Li Hao reverted to a prudent and cautious state in his teacher’s absence. It was always a good idea to keep a low profile in front of top brass. Thrusting himself into the spotlight might earn him Hou Xiaochen’s high regard, but was there a need for that?
The young man wasn’t familiar with the Night Watcher director and they didn’t have a relationship. He didn’t need the man to think well of him. All he needed was for Hou Xiaochen to resist a bit of pressure for him in the short term. It wasn’t a deal between him and the director, but an agreement that his teacher had reached with Hou Xiaochen.
Thus, Li Hao judged that the director wanted him to display his value not because it had to do with whether or not the Night Watchers would continue to protect him. After all, would Hou Xiaochen hand him over if the young man proved uninspiring?
Someone who spoke of independence would destabilize his own Night Watchers if he gave up Li Hao. Even if everyone understood that yielding the young man would save them a lot of trouble, it was an incontrovertible truth that Li Hao was a Night Watcher. Who would be loyal to a ruler who handed over his own in exchange for temporary peace?
Revealing some secrets would result in more resources at most, but that might cause him to pay a higher price. This was what Li Hao was weighing up. Therefore, he kept his nose down in front of Hou Xiaochen and didn’t demonstrate anything special. As for the strength of a half step Dominator, the director might not think much of it.
Li Hao was not the Yuan Shuo who’d dominated half an era. He was just a rookie young man.
Having comprehended the aura of the sword and earth, Li Hao was in a state of strengthening his auras. He was also attempting to meld the two together. While it felt that he could break through to Dominator at any time, he was in no hurry. He would only become the next Liu Long if he did so now. That was the last thing he desired.
His teacher had fused five auras together, so he would have to manage at least two. That would ensure he could swiftly develop after becoming a Dominator, putting him on par with mid to late Sunflare or even peak Sunflare. He didn’t want to be capable of defeating only a few initial Sunflares. That would be such a waste of time.
These were the thoughts running through Li Hao’s mind as he followed Hou Xiaochen. He then thought of the ruins again.
The expedition should move forward, Hou Xiaochen and them won’t give it up. There won’t be any opportunities left if they wait until there’s too many considering it with interest. Therefore, the excavation should still commence tomorrow. It’s just that the people entering...
Li Hao thought for a bit. There might be a few more or a few less powerhouses. Would Violet Moon join the expedition after the death of her entire delegation?
It was just as well if she decided to attend. He rather hoped she would as that might mean he would have an additional helper at a critical time. As of now, Red Moon did not wish for Li Hao to die in the ruins. It would depend on whether or not Ying Hongyue had given different commands to Violet Moon.
I need to quickly begin preparations for the Summoner level after I enter Dominator. Teacher nurtures five auras—I can concentrate on one for now. Whether it’s the one of the sword or of the earth, I just need sufficient earth or metal energy.
The sword corresponded to metal and the earth to earth energy. His teacher’s fire heart ape had taken almost a thousand cubes of fire energy—the full vitality of a Solar—before it was satiated. While Li Hao had absorbed some energy before, he needed at least one thousand cubes for his purposes. All that he considered now was how to obtain so many cubes of earth or metal energy.
I need one Solar or five Sunflares. The Night Watchers are out of the question and only Violet Moon is left of Red Moon. Light Island is no more and it’s hard to move against Sword Sect since I don’t know their particulars. Celestial or Yama? Yama’s the first target...
Li Hao thought of Yama—that organization might suit his purposes best.
I’m in no hurry to foster a water aura, but I can prepare for it ahead of time since Zhang Ting’s a good candidate.
I know Li Dahu is an earth supernatural on the Yama side, but he’s just an initial Sunflare. Their leader, on the other hand, is a Solar...
Would the newly arrived Revolution King participate in the expedition?
Li Hao’s thoughts were traveling far upon the wind. He was just a Sunderer, but had his sights set on Sunflares and Solars. Anyone who knew what he was thinking would think him nuts.
“Li Hao!” Hou Xiaochen suddenly called out from ahead.
The young man swiftly caught up and kept his head down. “Director!”
A smiling Hou Xiaochen turned to look at him. “You seem to have a lot on your mind, are you feeling some sort of pressure?”
A lot on my mind? Li Hao suppressed a jerk of surprise. I’m just thinking things over, can you see even that?
“Not much, I’m just worried about my teacher.”
“Ah, Yuan Shuo... Don’t worry, he’s been through the trials and tribulations of life. He won’t suffer a setback for something as minor as this. Not to mention, he must have made preparations for his departure ahead of time. This was not an impromptu action.
“Do you have any good ideas for extracting and absorbing blood pearls?” The director talked as they walked.
“I wouldn’t say good ideas,” Li Hao immediately responded. “The director knows the way to extract blood pearls. Absorption is even easier. If martial masters take them, they will absolutely see an improvement. But the efficacy of ordinary breathing methods is a little lower. The Breathing Method of the Five Styles is more efficient than the norm.”
