He had not run far, stopping just behind the dilapidated compound. When Li Hao said he was entering seclusion, he truly shut himself away, paying no heed to the outside world.
At this moment, Li Hao was absorbing two attributes with all his might: light and darkness.
Over the past several days, he had been absorbing these two energies unceasingly. Two small supernatural locks, resembling swimming dragons, were roaming through his body.
“Shattering another two supernatural locks might not make me as strong as breaking four locks of the five viscera, but it should still surpass breaking three…”
The locks of light and darkness drifted inside him.
What Li Hao was weighing right now was whether his physical body could endure the potential unleashed if he shattered those supernatural locks.
How much would his strength increase?
Could his flesh and bones withstand the next explosive surge of power?
Moreover, if he shattered only one, would it cause an imbalance of forces?
All manner of thoughts surfaced in his mind. He recalled some of his earlier ideas and conjectures, wondering whether he should test them all at once this time.
“Don't shatter them completely at first. Crack open just a fissure to release energy, like unsealing them… then try to plug it back up!”
One notion after another emerged.
Li Hao was naturally daring, or rather, at this point, he was no longer afraid of breaking supernatural locks. Having confidence in reserve, his courage grew.
*Pfft!*
A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out. In the next moment, his spiritual power merged into it, drawing along his spirit intent and his qi and blood.
It was just like using the Blood Saber Art to condense flesh and blood.
Following the methods recorded in the golden booklet, Li Hao condensed two large characters out of thin air:
*Break*, and *Attack*!
Taking qi, blood, and spirit as the foundation, he traced out the two characters, and they began to shimmer faintly with radiance.
“Formed from qi, blood, and spirit, but lacking the support of origin…”
In ancient martial arts, one should gather the power of the origin at this stage to make these two characters powerful. Deprived of origin power, the Star Town ultimate techniques—famed for their might in ancient times—seemed mediocre to Li Hao now.
Their offensive strength might not even match the saber intent concentrated by the Blood Saber Art.
“Like this, it's far too weak…”
Li Hao pondered this, and suddenly an idea struck him. In the next breath, two forces surged riotously within his body—one of wind, one of thunder.
Wind and thunder converged!
A second later, the wind and thunder parted, both energies pouring into the two characters. Lightning flickered within *Break*, while gales whipped around *Attack*.
“Split the divine power within my body and merge it into the two characters, ideally solidifying them…”
Yet when Li Hao tested it, something felt awkward.
The original characters *Attack* and *Break* seemed slightly discordant with the attributes of wind and thunder.
Li Hao sank into deep contemplation.
Every Star Town ultimate technique, though seemingly similar, represented a distinct martial path rather than an arbitrary character pieced together at random.
*Attack* embodied the wild, relentless combat style of the Neo-Martial Chen family, who fought to the bitter end.
*Break* represented the Jiang family of Neo-Martial, carrying the intent to destroy all things, a battle path where destruction was paramount.
The core of both lay in the power of the Great Dao cultivated by their ancestors; what they borrowed was the force of that Dao, not mere words written on a page.
“The Dao, the character—infusing the Dao into the character!”
Li Hao seemed to grasp something. Sensing that the two characters did not fit his wind and thunder attributes, he realized broadly that the method was not wrong; rather, the energy he was infusing was incorrect, a mismatch!
“So one must match the Dao to properly infuse it into the character…”
“Wind and thunder or Attack and Break—they are merely vessels representing different paths!”
At this moment, Li Hao had another fresh realization.
In that case, what if he traced the characters *Wind* and *Thunder* and infused them with his wind and thunder attributes?
“Using the power of divine power to trace them, following what comes naturally—what would happen then?”
Wasn't that precisely what the Star Town ultimate techniques were?
Holding the two golden booklets, he was not unfamiliar with such methods. The key to the two families' arts lay in intent: following one's intent, carving characters through intent, and merging the Dao into the word.
This was also the most profound art among the ancient martial techniques Li Hao had encountered so far.
With an idea taking root, Li Hao hesitated no longer and immediately dismantled everything to start anew.
The characters *Break* and *Attack* instantly shattered. As his qi and blood flowed back, Li Hao absorbed a bit of sword energy and swallowed a drop of the Spring of Life, healing his injuries.
