Peculiar Elemental Mysterious Energy

Li Hao did not know Liu Long well, nor did he truly understand the Demon Hunting Squad as a whole. In his year at the Inspectorate, he had rarely crossed paths with the Law Enforcement Team. Yet during his interactions over the past few days, his impressions of them had shifted time and again. The first time Liu Long spoke of upholding justice, only two words had crossed Li Hao's mind—*as if!* Hypocrisy! Cloaking themselves in the guise of justice while committing murder and looting spoils—how did that count as justice? They were just comforting themselves! Yet the few fools in the Demon Hunting Squad seemed to take it entirely to heart. Naturally, Li Hao never showed his skepticism; he felt things were fine this way. The second time Liu Long spoke of upholding justice, however, Li Hao had begun to doubt his own cynicism. Was Liu Long's so-called protection truly intended to safeguard others, or was it merely a pursuit of greater power that happened to involve slaying supernaturals who wreaked havoc in Silver City? Could that truly be called justice? He had another lingering question: what was the goal of the squad members in chasing supernatural power? What was their purpose? To become stronger? Supernatural power seemed extraordinarily dangerous. Ordinary people did not necessarily live worse lives than supernaturals. If Li Hao had not been targeted by the Red Shadow, he might never have pursued the supernatural realm at all. His teacher had once mentioned the existence of supernatural organizations like the Night Watchers; Li Hao had known of the organization's existence, even if he hadn't known its specific name back then. At the time, he hadn't thought much about it, feeling that they lived in an entirely different world. Now, he had no choice but to plunge headlong into this domain. Though these thoughts swirled in his mind, Li Hao kept them to himself. He preferred silence. Whenever he spoke at length, it was always with an ulterior motive, calculated solely to achieve his ends. From a year ago, he had donned a mask of hypocrisy, wearing an insincere smile. *** Following Liu Long, they headed once more toward the storehouse. This time, not only did Yun Yao accompany them, but the rest of the squad tagged along as well. Liu Yan acted completely at home. She hooked an arm warmly around Li Hao's shoulders and beamed. "Little Hao, not bad at all! You've only been with us for a few days, and this is already your second time absorbing mysterious energy! Back when your big sister joined, three whole months passed between my first and second times!" Li Hao gave his shoulder a slight shrug. This big sister really didn't treat him like a stranger—she was practically draped over him. Enough was enough. "What are you twitching for? Shoulder stiff? Want your sister to give you a massage tonight?" "..." Li Hao had no reply to that. This woman... was truly difficult to handle. Ahead of them, Liu Long didn't even bat an eye. He couldn't be bothered to intervene in Liu Yan's antics. The five survivors in the squad each had their own stories and their own motives. From the day the Demon Hunting Squad was formed until now, twenty-two members had perished. Among those who remained, who didn't carry a heavy heart? At times, Liu Long knew what was going on, yet chose to say nothing. After surviving today, there was no telling if there would even be a tomorrow. *Click!* The storehouse door swung open once again. There were three chambers, with the mysterious energy stored in the third. During Li Hao's last visit, he hadn't known what was kept in the first two rooms. This time, Liu Yan had come along. She was eager to help, smiling as she introduced the place to him. "There are three chambers here. The third holds mysterious energy. Do you know what's in the first two?" "Firearms?" "Wrong! How could those things be worth keeping in the storehouse?" Liu Yan chuckled. "The first chamber holds supernatural items—weapons used by supernaturals, their books, their journals... In short, aside from the ones we killed, we've gathered odd bits and pieces from other places. It's a mishmash of things, though some are probably valuable. It's just hard for us to appraise them!" Li Hao nodded in understanding. "What about the second one?" "The second?" The smile lingered in Liu Yan's eyes, yet as Li Hao glanced at her profile, he felt something unusual about that smile. She said with a slight laugh, "The second one is fascinating! Ordinary people can't go inside. You could say it's the most important place in our entire squad—even more important than the chamber holding the mysterious energy. But take your sister's advice: you'd better not go in!" A treasure? What kind of treasure couldn't even be looked at? Li Hao felt puzzled. Just then, Liu Long