The Revolution King wasnât as livid as everyone might have expected. He found an internal calm instead. There was almost no ensuing rage from the sight of only three Sunflares left by his side. Heâd known that his people would die before embarking on the expedition, but leaving only three for Yama... Celestial and the Sword Sect were bold indeed!
Hao Lianchuan didnât comment on the situation and pivoted, âEveryone, report back how many Black Armors you eliminated so we can form a bigger picture!â
âThe Night Watchers captured seventy-two,â Director He said promptly. âWe forced one Bronze Armor into desperate straits and it self-detonated...â
Seventy-two was a sizable harvest. The other factions quickly called out their numbers. The sum total came to more than two hundred Black Armors being terminated and three Bronze Armors self-detonated!
This meant that there were less than one hundred Black Armors left within the city and at most two Bronze Armors. The army of one thousand was finally liquidated and there were no more threats left in the outer city!
Sixty-some people stood in front of the inner gates. Sunflares occupied the greatest portion, with Darkmoons being in the minority. They were too weak, after all, and thus almost all dead.
âWhat do we do now?â Hong Yitang frowned at the towering wall. âWeâve finally made it to this stage and it seems that we must head inside the city for a look. But are we to force our way up if that guy doesnât come down here? Donât the Night Watchers have a way?â
âThere is a way!â Hao Lianchuan smiled.
Really? Thereâs really a way?
âAnyone who has their presence obscured by the second passageway can fly through the city!â
â......â The crowd was dead silent.
A keen light sparkled in the Revolution Kingâs eyes as he looked wordlessly at his Night Watcher counterpart.
âNice scheming!â he finally said. âYou speak of this only now and didnât say anything before... You were prepared to use those who took the second passageway as scouts from the very beginning, werenât you? No wonder you didnât let any of your Night Watchers try the ancient house!â
Who didnât understand what was at play after the Revolution King pointed things out! Violet Moon also looked at Hao Lianchuan with an exceedingly unpleasant expression.
âViolet Moon and Swordmaster Hong can fly without hindrance,â Hao Lianchuan said seriously. âJust try if you donât believe me. There are no more threats in the air to you anymore, truly! This is a good thing, you have much more freedom of movement than us and can even fly over the city walls. I didnât have the courage to try the second passageway, so you guys enjoy the first mover advantage for your troubles!â
He made sense, but Violet Moon still boiled over with annoyance when she thought of how no one dared fly when this bastard said they couldnât.
âHao Lianchuan!â she hissed. âAre you not worried thatââ
âDonât be angry,â Hao Lianchuan chuckled. âIâm just an initial SolarâI really didnât have the courage to take the second passageway. I didnât hide this information from you on purpose, I was just concerned that you guys would leave us behind after gaining the ability to fly. Now you can fly over the city walls and throw that Silver Armor down to us. Weâll attack him together, open the city gates, and enter together. That makes it much more safe!â
The Night Watchers knew quite a lot about the ancient ruins. Flying had been on the table when they brainstormed how to get past the city gates, but not even Solars dared easily give it a try. They would be going to their deaths if things went south.
Now that the truth was proven otherwise, Violet Moon was both irate and exasperated. But upon further thought, they really did hold a significant advantage. It was so much more convenient when they could fly.
Hong Yitang, however, cursed inwardly. Holy fuck! I wouldnât have gone through the second passageway if Iâd known this earlier! That damned Hao Lianchuan obviously wants me and Violet Moon to be bait and lure that guy down. Itâs too dangerous! And here I thought that the second passageway would conceal my presence, that I would be safer if it was easier to keep a low profile. It turns out to be a trap! Hao Lianchuan is nothing good!
Violet Moon didnât say a word as she brooded over the situation. As gravely injured as she was, she didnât want to be an easy target.
âYou guys can take the second passage too!â she declared coldly. âItâs not like itâs sealed shut!â
âIf even Yao Cheng died, Iâm dead without a doubt if I try,â Hao Lianchuan sighed. âWe might lose half of the other Solars too. How are we to withstand that one if too many Solars die?
âSince the two of you have already gone through the process, why donât you put forth just a bit more effort? You can have more of the spoils when we divvy up the goods! Get that guy down here, kill him, and weâll all feast on the inner city!â
Off to the side, Li Hao could only regard the deputy director with respect. No wonder heâd tricked the others into taking the second passageway! Not only did he want to weaken the other delegations, but he was laying the groundwork for this move.
What would happen if Violet Moon and Hong Yitang refused? Would Celestial accept it, to say nothing of the Night Watchers? Would the Revolution King?
We just want you to be bait, we donât want to kill you. Canât you fly up there for a look?
There would be no further cooperation if this was the case. And letâs say only the Night Watchers attacked Violet Moon at the end of the expedition, would she be able to withstand the might of the agency?
This was plainly her thought process as well. She took a deep breath and suddenly proposed, âHave Li Hao try! Li Hao, force out a few drops of your heart blood and drip it into the crack in the city gates. Letâs see if that opens the gates...â
Li Haoâs jaw dropped. Whatâs this got to do with me?
