Eve of the Storm

As for the remaining eight cubic units, Li Hao could imagine taking them, but he dared not ask for them. Besides, the weight of such an offer was simply too heavy. In truth, Li Hao urgently wanted to grow stronger, but as Liu Long had said, a single human life only bought five or six units of mysterious energy. Li Hao had already absorbed four. Liu Long hadn't deceived him when he joined the Demon Hunting Squad. From the very beginning, Liu Long had stated plainly that Li Hao was there to serve as bait. To grant bait four units of mysterious energy was proof enough of Liu Long's sincerity. This man calculated when he needed to calculate, yet when the moment called for magnanimity, he was equally forthright. Otherwise, for a mere piece of bait whose sole purpose was to draw out the supernatural behind the scenes, there was no need to give Li Hao any mysterious energy at all. Time was too short, and giving it away would most likely be a waste. Had Li Hao been an ordinary person, even after absorbing four units, reaching the Ten-Slayer realm would have been completely out of the question. Because time was truly running out! Li Hao kept the thought to himself. Right now, he was silently savoring the differences in this latest absorption of mysterious energy. *Elemental energy and starlight energy... It isn't a neutralization, but an extraction of the elemental energy within.* This was distinctly different from non-elemental mysterious energy. With non-elemental energy, starlight energy neutralized the destructive force it carried. With elemental energy, it extracted the specific elemental properties, causing the energy to lose its aggression while imparting a specialized nourishing effect. It sounded somewhat similar to starlight energy, yet it wasn't entirely the same. Starlight energy nourished the entire body. Elemental energy, on the other hand, nourished the internal organs. Judging from everything just now, the five elements likely corresponded to the five internal organs; different elements nourished different organs. At this moment, Li Hao also felt just how extraordinary starlight energy was. He didn't know whether it was because he was special or because the starlight energy within the jade sword was special, but the results when he absorbed it were undeniably different from everyone else's. *** While Li Hao was lost in thought, Liu Long suddenly asked, "How do you feel?" "I feel... a bit weak!" Li Hao offered a wry smile. Whether it was called a blood transformation or expelling old blood, he had bled heavily. Even though he could feel his body rapidly replenishing it, he genuinely felt somewhat feeble right now. "Out with the old, in with the new. It's a good thing!" Liu Long praised with a nod, then added with a touch of emotion, "I think I might understand why Yuan Shuo took you as his apprentice!" *The Li family sword...* At this moment, Liu Long wondered: Did Yuan Shuo know something? Was there something unusual about the Li family? Were they descendants of ancient supernaturals? Did their bloodline carry the traits of ancient supernatural powerhouses? So many questions! Yet he was certain of one thing: the young Li Hao before him might truly be a genius. Every encounter brought a fresh surprise. Progressing so swiftly was not something just anyone absorbing mysterious energy could achieve. Even among the Night Watchers, no one could compare to Li Hao unless they were one of those Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters. *Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters... Could they be the same kind of people as Li Hao?* According to research records among the Night Watchers, with the rise of the supernatural, these Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters were born directly into supernatural power, which meant their ancestors had likely been supernatural powerhouses in ancient times. Their supernatural locks were open from birth! Li Hao, however, seemed somewhat different. Thinking of this, Liu Long suddenly asked, "Li Hao, can you feel your supernatural lock?" Li Hao pondered for a moment and nodded. "When I absorb mysterious energy, I can faintly sense the presence of supernatural locks." *Hiss!* Liu Long drew in a breath, his previous theory partially overturned. He gasped because Li Hao had only absorbed energy twice, yet he could already sense his supernatural lock. His theory was overturned because Li Hao actually possessed supernatural locks, which made him different from those Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters. Did this mean Li Hao's ancestors weren't supernaturals? Yet the Li family sword was undeniably a supernatural relic! *Has too much time passed, causing it to degenerate? Not every descendant of an ancient supernatural becomes a Heaven-Blessed Divine Master. Perhaps Li Hao is just one with lesser aptitude, whose supernatural locks never opened?