"Pbbbbt!"
Another mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his lips.
Li Hao groggily opened his eyes. Even now, the Five Animals Breathing Art was still running, and the violent turmoil within his body had finally subsided a little.
Yet the red energy was still flooding in relentlessly. Li Hao could even feel the meridians throughout his body clogged by the sheer volume of power, congealing into something almost solid. There was no pain—only numbness!
It felt as though his body no longer belonged to him!
"Awake?"
His teacher's voice sounded beside him.
Li Hao opened his eyes fully, his gaze weary. He saw his teacher playing at walking a dog off to the side—and the dog in question was none other than Black Panther.
"Teacher!" Li Hao coughed, spitting up another mouthful of blood tinged with black.
Yuan Shuo was exhausted as well, but he had still kept watch over the kid for an entire day. Seeing that Li Hao had finally regained his senses and clear consciousness, he didn't bother wasting words. Like a brazen bandit, he snatched the little sword right away.
"Let me take a draw!"
Li Hao was struck speechless. This behavior... did not fit his teacher's status as a revered scholar in the slightest!
"Teacher, I..."
"I know. I've already checked," Yuan Shuo said. "You've got way too much energy in your body, but it's holding in balance right now, so you won't die anytime soon... If you don't let your teacher take a draw, you'll be collecting my corpse in a moment!"
Yuan Shuo spoke in a teasing tone, but the reality was genuinely grave.
If not for the fear that snatching the little sword earlier might cause his closing disciple to be torn apart and killed by the raging surge of energy, he would have grabbed it long ago. He only showed this much patience because it was his own student—if it had been anyone else, would Yuan Shuo have waited until now?
His own body was a total wreck right now!
It was in an even worse state than Li Hao's. Li Hao had merely suffered an energy overload, whereas Yuan Shuo had completely drained his energy, depleted his inner force, and suffered substantial trauma to his spirit intent on top of that.
It was damage that reached into the mental realm.
That *Blood Saber Art* truly lived up to its name as a forbidden martial art. This was the first time Yuan Shuo had experienced its sheer terror firsthand. Of course, a martial art like the *Blood Saber Art* had nothing to do with Li Hao for now. Manipulating energy on a spiritual level would have to wait until Li Hao reached the Thousand-Battler realm. Formidable though this forbidden technique was, ordinary people could never use it, nor could they bear the cost.
Yuan Shuo drew in some of the jade sword's energy...
In an instant, his internal injuries began to knit together, and Yuan Shuo couldn't help letting out a groan.
Good!
Exquisitely good!
It felt like sweet rain after a long drought—pure bliss. Damn it, if he had been wearing this little sword earlier, he might have been able to unleash the Blood Saber Art a second time. The weapons of the Eight Great Families were formidable beyond belief.
That included the stone saber. If not for having it in hand, even at the Thousand-Battler realm, he might not have easily pierced that fellow's defenses. Slaying Divine Master Duantian had required both the stone saber and the Blood Saber Art; neither could be spared. Winning this battle had truly been a stroke of luck.
"Teacher!"
Li Hao looked at Yuan Shuo. Right now, Yuan Shuo appeared battered and disheveled, and it didn't look faked. There was no one around, so putting on an act would be pointless.
"Did we win?"
"We won!"
As Yuan Shuo absorbed the energy, he cursed, "Red Moon is ruthless as hell! To take out an ordinary person, they actually dispatched a top-tier powerhouse at the Three Sols realm. They really spared no expense, damn it... Luckily, I took him down!"
Three Sols?
Li Hao was completely unable to move right now, left only able to lean against the filthy wall and ask, "Three Sols... is that above Solar Radiance?"
"Yeah, that bastard!"
Yuan Shuo drew in the energy comfortably. Feeling his injuries mend, his mood improved considerably. "Above Solar Radiance lies the gathering of three suns' power, drawing upon the concept of uniting three suns into one. It refers to supernaturals whose total mysterious energy is nearly triple that of the Solar Radiance realm—those are Three Sols powerhouses!"
"I originally thought that even if the mastermind had some tricks up their sleeve, supernatural abilities have only been around for twenty years. Three Sols powerhouses are exceedingly rare throughout Silver Moon Province, only appearing in greater numbers in the central regions. Even sending a single Solar Radiance would have meant they thought very highly of you... But holy shit, they sent a Three Sols powerhouse right off the bat!"
