifted his head to look at the air. There seemed to be red threads in the void; some were very fragile.

Li Hao had swallowed a few more weapons with Stellaris. Perhaps the Windchaser boots and the blade of the Zhangs were no more. Three out of the eight were gone. Under what circumstances would he do so?

He’d done so the first time against the Wind and Cloud Pavilion. Maybe he’d done so this time to move against the nine ministries and royal family.

No, not maybe. It was a certainty.

And he was still alive! So… did that mean Li Hao had won?

Ying Hongyue wasn’t certain. He knew a bit about the Skystar ruins. There were many powerhouses there, so if the young man could prevail even in such circumstances, that would make him terrifying indeed.

etvolare’s Thoughts

Lol @ how our protagonists almost turned into bandits and robbers for a second.