turned back to glance at Liu Yan and said coldly, "Have you played around enough?" Liu Yan smiled and released her grip on Li Hao's neck, replying coquettishly, "Boss, don't be so fierce. Just because I didn't play with you, are you jealous?" Liu Long's expression didn't change, nor did he grow angry. He merely cast a glance at the second secret chamber, fell silent for a moment, and strode toward the third. Li Hao also looked at the second chamber, his curiosity thoroughly piqued this time. Liu Long hadn't uttered a peep before, but the moment Liu Yan brought up the second chamber, he had shown a flash of annoyance. What was inside? There was no time to dwell on it. Yun Yao had already opened the door to the third chamber. The female doctor was always quiet and spoke little, but whenever Li Hao looked her way, she would offer a gentle smile and nod. She didn't seem the least bit difficult to deal with, contrary to Liu Yan's warning, appearing quite amicable instead. Inside the ice crystal chambers, mysterious energy of various hues was displayed before them. Ten cubic units remained, divided among different ice crystal containers. Yun Yao began to introduce them: "The remaining ten units of mysterious energy all possess elemental properties, harvested from three different supernaturals!" She pointed toward the fiery-red mysterious energy on the left and explained, "This is fire-aligned. That supernatural was fairly formidable—a peak Starlight Master, which in the terms of martial masters corresponds to the peak of the Ten-Slayer realm." After a brief pause, she added, "Don't underestimate a peak Starlight Master. Big Brother Liu had already stepped into the Hundred-Breaker level at the time, making him strictly stronger than his opponent. Even so, we paid with several lives before finally bringing him down! That guy's fire power was terrifying. Once it touched you, it would rapidly engulf your whole body. Every comrade who died was burned to ash!" Beside them, the rotund Chen Jian suddenly pulled up his shirt to reveal his chest. It wasn't covered in hair, but bore a massive, hideous scar. Chen Jian gave an honest chuckle. "Li Hao, you need to watch out for those bastards! This is the mark he left on me. Just a tiny ember landed on my chest, and it nearly burned me to death!" Li Hao knew how tough Chen Jian was. His defense was extraordinarily formidable! Yet that was merely physical defense. Against an attack of mysterious energy, a tiny spark had almost killed this shield warrior! Terrifying! A grave look appeared on Li Hao's face as he nodded slightly. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, "In the year 1727, a massive fire broke out in the southern suburbs of Silver City, killing 128 people. Subsequent investigations claimed an electrical short circuit ignited the factory, but eyewitnesses reported seeing a streak of sparks fall from the sky that day, instantly incinerating the premises..." Surprised, Liu Long glanced at him and nodded slightly. "You certainly read a lot. That case has already been closed! It was his doing. Before becoming a supernatural, that guy was just a factory laborer who liked petty theft, which got him fired! Knowing his character, people naturally shunned him. After awakening as a supernatural, he returned to Silver City purely to take revenge on them!" Liu Long let out a cold snort. "Does a creature like that even deserve supernatural power? The heavens must be blind as dogs! Which of our fallen comrades in the Demon Hunting Squad wasn't infinitely better than that beast? 'Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters,' my ass! If that's heaven's blessing, then the heavens have dog shit for eyes!" He harbored deep resentment and sheer disdain toward such people becoming supernaturals. Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters? Utter nonsense! Li Hao remained silent. So it really had been that dead supernatural's doing. He had read the dossier back then. Because it involved a massive fire, he had paid special attention to it. He noticed that several surviving witnesses insisted it wasn't an electrical short, but arson; nonetheless, the case was ultimately closed as an electrical fire. He had assumed it was an unresolved case, but the culprit had already been slain! Yun Yao pointed to the second ice crystal chamber. "Inside this one is lightning energy! Its former owner was a supernatural who had just stepped into the Lunar Nether realm. His lightning power was devastating, and that battle cost many lives as well. In the end, Big Brother Liu and Liu Yan joined forces to kill him!" Liu Yan beamed at Li Hao, raising an eyebrow with open pride. "I landed the killing blow!" Li Hao gave her a thumbs-up. Impressive! Lunar Nether... that was equivalent to the Hundred-Breaker