Comprehending the Sword

Within the ancient city. Li Hao and the others searched around. With only nine streets in total, any open ancient houses were easy enough to spot. As it turned out... everyone had been overthinking it. There were none! Why this city had been abandoned in the past, and whether its former inhabitants had all died or migrated elsewhere, was impossible to know now. And as for what lay inside the closed houses, no one dared to enter and see. According to Deputy Director Zhou and the others, the few ancient houses that were open were completely empty; at most, some antique furniture remained, which was hardly treasure and differed little from normal household furnishings. After searching for an hour or so, everyone grew unwilling to waste any more time. One by one, they sat down to cultivate and digest their recent gains. Throughout the entire outer city, there were only fourteen living souls; the silence was eerily unsettling. Both Hao Lianchuan and Hu Dingfang had sustained minor injuries, and they now began tending to their wounds. …… A short distance away from them, Li Hao struck up a conversation with Hong Yitang. Perhaps because they were fellow martial masters, perhaps because Hong Yitang was a senior martial master of the past who didn't seem to hold much of a grudge against his teacher... Li Hao was quite happy to chat with him. "Uncle-Master Hong, among the Silver Moon martial arts world of the past, are many experts still alive today?" Having nothing better to do, Hong Yitang seemed lost in memory. After a pause, he said, "Back then, although the Silver Moon martial arts world never produced a Thousand-Fighter martial master, it stood as a top-tier martial force among the ninety-nine provinces! For no other reason than we had an overwhelming number of Hundred-Breaker culminations!" "Furthermore, many people of Silver Moon walked out into the wider world; the martial leaders of many provinces were figures who hailed from our Silver Moon!" Hong Yitang sighed with emotion. "In that era, supernaturals had yet to appear. Silver Moon martial masters spread across the Heavenly Star Dynasty, dominating an entire age! Everyone knew that if you truly wanted to carve a bloody path to the top... you went to Silver Moon! "'If you truly want to witness the blood-soaked storms of the martial world, go to Silver Moon!' "Until twenty years ago, when the supernatural emerged. At first, it wasn't much. The Silver Moon martial arts world was powerful; what did a few fledgling supernaturals amount to? Never mind Starlight and Lunar Nether—even if they quickly broke into Solar Radiance, those greenhorns were usually slaughtered whenever they ran into a Hundred-Breaker culmination!" Twenty years ago, anyone in Solar Radiance was a Heaven-Blessed Divine Master. Those who survived to this day were Three Sols at the very least, while the truly strong had reached Rising Light. Yet in those days, in Silver Moon, they couldn't make headway at all. There were simply too many martial masters! It wasn't until later, when martial masters progressed too slowly and were overtaken, and when Three Sols powerhouses began to emerge, that the martial masters could no longer hold out. Li Hao nodded. Hong Yitang smiled again. "The supernatural realm in Silver Moon isn't considered strong today, and the martial masters share credit for that... We killed too many of them! Back then, a cohort of Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters had actually visited Silver Moon, and quite a few were born locally as well, but so many were wiped out. It wasn't just your teacher—I killed a few Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters myself back in the day... What a pity. If they had lived to this day, those fellows would be Three Sols at the very least, and Rising Light wouldn't be surprising." Lost in thought, Li Hao nodded, then asked softly, "Is Director Hou a martial master?" "Him?" It was only natural for Li Hao to wonder. Hou Xiaochen wasn't particularly old, yet he was said to be extraordinarily strong. Could he have been a martial master back then as well? Yet no one had ever mentioned it. If he had been a martial master, he surely would have made quite a name for himself back then. "He... might be, or might not be." Li Hao was baffled. Might be? Either he was, or he wasn't! Hong Yitang explained, "Back then, the Silver Moon martial world was actually divided into two factions. One was the jianghu martial world... and the other was the court's running dogs... Cough, cough, no, you know what I mean!" Li Hao understood! Seeing that Li Hao understood, Hong Yitang smiled. "At the time, the imperial court wanted to ban martial arts. Banning martial arts naturally required strength, and what they were banning was martial arts among the common populace, not the court's own forces! So back then, to deal with veteran martial masters, the court trained a cadre of martial masters specifically to hunt down jianghu martial masters! "As for Director Hou, his name was virtually unheard of before the rise of the supernatural. Yet he quickly rose to prominence within the Silver Moon Inspectorate, and