Chapter 151: Willing to Be Your Dog

Lu Yan was quite satisfied with Li Hao’s voluntary display of loyalty, but on the surface, he didn’t show the slightest sign of approval.

After all, in this moment, he wore the identity of a great cultivator from the last age of spiritual revival—a ghost god from the underworld.
How could someone like him be moved by the loyalty of a mere mortal?

Hearing Li Hao’s declaration, Lu Yan merely let out a cold chuckle.

“Share my burdens? You, a mere mortal, dare speak of sharing my burdens?”

“Spiritual energy has revived, the age of myths returns, and I stand at the helm of countless realms, preparing to ascend to the Supreme Dao Fruit. Can you shoulder these burdens for me?”

With his words, a murderous aura descended upon the temporary camp.

Li Hao’s eyes widened in fear, and his entire body trembled.
He had only just begun to come into contact with spiritual energy—he didn’t even understand what a ‘Supreme Dao Fruit’ was, let alone how to respond.

“The West is plagued by a great threat. A being known as the ‘God Above’ has opened a world of his own, seeking to gather billions of souls to ascend to the highest throne. Can you carry that burden for me?”

The sound of clashing metal rang in Li Hao’s ears. The killing intent became tangible, and everyone in the camp instinctively knelt, their souls responding to a primal terror.

Li Hao’s own spirit trembled violently.

The ‘God Above’—that was a name out of Western mythology, a creator deity.
How could he, a mere mortal, possibly interact with such an existence?

Amidst his fear, Li Hao realized that the being before him might be far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.

Heart quivering, he clenched his teeth and forced himself to speak:

“My strength is meager, and I am unfit to shoulder such cosmic burdens…”

“But among mortals, I still hold some influence. If it involves mortal affairs—whatever Your Excellency commands—I shall serve with all my heart, even unto death!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the oppressive aura over the camp froze in place.

Lu Yan seemed to recall something as he looked at the kneeling Li Hao with a faint, careless gaze.

“A thousand years ago, I raised a dog in the mortal world. Now, a millennium has passed… That dog is probably long dead.”

Li Hao’s eyes lit up and he quickly declared:

“I am willing to become Your Excellency’s loyal dog!”

“You?” Lu Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly, letting out a low laugh. The oppressive atmosphere instantly vanished.

“The dog I spoke of was a real dog… not some bootlicking lackey.”

Li Hao’s face filled with flattery as he respectfully replied:

“Countless others wouldn’t even get the chance to become Your Excellency’s dog. For me, it would be the greatest honor of my life!”

Lu Yan couldn’t help but let out a visible smirk.

“Your shamelessness… does resemble that of a dog.”

“Many thanks for the compliment, my lord!”

At this point, Lu Yan was certain—Li Hao had already submitted, at least for now.

Of course, Lu Yan knew that this kind of submission was shallow and could change at any time.

Today Li Hao could call himself Lu Yan’s dog.
Tomorrow, he might just wag his tail for someone else.

But that didn’t matter.

Lu Yan didn’t need unwavering loyalty.

He had the Trait of the Unchanging One, traversing multiple game versions.

In the urban version, he could pose as a ghost god of the underworld and easily intimidate someone like Li Hao into submission.

But in the Xianxia version?
Li Hao, who had rallied eleven cultivation families to establish the Wushan Bazaar, held a position that outranked Lu Yan’s role as an outer disciple of the Taiyi Sect by several degrees.
In terms of power, Li Hao held the advantage.

And in even higher-energy versions, the gap would only widen.

In a world of shifting versions, no subordinate—no matter how loyal—could be relied upon forever.

That’s why Lu Yan never intended for Li Hao to become some blindly loyal follower.
He only needed to use absolute deterrence and overwhelming profit in the current version to gain Li Hao’s cooperation.

When the version shifted again, Lu Yan would simply change his identity, using the leftover awe and interests he seeded here to extract further value from Li Hao.

And when the time came and he sensed that Li Hao’s loyalty had wavered, Lu Yan would reappear in a lower-energy version, increasing the pressure again to reassert dominance.

The key to the whole process?

Never let Li Hao see through him.
Never allow the distance to close.

Only with enough mystery, only with a gap in power wide enough to crush, could Lu Yan maintain his hold over him.

As these thoughts flowed through his mind, Lu Yan’s voice turned cold once more:

“That said, I do have a small task entrusted to me by my lord. If you can complete it… a reward is not out of the question.”

Li Hao’s expression lit up, surprise and joy flooding his face.

“Your Excellency need only give the word! I shall give everything I have!”

Lu Yan was just about to speak when his gaze suddenly turned, landing on the entrance to the Mount Beimang scenic area.

A sneer crept across his lips.

“Good little dog, you’d best handle your current trouble first.”

With Lu Yan’s reminder, Li Hao hurried out of the temporary camp—only to find the soldiers he had stationed at the entrance had surrendered without firing a single shot.

A well-dressed young man was striding confidently toward the camp, flanked by representatives of several major factions.

Li Hao’s sharp gaze swept over the approaching group, quickly identifying them:

Qingwu Group, Tianyun Group, Archaeological Association, and even members of the Luocheng Council.

And walking casually at the center of it all was none other than Xu Shaolin, one of Luocheng’s councilors.

Without the peach pit as a clue, the other factions should have still been scouring the battlefield for leads.
By rights, it should have taken them days to find this place.

But now—not even a day had passed, and they were already here.

There was no longer any doubt in Li Hao’s mind: Xu Shaolin had betrayed him.

Xu Shaolin met Li Hao’s glare with a smirk, utterly unashamed.

Back when the council first discussed the peach pit, Li Hao had intentionally made an example of Xu Shaolin to solidify his dominance in the spiritual energy project.

If everything had gone as planned, once Li Hao succeeded, he would have joined forces with the other councilors to cut Xu Shaolin out of the profits entirely.

Normally, the others wouldn’t have allowed that.

But this time was different.

This was about spiritual energy resources. Everyone wanted a bigger piece of the pie.

If Li Hao made the suggestion, the others would not only agree… they’d probably support it enthusiastically.

Faced with inevitable exclusion, Xu Shaolin had made his move early—bringing this crucial intelligence to the federal envoy in exchange for protection.

Putting on a righteous expression, Xu Shaolin glared at Li Hao and shouted:

“Li Hao! You ignored the federal ban and trespassed into Mount Beimang! You’re clearly challenging the authority of the Federation!”

Everyone present knew the truth.

Ever since the emergence of spiritual energy during the Hundred Ghosts Night, the so-called ‘federal bans’ were nothing but scraps of paper.

Why else would the federal envoy have arrived at Mount Beimang so quickly, if not to stake a claim in the coming benefits?

But that paper-thin pretense was still the perfect excuse to crush Li Hao.

Even the federal envoy, Shi Zhiyuan, adopted a stern expression as he barked:

“Li Hao—do you know your crime?”

(End of Chapter)