Time crossed into November.
Li Hao headed straight for Heavenly Star City.
Along the way, he had not traveled without stopping. He paused to look around like an ordinary traveler, never raising his hand again, even when he witnessed the grim evils of the world, even when he saw supers committing atrocities.
He had not killed another soul.
The villains of this world could never all be killed.
The root cause did not lie here.
Where was it, then?
In truth, Li Hao did not know.
Was it in Heavenly Star City?
Perhaps it was.
His supernatural locks were gradually reaching saturation, the bridges of his five viscera were taking shape, and his five forces were steadily receiving feedback from the supernatural power. The forces seemed to be growing stronger as well, and the Five Animals Breathing Art circulated continuously, quietly strengthening Li Hao over time.
The roads in the Central Region were very wide.
Though there was some unrest, most of the time passage through the Central Region remained open.
Within a few days, Li Hao arrived in Dongyue Province.
Past Dongyue, further ahead across Bihai Province, lay Heavenly Star City.
The zone surrounding Heavenly Star City was quite intriguing.
The Four Mountains formed the outer perimeter, enclosing several interior provinces that encircled Heavenly Star. Outside Heavenly Star City, there was also a sea—the largest inland sea, the Heavenly Star Sea. Only after crossing the Heavenly Star Sea did one truly reach the heart of the dynasty.
Yet the Heavenly Star Sea was by no means treacherous. Surrounded by powerful figures and right in the Central Region, anyone who dared act as a pirate on the Heavenly Star Sea would be an outlaw of unprecedented audacity.
Though called a sea, it was actually comparable to Silver Moon's Moon Sea.
It was not terribly wide, lacking the grandeur of the East Sea, where even the narrowest stretch was three hundred li across. Though called a sea, it was quite narrow—at its tightest point, it might only span three to five li.
...
Li Hao reflected on the map he had studied as he pushed forward.
He continued onward.
And along this stretch, things were different again.
Vehicles grew plentiful on the road.
Crowds swelled, and traffic thickened.
The broad thoroughfares teemed with bustling voices and dense streams of pedestrians. Supers were no longer rare; they could be seen everywhere.
Driving a beat-up car, Li Hao caught the voices drifting to his ears.
Spoken in the Central Mandarin dialect tinged with pride, the voices here carried more confidence, unlike ordinary folk elsewhere who spoke with noticeable hesitation.
"Lots more cars heading for Heavenly Star City lately!"
"Lots more supers, that's what. It's only normal. Over in the imperial capital, the Nine Departments Academy and the Royal Academy are recruiting new students at year's end. Once you're in an academy, you're one of the elite!"
"I heard a new deputy director joined the Night Patrollers—some barbarian from the north, vicious as they come. Rumor has it he wants to take academy students to hunt down people from the Three Great Organizations. Is that true? If people register now, won't they be dragged off to kill?"
"Hard to say... But no matter how vicious he is, he's just a deputy director of the Night Patrollers. Word is he got demoted too—he's just a Senior City Inspecting Commissioner now, not even a Provincial Governor... If you ask me, he'll end up in the imperial prison sooner or later!"
People chatted idly along the road.
Living in the central core, these ordinary people were well-informed and bolder in speech, openly passing judgment even on high-ranking officials.
Hou Xiaochen had only been here a month, yet he had already earned himself a bit of renown.
Li Hao carried no communication jade. Such devices belonged to the major organizations and contained tracking features; not wanting his location known, he naturally avoided carrying one.
Only now did he learn that Hou Xiaochen had actually been demoted.
A Senior City Inspecting Commissioner—the exact same rank as himself.
Li Hao gave a faint smile. His mood had been somewhat foul these past few days, but hearing this amused him and brightened his spirits.
Old Hou had actually dropped to the same level as him.
His thoughts drifted back to the academies.
Back when Southern Fist invited him to Heavenly Star City, he had mentioned that several super academies were famous here. Heavenly Star Academy was the Royal Academy, and besides that, each of the Nine Departments had established its own academy.
