Slaying the Red Shadow

Northern suburbs. Li Hao, Liu Yan, and Chen Jian sprinted at top speed. It took a heavy toll, but their recovery was equally rapid. They heard the gunfire coming from the city. Liu Yan paused slightly in her stride, glanced back toward Silver City, and gave a smile that was hard to tell whether it was mocking or wistful. The Inspectorate had finally made a move after all. In Silver City, the only person with the clout to mobilize so many armed men for intimidation was that fat director at the Inspectorate. "The boss is going to break free!" Liu Yan said quickly. That fat man had too many qualms to act rashly, but he could at least guarantee one thing: Liu Long wouldn't be killed in the city. "The Inspectorate?" Li Hao realized, somewhat surprised. The Inspectorate had intervened? That was indeed unexpected. "Yeah, must be!" Liu Yan kept running, lowering her voice as she ran. "That fat director at the Inspectorate—our superior—watch out for him. Don't let him sell you out while you help him count the money. He's no good guy!" Li Hao had met Mu Sen. A few days after Li Hao joined, Mu Sen had personally come to see him and even praised him. He seemed very amiable, with a great reputation in the Inspectorate. Li Hao just hadn't expected that Mu Sen, usually quiet and unassertive, would dare meddle in supernatural affairs tonight. "Is the director a martial master too? Or a supernatural?" "A martial master!" Liu Yan replied swiftly. "Almost all supernaturals end up with the Night Watchers. The Inspectorate generally keeps ordinary people. Most of the directors are martial masters, though some aren't and are purely ordinary people." Li Hao didn't ask further. Now wasn't the time to ask. The three continued their sprint. Moments later, they crossed a field of wild grass. Just over a thousand meters ahead lay a large warehouse. Beyond that, the faint silhouette of a mountain was visible. Tianwang Mountain! This was the rendezvous point Liu Long had chosen. Li Hao didn't understand why they had to meet here, but right now, he could only trust Liu Long. Almost there! Right then, Liu Yan suddenly crouched down in the wild grass. Chen Jian crouched quickly as well, and together they yanked Li Hao down with them. No movement! Li Hao looked around and saw nothing. However, trusting Liu Yan's judgment, he kept silent, squatting in the person-tall wild grass. The downpour continued, muffling the rustle of the bent stalks. After about thirty seconds, a gunshot cracked through the rainy night! The deluge drowned out the blast, but the muffled thud was still audible. Liu Yan said nothing, crouching even lower. Chen Jian signaled with his hand to Li Hao. Li Hao understood: the tall one... Wu Chao! It was Wu Chao and his group! Wu Chao and Yun Yao had left to support the captain and hadn't shown up since. Li Hao had worried about them. Now it seemed they were alive, but apparently pursued. "Woof, woof, woof!" In the rainy night, a black dog kept growling low, the sound faintly reaching Li Hao's ears. Black Panther! ... At that moment, Wu Chao's face was deathly pale as he gasped violently for breath. He could no longer carry Yun Yao or drag Black Panther along. Now, it was Black Panther who had some energy left, growling continuously as if deterring something. Yun Yao had long discarded her glasses. She couldn't see the Red Shadow! However, she knew where it was; wherever Black Panther barked was where the Red Shadow was. Petite as she was, Yun Yao still carried her medical kit. Glancing at Wu Chao, she saw he was wounded! A supernatural had been trailing them! Most of the enemies had been led away by the captain. Originally two supernaturals had pursued them, but after trouble erupted in the city, one had left, while the other relentlessly hunted them down. "Head to the rendezvous..." Thin and haggard, Wu Chao had a flushed red hue on his face. Rain dripped from his head, mingled with streaks of red. The color of blood! He was injured, and heavily so. The supernatural behind him matched his speed. The two sides hadn't closed the distance, but throughout the chase, even with Black Panther guiding them, the Red Shadow had invaded Wu Chao several times. Wu Chao wasn't Liu Long; he couldn't boil his blood with inner force to force the Red Shadow out like Liu Long did. His internal organs were burned by the Red Shadow, and his head felt as if it had been burned through. Rain fell, washing away streams of blood. Yun