Star Gate

Chapter 789: All Sides Tremble (III)

At the same time, the Red Moon headquarters.

Ying Hongyue leaned against a chair and stared up at the sky. He said softly after an indeterminate period of time, “Orange Moon is dead, the scarlet shadow puppet is also no more. We’ve lost the mallet of the Hongs too... What an outcome!”

He’d even stood a chance of eliminating the ones at Armed Forces and Administration, but everything he’d sent was lost despite the sheer number of powerhouses they coordinated with. How ludicrous!

Ying Hongyue laughed and shook his head with a sigh. There were only Indigo Moon and Violet Moon by his side now.

There were fewer and fewer among the Seven Moons; Violet Moon’s eyes were red. Although Black Widow’s reputation was very poor and the Silver Moon martial world always mentioned her name with contempt, that was her mother...

She’d shielded Violet Moon for many years and the latter’s position was so high within Red Moon because of her mother. But now, her mother was dead.

The father in front of her was a cold-blooded man. He seemed gentle and caring, but Violet Moon knew very well that he was only her father in name. His blood ran ice-cold through his veins. There were a lot of people missing in Red Moon these days. Where had they gone?

Violet Moon knew where. They were all dead! They’d transformed into the power of the scarlet shadow and entered the ruins with her mother. None of them had come back out. There had been so many powerhouses and even multiple members of the elder council among them, but they were all dead.

Red Moon had experienced smooth sailing through its rise and counted innumerable powerhouses among its ranks. But now, almost all of its supernatural heavyweights were dead. There were only the Ancient Guard and some premier martial dao powerhouses left.

“Leader!” Indigo Moon didn’t vie for favor in this moment; she simply felt an inexplicable sadness.

Nothing major seemed to have happened, yet Orange Moon, Yellow Moon, Green Moon, and Blue Moon were all dead. Most of the elder council were dead as well. Truth be told, there weren’t many left of the elder council after the three senior elders died. How had the domineering Red Moon suddenly declined by so much? She didn’t understand. It’d only been less than half a year since Li Hao’s rise. How had such circumstances befallen a Red Moon that’d reigned for more than twenty years? Of the original Seven Moons, only she and the leader were left.

“Are you worried?” Ying Hongyue smiled at her.

“Not, it’s just...”

“It will be fine, don’t worry!” Ying Hongyue gently lifted his hand and regarded the sky again. “It’s just some setbacks. Now is not the time for despair. When Yuan Shuo defeated me that day, I was forced to my knees from his strength. I had to eke out survival amid humiliation and suffering. But ultimately, I succeeded! This is just a repeat of an old story, not to mention that Li Hao cannot defeat me yet.”

Violet Moon had been standing quietly nearby. “Why does father not take the field?” she suddenly asked. “Is melding the bloodlines of seven families together really that important? With father’s many years of accumulation, you are a supreme heavyweight of the age. The combined seven bloodlines aren’t important! Why must you be so fixated on them?”

“You don’t understand.” Ying Hongyue smiled.

Violet Moon was at a loss. That’s all you know to say. I just don’t understand it. What I do know is that if you weren’t obsessed with combining the seven bloodlines and just focused on cultivation, this ready-made father of mine would absolutely be an invincible existence in this modern age. You wouldn’t be restricted by the bloodline of the Lis like you are now and unable to fight Li Hao.

Ying Hongyue had immense potential and only lost to Yuan Shuo because he was much younger. After the rise of the supernatural, Ying Hongyue occupied a first mover advantage and rose at every turn. The scarlet shadows had helped him resolve a lot of issues plaguing other people. In the modern age, Ying Hongyue was absolutely one of the strongest out there. Even if he had his opponents, it would not be the likes of Li Hao.

But now?

Perhaps none of the dead was important to her father.

Ying Hongyue said nothing further and simply remained looking at the sky. It was highly unexpected that Orange Moon had died, but... everything was possible. It wasn’t completely unacceptable if she was truly dead. He was simply contemplating a few things.

Ying Hongyue waved a hand, indicating that the two were dismissed. Violet Moon left without a word, still reeling from her sadness. Do you see this, mother? Your death results in simply a sigh from him. He may not even be sighing for you. Out of all the Silver Moon martial masters who left home to follow him, how many are still alive?

It seemed that Indigo Moon was the only single one. No wonder Silver Moon martial masters said that any woman who left with Ying Hongyue lacked a brain, that they would regret their actions sooner or later. I wonder if mother ever regretted her choice?

“All these years, you’ve never once revealed how to fully combine the eight bloodlines,” Ying Hongyue suddenly said when everyone was gone. “Li Hao has risen now, you see it and hear it too. Weren't you concerned that I’d grow overly strong and break free of your control? And now? Do you still think the same?”

A scarlet shadow had soundlessly appeared in the great hall. It wore a red cloak and seemed to reside in another world in a slightly intangible fashion. The feeling of a smile exuded from the figure.

