Star Gate

Chapter 297: First Visit To White Moon City (II)

It was already too prosperous for the imagination when inhabitants of White Moon City spoke of their home. Skystar City was too distant for Li Hao to fathom. They would have to cross multiple provinces to get to the city. It already took Novas three days of travel to arrive in Silver Moon.

Based on what He Yong said, they needed to take a plane, a fast car, transfer a few times in between, and then ultimately fly their way to the destination. He didn’t mention flying the entire way as that would be the death of the Nova. Ten thousand kilometers was an exceedingly far distance.

He Yong shut his mouth upon seeing that he didn’t draw any interest from the young man. He was just shooting the breeze, it would be jaw dropping if Li Hao really did go. Meanwhile, the latter wasn’t interested in asking anything more.

“Senior South.” Wang Ming recovered from his surprise and couldn’t help his curiosity. His ego was ready for round two. “I hear that you battle constantly in the central region and that it’s incredibly chaotic. People are frequently displaced from their homes and wander aimlessly. Why does it sound like such a thriving territory in your words?”

“The central region is too big!” He Yong chuckled. “The chaos you mentioned is just one portion and the battles are decreasing in frequency. They don’t really affect the common people anymore. Even if a large battle erupts, it’s not worth mentioning in the bigger picture of things!

“Silver Moon has only thirty-some cities, but the central region has almost one thousand. The battle of a city causes a great sensation in Silver Moon, but who cares about one city falling into disorder out of a thousand in the central region?”

Wang Ming nodded and almost crashed his bike in his distraction. “There... aren’t that many twenty year old Sunflares in the central region, right?”

I’m only twenty years old!

“Um... there’s quite a few!” He Yong roared with laughter. “Of course, they’re mostly Heaven Favored. Some seventeen or eighteen year olds start as Sunflare in the supernatural academies—but there’s not too many of them. You’d barely count as a minor genius in the central region.”

A minor genius? Wang Ming struggled to come to grips with that label.

“Senior may be speaking the truth.” Li Hao was as composed as ever. He decided to speak up when he saw how much Wang Ming reeled from all of the new information. “But the supernatural academies that you speak of, those Heaven Favored, all live under the protection of powerhouses, don’t they? There’s not that many who forge their strength in fighting.”

He Yong didn’t reply.

“Silver Moon’s martial world boasted of a big reputation back in the day. Everyone said to go to Silver Moon if you wished to fight! Perhaps this is the savage frontier’s only advantage in their eyes—we’ve all seen bloodshed!”

Shouldn’t that be the case for those who ate raw flesh and drank blood? Whether it was Silver Moon’s martial masters or supernaturals, they didn’t feel much when they killed. Violence was something that existed in the depths of their bones. Neither Li Hao nor Wang Ming had experienced significant ripples in their emotions the first time they killed someone.

It wasn’t just them, but a common trait across all Silver Moon denizens. As numerous as the battles in the central region were, those geniuses slowly developed under the auspices of stronger protectors, didn’t they?

“That’s true enough—there are still advantages to Silver Moon,” He Yong chuckled.

“As a martial master from Silver Moon, senior mentions that there are many Dominators in the central region,” Li Hao continued. “That there are many even in the royal family, yet senior is able to find his footing amid the royal family like a duck taking to water. I think that has much to do with your experience from Silver Moon, correct?”

“That’s right!” He Yong replied approvingly. “You’re right on this point—there are plenty of Dominators in the central region, but it would be speaking too highly of them to put them on the same footing as us. Of course, the same can’t be said about later generation Dominators from the martial world. Your chief, Liu Long, may not be the top of the top in the central region. But your master, I, and any of the famous martial masters in Silver Moon during our times would be everyone’s martial granddaddy in the central region!”

That was enough. Perhaps Li Hao’s new bodyguard was a little too full of it, but it was true enough that he was respected in the royal family. How else would they let him run around with complete freedom and maybe even give him some missions?

Li Hao didn’t want to say anything else—there was no need to. The central region was too far away.

......

It was one thousand kilometers from Silver City to Rift Canyon. It was another one thousand kilometers past the canyon to White Moon City, making for a total trip distance of more than two thousand kilometers.

The newly fashionable motorcycles made quick work of the distance. They had no problem driving one hundred kilometers an hour, but the group only just made it past Rift Canyon when the sun dawned on the 4th. It would be evening before they reached White Moon.

On the other side of Rift Canyon.

The trio was strong enough that they could carry the bikes down the canyon, ride them through it, and carry them back up. Ordinary people weren’t able to accomplish the feat.

They were all tired at this point. Their bodies weren’t tired after a night of traveling, but they were tired on a mental level.

Roads could be glimpsed in the distance after they passed Rift Canyon. They appeared very neat and well-kept; buildings were outlined in the even further distance. Those belonged to other cities, White Moon was still far away.

In contrast to the bleak desolation around Silver City, the environment was no longer as stark around these cities. Li Hao could even see people working the fields, whereas any place too far away from a city on the other side was devoid of people!