Just as Regiment Commander Seven had said, it would not kill him, so he might as well try a few more times.
A moment later, his inner qi and blood gathered once more.
This time, from the very beginning, the forces of wind and thunder converged. Supernatural fluctuations stirred, energy diffused, and divine power served as the foundation.
Faintly, a large character began to take shape bit by bit.
*Wind*!
All around him, fierce winds howled as if drawing upon the force of heaven and earth. In the next moment, with a sharp *crack*, the howling winds roared violently, and the character floating in midair shattered. Li Hao spat out a mouthful of blood, looking thoroughly baffled.
Why… did it shatter?
I followed the steps of Star Town City's ultimate arts without any discrepancy, changing only the underlying power foundation. Why did it shatter?
…
In the front courtyard.
Deputy Director Zhou was busy with work. Hong Yitang had also just returned and was explaining something to his daughter.
Suddenly, both men looked toward the back.
A gentle breeze drifted past.
It seemed tinged with the scent of fresh blood.
Both were slightly puzzled. Hong Yitang glanced toward the back, looking curious. What was Li Hao doing?
A wind-element divine power?
A divine power was essentially supernatural power drawing upon the power of heaven and earth. It was not merely one's own power, but a connection to external forces that produced an amplified effect—that was divine power!
When Yuan Shuo's five forces reached great completion, connecting with the natural forces of the world, his battle against Xu Qing that day had already carried the momentum of divine power.
Of course, Yuan Shuo did not consider that to be divine power.
In Hong Yitang's eyes, divine power worked precisely like this: using the small to move the great, using one's own power to drive external power, turning one into ten and multiplying one's strength in an instant. That was divine power!
Divine power worked from the inside out.
What was Li Hao doing now?
Cultivating a divine power?
Familiarizing himself with it?
Was there any need for that?
Hong Yitang kept his eyes on the rear courtyard. Beside him, Hong Qing said petulantly, “Father, you still haven't told me why you're so strong!”
“I just trained casually and ended up like this!”
Hong Yitang brushed her off perfunctorily. He reached out to catch a wisp of the breeze. As it brushed by, it seemed to carry a trace of lingering power. He sensed it for a moment, but found nothing particularly unusual.
He could not quite understand what Li Hao was up to. Hadn't that fellow entered seclusion to unlock more supernatural locks?
He had already opened the wind and thunder attributes long ago.
…
Deputy Director Zhou also probed with his senses, appearing deep in thought. After a while, he shook his head and dismissed it.
Just now, it seemed Li Hao's divine power had failed.
Yet… if a divine power failed, could one still be considered in the Divine Power Realm?
What was going on?
He could not make sense of it either.
…
Meanwhile, Li Hao remained bewildered.
Why did it break?
“Was the wind force too strong? Was the foundation for solidification inadequate? Or was it something else?”
Strange!
Li Hao sank into contemplation. Was the power too disordered?
Or what else could it be?
“Qi and blood, spirit, energy—they seem too chaotic, unable to merge properly, is that it?”
In that instant, two secret arts flashed across his mind: the *Blood Saber Art* and the *Five Animals Breathing Technique*. Both possessed the capacity to harmonize and fuse energies, but how could he apply both within a divine power?
His original intention was simply to fashion something that could block the leakage of energy from a supernatural lock, hoping to control the lock without shattering it.
Now, however, his curiosity was piqued.
Had the tracing of the character succeeded smoothly just now, he would not have taken it so seriously. But its instant collapse made him realize there was something unique at play.
“Interesting!”
“The character *Wind* formed by tracing shattered because the external power rushing into it was too overwhelming… Could I control that external power?”
“Feed it in bit by bit, strengthening the character step by step?”
Thoughts flashed through his mind.
Might as well try!
In any case… it wouldn't kill him.
With that thought, Li Hao chuckled. Once more, he restored a portion of his qi, blood, and spirit, consumed a drop of the Spring of Life, and spat out a faint spray of blood to trace the character.
*Wind*!
With just a single stroke, Li Hao channeled a large amount of wind energy into it. External wind gathered from the surroundings. At that moment, a light breeze swept across North City, carrying a faint wave of energy that drilled straight toward Li Hao's position.
