Borrowing Books

For the rest of the time, Li Hao did nothing else but cultivate. There was still a little time before he had to leave, and he would not let it go to waste. Right now, what was easiest for him to enhance was the strength of his internal organs and his physical body. Things that others found exceedingly difficult to temper were effortless for Li Hao. With sword energy present, nothing was an issue. For 210 military merit points, Li Hao had exchanged for 110 divine energy stones, equivalent in potency to 1,100 ordinary ones. Adding those already in his possession, he had over 2,600 divine energy stones. With his remaining 100 points of military merit, Li Hao had traded for ten more Spirit Nourishing Fruits, bringing his total to twenty. One divine energy stone, when converted into sword energy, yielded roughly 250 to 280 fang of mysterious energy—just shy of 300. In other words, if Li Hao did not squander them, his stockpile was enough to convert into nearly 700,000 fang of mysterious energy. On top of that, he had five Origin God Armaments. Converting just one would yield at least the equivalent of one hundred divine energy stones... Of course, Origin God Armaments were not to be wasted like that. The sword energy within an Origin God Armament was best used to nourish one's own body, producing far superior results. Previously, Li Hao's internal organs and physical flesh had each absorbed around 5,000 fang. Now, he began pushing toward 10,000 fang. It sounded like a massive quantity, but in truth, 10,000 fang was not all that much. This was mysterious energy, not raw divine energy stones. A single divine energy stone was valued at around 1,000 fang, though the actual energy stored inside was somewhat less, around three to five hundred fang. Calculated in divine energy stones, his body and organs had only absorbed a little over a dozen stones' worth. Naturally, adding up his entire body, it came out to roughly a hundred stones. Yet how much one absorbed did not directly dictate how much the physical body improved. People like Southern Fist had certainly absorbed no small number of divine energy stones, yet their bodies and internal organs could never reach the level of what they took in. *** With the fusion of four forces, Li Hao's internal organs needed to be even stronger. Although his current body and organs could withstand the fusion of four forces, he had to prepare for five. Fusing five forces might very well be an explosive threshold. If his body and internal organs were not resilient enough, he would end up as the next bedridden cripple. Fang after fang of mysterious energy was swiftly extracted. Li Hao had no shortage of energy-storage rings. Nor did he lack mysterious energy. At present, Li Hao primarily absorbed dark energy, five-element energy, and wind and lightning energies. Among common energy types, he had never absorbed light energy, as it was exceedingly rare. Dark energy enhanced his concealment, wind and lightning tempered his physical body and bones, and the five elements fortified his five internal organs. Li Hao was quite curious about light-element energy: what did it strengthen? He had collected a wide variety of mysterious energies, including many mutant variants like ice and stone, but light-type was truly scarce. Li Hao rummaged through his collection for a long while without finding any, so he had to abandon the idea of experimenting with it. He reasoned to himself that light-attribute mysterious energy might be related to vitality. Wood energy possessed healing properties, but generally could not compare to light energy in efficacy. Perhaps absorbing light-type supernatural energy could make one younger? Who could say? Spend money to make oneself stronger—that was Li Hao's philosophy. He rarely hoarded treasures unless he had no current use for them. *** Inside an old house in the outer city. Li Hao had been absorbing energy for a long time, nearly a dozen hours, when someone called from outside the door, "Li Hao!" It was Southern Fist's voice. They knew he was here. Calling him now likely meant the time was near. The passage leading out of the ruins would soon reopen. Li Hao checked his state. His internal organs and physical body had roughly reached the 6,000 fang mark. In this stretch of time, he had absorbed nearly 8,000 fang of mysterious energy; his absorption speed was considerably faster than before. Otherwise, absorbing this much previously would have taken well over a day. Consuming thirty divine energy stones was merely a drop in the bucket to Li Hao now. It seemed he would have to wait until he left to use the Spirit Nourishing Fruits and the rest. There was also the Five Bridges Construction Method. If mastered, it offered an immense advantage: Li Hao would no longer need to worry about elemental affinities. Any energy could be absorbed directly without directing it into specific organs, saving him vast amounts of time while achieving automatic balance without deliberate