Yao said nothing. Opening her medical kit, she took out a small crystal sphere and stuffed it into his mouth. Without hesitation, Wu Chao swallowed it. In the next instant, his face flushed even deeper. Not only that, his vitality began to boil, but his skin split open, and blood flowed faster. Yun Yao swiftly treated his wounds, a faint ripple of energy radiating from her hands to barely seal them. Her voice sounded weary. "Go, head to the rendezvous point first. You know the consequences!" What consequences? The consequences of swallowing that crystal sphere! Wu Chao smiled a grim, chilly smile. Consequences... of course he knew. The crystal sphere was both poison and medicine; it stimulated one's potential, but over time, it would leave a person completely crippled. But... who cared about that now? Wu Chao seemed to return to his peak, power and speed surging back. Grabbing Yun Yao with one hand and Black Panther with the other, he raced toward the distant warehouse. His speed was back at its zenith. Moments later, a figure flashed past, faintly shimmering with dark blue light. Wearing a ghost mask, the supernatural pursued them. Pursuing them from within the city to this place, he hadn't managed to catch a Ten-Slayer... Although that fellow was merely fast, escaping for so long was beyond Ghost Face's expectations. "That dog..." Initially, he hadn't cared about the hound, but now the dark blue Ghost Face grew puzzled. He sensed the dog was unusual; it seemed capable of seeing the Red Shadow, which ordinary people couldn't see. The Red Shadow had closed in multiple times, but most of the time they evaded it, only wounding Wu Chao once. In theory, a Ten-Slayer couldn't evade a Red Shadow. Even Liu Long couldn't evade it and had to take it head-on! Yet that black dog... was truly intriguing. "A black dog turning into a spirit?" "Or are black dogs inherently special?" The dark blue Ghost Face couldn't figure it out. The Red Shadow was peculiar; Ghost Face didn't understand it thoroughly either. Controlling one didn't mean he knew everything about it. At that moment, a faint ripple of mysterious energy stirred on him. In the next instant, the Red Shadow surfaced and chased toward the distance once more. ... In the wild grass. Liu Yan didn't make a sound. Even as Wu Chao and the others sped past right ahead of them, she didn't show herself. She seemed more confident than before. At this moment, she even held her breath. Seeing her like this, Li Hao knew Liu Yan wanted to ambush the pursuing supernatural. As for being certain it was a supernatural... Li Hao saw it! Yes, in the rainy night, it was too obvious. In the darkness, a moonlit glow flickered in the distance—mysterious energy, the Lunar Nether realm! Li Hao could see mysterious energy, something no one else knew. "A supernatural!" Not a martial master this time. The one hunting Wu Chao and the others was a supernatural, and just one, in the Lunar Nether realm. Equivalent to a Hundred-Breaker, and far more troublesome. Liu Yan, a Ten-Slayer, wanted to ambush him. Difficult! Supernaturals were much harder to deal with than Hundred-Breakers! Clearly, their previous success had made Liu Yan bolder. At this moment, she glanced back at Li Hao, and that look... Li Hao understood! He stiffened. *Sister, please don't.* Liu Yan clearly overestimated him. She wanted Li Hao to do what he had done earlier—walk out, put on an act, and see if he could deceive the pursuer! But... this was different! Because following that light source in the darkness, Li Hao also caught sight of a smear of red. The Red Shadow! This was the first time tonight he had seen the Red Shadow—the very shadow that had brought him so much dread. No one could see it! Even Liu Long couldn't deal with it. The teacher had said this was an entity involving the mental plane, something only a Thousand-Battler could contend with. Li Hao instinctively touched the jade sword in his breast pocket. To deal with the Red Shadow, perhaps only this sword would work. Yet even if he could deal with the Red Shadow, a Lunar Nether supernatural accompanied it. Liu Yan and Chen Jian were simply no match. Seeing Liu Yan about to charge out... Li Hao held her back tightly! Don't move! Once these supernaturals had a Red Shadow beside them, it was like having an extra pair of eyes—a full 360-degree view. The Red Shadow could fly, turn invisible and colorless, and hover in midair to survey the surroundings. The supernaturals killed