Chapter 202: Old Friends Meet (I)
A camel that starves to death was still greater than a horse. In times of danger and true chaos, few were the initial instigators that lived to claim the final victory. Anyone familiar with history knew full well that whoever dared stick their head up at this time would be the next to die. Not to mention, there were very few border factions who ultimately occupied the central region after insurrection. This had ever been the case since ancient times.
Various thoughts floated to the fore. Next to Li Hao, Yuan Shuo was also quiet.
“Don’t think too much,” the professor finally said when they were almost back to their tent. “It’s not a big deal. Even if a minor Silver Moon does declare itself a self-reliant nation, that will not cause too much of a ripple.
“As for Hou Xiaochen... He won’t dare do so and will not do so unless he has absolutely no other options left.”
Li Hao nodded, but looked at his teacher with further questions. “Teacher... why do you think he wants to do this? Or is even thinking of doing it?”
And shouldn’t the director keep these kinds of thoughts a secret? He’d talked about it so openly!
Yuan Shuo mused for a while before saying slowly, “He has no choice.”
“No choice?”
The professor nodded. “I ask you, if Hou Xiaochen listens to orders from above and leaves Silver Moon to answer the call of war in the central region, will the Night Watchers keep the province stable under Hao Lianchuan’s leadership? Can they withstand the three great organizations?”
Li Hao shook his head upon thinking it over. Most... probably not. Hao Lianchuan wasn’t that strong and he was a more honest and frank person. He didn’t possess sufficient prestige—a detail easily observed.
Everyone revered the mention of Hou Xiaochen, Wang Ming was no exception. But when it came to Hao Lianchuan, Wang Ming smiled. Not in a jeering fashion, but because he found the deputy director interesting. The people quite liked him, but a person like this did not impart peace of mind in critical moments.
“Silver Moon’s Night Watchers will lose their footing if Hou Xiaochen leaves," Yuan Shuo said calmly. “The province will be in trouble if control slips out of their fingers! Yet, he is defying orders if he doesn’t go! Once... twice... thrice... Time and time again. If you are a person of note of the central region, do you think someone like Hou Xiaochen should remain in his position?”
That was why the professor said he had no choice.
“Why isn’t upstairs taking this into account?” Li Hao frowned. “The province will be in danger if Director Hou leaves.”
“Taking this into account?” Yuan Shuo smirked. “The central region is engulfed by chaos and the borderlands have long been forsaken. Right now, they seek to concentrate power and pacify the central region—that is their first priority! When it comes to a small province on the border, they’ll give it up if they have to. The world is still theirs so long as the central region is still under dynastic control!”
Did the central region not know that the situation was very complicated?
They did!
But they still chose to proceed down their chosen course of action and issue a redeployment command again and again, wanting Hou Xiaochen to proceed to his new post in the central region. The director simply refused to leave. Otherwise, he should’ve left years ago.
“What level of strength is Director Hou?” Li Hao’s brows knit together. “How does the central region have the resources to spare when they’re in such disarray? They send a mid Solar with an origin weapon to keep an eye on him. It’s not worth that effort if the director is a late Solar... is it?”
Sending a mid Solar to lie in wait for three years just for the purpose of surveillance. Was this a worthwhile task? Zhang Ting might have ascended to late Solar in the central region, matching Hou Xiaochen’s strength. Would there be a need to compel the director then?
“It depends.” Yuan Shuo shook his head. “Perhaps upstairs suspect that he’s fully recovered from his wounds. If he has, he was a peak Solar back in the day. He might be greater than Solar now!”
He really wasn’t sure about this hypothesis. Only Hou Xiaochen knew if his injuries were healed or not. He didn’t mention if his injuries were severe, nor did he say he wasn’t wounded. As it stood, no one was certain of the situation. So while the three great organizations had large numbers of Solars in their ranks, they didn’t dare easily provoke him.
“Are you really going to leave Silver Moon, teacher?” Li Hao dropped the topic and thought back to what Hou Xiaochen had just said.
“I have to leave!” Yuan Shuo grinned. “I made all of my preparations before I came. Whether I kill Sun Yifei or he kills me... I can’t go back to Silver City after this. My old friends will miss me dearly once my strength is revealed. I’ll bring more trouble to you guys if I stay. Not to mention, martial dao has declined in Silver Moon and there isn’t much to the supernatural world. It’s hard for me to have more opportunities if I don’t go.
“Additionally, Red Moon has been keeping a watch on Silver City. But if they must choose between you and me, their main focus will still be on me. Ying Hongyue knows my character. Once I leave Silver City, I will seek revenge on him!” the professor spoke matter-of-factly. “If I kill a Red Moon Solar and vanish after this expedition, he’ll guess that I’m coming for him. He might still send people to Silver Moon at that time, but he’ll certainly send more people to look for me!”
Because Ying Hongyue had once lost! He knew what kind of person Yuan Shuo was. When a powerhouse of this level disappeared from public sight, he would find a way to fish out Yuan Shuo and utilize everything possible to kill him.