Just as Li Hao moved to gather the energy, a sudden suction force pulled it away, instantly collapsing the external power.
Li Hao froze and looked up. Not far off, Black Panther stood wearing an expression that practically begged for praise, looking at Li Hao as if to say: *I ate it for you, impressive, right?*
Li Hao didn't know whether to laugh or cry!
The first time external power rushed in, Black Panther had done nothing, and the character shattered. Clearly, the hound felt it had neglected its duty the first time and decided to devour the incoming power outright this time.
Just as he was about to say something, Li Hao paused.
With no external force flooding in, a faint golden light appeared before him. The single stroke he had traced earlier was gradually solidifying, showing no signs of shattering.
Li Hao stared blankly.
“It actually maintained stability…”
A thought stirred in Li Hao's mind. Looking at Black Panther, his expression shifted. “Keep absorbing the external power in a moment. Unless I tell you to let it through, don't let a shred of energy enter.”
*“Woof!”*
Black Panther nodded, looking rather smug.
*See that? I'm the useful one after all!*
Li Hao smiled and said nothing further, continuing to channel wind energy, blending it with his qi, blood, and spirit to trace the character.
A Star Town ultimate technique?
Fascinating indeed!
He only wondered: once successfully traced, would it erupt with tremendous power like a divine power?
Countless thoughts surfaced.
Streams of wind energy poured in, and gradually, a large character began to take shape.
*Wind*!
Like a roaring gale, the moment most of the wind energy in his body flowed into it, the character coalesced. Yet when Li Hao looked at it, his brows furrowed slightly. It seemed to lack vitality.
It was entirely unlike the ultimate techniques demonstrated by the ancient experts in the golden booklets.
“Black Panther, let the energy through!”
Black Panther immediately ceased its devouring. At that moment, the character *Wind* rose with the breeze. A wild gale whipped up from all around, and the character expanded instantly, unleashing an extraordinary wave of force.
Much like an eruption of divine power, a deafening boom followed in the next breath!
A massive surge of energy flooded into the character, detonating it in an instant!
A violent force erupted, which Black Panther swallowed on the spot.
Li Hao, however, spat out another mouthful of blood!
Frowning slightly, he wondered: what went wrong?
“Unable to regulate the influx of external energy… it simply absorbs recklessly until it turns into a bomb, blowing itself apart… While it makes for a decent way to harm an enemy, that turns it into a one-time talisman. The cost is high, and the destructive output remains limited.”
Li Hao scratched his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
It had been a mere preliminary attempt, yet he had failed several times in a row.
He had simply copied the model from the Star Town City arts—how could he still fail?
Could someone like him really create martial techniques?
To be frank, his pride took a slight hit. He had not attempted to invent something from scratch; he had followed established steps, attempting to adapt Star Town City's techniques, only to end in failure.
Without sword energy and the Spring of Life, those two attempts alone would have left him grievously wounded and on the verge of death.
At this moment, he felt a sudden surge of admiration and envy toward his teacher.
Truly formidable!
Back when Yuan Shuo was so weak, how had he conceived the idea of modifying ancient martial arts?
Why hadn't he simply practiced them directly, choosing instead to modify and fuse them?
How perilous that was; the slightest misstep would cost a person their life.
Li Hao did not attempt another try right away. Instead, he sank into contemplation. After a moment, he retrieved the two golden booklets, studying them carefully to comprehend their nuances and crucial elements.
“The steps are correct, but the Star Town arts are supported by the power of the Great Dao, with origin power preserving their form and spirit from destruction!”
“Whereas I… have no origin power!”
Lacking origin power, his technique appeared exceedingly scattered, and the character remained feeble, unable to endure the influx and reinforcement of external power. Yet without that external reinforcement, the traced character possessed virtually no might to speak of.
“Possessing both form and spirit is exceedingly difficult… and the Origin Dao no longer exists…”
As he pondered, he suddenly paused.
He remembered something Little Tree had once said regarding the Origin Dao.
Li Hao immediately projected his mind into his storage ring.
“Senior Tree!”
“I am here.”
“Senior, back then when you allowed me to perceive the Origin Dao, you mentioned that we modern people no longer have the Origin Dao, but possess a similar path…”
“Yes. When your force erupted that day with irresistible momentum, that sensation resembled the path of the Initial Martial era. Initial Martial had no Origin Dao either, but used weapons as their Dao…”
“Force?”