in the city had died either because their Red Shadows followed Liu Long or had been sent too far away to notice ordinary people. Otherwise, with the Red Shadow acting as eyes, killing these supernaturals was exceedingly difficult. Li Hao already saw the Red Shadow hovering in midair. How could he let Liu Yan charge out? That wouldn't be an ambush; it would be suicide! The moment she moved, the Red Shadow would spot her! Liu Yan turned her head toward Li Hao. He gently pointed toward the air. Stunned, Liu Yan realized something, deeply shocked. What did that mean? Li Hao meant that invisible mental entity was nearby? In their minds, such things were rare and should be unique, trailing Liu Long in the city right now. How could one appear here? As a Ten-Slayer, Liu Yan couldn't sense it at all. Only then did she feel immense pressure. There was more than one! If Li Hao hadn't stopped her and she had charged out to ambush him... she would have been discovered long before getting close. Certain death! Meanwhile, Li Hao wracked his brain for a plan. A supernatural with a Red Shadow was too hard to deal with. Supernaturals were already powerful, ambushes were impossible against them, and the Red Shadow was lethal. If anything, the supernatural was the one more likely to ambush them. Liu Long had only managed to quickly kill three supernaturals because he broke all convention and unleashed heavy firearms across the city. Face-to-face, he would have had little hope. Li Hao looked up toward the source of light. No matter how covert a supernatural was, they were like lightbulbs in his eyes. He wasn't afraid of supernaturals ambushing him; the main trouble was the Red Shadow. Whether earth tunneling or anything else, as long as Li Hao could see mysterious energy, he could spot them. As Li Hao and Liu Yan deliberated, the Red Shadow swiftly drifted past ahead. Li Hao didn't dare move, hiding in the grass with terrifying stillness, letting the icy rain soak his body. Soon, the moonlit light source caught up, following the Red Shadow into the distance. Only when they vanished did Li Hao exhale softly. "They're after Brother Wu and the others!" With a solemn expression, Liu Yan looked at Li Hao and whispered, "You stopped me because the thing you encountered last time is nearby?" "Yeah!" Li Hao nodded. "I can sense its presence!" He didn't say he could see it... but it didn't matter. At this point, it was the same either way. Liu Yan didn't press. Frowning, she asked, "What do we do? From Wu Chao's appearance, he probably took a potential pill. Yun Yao made those using mysterious energy to stimulate latent potential, but it won't last long. Wu Chao will be completely crippled soon!" The warehouse was one or two kilometers away. At their speed, they could reach it quickly. But even if Wu Chao and Yun Yao made it, they wouldn't have time to prepare; the supernatural was too close behind. If caught, both would die. Pushing thoughts of his teacher aside, Li Hao considered quickly and asked, "Can the four of you take down a Lunar Nether if you join forces?" Without Liu Long, could the Demon Hunting Squad do it? If they could, he could try taking on the Red Shadow. The jade sword in his breast pocket gave him confidence! Though it wasn't a hundred percent certain. "Tough!" Liu Yan said, then added, "But not impossible. The key lies in you... that special inner force of yours! I've barely exerted myself, and this supernatural has pursued them all the way from the city. Mysterious energy isn't infinite; he must have consumed quite a bit. From Wu Chao's state, there's been some back-and-forth between them. So, as long as he hasn't progressed too far into Lunar Nether, we might stand a chance!" Chen Jian chimed in quickly. "My injuries are mostly healed. As long as this guy doesn't use some bizarre elemental attack and relies purely on powerful physical strikes, I can hold him off!" Both looked at Li Hao, the newcomer. It wasn't that Li Hao was strong, but that he possessed mysterious methods. Both pinned their hopes on Li Hao having a way to deal with the enemy. Originally, they were meant to protect Li Hao. Now, the tables were turned; they had to rely on Li Hao's special abilities to survive this danger. "Sister, what measures are inside the warehouse to deal with supernaturals? We can't just run in and wait to die, right?" Li Hao asked. If going inside meant waiting for death... why bother running there? As for burying explosives... the