level! Moreover, supernaturals at that tier were generally stronger than ordinary Hundred-Breakers. Even if Liu Long had served as the primary combatant, the fact that Liu Yan could strike the finishing blow spoke volumes about her strength. At this, Li Hao recalled several other cold cases in the Confidential Records Office. Some involved lightning strikes, which were likely the work of that individual. He said nothing more. The supernaturals Liu Long and his squad had killed truly deserved to die! "The third ice crystal chamber holds earth energy!" This time, Liu Long spoke up: "That bastard was probably the hardest to kill among all the supernaturals we've encountered." In a deep voice, Liu Long continued, "In terms of raw power, he had only just entered the Lunar Nether realm! But he could tunnel underground, making him extraordinarily slippery! He ambushed us from beneath the earth... and our single heaviest loss was at his hands! Twelve comrades died in that battle alone!" Li Hao grew solemn. He glanced at Liu Long, who shook his head. "I can't take credit for killing him. The bastard was arrogant and looked down on us. He was nearly impossible to pin down, appearing and vanishing without a trace, popping up anywhere... In the end, we buried over a thousand kilograms of explosives underground... and blew him to pieces! We couldn't harvest much mysterious energy afterward, which was a real shame." Blown to pieces! Over a thousand kilograms of explosives! Li Hao was suddenly jolted awake. He had almost forgotten about modern firepower. A supernatural capable of burrowing underground, at the Lunar Nether level no less—a martial master like Liu Long lacked such esoteric tricks and could only fight head-on, completely unable to touch him. And yet, he had been blown to bits by explosives! Indeed, even a Lunar Nether was not unkillable. With proper planning, ordinary humans could take them down. Liu Long continued, "There are three types of elemental mysterious energy here: fire, lightning, and earth. The first two greatly enhance offensive power, while the last... mainly offers utility. Of course, that's assuming you can inherit the element, match with it, and awaken as a supernatural. Otherwise... regardless of the element, it works much like ordinary mysterious energy, except it might grant you a tiny sliver of elemental offensive bite!" With that, he clenched his fist and threw a punch, a faint flicker of flame sparking over his knuckles. Knowing Li Hao was new to this, Liu Long explained clearly, "I absorbed fire energy, which gave me a trace of fiery attack power. But I'm still not certain whether fire is my true elemental affinity. Often, until you advance, it's very hard to know which power matches you." Li Hao nodded. Fire power! Could that be called a fire punch? So Liu Long had already gained a special ability. What about the others? They probably had some as well. Especially Chen Jian—Li Hao suspected the man possessed some form of earth defense, given his abnormal toughness. He calculated in his mind: the squad had killed five supernaturals. Fire, lightning, and earth—that meant two other types had already been entirely consumed. Who had absorbed the remaining two, and what abilities did they grant? As for the non-elemental energy, Yun Yao had mentioned earlier that it was extracted from elemental energy, not an independently occurring form. "Li Hao, which one do you choose?" Liu Long looked at him, his gaze solemn. "You've felt the impact of mysterious energy. Put it this way: elemental mysterious energy nearly doubles the strain! Yet the enhancement it provides... is basically the same as ordinary non-elemental energy! So if you absorb elemental energy that doesn't match you and fail to awaken as a supernatural, you lose out. You endure far greater danger without gaining extra benefits!" "Of course, if you succeed, you either advance directly or gain a slight elemental property, which is an advantage!" Looking at the three types of energy before him, Li Hao hesitated slightly. Which should he pick? "Boss, since I have two units, can I take one of each...?" Liu Long shook his head flatly. "Don't talk nonsense! Taking them apart over time is fine, but doing both at once is impossible. If two conflicting elemental forces clash inside you, your head will probably explode. I don't want to be collecting your corpse today!" Fair enough. Li Hao understood. He studied the three choices once more. Which one? Fire and lightning were both good. Gaining even a hint of their properties would boost his striking power. However... earth energy wasn't bad either! Earth brought to mind enhanced defense, heavy and solid as a mountain. Second, it offered the ability to tunnel underground. At his current stage, burrowing into the earth would provide an exceptional means of