“Indeed.”
Li Hao stared blankly. Force!
He seemed to understand something. Without even pausing to bid Little Tree farewell, his consciousness withdrew in a flash, turning his gaze back to where the character had shattered earlier.
“The characters I traced seemed to lack a soul, appearing utterly pale and powerless…”
“What if I infuse force into them?”
He immediately sank his mind into his five viscera, sensing the condition of the five forces merged into his five meridians. Though they were currently dormant, he could still vaguely perceive them; the five supernatural locks seemed as though they were still alive.
Yes, alive!
They carried a distinct, unique character.
A single glance made one feel that the five viscera were living entities, and force itself was a living thing.
“Wind, the force of wind… vitality, spirit!”
Li Hao suddenly felt a flash of enlightenment. “Without the Origin Dao, whenever we use ancient martial arts today, something is always lacking. But… what if we infuse force? What if we use force to replace the Origin Dao?”
“Force is a martial comprehension born from one's own heart, a manifestation of the martial path… Force and spirit intent are not the same thing. Spirit intent is purely power, but force is not power; it is an embodiment of the Great Dao!”
At this moment, he finally understood the words Tyrant Saber had spoken to him before departing.
*When you thoroughly understand the difference between force and spirit intent, perhaps you will be able to embark upon a different path.*
Tyrant Saber seemed to have understood this long ago.
Li Hao had understood it before as well, but never so clearly.
Today, it felt vastly clearer.
Battle Heaven City, Little Tree, Yuan Shuo, the Star Town ultimate techniques—all these had granted him tremendous insight. Today's repeated failures in merely copying existing models made Li Hao realize fully the divergence between ancient martial arts and modern martial arts.
The two were no longer the same system!
They were different!
Walking strictly according to the ancient martial path would inevitably lead to bottlenecks and thresholds before long.
“Force is the single greatest hallmark of contemporary martial masters, or rather, contemporary practitioners! Supernatural powers lack this, consisting merely of simple accumulations of power. Martial masters possess it, granting them immense malleability…” People always claimed that supernatural powers were inferior to martial masters, yet none could explain why.
Today, Li Hao felt he had grasped the truth.
The greatest difference, the most crucial key, lay in force!
The barrier that held countless martial masters back was precisely force.
Without comprehending force, one could not step into the Thousand-Battler realm. From the outset, this destined the number of martial masters to be far fewer than supernatural users.
“Force… which means, if I comprehend the force of wind, infuse it into wind energy, and trace it into a character to form an ultimate technique… would there be a difference?”
“Would the external power be controlled by the force? Force possesses vitality, whereas raw power possesses none…”
Li Hao felt as though he had discovered a new continent. Then another thought occurred to him—he thought of his teacher, of the *Five Animals Breathing Technique*.
His teacher's Spirit Merging!
Yes, Spirit Merging.
Merging force into the supernatural locks, releasing their power bit by bit—why was it so similar?
In the end, it was force controlling the supernatural locks.
Wasn't this the exact outcome he had been seeking?
Li Hao suddenly slapped his forehead, laughing out loud. “Right! After Teacher achieved Spirit Merging, merging the five forces into the five meridians was also meant to control the supernatural locks! How foolish of me—why did I only realize it just now!”
He had been racking his brains over how to control supernatural locks, yet hadn't his teacher already provided the answer?
It was just that when his teacher explained it before, he hadn't truly understood.
Today, deducing it from another path and arriving at the identical conclusion made him realize how brilliant his teacher truly was!
Not only that, his comprehension deepened exponentially in an instant.
As it turned out, the ultimate paths were all the same.
“If I shatter a supernatural lock, then merge its power together into a character, isn't that similar to a supernatural lock? A supernatural lock cannot be detached to fight, but a character formed from a Star Town ultimate technique can…”
Different paths leading to the same destination!
In the end, weren't the methods of supernatural powers and martial masters identical?
Li Hao felt a surge of excitement. At this moment, he desperately wanted to speak with Yuan Shuo.
Did Spirit Merging mean achieving complete control over the supernatural locks?