Only supers were admitted, drawing vast numbers of Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters.
They were built in imitation of the martial arts universities from the ancient civilization.
Genius was abundant there, with countless Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters.
Recruiting at year's end?
Suddenly, it felt so distant. A student... A little over a year ago, he had been a student too.
They said that in the ancient civilization, such academies were numerous—back then, they were called martial arts universities.
Li Hao drove forward and stopped at a traffic light ahead, waiting for the signal to change.
Just then, vehicles on both sides began pulling over to clear the way.
Li Hao glanced back over his shoulder. A motorcade was weaving through the traffic. Beside him, the driver of another car glanced at Li Hao and, seeing him sit unmoving, shouted in a hurry, "Hey! Are you from out of town? Get out of the way! That's a Rising Light clan's motorcade! If you don't move and get run over, no one's taking the blame!"
Li Hao's heart stirred slightly. He deftly steered his vehicle to the side.
Moments later, the motorcade of over a dozen vehicles cut straight through the middle. The light ahead had already turned green, yet no one moved; everyone waited for the motorcade to pass.
In the middle of the motorcade was a luxury car that even Li Hao couldn't recognize—it exuded pure extravagance.
Its windows were rolled all the way down.
Besides the driver, two young people sat inside, a young man and a young woman.
The young man looked cold and detached, while the young woman was filled with curiosity, peering all around as though she rarely left home. She was chattering about something, her voice too quiet for anyone at a distance to catch.
Li Hao, however, caught snippets.
"Brother, look, look! That car is so beat up, and someone's actually driving it..."
Li Hao paid it no mind.
A moment later, noticing her looking his way, he paused and glanced down at his car... Fine. The car he had taken from that fat man and the accountant was indeed battered.
He had kept it in his storage ring, only taking it out to drive once crowds became thick.
Naturally, it had been altered beyond recognition.
To prevent anyone from identifying it as the original, Li Hao had inflicted extra damage, snapping the license plate in half so that no one could connect it to the past.
Inside the luxury car, the young man turned his head for a look. Somewhat indifferent, he swept a glance at Li Hao's driver's seat. Seeing Li Hao looking over as well, he took no notice and said calmly, "That is how the poor live. Remember this: if you and I do not work hard to maintain the family's honor, in the future, we might end up like that too."
The girl seemed to shiver slightly. "Surely not? That's terrifying! Brother, are there really poor people like that in the Central Region? Our Central Region is so wealthy... That sounds more like the North."
"There are poor people everywhere. You simply haven't seen them before. Now you have, haven't you?"
"Mm-hmm!" The girl nodded. "That's why when we reach Heavenly Star City, we must join Heavenly Star Academy!"
"..."
Li Hao listened quietly. A poor person's car...
Of these siblings, the sister was ignorant, while the brother pretended to know it all—though in reality, he was just as ignorant.
How could the truly poor ever afford a car?
Anyone who could drive a car wasn't genuinely poor.
Then again, in the prosperous Central Region, the deeper in you went, the richer it became!
Everything within sight was dazzlingly affluent. If the circle you moved in was composed entirely of the same class, you would never see those other places—nor would you ever be able to.
Were the brother and sister at fault?
Li Hao didn't think so.
It was merely... ignorance.
And such ignorance was not limited to one or two people; it permeated the entire upper crust. Some were genuinely ignorant, some feigned ignorance, and some simply turned a blind eye to everything.
They had never been taught otherwise. Be it prominent clans or aristocratic lineages, perhaps none of them instilled such awareness in their children.
The motorcade slowly drove off.
The voices of passersby reached his ears again: "Which Rising Light clan is that? Are they heading to Heavenly Star City?"
Supernatural power had only appeared twenty years ago, yet Rising Light clans had already formed.
Then again, Rising Light supers were true powerhouses anywhere they went.
With a Rising Light presiding, wealth and money were never an issue. Once established, they were local hegemons. To these commoners, yielding the road to such powerful clans seemed only natural.