This time, it truly had been perilous.
If not for the stone saber, if not for Yuan Shuo's recent breakthrough, and if not for the countless ancient texts at his disposal, a single Three Sols powerhouse could have easily wiped them all out and swept clean through Silver City without breaking a sweat.
Li Hao also let out a sigh.
Indeed, they certainly thought highly of him!
The more that was the case, the clearer it became that the trouble was far from over! To target an ordinary person like him, the enemy had deployed an expert of that caliber. Now that his teacher had killed him, what about next time?
"Teacher, how did you kill him? Did you break through?"
"No!"
Yuan Shuo suddenly frowned and shook his head. "It's not that simple. Leaving aside supernaturals, on the martial masters' side... there is no path beyond Thousand-Battler!"
No path beyond!
Li Hao froze slightly. "Then you could just advance to supernatural, Teacher. Is there not enough saber energy?"
"That's not the reason. I won't tell you for now. As for you... worry about advancing to Hundred-Breaker first. You still have a long road ahead."
He wasn't inclined to say much right now; saying too much would only distract Li Hao.
He added, "Of course, your current situation... even I can't make sense of it! What the hell did you absorb? The meridians and blood in your body are practically solidified. It's all energy, and not mysterious energy either."
Li Hao pondered for a moment and explained, "It's that thing on the spiritual level I mentioned. It entered my body, got counter-attacked by my little sword, and after that, a massive amount of energy flooded inside me. It fused with the sword energy in my body into a peculiar kind of energy... I had absorbed some before, but only a tiny bit, which served to strengthen my blood. It wasn't like this time, where I absorbed so much that I've ended up with severe indigestion!"
"Of course you would!"
Yuan Shuo nodded. "I know your physical constitution well. Among those in the Ten-Slayer realm, you're fairly strong, but the energy you sucked in... it probably surpasses even the Thousand-Battler realm! It was far too much. The only reason it didn't blow you apart is because of the sword energy! It neutralized the force, but it's also left you in this predicament."
Li Hao tried once more to assimilate the energy, only to find himself completely powerless. It truly felt as if it had solidified! What was he supposed to do?
Yuan Shuo's injuries had recovered significantly by now. Seeing Li Hao attempt to absorb it, he shook his head. "You were unconsciously absorbing energy in your sleep, sucking in far too much, and now it has solidified! Relying on yourself, you'll probably never be able to digest it!"
Li Hao frowned.
He looked toward his teacher, confident that the man must have a solution.
In his eyes, Yuan Shuo was practically omniscient. Though phrasing it that way might be overestimating him slightly, it had always been true from the past up to the present: whatever Li Hao didn't understand, his teacher seemed to know inside and out. Whatever question was raised, his teacher could resolve it.
Yuan Shuo continued, "As for what comes next, I don't know if you'll run into even bigger trouble... But you are the sole descendant of the Eight Great Families left in Silver City. The Red Moon organization failed to achieve their goal, and on top of that, a top-tier Three Sols powerhouse died here. They probably won't let this go easily!
"Of course, because I'm here, they can't figure out my true situation yet, so they won't dare make another reckless move right away... Besides, I killed a Three Sols expert this time. If they send people again, it will probably take more than one Three Sols. The Night Watchers still exist, after all, and they represent orthodox authority. I'm also nominally a collaborating professor with them... In any case, for a short while, they shouldn't dare act rashly."
Yuan Shuo said all this partly to make Li Hao understand that his troubles were far from solved, and partly to reassure him that in the short term, things were manageable. Weak though the Night Watchers might be, as long as they dug in their heels, Red Moon wouldn't dare deploy lightly unless they went all out. At that point, it would be an all-out war, and Ying Hongyue didn't have that kind of guts.
"As for your problem, fixing it is easy enough."
Li Hao's eyes lit up. He knew his teacher had a way.
"Two methods!"
Yuan Shuo held up two fingers and chuckled. "First, carve the flesh and bleed it out!"
"..."
Li Hao gave a sheepish look. That... well, if there were no other choice and it solved the problem, it wasn't out of the question. But carving flesh and draining blood sounded downright agonizing.
"Second, dual cultivation!"
"Huh?"