shortly after the Night Watchers were established, he ascended swiftly to the very top... So we suspect that he was one of the court's... cough, cough, you know what!" Lowering his voice, he whispered, "He might have been a formidable martial master who then leveraged the power of the Heavenly Star Dynasty to swiftly cross over into the supernatural. Once he entered the supernatural, he would have been at least a Solar Radiance. Supernaturals were scarce back then; if he seized the opportunity, it is entirely understandable that he would become a Three Sols soon after." In short, his judgment was that Hou Xiaochen was either a Heaven-Blessed Divine Master or a Hundred-Breaker martial master who had advanced to supernatural status. It was just that even now, people still knew very little about Hou Xiaochen. The martial masters trained by the court back then had all concealed their true names and identities. They were operatives who did dirty work in the shadows; having a big reputation was not an asset, but rather an invitation to be hunted down by the jianghu martial world. "So that's how it is..." Li Hao nodded. If so, that made sense. If Hou Xiaochen had been an operative specializing in shadow work... to be honest, anyone who could hunt down experts of the martial world was bound to be formidable. Otherwise, who would dare take on such work? Still, it made him sound like a villain—an imperial lackey... Wait, why curse his own side? Li Hao felt a bit self-conscious. The Night Watchers... in the past, hadn't they been just such an organization? An organization working specifically for the court. 'Running dogs' was the term used by people of the martial world. From the Night Watchers' perspective, those martial artists were up to no good, disturbing public order, killing indiscriminately, leaving a trail of homicides in their wake, and showing blatant disregard for the law... Someone like Yuan Shuo was actually what the authorities loathed the most! Of course, Yuan Shuo had laid low later on, and with the rise of the supernatural and supernaturals committing even worse atrocities, Yuan Shuo's reputation had been somewhat whitewashed. In reality, back in the day, that old demon had been a wanted fugitive on the court's hit list. Seeing Li Hao deep in thought, Hong Yitang didn't interrupt. After a while, seeing Li Hao return to his senses, Hong Yitang said, "I've watched you practice the sword. Your teacher practices the Five Animals Art and walks the path of the Five Animals momentum. Although he also knows swordsmanship—and quite well, at that—he never condensed a sword momentum after all!" Li Hao's eyes lit up. Hong Yitang continued with a smile, "In the Silver Moon martial world of that era, seven swordsmen were particularly famous. Known as the Seven Swordsmen of Silver Moon, every one of them had comprehended a sword momentum. And sword momentum is far from singular! "I saw that you know the Shadowless Sword. You must have inherited the legacy of the Shadowless Sword, right?" Li Hao nodded. He actually enjoyed discussing these things with martial masters. Although his teacher knew much and understood much, he wasn't a dedicated swordsman; in certain respects, his teacher might not surpass these specialists of the blade. Seeing his interest, Hong Yitang continued, "Among the Seven Swordsmen of that era were the Earth-Overturning Sword, the Shadowless Sword, the Wind-Thunder Sword, the Bright Light Sword, the Luosheng Sword..." Listing a few, he continued, "Seven people, seven distinct sword momentums! Swordsmen, in my view, are none of them weak... Of course, none could compare to your teacher. He's a freak who fused five momentums together. Otherwise, had he mastered only a single momentum of the Five Animals, he would definitely have been no match for any one of the Seven Swordsmen." Li Hao nodded, though he couldn't help griping internally: *The point is that my teacher mastered five momentums. And why did you put the Earth-Overturning Sword first?* Hong Yitang wasn't telling him this to boast. He had simply watched Li Hao practice the sword and decided to share a few more thoughts. "If you intend to walk the path of the sword and don't wish to simply become an eighth swordsman among the Seven Swordsmen... then you must learn from your teacher!" Li Hao looked somewhat bewildered. Hong Yitang had no choice but to elaborate: "The sword does not have only one sword momentum! The Earth-Overturning Sword is connected to the earth. When the sword strikes, heaven and earth overturn, drawing upon the power of the earth!" Li Hao's eyes instantly brightened. Hong Yitang smiled. "The Shadowless Sword is swift and lethal, its core lying in leaving no trace behind! Compare that: isn't it similar to today's dark-attribute supernatural power?" Li Hao grew thoughtful. "The sword is ever-changing! And sword momentum is far from singular! The Five Animals momentum is powerful—no one denies it, nor can anyone deny it—but are the connections among the Five Animals momentums any tighter than the connections between sword momentums? "Since the rise of the supernatural emphasizes attributes, then divide sword momentum by attribute as well! Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—which of them cannot be a sword momentum? Wind, thunder, rain, lightning, darkness, light, void, nether—which of them cannot converge into sword momentum? "If you merely wanted to tread your teacher's path, I wouldn't say anything. "Yet I faintly sense... that you have your own understanding of the sword, a path not necessarily identical to your teacher's. In that case, I hope that the Silver Moon martial arts world can produce another swordsman—a powerful swordsman!" At this, Hong Yitang looked tinged with regret—an unspeakable regret. Just like Sun Yifei, who, despite becoming a late-stage Three Sols supernatural, still harbored deep regret. His Brow-Height Staff had never reached its pinnacle! Just like Hong Yitang himself—his Earth-Overturning Sword was now nothing more than an empty title. The martial masters of Silver Moon could never forget those glorious years! Back then, the Seven Swords swept across the jianghu, only to be defeated one by one. Now, some were dead, others scattered. He, the Earth-Overturning Sword, was merely the master of a petty Sword Sect, no longer the Silver Moon swordsman of his youth! "Your teacher fused five animals. Why can't you fuse seven swords, eight swords, or even nine swords?" Li Hao was dumbstruck. After a long while, he managed, "No... Uncle-Master Hong, even if I could comprehend multiple sword momentums, by the time I fused them... I'd be an old man!" *You have to be joking!* Hong Yitang laughed. "How could that be? The first person to fuse them will always find it hard, because he is constantly exploring in the dark, without any precedent. But the second person will surely find it easier. "How did your teacher fuse the Five Animals? He must have his own methods, his own rules, his own system... All you need to do is use your extraordinary talent to comprehend multiple sword momentums. Even if they aren't sword momentums initially, it doesn't matter. You must understand that all things can be a sword! "The earth is a sword, the sky is a sword, thunder is a sword—all things can be a sword! "Purity surpasses clutter! Turn everything into a sword and walk the path of the sword. Even your teacher's Five Animals momentum can actually be turned into swords... However he fused his, try to fuse yours the same way! "You are the only one who has this opportunity... Others don't know how to fuse them, and your teacher probably wouldn't tell them either." He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Pity that none of us had such talent or ability. You already have a wonderful foundation and a massive head start. Advancing with a single momentum makes you merely an ordinary martial master; you would never surpass your teacher... And what the martial world yearns for most is for each generation to surpass the last! "To let everyone know that the martial world still lives, that martial masters still endure! "For the lineage of the Seven Swords to be severed... is a profound pity!" He let out another sigh. "Your teacher killed three of those swordsmen—the Wind-Thunder Sword, the Shadowless Sword, and the Luosheng Sword—so he probably understands them quite well. Li Hao, if you can master multiple sword momentums... come find me, and I will teach you the Earth-Overturning Sword!" Li Hao was startled. He stared at him, finding it hard to believe. The martial world placed immense value on lineage and inheritance! Arts weren't passed down casually. Even though Hong Yitang was no longer purely a martial master, the Earth-Overturning Sword was by no means a nobody. Hong Yitang had survived here; while his raw strength might not be the highest, his combat experience and instincts were top-tier, which was why he had survived. Would such a man give him the Earth-Overturning Sword and then offer to impart his way of the sword? "What, think I harbor ill intentions?" Hong Yitang smiled. "If you truly master several sword momentums and have a chance to surpass Yuan Shuo, becoming Silver Moon's top swordsman... proving to the world's martial realm that swordsmen are superior to that so-called Five Animals Art, then no matter whose disciple you are, it would be worth making an exception for you! "If you truly manage to master multiple sword momentums... I'll let you in on a secret: the strongest of the Seven Swords back then, the Sky Sword, is still alive! What's more, he's a prominent figure today. If you can fuse sword momentums... I can recommend you to seek him out and learn the Sky Sword!" "The Sky Sword?" Li Hao blinked. Hong Yitang smiled and nodded. "Yes. Go ask your teacher. He fought the Sky Sword three times: he lost the first, drew the second, and won the third... But of all the people he killed, did he kill the Sky Sword? "Your teacher only defeated him after fusing five momentums. You can imagine just how powerful that man was!" Li Hao inhaled sharply! *Really?