Evidently, it was hardly the first time.
"People from Dongyue Real Estate, probably... looks like it."
"Oh, them! That makes sense then. I was wondering why all those cars were luxury models—for their family, that's just ordinary."
"I heard that Dongyue Real Estate's elder has a grandson and granddaughter who reached admission age this year. They're probably heading to Heavenly Star City to register."
"The two Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters?"
"Yeah! One born Moon Dark, the other born Solar Flare... Truly enviable!"
"Sigh, tell me about it. Who knows how those rich people manage it, but the proportion of Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters among them is way higher than among us..."
The crowd gossiped a bit before quickly dispersing.
Li Hao drove his little car forward as well.
Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters.
The pair were both Solar Flares—one at peak Solar Flare and the other at early Solar Flare. He had noticed that much, but hadn't realized they were Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters as well.
Neither looked very old.
Word was that the academies only recruited youths under twenty-two. The Solar Flare realm that Wang Ming had been so proud of... Well, Old Wang had stepped into early Three Suns by now, but before that, a Solar Flare dropped here seemed like common merchandise.
One could stumble across exceptionally young Solar Flares at every turn.
And to think Old Wang had once puffed with pride, boasting of being the youngest Solar Flare powerhouse!
In the end, Li Hao had casually run into two who were both stronger than Wang Ming had been back then, and neither looked very old—likely younger than Wang Ming.
The motorcade ahead wasn't moving very fast.
Before long, Li Hao spotted them again.
After all, he was heading to Heavenly Star City as well.
And it wasn't just Li Hao; nearly everyone on this route was headed there. Yet theirs wasn't the only motorcade; before long, another motorcade weaved in.
Evidently another batch of second- or third-generation scions.
Soon they merged with the motorcade ahead. Both groups drove slowly at the front, leaving Li Hao and the others behind with no choice but to trail slowly behind them. Some cursed under their breath, yet they could only watch helplessly and wait.
No one dared overtake them!
The people up front hadn't even displayed overt arrogance, yet no one dared pass. In the Central Region, people seemed to care far more about social standing, with much stricter hierarchies.
In Silver Moon... if a car blocked the way ahead, drivers wouldn't care whose car it was; they'd overtake and be done with it.
"Those are cars from the Sifang Group... The two groups are even chatting. Keep that up, and we won't reach Heavenly Star City by nightfall!"
Someone grumbled incessantly.
This area was already considered past Dongyue, but reaching Heavenly Star City still required crossing Bihai Province. It was still morning, but at this pace, they wouldn't arrive before dark.
"What's the rush? How long can they really chat? Once we're on the expressway, their cars are top-tier and fast—in the blink of an eye, they'll be gone, and you couldn't catch up even if you wanted to," someone called back from another vehicle.
Another person chuckled. "Just wait. Lately, motorcades like this are everywhere on the road. Starting November 15, all the academies open registration and selection, running all the way through December. Then there's a break for the New Year before school starts next year... During this window, Heavenly Star City is packed to bursting—supers everywhere, prospective students everywhere..."
"Why does everyone rush to Heavenly Star? Why not go to the City of Supers! There are even more academies over there, and... I hear some of them are secretly backed by the Three Great Organizations."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"Who's talking nonsense? The City of Supers has Divine Ability realm powerhouses holding down the fort. What's there to fear? Besides, it's hardly a secret. Forget us—the Nine Departments probably know full well, and they don't say anything, do they?"
"Fair point."
"Don't mind that the Three Great Organizations are still wanted fugitives right now... In a few years... heh... once they wash their hands clean and come ashore, they'll be local hegemons. Who knows, they might even get conferred princely titles or something..."
"That's business for big shots, nothing to do with us."
Li Hao raised an eyebrow slightly. In the Central Region, the Three Great Organizations were practically on the verge of going legit.
An assassin syndicate like Feitian, indiscriminate killers like Yama, and the sinister, ruthless Red Moon—organizations like that could be legitimized?