“That’s why I wish for you to break through to Dominator.” Yuan Shuo patted his student’s shoulder with a smile. “Only then will you have the ability to protect yourself. If I leave and you do not have the strength of a Dominator, I won’t be able to help you resolve your troubles in the future.”
Li Hao lowered his head.
“It’s time to grow! Good boy, who doesn’t experience some trial and hardship?” Yuan Shuo laughed heartily. “I left my home early on when I was young and began my tempering. My enemies can be found everywhere beneath the heavens. I don’t know how many I’ve killed or terrorized to reach my current heights.”
“I’m worried about you, teacher,” Li Hao said in a muffled voice. “If you really are going to seek revenge on Red Moon, they have many Solars and probably those above Solar. These are just bits and pieces we hear on the border. They may be much stronger than that!”
“Isn’t that good?” Yuan Shuo chuckled. “The stronger they are, the more of a challenge! I’ve only just started nurturing the five spirits in my viscera. I still need to refine them and my organs later on! The road ahead is long and I’ll feel no pressure if my enemies are alway Sunflare and Solar.
“Silver Moon’s martial world was very strong in those days, but why were there no Dominators in my era?
“It wasn’t that we weren’t good enough, it was that we were too good. We were so much better than previous generations, but the drawback of mine was that we did not have any pressure from Dominators above us. Half step Dominator was sufficient to dominate the martial world, no one felt a sense of urgency. And so, a bunch of half steps never made the full step to Dominator!
“If there was even one of us who made the breakthrough, there would’ve been at least seven or eight Dominators to emerge from our martial world!”
The professor was half regretful and half self-satisfied when he reached this point. “The blame goes to me for those little bastards not breaking through. I dominated them so completely that they couldn’t breathe. I was only half step Dominator, so how did they dare be stronger?
“If I’d advanced back then... Ying Hongyue, Sun Yifei, and others would’ve all stepped into Dominator. But I didn’t, which sapped their drive.”
Li Hao couldn’t help but break out in laughter. It washed away his pensiveness from moments ago.
“Then the battle tomorrow...”
“Of course we fight!” Yuan Shuo replied calmly. “Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow! I couldn’t employ my true strength before because we faced only supernaturals. Whether it was me crushing others or others crushing me, I couldn’t utilize my full potential as the opponent was not a martial master. Sun Yifei is a very good opponent!
“As for the ruins... they’re just an add-on! Defeating Sun Yifei is the real gain—one far beyond treasures. Treasures can be had anytime, but an opponent who is a good match is the impetus for life’s purpose.
“Therefore, don’t be concerned about exposing our strength. If we can kill them all, we’ll kill them. If we can’t, then we kill as many as we can. We can kill them all the same even if they’re on their guard!” The professor turned cocky again. “Little Hao, you should shine with extraordinary brilliance when the occasion calls for it! No one becomes a powerhouse from constantly keeping a low profile. I know your misgivings about revealing too much—that means danger increases as well.
“However, powerhouses emerge from danger! Hou Xiaochen keeps a low profile now, doesn’t he? Yet, he was a far cry from that back in his day. He was so prominent that he dared erupt in open hostilities against Ying Hongyue! It’s because of that that no one thinks little of him now.
“Qiao Feilong kept a low profile, didn’t he? He was so low key that he didn’t have time to flex his magnificence as a Solar before I killed him!”
The two he spoke of had entirely different endings. One kept his head down all the way to Solar and died before he could exhibit anything. The other was very conspicuous for a long time, stepping down after he was injured. He was so quiet after that everyone thought he was at the end of his rope, but his preeminence of yesteryear still existed. No one dared run afoul of him and those in charge had to send a Solar to keep an eye on him.
These were the results of two different choices.
Li Hao nodded without a word. Teacher and disciple soon returned to their tent; Liu Yan and the others were back. Everyone was extremely quiet. Liu Yan didn’t say anything, Liu Long didn’t say anything. The young man didn’t ask if they’d seen Hu Po tonight.
The Silver City delegation kept to themselves this night to give Yuan Shuo time to rest. He would answer the challenge tomorrow and his opponent was a late Solar from the central region. Although the group was fully confident in the professor, they were still secretly apprehensive. Solars were one level higher than Dominators, particularly late Solars!
......
At the same time, beneath the broken Rift Bridge.
Sun Yifei did not erect a tent to rest in. The sky was his blanket and the earth his bed. He leaned against a rock and looked up at the stars.
Resplendence twinkled overhead.
His three disciples made rounds of the surroundings, clearing away bugs and pests. In actuality, no snakes, rodents, or bugs dared approach the area. After an indeterminate period of time, the taciturn Sun Yifei suddenly broke the silence.
“Moxian, does Yuan Shuo’s disciple really have the strength of late Sunderer or half step Dominator?”
“Most likely.”
“A disciple of the Five Styles...” Sun Yifei thought it over. “You will take the field tomorrow! Bring your full strength to bear and see if you meet a worthy opponent. If he matches you, he will be very helpful for your progression to Dominator!
“If I fall tomorrow... Take your junior brother and sister back to the central region!”
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