* He had never heard about this. His teacher had only managed to defeat the man after fusing five momentums, and had still failed to kill him... Just how strong was that fellow? "That person... is still alive?" "Of course!" "Is he a supernatural now?" Hong Yitang's expression turned somber as he nodded. "Yes! And he has reached the so-called Rising Light Realm... But... even the Sky Sword of back then could only end up as a supernatural. That is precisely why I admire your teacher!" Li Hao said dryly, "Er... my teacher actually wanted to become a supernatural too, he just never succeeded..." "It wasn't that he didn't succeed!" Shaking his head, Hong Yitang smiled. "Your teacher... I actually understand him. He definitely wanted to reach Thousand-Fighter first before considering stepping into the supernatural; he wanted to experience the splendor of a Thousand-Fighter. Otherwise, do you really think he had no way to advance to supernatural?" Li Hao fell silent. His teacher had indeed mentioned this. He had indeed planned to reach Thousand-Fighter before becoming a supernatural. As things turned out... he was severely injured, severing his path to Thousand-Fighter, after which he only then began contemplating becoming a supernatural, by which time it was somewhat too late. Hong Yitang sighed and said no more. Li Hao, however, committed the matter to memory. His teacher had yet another enemy. The Sky Sword! A powerhouse who had reportedly reached Rising Light already. His teacher truly had a knack for making enemies. Among the Seven Swords, the Earth-Overturning Sword was still alive, the Sky Sword was still alive, his teacher had claimed to have killed three, and it was unknown whether the remaining two were still living. Meanwhile, he pondered Hong Yitang's words. *All things can be a sword!* These were the words of a swordsman, an elder martial master. Perhaps it glorified swordsmen excessively, but what he said wasn't without merit. He had comprehended sword momentum... yet he had always assumed sword momentum belonged to the metal element! As for earth momentum, that was of the earth element, which was why he had created the Mount Tai Sword. Yet this so-called Mount Tai Sword merely layered the crushing gravity of earth momentum onto his sword momentum. The two were not truly fused. Of course, Li Hao had thought he had succeeded in fusing them, but hearing Hong Yitang today made him suddenly realize that he... might not have succeeded after all. True success might not look like that. Rather, when a strike was unleashed, whether metal or earth, both would be completely integrated. The sword was simply the sword, with no need to superimpose some mountain peak; it would directly unleash the twin forces of earth and metal—or even more—or directly fuse them into an entirely new power. Such was the experience of a veteran martial master. Often, a single sentence was enough to spark endless inspiration. Provided, of course, that one had the intellect to grasp it. Seeing Li Hao lost in thought, Hong Yitang watched quietly, feeling both wistful and melancholic. The life of a swordsman was gone, never to return! Could this young man carry the path of the sword forward and make it flourish? Who knew! Yet he still remembered that faint, formidable sword intent he had sensed earlier. In the Silver Moon martial arts world, swordsmen and sabermen alike had ultimately fallen, defeated by a Five Animals practitioner... Could beasts and birds truly be king? *Bah!* Resentment was only natural. It was just that in the end, they had been beaten into submission. Even so, they remained unreconciled! If Yuan Shuo's disciple made a name for himself through the sword, and if the student surpassed the master to defeat Yuan Shuo... even if it was just an internal rivalry within the Five Animals Sect, still... how delightful would that be! At that thought, Hong Yitang almost laughed aloud. If Li Hao could truly defeat that man with the sword, and as a martial master no less... Hahaha, just imagining that scene made him want to laugh out loud and slap the ground in applause. Yes, none of us can defeat you anymore! Especially now that Yuan Shuo had stepped into Spirit Nourishing, becoming incomparably formidable. Defeating him with supernatural power wouldn't count as a real achievement... but what about a pure martial master swordsman? Surely the Sky Sword shared this sentiment. Not just the Sky Sword; the other surviving fellow probably felt the same way too... But that person... Thinking of that other member of the Seven Swords, his thoughts drifted. Was that person... still holding on? Now, even the Sky Sword had given up. To still persist... was there truly any hope? Perhaps... perhaps there really was. Yuan Shuo had found the path of Spirit Nourishing. Had Hong Yitang known back then, he would have persevered as well. Alas, times had changed. He could only hope that person met a good end. "Uncle-Master Hong!" Li Hao's voice snapped him out of his reverie. Hong Yitang smiled. "What is it?" Li Hao asked earnestly, "Uncle-Master Hong, you said all things can be a sword. So is the essence of a sword considered metal-attribute, after all?" "Of course not!" Hong Yitang shook his head. "The metal attribute is merely a vessel; swords forged of metal are simply sharper! But if a stone sword were sharper than a metal sword, would you say the