The three sat down on the ground to rest, drink water, and eat some cookies. Seeing that Li Hao was staring into the horizon, Wang Ming sidled over.

“The closest city on this side is Rift City—it’s only a few dozen kilometers away from us. We’ll pass by Flare City next, then ride another two hundred kilometers to finish at White Moon!”

Li Hao inclined his head as he’d read the map before they started. “There are thirty million inhabitants in White Moon, but I made some calculations after looking at the map and see that the city isn’t that big. It’s not thirty Silver Cities, at the very least. Don’t you find it crowded when you live there?”

Wang Ming laughed, as did He Yong.

“How would we ever?” Wang Ming grinned with mirth. “You think too little of White Moon, Li Hao. Let’s put it this way—the buildings you see in Silver City are mostly three stories tall, with tall being defined as six stories, and tallest at ten stories at most. But in White Moon, buildings that are thirty stories tall are everyone!”

“I get it,” Li Hao chuckled as well. “You build upwards to alleviate the pressure of limited space. Doesn’t that still feel uncomfortable in its own way? Living among high buildings... that would make me claustrophobic.”

“I don’t think so!” Wang Ming shrugged.

“White Moon is decent,” He Yong interrupted. “Skystar City has buildings over one hundred stories tall and there are even supernatural buildings now. An earth Nova can create a skyscraper more than one hundred or even one thousand meters tall in a day...”

“Li Hao, don’t lose face for yourself when you arrive in White Moon,” Wang Ming continued. “It’s different from Silver City. There are a lot more cars and people in the capital. Another major difference is that while the Inspectorate calls the shots in Silver City, the provincial government, Inspectorate, Night Watchers, and military are essentially on the same footing in White Moon. The Night Watchers aren’t involved in the day-to-day administration, so it’s the provincial government that makes the decisions.

“What’s nice about a small place like Silver City is that there’s not really anyone we have to steer clear of. We should keep a low profile in White Moon so we don’t accidentally bump into a commander’s son or get into a fight with the director general’s grandson. Apart from that, there’s a lot of large business groups in White Moon that are developing in the direction of a consortium. They’ve recruited a lot of supernaturals too...”

Wang Ming was highly concerned that Li Hao would easily run afoul of trouble if he didn’t know about the environment of his new post, so he painstakingly introduced all of the moving parts to his colleague.

“Of course, no one will dare provoke you since the Night Watcher director himself has personally recruited you. At the same time, we can’t rely on the director for everything, right?”

Li Hao nodded in agreement.

“But don’t worry, you have me!” Wang Ming chuckled. “My family has a bit of power and authority to its name.”

Li Hao hadn’t inquired more closely before—he grew curious now. “Is your family also in the Tiger Wings?”

“Nope,” Wang Ming explained. “The local army is split into three divisions, the Tiger Wings is just one of them. There’s also the Silver Moon Division, which is the central division of the three. The other is the White Dragons, where my family is stationed.”

The White Dragons.

“Is your dad a commander like Hu Dingfang?”

“Ahem...” Wang Ming coughed. “Of course not, commander? Would I be part of the Night Watchers if my identity was that amazing? My dad... my dad isn’t much. It’s my grandpa—he’s the vice commander of the White Dragons.”

His grandpa was the highest ranked out of his family. It wasn’t a bad post—it was actually quite impressive! Li Hao just didn’t find it as monumental because he’d met Commander Hu Dingfang of the Tiger Wings.

No wonder the commander hadn’t recognized Wang Ming when the young supernatural greeted him, it made sense. His counterpart was the commander of the White Dragons, and he’d know the vice commander of course. But his grandson? That truly wasn’t worthy of attention.

“Hu Dingfang doesn’t seem that old, how is he the commander of the Tiger Wings?” Li Hao wondered, was it simply due to superior strength? Did the military only judge competency based on strength?

“Commander Hu is indeed young. He’s around forty.” Wang Ming thought for a bit. “That does make him the youngest among the division commanders. He assumed control of the Tiger Wings eight years ago, which made him a commander in his thirties.

“I’m not certain of the details, just that something happened with the Tiger Wings about ten years ago. I don’t know if there was a mutiny or ambush by supernaturals... but a lot of them died during that time. Commander Hu almost died as well.

“Unrest simmered in the Tiger Wings after that and continued for several years until the commander stepped forth and decisively quelled the disturbances with overwhelming strength. The army division was reconstructed and he oversaw it after that. Quite a few lost their heads in the process.

“Due to the deaths of their veteran leaders, Hu Dingfang enjoys a high prestige in the Tiger Wings despite his age!”

Li Hao pondered over the fact that Hao Lianchuan had mentioned Hu Dingfang knew the Five Styles and its breathing method... Had he improved so quickly to late Solar because of the breathing method? Who’d taught it to him?

It couldn’t be his teacher, his teacher would mention it otherwise. His senior sister?