Li Hao wasn't entirely ignorant. Hearing that, he gave a strange look. "Find a woman?"
"Piss off!"
Yuan Shuo snapped irritably. "The second someone says dual cultivation, your mind goes straight to the gutter! What's a youngster like you doing daydreaming about women? Dual cultivation is just a method of training—stop having delusions! I'm talking about doing it with me..."
Li Hao's jaw dropped!
Yuan Shuo chuckled. "What? Unhappy about it? What's wrong with letting your teacher take a little advantage? You brat absorbed far too much energy to burn through, and ordinary people wouldn't have a prayer of fixing it. We come from the same sect, and your foundation method is the Five Animals Breathing Art, just like mine. If you dual cultivate with me, with my strength, I can help you siphon off the majority of the energy... Of course, you'll be on the losing end of the deal. Most of the energy you managed to absorb will get snatched away by me!"
"Actually, there's a third way..."
Yuan Shuo said leisurely, "The third method is to wait! Wear it down bit by bit, absorb it grain by grain. In your condition, I reckon you could fully digest it in a year or two. Once it's all absorbed, you might reach the peak of Hundred-Breaker, or perhaps even Thousand-Battler... Well, the latter is a long shot, since Thousand-Battler relies mainly on spirit intent and this is purely energy, but peak Hundred-Breaker is a certainty!"
As long as Li Hao was willing to wait, he could absorb this entire reservoir of energy within a year or two and become a peak Hundred-Breaker martial master. Countless people would turn green with envy at such speed.
A year or two was genuinely not very long.
Yet Yuan Shuo hadn't mentioned this first because he knew that Li Hao might not truly have the luxury of time to wait around peacefully. Unable to absorb the energy, with his meridians and blood solidified, Li Hao might manage to stay alive, but he would be confined to bed as an invalid for that entire year or two.
"If you dual cultivate with me now, I'll draw away the bulk of the power, leaving you with only a small portion. Even though you'll still improve quite a bit... reaching the peak of Ten-Slayer won't be an issue, but breaking through to Hundred-Breaker will be quite difficult!"
Yuan Shuo looked at him with a grin. "Speak up. What's your choice?"
"Oh, and I forgot to mention: with the first method of carving flesh and bleeding it out, loosening up the energy would actually let you absorb a decent chunk of it—maybe even more than dual cultivating with me. You might even cross into the Hundred-Breaker realm!"
Among the three choices, dual cultivation would likely yield Li Hao the fewest benefits.
Because Yuan Shuo was simply too strong!
Once he stepped in, the vast majority of the energy would be drained away by him.
Li Hao considered it for a moment. "Teacher, can I choose a fourth option?"
"Huh?"
Where the hell was a fourth option coming from?
Yuan Shuo looked at him suspiciously. *Does this kid have more tricks than me?*
Li Hao said sheepishly, "I remember you mentioning, Teacher, that we have a senior martial sister currently in White Moon City. Does she know the Five Animals Breathing Art? How about..."
"Piss off!"
Yuan Shuo was thoroughly exasperated!
*Keep on dreaming!*
Besides, where were they supposed to find his senior sister right now? Who knew how many eyes were watching them? They needed to keep a low profile and heal their wounds first, and here he was bringing up his senior sister...
Thinking of this, Yuan Shuo stroked his beardless chin. "Put your senior sister out of your mind! Besides, she's already in her thirties, practically past her prime. You young brat really don't care what you go after, do you?"
"..."
Li Hao was speechless. He shook his head in resignation, then smiled. "Let's do the dual cultivation then... Actually, don't use the term 'dual cultivation,' Teacher. It makes my skin crawl! Come up with another term, and I'll pick that one!"
"You're certain?"
"Of course!"
Li Hao grinned. "Your strength is my capital for staying alive, Teacher! Just like this time—if you hadn't stepped in, I would have been burned to a pile of ash long ago!"
In truth, he hadn't hesitated at all; he just found the term 'dual cultivation' awkward.
Naturally, he chose to share the energy with Yuan Shuo. That way, he would benefit, and so would his teacher.
A win-win!
Otherwise, even if he truly reached the peak of Hundred-Breaker, so what?
The enemy had led with an unstoppable trump card right out of the gate!
Their very first strike was an assassination attempt by a top-tier Three Sols powerhouse—two entire realms above Hundred-Breaker. Without Yuan Shuo shielding him, Li Hao wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance!
