Chapter 80

Stepping out of the tent, Li Hao was still immersed in shock.

Self-governance?

This thought, which had never crossed his mind, was heard today from Hou Xiaochen’s mouth.

At this moment, he paid no attention to Zhang Ting or the three major organizations...

He knew very well what would happen once the Silver Moon declared independence.

Suppression from the central region, encirclement from all sides. The Tianxing Dynasty had not yet collapsed, nor had it completely lost control. At this moment, there were many ambitious figures.

But no one would openly say, "I want to declare independence and break away!"

No one dared!

A dying camel is still bigger than a horse. When the building is about to collapse, those who can ultimately triumph amidst the chaos are few.

A thorough reading of history reveals that at this time, whoever dares to step forward will die.

Moreover, throughout history, there have been very few uprisings from the border regions that eventually occupied the Central Plains.

Thoughts kept surfacing.

Beside him, Yuan Shuo remained silent for a while. When they were almost at his tent, he finally spoke: "Don’t think too much, it’s not a big deal. The Silver Moon is just a small place; even if it declares independence, it won’t cause much of a stir."

"As for Hou Xiaochen... unless absolutely necessary, he won’t dare, and he won’t do it."

Li Hao nodded.

He looked at his teacher and asked, "Teacher... why do you think he said that, and even wants to do it?"

Even if he had such thoughts, shouldn’t he keep them hidden?

He just said it outright!

Yuan Shuo remained silent for a moment, pondered, and slowly said, "There’s no choice."

"No choice?"

Yuan Shuo nodded: "I ask you, if Hou Xiaochen leaves the Silver Moon and follows the orders from above to go to the central region for battle, can the Night Watchmen here, led by Helian Chuan, stabilize the situation? Can they resist the three major organizations?"

Li Hao thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

Probably... probably not.

Helian Chuan’s strength is not very high, and he is a rather straightforward person with insufficient prestige, which is quite evident.

When people mention Hou Xiaochen, they are all in awe, and Wang Ming is no exception.

When people mention Helian Chuan... Wang Ming would laugh, not out of ridicule, but because he finds the deputy minister interesting. Everyone likes him, but such a person often cannot bring a sense of reassurance in critical moments.

"If Hou Xiaochen leaves, the Night Watchmen in the Silver Moon will likely be unstable."

Yuan Shuo said calmly, "If they are unstable, the Silver Moon will be in trouble! But if he doesn’t leave, he will be defying orders! Once, twice, three times... if he defies orders every time, if you were a powerful figure in the central region, would you let Hou Xiaochen stay?"

So he said there’s no choice.

Li Hao frowned: "Don’t they consider this point? If Minister Hou leaves, the Silver Moon will be in danger."

"Consider?"

Yuan Shuo laughed: "The central region is already in chaos, and the border regions have long been abandoned. At this moment, they need to concentrate their efforts on stabilizing the central region! As for a small province on the border, if it’s abandoned, it’s abandoned. As long as the central region remains under the dynasty’s control, the world will not fall into chaos!"

Don’t they know the situation in the central region is very complex?

They do!

But they still did it, repeatedly issuing orders for Hou Xiaochen to go to the central region to take up his post.

Hou Xiaochen just refused to leave, otherwise, he should have left years ago.

Li Hao frowned: "What is Minister Hou’s true strength? The central region is already in chaos, yet they still have the energy to send a mid-stage Three Yang with a source spirit weapon to monitor him. If Minister Hou were a late-stage Three Yang... wouldn’t it be worth it?"

To have a mid-stage Three Yang monitor him for three years, is it worth it?

With that effort, Zhang Ting in the central region might have already entered the late-stage Three Yang, matching Hou Xiaochen, and there would be no need to forcibly transfer Hou Xiaochen.

Yuan Shuo thought for a moment, shook his head: "It depends. Perhaps they suspect his injuries have healed. If he has healed, he had top-tier Three Yang strength back then, and now he might have truly transcended the Three Yang stage!"

Of course, he is not certain.

Only Hou Xiaochen himself knows if his injuries have healed.

He doesn’t say his injuries are severe, nor does he say he is uninjured. As a result, no one knows the situation, and even the three major organizations, despite having many Three Yangs, dare not rashly provoke him.

"Is the teacher really going to leave?"

Li Hao didn’t talk about this matter anymore but remembered what Hou Xiaochen had said just now.