* Perhaps that was the only explanation. With that in mind, Liu Long said, "Being able to sense your supernatural lock so quickly means you're a genius! However, you must remember that you are merely a genius, not one blessed by the heavens! Because the supernatural locks of Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters are open from the day they are born!" Liu Long let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Though I don't believe they are truly blessed by the heavens, the truth is that they enjoy a massive advantage over us. They are born supernaturals, and as time passes, they grow stronger and stronger even without cultivating!" It truly made one envious! *Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters are born without supernatural locks?* Li Hao fell into deep thought. That certainly made cultivation far simpler. Without the need to break open any locks, they were Starlight Masters right from the start. Meanwhile, people like Liu Long had sacrificed who knew how much just to pry open a single lock. As for himself, Li Hao understood that he probably wasn't any sort of genius. He had felt his supernatural locks; they seemed to bind him completely, like heavy chains. Every crucial area of his body was firmly sealed away! For now, Li Hao had only sensed chains locking down his heart and brain, and he had no idea if there were other supernatural locks hidden elsewhere in his body. Thus, even Li Hao's gaze held a trace of envy. A Starlight Master by birth! How enviable! Even if a natural-born Starlight Master sounded comparable only to the Ten-Slayer realm, they were supernaturals with a limitless ceiling. For martial masters, the ceiling today was merely Thousand-Battler. There was no comparison. "All right, Boss, why bring this up now? Aren't you just discouraging little Hao Hao?" Liu Yan smiled brightly. "Little Hao Hao is already remarkably talented. Who would've thought that the little guy we hauled in to be bait would turn out to be a genius? Big Sister can hardly bear to let you be bait anymore." Li Hao gave a dry laugh. He truly had no way to deal with this woman. One didn't strike a smiling face, and besides... he couldn't beat her in a fight anyway! At that moment, Yun Yao, who had remained quiet, spoke up. "Li Hao, even though you seem to have improved once more... I have to remind you that your physical constitution is growing stronger and stronger! If this continues and you fail to become a Starlight Master after a few more attempts, you... might follow in Brother Liu and your teacher's footsteps!" The words caught everyone off guard. Liu Long had been so caught up in the excitement that he hadn't considered it. Frowning slightly, he glanced at Li Hao and said in a low voice, "I forgot about that. Li Hao... you'd better find a way to advance to the supernatural as soon as possible! Martial masters have reached a dead end!" Though bitter, he had to admit that the path of martial masters was finished. Thousand-Battler martial masters hadn't appeared in years. Even Hundred-Breaker martial masters were exceedingly rare in Silver Moon Province. And Hundred-Breaker only rivaled Lunar Nether. How many Lunar Nether supernaturals were there in the supernatural realm? There was no exact tally, but there were at least ten times—if not a hundred times—more of them than martial masters! Even he was risking his life for the supernatural rather than striving to become a Thousand-Battler martial master, simply because the road ahead was invisible. Decades of martial training, only to abandon the martial pursuit for the supernatural in the end—this was Liu Long's great regret. But if he didn't turn to the supernatural, how many years would it take to become a Thousand-Battler martial master? If everything went smoothly, ten years? Twenty? Or an entire lifetime? Yet as soon as he crossed into the supernatural, he could instantly become a Solar Radiance supernatural, rivaling a Thousand-Battler. He sighed softly, suddenly feeling that Li Hao's blood transformation might not have been a good thing after all. His physique had grown even stronger! The stronger the physique, the harder it was to attain supernatural power—this was an iron law. Li Hao, however, didn't care in the slightest. He felt no fondness for supernaturals, but he held a deep affection for martial masters. His teacher was a martial master. His current captain, Liu Long, was also a martial master. Even though Liu Long intended