self-preservation. Of course, he might gain nothing at all, making it no different from ordinary mysterious energy. "I want the earth attribute!" Li Hao made his choice. Liu Long nodded and actually smiled. "A good choice. It's relatively safer! And by coincidence, only two units of earth energy remain!" Among the three, earth energy had the smallest reserve, likely due to how its former owner had died—blown to smithereens. The man had probably been blasted into scattered pieces, leaving little behind; it was fortunate that any mysterious energy had survived at all. The reserves of fire and lightning energy were considerably larger. "Go ahead and absorb it!" With that, Liu Long remembered something and added flatly, "Also, use the method Yuan Shuo taught you. There's no need to use the Energy Channeling Method I gave you." Li Hao felt a brief twinge of embarrassment. As if reading his thoughts, Liu Long said calmly, "All right, let's all step outside. Don't worry, nobody will pry!" With that, he turned and walked out. The others chuckled and followed suit. Liu Yan said with a laugh, "Little Hao, digest as much as you can. If you manage to clear it all, I still have two units of my own quota among the remaining eight. Come chat with your big sister tonight, and I'll give them to you!" "..." Li Hao gave a dry smile, somewhat surprised. Liu Yan had a share here as well? Then why hadn't she absorbed it? Did it not match her affinity? Even so, non-elemental energy could still be absorbed; why hadn't they taken it before? Yun Yao, the last to leave, seemed to sense Li Hao's confusion. In a quiet, calm voice, she explained, "The remaining mysterious energy either doesn't match our affinities, or we can no longer afford to absorb it. If we absorb more and still fail to advance to the supernatural realm, we might end up breaking through to the Hundred-Breaker level instead. Once you reach Hundred-Breaker... reaching for supernatural power becomes vastly harder!" Li Hao suddenly understood! A slight tremor ran through his heart. That meant Liu Yan was likely at the peak of the Ten-Slayer realm—something he hadn't anticipated. Aside from Liu Long, everyone in the squad was in the Ten-Slayer realm. Since Liu Yan was the deputy captain, being at the peak of Ten-Slayer made complete sense. What about Yun Yao before him? Another question surfaced in Li Hao's mind. Yun Yao had already stepped out and closed the door. At this moment, only Li Hao remained in the secret chamber. All ten units of mysterious energy were here; they weren't even afraid he might drain them dry! Of course, he had no intention of doing that. *** In Li Hao's eyes, the earth-aligned mysterious energy glowed with an earthy-yellow radiance, distinct from ordinary starlight energy. "Mysterious energy... attributes... abilities..." Li Hao did not understand the supernatural realm deeply, but he possessed an advantage over others: he could see genuine mysterious energy without the dye Yun Yao added. The dye merely made it visible; it couldn't penetrate the core. Li Hao, however, could perceive subtle differences. "Why does mysterious energy possess different attributes?" Studying it closely, he discovered that the three energies were largely identical, yet near the core of each, slight variations existed. Earthy-yellow, fiery-red, and lightning-hued energies continuously radiated outward from their respective centers. This was what made the three types of mysterious energy appear distinct and blended. "If this part is stripped away, it becomes pure, non-elemental mysterious energy!" Non-elemental energy had one clear advantage: high safety and minimal pain. Its drawback was that it could only improve physical constitution without aiding advancement into the supernatural realm. After a moment's consideration, Li Hao reached into the container to begin absorption. This time, he employed the Five Animals Breathing Art, which allowed for faster absorption and superior results. Naturally, this brought a complication: it would simultaneously draw out energy from the jade sword. The jade sword's energy could only be extracted through this breathing technique; ordinary methods couldn't draw it out at all. This had its pros and cons—someone who didn't know this breathing technique might find the sword useless even if they possessed it. Two streams of mysterious energy surged into Li Hao's body at the same time. The next instant, even as he endured the pain, Li Hao felt something different. *The starlight energy is stripping away the earth energy!