When shattering a supernatural lock, did one still use force to control it, infusing the lock's energy into the force to nurture it?
Spirit Nourishing, Spirit Merging… was breaking through the locks the next step?
“The *Five Animals Breathing Technique* can merge force with supernatural locks, so merging force with energy should pose no problem either…”
At this moment, Li Hao felt everything become crystal clear!
His teacher seemed to have provided the answer already.
Of course, this was different from receiving the answer directly from his teacher; he had deduced it through a different method and process, only to arrive back at the same point. Two distinct routes returning to the same nexus.
This granted Li Hao a wealth of unique insights.
With that in mind, he took out a communication jade and began sending messages in a flurry. Yuan Shuo was carefree and rarely gave Li Hao a chance to contact him. But Li Hao was no fool—if Yuan Shuo wouldn't answer, he could contact Jade Light Sword!
When Jade Light Sword departed last time, Li Hao had slipped a communication jade to her. It belonged to the Silver Moon system rather than Li Hao's personal network; he had no intelligence network of his own, which was why he rarely used communication jades.
“Calling Martial Uncle Wu, calling Martial Uncle Wu!”
Li Hao hailed her several times before finally receiving a reply: “What is it?”
“I need to speak with Teacher for a moment.”
A moment passed, and it seemed the person on the other end had changed. Li Hao couldn't tell for certain, but shortly after, two words appeared: “Spit it out!”
That was him!
It was definitely his teacher.
“When the five forces merge into the five meridians, must they eventually break out, or merge entirely to become one?”
…
Across the lands of Silver Moon.
Yuan Shuo had initially been rather annoyed, wondering when Li Hao had gotten in touch with Jade Light Sword. But seeing the question, he paused slightly.
He had explained the path of Spirit Merging very clearly to Li Hao.
The five locks merged, and once the five forces merged into them as well, using force to nourish the locks and the locks to nourish force—that was Spirit Merging.
Yet Li Hao was asking about the path beyond that.
He had not reached that step himself, so how could he know the exact method? He possessed only deductions.
Both possibilities Li Hao mentioned were plausible.
“Hard to say. Whether they break out or become permanently rooted depends on the actual circumstances… I cannot give you a definitive answer right now.”
Since it concerned the martial path, he was somewhat reluctant to discuss it over a device for fear of surveillance. But since Li Hao asked, he still sent a reply.
“Force possesses vitality, correct?”
Yuan Shuo chuckled. *You're only realizing this now?*
“Naturally! Just like the forces of the Five Animals, force arises from the heart, emerging from martial arts. As the foundation of the martial path, it is naturally endowed with vitality.”
Li Hao seemed to fall silent for a moment.
Then another message arrived: “Force can regulate the flow of energy and the intensity of inner force eruptions, right?”
“Nonsense!”
Yuan Shuo frowned. His disciple had already reached this stage—did he still not understand?
Yet the thought that Li Hao's force had fallen dormant instantly filled him with melancholy. Perhaps… the boy wanted to revert to being a martial master. But how could it be so simple? Was he trying to find a way?
Feeling a pang of regret and disappointment, the urge to curse faded, and his tone softened: “Force acts as an overarching regulator. The strength of your force ultimately determines your ceiling, so naturally it possesses a regulating function.”
Li Hao sent another message: “Can force coexist with mysterious energy?”
Yuan Shuo sank into contemplation.
This time, he took a long while, pondering deeply before providing an answer: “In theory, yes. Mysterious energy is a form of energy, whereas force is not. What mysterious energy clashes with is inner force, not force! Mysterious energy and inner force are equivalent, while force exists independently. However, force requires inner force for activation… Inner force acts as a kind of fuel.”
“Could mysterious energy serve as the fuel to activate force?”
Yuan Shuo's brow furrowed as he fell deep into thought.
After considering it for a long time, he replied: “Inner force can activate force because it originates from within the human body, sharing a common source with force. Mysterious energy is an external substance; lacking that shared origin, it is difficult to use for activation.”
“Could mysterious energy be taken into the body, merged into the flesh and blood, and become one with it?”
Yuan Shuo's heart twitched.
His disciple's questions were growing progressively deeper. Tugging at his sparse mustache, he wracked his brain. Merging mysterious energy into flesh and blood to become one—was that possible?
