Star Gate

Chapter 169: The Entire Team Breaks Through (I)

After a few more pleasantries, Li Hao and Yuan Shuo returned the way they came—by running. They were joined by a little black dog this time.

Within the wilderness.

Two humans and one dog sprinted across the land, the first two leaping and bounding like elk. Li Hao detected another increase in his speed; he was faster than before. Peak Sunderer... and he’d barely set foot into this level! What he lacked was a connection between his internal force and aura. Once that was forged, he would shape them into a sword and complete the final consolidation.

Of course, the end product might not be a sword. He wanted to wield both offensive and defensive capabilities if possible. A sword was fine enough, but it would be just as good to form a link to the earth. The young man wasn’t in a hurry for this step.

If Li Hao tripped over himself to enter Dominator, he might end up like Liu Long. But if he could build a connection to both sword and earth, then he might turn out like his teacher. The former could only fight initial Sunflare, whereas the latter could kill Solars. The gap between the two was enormous!

A high cultivation level was nice, but that would not be to Li Hao’s liking if it was paired with weak battle strength. He had to attain some sort of midpoint. For example, if he couldn’t kill Solars like his teacher, he should at least be able to fight peak Sunflare.

......

Li Hao sensed the power of the earth as he ran. He closed his eyes, not needing vision to guide the way. He relied on tactile feedback and a burgeoning perception.

Martial masters could call upon their aura when they reached Dominator; it functioned as their eyes. They were able to sense their surroundings even when they closed their eyes. This was what Li Hao needed to practice next. He’d improved so quickly that it caused him to be lacking in many areas. And what of his Five Styles after he progressed to Dominator?

The method’s strength would be immensely diminished without its corresponding aura. He would be far less than his teacher, of that there was no doubt. In the same vein, if the Nine Forged Force lacked its aura, it wouldn’t matter if it was layered nine times.

Can I utilize Nine Forged Force through the sword? Li Hao wondered as he ran. The Five Styles, aura of the earth, sword intent, and Nine Forged Force. Could all of these methods and secret arts be combined?

The Five Styles had come about through his teacher’s painstaking efforts before their aura was fully combined. This was one of the reasons why the method was so formidable. Could he try to do the same in the future?

Too many ideas floated to the fore; they’d made it back to the city at some unknown point in time. Although it was early, there were already denizens out and about. A loud hubbub rose from the marketplace and mouthwatering fragrances wafted out from breakfast stalls. The city was already coming awake at this hour.

......

The Inspectorate.

Liu Long inclined his head as he listened to Chen Jian’s report. He didn’t ask about the ruins. Since Chen Jian and Hu Hao had returned, that demonstrated that the ruins could not be excavated for the time being. He found it a bit regretful as obtaining treasures from a ruin would strengthen both Yuan Shuo and Li Hao at an opportune time. It would also be a good development for him.

“Since Elder Yuan says we can set it aside, we set it aside!” Liu Long declared and turned to Chen Jian. “Are you sure you don’t want to cross over to the supernatural, that you want to become a Sunderer?”

Chen Jian hesitated, then nodded resolutely. “Yes! I haven’t been able to find the energy that suits me after all this time. I tried absorbing earth energy because I think I’m skilled at defense, but I didn’t succeed in crossing over. I’m also worried that being used to defense, I’ll struggle to adjust to suddenly gaining healing powers or something like that.

“Not to mention, martial masters aren’t weak! Elder Yuan has killed Solars as a Dominator and you have slain Sunflares. Since there is a future ahead for martial masters, why do I not walk that path?

“If it turns out that I can’t make it to Dominator, it’s not like I can’t cross over as a Sunderer. I’ll just have to consume more mysterious power.” Chen Jian couldn’t help a chuckle. “Chief, we’re obtaining mysterious power more than one hundred times faster than before. If I remain as a Slayer and can’t participate in the next battle, how will I earn more mysterious power then?”

On a whole, the team was much stronger than before. Only he and Wu Chao were still Slayers. They felt it was sufficient before, but now realized that if this continued, they would be rendered sooner or later.

Liu Long inclined his head. “So long as you are willing. Martial masters are not weak at all!” He felt this acutely after setting foot into Dominator. “I may not be as strong as Elder Yuan, but I am sure of one thing after fighting those Sunflares. Regardless of whether or not they are rookies, supernaturals are in no way superior to martial masters of the Dominator level, no matter their special attributes.”

Martial masters were indeed less than their supernatural counterparts prior to Dominator due to the unique abilities of the supernatural domain. Flight and shifting through earth was possible for the latter. When martial masters encountered such supernaturals, they could only passively suffer beatings. But at the same time, that didn’t mean all Sunderers were less than Darkmoon.

Chen Jian quickly bobbed his head up and down.

“Then I’ll take the blood pearl, chief. I wonder if I’ll be a real Sunderer afterward...”

“You shouldn’t have an issue.” Liu Long had asked a similar question of Wang Ming. “Elder Yuan says you can wait a few days to take the blood pearl. There’s no rush.”

“Oh, alright then!” Chen Jian didn’t ask further.