control. However, Li Hao had not yet deciphered some of the key principles, so there was no rush to experiment here. *** When Li Hao pushed the door open, three people and one dog were waiting outside. Liu Long had been conversing in low tones with Hong Yitang, but stopped as soon as Li Hao emerged. Li Hao caught a few faint words, though he said nothing. As for Black Panther, whenever Li Hao was away, it mostly stuck by Liu Long. The dog was very fond of him, as Liu Long had taught it the Nine-Fold Forging Force and given it patient guidance. Consequently, in Li Hao's absence, the beast was close with Liu Long while remaining largely indifferent toward Hong Yitang and the others. "Made progress again?" Hong Yitang chuckled, glancing at him. Fresh from his session, Li Hao's aura still leaked slightly, allowing Hong Yitang to discern that he had made further gains. Li Hao shook his head. "Just laying foundations!" To him, these were all mere fundamentals. The physical body, internal organs, and bones were essential elements of growing stronger, but for both him and Yuan Shuo, the crux did not lie there. It lay in spirit intent and force! Only with powerful spirit intent and consummate force could they truly reach higher realms. Even if their physical frames were not overwhelmingly robust, if they could achieve five forces nourishing the spirit, their burst strength would still be formidable. The physical body was the bedrock, while spirit intent and force were the explosive core. Without them, no matter how strong Li Hao's physical body became, he would remain quite mediocre. Therefore, Li Hao wished far more intensely to comprehend the wood force. Yet after grasping four forces, even though he already knew how to practice the Willow Catkin Sword, he did not expect to master the fifth force in short order. He still remembered vividly how troublesome water force had been to comprehend. Southern Fist grumbled with some resentment, "Laying foundations? We'd kill for foundations like yours! Too bad we don't have the means. If I had your conditions, I would have snapped my supernatural locks long ago." Li Hao was rather curious about this, and the group chatted as they walked. "Martial Uncles, I understand a bit of your situation. Shattering the supernatural lock unleashes the potential you've accumulated, making you instantly powerful... but what about the next step? What happens after they are completely severed? You can't keep yourselves sealed forever, can you?" Reaching this stage, they seemed trapped in a bizarre dilemma. To become stronger, they had to unlock their supernatural locks; once unsealed, they might turn into supernaturals or simply die. Even if their internal organs were resilient enough to endure the severance, it might still turn them into supernaturals rather than remaining martial masters, plunging them into another predicament. Southern Fist sighed. "That's why we're so conflicted! We haven't found a concrete method or path forward. Right now, many people are stuck at this stage. We don't want to become supernaturals, so... Old Hong and I discussed a few options. "First, when a supernatural lock shatters, a mysterious source appears. If that mysterious source can be shattered... perhaps one can avoid becoming a supernatural. I heard your teacher shattered one before?" Li Hao recalled and nodded. "Yes! Back in Silver City, when he was advancing to the supernatural realm, he felt the supernatural energy devouring his inner force, so he decisively shattered the mysterious source, abandoning the breakthrough." Southern Fist grimaced. "That's what we were considering. But Yuan Shuo was still weak back then, having just broken through. His inner force was powerful, and the instant the supernatural lock snapped, he patched it up because his inner force surpassed the lock. That's why he succeeded... but it might not work for us. Our supernatural locks are far too strong!" Li Hao pondered for a moment. "Then does that mean my teacher can boldly shatter his locks in the future?" "No... but he can boldly shatter that one lock he broke before. Since it was severed once, that specific organ can no longer birth a mysterious source." Li Hao nodded. Southern Fist continued, "That's the first method. The second is to shatter all five locks simultaneously. Old Hong and I speculate that if all five are broken at once, something unusual might occur. The fusion of five-element supernatural energies might produce a unique energy rather than turning us into supernaturals. "The third method is to continue strengthening the supernatural locks, tempering our physical bodies and internal organs... "Supernatural locks actually represent latent potential. Old Hong and I both deduce that at a certain stage, the locks might not shatter at all, but rather merge into the body to become part of the physical form, releasing their potential. Or perhaps, upon reaching a certain realm, the locks will open naturally, unlike the forced unsealing we attempt now!" Li