* Li Hao was astonished. He could feel it, and he could see it. The starlight energy was separating the earth energy! The earth energy consisted mostly of base mysterious energy, with a fraction being elemental attribute energy. Now, as both energies entered Li Hao's body, they were cleaved apart! Before long, a sphere of pure, earthy-yellow energy was isolated like a small bead. Instead of flowing along his blood vessels and muscles, this earthy-yellow sphere headed straight for a specific region. An instant later, Li Hao clutched the upper left of his abdomen, where a vital organ lay. The spleen! *Five Elements... Earth... the spleen?* The spleen was situated in the upper left abdomen, beneath the stomach. It served a crucial function as the human body's blood reservoir; when the body was at rest, blood was stored within the spleen. When needed, the spleen supplied blood to the rest of the body. A hemorrhage in the spleen was notoriously difficult to treat; once the body's blood reservoir ruptured and blood drained away, it almost always meant death. Moreover, the spleen itself was exceptionally delicate. It was far more fragile than the stomach or heart; under blunt trauma, it was far more prone to rupture and hemorrhage. Therefore, even for a martial master, a heavy blow to the spleen usually signaled total defeat, if not loss of life. Now, seeing this earthy-yellow energy rush straight into his spleen, Li Hao's face turned green! He knew how fragile the spleen was, and he knew how powerful mysterious energy could be—elemental energy packed even more violent kinetic force than ordinary mysterious energy. If it barged into his spleen, ran wild, and ruptured the organ, the body's blood reservoir would collapse, and he would die without a doubt! "Damn it!" Li Hao hurriedly mobilized a massive surge of starlight energy toward his spleen to intercept it. *Fuck!* He had really walked into a trap this time—how could this be happening? Under normal circumstances, mysterious energy never touched the internal organs because they were too fragile; it flowed primarily through blood vessels, muscles, and skin. But this time, everything was different! He directed the energy with his breathing technique! Yet when the starlight energy approached the spleen, instead of attacking, it simply flowed past... Li Hao's face turned pale! At that very moment, the yellow energy plunged directly into his spleen. Li Hao felt an urgent need to cry for help. His spleen was about to rupture; he would need emergency resuscitation. He could only pray that Yun Yao, as a doctor, was competent enough to save him from massive internal hemorrhaging! "H—" Before the word *help* could leave his lips, Li Hao froze. *Holy shit!* No pain! As that yellow energy merged into his spleen, there was no sensation of agony at all—only a slight distension, as though he had overeaten. The next moment, Li Hao felt the blood stored within his spleen suddenly surge outward! This was the body's blood reservoir, yet the blood wasn't spilling from a rupture; rather, it felt as though the spleen had eaten its fill and suddenly expelled the excess in a powerful surge. Carrying with it a sensation of immense vitality! Normally, the circulating blood merely provided the body with routine energy. But this time, it was like the aftermath of violent exertion—the blood was invigorated, its velocity skyrocketing, causing the blood throughout Li Hao's entire body to boil at once. If Li Hao's blood pressure were checked right now, it would probably blow the gauge off. *Whoosh...* Like a flowing brook, the blood surged through his body, producing an audible rushing sound. These sudden developments left Li Hao astonished and awed. His spleen seemed to be transforming. That earthy-yellow energy was altering his spleen—strengthening it? "Earth elemental energy?" "The spleen?" "Strengthening?" Li Hao murmured under his breath. As for the non-elemental mysterious energy continuing to batter his blood vessels, it hardly seemed to matter anymore. He seemed to have stumbled upon something extraordinary. Naturally, a heartbeat later, Li Hao learned the price of ignoring the surging mysterious energy. In the next instant, he let out a frantic scream: "Help!" *Bang!* The heavy door was shoved open! All five squad members rushed inside, and the sight before them made their jaws drop. Right now, Li Hao looked like a man sculpted of blood. Blood was seeping from everywhere! It oozed from his pores, and traces trickled from his seven facial orifices. Liu Long was utterly stunned. "Nothing happened the first time. Why is it like this now? This much bleeding... Yun Yao!" There was far too much blood! It looked as though all the blood in Li Hao's body was bursting outward. At this rate, wouldn't he end up killing himself? Yun Yao darted forward, a faint, gentle energy glowing from her hands. The moment she touched Li Hao, her brows knit slightly in perplexity. She glanced at him, her voice grave. "Do you feel weak?" "No... I feel... extremely energized!" Yun Yao frowned, continuing her examination. Moments