Yuan Shuo burst into laughter. "I knew you weren't an idiot! Giving you three choices was just talk; there was only ever one... You're doing this dual cultivation whether you want to or not. I'm parched for power right now! The inner force throughout my body can barely move. If you weren't my student, I would've sucked you dry while you were asleep!"
"..."
Li Hao forced a bitter smile. "Teacher, we're the righteous side. The way you act makes me feel like we're the villains!"
"Righteous, my ass!"
Yuan Shuo scoffed dismissively. "Twenty years ago, when martial masters ran wild, your teacher swept across the four directions with a pair of iron fists, beating God knows how many people to death! Everyone called me Old Devil Yuan! Those with nastier mouths called me the Ape, but since I specialize in the Five Animals Art and move fast as hell, it wasn't entirely inaccurate!"
In short, none of his titles had ever sounded respectable.
Things like the Three Spears of Silver Moon had nothing to do with him; he had simply been an old devil.
It was only when supernaturals rose to prominence that he had adopted a much lower profile.
"Cut the chatter and hurry up with the dual cultivation. You've been lying here for a whole day... Silver City is safe for now. The Night Watchers have reacted, so Red Moon probably won't dare send anyone else recklessly. We need to get back quickly!"
"In such a hurry?" Li Hao didn't feel particularly rushed...
Before he could finish, Yuan Shuo glared at him like a disappointed parent. "Are you an idiot? How many people did we kill? A Three Sols, a Solar Radiance, ten supernaturals, plus a bunch of martial masters... How many good items were there? How much mysterious energy? If we don't hurry back and claim our spoils before the Night Watchers' heavy hitters arrive, do you think your teacher can turn around and pick a fight with them over some loot once their Three Sols experts get here? They deployed a Solar Radiance this time too, and we'll need them to take the blame and shield us going forward... You think we can afford a fallout with them?"
"No," Li Hao said, shaking his head.
"Then that settles it!"
Yuan Shuo grinned again. "Right now, only Huang Yun is there, and he's terrified of me. That fellow wouldn't dare compete with me. Once I go back, the loot is all mine! Otherwise... if a Three Sols really arrives, the Night Watchers will definitely want a share, and I don't want to leave them a single hair! Even if neither of us can use it, can't your captain and that busty broad use it?"
*He means Liu Yan?*
Li Hao was speechless. His teacher actually had the leisure to pay attention to that? Truly... an old reprobate!
He had never noticed this side of him before!
Could it be that he had been pretending the whole time?
Very possible!
In the past, his teacher had lacked the strength to fight his enemies, so he had laid low into retirement, disguising himself as an Ancient Academy professor. Now that his power had surged and he had slain a Three Sols expert, his old swagger had naturally returned!
"Hurry up, stop dawdling!"
As he spoke, he tossed the little sword back to Li Hao. "The energy feels vastly diminished compared to before. Looks like the power inside it is finite... What a pity. I don't know if it can regenerate, but that energy was exceptionally useful! If it can't recover, that's a massive loss!"
He felt some regret. When he was absorbing it just now, he could clearly tell that the energy was nowhere near as potent as before; it had grown exceedingly faint.
Of course, if Li Hao drew from it, it could probably last for a while longer.
Yet if a Thousand-Battler like him kept drawing, it would be emptied in no time, so Yuan Shuo stopped siphoning it.
"Teacher, about this sword of mine... I unsealed it earlier..."
"You didn't!"
Yuan Shuo cut him off flatly. "You merely tore a temporary breach in the seal. That meager amount of heart blood wasn't even enough to fill the gap between its teeth! This sword of yours is far more formidable than you imagine. Take it slow! Right now, only a sliver has been unsealed, and it isn't exceptionally useful... We'll study it together later!"
With that, he grabbed Li Hao, pressing their palms together and their feet against each other... A moment later, upon further thought, he abruptly yanked off Li Hao's shoes.
Li Hao was immobilized, and seeing that his teacher seemed intent on stripping off his clothes, he hurriedly blurted out, "Teacher, the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture is enough! Having our hands and feet bare is plenty. Why are you stripping our clothes?"
"The clothes are still soaked. It's uncomfortable!"
"Don't!"