Hao nodded once more. The two of them had indeed arrived at some interesting conclusions through their discussions. After thinking it over, he said, "My teacher and I talked about this before. He mentioned that right now, we first nourish the spirit to cultivate force, and then fuse forces. He didn't go into excessive detail because it was just a concept at the time. I believe he was considering fusing force into the supernatural locks... and finally breaking through with force! "Naturally breaking through force to step into the next realm, thereby opening the confinement of the supernatural locks." Both men listened intently, taking in Yuan Shuo's unrefined ideas. Yuan Shuo had only just stepped into the Spirit Nourishing stage back then, so some concepts were inevitably rough around the edges, but they still carried significant reference value. Li Hao continued, "Also, even within the current Spirit Nourishing stage, I feel that even fusing five forces isn't the pinnacle of Spirit Nourishing. 'Nourishing the spirit' means one must nourish force! But right now, I don't seem to have the opportunity to nourish the five forces. I don't know whether the method is wrong or if I lack the matching treasures. That's why I want to test the Spirit Nourishing Fruits to see their effect." Spirit Nourishing lay in the word "nourishing." A process of nurturing and strengthening force. Yet Li Hao found that unless a new force was birthed, his existing forces could hardly grow. For example, fusing three forces allowed him to kill peak Three Suns and perhaps contend with early Rising Lights... but if this continued, even if Li Hao's physical body grew strong to the absolute extreme, his three-force fusion would still only rival early Rising Lights—because the force itself had not grown. Relying solely on birthing a new force to become stronger felt inherently flawed! His teacher was likely in the same situation. Yuan Shuo had yet to fuse all five forces; once he did, he would reach a bottleneck and a peak. At that point, he would have to seek breakthroughs from other angles. "Strengthening spirit intent, strengthening force..." Hong Yitang pondered. "Spirit intent and force are rather abstract. Unlike the physical body, they cannot be easily augmented with pills, treasures, or divine energy stones. But for martial masters, there is a way to strengthen force: fight more, hone it through trial, and reflect deeply! "The stronger the heart, the stronger the force! It's a process of cultivating force, akin to the ancients nurturing an invincible force... The reason you haven't felt any change is that you stepped into this realm only recently. "As for using the five internal organs to nourish force, I don't know if that can make force stronger... You'll probably have to ask your teacher about that. We cultivated ours gradually; our path is different from yours." Li Hao thought about it and nodded. Indeed. Everyone walked slightly different paths. He did not understand these things deeply yet and would have to wait and see if his teacher discovered any new methods. At this moment, Li Hao also felt acutely aware of his lack of breadth and limited understanding of the martial path. He needed to swiftly convert the ancient texts in his mind into practical knowledge. Not only that—struck by a sudden thought, Li Hao abruptly veered in another direction. The others paused, bewildered. Where was he going? "Li Hao, you're going the wrong way..." "No, I'm not!" Li Hao smiled. "Coming to Battle Heaven City, there's a place I've never visited—a very important place! The library! Supposedly, the Battle Heaven Library is immense, housing countless volumes. While it may not contain specific martial arts manuals, it holds theoretical expositions on the martial path. The ancient civilization's system isn't completely identical to ours, but many people still cultivate ancient secret arts. Since they can succeed, it proves common ground exists. I want to borrow some books on the foundational theoretical framework of the ancient civilization. I imagine that if my teacher were here, he would have borrowed some long ago." The others exchanged glances, remaining silent. It was natural that they had not gone, since they could not read the script; going would have been pointless. They simply had not expected Li Hao to think of borrowing books at a time like this. Were there still books left there? They did not know. *** Moments later, they arrived before a massive building. It was not particularly tall, rising only six stories, but it occupied an extraordinarily vast footprint. It stood near the City Lord Mansion, not too far away. Yet its area felt even larger than the mansion itself. Inscribed above were several large characters: *Battle Heaven Library*. Furthermore, guards stood at the entrance. They were not black-armored soldiers, but several figures clad in green armor—something Li Hao had not seen before. Another new branch of service? Looking closer, characters were embedded across their chests: *Security*! He understood. People from the Security Bureau! Li Hao remembered Director Wang and the earlier mention that the city's routine security was handled by the Security Bureau. So in the past, a green-armored force had existed for the Security Bureau? *Clang!