to use him as bait, he offered generous benefits and provided protection. Martial masters were wonderful! Everyone in the squad was a martial master! What a fine group of people martial masters were. As for martial masters reaching a dead end with Thousand-Battler as their limit—Li Hao had only just stepped onto the martial path and reached the Ten-Slayer realm. He was still far from Thousand-Battler, and he believed martial masters were in no way inferior to supernaturals, so he saw nothing wrong with it. He couldn't fathom Liu Long's despair, but he had seen a true Thousand-Battler martial master with his own eyes, and he thought that power was magnificent! And so, Li Hao gave an answer that Liu Long found far too naive. "Boss, what's wrong with being a martial master? Are supernaturals really that strong? Weren't two Lunar Nether supernaturals sent flying by Teacher with a single strike, without daring to utter a squeak?" Liu Long laughed helplessly. Far too young! Li Hao continued, "Besides, supernaturals don't leave me with a good impression!" Because they had killed his friend, and perhaps even his parents. Many of the cases he had reviewed might have been the work of supernaturals. Once these people gained supernatural power, they lacked the mental discipline and moral character to match it, making it far too easy for them to become twisted. Martial masters were different! Martial masters climbed step by step. The few martial masters in the squad had practiced for decades at most, and seven or eight years at least; even Li Hao had trained for three years. Yet those Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters might become supernaturals at only a few years old, possessing the might of the Ten-Slayer realm from childhood. At such a tender age, capable of easily slaughtering a dozen soldiers—how could such supernaturals not let it go to their heads? "The supernatural has only been developing for twenty years. That means the earliest supernaturals have only been in the field for two decades. Over these twenty years, the next generation of supernaturals they've raised seems to lack even the most basic moral principles!" "When martial masters take on apprentices, they examine them from every angle to see if they're worthy of inheriting their mantle. But on the supernatural side, it seems they only care about talent—only whether one can channel energy into the body. They don't appear to care about anything else at all." Li Hao had heard a bit about the supernatural selection process from Wang Ming. It was based entirely on talent! Nothing else mattered. Even if you were a criminal, supernatural organizations were willing to foot your bill. As long as you could become a supernatural, your past would be wiped clean! Liu Long smiled, but didn't reply. Liu Yan, however, wore an exceptionally radiant smile—a smile so cold it made one shiver, giving Li Hao an uneasy feeling. "Little Hao Hao is right!" Her smile turned almost chilling. "Twenty years ago, even if a martial master committed a crime, they would be hunted down and brought to justice—executed if they deserved it! So what if you were a martial master? So what if you were powerful? If you were wicked, you deserved to die!" "Nowadays, some supernatural organizations recruit convicts and criminals on a massive scale! Because they've discovered that criminals often have better mental fortitude—they fear death less and dare to channel energy into their bodies! As a result, certain organizations are crawling with criminal supernaturals!" "What's more, even if you kill someone, it doesn't matter! As long as you successfully advance to become a supernatural, and as long as you don't join the Night Watchers, there will be supernatural organizations ready to shelter you and shield you from the storm!" The more Liu Yan spoke, the more agitated she became, her teeth clenched in a cold sneer! "A cesspool sheltering criminals, yet they walk openly across the land, and even the Night Watchers can do nothing about them!" "The Night Watchers aren't bad people, but they have too many misgivings. Their strength isn't enough to rule the realm unchallenged, so they're forced to adopt a policy of compromise. To secure the support of certain organizations, they turn a blind eye. As long as things aren't pushed too far, they won't pursue it—yet this has only emboldened some people to push further!" This was the first time Li Hao had heard such a perspective, the first time he had learned about the reality of supernatural organizations. He was somewhat surprised, yet it also felt entirely natural. *When power transcends the mortal threshold and mundane firearms lose their rightful deterrent force, and an official organization like the Night Watchers cannot suppress them, it seems only natural that such chaos would arise!