essence of a sword is of the metal element? Before steel and metal could be smelted, the earliest swords might have been made of wood, pottery, or stone. Do you think the essence of a sword was wood-attribute or earth-attribute back then? "Li Hao, you must distinguish between the sword and its vessel! The sword is a skill! An art! A method! And of course, to you right now, it is a momentum. Momentum has no intrinsic attribute; attributes are endowed by you yourself! "Do not go categorizing all things by attribute... That is mistaken!" At this moment, Hong Yitang felt the joy of mentoring a disciple. In high spirits, he continued, "Does your momentum have an innate attribute? No! It's all your own conceptualization. Take Liu Long, for instance: he envisions his momentum as ocean waves... He cultivates the Nine Refinements Force, but do you know what attribute his father, Silver Moon's Silver Spear, possessed?" Li Hao shook his head; this was something he didn't know. "Fire... According to current terminology, it was fire! "His father's spear was like fire! His spear was like a fiery dragon; a single thrust summoned nine layered dragons, which was why his silver spear was also called the Fire Dragon Spear! "Yet can you say that the Nine Refinements Force is fire-attribute? Naturally not, nor is it water-attribute. It all comes down to yourself; everyone's understanding differs." At this moment, Li Hao gained complete clarity. Momentum had no intrinsic attributes! His teacher assigned attributes because the Five Animals happened to correspond to the five elements, and thus Yuan Shuo's personal comprehension divided them into five attributes. That didn't mean Li Hao had to follow suit. *So that's how it is!* His teacher had never mentioned this. Perhaps his teacher had originally hoped Li Hao would walk the path of the Five Animals. In the end, Li Hao had developed a sword momentum instead... and that sword momentum had only been comprehended that very day. At the time, Yuan Shuo simply had no time to explain these nuances in detail. Now, a former top-tier swordsman had filled in all these blanks for Li Hao. "The sword... has no attributes!" A thought struck Li Hao. In that case, he couldn't fuse his sword momentum haphazardly or tether it blindly to the metal element. If he truly locked it into metal, his sword momentum would be restricted to metal alone. Previously, he had even considered fusing the sword into his five internal organs. But now... he didn't necessarily have to do that. "Uncle-Master, so sword momentum is all-encompassing, right?" Li Hao asked further, "For instance, if my sword momentum has no innate attribute, then if I comprehend fire sword, earth sword... can these sword momentums fuse into one, like my teacher fusing the Five Animals, without needing to artificially separate them...?" "That is precisely what I mean!" Hong Yitang chuckled. "You finally grasp some of it. The sword is not singular!" Li Hao nodded. "Then if I comprehend other momentums, can they all be wielded as swords?" "Exactly!" "So the sword is actually the overarching canon, and I can comprehend the various branches beneath it, ultimately converging them back into the overarching canon, right?" "Clever!" Hong Yitang praised him, suddenly thinking that Yuan Shuo's disciple was exceptionally sharp! Yes, the sword was the overarching canon! Li Hao felt a surge of excitement. That meant he could branch out: fire sword, earth sword, wind sword, water sword... In short, whatever momentum he comprehended, he could transform into a sword of that attribute. And ultimately, fuse every sword together! Forming a brand-new sword intent! *The five internal organs nourish five spirits... nourishing five branch swords, which ultimately unite into the canon sword?* Li Hao pondered continuously, and even began to experiment. Transforming the great mountain in his spleen into a sword! An Earth Sword! At this moment, his understanding of the sword gained a fresh dimension. …… "Li Hao and that fellow seem to be chatting quite happily!" Hao Lianchuan glanced at Hu Dingfang and chuckled. "Who do you think is fooling whom?" "Hmm?" Hu Dingfang gave him a puzzled look. Hao Lianchuan said with a chuckle, "Why look at me like that? Hong Yitang is a shrewd man; he wouldn't chat idly with Li Hao for no reason, and Li Hao wouldn't have the inclination either. If the two of them are conversing with such gusto, they definitely both have their own angles." Hu Dingfang had no interest in that. He frowned, gazing toward the distant inner city. "Do you think... we can still enter the inner city?" "No!" Hao Lianchuan shook his head outright. "Not a chance, forget it! Besides, even if powerhouses from the central region arrive... they might get inside, but taking that turtle seal? I'd say forget about that too. That golden warrior is terrifyingly powerful right now. Just think about how strong that silver warrior was the moment it awakened! "This ruin isn't something we can explore right now. Otherwise, even if three or five Rising Lights showed up, they'd just be throwing their lives away. And that was only one of the dangers—how much of the entire inner city have we actually explored?" As he was speaking, a muffled grunt came from nearby. Li Hao's internal organs suddenly bled, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips. Hu Dingfang and Hao Lianchuan flashed across the distance, instantly encircling Hong Yitang. Both frowned—what had happened? Hong Yitang looked entirely innocent. *I... didn't do anything!