Yet from the way these ordinary folk spoke, they seemed thoroughly accustomed to the idea.
"Forget about that stuff; it's not something we can meddle in. Still, people of standing generally come to Heavenly Star City; only those without high status head to the City of Supers. The Divine Ability realm is extraordinary, but it's not like Heavenly Star City doesn't have them. Haven't you heard? The founding directors of the Nine Departments are all still alive! Word has it they're all Divine Ability powerhouses... Sweet heavens, how long have they lived? They were already directors eighty years ago, so they must be well over a hundred by now!"
"Heh, you don't know the half of it. Word is they can live forever. In the ancient civilization, people could live tens of thousands of years..."
"Bullshit! If they could live tens of thousands of years, wouldn't they still be alive today?"
"I'm just repeating what I heard... How many years have passed since the ancient civilization? There's never been an exact figure... Who knows the truth? Maybe there's some exaggeration, but living a thousand years is supposed to be real!"
"..."
The things these people chatted about were considered top secret in the North, yet here, anyone on the street knew them.
Li Hao chuckled.
Indeed, he had been making a fuss over nothing. The people of the Central Region were far better informed than he had imagined.
The motorcade ahead seemed to have finished exchanging pleasantries and resumed moving. Their speed picked up, but Li Hao wasn't in a hurry and followed steadily.
The roads here were wide, yet horribly congested.
Vehicles were everywhere.
Even in Silver City or White Moon City, he had never seen so many cars.
As he was thinking, he suddenly looked up. The roof of his car had long had a large hole broken in it, allowing him to catch sight of a group flying into the distance aboard an Origin God Armament resembling a skyship.
Others noticed as well and let out low gasps of astonishment. "Is that a Three Suns or a Rising Light traveling in person?"
At those words, Li Hao nearly laughed out loud.
If they didn't travel in person, did Three Suns and Rising Lights never leave the house?
Still, from the sound of it, did only Three Suns and Rising Lights qualify to fly?
As he pondered, Li Hao's eyes flickered. The next moment, an enormous bird soared through the air, with figures visible on its back. Someone spotted it and cried out excitedly, "That's... that's people from the Tianpeng Group! Isn't that their famous Gale Bird? I hear those birds all have strength above the Solar Flare realm..."
"The Tianpeng Group... the ones who run business for Heavenly Roc Mountain?"
"Right. Besides them, who else could control avian demons like that?"
"People from the Seven Sacred Mountains... Are they heading to Heavenly Star City too? The Seven Sacred Mountains are independent domains, so why didn't they go to the City of Supers? The Seven Sacred Mountains don't need academy training, do they? They have their own enterprises in the City of Supers and even fund several academies behind the scenes..."
One after another, they were remarkably well-informed.
Li Hao was happy to listen. Without a communication jade and knowing little about the Central Region, the ordinary people all around were giving him a crash course.
Heavenly Roc Mountain!
This he knew about. It was said to be ruled by a great demon, a Heavenly Roc of immense strength.
It had once swallowed a Rising Light super in a single gulp... That had happened long ago, but Li Hao had heard the gossip several times.
And before departing, Yuan Shuo had told Black Panther to go kill it... His teacher was truly unafraid of seeing Black Panther die.
At that moment, Black Panther glanced up as well, looking thoroughly sluggish and unenthusiastic.
What a weak bird!
It couldn't even be bothered to look twice.
Yet midair, the giant bird suddenly sensed something. It wobbled precariously, flapping its wings erratically as though on the verge of plummeting. At that instant, an aura erupted from someone on its back, immediately stabilizing the bird's descent.
...Up in the sky.
There were people on the bird's back—several of them. A middle-aged Three Suns super frowned slightly. "What's going on?"
Why had the Gale Bird suddenly nearly crashed?
He probed in all directions with knitted brows, yet sensed nothing. A sneak attack by a powerhouse?
Hardly likely.
They represented Heavenly Roc Mountain. Furthermore, this was the core zone of the Central Region; who would ambush people from Heavenly Roc Mountain here?
