The Silver Moon Guards barracks.
Three days passed swiftly. When Li Hao said he would be in seclusion for three days, he really meant three days. He stopped his motions when time was up and halted cultivating. As for the insatiable Hao Lianchuan and others, he didnât bother looking at them.
The young man had consumed a large sum of energy over the past three daysâmore than thirty thousand cubes. He absorbed half of the sum and the dog consumed at least five thousand of the other half. The rest went to Hao Lianchuan and the supernaturals. It was only because Panther wasnât much interested in the five elements lately that the supernaturals were able to absorb so much.
Heâd consumed approximately one hundred pieces of mysterious power stones. That no longer meant much to Li Hao. After killing two Novas, the stones in their rings alone were more than eight hundred pieces. Pirates were rich, alright!
His cache of stones was increasing instead of decreasing. Added to that seizures from other sources, that meant he had almost three thousand stones in hand. That was more than when he left the ruins.
âDonât stop, Li Hao!â Hao Lianchuan called out urgently with desire. âMy supernatural lock hasnât appeared yet and my strength hasnât increased...â
âIs that so?â Li Hao flicked him a glance.
âYeah! Almost there...â
âReally?â
âOf course!â Hao Lianchuan almost thumped his chest in promise.
âLate Solar is good enough,â Li Hao said wearily. âWould you have ascended if your lock hadnât appeared? Director Hao, try a better lie next time.â
Hao Lianchuan blinked and stared wordlessly at the young man. A tragic expression crept over his face. The kidâs eyes are too keen! I thought no one noticed!
Li Hao couldnât be bothered with him. He looked at the others, finding himself to almost envy supernaturals. Wang Ming was peak Sunflare and might ascend at any time. Hu Hao and Yun Yao were both Sunflares. While they were initial Sunflare, this rate of improvement was astonishing!
As for Li Meng... she was unfortunately still dawdling in Darkmoon. At least she was a Plenilune now and would be a Sunflare if she took another step forward.
The latter three hadnât absorbed too much energy as Hao Lianchuan had consumed half of the ten thousand cubes, Wang Ming half of the remainder, leaving the other half to the trio. And yet, they still easily set foot into Sunflare.
In comparison, it was so hard for martial masters to set foot into Dominator from Sunderer. Li Hao had sent the Demon Hunters quite a sum of elemental energy, but if juxtaposed with the supernaturals, he shouldâve seen half of his martial masters reach Dominator. And yet, not a single one was yet!
The aura was an obstacle in everyoneâs path.
Li Hao looked at Li Meng, thinking that the girl would be depressed. It turned out he was thinking too much. She wasnât down at all and bounced around happily. It didnât seem like an act as she really was very happy.
While everyone had improved, sheâd improved the least. However, Li Meng was very excited. âIâm almost a Sunflare, Iâm so impressive!â
â......â The group stared strangely at her. We... are all Sunflare? What are you so impressive about?
Li Meng looked at the group proudly and wanted to say something, but suddenly shut her mouth and thought better of it. That piqued Li Haoâs curiosity. Had the girl gained something special? Was there a change to her eye or something else?
He didnât consider asking as Li Meng couldnât keep a secret to save her life. She had a bigger mouth than Wang Ming. It hadnât been apparent before because she didnât know much. If she did, she would run her mouth more than Wang Ming. It wouldnât be more than a few days for everyone to know what she wasnât speaking about today.
Li Hao walked out without further word. In his current state, increases to strength focused on the physical body. There werenât any big differences to his auras. His body and five organs were much more formidable than before. The stronger his vitality was, the harder it was for enemies to kill him.
However, his offensive ability didnât increase in proportion to the improvements of his body. He might be a little stronger than when he faced Sea Sharkâat the very least, he wouldnât continue to be caught on the back foot and turn the tables only at the very last. He could be able to match the pirate now.
......
Li Hao walked out of the training quarters. Some martial masters were already awake and active, demonstrating the effects of what theyâd absorbed over the past three days. While the young man couldnât see anything definitive as he looked over the Demon Hunters, he could sense that some auras were starting to flourish.
This meant that some had progressed to half step Dominator over the past three days.
Liu Long swiftly walked over upon seeing Li Hao and the supernaturals approach. Heâd focused his efforts on expounding on theory to the rest over the past couple of days. The man hadnât cultivated much, instead overseeing the distribution of the dao comprehension weapons.
Li Hao always absolved himself of these kinds of responsibilities. Since he wouldnât carry out his duties, Liu Long had to do it. Heâd done it for the Demon Hunters before. While there were more people now, he could still rise to the occasion since heâd been captain of the law enforcement team for many years.
âLeader!â Liu Long seemed to heave a sigh of relief. âThere are still some sitting with the dao comprehension weapons. Almost everyone had a chance to, but a lot of the weapons have shattered. Only the sword is left...â
Li Hao looked in a certain direction, finding that someone seemed to have grasped the aura. âWhoâs in there now?â
âHong Hao!â
âHim?â Li Hao raised a surprised eyebrow. âHe was on the cusp of success himself, whatâs he studying a dao comprehension weapon for?â
Hong Hao had almost grasped the aura and was Hong Yitangâs third disciple. Based on what Li Hao knew, the young man wouldnât take someone elseâs opportunity and would give up his instead.
