Chapter 167
This battle saw Li Hao advance to level 45 as a Chief Warrant Officer. Everyone noticed that Li Hao didn't seem particularly joyful. Some of the Tianren and Hai people began to admire him – victory without arrogance, the mark of a great general.

Li Hao dragged Kasika away, inwardly lamenting the four million credits he'd lost taking down two worthwhile opponents. He felt like crying; how could those orcish trash be worth anything? He must have been drunk and impulsive. He needed to stay calm next time.

"Cheer up a bit; anyone would think you lost," Kasika said, somewhat puzzled.

"I am happy," Li Hao forced a smile. "See, I'm beaming... uh, Kasika, is there a repayment deadline for debts to Holy Church?"

"There isn't a strict deadline, since you're a Heavenly Ladder Chief Warrant Officer to borrow so much. Chief Warrant Officers generally don't welsh on debts," Kasika replied.

"Are there any *un*usual circumstances?" Li Hao asked.

"Huh?" The Mech tilted its head, looking confused.

"Never mind. It's good there's no deadline. Cough, cough, help me find something – a high-paying mission. Anything will do, even selling myself. I don't like being in debt," Li Hao said, trying to sound confident. What stung the most was that final exchange. He'd only wanted to gently remind the orcs, but damn, they could take it. Were they even orcs?

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for you. Also, if any humans want to recruit mechs, I can help connect them if the Solar System establishes a Holy Church," Kasika said suddenly.

Hearing this, Li Hao grabbed Kasika in a bear hug. "Wuwuwu, good brother! This is the best news of the day!"

Li Hao and Kasika returned to the private room. Gaia, Kuta, and Gasmi had become Li Hao's little fan club. Kuta jumped onto Li Hao. "Bro, you're too awesome! I hate orcs the most. They're ugly and dishonest. You fought well! From now on, orcs will have to make way when they see you!"

Gaia finally understood what Li Hao had meant when he said not to worry about Hausen. With Li Hao's influence now, Hausen would have to show some respect. This wasn't just a level 45 Chief Warrant Officer; this was a ruthless man who dared to challenge the entire Orc race. Of course, the Orcs wouldn't let it go, but until then, who would dare provoke him?

Wouldn't they have to think twice?

"Li-ge, what's wrong? Are you worried about the Orcs retaliating? Relax, they won't dare cause trouble in Holy Church. Besides, I don't think they can beat you anyway, haha." Kuta was ecstatic, feeling as if he himself had won. Just now, Olivia had been subtly trying to find out information from him. Hehe, he felt so important.

Li Hao plopped down. "I have a question. Given the situation, Kuta, if you were Emperor Dito Kuo, would you have attacked?"

"What? Emperor Dito Kuo? Attacked what?" Kuta was taken aback.

"Attacked *me*. I'd already fought eighteen matches. He should have seen I was at my limit. Why didn't he seize such a good opportunity, especially after I insulted them so much?" Li Hao was baffled. He'd thought about it on the way back, and he hadn't revealed too much of his strength. That guy should be a top-tier Orc warrior, even stronger than that Lava Fiend Kuo. Why didn't he come? He couldn't understand it.

"You're hung up on that?" Gaia and the others exchanged glances.

"Yeah, what a great opportunity! I was prepared to wipe them all out, but one got away," Li Hao said, looking regretful.

Gaia, Kuta, Gasmi, and Kasika stared blankly at each other, not knowing what to say. How could this person say such shocking things in such a tone? He'd wanted to eliminate all of the Orcs' top fighters in Holy Church from the start.

"Li-ge, do you have some misunderstanding about power?" Gaia tried to understand Li Hao's thinking. "You've fought 18 matches straight, using both ice and fire powers, as well as some other abilities we don't quite understand. Every match was against a master. And your Glory ZERO isn't broken, and you haven't even used the Xian Dao. Orcs only have one life. Anyone with a brain wouldn't dare to go up against you."

"Xian Dao? Crap, I forgot," Li Hao said, having not thought about it since the interruption. As for the Tianren armor, he didn't want to break it; a new one cost 800,000 credits.

Acting wasn't his forte. Actually, the flaws had been there all along, but the Orcs' confidence had been too strong. But when Lava Fiend Kuo was frozen, even the confident ones woke up.

"Li-ge, how did you counter the blue flame? That thing is too powerful. It's said that only those with extreme talent can possess blue flame," Kuta said, his eyes sparkling. He'd admired Li Hao before, but now he admired him even more.

"Ah, you mean that? It's similar to soul waves, nothing much," Li Hao said, his mouth full. He held up a finger. "Here, red, blue, purple..."

The people in the room fell silent again, looking at each other... Li Hao was a bit hungry; he needed to eat more.

"Li Hao, can you control multiple Zhou Flames?" Kasika asked curiously.

"You guys have so many kinds of these?" Li Hao stuffed his face, like a bear stocking up for winter.