supernatural wasn't stupid and could guess it. Besides, blowing everything up meant dying together—that was a last resort. "An ice crystal chamber!" Liu Yan answered directly. "Inside the warehouse, we used ice crystals to create a special environment. Ice crystals isolate mysterious energy, as you know!" Li Hao's heart stirred. He recalled the isolated mysterious energy when he absorbed it before. An ice crystal chamber? Covering the warehouse? Wasn't ice crystal supposed to be extremely rare? Where did they get enough ice crystal to cover such a large warehouse? Liu Yan quickly said, "The area isn't large, just a small section. In there, supernatural damage can be blocked! Without superpowers, a supernatural is worse than a martial master! Of course, the area is too small, not the entire warehouse. We have to get into that zone and lure them in..." "Why not set it up in the city?" Li Hao still wondered. Why run all this way just for that? Liu Yan explained, "Walk and talk, I'm worried Wu Chao won't hold out!" The three got up quickly and gave chase. As they ran, Liu Yan whispered, "Heavy weapons of mass destruction can't be used in the city! Besides, the ice crystal here is hard to move back. It breaks too easily. The ice crystal here isn't true ice crystal in the traditional sense; it's a special ice crystal created by a supernatural we killed before, using his powers right before dying..." Li Hao understood somewhat. It seemed an ambush could only be laid here. Liu Long wanted to fight the decisive battle here to exploit the energy-blocking property of ice crystals against the supernaturals. "Why not make ice crystal armor or something?" Li Hao asked. If ice crystals isolated mysterious energy, having armor would drastically reduce supernatural damage. "Impossible to make! Ice crystals aren't sturdy at all, just made of a special material. If you forged it into armor, assuming you even could, the enemy wouldn't even need superpowers—a slight move would shatter it... It can only be used in fixed locations, otherwise moving around might shatter the crystals on your own!" Li Hao understood and stopped asking. The three continued running. Now, the warehouse ahead came faintly into view. Outside the warehouse, Wu Chao's chilling, ghostlike howl rang out in the rain: "Grandson, you still dare follow? This place is packed with explosives! Step inside, and I'll blow us all to hell!" Outside the warehouse. Wu Chao and Yun Yao had already crossed into the open warehouse, gasping violently. Blood seeped from Wu Chao's seven facial orifices; the drug's effect was wearing off. Outside, the dark blue supernatural kept the rain off himself. He didn't enter. He knew there might truly be explosives buried inside, but... these brutes underestimated supernaturals and his organization far too much. Right now, the Red Shadow was advancing toward the warehouse. Explosives? Laughable! Can you blow up a Red Shadow? "Woof, woof, woof!" Black Panther barked an alert, tense. The Red Shadow was coming! Neither Wu Chao nor Yun Yao had means to counter the Red Shadow. Even if the supernatural didn't enter, once the Red Shadow slipped inside, explosives would be useless—they would only blow themselves to smithereens! "This had nothing to do with you in the first place, yet you insisted on meddling!" the dark blue Ghost Face supernatural said coldly from outside. He glanced at Yun Yao. "How many more of those crystal beads do you have? Use them all!" Earlier, Yun Yao had blown back the Red Shadow with one. That was one of the rare items capable of harming a Red Shadow, but he was certain she couldn't have many left; what she used earlier was likely all of them. That item was linked to mysterious energy; the Demon Hunting Squad couldn't possess much. Inside the warehouse, Yun Yao's expression remained steady. She pulled out a crystal bead and, without a word, threw it along the direction of Black Panther's frantic barking. *Bang!