For a moment, the giant bird remained dazed, but it continued flying forward. Once past that area, it returned to normal. Being merely a Solar Flare bird, it lacked the ability to transmit telepathic messages.
For the moment, the group had no idea what had happened.
Yet the Solar Flare bird knew in its heart... just now, down below, there might have been a supreme great demon!
Yes, it had caught a faint glimpse of something that struck terror into its soul.
The giant bird dared not linger and swiftly vanished into the distance.
...
Inside the car.
Li Hao raised his brows, glanced at Black Panther, and suddenly frowned. "Rein in that ancient demon bloodline aura of yours! Stop showing off! If you get exposed before I do once we reach Heavenly Star City, what will we do—have every demon we encounter kowtow to you?"
"..."
Black Panther felt rather wronged!
*I didn't do it on purpose, and I have zero interest in paying attention to little demons like that.*
*Still... forget it. There's no reasoning with him.*
Black Panther wagged its tail. Whether it had actually restrained its aura was anyone's guess, but Li Hao took it as having done so. He added, "Shrink down a bit. About the size of a little pup will do."
Black Panther didn't budge.
Li Hao gave a cold sneer. "Don't think I don't know you can expand and contract! I've stayed inside your belly; your internal organs are practically refined steel. Compress them and you shrink; relax them and you grow! Hurry up!"
Black Panther let out a mournful howl.
*I don't want to!*
"Quickly... You're quite famous these days."
Black Panther felt utterly depressed, but for the sake of good days ahead, it squeezed tears into its canine eyes and, a moment later, compressed itself into a tiny puppy.
Li Hao chuckled.
As for himself, he hadn't changed much beyond swapping clothes for something typical of the Central Region, so no one would peg him as coming from the North at first glance.
His hair, once short, had grown considerably longer recently, and he had grown a light mustache and beard. Unless someone knew him intimately, they wouldn't recognize him at first sight. Even an acquaintance seeing Li Hao now would probably mistake him for an artist.
Wearing spectacles, leading a tiny pup, sporting somewhat long hair and a light beard... dropped into a school, he could easily pass for an art teacher.
What was more, he had completely blocked Southern Fist through his silver armor.
That way, Southern Fist couldn't call him again, which would have let him know the moment Li Hao came within a thousand li.
Southern Fist couldn't locate Li Hao, but Li Hao could locate Southern Fist.
That fellow appeared to have returned to Heavenly Star City already.
A bronze-armored company commander's clearance was simply too low.
Just like that, listening and stopping all along the way, Li Hao traveled like an ordinary traveler, stopping and starting as he absorbed gossip from every direction. Though he didn't pick up much official news, he gathered a mountain of gossip.
Having the leisure to gossip meant these people were actually living quite well. In truth, those driving cars, riding in them, and still having the inclination to head to Heavenly Star City weren't doing poorly at all.
...
Around the same time.
Heavenly Star City was extraordinarily bustling.
Heavenly Star City was always bustling like this.
Streets and alleys teemed with people and vehicles.
Compared to Silver Moon, tall buildings and skyscrapers were everywhere in Heavenly Star City; with such a massive population, only high-rises could accommodate the density.
Still, high-rises weren't everywhere.
The central area of Heavenly Star City, by contrast, had virtually no tall buildings.
A colossal imperial palace stood in the center, encircled by Black Armored Guards stationed all around to protect it. This was the Black Armored Army that had once shaken the world; no longer campaigning on the battlefield, it now guarded the imperial family, which had retreated behind the scenes.
Outside the palace, broad thoroughfares crisscrossed in every direction, flanked by low-rise structures whose original names had long been forgotten. Today, every resident of Heavenly Star knew them as Nine Departments Street.
The Nine Departments, like nine dragons swallowing a pearl, encircled the entire imperial palace within.
In the vast expanse of Heavenly Star City, Nine Departments Street and the palace occupied an immense tract of land. There were no particularly tall buildings here; the highest did not exceed six stories, built only in recent years. Most were historic in style—or rather, genuine ancient structures.