Li Hao panicked. "Teacher, let's keep some dignity!"
"You little brat!"
Yuan Shuo cursed. *You think this old man enjoys looking at you?*
*Heh!*
Too lazy to argue further, he swiftly tossed aside Li Hao's shoes and pressed their hands and soles together. "In a moment, we run the Five Animals Breathing Art simultaneously. Remember: as I circulate my power and my inner force surges into you, just follow my lead! Don't resist! Resisting won't do you any good anyway... nobody's coming to save you!"
Li Hao kept his mouth shut.
His teacher's words were sounding increasingly sinister. Better not to listen too closely and just obey meekly.
Master and apprentice fell silent.
The next instant, both began circulating the Five Animals Breathing Art at the same time. Li Hao felt a formidable surge of inner force instantly pour into his body, jolting his meridians and blood. The previously solidified blood and pathways were abruptly shaken. Fortunately, because their techniques shared the exact same origin, the impact was not excessively violent.
Under the battering of a Thousand-Battler's inner force, the congealed energy began to disperse somewhat.
Stream after stream of energy radiated outward.
Both Li Hao and Yuan Shuo absorbed it eagerly, while off to the side, the crouched Black Panther was actually absorbing it too, secretly running the Five Animals Breathing Art.
Yuan Shuo glanced at it from the corner of his eye and remarked, "That dog of yours has plenty of little schemes. If you don't trust it, kill it and toss it into a dog meat hot pot! If you don't mind, then leave it be."
Li Hao also looked at Black Panther. The dog was staring back at them in terror. Li Hao chuckled. "It's fine. Even if this fellow really becomes a spirit, it shouldn't hurt me... It can go torment someone else!"
Yuan Shuo chuckled and said no more, quickly siphoning off the power.
He was ravenous right now!
The energy in Li Hao's little sword hadn't been quite enough, but this energy was even better. After absorbing some, he couldn't help remarking, "Good stuff! Unlike mysterious energy, this power is far more suitable for martial masters! It carries the vigor of vital blood... What on earth was that thing you killed?"
"A red shadow!"
"A Red Shadow?"
Yuan Shuo fell into deep thought. After a long pause, he said, "I've never heard of it before. It might be something secretly cultivated by the Red Moon organization; quite bizarre! This energy might not be of much use to supernaturals, but for martial masters like us, it's profoundly nourishing! Interesting... they probably have plenty more of these."
Red Moon!
At that moment, a grin broke across Yuan Shuo's face.
Li Hao glanced at his teacher, then bared his teeth in a matching grin.
Master and apprentice exchanged a look, and both suddenly burst into laughter.
Yuan Shuo raised an eyebrow, and Li Hao, fully understanding, whispered, "Teacher, I can see them... Ordinary people can't. We have a chance..."
"Ahem!"
Yuan Shuo chuckled. "We are ridding the world of evil, not chasing after red shadows or white shadows—don't talk nonsense! Also, remember: if we truly want to exterminate evil, we can't be like Liu Long. We need a proper plan and thorough preparation. Best to kill two birds with one stone!"
He analyzed the situation for Li Hao. "The Night Watchers might not be as powerful as the Three Great Organizations, but they have one massive advantage: official legitimacy! They have no shortage of good things—plenty that I know of, in fact. The Three Great Organizations have always wanted to eliminate the Night Watchers... and the Night Watchers are actively fighting back. I didn't have time to accept any Night Watcher missions before this; otherwise, killing a Three Sols expert would have yielded an immense bounty!"
Li Hao understood!
He got it!
First blend into the Night Watchers, take on their missions, and reap far greater rewards.
"Teacher, don't the Night Watchers refuse non-supernaturals?"
From what he knew, the Night Watchers only recruited supernaturals.
"You don't understand, but we'll talk about that later. In any case, we're already on the Night Watchers' list this time. Didn't you give that sword to Liu Long? By now, it's probably in Huang Yun's hands. That's our pledge of loyalty! If they don't accept you, how could they have the nerve to keep that sword?"
Yuan Shuo chuckled. "There are plenty of ways! In short, when you're out roaming the martial world, you must first find a backer... or rather, someone to take the blame! Your teacher may be strong, but I'm not a big enough backer. The Night Watchers might not be the strongest in the supernatural domain, but they certainly don't lack Three Sols experts. Besides, you must understand that we're only in Silver Moon Province right now! The vast majority of the Night Watchers' strength is concentrated in the central regions!"