"Li-ge, you'll have no friends if you're like this. Most of us Tianren have red flames, but a very few people can master blue flame when advancing to the Zhou Lan level. It doubles the destructive power, increases soul burning, and is very corrosive to Tian Wu. It's said that above that is blazing flame, and some have special purple flames... black flames... these are even rarer..."

The small flame on Li Hao's finger turned black. This wasn't just a change in color; those present were knowledgeable and felt that the nature of the Zhou Flame had also changed. Each of these powers was something others could only dream of.

Not to mention Kuta and Gaia, even Gasmi and Kasika realized that this human was definitely going to be a big shot in the Star Alliance in the future. This talent was unheard of, and even more importantly, he showed them such important things, the mysteries and secrets of power, without any concealment, even teaching them.

"Brothers, a toast to our Li-ge, the new rising star of Judgment!"

"Waiting for Li-ge to lead us to dominate Judgment!" Gaia was also filled with ambition. He didn't need any special flames; as long as he could comprehend blue flame, he wouldn't be afraid of Hausen.

Gasmi's two little braids shook excitedly.

"Drink up, drink up! Kasika, don't just watch, join us! Don't be polite!" Kuta especially liked encouraging Kasika to drink; he had a firm grasp on this aspect of the culture, and the Mech's shy demeanor when drinking was really amusing. He wondered if it would crash if it drank too much.

Originally, he didn't want to drink, but being too sober would be uncomfortable. Li Hao also decided to drink more, at least to selectively forget something.

Li Hao and his group were having a great time. Right now, countless people in Holy Church were speculating about the background of this human Li Hao. Humans, who were like weeds in Holy Church, were no longer ignored. Even the humans in Holy Church were feeling respected for the first time.

"This person must be related to the Dragon race. His flame combat technique mentality is dragon form."

"Other civilizations also have dragon forms."

"No, no, a friend of mine is in Judgment. I heard that he's very close to the Dragon Lady and often eats with her alone. They're always together. Can you believe there's nothing going on?"

"Really? How is that possible? The Dragon Lady!"

"Damn, you know people in Judgment Holy Church. Just ask around and you'll find out. Can this be fake? It's spread like wildfire in Judgment. There's definitely something wrong with this person. He just arrived in Judgment not long ago and climbed the Heavenly Ladder, and he has such strength. He's probably a big shot cultivated by the Casting Dragon Alliance. The Dragon race travels the galaxy and specializes in cultivating experts from various races. It's not surprising that humans were chosen. Many new civilizations were favored by the Dragon race back then."

"Then the Orcs really kicked an iron plate this time. Does that mean the Dragon race is optimistic about the development potential of humans?"

"Although humans are a Tianren Seed Project, it's not recent. It was left before the Galactic War. It's different. Maybe there's some special meaning in it."

"Really, except for the difference in pupils, they're exactly the same."

"Let's wait and see."

Meanwhile, in the Judgment Holy Church Committee, Helena silently watched the battle and called Frunenzo's Star Comm. "Master, have the results come out yet?"

During her battle with Li Hao, Helena had used the Emperor's Tool, Order Prisoner. One of her purposes was to steal a bit of Li Hao's Zhou Power and have Frunenzo analyze it.

On the other end, Frunenzo seemed to have a headache. "Something's not right, something's not right. Helena, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Why is the Zhou Power attribute exactly the same as yours?"

Helena...

At this moment, the Solar System Council had broken up unhappily. As long as they wanted to argue, they could argue endlessly without reaching a conclusion.

At this time, Colonshill, Terma, and Ubent, three old friends, were drinking in a clubhouse. Above them was a brilliant starry sky, and attending to them were uniformly young, beautiful bunny girls with great figures. This was Colonshill's taste; he liked this furry stuff, it was especially comfortable.

The three of them showed no trace of the righteous indignation they had displayed at the council, and were chatting and laughing jovially. The bunny girls had already lit their cigars and placed them in their hands.

Fine wine, beautiful women, and cigars, gazing at the starry river, standing on solid ground, holding the power of life and death, this was their life, what else mattered?

"Li Hao can't be allowed to live. Block information in Holy Church, then guide public opinion to say that he provoked the conflict with the Orcs, then get rid of him," Terma said.

"That's right, this will make our allies more determined to support us," Ubent said. "Makum and those guys have rebellious bones. We need to find opportunities to deal with them one by one later."

Colonshill exhaled a smoke ring, enjoying the bunny girl's gentle and delicate service, his brain feeling a burst of pleasure. "Li Hao, Makum, and those people are still capable, but we must never indulge these lower-class people. Since the Kepler War, they've become too swollen. They challenge us every time. If we indulge them once, they'll really think they're the masters."

The three of them laughed. They were professionals at playing power, without any bottom line. Makum couldn't beat them. But as they laughed, Terma and Ubent suddenly started bleeding from all seven orifices. The bunny girls also stopped moving. Colonshill was instantly shocked. At this moment, the bodyguards outside the door were already lying on the ground.

(End of Chapter)