* Liu Yan let out a cold laugh. "So, if you want to transcend mortal constraints, you must become a supernatural! Li Hao, remember this: once you become a supernatural, even if you're guilty of a crime, it won't matter. For petty offenses, the Night Watchers won't bother pursuing you. For grave crimes, just join another organization, and you're guaranteed to live in luxury!" Li Hao shook his head with a smile. "Sister Liu, listen to you. I'm not like them. I received a higher education, and I've worked in the Inspectorate for a year. By every standard, I belong to the side of justice and order. Those who fall into darkness were wicked to begin with. How can you lump me in with them?" Liu Yan huffed. "The more books you read, the easier it is to go bad!" "..." There was no arguing with that. Besides, whether he would ever become a supernatural was still uncertain, so Li Hao didn't dispute her further. The group of six stepped out of the secret vault. *** With his strength steadily growing, Li Hao felt far more confident and self-assured. As they walked along, he took the initiative to ask, "Boss, do we have a plan for dealing with the culprit behind the self-immolation cases?" Previously, he wouldn't have asked. And Liu Long wouldn't have told him. Now, however, Liu Long considered it before answering, "The plan is simple: lure the snake from its hole, invite the target into the trap! We'll mainly rely on firearms—buried landmines, machine-gun barrages—striking first with heavy firepower! If the enemy is weak, we blow them to bits on the spot. If they're strong, they'll still be wounded, and that's when we move in for the kill!" Li Hao frowned. "The other side can't be ignorant of that. I even suspect they have an insider in the Law Enforcement Team. How could they not know the power of modern weaponry? Besides, they trailed me earlier, so you've already been exposed, Boss! They must have deduced the existence of the Demon Hunting Squad, and probably know you've killed several supernaturals..." He wondered if Liu Long was being careless. Although his trump card was Teacher, he didn't want Liu Long and the others to suffer heavy casualties through negligence. There were only so few of them left. Liu Long smiled and nodded. "I know. Of course, there are additional arrangements, but knowing too much isn't good for you. Just rest assured that we have other preparations!" "Your task is simple: when the rainy night comes, find a way to lure them to our designated location, and then we'll wait for them to take the bait!" Li Hao hesitated, looking like he wanted to say more. Liu Long chuckled. "Think it's too dangerous?" "A bit." "There's no other way." Liu Long gave a light laugh. "Besides this, do you think we have any better options? I'd love to crush them with overwhelming force, but we don't have the strength. I'd love to lay an ambush, but we can't even trace their movements! So we keep it straightforward: if they still want to kill you, they'll have to walk into our trap!" With that, he waved to the others. "You guys head on ahead. I have a word with Li Hao." Without asking questions, the rest departed. Once they were out of earshot, Liu Long sighed. "Regarding Liu Yan... you saw it just now. She was once married, and her husband was murdered by a supernatural. The killer joined a supernatural organization, and the Night Watchers couldn't touch him, so they had to pretend they didn't see it. That's why she got so worked up." Li Hao's heart stirred. Liu Long added, "I'm telling you this just to let you know that she acts half-crazy and her behavior can be incomprehensible at times, but she was driven to it! When executing missions, Liu Yan is also the most fearless of us all. Don't look down on her because she's a woman—when she goes wild, even I can't match her! She joined the Demon Hunting Squad with no grand ambitions, only wanting to become a supernatural so she can hunt that bastard down... Unfortunately, she hasn't succeeded to this day." He gave a brief account of Liu Yan's past mainly because she acted so wildly and constantly clung to Li Hao; Liu Long didn't want Li Hao to form a terrible impression of her. "Clinging to you isn't because she genuinely wants something romantic with you..." At this, Liu Long couldn't help but chuckle. "She's very warm toward newcomers, mainly hoping that a newcomer might cross into the supernatural. To put it bluntly, if a newcomer could become a supernatural, she'd truly be willing to sleep with you... all for a single goal: revenge! But I always warn every newcomer so they