* As Li Hao stepped forward, the guards saluted. The gesture differed slightly from military protocol; instead of thumping their chests, they touched their fingers to their brows. Li Hao did not know how many kinds of salutes existed in the ancient civilization, but neither the modern Inspectorate nor the military used this one. After saluting, the guards paid no further attention to Li Hao and said nothing, whether because they could not speak or chose not to. *** Stepping into the library, they found the first floor was an immense, vacant hall. Several screens stood upright throughout the hall, their surfaces dark. Just then, one screen suddenly lit up—perhaps sensing someone's arrival, or perhaps an expert in the city had granted them permissions. Li Hao stepped forward briskly. *Borrowing Guide.* Several large words were displayed on the screen. Curious, Li Hao gave it some thought and touched the screen. In an instant, small sub-pages popped up. *Martial Arts, Technology, Livelihood, Education, Fiction, Arts and Literature, Popular Science, Story Collections...* Sub-pages appeared one after another, representing different categories. Right then, a line of text flashed across the screen: *Identity verified: Regimental Commander of the Twelfth Regiment, Ninth Division, Reserve Guard of the Battle Heaven Army; field-grade officer. Free access to borrow any books below the fifth floor; may check out three books, subject to scheduled return...* The small text remained visible for a moment. Li Hao studied it, scratching his head. It seemed he could only take three books with him. Li Hao looked toward Southern Fist and the others. Southern Fist stepped up to take a look. The machine seemed capable of seeing him or identifying him by other means; after a moment, his information was displayed. A junior officer, entitled to borrow two books. Then, Liu Long stepped up to try... As a mere private, he could take one book out. Li Hao wanted to head upstairs to take a look, only to discover there were no stairs or doorways leading up. How strange! Just as he was wondering, another line of text appeared on the screen: *Book Borrowing: Upon selecting books, the system will automatically transmit them into the Battle Heaven Armor. Physical volumes are sealed. To preserve civilizational heritage, the library is temporarily closed to the public. Battle Heaven Army personnel may borrow via text transmission!* Seeing this, Southern Fist gasped in amazement. "Is this... the legendary intelligent system? Incredible! Sealing the physical books to protect the civilization's heritage, while transmitting the knowledge directly into the Battle Heaven Armor. That prevents enemy capture of knowledge and legacy!" Hong Yitang nodded repeatedly in agreement. Indeed. To safeguard their heritage, physical texts could be directly preserved while knowledge was transmitted into the armor. This way, hostile forces could never seize the inheritance of knowledge. Li Hao's interest was piqued. He swiftly tapped open the pages, revealing title after title. Every category contained countless volumes, and merely scrolling through them was dizzying. Li Hao noticed a keyword search function. After a moment's consideration, he understood how to use it. He marveled, "The Silver City Ancient Academy also had a library, but the cataloging was terribly disorganized. Finding a book was arduous. Sometimes you had to dig through endless volumes to find one, unless you were an experienced librarian..." Hong Yitang sighed with emotion. "Such is the power of knowledge! The Heavenly Star Dynasty values this too, but... there are too few scholars, and no one is willing to expend too much time on it. A library is treated as an afterthought—as long as there are books, it's deemed enough. The ancient civilization truly took it seriously." Li Hao nodded. After brief thought, he typed two words into the box on the screen: *Martial Arts*. Instantly... countless books appeared! Li Hao was dazzled. There were far too many! How was he supposed to find anything? He could only take a few books out. *Basic Theory.* Li Hao entered another phrase. The results shrank considerably. Glancing at the list, each page held around twenty titles, and instead of thousands of pages, there were now only a few dozen—roughly a thousand books on basic theory. Li Hao clicked his tongue in wonder. Just on basic martial theory alone, there were a thousand books! The library at the Silver City Ancient Academy was the largest in Silver City, housing only thirty thousand volumes in total, which was already considered remarkable. Yet compared to this place, there was no comparison at all. With only fifty-odd pages, Li Hao stopped entering keywords and began browsing the titles page by page. He could not view the contents, but reading the titles might yield some insight. *Analysis of Basic Palm Techniques... Analysis of Basic Fist Techniques... Analysis of Saber Techniques...