âIf the gates donât open after you try,â Violet Moon concluded coldly. âHong Yitang and I... can fly up there for a look. Donât even think about it otherwise!â
She wouldnât be satisfied unless she tried all other possible avenues.
âIâm from the Li family.â the young man frowned. âThis is an ancient city of the Wang family. It belongs to a completely different faction. Arenât you barking up the wrong tree?â
âJust try!â
âMy wounds arenât fully healed and I suffered extreme internal injuries just now,â Li Hao pointed out waspishly. âAre you trying to force me to death in wanting my heart blood this very moment?â
âNo!â Violet Moon smiled. âYou like blood pearls, donât you? Iâll give you one! If you are unable to open the city gates with your heart blood, Iâll compensate you with an initial Sunflare blood pearl. Youâll recover then!â
Oh for fuckâs sake! Li Hao cursed. Heâd had a grand time shooting the shit earlier, but now heâd talked himself into a corner!
Would his heart blood prove effective? Who the hell knew? It was fine it was ineffective, but if it was... these Solars wouldnât look at anyone but him from now on!
A headache throbbed at his temples.
Hao Lianchuan also cursed to himself. Heâd forgotten about Li Hao being a factor.
Hu Dingfang wanted to protest when the young man answered, âFine, but... I want a Solar level blood pearl. If not, then ten Sunflare level ones!â
âAre you kidding me??â
âYou guys are getting rich after you enter the city, whatâs in it for me after I pay the price of my heart blood?â Li Hao responded with annoyance. âIs it over the top that I want some payout? No matter whether or not I open it, Iâm agreeing only after you give me the things first! If not, I wonât do it and it has nothing to do with me if you open the gates or not!â
His heart blood was likely useless, Li Hao was very aware of that! He wouldâve opened the stone door last time if it had an effect. So he was just losing a few drops of blood essence, but it would be an enormous loss if he didnât recover them. A Sunflare level blood pearl would absolutely do the trick.
But the key issue was that he wouldnât be happy unless he earned something for his troubles. He didnât care about mysterious power anymore since there was no more sword energy to distill them. In that case, blood pearls were just as fine.
âTen is too much,â said the Revolution King. âLetâs do three. How about it, Li Hao?â The man turned to Violet Moon. âRed Moon will not be asked to pay this price. The Sword Sect, Celestial, and Yama will each pay one or a treasure of equal value! Since Li Hao is providing his heart blood, the Night Watchers are exempt from payment!â
âEr...â Hong Yitang didnât accept the distribution. âIâm also going up the city wall after Li Hao fails...â
What, am I supposed to pay for that as well? Even if a Sunflare level blood pearl wasnât all that costly, why should he pay that price?
The Revolution King smiled and amended faintly, âThatâs true. How about Yama offer two of similar value?â
Why fret over small gains and losses like these at this time? If Li Hao refused to take action and Violet Moon dug in her heels as well, then were the Solars actually supposed to fight it out?
Li Hao acquiesced to the situation with a nod. âVery well, I will agree on account of the Revolution King. If it was Red Moon... I would never, not in a million years!â
Violet Moon narrowed her eyes at him. She really hated the brat at the moment! If it wasnât for the fact that they couldnât kill him, sheâd slap him to death with one palm strike!
âThereâs not much use for an overabundance of heart blood,â Li Hao added. âBeing a Sunderer, I donât have that much. It wonât do you any good to force me to my limit. Iâll coalesce three drops, and thatâs it! Donât say anything else if they prove ineffective, or you might as well dig my heart out and hang it on the city gates for a try.â
The group didnât say anything. Hu Dingfang ran a few quick calculations, judging it to be fine if the young man expended only three drops of heart blood. The three Sunflare blood pearls would replenish his consumption and even strengthen his blood qi. That would do.
Violet Moon threw over three pills the color of blood. Li Hao was beginning to suspect that all of these guys carried storage rings. Or were space supernaturals a thing? There wasnât any place to store treasures on them, so where were they pulling all of this out from?
He swallowed one blood pearl as soon as he received them, then stepped forward. He circulated a breathing method and slapped his chest with a soft exclamation, slapping out a drop of blood that glistened like a ruby.
He sprayed it over the gatesâthey remained unmoving!
Slight disappointment rippled through the crowd. Although this was within expectations, it seemed that the heirs of the eight families were truly ineffective when it came to the other families. They would have to locate the ruins of the Lis if they wanted to make use of Li Hao.
The first drop of blood was completely ineffective. The young man slapped a second drop of blood into existence and sprayed it over the gates againâstill nothing. He took a deep breath. As his back faced the crowd, it obscured the strange look that entered his eyes.
His blood was ineffective, he could see that. But he also sensed that the two characters over the city gates seemed to want to... absorb his blood. There was an attraction to his blood. He forced himself to concentrate on spraying his blood over the gates and preventing it from coming in contact with the two characters. However, his heart shook with excitement.
Was there a meaning behind those two characters?