* "I'm fine... just some bleeding in my spleen..." Li Hao gave a faint smile. "It has nothing to do with Uncle-Master Hong. My internal injuries were too severe and haven't fully healed..." Hao Lianchuan couldn't help saying, "You... you've absorbed three Solar Radiance-level Blood God Seeds, and you still haven't healed... Just how severe are your injuries?" He desperately wanted to complain! Yet Li Hao's injuries genuinely didn't seem healed. Look at that—his viscera were bleeding again! Li Hao looked helpless. "That Kong Qi was too strong; he left concealed force inside my body..." "Didn't you say earlier that Feitian didn't do it?" Li Hao smiled bitterly. "Director Hao, back then they had two Three Sols. Even if they did it, I couldn't say so—wouldn't that just invite trouble for the Night Watchers? It doesn't matter if I'm injured, but how could I make the Night Watchers provoke powerful enemies for my sake? Now that they're dead, I finally dare say it. It was definitely that Kong Qi back then... Oh well, they're dead now, no point dwelling on it." Hu Dingfang also felt a headache coming on. "Then I'll go find Ziyue and demand a few more Blood God Seeds!" For this injury to flare up again! It seemed Li Hao had entered this place and gained nothing, suffering only wounds. That simply wouldn't do. He had originally planned to look out for Li Hao inside so the boy could gain some harvest, but instead, Li Hao had wound up with nothing! Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Hao Lianchuan, take out a wood-attribute divine energy stone!" "What?" Hu Dingfang said coldly, "What, I was allocated twenty stones, after all; can't I even have one? Absorbing a divine energy stone yields superb results. Though it's a bit of a waste, his injuries haven't healed; if this continues, how can he advance to Thousand-Fighter? Will you take responsibility for delaying him so much? A single wood energy stone should heal him completely and even strengthen his constitution... It's just one stone, am I not entitled to ask for it?" Hao Lianchuan said helplessly, "That's not... What I mean is, when we get back, we can find a top healer for him, or provide some wood energy. Using a divine energy stone right now is too wasteful..." "Then let it be wasteful!" Hu Dingfang insisted! Coughing blood, Li Hao hurriedly said, "Don't... there's no need to waste it..." "Hao Lianchuan!" Hu Dingfang flared up. "We harvested a full fifty divine energy stones this time. What's one stone to you?" Hao Lianchuan rolled his eyes. *Damn it!* *You bastard...* Fine, forget it. He stopped arguing. A moment later, a wood energy stone appeared in his hand. The stone was verdant green, radiating vibrant vitality. He said helplessly, "Wood energy stones are actually very rare. Out of the fifty, only a handful are wood energy. This thing... is truly precious. If you took this tiny stone to the central region to sell, you could probably fetch several thousand cubic meters of mysterious energy!" Complaining aside, he still handed it to Li Hao. "Absorb it using the Five Animals Breathing Art. This will not only heal your wounds, but also strengthen your five viscera and six bowels, your physical body, and even your inner force... You could say a divine energy stone is an all-purpose panacea, far more precious than any Blood God Seed... It's just too rare, and there are far too many uses for it!" "Is this... appropriate?" Li Hao appeared somewhat embarrassed. Hao Lianchuan rolled his eyes again. He couldn't shake the feeling that this brat was putting on an act just to swindle him out of a divine energy stone. Yet that mouthful of coughed-up blood hadn't looked fake at all. What a headache! "It's fine, it's yours!" Hao Lianchuan said casually, "Don't worry, it won't be deducted from your five thousand cubic meters! I have to give Hu Dingfang some face, after all... Of course, you don't need to give him any face; a single divine energy stone can't buy the Five Animals Breathing Art..." Hu Dingfang frowned slightly, cast him a glance, and walked away without a word. He was somewhat sensitive about this matter and disliked having others bring it up. Leaking a martial arts lineage... twenty years ago, people would have beaten each other's brains out over it. Moreover, if word spread, it would be terrible for his wife's reputation. Leaking a core technique of the Five Animals Sect—even if Yuan Shuo didn't pursue it, the older generation of martial masters would be furious. Li Hao said no more. Taking the wood energy stone, he began attempting to absorb it. As the Five Animals Secret Art circulated, a distinct energy swiftly flooded into his body. At that instant... Li Hao felt a slight sensation of familiarity. It was actually somewhat similar to sword energy! Of course, it