* Various analytical texts on fundamental cultivation. Li Hao was at a loss as to what to choose. He wanted to take them all, but that was impossible. Just then, Li Hao paused. On one of the pages, a book's title glowed in gold, distinct from the others. *Martial Arts University Foundational Martial Theory Curriculum* Li Hao paused. He had heard of this "Martial Arts University" several times before; it seemed to have been a specialized institution for teaching the martial path during the ancient civilization, similar to modern ancient academies, except the academies did not teach martial arts. A foundational theoretical curriculum from a martial arts university... it ought to be comprehensive. Li Hao added this book to his list of candidates and continued browsing. The different color likely indicated varying degrees of importance. Scrolling further, he spotted another distinctive title: *The Discrepancies Between Energy Systems and Vital Energy Systems* Li Hao's eyes flickered. Energy systems—did that refer to supernatural systems? When he first entered, the silver regimental commander had mentioned that supernaturals belonged to the energy path. Li Hao promptly made this his second choice. He could borrow three books in total, leaving one more spot. As for the other three companions, they could take five books between them. Li Hao intended to help them choose, as they could not read the script, but he could. He continued browsing for a while longer before making his final choice. Without further hesitation—since titles alone revealed little—Li Hao went with his instincts. His three selections were *Martial Arts University Foundational Martial Theory Curriculum*, *The Discrepancies Between Energy Systems and Vital Energy Systems*, and lastly, *Analysis of Basic Sword Techniques*. As a swordsman, he ultimately chose a treatise on swordplay. None of them contained specific cultivation methods. The library did not appear to hold actual martial technique manuals, as a note had indicated. Li Hao did not mind; trying to swallow too much at once would only lead to indigestion. A few theoretical treatises were more than enough. "Martial Uncles, Boss, pick a few as well!" With Li Hao's three books confirmed, a stream of data flowed across the screen, interfacing with his silver armor. A moment later, Li Hao saw a line of figures inside the silver armor indicating that three books had been recorded and were available for review at any time. How convenient! Li Hao was filled with admiration. If modern times possessed such methods, Yuan Shuo would never have had to make him memorize everything by rote; he could have simply transferred the data. Moreover, the armor was unique and secure; even if someone else obtained it, they could not access the contents. Many modern secret arts had been lost precisely due to secrecy, missing a piece here and a fragment there until the lineage died out entirely. The ancients, by contrast, could simply transmit data. Liu Long glanced at the screen as if staring at heavenly script and resigned himself to saying, "Help me choose. I can't read it!" Southern Fist said brashly, "Isn't it simple? Different colors mean high importance! Two of the books Li Hao picked were in gold text. You can't go wrong choosing by that!" Aside from *Analysis of Basic Sword Techniques*, the other two Li Hao had chosen indeed had golden titles. Southern Fist showed no restraint. Though illiterate in the ancient script, he tapped away blindly. After a moment, he spotted a title in gold text and rejoiced, "This one's good, bright color! Li Hao, I pick this one. What do you think?" Li Hao glanced over, not expecting much, but looked closer with surprise. "*Illustrated Compendium of the Demon Race*!" Li Hao read aloud. He checked the screen; Southern Fist's blind tapping had landed him in the popular science section. Did this count as popular science? Li Hao nodded. "You can pick this one. The demon race... Although Silver Moon doesn't seem to have great demons, we ran into a few in Mount Cang earlier without understanding their circumstances. I wonder if modern demons share similarities with those of the ancient civilization." If they encountered them again, they might be better prepared. Southern Fist laughed boisterously. "Didn't I tell you it was good? This is fantastic. The Central Region has plenty of demons. With this book, we might learn their weaknesses—things even they themselves might not know! Today's demons haven't been awakened for long, whereas if they existed in the ancient civilization, the ancients must have studied them far more thoroughly than we have!" Li Hao nodded, and Southern Fist quickly selected a second book, also in gold text: *Registry of Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Delights* Li