Star Gate

Inside the ruins.

The little tree swayed, seeming to sense something. Another little tree shot out from Director General Wang’s body and the two melded together in a very natural fashion in the blink of an eye. A surge of presence rose from them, one that was much stronger than before. With the combination of replica and primary body, the two quickly exchanged knowledge of their respective experiences to date.

“Not bad.” Director General Wang looked at the newly fused little tree and nodded. “Looks like it had good luck and stands a chance of entering the Immortal level. It might be soon. It will probably be able to make the leap if it gets some indestructible matter to digest.”

“Didn’t I give it all to you?” Li Hao laughed. “There was no way around it or I could’ve helped the imperial guard ascend instead.”

With that, he set the matter aside and looked at Yuan Shuo close at hand. The man was enveloped by a cocoon of light. Li Hao had just returned to Skystar City and didn’t have a chance to enter the ruins before Director General Wang kicked up a fuss about wanting to eat. The young man only entered the ruins after sensing something and being summoned by the little tree. He frowned at the sight of his teacher.

“Senior Imperial Guard, what’s happened to my teacher?”

“I don’t know either,” the little tree said swiftly. “Your teacher was cultivating just fine before this and I was producing Water of Life for him to cultivate with. He suddenly emitted a lot of energy yesterday and started cocooning himself with it. I sent word for you guys to come over as soon as I sensed your return.”

Li Hao assessed his teacher with a frown. What was this nonsense?

“Teacher…” he called out, but was waved off by Director General Wang. The man stepped forward to have a look and then turned to Li Hao.

“This isn’t a bad development, but I don’t know if it’s a good development either.”

“What?” Li Hao didn’t understand.

Director General Wang stooped down for close observation and said uncertainly, “This cocoon seems to be a peculiar force. Your teacher may have entered a deeper level of training. I’m unable to determine what kind of energy this is because I’m not able to touch him at the moment. However, I can sense that your teacher is in a state of metamorphosis.”

Metamorphosis?

Li Hao treated the revelation with some bafflement. “Is there any danger to him?” he asked upon a glance at his teacher.

“It’s hard to say.”

Li Hao grew despondent. You’re an Immortal, how come you can’t say if there’s danger or not? My teacher’s turned himself into a silkworm cocoon! Wasn’t his cultivation proceeding just fine? Why did he turn into this thing?

Although the young man stepped forward for a closer look, he didn’t dare move Yuan Shuo either.

“I didn’t do anything, he did this all to himself…” the little tree said with a guilty conscience. It was stationed here, but this had happened to Li Hao’s teacher. It would be hard pressed to defend itself if responsibility was to be assigned.

“Don’t worry about it,” Li Hao took a deep breath. “My teacher likes to do strange things.”

He extended his senses toward the cocoon and found that it was a mixture of many energies. There was even the aura contained within. Who knew what his teacher was doing now? Perhaps he was modifying the Breathing Method of the Five Styles?

“Ah, right,” the little tree piped up. “The bramble rose came to investigate the premises a while back. I rebuffed it.”

“Well done!” Li Hao nodded.

Director General Wang shifted his glance away from Yuan Shuo. Although the old man was in a peculiar state, the director general was more concerned with other places. He swiftly approached the Security headquarters in front of them.

Li Hao followed him after a quick glance at his teacher. Director General Wang went straight for the main lobby—the young man had taken a prior look at it. It was completely empty inside.

The director general headed straight for a desk, summoning a seal in his hand as he did so. It was the Black Tortoise Seal; he stamped it a few times on the back of the table, causing it to eject a hidden compartment.

Li Hao was rather surprised as he hadn’t seen or sensed the compartment on his previous visit.

“This is a secret compartment for those who work in Security,” Director General Wang explained dismissively. “In times of emergency, if we want to leave a message but are unable to send it through any other means, we leave it here and wait for colleagues or superiors to find it.”

He opened the compartment door and found that it was… empty.

“There’s nothing there,” Li Hao sighed softly.

“No!” The director general was very calm. “There was something there, but someone took it. The only ones who can do so are those above first rank, or those with a command from Security or the city lord.”

“Why do you say that?” Li Hao furrowed his brows. “Perhaps nothing was left behind in the first place.”

“We were prepared for that, so there is always something readied in this secret compartment—a recording talisman. This one’s gone. Each Security division’s talisman is different. That this one was taken means that whoever did it knew of the secret compartment’s existence…” Director General Wang laughed. “They admitted to their crimes without us interrogating them!”

Of course, greater trouble might’ve been in store had the perpetrators not taken the talisman.