Could it be used like inner force?
Aside from the portion derived externally, mysterious energy also originated in part from the supernatural locks. Why did supernatural locks produce mysterious energy in the first place?
Once supernatural locks were completely shattered in the future, what would become of martial masters?
Would the energy within supernatural locks supplant inner force?
Or could they merge into one?
Beside him, Jade Light Sword watched Yuan Shuo, sensing that he was stumped. Seeing him scratching his ears and cheeks was a rare sight; the man always carried himself as though omniscient.
Had he encountered a conundrum today as well?
…
Li Hao waited for a long time without receiving a response from Yuan Shuo.
He knew his teacher had not ignored him, but was contemplating the matter.
Li Hao continued transmitting: “Mysterious energy also comes from two sources: one external, and one born from supernatural locks! External energy might not easily merge into flesh and blood right away, but supernatural locks and flesh are inherently one. This is what supernaturals refer to as source divine energy!”
“It merely became mixed with external mysterious energy later on. Could one strip away the external energy and merge only the source divine energy back into the flesh and blood…”
This time, after a short pause, a reply appeared on the communication jade: “I am not entirely certain. Having never attempted it personally, I cannot give a definitive answer. You may try, for your current state might allow such an attempt…”
A moment later, another message arrived: “Do not attempt this rashly! You have opened the locks of wind and thunder. If you must try, you can only test it on the locks of your five viscera. Unless you can comprehend the forces of wind and thunder right now, I do not advise you to attempt it!”
Evidently, Yuan Shuo had reacted quickly.
With Li Hao's force currently dormant, it would be nearly impossible for him to comprehend a new force.
Lacking the forces of wind and thunder, he could only test the method using the forces of his five viscera. He strongly advised against it; the risk was far too great. If the locks of his five viscera collapsed, whatever hope Li Hao had of returning to the martial path would be extinguished entirely!
“Understood. Thank you, Teacher. Goodbye!”
“…”
Yuan Shuo sent no further reply, merely cursing under his breath: *Don't you dare mess around!*
Yet thinking back to Li Hao's questions, his brow furrowed once more.
His disciple had gained many insights recently. Was it because he could not accept having become a supernatural?
He seemed to be researching it deeply.
“What happened?”
“Nothing!”
Yuan Shuo crushed the communication jade on the spot, snapping crossly, “Don't carry this around. It belongs to the Silver Moon system; those old fellows in Silver Moon can definitely track our location. Everywhere I've been has been laid bare to them!”
As for the conversation with Li Hao, even if it were overheard, it mattered little.
*Try it if you have the guts!*
*If you aren't afraid of dying, be my guest.*
Frowning deeply, he muttered, “Li Hao seems desperate to become a martial master again. If this continues… I'm worried something will go wrong. Damn the Nine Departments—I'll settle the score with them sooner or later!”
Had it not been for them, would his disciple ever have become a supernatural?
And now, he was walking further down the supernatural path with no turning back, venturing deeper and deeper!
Wu Hongshan said nothing. She had only kept the jade because Li Hao gave it to her; clearly, Li Hao believed the officials in Silver Moon were trustworthy.
Of course, there was no point saying that to Yuan Shuo, or he would rant for three days straight.
…
Meanwhile, Li Hao stared at his five viscera, his thoughts stirring.
Even his teacher had conceded the possibility.
If he broke one of the locks in his five viscera right now, merged force into it, absorbed the power of the supernatural lock, and traced a character to act as a vessel for the force, would that mean he could take mysterious energy into his body and make it his own?
Yet doing so, as his teacher warned, might sever any hope of reverting to a martial master.
As things stood, perhaps hope remained.
“Still, if I keep them locked up like this… even if I revert to a martial master, I'll be weak…”
“Mysterious energy and inner force share common ground after all. Chief Steward Yu mentioned back then that she became a supernatural first, and later purified the mysterious energy to reconstruct supernatural locks… reverting to a martial master. Mysterious energy can be reshaped into supernatural locks, so long as the force remains intact!”
The fact that someone had transitioned from supernatural back to martial master proved the two were not completely alien systems; they shared common foundations.
Should he try it?
Li Hao stared at his five viscera.
The fierce tiger in his heart was the force comprehension that suited Li Hao best.