was still inferior. It wasn't as gentle as sword energy, nor was its effect quite as potent, so it fell short of sword energy. But it was far better than turbulent mysterious energy. A gentle stream of wood-attribute energy surged into his body, mending his spleen, which had almost shattered just now... There had been no avoiding it: when Li Hao tried to convert it into a sword earlier, he had provoked a violent upheaval in the mountain, nearly crushing his spleen. And now, Li Hao could feel that this energy was indeed wonderfully effective. His liver, in particular, was nourished by the wood element. Still, Li Hao felt a touch of regret... It was not quite up to sword energy! And what sword energy stripped away was even better! However, sword energy normally refined mysterious energy; could it refine this wood energy stone as well? If it could, would the result be even purer? *Also, can this thing... replenish sword energy?* Li Hao wondered silently, though he had no chance to test it now. If it could, then these divine energy stones were true treasures beyond measure! His five viscera and six bowels were strengthening. His physical body was gradually growing stronger as well, though the change was subtle. Hao Lianchuan watched with a slight frown. Seeing the wood energy stone dimming before his eyes, he couldn't help warning, "Don't drain it completely! As long as the color doesn't fade entirely, this thing can regenerate! That's the true essence of its value!" Li Hao was surprised. It could regenerate? "Does it take long?" "Not fast, but over three to five years, it can recover a great deal. That's why divine energy stones are supreme treasures... Fifty of them could form a tiny vein..." Li Hao was speechless! These fifty tiny pebbles forming an ore vein? What a joke! All together, they weren't even as big as a leather ball. After speaking, Hao Lianchuan suddenly sent a voice transmission: "You brat, your absorption speed is so fast—it feels like you've absorbed nearly a hundred cubic meters, yet there's no visible change at all. Under normal circumstances, there should be some transformation. Is something off with you?" "What?" Li Hao spoke aloud, looking completely baffled. Hao Lianchuan felt frustrated and transmitted again: "Logically speaking, a Hundred-Breaker couldn't absorb this fast or this much without showing anything. Did you secretly advance to Thousand-Fighter?" Li Hao spoke aloud once more, asking in surprise, "Director Hao, what are you talking about?" "……" Hao Lianchuan went completely quiet. In the distance, Hu Dingfang frowned at Hao Lianchuan and sent a voice transmission: "What nonsense are you babbling?" He felt as if Hao Lianchuan was badmouthing him! It had to be! Otherwise, why had Li Hao looked over at him several times? Hao Lianchuan was so exasperated he wanted to cough blood. *I wasn't talking about you, damn it!* Forget it, this little brat was exceptionally sly. Without saying a word, just by glancing at Hu Dingfang, he had provoked the man into picking a fight. Li Hao paid them no further heed. Why ask so many questions? It was only interrupting his absorption of wood energy. Right now, he was chuckling inwardly. The wood energy stone was truly magnificent; his wood energy was getting replenished. Previously, wood energy had been his lowest—he had absorbed six hundred cubic meters of both fire and water energy, but only three hundred of wood. Now, his wood energy had swiftly increased by nearly a hundred cubic meters. What a fine treasure! Li Hao recalled that among the divine energy stones he had collected, there weren't many wood-attribute ones either. Getting one for free was quite a treat! Of course, these were merely incidental gains; the true harvest was Hong Yitang's words, which had brought Li Hao sudden illumination—another brushstroke refining his martial path. At the pinnacle of Hundred-Breaker, the martial path grew very scattered. Once stepping into Thousand-Fighter, everyone was lost in confusion. Yuan Shuo was currently refining the path, but Yuan Shuo's path might not suit everyone. Li Hao had also begun contemplating it. Of course, he was too young and had seen too little, so he could only gather inspiration bit by bit from others. Now, in terms of swordsmanship, he felt he had made real progress. Previously, he had also been confused: the sword of severing the self, the sword of indomitable advance, the sword of slaughtering through the firmament... Seeing so many ancient powerhouses unleash their arts had left him uncertain of what to adopt and what to discard. Today, Li Hao had gained clarity. All variations converged on the same root! The core remained sword intent, remained momentum. As for how that momentum manifested, that depended on the situation, the battle, and adapting to the moment. Li Hao pondered these matters while absorbing energy. The others didn't sense much, but Hong Yitang glanced over several times... There was a distinctive sword intent emanating from this young man! Not just him—in the distance, Liu Long and Hu Dingfang also cast glances toward Li Hao. Setting Liu Long aside, Hu Dingfang was genuinely puzzled. Momentum? He