don't take advantage of her and then shirk the debt. You must understand, she carries a blood feud. She's a rose with thorns—not just anyone can swallow her whole!" Li Hao frowned. "Even the Night Watchers couldn't do anything? She's an Inspecting Commissioner of the Inspectorate! If an Inspecting Commissioner's family is murdered and the Night Watchers don't even avenge them, how much deterrence does such an organization—even an official one—truly possess?" He hadn't expected that fear of supernatural organizations would render the Night Watchers unable to avenge even the family of an Inspecting Commissioner. Could they... still command respect across the realm? Given Li Hao's temperament, even if he couldn't take revenge openly, he would find a way in secret to make an example of the culprit. Otherwise, how could one deter the world? All that remained for Liu Yan was sympathy. Liu Long's words were crystal clear: if someone could help Liu Yan take her revenge, this thorny rose would likely be willing to do anything—absolutely anything! It was truly a tragic affair. She was an Inspecting Commissioner, while Li Hao was merely a Third-Class Inspector, separated by several ranks, yet even an Inspecting Commissioner's vengeance could not be answered. Liu Long sighed again; he had sighed many times today. With a helpless shake of his head, he said, "The supernatural realm is far more complicated than you imagine! Put it this way: the Night Watchers are not weak, but in terms of overall strength, they aren't necessarily the strongest among supernaturals! There may be several organizations that equal or surpass them. Moreover, the Night Watchers must tread carefully. As an official organization, they can't simply fight to the death with reckless abandon... You must understand that the Night Watchers also bear the duty of guarding the major cities!" Simply put, the Night Watchers had too many constraints. Offending a massive supernatural organization for the sake of an Inspecting Commissioner might provoke resistance from other organizations. In the eyes of the higher-ups, the cost far outweighed the gain. From the leadership's perspective, it was understandable. From the perspective of Li Hao and the victim, however, it was entirely unacceptable. "So Sister Liu's vengeance can never be settled?" "There's no way, unless we become powerful figures in the supernatural realm. Then we can take revenge in our own names, without involving the Night Watchers..." Liu Long said calmly, "As the captain, I naturally have a plan for this! The prerequisite is that I become a supernatural." Otherwise, it was all empty talk, completely unrealistic. The person who murdered Liu Yan's husband was already at the peak of Lunar Nether, with hopes of breaking into Solar Radiance. A Solar Radiance was considered upper echelon in any organization. Without becoming a supernatural, a mere Hundred-Breaker stood no chance against such a person. Li Hao nodded in silence. Though myriad thoughts swirled in his mind, he didn't voice them. Thinking of the others, he asked, "Boss, what about the rest of the team?" "Them?" Liu Long smiled. "Everyone has their own story. Why reopen old wounds? I brought up Liu Yan only because I saw how much hope she's pinning on you. You absorbed mysterious energy so quickly just now that I think she's genuinely getting ideas. I had to warn you so that, young as you are, you don't stumble, succumb to female temptation, and end up with a grim fate." Li Hao shook his head. "You worry too much, Boss. I'm not that kind of person!" Liu Long said no more. *Young man, you claim you're not that kind of person, but if Liu Yan really beds you, whether you help her or not, you'll put me in an awkward spot as captain.* "Wang Ming..." Just as Li Hao was about to bring up Wang Ming, Liu Long shook his head slightly and whispered, "Don't worry about him! I've already investigated his background. Just pretend you know nothing. He is indeed from the Night Watchers, and I have my own plans!" Li Hao nodded. He felt reassured by Liu Long's arrangements. Though Liu Long appeared reckless on the surface, he was actually quite shrewd; otherwise, he wouldn't have pulled Li Hao aside to explain Liu Yan's circumstances. After speaking for a while, Li Hao had nothing else to attend to and parted ways with Liu Long. He was in no hurry to leave. What he needed most right now was a bath and a change of clothes. Fortunately, the basement was vast and well-equipped. There was a shower room, and as for clean clothes, the wardrobe was stacked with new Inspector uniforms. Clearly, Old Liu and the others were a lazy bunch; whenever their uniforms got torn or filthy, they simply