The sky gradually began to darken.
Yet the city showed not the slightest sign of yielding to night. Blazing lights shone everywhere, brilliant as incandescent day.
Along the nine avenues of Nine Departments Street, pedestrians hurried to and fro. Almost all were supers; those who weren't were martial masters.
This was where the truly powerful gathered in swarms.
An unassuming bystander might well be a Three Suns super or a Thousand-Battler martial master.
Two hundred years of centralized imperial rule had accumulated fathomless wealth and countless elites.
At this moment, inside the Night Patrollers yamun.
Inside Hou Xiaochen's office.
Three young people strolled in casually: one with a saber, one with a spear, and one young woman.
The petite girl with big eyes blinked playfully, acting cute the moment she entered. "Director, you called for us? It's already evening—are you treating us to dinner? Makes sense; you haven't bought us a welcome meal since you took office! I know a place where the food is absolutely delicious..."
Her big eyes blinked with an innocent, naive expression.
Hou Xiaochen smiled without a word. Beside him, Chief Steward Yu poured Hou Xiaochen a cup of tea and cast a glance at the big-eyed girl. Killing intent suddenly flickered in her eyes. The girl felt a jolt inside, yet her expression remained unchanged.
She couldn't help cursing internally: *This old woman... is vicious!*
*I'm so cute, why glare at me like that?*
Still, she was the Jade Rakshasa, having slaughtered countless foes; being a bit vicious was only normal.
"What's the matter, Sister Yu? Are your eyes bothering you? Do you want to see a doctor?"
Hearing this, Chief Steward Yu smiled faintly and said softly, "No need to trouble yourself. You are all treasures of the Night Patrollers. The director simply wished to see you, chat a bit, and see for himself whether you are truly as... exceptional as rumors claim!"
With that, she gave extra weight to her tone: "The Four Talents of the Night Patrollers—we have only ever seen the three of you. Why has the other one never shown his face?"
The big-eyed girl blinked and giggled. "You mean the Little Taoist! He's in seclusion. Didn't you know, Sister Yu? He was already late Rising Light before, right on the verge of the peak. When he finishes seclusion this time, he'll probably be at peak Rising Light... or maybe even step straight into the Rising Light Metamorphosis stage! The Little Taoist is amazing..."
Giggling, she added, "Do you want to go call him out of seclusion, Sister Yu? The Little Taoist is truly terrifying."
Before Chief Steward Yu could speak, Hou Xiaochen gave a mild smile. "All right. If he's in seclusion, let him be. That's fine."
With that, he looked at the trio with an approachable smile. "What have the three of you been busy with lately? I heard you seem to be tracking Cyan Moon?"
The saber and spear wielders remained silent.
The big-eyed girl giggled. "That's right! Members of the Three Great Organizations deserve to be eradicated by everyone! We received intelligence that Cyan Moon from Red Moon came to Heavenly Star City, perhaps plotting something, so we've been hunting her... Unfortunately, that woman hides too well, and we haven't caught sight of her yet."
She giggled again. "Rumor has it Cyan Moon is from Silver Moon too, a former Silver Moon martial master. Sister Yu and Director Hou must know her true identity and appearance, right? Why doesn't Sister Yu lead us to track her down..."
Hou Xiaochen smiled. "No rush. A single Cyan Moon can't stir up much of a storm."
"The higher-ups recently assigned me some additional tasks, as you probably know..."
"We know, we know! Does the director want us to hunt down members of the Three Great Organizations?"
The big-eyed girl beamed. "We'd love to! But the Three Great Organizations are mainly gathered in the City of Supers, where Divine Ability realm experts hold sway. How about the director backs us up while we go have some fun in the City of Supers..."
Chief Steward Yu's gaze chilled. She didn't like these people at all, especially this big-eyed brat—utterly devoid of discipline!
Interrupting Hou Xiaochen before he even finished speaking was unacceptable.