Using the tiger to rein in the mysterious energy and fashion it into a character—how would that fare?
*Fire*?
Or *Tiger*?
Of course, it hardly mattered; it was merely a vessel.
Li Hao hesitated slightly.
Yet soon, he let out a chuckle. Things had already reached this point, so what did it matter?
If he could not become a martial master… then he would simply become a powerful supernatural!
Hadn't Director Wang and the others said it was inconsequential?
It was merely a difference in the nature of power, but power remained power. Among ancient martial artists, top-tier experts had also pursued the path of pure energy.
“Then let's try it… shatter one supernatural lock in the five viscera, use the tiger to swallow the mysterious energy… not shattering it completely, but cleaving open a fissure… condensing it with qi and blood, reining it in with the tiger… Perhaps there will be gains.”
At this moment, Li Hao grew far more carefree. If he could not revert, he would simply remain a supernatural for good.
He had no desire to leave his force dormant forever either.
Back then, the tiger had yearned to break free of its cage, only to end up imprisoned once more. Could it possibly be resigned to this?
Surely not!
“A fierce tiger unleashed cannot remain trapped in the heart forever… Since I have an idea, I might as well test it!”
Li Hao smiled freely.
Looking toward his heart, he murmured, “Tiger, are you willing to break the shackles and come forth once more?”
Within his mind, a tiger's roar seemed to reverberate!
The caged beast struggled!
Filled with jubilation, filled with defiance—there was a tiger in his heart, one that had already broken free of its cage. How could it accept lying dormant again until it became a lifeless husk?
“I knew it!”
Li Hao laughed. He had known all along that it refused to submit, refused to wither away entirely.
In that case… he would give it a shot.
Perhaps this period of seclusion would yield unexpected gains.
The heart was far too dangerous, so after some consideration, Li Hao quickly swallowed ten drops of the Spring of Life to envelop it. He intended to sever the bridge of the five viscera, crack open the lock of the heart, and release the tiger's force.
If it failed, he would simply gain another divine power, wielding fire, wind, and thunder all three.
As for the locks of light and darkness, he could set them aside for now.
Breaking just one lock among the five viscera ought to be bearable, right?
Li Hao was ruthless with himself. Since things had come to this, he cast caution aside; at worst, he would pursue a purely supernatural path from now on.
*Crack!*
The bridge of the five viscera was severed by his hand.
The supernatural powers of wind and thunder began flooding toward it.
In the next instant, flames surged forth, repelling wind and thunder. His five viscera thundered as though engulfed in a raging inferno.
…
In the front courtyard.
Hong Yitang appeared in a flash, looking toward the sky where a faint glow of fire reflected across the void.
Deputy Director Zhou also appeared instantly, looking toward Hong Yitang.
Hong Yitang frowned. “What is he doing?”
The fiery light vanished in a flash as Black Panther intervened, swallowing all signs of the anomaly with a single snap of its jaws. Yet given their close proximity, both men naturally sensed the disturbance.
Deputy Director Zhou sighed. “He has completely abandoned the idea of switching back…”
Li Hao seemed intent on breaking his fire meridian!
He was going to shatter the locks of his five viscera!
Hong Yitang's brow furrowed slightly, but soon smoothed out into calm. “That works too.”
He himself possessed divine power, so he viewed it with equanimity now. “It's fine. It's good that he can see past it. There is nothing wrong with supernatural powers; power is just power. Martial masters cultivate the heart, but… I fear his physical body may not withstand shattering a seventh supernatural lock.”
“It shouldn't be too big a problem,” Deputy Director Zhou mused. “His body and five viscera should be able to bear a seventh. An eighth would truly be pushing it, doing more harm than good.”
Hong Yitang said no more.
Yet a trace of puzzlement lingered. Just now, he seemed to have heard the roar of a fierce tiger—that was Li Hao's force, which carried no sense of despair or unwillingness, only jubilation, excitement, and the thrill of a desperate gamble!
One had to understand: shattering the fire lock would inevitably extinguish the fire force.
Force possessed vitality.
Li Hao was destroying his tiger momentum, yet his tiger momentum seemed entirely devoid of despair. Why was that?
At this moment, even he could not fathom it.
Chapter 235