Hao blinked, looking back at Southern Fist. Why was he picking only these things? "This is an illustrated compendium of rare treasures..." "A great find!" Southern Fist chuckled heartily. "This is brilliant too. Right now, when we run into treasures, we don't even recognize them, which is a crying shame. If you find treasures in ruins, you might not know how to use them or what they do, mistaking treasure for trash. This works!" Li Hao considered it and nodded. Suddenly, Hong Yitang said coolly, "Of course he's pleased. These probably have pictures; he just has to look at the illustrations. If you made him pick something without pictures, he'd be miserable..." Li Hao was taken aback, and Southern Fist flushed with annoyance. "Who are you looking down on? Once I get out, I'll study the ancient script!" Yet Hong Yitang had hit the nail on the head. Southern Fist was delighted. Two illustrated volumes were far better than indecipherable texts. Even if he wanted to give them to Li Hao... this information couldn't be transferred to others. He would have had to memorize it, write it out by hand for Li Hao, and wait for translation... far too troublesome! Illustrated manuals would certainly have fewer words. As for drawing... Southern Fist actually knew how. He wasn't illiterate in the modern tongue; he was well-read and even possessed artistic flair. He knew how to draw; he simply couldn't read ancient characters. Li Hao chuckled and said no more. Hong Yitang pondered briefly before speaking. "Help me find a book on how to increase grain yields." Li Hao was startled. Looking for that? Without prying, Li Hao quickly entered the keywords. Moments later, numerous titles appeared. Among them was one written in gold: *Comprehensive Guide to Seed Breeding...* Li Hao read it aloud, and Hong Yitang made his selection immediately, adding, "Find me another... something like a comprehensive encyclopedia of civilian livelihood." Li Hao continued searching for him. A short while later, another title appeared: *Record of Basic Livelihood Infrastructure...* "That's the one!" Hong Yitang said. Li Hao silently confirmed the selection for him, completing Hong Yitang's quota. Liu Long said nothing, only adding, "Li Hao, just pick for me!" Li Hao thought about it, entered some keywords, and skimmed the results. He selected a volume titled *Record of Mountains and Rivers*, which appeared to be an atlas detailing the famous mountains and great rivers of the ancient civilization. Li Hao hoped to gain some understanding of the geography of the ancient era. Unfortunately, he found no complete topographic map of the ancient world. Either none existed here, or his clearance was insufficient; those books might be on the sixth floor, while he was limited to the fifth and below. With that, their book selections were complete. Having fulfilled his final wish, Li Hao lingered no longer, and the group departed the library. Shortly after they left, an illusory figure appeared in the library—a tortoise carrying a shell on its back. The tortoise glanced toward the screen, where several titles flashed, each marked in vivid crimson, far more striking than gold. "For now, knowing that much is enough... As for these, we shall see in the future!" Titles floated across the screen: *Lectures on Education by the Martial King*, *Military Protocols of the Underworld King*, *Comprehensive Compendium of Divine Forging*... However, they were divided into many volumes rather than complete sets. These were the true treasures stored in the library. Yet Li Hao and his companions lacked the clearance, and there was also deliberate restraint at play. These works were far too profound for Li Hao and the others to comprehend. Moreover, given the stature and might of the figures who had authored them, exposing these new-era martial masters to such treatises could easily dictate and overpower their paths. The old tortoise waved a flipper gently, and the entire library dimmed. Moments later, the phantom dissolved into thin air. *** Meanwhile, Li Hao and his companions were thoroughly satisfied. Before long, they walked out of the ancient city. At the city gates, Li Hao waved toward the three silver experts. "Regimental Commanders, I'm heading out! I'll come back to visit you later!" The Seventh Regimental Commander replied calmly, "Be careful. Safe travels!" There was little reluctance in his voice. This was never a place where Li Hao and the others should linger; staying too long was not a good thing. The Seventh Regimental Commander said nothing more, but the Ninth Regimental Commander—who rarely spoke—suddenly sent a mental transmission: *Twelfth Regimental Commander, when you exit and pass General Huai, you may place some energy stones at the old exchange depot. Perhaps... you can trade for some life essence. General Huai may simply be dormant, not completely dead.