“You misunderstand, I have no intentions of restricting you. It’s just that the void is unstable and if you truly combined them, you might spontaneously break through to another level. With how unstable the void is, you might be churned to pieces?”

“It’s old existences like you who will be churned to pieces,” Ying Hongyue refuted calmly. “You attached yourself to core origin, we do not. Will those of our age also be ripped apart?”

“You will!” Red Cloak said softly. “Don’t dismiss my words—the instability of the void does not target one person, it applies to all! You must know that the void is horrifically shattered. It has broken again and again. No matter how strong you are, you will be completely torn apart!

“Only with the second awakening is there a chance of stabilizing it. That will be when you can combine the seven bloodlines.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Ying Hongyue chuckled. “Will I have a chance to do so? Don't you think that Li Hao will come for me?”

“He will not escape this rule even if he comes. No matter how strong, they will fall under this restriction! Not to mention... are you afraid of him?”

“Why shouldn’t I be? His rate of improvement exceeds the imagination. This kind of person reminds me of the ancient Human King as recorded in the ancient tomes! How long is it until the second awakening? That will be time enough for him to come for me!”

“Don’t worry, come to me if that happens. If worst comes to worst, just go into hiding for a while.”

Ying Hongyue sneered and didn’t say anything.

“You must make precautions ahead of time for Silver Moon,” Red Cloak continued at seeing Ying Hongyue stay silent. “There are many powerhouses in residence still at the eight cities...”

“I don’t care about that. I just want to know if a premier heavyweight still exists at Evenround Martial University. Otherwise, how could so many have died so easily?”

“I don’t know...” Red Cloak answered after a pause. “They should’ve all evacuated during that year. Even if there are people left behind, there won’t be that many. Evenround Martial... has a great reputation, but not that many true powerhouses. There weren’t that many premier personages within the university and all decamped for the battlefield. Powerhouses would not easily stay behind to protect a university...”

“So you don’t know either?”

“Correct.”

“What kind of background does this particular university have?”

“It is backed by a terrifying existence... related to the ancient Human King that you speak of. It’s just... I’m certain that even with the departure of its headmaster, disturbances would not have appeared in Silver Moon had she not left as well.”

There was a large quantity of information in this response. Ying Hongyue mulled it over and suddenly cursed, “Unable to achieve anything, but good at spoiling everything!”

He was both cursing at the Ministry of Finance and Red Cloak. Since he’d known that Evenround Martial had a prestigious background, why hadn’t he said so earlier? He only touched on it after the entire operation failed. This might not have been the result if they’d switched to another location.

Red Cloak said nothing, despite knowing that Ying Hongyue was possibly obliquely insulting him. This result truly was a surprise. Who knew that there would still be powerhouses in residence at the university? Not to mention, the situation wasn’t clear at the moment. Perhaps it was just an Apex holding down the fort? All was unknown since they were unable to make a closer investigation.

Red Cloak vanished amid Ying Hongyue’s silent gaze. Hah, this is just as well! You’ve been restricting me at every turn and can only watch Li Hao’s rise. Let’s see what you do about it now!

......

On this day, every locale across the lands received the news. The world shook!

White Moon City.

Director General Zhao laughed! He looked at Huang Yu, then at Kong Jie.

“This wasn’t what I expected,” he finally said. “It looks like we’re not far off from upheaval in Silver Moon! Make your preparations and invite the various old seniors to set foot in the world again. Silver Moon will welcome visitors soon!”

“Don’t talk to me about that.” Kong Jie flicked a glance at him. “Those old farts are really difficult to deal with. Some of them already ran off after they heard about what Li Hao was doing! You know how the old guard has long itched for action, are they going to listen to me? You sent Hou Xiaochen away and I’m not too familiar with them...”

“......” Director General Zhao stared silently at him before enunciating carefully, “Then... you tell me... what good are you for?”

“I ain’t good for shit!” Kong Jie griped. “I should’ve hauled ass and gone to Skystar City a long ass time ago if I’d known there would be so many opportunities there! Look at the state of the world now! Arcanus are rotting cabbages by the side of the street and I’m still debating if I should ascend as a supernatural or not. Look at Hong Yitang, he’s almost one of the strongest in the world after following Li Hao around. It’s you who’s been keeping me here all this time. I ain’t doing this anymore!”

“......” Director General Zhao remained staring. “You want to go there too?”

“What?” Kong Jie snapped. “Hou Xiaochen’s gone, Ole Zhou’s gone, am I not allowed to leave too?”

“You’re not allowed!” The director general held his head with his hands. “I... Don’t go. I’ll use treasures to saturate your supernatural locks—all of them! I’ll saturate as many as you find. You’re not weak either, I’ll give you all of their resources!”

Don’t you go too! If you go as well, am I supposed to handle everything? Fights are better left to martial brutes!