* A loud explosion erupted as the crystal bead shattered. Yun Yao couldn't see the result, but Black Panther's barking lessened slightly; clearly, the Red Shadow had been forced back. Yet Yun Yao knew... this was only the beginning. She truly didn't have many left—only three on her person. And this incorporeal thing couldn't be killed by blasts, making it far more troublesome than a supernatural. "Where's Li Hao?" Outside, the supernatural was in no rush. These people were cornered here and couldn't escape! He was more puzzled about Li Hao's group. The Ghost Face martial masters were nowhere to be seen either. Could something have happened to them? Martial masters... truly useless. A full ten martial masters, including a Hundred-Breaker, had gone to capture two Ten-Slayers and an ordinary person, and they still failed? Just then, his gaze shifted slightly. He turned back. This time, Li Hao's group of three appeared, seemingly unaware of the Red Shadow, as though stumbling upon the place by accident. Catching sight of the Ghost Face supernatural, Li Hao's face paled, while Liu Yan drew dual blades, her expression grim. "You're all here!" The supernatural suddenly chuckled. "Liu Long has some skill after all, still alive by now! You guys aren't bad either... Where are Yun Gui and the rest?" Clearly, he was asking about the martial masters. Liu Yan and Chen Jian didn't look like they had fought a fierce battle. He could tell at a glance that none of them appeared wounded. Liu Yan's inner force surged; in such a state, an intense battle was out of the question. Where had the Ghost Face martial masters gone? With a Hundred-Breaker martial master and nine Ten-Slayers, they couldn't have gotten lost, could they? Of course, hard to say. With rain pouring so hard in the dead of night, if they had genuinely lost their way... that would be hilarious! At that moment, Li Hao grew tense. As they arrived, he saw the Red Shadow flying toward them. Inside the warehouse, Black Panther barked several times, and Yun Yao called out anxiously, "Watch out, some ghostly thing is approaching you!" Face smeared with blood, Wu Chao roared in panic, "That thing has no physical form—you can't sense or see it! Once it enters your body, it burns your internal organs!" Trouble! Dual blades in hand, Liu Yan stood in front of Li Hao on high alert, staring coldly at the supernatural. "No matter how mysterious it is, a human controls it! Kill you, and I bet that thing will vanish too!" With that, Liu Yan gave a low cry, kicked off the ground at high speed, and charged at him with her twin blades! Chen Jian raised his shield and charged fiercely as well! There was no other choice! As Li Hao had said, ambushing was useless now. Their best option was for them to pin down the supernatural while Li Hao found a way to finish off the Red Shadow... Once the Red Shadow was eliminated, the supernatural would lose his greatest safeguard. Only then would they have a chance to kill him. The moment Liu Yan charged, the Red Shadow darted toward her. Just then, Li Hao behind them suddenly turned and ran: "Hold him off, I'll go get help!" He fled! The supernatural had intended to eliminate the Ten-Slayer Demon Hunting Squad members first, but seeing Li Hao run annoyed him. Their target for this mission was Li Hao! The Demon Hunting Squad members could be spared, but Li Hao... could not escape! The Red Shadow swiftly pursued Li Hao! An ordinary person couldn't outrun a Red Shadow. Since he couldn't kill Li Hao right now, he commanded the Red Shadow to entangle and subdue him first. His greatest worry was that Li Hao might accidentally get lost in the dark or get himself killed, which would be a massive headache. "Woof, woof!" At that moment, Black Panther bolted out, chasing after the Red Shadow. Wu Chao and Yun Yao wanted to follow, but had no chance. The Lunar Nether supernatural snorted coldly, and countless raindrops in the air instantly morphed into razor-sharp projectiles, shooting toward them! Water manipulation! *Thud, thud, thud!* Chen Jian's shield was instantly pitted by the raindrops with tremendous force. Had they hit flesh, they would have punched numerous bloody holes. "Attack together!" Liu Yan shouted, thrusting her blade. "Ignore Li Hao for now! These bastards won't kill him yet—they're waiting for the right moment!" "Clever!" Surrounded by the group, the supernatural chuckled indifferently. So what if she guessed it? With a wave of his hand, a water shield formed before him. Liu Yan's thrust pierced through it, but its force was spent, failing to reach him. "The era of martial masters is over!" The supernatural gave a faint laugh and waved his hand again, unleashing mysterious energy. On this rainy night, the battlefield favored him! Here, he could unleash even greater power. Water arrows flew in all directions! Chen Jian roared, bracing his shield forward. The Demon Hunting Squad's coordination was solid. Enduring the searing pain in his internal organs, Wu Chao