threw them away and grabbed new ones. Li Hao had spotted several discarded uniforms in the trash bin. Evidently, the head of the Inspectorate's Law Enforcement Team held a fair bit of authority—enough to treat uniforms as disposable. *** After washing up and changing into fresh clothes, Li Hao felt completely refreshed. The benefits of his strengthened spleen were gradually manifesting. His blood flowed faster, and with any casual punch, Li Hao could produce a whip-crack sound, the resonance of his sinews and bones remarkably distinct. Li Hao barely left the basement for the rest of the day. He continued assimilating the mysterious energy while sparring with Wu Chao and Chen Jian. The two were easier to deal with than Liu Yan or Yun Yao, and Liu Long was too busy, having vanished off somewhere. Li Hao sparred with them; one specialized in defense and the other in evasion, making them both excellent opponents. By the end of the day, Li Hao felt he had gained tremendously. As for Wu Chao and Chen Jian, they had only one thought: Li Hao was a monster! His progress was truly visible to the naked eye! His previously unpolished Five Animals Art was now executed with proper form. Aside from lacking real combat experience and a true murderous edge, Li Hao now genuinely resembled someone in the Ten-Slayer realm. In the past, reaching the Ten-Slayer realm often required actual killing, and Ten-Slayers appeared most frequently on battlefields. Of course, in Li Hao's era, with the advent of supernaturals and modern firearms, martial masters rarely faced such trials. *** On the evening of the fifteenth, Li Hao returned home as the night wind picked up. In the sweltering heat of summer, this evening brought a rare coolness. To Li Hao, this shift in the weather heralded one thing: the rainy season was fast approaching, and time was short. *** At the very same moment. Outside Silver City. Figures of blood shadows emerged in the dark night. Not just one, but many. Behind every blood shadow stood a ghost-faced masked man. "The rainy night is coming soon!" In the darkness, one of the ghost-faced masked men spoke in a somber tone, sounding both expectant and wistful. "The Li family sword... it's time to harvest it!" Someone chuckled, while another remarked playfully, "The Silver City Demon Hunting Squad has gotten involved, and Yuan Shuo might be in the mix as well!" "Heh!" "The Demon Hunting Squad?" "You mean that foolish fellow, Liu Long? I know him! A Hundred-Breaker martial master who offended the Night Watchers! Back then, seeing that he wasn't weak, the Night Watchers hoped he would advance to the supernatural and become their next Solar Radiance prodigy! In the end, not only did he fail, but he also spouted arrogant nonsense, claiming martial masters weren't necessarily inferior to supernaturals, and that staying in Silver City would still allow him to guard a territory... What a laughingstock!" "Ridiculous indeed. I heard that over the past few years, he's been hunting supernaturals in secret, killing a few Lunar Nethers. Those were merely rogue supernaturals; otherwise, he would have been eliminated long ago!" "Everyone, small as Silver City may be, we shouldn't get careless! It's small enough that the Night Watchers don't even come here, but that doesn't mean there's no danger. Tiny Silver City still holds several Hundred-Breaker martial masters... We must still take them seriously!" "Hundred-Breaker martial masters!" One of the ghost-faced figures chuckled. "We'd better watch out for firearms instead. If any Hundred-Breaker martial masters dare show their faces, we kill every last one of them! This is the final lineage of the gathering of eight lineages, and our final mission in Silver City! Once this is done, everyone... we may never set foot in this place again for the rest of our lives!" "Understood!" "Rest assured. Even if Silver City is prepared and someone from the Night Watchers has arrived... what of it? We know about them, but they know nothing of our existence!" "A swift strike. Eliminate the Li family descendant at maximum speed, seize the Li family sword, and the plan for the gathering of eight lineages will be completely fulfilled!" "What about the Zhang family saber?" "No matter. Once the Li family sword is in our hands, the importance of the Zhang family saber drops drastically; we may well find a substitute. The Zhang family saber hasn't surfaced all this time; it may truly be lost!" "Understood!" Following a chorus of replies, the crimson silhouettes dissolved into the dark. The ghost-faced figures vanished from the spot one after another. Just as Li Hao had suspected, the Red Shadow... was neither singular nor a single person!