didn't know Li Hao well, but he knew something of the Five Animals momentum. As Yuan Shuo's closing disciple, Li Hao had chosen the sword momentum instead of the Five Animals momentum... It was truly... hard to describe. …… As for Li Hao, he paid no mind to how anyone looked at him. Not walking the path of the Five Animals momentum wasn't because he looked down on it, but because his teacher's path wasn't necessarily his own... Well, actually, he did look down on it; he didn't want to lie to himself. Because that single sword strike from his ancestor had made him look down on the Five Animals momentum! So, while others might not understand, his teacher probably knew his thoughts. In fact, Yuan Shuo had urged him to comprehend that strike. Yuan Shuo knew full well that his current Five Animals momentum could never compare to that strike... that terrifying, awe-inspiring sword strike! That was why Li Hao, as the closing disciple, hadn't sought to comprehend the Five Animals momentum. …… Time ticked by. Li Hao absorbed a significant amount of wood energy, faintly reaching a balance among wood, water, and fire—each around six hundred cubic meters—while the wood energy stone dimmed considerably. Now, his earth and metal energies were the weakest, each sitting at only four hundred-some cubic meters, while the other three had caught up. Inside his spleen, the great mountain was being compressed. Li Hao's massive consumption wasn't just for nourishing his five viscera; he was also continuously attempting to convert his earth momentum into earth sword momentum. Within his spleen, that great mountain gradually shrank. By now, it was only slightly larger than a pillar. Li Hao felt there was hope of completing the compression before leaving. Once successful, his earth momentum would undergo distinct changes, making him even stronger! One hour, two hours... When the wood energy stone in Li Hao's hand had already turned black... Hao Lianchuan had no choice but to interrupt his cultivation: "Your five viscera still haven't finished repairing?" He stared at that wood energy stone, his heart aching: "This wood energy stone... has been completely drained by you!" In the distance, Hu Dingfang was astonished. "Is... is that fake? Or was it mostly depleted before? Otherwise, no matter how Li Hao absorbed it, he couldn't have drained it completely! Never mind him—even you or I couldn't absorb an entire divine energy stone that quickly, could we?" Hao Lianchuan was speechless and could only say, "It was probably partially depleted... Perhaps over time, a lot of energy dissipated." He was bewildered too! This wood energy stone wasn't huge, but surely it held at least five hundred cubic meters of mysterious energy, right? Yet... it was gone! Even if Li Hao were an ox, he couldn't have guzzled five hundred cubic meters of mysterious energy! Li Hao opened his eyes at this moment and glanced at the stone in his hand, looking slightly sheepish. "It's all absorbed? No wonder it stopped having an effect... Director Hao, here, you can have it back to keep using... The injuries to my viscera are much better, though not completely healed..." "Cough, cough, cough!" Hao Lianchuan almost spat blood. *Still not completely healed?* Li Hao sighed with a touch of regret. He hadn't quite finished compressing it; he was just a bit short, but fearing the commotion would be too great, he hadn't dared continue. Still, it wouldn't be long. He eagerly anticipated what changes would occur once earth momentum transformed into earth sword momentum. Hao Lianchuan, lacking the strength to complain, simply put away the wood energy stone. "Let's go. Out of the city, wait by the ruin entrance. It should be opening soon!" The ruin would open soon. If they didn't leave today, they would have to wait until next month—and there was no guarantee they would survive until next month. Li Hao raised no objection, and the group swiftly headed outward. …… Meanwhile, in the inner city. The giant turtle suspended in midair seemed to open its eyes. Its gaze fell right upon the direction Li Hao and the others were leaving. *A descendant of one of the Eight Families... sword intent... A descendant of the Li family?* *So weak...* *So weak it is hard to believe this could be one of the Eight Great Families of the past!* *Does the Li family's Longevity Sword Sect still exist?* Countless thoughts surfaced slowly, only to shatter and disperse just as quickly. Its gaze shifted downward once more, where the faint silhouette of a black dog emerged... The giant turtle watched silently. *The descendants of the human race's Demon Suppressing Emissaries... have they too become so ordinary now?* A scene faintly surfaced in its memory... only to fade away moments later. It was too distant; it could not afford to dwell on it. Awakening fully... would mean the end. After a moment, its gaze vanished. *The inheritance of the Eight Families, the descendants of the Demon Suppressing Emissaries, the descendants of the Sea Suppressing Emissaries... all are merely shattered fragments of memory!* At that moment, the ancient city sank once more into deadly stillness, its light dimming away.