âThe Sword Sect disciples refused to accept their chances,â Liu Long explained. âThey said that Hong Hao and the others accomplished more than them and should go first. Even though he was about to comprehend it himself, they said that it was still useful to know more. Hong Hao had no other choice but to agree...â
Li Hao didnât say anything. The Sword Sect disciples were a united group. They probably didnât want to take his chance from him before he reached half step Dominator.
âWhatâs the situation now?â
âLiu Yan, Hong Qing, Li Heng, Hong Chou, and a few others have comprehended the aura on their own...â
Hong Chou was the one whose family had been killed by pirates, so Li Hao wasnât surprised by his name on the list. When he gave the order to hang up the pirates, a flicker of aura had answered from the guy. It mightâve been due to happiness, or it mightâve been because killing the pirates cleared his mind. Heâd come from behind and now surpassed many.
âThere are sixteen people whoâve grasped the aura.â
âThat many?â Li Hao was taken aback. Ten wouldâve been decent in his estimation.
âMmhmm, there were quite a few.â Liu Long grinned. âThe vacation day that you ordered might have straightened out their thoughts. Who knew that itâd be a good thing?â
There hadnât been a single half step Dominator in the troop of forty-nine, now there were suddenly sixteen. If they counted the mediating Hong Hao, that would make seventeen. It was more than one third of the Demon Hunters! This was a high ratio.
Li Hao quickly processed his surprise. Whether it was the Sword Sect or Inspectorate, theyâd sent martial masters with good foundations. They all had strong potential for martial daoâit wouldâve been difficult for them to continue down their path in this impoverished place otherwise. After the rise of the supernatural, those unsuited for the martial path quickly crossed over.
âThatâs good!â Li Hao checked the skiesâthey were dark. It was the night of the 8th and it would be the 9th soon. Based on their speed, Hou Xiaochen and the others should almost be at Skystar City since theyâd left on the 4th.
The young man was in no hurry since Hong Hao was still busy, he chatted with those standing around. Hong Qing and Hong Hao had returned in the afternoon two days ago and hadnât had a chance to make their report. Hong Qing walked over to them.
âLeader, my dad says to not send people to him in the future...â
âWhy not?â Was Hong Yitang so small-minded? It was just a few people and they were in such a pitiable state! Why canât you save them?
âMy dad says that this is just setting a precedent and will form the beginning of a habit. He says that you donât know how hard it is to deal with the aftermath of a situation. If you send him one hundred people today, you might send an entire city next time. So next time... if you still want to do this... heâll take them after you have custody of them for a month.â
Li Hao scratched his head awkwardly. I got it! Old Hong thinks I have no idea how hard it is to take care of people rescued from these situations. He wants me to have a taste, but Iâm not an idiot! I know! Donât think I donât know, itâs because I know that I donât want to do it. Hello, Iâm seriously not an idiot.
âAhem!â Li Hao changed the topic. âLetâs talk about the ruins!â
The crowd perked up.
âThe ruins are within Silver Moon borders and not too far from White Moon City. Previous ranking officer Golden Spear explored them a few times and returned halfway...â Li Hao recounted in a somewhat solemn tone. âThere are great dangers within. The ranking officer may have been fine, but that doesnât mean we will be.
âThe ruins donât look too big from the outside. The senior guesses that it mightâve been the personal city of a clan in the ancient civilization, or one from a small sect. There may be other possibilities as well, but that is the most of it.
âThe difficulty lies in the fact that ambushes happen on the street leading to the main door. Since Iâve been to Battle Heaven, my guess is that it may be a tree spirit! Itâs tough to say if itâs one from the ancient civilization or one born later.â
âFrom those times?â Hong Qing asked curiously. âIt should be dead after so many years.â
âIt might, it could also be a shoot from the old tree. I havenât been, so Iâm not sure. But from some clues left by Senior Golden Spear, I think this might be the case!
âIf that is...â Li Hao's eyes darted around. âThen we might have significant treasure to loot. A place like that may not have as many valuables as Battle Heaven, but with a tree spirit present, we might be able to obtain the legendary Water of Life...â
He only had one drop of that that heâd kept in reserve. Hou Xiaochen had wanted to trade for it, but Li Hao rejected him. It was an item that would create an enormous debt of gratitude as it was more effective than sword energy. It could regrow severed limbs!
Sword energy could not accomplish thatâLi Hao vaguely knew what its core essence was now. It was a type of pure mental strength! Whether it was mysterious power, mysterious power stones, or origin weapon souls, they were devoured by the sword, purified, refined, and giving rise to sword energy.
Therefore, sword energy was a strength for cultivation. Water of Life, on the other hand, was a truly unique energy.