"Not just you—even your teacher might have to blend in. We'll hang around under their umbrella until they can no longer shield us, and then we'll see!"
Li Hao listened attentively. These were the golden maxims of a veteran martial master who had roamed the martial world for decades without getting beaten to death.
All the while, both continued absorbing the energy.
Li Hao felt his physical constitution strengthening at a rapid pace. As the energy was digested, his blood grew vigorous, and his bones and muscles were thoroughly tempered.
Yuan Shuo instructed further, "This time around, your physique should approach Hundred-Breaker, or perhaps reach it outright! But keep one thing in mind: physique is physique, speed is speed, and strength is strength... Furthermore, experience, technique, and reaction speed are the true foundation of a martial master's survival! Don't end up like those brats in the Night Watchers—every single one of them packed with energy, but without the physical discipline to match!"
"You must practice the Five Animals Art diligently! It's more than enough to carry your cultivation all the way to the Thousand-Battler realm! The Five Animals Art is extremely well-balanced. It might lack explosive burst, but you have the *Nine Refinements Force*. Paired with that, you lack neither techniques nor energy; what you lack is mastery through practice!"
"Once we return to Silver City, you must practice relentlessly. Spar with Liu Long whenever you have free time... He won't have the gall to use lethal force against you anyway."
"Teacher..." Li Hao interrupted. "Can't I practice with you..."
"Bullshit!"
Yuan Shuo cut him off instantly. "Do I have the time to baby a rookie like you? Besides, the moment you twitch, I already know what move you're going to make. What good is sparring with me? When free labor is sitting right there, you don't know how to pick it yourself? You still expect me to be your sparring partner? Have you considered that I'm an old man in his seventies?"
What a joke!
He was a busy man; where would he find the time to act as Li Hao's punching bag? Liu Long had nothing better to do anyway, so of course he was the man for the job!
Li Hao was completely at a loss for words!
Why did it feel like his teacher had become far less patient after this breakthrough? In the past, he would have agreed to spar.
Master and apprentice spoke no further.
While circulating the Five Animals Breathing Art, Li Hao surveyed his surroundings. Where exactly were they right now?
Because his teacher was beside him, he hadn't asked earlier.
Looking around now... why did this look so much like a sewer?
Which sewer had they hidden themselves in?
***
After dual cultivating for over an hour, Li Hao felt that the energy inside him had mostly been broken down. His blood was no longer congealed; it flowed smoothly and surged with exceptional vigor.
It gave him the sensation... as if he could kill Liu Long with a single punch.
Of course, Li Hao knew this was an illusion.
As for Yuan Shuo, he let out a deeply satisfied breath, his expression full of ease and contentment. "Comfortable! This energy is magnificent, laced with a trace of spiritual-level energy. As expected, that thing is the ultimate tonic for martial masters! My injuries are almost completely healed. If another Three Sols showed up right now, I could still take him on!"
Provided, of course, that he unleashed the Blood Saber Art again and fought with the stone saber.
The real worry was that the stone saber's energy was running low, and once the Blood Saber Art was used up, he would have no way to recover.
The little sword's energy was nearly exhausted, and the energy Li Hao had absorbed was mostly gone, with only enough left for Li Hao to digest on his own.
Therefore, the chances of slaying another Three Sols... were slim to none!
Of course, a Three Sols expert probably wouldn't dare provoke him right now either.
Li Hao stood up and swiftly ran through a set of the Five Animals Art. He felt that the power behind his strikes had grown significantly, though he still felt a slight lack of adjustment.
Watching him, Yuan Shuo instructed, "Remember: a martial master's strength is cultivated by oneself and generated from within! Therefore, there is no such thing as an inability to adapt; you will get used to it very quickly. We aren't like those useless supernaturals whose power is almost entirely external and hard to control! For us, control is never an issue. You're only in the early stages, experiencing such immense power for the first time..."
"After a day or two and a good night's sleep, you'll be fully adjusted!"
"Don't listen to others spouting nonsense about your realm failing to keep up with your strength... When your strength arrives, your realm has arrived! Of course, at the Thousand-Battler realm, you must learn to wield spirit intent—which is momentum—otherwise that bottleneck will be genuinely difficult! For Hundred-Breaker, having enough strength is all that matters!"