"There’s no choice!"

Yuan Shuo smiled: "Before coming, I was prepared. This time, whether I kill Sun Yifei or am killed by him, I won’t be able to return to Yincheng. Once my strength is exposed, those old friends will likely miss me... If I stay in Yincheng, I might bring you more trouble. Besides, the martial arts in the Silver Moon have declined, and the superpowers are also limited... If I stay, I won’t have many more opportunities."

"Moreover, the Red Moon has been watching Yincheng. But between you and me... the Red Moon’s main focus will still be on me. Ying Hongyue knows my character. If I leave Yincheng, I will definitely seek revenge on him!"

He said it matter-of-factly, "If I kill the Red Moon’s Three Yang this time and then disappear, he will definitely guess that I will seek revenge on him! At that time, he might still send people to the Silver Moon, but he will definitely devote more energy to watching me!"

Because Ying Hongyue has been defeated!

He also knows what kind of person Yuan Shuo is.

Such a powerful figure, once out of sight, he will definitely try to find Yuan Shuo and use all his strength to kill him.

Yuan Shuo patted Li Hao’s shoulder and smiled: "So, this time, I hope you can advance to the Thousand Combat stage. Only then will you have some self-preservation. If I leave, and you don’t have the strength of a Thousand Combat, you will have trouble in the future, and I won’t be able to help you."

Li Hao lowered his head.

"It’s time to grow up! What man doesn’t experience some hardships?"

Yuan Shuo smiled happily: "When I was young, I left home early and began my training. I had enemies all over the world, and I don’t know how many people I killed or frightened. Only then could I reach where I am today."

"I’m worried about the teacher."

Li Hao said in a low voice: "If the teacher really goes to seek revenge on the Red Moon, the Red Moon has many Three Yangs, and there are probably many more beyond the Three Yang stage. This is just some small rumors from the border regions. In reality, the opponent might be even stronger!"

"Isn’t that great?"

Yuan Shuo smiled: "The stronger, the more challenging! I have just begun to cultivate the five organs. The subsequent fusion of the spirit and the five organs is a long road. If my enemies were just some Three Yangs, I would feel no pressure."

"Back then, the martial arts in the Silver Moon were strong, but why didn’t we produce any Thousand Combat masters in my generation?"

"It’s not that we couldn’t, but we were too strong, far surpassing the previous generations. But in our generation, the problem was that there were no Thousand Combat masters to pressure us. Once we reached the peak of the Hundred Break, we could sweep through the martial arts world, and no one felt the urgency. As a result, a group of peak Hundred Breaks, none of them could advance to the Thousand Combat stage!"

"If one person had advanced to the Thousand Combat stage back then, I wouldn’t dare to say more, but at least seven or eight Thousand Combat masters would have emerged from the Silver Moon martial arts world."

He said this with some regret and some pride: "Actually, those who couldn’t advance were my fault! At that time, I suppressed them so much that they couldn’t even lift their heads. I was at the peak, so how could they be stronger? If I had advanced to the Thousand Combat stage back then... people like Ying Hongyue and Sun Yifei could have also advanced. But I couldn’t advance, and it made them lack the drive."

Li Hao couldn’t help but laugh, and the sadness he felt just now was completely suppressed.

"Teacher, what about tomorrow’s duel..."

"Of course, we will fight!"

Yuan Shuo said calmly: "Tomorrow, watch carefully! The ones I’ve faced before were all superpowers, and I couldn’t fully display my true strength. Whether I was being suppressed or suppressing others, that’s not the way of a martial artist, and it didn’t fully unleash my potential. Sun Yifei is a good opponent!"

"As for the ruins... it’s just an added bonus!"

"If I can defeat Sun Yifei, that will be a true gain. Treasures can be obtained anytime, but a worthy opponent is the driving force for your progress."

"So, don’t worry about exposing your strength... if you can kill them all, then kill them all. If you can’t, kill as many as you can. Even if they are prepared, you can still kill them!"

He said this with a very arrogant tone.

Finally, he looked at Li Hao: "Xiao Hao, when it’s time to show your strength, you must show it! Being overly low-key, no one can become a powerful figure! I know your concerns, that exposing too much will bring more danger... but powerful figures emerge from danger! Hou Xiaochen is low-key, right? But that’s now. Back then, he was not low-key at all. He was so