“There must be one city among the remaining seven that turned traitor that day!” He shook his head with a sigh. A black barrier manifested in front of him as he walked ahead. Director General Wang shoved his hand into it and gripped a surge of disordered core origin that agitated in his grasp.

His body shook as he dealt with it—a black aura floating over him as well. The director general seemed to be in pain and quickly took in a deep breath. “How vicious! The attackers killed them in one go and didn’t spare a single one. The director general here was an initial Immortal, the same as me. He commanded six deputies that were peak Apexes and at least three hundred fully equipped members of Security.

“Any formation assembled through their joint efforts would hold off a regular peak Immortal! There was also a guardian plant spirit here that was an Immortal. The only person that could instantly kill them all was a Saint! So this meant there was a Saint present that killed them in a split second!”

Director General Wang looked into the distance. “There are at least another nine places like these to be dismantled. This means that at least ten Saints took action at the same time!

“The commander-in-chief of the Skystar Army was a powerhouse of the Saint level. He commanded one hundred thousand troops. It would take an Empyrean King or multiple Saints to exterminate them…

“Apart from the Sword Sovereign, only the eight city lords of Silver Moon were close to the Empyrean King level. But none of them had reached that—or they could’ve and I was simply unaware.” Director General Wang considered the situation with an arctic glint in his eyes. “To instantly eradicate this place of soldiers… but leave one troop in the mines…”

Who’d done it?

The frowning man looked at the center of the city, then turned to Li Hao. “Are you sure that vice commander is still alive, Li Hao?”

“Absolutely! Granted, it was the plant spirits that said it, I’ve yet to visit myself.”

“Alive…” Was he afraid of the mine blowing up? Or had Skystar Town fallen before he’d identified the enemy? “I’d like to visit the mine…”

He had one mission for his excursion, and that was to investigate the situation. Therefore, he wanted to take a closer look since he was inside the Skystar ruins. If the vice commander was possibly still alive, then he had to pay a visit no matter what.

“He might be a rebel remnant,” Jiang Yingli said frankly. “Wouldn’t you be going to your death then? He might’ve only been an Immortal back in the day, but will at least be a peak Immortal now after so many years of guarding the mine. He might even be a Saint!”

“Even so, I still need to take a look!” Director General Wang insisted.

“You’re so headstrong even when you lack sufficient strength!” Jiang Yingli grumped.

Now that was a hurtful comment. Director General Wang stewed with indignation.

“He won’t be a Saint yet, will he?” Li Hao interrupted. “If he is, then the bramble rose and others won’t dare plot against him. The two sides seem to have fought each other before. Perhaps he’s purposely letting them be? With the plant spirits there absorbing energy, they’ll delay the expansion of the mine and prevent it from exploding.”

That made a certain amount of sense as well.

Li Hao looked at the director general. You’ve just left Battle Heaven, you’re not that eager to court death, are you? He may just a peak Immortal, but you’re just an initial Immortal. And the key thing is, they haven’t been asleep all this time. Perhaps they’ve been just fine and dandy.

That was the most frightening of all!

As for whether they were friend or foe, perhaps it was better to treat them as foe to prevent not having an opportunity to feel regret.

A dark expression dawned on Director General Wang’s face. The look in the young man’s eyes stung!

“Why don’t we wait for our strength to grow stronger,” Li Hao persuaded. “I can eliminate the Wind and Cloud Pavilion first, kill the plant spirits, and perhaps the director general will have absorbed some more indestructible matter?”

Why must we go now? I want you to help me after leaving Battle Heaven, not die before you can do anything. My investment will be a complete wash then!

The Director General Wang didn’t think much and simply nodded, “You make sense…”

He’d probably be apologetic with fury if he knew what the young man was thinking. So you think my defeat is a certainty, huh??

The man glanced through the barrier as they spoke and abruptly smiled, “How interesting.”

“Oh?”

“I seem to sense something… The bramble rose may be wanting to make a move.”

Li Hao blinked. The director general closed his eyes to concentrate. “It feels that way as there’s movement at the commander manor. It may want to activate some sort of formation… Forget it, that means there’s a show to watch.”

The young man was rather lost, but then thought of how those of the nine ministries had been furiously devouring Water of Life. “Does the director general mean that… the bramble rose may want to seize the mine?”

“Regular people can’t sense it, but we can sense a thing or two when the formation is activated.” Director General Wang nodded. “Regular cities have two or three sets of formations. One is for the military, one is for the city lord manor, and a third is for the guardian plant spirits. One of them is being activated, just look at the ground.”

Li Hao didn’t see anything when he lowered his head, but could see some lines of energy when red appeared in his eyes. Was that… a formation?

etvolare’s Thoughts

YS’s going to evolve into a Butterfree. Or a Beedrill.