later, her expression grew increasingly strange. In disbelief, she murmured, "Your... your rate of hematopoiesis is incredible! It feels almost like a complete blood transformation. Your previous blood contained too little energy, providing minimal vitality, but right now, your spleen and stomach are churning out blood at an astonishing pace. This newly formed blood seems charged with far greater power!" This was what struck her as utterly unbelievable. Li Hao seemed to be undergoing a blood transformation! Liu Long's expression shifted, and he asked skeptically, "Did you misdiagnose him? A blood transformation? Whether for martial masters or supernaturals, the replacement of weak blood by potent blood does happen, but under normal circumstances, that only occurs at the Thousand-Battler or Solar Radiance levels! He's just a Ten-Slayer... how could he undergo a blood transformation? Where would he get such a powerful blood-generating mechanism? Check carefully, don't let him bleed to death!" Li Hao was losing far too much blood! Yun Yao also wondered if she had made a mistake, so she conducted another examination. By now, however, the bleeding from Li Hao had begun to taper off. After rechecking, Yun Yao frowned. "It's not internal bleeding, nor is it ruptured blood vessels. It's just a natural expulsion of old blood! After expelling it, his body is slightly weak, but that's only because generating so much new blood takes an enormous toll on energy, not because of blood loss... This... this truly is similar to a blood transformation!" She was certain she hadn't made an error! Then what was going on with Li Hao? Li Hao put on a completely bewildered face. In truth, he had already deduced a few things, but right now, he could only pull a miserable expression, weeping through a face smeared with blood. "I don't understand either! The moment I absorbed the earth energy, blood started pouring out. It scared the life out of me! Boss, does elemental energy always make people bleed like this?" "..." Seeing that he could still speak with such vigorous breath, Liu Long realized he truly was in no grave danger. Having calmed down somewhat, Liu Long looked hesitant and baffled. "No, you're the only one. When others bleed, it's never from a blood transformation! You kid... are truly bizarre! A blood transformation means fresh, powerful blood replaces the weak old blood, allowing your body to store more energy and unleash greater explosive force! When I reached the Hundred-Breaker level, I experienced a faint hint of it myself, feeling my blood grow stronger, but it was nowhere near as dramatic as yours!" It felt as though Li Hao's entire supply of blood had been swapped out for a fresh batch! A complete blood transformation was something only a Thousand-Battler could potentially achieve. Yet Li Hao had done it—what kind of monster was he? Was it caused by the elemental energy? How strange! He didn't fully understand it; mysterious energy was simply too enigmatic. For a moment, Liu Long was left speechless. Liu Yan's eyes held an exceedingly complex look as she asked with a trace of grievance, "Boss, does this mean that after replacing his blood, this kid's strength has grown even greater?" "It should be so!" Liu Long nodded, glancing back at Li Hao with a hint of discomfort. *Fuck!* Why? He reached Ten-Slayer in a single day, and on the second day, he underwent a blood transformation. Damn it, was he going to break into the Hundred-Breaker level tomorrow just to satisfy himself? Why not just reach Thousand-Battler the day after that! At this moment, inside the storehouse, the eyes of all five squad members glowed with a predatory green light as they stared at Li Hao. Even Yun Yao's eyes shone, as if they all wished they could dissect him on the spot. What in the world was this? None of them had ever witnessed such a thing! Drenched in blood, Li Hao trembled slightly. A blood transformation? Only Thousand-Battlers could undergo a blood transformation? *I really had no idea! Maybe my spleen was remodeled and strengthened, drastically boosting my blood-generating capacity and expanding my blood reservoir with abundant energy... But I don't know why it happened either!* *Does elemental energy really have this kind of effect?* *Nobody ever told me this before!* At this moment, Li Hao felt small and helpless. *Stop staring at me! If you keep looking like that, I'm afraid you lot will swallow me whole before the Red Shadow even gets the chance to kill me!* *Elemental energy... remodeling...* A faint thought surfaced in Li Hao's mind, and he was sorely tempted to commit the supreme audacity of asking: *Boss, could you just give me the remaining eight units?* Of course, that thought merely flashed across his mind. He was terrified the squad might beat him to death on the spot.