* Li Hao's heart stirred, and he nodded. "Thank you for the guidance!" He had seen mention of this in the travel guide. Life essence... was likely the spring water of life. The bathwater earlier had seemed to contain a tiny trace of it, and this ancient city lacked precisely this form of energy to reactivate. General Huai... a demon plant... a massive tree? A tree could be conferred the rank of general? A tree demon, was it? Musing silently, Li Hao waved farewell once more, and moments later, the group left the boundaries of the ancient city. The three silver figures watched in silence. Only after the group had vanished completely did the Seventh Regimental Commander transmit mentally, *Old Nine, you sure had a lot to say. Your great-grandfather graduated from Demon Martial, and countless years have passed since—yet you still try to curry favor with the descendant of the Sword Venerable? Have you no shame?* The Ninth Regimental Commander replied placidly, *Currying favor? It was merely a reminder between comrades-in-arms! Besides... there is no need to flatter anyone. Our division commander is also of direct Demon Martial lineage; why don't you go say that to him?* *I'm not going!* the Seventh retorted. The three commanders displayed noticeably more sentience now. They chatted for a while, reminiscing about the past. Clearly, compared to before, their intellect had awakened significantly, and their forms as armament spirits were far more stable. *** Outside the city. The groups converged. Twenty-eight people and one dog. Yuan Xingwu had likely reached some agreement with Hou Xiaochen and the others; Li Hao did not interfere or inquire. Only one person was missing: the Bright Light Sword. She was likely waiting by the platform. Li Hao paid it no heed, walking alongside Hou Xiaochen and the rest. After walking for a while, he asked, "Minister, have you given up on the Black Tortoise Seal?" "..." Asking what he already knew! Hou Xiaochen could not be bothered to reply, so Li Hao asked again, "Then what if the Three Great Organizations still have people outside once we leave?" "Kill them and be done with it!" Hou Xiaochen was decisive this time. "Most of their experts came inside, and those left behind are mere weaklings. The Three Great Organizations won't send people here without limit, so there's no need to worry about that." Southern Fist suddenly chimed in, "Did you kill the General Pacifying the North?" At these words, even Yuan Xingwu's footsteps faltered. Because of that man's death, the three northern provinces had been engulfed in constant turmoil recently. Had Hou Xiaochen and his people killed him? If it had only been suspicion before, everyone was quite certain now, as Hou Xiaochen and his circle possessed the strength to strike down a peak Rising Light even amidst the protection of ten thousand troops. Hou Xiaochen smiled faintly. "What, looking to avenge him?" That man had belonged to the imperial family. Southern Fist raised an eyebrow. "I have no interest in revenge. But if you killed him... I'll keep my distance from you in the future. That fellow may have stirred up public fury, but having him alive was still more beneficial than harmful right now. By wiping him out, the three provinces are thrown into chaos, which will affect all nineteen northern provinces, even spilling over to Silver Moon." Hou Xiaochen chuckled. "Think what you like. If you say it was me, then so be it." "Tch!" Southern Fist sneered and said no more. Li Hao listened quietly without chiming in. He was merely a man of Silver Moon and did not even understand Silver Moon thoroughly, let alone the three northern provinces; he felt no visceral connection to the matter. Whether the man was dead or who had killed him had little to do with him. Soon, the group reached the tree hollow. Li Hao searched around. There should be a small altar here, a spot once favored by tourists and Battle Heaven City residents. Offering items here could supposedly yield spring water of life in return. Yet it might no longer function today; the tree appeared dead. After walking a short distance, Li Hao spotted the altar in the darkness. It was very small and coated in thick dust; without paying close attention, one would easily overlook it. Li Hao stepped forward briskly to examine it. There was a tiny aperture. He hesitated, wondering whether he should insert some divine energy stones. From what he understood, inserting ordinary divine energy stones would not work; he had to use the variety exchanged from the military camp. He had only exchanged for 156 of those, which, combined with the ten he originally received, gave him just 166 in total. If he dropped them in and received nothing in return, he could never retrieve them. It was just like when Southern Fist had fed stones into the bathhouse: if you put in too few, they were simply gone. Hou Xiaochen and the others watched him silently, unsure what he was up to. Li Hao gritted his teeth. