Star Gate

Li Hao didn’t care about his audience. He looked at the Demon Hunters in front of him and continued, “Additionally, we’re going to select five team captains! It’ll be ten people to a minor team. The other nine will listen to the team captain when we’ve decided upon them, you are not allowed to set out on your own!

“In the future, I will give missions only to the team captains!” The young man scanned his troops. “You probably won’t like it if I choose for you. There’s not many of us and just twenty Sunderers. Let’s choose from the Sunderers! Of course, Slayers who think they can kill enemies above their level can also participate!

“Whoever among the twenty is willing to be a team captain can spar among yourselves.”

The group looked at each other, hesitant to leap into action.

“None of you are inclined?” Li Hao laughed. “Then let me be more detailed. Based on current Guard rules, all of the gains we obtain on a mission belong to us. As the leader of the Demon Hunters, I have the right to distribute the spoils. I don’t want much, just thirty percent! Deputy Liu will take ten percent, which leaves sixty for everyone.

“Forty-nine people will divvy up the sixty percent. Each team captain oversees nine people and can claim another ten percent of their team’s distribution when all is said and done. That’s the equivalent of a doubled share!”

“......” Eyes widened when this was announced. Setting aside the question of whether there would be gains or not, the team captain would receive an additional ten percent of loot! It was only ten percent less for the team members, which didn’t seem like a lot, but it equated to double the reward for the captain!

That difference was enormous!

“Leader,” Hong Qing couldn’t help but pipe up. “Doesn’t this mean there will be a large gap between those who are team captain and those who aren’t?”

“Certainly!” Li Hao nodded. “Strength speaks! Fight for the position if you have the confidence to! If you win it, opportunities will follow. Additionally, the position isn’t set in stone. If a team of ten wishes to change their captain everyday, that is permissible too. It won’t affect much. In fact, the team captains will be redetermined every month. You can submit a challenge for the position if you think your strength is sufficient. Everyone stands a chance.”

“But Slayers are weaker than Sunderers to begin with, we’re losing ten percent without being able to do anything about it!” Some Slayers grew frantic. No one would keep silent when profits were at stake.

“It’s easier for Slayers to improve and catch up to Sunderers so long as the Sunderers haven’t comprehended the aura yet,” Li Hao chuckled. “Be more confident in yourself. Not to mention, is it fair that those weaker want a larger share of the spoils? Fairness stems from a basis of similar strength!

“The captains will be expending more effort and energy. They’ll be the first in a fight, it’s not like they’re just sitting there and waiting for money to roll in. There’s only so many Demon Hunters and I’m not blind. Will I not be able to see who’s putting in the work and who’s not?”

The Sunderers were stirring to action. Although there were no gains to speak of at the moment, obtaining the position of team captain first was still well worth it.

There were eight late Sunderers among the twenty—a high proportion at forty percent. If only late Sunderers were allowed to participate, that meant at least three of them would be denied the position. There were also some mid Sunderers who harbored certain ambitions.

Sunderer wasn't a level delineated by massive strength gaps. There was no hope for a Sunderer to challenge a Dominator, but quite a few mid Sunderers could win out over a late Sunderer.

There wasn’t much of a chance for an initial Sunderer, however. The gap there was too big. They possessed less than half the internal force of a late Sunderer, which made it very difficult for upsets.

Twelve people presented themselves not long after Li Hao finished speaking. Eight late Sunderers threw their hats in the ring, as did four mid Sunderers. Three of the Silver City Demon Hunters chose to participate. Liu Yan was a late Sunderer, Wu Chao and Chen Jian were mid Sunderers.

The young man knew some of the remaining nine. Hong Qing went without saying, as did her senior brother Hong Hao. Those from the Inspectorate also participated—the Li Heng who’d spoken up earlier. He was young, but also a mid Sunderer.

“We’re picking five from twelve of you, so that means seven need to be eliminated...” Li Hao glanced at the candidates. “Let’s fight one on one first so that six are left. The six who lose have one opportunity to challenge the winners, but you cannot pick the same person. If you win, you can replace the previous victor! Let’s make this more efficient and have all the fights go at the same time. It wastes too much time to fight round after round...”

He had his own thoughts, but didn’t voice them. Li Hao grabbed a nearby branch and cut it into twelve segments.

“Pick your segment—they’re of varying lengths. Whoever picks the same length is each other’s opponent. There will certainly be late Sunderers matched against mid Sunderers, but don’t think that gives you an unfair advantage. You are the one choosing your own fate!”

Everyone stepped forward to draw their lots, swiftly splitting off into six groups.

“Let the fights commence at once. We’ll have our results soon!”

Everyone looked at each other with hesitation. Granted, they were in a large area so they wouldn’t interfere with each other’s fights.

......

Li Hao ignored them and walked to the side with Liu Long. The others made way too, leaving space for the combatants. The twelve martial masters took their measure of each other in the plaza. No one was in a hurry to begin.