Li Hao listened with utmost concentration. Everything his teacher said was distilled wisdom!
At that point, Yuan Shuo also stood up and kicked Black Panther, who was playing dead. "Go scout the path ahead. See if there's any danger, then head toward Silver City to check if any powerful supernaturals are around. If not, hurry back and report, or I'll butcher you for meat!"
"..."
With its tail tucked between its legs, Black Panther scampered out in sheer terror, clearly afraid of the old man.
Following Li Hao was far more comfortable. Following this old guy... while Li Hao was asleep, the old man had been staring at it with drool pooling at his mouth, as if planning to eat it. It had scared the poor hound half to death!
Once Black Panther was gone, Yuan Shuo mused thoughtfully, "That dog might not be simple! It can even perceive spiritual Red Shadows that I can't see, which proves it has something special about it. Its willingness to follow you might not be without reason either; it could be connected to your Eight Great Families' bloodline! Could the dog's ancestor have had ties to the ancestors of the Eight Great Families?"
It was a possibility, though he was merely speculating; whether it was true or not didn't really matter.
"Remember, kid: you can keep a dog, but you must never let the dog become the master! Raising a spirit beast of a dog might be helpful, but the moment a beast holds power over you... you'll be an utter fool!"
Drawing upon his lifetime of experience, Yuan Shuo repeatedly guided Li Hao.
Li Hao continued listening attentively. He held immense admiration for his teacher and carefully pondered almost every word.
"Let's head back!"
Yuan Shuo stepped toward the exit. Once they walked out of the dark passageway, Li Hao looked around and was surprised to find that they didn't seem to be in Silver City at all!
"This is Mist City. We took shelter here for a bit. If we head back now, we'll still make it in time for dinner tonight!"
Yuan Shuo led Li Hao along the streets of Mist City, blending in naturally without drawing any attention.
"Remember: once we get back, keep your mouth shut. As for that sword, hand it over to the Night Watchers... but don't give it up too easily... Just say you're leaving it in my care. I doubt they'll have the nerve to snatch it from me!"
Li Hao nodded obediently.
Yuan Shuo added, "If possible, leave Silver City as soon as you can!"
Li Hao nodded again, then thought for a moment before saying, "Earlier, I saw a Bagua diagram hanging above Silver City. It seemed to connect the bloodlines of the eight families. Seven of those lines stretched far into the distance, and only my line remained anchored in Silver City!"
"Mm. It's either unsealing something or serving another purpose—most likely the handiwork of the eight families' ancestors! Once you leave Silver City, they won't easily act against you again. They probably need you within the bounds of Silver City, waiting for the blue rain to appear before they can make their move to trigger your bloodline and sever that line!"
Yuan Shuo was remarkably sharp; with just that brief mention, he quickly pieced together several deductions.
"Therefore, you'd better leave Silver City. Within Silver Moon Province, White Moon City is the safest! Even the Three Great Organizations wouldn't dare act rashly there."
"The Three Great Organizations?"
Li Hao had heard him mention them repeatedly, yet he was still largely in the dark.
"Red Moon, Feitian, and Yama! The Three Great Organizations emerged very early on—more than twenty years ago, in fact. Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters may have secretly appeared twenty years ago and founded the Three Great Organizations, well before the Night Watchers even existed."
Yuan Shuo explained softly, "Those organizations probably anticipated the resurgence of supernatural power long in advance and recruited a batch of Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters ahead of time. Back then, the Night Watchers hadn't even been established, so they naturally couldn't react in time! By the time the Night Watchers were formed, a portion of the Heaven-Blessed Divine Masters had already joined the Three Great Organizations! Even so, don't underestimate the Night Watchers. Though they haven't been around long, they can still hold those supernatural organizations at bay. Their strength remains formidable—they were founded by the government, after all!"
Li Hao nodded once more.
Master and apprentice walked out of Mist City and set out for Silver City.
They were heading back to collect their spoils!
Yuan Shuo wasn't in any great rush. Even if the Night Watchers' top powerhouses were on their way, they wouldn't arrive that quickly. Experts at the Three Sols realm served vital roles elsewhere, and mobilizing them on short notice took time.
Chapter 44