The meeting was over after a few more simple exchanges. They were used to living in the law enforcement building, a habit that carried over even now. Therefore, meetings in the middle of the night could be held at a drop of a hat.

......

Li Hao was the same as usual, reporting to work on his rundown bike when the work day began. He wasn’t pretending to be poor, but that he really didn’t have a car to drive. His teacher’s car was gone, his own car was wrecked, and the Inspectorate refused to lend him a car. He could only return to using his bike.

He’d just parked at the Inspectorate front doors when he heard someone calling his name. He could identify them simply through hearing their voice.

“Li Hao!” came a slightly feisty voice. A dashing Chen Na grumbled as soon as she saw the young man turn back. “Alright now, you’ve forgotten your old friends after being promoted and given a raise, huh!”

Li Hao smiled to see his old colleague. “When did I ever forget an old friend, Sis Na?”

“Dare you say you haven’t?” Chen Na knew a few things as the Night Watchers were no longer a secret in the Inspectorate. They were an open secret after a branch was established in Silver City. She even knew that Li Hao seemed to have been promoted to an executive position in the shadowy organization. But... so what?

“Didn’t you guys say that you were going to recruit people for your back office? It’s a promotion, raise, and an opportunity to see more of the world. Why didn’t you ask me?”

“Classified Affairs is a leisurely place...”

“Pfft!” Chen Na rolled her eyes and quickly broke out in giggles. “I hear Little Ming is an executive at your department? Captain Liu is in command while you and Little Ming are his seconds?”

“Sis Na is as well informed as ever.” Li Hao smiled and walked inside with the girl. These days, he spent every hour with supernaturals and martial masters. It’d only been a few days since he last saw Chen Na, but suddenly encountering a mundane gave him a different feeling.

The year he’d spent at Classified Affairs seemed so nice in retrospect. No one worried about finding a girlfriend for him anymore when he reported to work each day. He’d found it annoying before, but now he missed it.

Humans. Such complicated creatures.

The two didn’t work in the same building anymore, so Chen Na only exchanged a few words before they parted ways at a crossroad. She didn’t mean to force Li Hao into promoting her. Li Hao turned for the law enforcement building and headed straight for Liu Yan’s office instead of his.

......

“A rare visitor has come!” Liu Yan seemed to have just finished her morning exercises. She was wearing a small vest that perfectly displayed her curvaceous body. The only detail that marred the sight was her slightly charred hands.

It’d been a day since the previous battle. Li Hao hadn’t been in a hurry to heal Liu Yan due to Hao Lianchuan’s presence and a lack of sufficient sword energy. Another key had been Liu Yan’s lack of visible pain.

But now that the young man took a closer look, he could see that her scorched hands seemed to be splitting open. Even some yellowed bone was visible—this was after Yun Yao had treated Liu Yan.

Plainly, the woman’s wounds were not as lighthearted as she made them out to be.

Li Hao furrowed his brow, then quickly smoothed it out. “Sis, didn’t upstairs reward you with a pill? If you take it now, I’ll use special internal force to help you digest it. Your hands should heal and you might take another step forward into mid Sunderer.”

“Special internal force?” Liu Yan curved her lips into a half smile.

“Yep, my teacher taught me.” Li Hao grinned widely. “It’s amazing!”

“How amazing?” Liu Yan winked coquettishly.

Li Hao’s lips flattened wordlessly. As expected, he was no match when it came to discussing these sorts of things with a thirty year old woman. Her hands were almost gone, but she had the mindset to wink at him.

Liu Yan dropped her teasing and walked toward Li Hao without bothering to change her clothes. “Little Hao Hao, then big sis will have to trouble you to help heal me.” She drew close to the young man. “When big sis’ hands are healed, I’ll give you a massage as a reward...”

Oh enough of that! I don’t want any.

Li Hao didn’t take her seriously. He gave her a few reminders on how to digest the blood pearl’s energy before he started operating the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. He absorbed a little bit of sword energy to help Liu Yan digest the blood pearl and heal her hands.

As Hou Xiaochen had refined the blood pearl into a pill, one could digest it without the use of sword energy. However, the rate was slow and efficiency very low, leading to severe waste. A Darkmoon level blood pearl was insufficient to help Liu Yan break through to mid Sunderer because half of it would be wasted. But if paired with sword energy, it would be utilized to the greatest degree possible.

This was why Yuan Shuo and Li Hao didn’t want people to be in a hurry to take the blood pearls. Every iota of strength they could wring from the pearls would be one iota more. As for sword energy, these people also knew about this kind of energy.

Li Hao was sometimes quite open-minded. Some secrets had to stay hidden for a reason, but when some others were an open secret, he couldn’t be bothered to continue concealing them. Special internal force was just his way of glossing over the topic.

Inside the office, Liu Yan’s face flushed red. The scarlet shadow’s energy was quite potent the first time it was absorbed. Her hands healed at a rapid pace, the sensation so numbing and tingling that she couldn’t help but groan.

Li Hao didn’t mind it as he’d done the same when he and his teacher first absorbed it. However, he’d forgotten that they were in the law enforcement building and that this was Liu Yan’s office.