“Do you think... that Liu Yan and the others can become team captains?” Liu Long asked softly.

“Sis Liu won’t have much of a problem. She’s vicious and will probably outmatch most martial masters she meets. The Sword Sect members haven’t experienced as many life and death situations and the Inspectorate representatives seemed to have lived a cushy life. Big brother Wang takes good care of them. They don’t have a ferocious presence and are more like oily politicians.”

Liu Long inclined his head. He’d seen the same as well. He knew the ones from the Inspectorate, but some were really much more slippery than how they’d been in Silver City.

“As for Brother Chao and Jian... it’s hard to say. They have experience, but it’s not like their opponents are rookies. Martial masters all have certain degrees of battle experience and they’re only mid Sunderers.”

Those two had only just reached mid Sunderer, so it would be difficult for them to win.

Battle commenced as they conversed. First to conclude wasn’t Liu Yan, but Hong Qing. She slashed extremely quickly with her longsword against a late Sunderer from the Inspectorate. It took less than ten seconds for her to send him flying with a bloody mark on his body.

Liu Long frowned sharply at this! He was very familiar with the defeated—this man had been his deputy back in the day. He was stronger than Liu Yan, but appeared to have lived in ease and comfort for too long. He was a late Sunderer, but didn’t last ten moves in Hong Qing’s hand!

The girl beamed happily, quickly followed by Liu Yan stabbing both blades into her opponent’s throat. She didn’t drive them in, but left a bloody mark all the same. Her Sword Sect opponent paled with horror and was deathly afraid that the woman would kill him.

Two fights were over in the blink of an eye with the women being victorious. They’d gone up against late Sunderers, leaving the four mid Sunderers to face off against each other. No one was matched with someone not of their level. It was clear to Liu Long that Li Hao must have cheated. This coincidence wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

A third fight concluded after a short while—Hong Hao sent Chen Jian flying with a mighty slash. A dejected Chen Jian didn’t scramble up from the ground. He wanted to make use of his premier defensive abilities to fight the man, but he’d still lost very quickly.

“Earthturner’s sword skills are still very capable,” Liu Long sighed softly. “His disciples may lack experience, but their foundations are solid. This Hong Hao is strong—he matches how I was when I became late Sunderer. He just lacks in killing intent...”

It was high praise! Liu Long had made his way to his position through gradual bloodshed.

Li Hao nodded and continued to watch the fights. The fourth wasn’t far from concluding. Fights were usually over very quickly if there was a disparity between martial masters. A chubby martial master from the Inspectorate headbutted a mid Sunderer from the Sword Sect out of the way and claimed his spot.

“Wang Chao, Wang Henggang’s nephew,”Liu Long muttered. “He trains in the Iron Shirt discipline as well and it looks like he’s done well for himself. His foundations are very solid!”

Li Hao nodded again, they were indeed good. This man seemed much stronger than Chen Jian.

With four fights out of the way, that left two ongoing. Wu Chao faced a late Sunderer from the Inspectorate while Li Heng faced a late Sunderer from the Sword Sect. Being adept at speed, Wu Chao spent his fight dodging his opponent. It caused an extreme headache for the Inspectorate martial master. He could not end the fight if he couldn’t hit his enemy.

Seeing that four fights had concluded and he was yet to even touch Wu Chao, the Inspectorate martial master was so irritated that he started cursing. “Damn your skinny ass, Wu! Are you done running yet or what?!”

Plainly, they knew each other. Perhaps they’d been friends before since they both hailed from the Silver City Inspectorate.

“Cut the crap and catch me first!”

The two ran around the training grounds while Li Hao glanced at Li Heng’s fight. Li Heng was just a mid Sunderer, but he was strong. The Sword Sect was skilled with the longsword. Li Heng’s sword methods were graceful and floated upon the air. He lacked the ponderous keenness that was customary of his sect. He drifted through his motions in a way reminiscent of the Ghost Shadow Sword.

“Li Heng used to be part of the law enforcement team as well,” Liu Long introduced. “He doesn’t talk much and he’s not that old at thirty-two years old. He might be turning thirty-three soon, if not already. His sword method has a bit of history to it. There was once a swordsman in Silver City that no one knew was a martial master. He was forced to take action a few times and happened to land his eyes on Li Heng. After taking Li Heng as his disciple, he passed on some sword techniques before dying on a trip. We learned that he was the heir of the Weeping Willow Sword when White Moon notified us to collect a corpse...”

Weeping Willow had not been one of the Seven Swords, but might have been part of the ranking if it was the Ten Swords. To be able to place in the top ten of swordsmen during Silver Moon martial world’s most glorious heyday made that person quite an exalted personage. Their second generation disciple wouldn’t be too weak either. Although Li Heng was a mid Sunderer and facing a disciple of Earthturner Sword, his Weeping Willow techniques made it hard for his opponent to muster an effective counterattack.

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