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Worth a shot! Perhaps he could trade for some leftover spring water of life from ancient times. Supposedly, this stuff was extraordinarily potent; even the residual traces in the bathwater had yielded miraculous effects. It could even regenerate severed limbs, outperforming sword energy by far. One stone, two stones... Watching Li Hao drop divine energy stones into the slot made everyone's teeth ache with envy. This brat was filthy rich; they genuinely felt like robbing him! These divine energy stones looked extraordinary at a glance. He dropped six in a row, yet there was no reaction whatsoever. Li Hao began to regret it. Six stones were worth sixty ordinary divine energy stones; this was far too wasteful. It might very well be a bottomless pit... Had the Ninth Regimental Commander not mentioned it, he never would have tried. *Ten more... If there's still no reaction after sixteen... I'm leaving!* Gritting his teeth, Li Hao fed in more. Another ten stones were inserted, yet the altar remained entirely inert. Li Hao prepared to leave with a heavy heart; he could not keep gambling on a bottomless pit. Losing sixteen stones could be written off as a painful loss. Otherwise, he might end up losing his very life savings! It seemed this General Huai was truly dead. Just as Li Hao was about to give up, Hong Yitang suddenly spoke. "Put a few more in!" "Hm?" "There's a faint... fluctuation!" Hong Yitang seemed to sense something and urged, "Put a few more in." Hearing him say this, Li Hao swallowed his tears and inserted several more... Then he looked at Hong Yitang, nearly weeping. He had fed in another five, yet it was still useless. "Keep going!" Li Hao felt like spitting blood, but since Hong Yitang insisted, he must have sensed something. Li Hao had no choice but to continue. Twenty-five... twenty-eight... By the thirtieth stone, Li Hao himself sensed an anomaly. The altar seemed to tremble ever so slightly. His eyes flickered, and moments later, he shoved in another six stones in rapid succession. A full thirty-six divine energy stones had been dropped in, significantly denting Li Hao's reserve. Just then, a single drop of water slowly condensed and materialized atop the altar. Hou Xiaochen's eyes twitched with sudden focus. Hong Yitang shot him a sidelong glance, then tossed Li Hao a vial. "Collect it!" Li Hao quickly swept the drop of water into the vial, slightly puzzled. Was this the spring water of life? He felt nothing extraordinary from it! "It's sealed. You'll know when you use it." With that, Hong Yitang added, "Let's go. Don't insert any more. It feels like this was the last of its reserve. If you feed in more, there might not be any left in stock. This big tree... feels like it's angling for bait. Don't put in too much, only to end up with nothing!" Li Hao was stunned. Angling for bait? He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Surely it wasn't that petty? Hou Xiaochen suddenly spoke up. "Li Hao, how about trading that to me? I'll trade an Origin God Armament for it..." "No deal!" Li Hao refused flatly. He didn't lack Origin God Armaments, so why trade? Hou Xiaochen was left speechless. He had been rejected with ruthless efficiency. He had wanted to try his luck as well, but first, he lacked divine energy stones of Li Hao's caliber, and second, he had also sensed the subtle fluctuations. Inserting more would likely be tossing meat buns to a dog—never to return. The tree seemed, in some vague way, truly to be angling for bait. Dropping in any more might produce nothing at all. With a twinge of regret, Hou Xiaochen said nothing further, and the group exited the tree hollow. Only after they departed did the altar shudder faintly. The tree hollow seemed to vibrate, carrying a faint, illusory impression of someone grumbling curses... Back in the ancient city, the old tortoise gazed in that direction from afar and shook its head slightly. It seemed General Huai was truly impoverished to the extreme. Though not entirely dead, he was on the brink... Alas, they could not leave and had no way to help him. Losing a single drop of life essence was of little consequence anyway. As for the tree absorbing a handful more energy stones, it made little difference; short of millions of stones, it was merely a drop in the ocean. *** On the platform at the far end of the tree hollow, the Bright Light Sword was indeed waiting. Seeing the crowd arrive, she showed no fear. She glanced over Li Hao, then fixed her gaze on Hou Xiaochen. "Can we open it and leave now?" Hou Xiaochen wasted no words, merely watching the wall. After waiting a short while, the time arrived. With a wave of his hand, the wall turned translucent. Outside, the Martial Guard Army still stood watch. As the hour struck, maneuvers were carried out from the outside as well. Moments later, a vortex formed within the wall, signaling that they could depart. The Bright Light Sword was the first to slip through, vanishing rapidly. The others filed out one after another. As everyone departed, Battle Heaven City sealed itself once more, plunging entirely into dead silence.