Back in Silver Moon, even the Demon Sword, who now shook the world, wouldn't speak to Hou Xiaochen like that.
Of course, she understood this was the Central Region.
Even so... so what?
Chief Steward Yu's eyes hardened coldly as she glared at the big-eyed girl. In an instant, all three sensed a prickle of killing intent, sending a slight chill through their hearts.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Hou Xiaochen gave a dry cough and glanced at Chief Steward Yu. Her killing intent receded, and without looking at them again, she quietly sat down to attend to her own duties.
The three young experts were also inwardly shaken.
According to their intelligence, this Jade Rakshasa was merely at the middle Rising Light stage, whereas all three of them were late Rising Light, progressing toward the peak. Furthermore, they were all Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters who had slain peak Rising Light experts before.
Once they reached peak Rising Light, they might even fight above their level to match those in the Metamorphosis stage.
Yet just now... they had actually been intimidated by her killing intent.
As expected, these old martial masters were not easy to deal with. Having slaughtered countless foes, their killing intent was truly formidable.
Moreover, unlike Huang Long and his faction, who indulged them halfway, and Hou Xiaochen, who seemed inclined to do the same, the Jade Rakshasa's attitude was openly hostile.
Hou Xiaochen coughed for a moment, breaking the tension, and spoke again with a smile. "The City of Supers is a bit far. We haven't even figured out the lay of the land in Heavenly Star City yet, so the City of Supers can wait..."
Pausing to see that the big-eyed girl didn't interrupt again, Hou Xiaochen smiled. "Our main focus should remain on Heavenly Star City..."
At that point, the youth bearing the saber spoke up directly. "What does the director want us to do?"
Fearing nothing, he said in a deep voice, "If it is something we can do, we will naturally not shirk our duty. If it isn't... the director had best find someone else!"
"It's nothing major, really. I merely wish to firmly establish and clarify the responsibilities of the Heavenly Star Governor-General. The Night Patrollers are the sole supernatural agency sanctioned by the Nine Departments and the imperial family, possessing supernatural law-enforcement authority."
"And the Heavenly Star Governor-General oversees all supernatural institutions across the Central Region, regulating every supernatural organization and super-powered individual..."
"However, as things stand... people are unaware of this. Even though we arrested some individuals the other day, it had little impact. Because no one of sufficient stature was taken down or eliminated, our authority remains inadequate."
The three felt a jolt in their hearts!
Still not enough?
You've already killed the Duke of Dingguo's younger brother, thrown numerous members of the Xu family into prison, and dealt with the vice principal of Heavenly Star Academy... and that's still not enough?
Who else has higher status?
The directors and deputy directors of the Nine Departments?
Imperial dukes, princes, or even the princes and princesses themselves?
Or the academy principals?
They had no idea what Hou Xiaochen was truly after. Was it merely to establish authority?
Would that even work?
They didn't even understand what purpose or objective Hou Xiaochen had brought with him to the Central Region... Stirring up such massive turmoil—did he really think he was immortal?
The three were reckless, but not stupid.
This matter involved far too much and was extraordinarily dangerous. Now that the Divine Ability realm was public knowledge, all three knew that acting rashly might provoke a Divine Ability expert to step in!
What about Hou Xiaochen?
Even if he unsealed his strength, he probably couldn't reach the Divine Ability realm, could he?
The big-eyed girl's smile faded completely. "Director Hou, who... are you planning to target?"
Hou Xiaochen smiled. "It is not what I want; it is the law, the rules, and the mandate of office. This is not my personal whim. The Night Patrollers as a whole should be doing this—asserting their enforcement authority rather than remaining in perpetual disarray. Look around you right now: do the Night Patrollers possess even a shred of authority befitting the sole supernatural law-enforcement agency?"
All three fell silent.
Seeing this, Hou Xiaochen gave a soft sigh. "Never mind. It seems you lack such courage and daring. As for that other fellow, who dared kill the grandson of Yama previously—wait until he emerges from seclusion, and you can discuss it among yourselves."
A glaringly obvious goad!