flitted like a ghost, clutching a pitch-black dagger, circling the enemy to seek an opening! Four Ten-Slayer martial masters joining forces against a Lunar Nether supernatural were instantly pushed onto the defensive. Yet with their tight teamwork and Chen Jian holding the frontline, while the enemy's water arrows were lethal, they lacked the destructive nature of fire, allowing Chen Jian to barely hold out. Liu Yan fought with everything she had, her long legs whipping out to shatter the water shield before thrusting her dual blades inward! The five were locked in combat! ... In the distance. Li Hao ran frantically, but the Red Shadow moved swiftly, closing in on him in the blink of an eye. Behind them, Black Panther caught up quickly, barking relentlessly. Barking right at the Red Shadow! Li Hao halted, glanced around, and looked at the panting dog. "What are you barking for? I can see it!" The issue was that barking was useless; Black Panther couldn't harm the Red Shadow anyway. He clutched the jade sword at his chest, feeling tense. Li Hao didn't know if it would work. If the jade sword couldn't kill the Red Shadow... would he have to wait for his teacher to save him? The Red Shadow seemed devoid of sentience, acting only on commands. Seeing Li Hao stop, it closed in rapidly. Li Hao's hair stood on end! He didn't dodge. The Red Shadow was likely the most troublesome threat tonight, worse than the supernaturals. If he didn't destroy it, things would become truly dire. "Woof, woof, woof!" Black Panther barked frantically again. Li Hao couldn't worry about the dog now. He yanked the jade sword from its chain, gripping it tightly between two fingers, aiming the tip at the Red Shadow. Whether he could kill it... came down to this! This thing had burned his good friend to death. Even if it wasn't the exact same one, all Red Shadows deserved to die! As the Red Shadow closed in, Li Hao gritted his teeth and thrust the sword! "..." Silence. The Red Shadow seemed completely unharmed; there was no effect. Li Hao was startled! Useless? Impossible! The jade sword had nearly reacted on its own several times before—how could it do nothing? Yet the sword had passed straight through the Red Shadow without any effect. *No... is it still sealed?* *Bloodline... unsealing?* He recalled what his teacher said: the jade sword was likely sealed. To unseal it, one either had to stab one's heart for heart's blood or boil one's bloodline to a certain level to awaken it. At that moment, Li Hao's vitality boiled! He was only at the Ten-Slayer realm; even boiling his blood fell far short of Liu Long's power to repel the Red Shadow. Yet as his blood boiled, Li Hao sensed something distinct: the jade sword in his hand vibrated slightly. "Die!" Li Hao grunted and thrust again! This time, there was contact! The moment the Red Shadow touched Li Hao's chest, the sword struck true. A hissing sizzle erupted as plumes of red, bloody smoke billowed outward. At that instant, the Red Shadow seemed to shift from incorporeal to tangible. Because Li Hao could always see it, he didn't know if it had truly materialized for others! All he felt was that it was much clearer than before. Just then, Black Panther lunged from behind, claws slashing out to catch the Red Shadow! *Rip!* A tear appeared across the Red Shadow's surface. Delight flashed in the hound's eyes. It works? Without a word, Li Hao pinched the sword, burst with inner force, and thrust viciously again! *Squelch!* The sword struck home, releasing more blood smoke. Sensing danger, the Red Shadow tried to flee, but Black Panther slashed with its paws, knocking it right back. The next moment, Li Hao put away the sword and threw a punch, landing a solid blow on the Red Shadow! The Red Shadow had materialized! The small sword had forced it into a tangible form. It didn't seem all that powerful, merely hard to kill. But both Li Hao and Black Panther could damage it now, each strike knocking off wisps of bloody smoke! "So... that's all you are?" At this moment, Li Hao suddenly smiled. I've been terrified for a whole year, and this is it? So weak? And here I thought how formidable you were! This is all a Red Shadow amounts to? A Ten-Slayer's level, just too mysterious, invisible and intangible to ordinary people. No wonder Liu Long survived even with this thing around! "Go to hell!" Li Hao attacked madly, drawing a blade he had stripped from that martial master earlier. He hacked into the Red Shadow blow after blow. The human-sized form was quickly torn to shreds by him and Black Panther. However, the red mist began slowly congregating again. Li Hao frowned. *Is it truly indestructible?