“Low efficacy?” Hou Xiaochen sank into deep thought. “Will your teacher mind it if others learn the Breathing Method of the Five Styles?”
“That won’t do!” Li Hao shook his head. “I don’t know his thoughts since teacher didn’t speak of it, but I cannot teach outsiders the method if he didn’t approve beforehand.”
He didn’t know what Hou Xiaochen was planning, but it was not a suitable moment to propagate the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. Of course, if his teacher successfully revised the method and turned it into something beneficial for nurturing the five visceral organs, it would be suitable to make available for others.
Just as Yuan Shuo had taught others the simplistic breathing technique after he created the Breathing Method of the Five Styles, this was the core of martial master legacy. They always kept something behind that was exclusively reserved for their core disciples. They weren’t so selfless that they freely disseminated the heart of their knowledge.
“Mmhmm.” Hou Xiaochen didn’t speak further on this. “Do you wish to join the expedition tomorrow? The ruins are dangerous and your teacher tasked me to keep you safe. I won’t insist on your participation if you don’t wish it. You can stay in the canyon with me.”
“Are you not going, director?”
“I won’t be,” Hou Xiaochen chuckled. “No one else will dare go inside if I do. I’m also worried that when I emerge, the Night Watchers will be no more on the outside.”
He had to hold down the fort outside and wait for other reinforcements to arrive. His presence would be a deterrence. If he entered the ruins and lost contact with the campsite, the entire supernatural system of Silver Moon would be rocked with unrest.
“What about Manager Yu?” Li Hao asked.
“She won’t be going inside either.” Hou Xiaochen smiled. “She’s just a civil secretary and not a superhuman heavyweight. Is she supposed to go inside just so she can be protected by others?”
Next to the director, Manager Yu flashed a faint smile. Li Hao nodded without saying anything. It’s whatever you say, man.
Li Hao parted ways with Hou Xiaochen after returning to the campsite. He returned to his tent. His teacher had been here this morning, and now his whereabouts were unknown. Would he recover from his wounds? How many powerhouses would come in pursuit of his teacher this time?
As strong as his teacher was, the rise of the supernatural meant that just a few more late Solars would prove too much for Yuan Shuo to handle, to say nothing of those beyond Solar.
His teacher had protected him before, being Li Hao’s final backer even when facing enemies and assorted danger. Who could he depend on now?
Li Hao sat on a simplistic stone bed and thought over everything.
Liu Long entered the tent. He saw the young man sitting blankly on a bed, deep in thought. “Don’t join the excavation tomorrow.”
“I need to!” Li Hao lifted his head and smiled at the captain. “Why shouldn’t I? Chief, do you also think that I should tuck tail after teacher’s departed? That it’s best if I hide so thoroughly that I find a place with no one else in it and take cover until teacher appears again?”
“That’s not it, it’s just that you’re in a very dangerous position right now...”
“I know!” Li Hao interrupted. “Chief, can you do me a favor?”
“Teach me how to extract mysterious power.”
Indeed. Li Hao didn’t know. Liu Long might know, even though it was Yun Yao who oversaw the deed. The young man felt that it shouldn’t be too hard and there should be quite a few who knew how. He didn’t ask the Night Watchers as he felt more at ease asking Liu Long.
The man frowned slightly, but quickly responded, “The old methods were an extreme hassle—it’s much easier now. After all the Sunflares and Solars that died this time, their bones are the best storage items!
“Also, you know about the storage boxes that are a recent invention. Energy does not disperse that quickly after a supernatural dies. It remains concentrated in the flesh and blood. If you have a storage box, you can shove it directly into the box.
“Break the flesh and bones when you need it, the energy will naturally seep out then.”
Li Hao nodded. It was much easier with the storage boxes. In that case, he should look to bring one in with him.
“People from the Sword Sect, Yama, and Celestial have come!” Wang Ming rushed in as they conversed. “It looks like the expedition is going forward.”
Li Hao swiftly walked out of the tent. There was a group of people in the distance. They hovered outside the campsite perimeter and waited for the Night Watchers to emerge. The young man trotted in their direction, too fast for Wang Ming to grab him.
“What are you doing?” whispered the handsome supernatural as he quickly caught up.
“To check out the fun!” Li Hao fobbed him off. More like to pick his target!
Earth and metal powerhouses were his priority pick. He needed to first understand which of these heavyweights fulfilled his needs. He also needed to determine if there were any hidden powerhouses that he needed to stay away from.
This was perfect, they all presented themselves to him here. They’d been too far away when teacher fought Sun Yifei. He could see balls of light, but not too clearly. Now they were front and center and very clear to his eyes.
Take Violet Moon, for example. He could see that she was very strong and carried an origin weapon. She was stronger than Sun Yifei, so she might be peak Solar or greater than Solar.
It wasn’t likely that she was greater than Solar, so she was probably peak Solar.
He saw a similarly shaped ball of light in another direction. That was probably the Revolution King.