Yet they chose to remain silent anyway.
Hou Xiaochen narrowed his eyes with a trace of regret... It seemed they had their fears after all; they were not truly reckless without limit.
Then again, if they were genuinely that foolish, how could they have survived until now?
"Go attend to your duties."
"Director, we..."
The saber-bearing youth hesitated, wanting to speak, but Hou Xiaochen smiled. "It's fine. Go."
The big-eyed girl didn't smile either. After a moment of inner conflict, she nodded. "Then we'll take our leave!"
With that, the three turned and walked out.
Once they were gone, Chief Steward Yu said coolly, "In the end, they still lack daring..."
Hou Xiaochen smiled. "You can't say that. We aren't close to them. Those youngsters don't lack talent, strength, or courage. But after all, we're strangers to them. Why would they willingly serve as blades in our hands? They aren't fools."
"Why didn't the director say a few more words? Perhaps you could have swayed them."
"Those three aren't the core. Among the four, the one in seclusion is the true leader. He was the one who killed Yama's grandson back then and seized the Heavenly Dao Ruler. Unless he emerges from seclusion, those three... will handle minor matters, but they won't overstep in anything momentous."
Chief Steward Yu felt a touch of regret. Then, thinking of something, she smiled. "A pity Li Hao isn't here, otherwise..."
"Don't even say it!"
Hou Xiaochen chuckled. "If he showed up, I'd have a massive headache! He used to look cautious and timid, but the moment he went east, I realized he's a second Yuan Shuo—no, even crazier than Yuan Shuo, in truth... If he came here, before I even opened my mouth, he'd be finding trouble for me on his own!"
"True enough."
...
At the very same time.
Outside Heavenly Star City.
Li Hao crossed the Heavenly Star Sea. Gazing at the magnificent metropolis in the distance, a smile broke across his face. "Director Hou, I've come to see you!"
In this colossal Heavenly Star City, he had precious few acquaintances.
He had no desire to seek out Southern Fist.
That left only Hou Xiaochen and his people.
Indeed, Li Hao had no intention of sneaking about in the shadows. If you wanted to open your eyes and see the world, what could you possibly see from the bottom of the ladder?
You had to find someone in a high position to view this world!
So before arriving, he had made up his mind to find Hou Xiaochen. When fellow townsmen met, tears of sentiment flowed freely! Surely Director Hou would be thrilled to see him, along with Golden Spear, Mu Lin, Chief Steward Yu...
They would definitely be delighted to see him here.
"A month late... Still, not too late after all!"
Li Hao could already picture everyone's excitement, thrill, joy, and admiration upon seeing him...
*I just caused a huge ruckus at the Duke of Dingguo's Residence—they'll surely be full of awe and admiration.*
Moments later, Li Hao set foot inside Heavenly Star City.
In an instant, it was as though he had crossed into another world.
Prosperity!
Voices surged like boiling water!
Some were flying, some were walking, some were driving...
Towers stood like a forest; roads crisscrossed in every direction.
People came and went in endless hustle and bustle.
Unless one came to Heavenly Star City, one would never know that a city could be so splendidly flourishing. Under the night sky, blazing lights shone everywhere. Not far away, a super was actually performing magic tricks, while further off, another super was driving small demons to perform for the surrounding crowd.
Here, had supers and demons been reduced to this?
Even aloft supers and demonkind had to scrape together a living like this?
A squad of people in Inspectorate uniforms walked up from the end of the street—over a dozen of them. The leading First-Class Inspector was actually a Solar Flare... A Solar Flare... was only a First-Class Inspector?
Li Hao was dazzled by the sight. For a moment, he felt his own horizons had been far too narrow!
He looked all around... Where was the Night Patrollers headquarters?
In such a massive city, where was he supposed to find them?
"Someone ought to know where headquarters is..."
With that thought in mind, Li Hao led the tiny Black Panther forward into the city. Even the outer perimeter had already shaken him.
*Heavenly Star City, here I come!*
Chapter 202