* *Even this can't kill it?* *What on earth is this damn thing?* The small sword didn't seem fully unsealed; once it broke the entity's intangibility, it seemed to lose effect. Was this thing truly unkillable? Just then, a faint wisp of bloody smoke drifted onto Li Hao's hand. Li Hao had been continuously running the Five Animals Breathing Art, and the jade sword's energy circulated within him. The moment the blood smoke touched his hand, Li Hao's body absorbed it. Simultaneously, the jade sword's energy blended with the blood smoke, abruptly forming a unique energy. This energy was extraordinary—it didn't strengthen the body, nor the internal organs... It surged straight into his blood. After his blood transformation, Li Hao had felt his blood was packed with energy. Now, the influx of this blood-colored energy made his blood boil once more! "Hm?" Li Hao froze. This... the Red Shadow was also a form of special energy? He felt the surge in his blood's strength! In an instant, his eyes turned bloodshot! Martial masters strengthened bone and sinew, built inner force, transformed blood, and tempered skin and flesh... Blood was the hardest to strengthen. This thing was energy? And it could be neutralized by the jade sword's energy into a special power he could absorb? Heavens! Ecstasy flared in Li Hao's eyes. He had just been fretting over how to destroy this seemingly unkillable thing, but... *if I absorb all this energy, let's see how you revive!* Five Animals Breathing Art, full throttle! Li Hao grabbed hold of the Red Shadow and began absorbing frantically! *I'll suck you dry!* *Thud, thud, thud!* The blood shadow struggled violently, sensing mortal danger. The humanoid shadow shed streams of red mist that surged toward Li Hao! Li Hao's blood boiled intensely! He had experienced something similar when strengthening his spleen, but the energy absorbed then had been meager, making the blood transformation effect unremarkable. This time, the Red Shadow's energy was overwhelmingly abundant. Blood seeped from every pore of Li Hao's body! Yet newly generated blood surged continuously. He could clearly feel his blood gushing through his veins like molten lava. Li Hao felt filled to the brim with power! "Absorb!" Li Hao was ecstatic. At this moment, he realized the Red Shadow might be the key to his rise! He hadn't even absorbed a tenth of it and already felt stronger. What if he absorbed the entire thing? How many had come tonight? At this moment, he wished dozens of Red Shadows had shown up... Bring them all on, I'll absorb every last one! *Thump, thump, thump!* His heart pounded violently, his blood rushing through his veins like a torrential river. Li Hao felt invincible power surging within, though his bones and skin weren't quite strong enough yet, making his blood vessels feel on the verge of bursting. Beside him, Black Panther couldn't absorb the mist directly, but it seemed to recognize Li Hao was gaining immense benefits. Seeing Li Hao bleeding from his skin... Black Panther extended its tongue and began licking him. Licking might bring some benefits too. Man and hound were both worked up. After a few licks, Black Panther found it truly had an effect and licked even more furiously. Meanwhile, in its frantic struggle, the Red Shadow's blood mist scattered relentlessly, its form shrinking smaller and smaller! From the size of a person, it gradually dwindled to the size of a human head. Li Hao, on the other hand, felt almost intoxicated from the absorption. Such good stuff! It felt no worse than mysterious energy—better, even! It was like absorbing several hundred cubic units of mysterious energy all at once, without the excruciating pain! Li Hao threw another punch, shattering the last remnant of the Red Shadow. This time, he felt an obvious surge in power. "Did I... improve?" Li Hao was overjoyed. Even if he hadn't reached Hundred-Breaker, he felt he was at the Thirty-Slayer or Forty-Slayer level now, much stronger than before. Next moment, Li Hao sprinted back. The Red Shadow was completely gone. He didn't know if the supernatural could sense it... No matter, he would go back and check. Black Panther seemed to have reached the Ten-Slayer level as well. With himself included, six Ten-Slayers might just be able to take that guy down head-on!