Star Gate

Chapter 742: Rising From the Ashes (III)

No reply was forthcoming from Yuan Shuo, but Li Hao knew that it wasn’t a refusal to answer. His teacher was contemplating what to say.

“There are two sources of mysterious power in existence.” Li Hao continued to input into the transmission pendant. “One from the outside world, the other from our supernatural locks! The energy from the outside world cannot fully become part of the body, but supernatural locks are part of the body to begin with. It’s what the supernaturals call origin power!

“It happens to meld with outside mysterious power at a later stage. So are we able to strip out the external energy and reincorporate the origin power back into the body...?”

The transmission pendant blinked with a response after a while. “I’m not sure, I’ve never tried it before and can’t give you a definitive answer. In your current state, you can give it a try...” Another message came in after a while. “But don’t try haphazardly. You’ve opened your locks of wind and thunder, so the only ones you can try are those of the five organs. Do not try the wind and thunder locks unless you are able to comprehend their auras!”

Yuan Shuo quickly grasped what his disciple was asking. Li Hao’s auras were quiet and still now, and he was likely unable to comprehend new auras. Without the auras of wind and thunder, he could only experiment with the auras of his five organs. Yuan Shuo didn’t recommend the lad to do so because it was too dangerous. Once he shattered the locks of his five organs, then the hope he had of converting back to a martial master might be fully shattered as well!

“I see, thank you teacher, bye!”

“......” Yuan Shuo didn’t respond. He cursed to himself instead. Don’t go randomly experimenting, for fuck’s sake!

He frowned as he thought back to what Li Hao had asked. His disciple seemed to having many reflections lately. Was he unable to accept becoming a supernatural? He seemed to be delving deep into his studies.

“What is it?” asked Jadelight Sword.

“Nothing!” Yuan Shuo crushed the transmission pendant in a fit of temper. “You won’t be carrying this around anymore. This is part of the Silver Moon system and those old farts can definitely track it. They’ll know where I’ve been!”

In fact, they might already know about his conversation with Li Hao. But that didn’t matter. Just try it if you have the balls to! Experiment as much as you wish if you don’t fear death!

“Li Hao seems to urgently wish to become a martial master again,” Yuan Shuo remarked with a deep frown. “I’m worried about him if this continues. Damn those nine ministries! I’ll show them what they deserve sooner or later!”

Would his disciple have become a supernatural if it wasn’t for them? And now he was proceeding further along the path of the supernatural, heading down a road of no return!

Wu Hongshan didn’t say anything. She’d carried it around only because Li Hao had given it to her. Plainly, he felt that those of Silver Moon were trustworthy. She didn’t say that to Yuan Shuo as he would then go on a tirade for three days straight.

......

Li Hao stared at his five organs, new thoughts running through his mind. His teacher had just admitted to the feasibility of his ideas, so what if he broke one of the locks of his five organs and directed aura into it to absorb the mysterious power inside? If he used that to write his characters and form a vehicle for the aura, did that mean he could place mysterious power inside his body and use it for his own purposes?

But in that regard, it could be as his teacher said—he might forsake the chance to become a martial master again. He still had a chance at the moment.

“But if I continue to seal myself away like this... I’ll turn into a weakling even if I convert back to martial dao... There is a point of similarity between mysterious power and internal force. Manager Yu said that she became a supernatural first and reforged her supernatural locks after purifying her mysterious power. That was how she returned to being a martial master. Therefore, mysterious power can be fashioned into the supernatural locks again so long as the aura still exists!”

Some people could convert to being a martial master from being supernatural, which indicated there were commonalities between the two. They weren’t two entirely different systems. Should he give it a try?

Li Hao stared at the five organs. The ferocious tiger in his heart was the aura nearest and dearest to him. How about experimenting with the tiger taking in mysterious power and transforming into a character? Should it be “fire” or “tiger”?

Granted, it didn’t really matter since it was just a vehicle. Li Hao hesitated, then laughed. What did it matter, at this stage? If he couldn’t be a martial master again... then he would be a powerful supernatural! Director General Wang and the others had said it didn’t matter, so what did it matter? It was simply a difference in the nature of strength, but strength was still strength. There was no major difference to it. There were premier powerhouses of energy in the ancient civilization as well.

“Then let’s give it a try. I’ll break a lock of the five organs and use the ferocious tiger to devour mysterious power... I won’t fully break it, I’ll just crack it open and coalesce blood qi for the tiger to absorb. I might gain something then.” A burden had suddenly been lifted from Li Hao’s shoulders. If this attempt resulted in him being a permanent supernatural, well, then he would always be a supernatural!

He didn’t want his auras to be silent forevermore. Would the ferocious tiger that’d been on the cusp of breaking out of its cage be willing to accept becoming a prisoner again? Of course not!

“Since the ferocious tiger has broken out of the cage, how can it be continuously imprisoned in the heart... I have the inkling of a plan now, so let’s just give it a try!” Li Hao grinned easily and looked at his heart. “Tiger, are you willing to shatter your constraints and come out again?”

A tiger roar reverberated in his mind! The confined tiger struggled with excitement and frustration!

I have an undaunted tiger in my heart that’s already broken free of its cage. How would it be willing to fall silent once more and eventually be a dead thing one day?

“I knew it!” Li Hao smiled. I knew that you wouldn’t be willing to just die like this. In that case, let us try. Perhaps unexpected gains would result from his closed door cultivation.

However, an attempt involving the heart was very dangerous. Li Hao swiftly swallowed ten drops of Water of Life after some thought and enveloped the heart with it. He was going to break the Five Bridges, crack the lock of the heart, and release the tiger aura!

If this didn’t work, then he would be an Arcanus of three elements. As for the light and dark locks, he would set them aside for now. He should be able to endure the shattering of a lock of his five organs no?

Li Hao was a ruthless person. Given how the situation had developed he threw caution to the wind. If worst came to worst, he’d just walk the pure path of the supernatural in the future.

Crack!

He severed the bridge of the five organs, leading to a rush of wind and thunder energy. A gout of flames rose in the next second, expelling the wind and thunder. The five organs resonated, as if they were being consumed by the fire.

......

The front hall.

Hong Yitang shot into the sky and looked at where fiery sparks dimly lit up the void. Deputy Zhou also followed suit, glancing at the former.

“What is he doing?” frowned Hong Yitang.

The fiery sparks instantly vanished—Panther’s work. All phenomena completely vanished when the dog opened its mouth. However, Hong Yitang and Deputy Zhou were standing extremely close, so they still sensed some details.

“It looks like he’s fully abandoning the thought of converting back...” sighed the deputy. Li Hao seemed on the verge of gaining the fire element! He was going to break a lock of the five organs!

Hong Yitang furrowed his brows, then regained his inner peace. “That’s just as well!” He was an Arcanus too, and didn’t think much about his condition. “That’s good! So long as he can think things through. There’s nothing bad about being supernatural, it’s all strength. Martial masters train the heart, but I fear that his physical body won’t be able to endure the shock of a seventh lock breaking.”

“He shouldn’t have much issue with it,” Deputy Zhou mused. “His body and organs should be able to endure a seventh lock, but an eighth would be pushing it. It would not be worth the expenditure.”

Hong Yitang said nothing further and simply looked on with slight confusion. He seemed to have heard the roar of a ferocious tiger moments ago. That was Li Hao’s aura, and it didn’t contain much reluctance. On the contrary, it was excited and delighted, giving one the feeling of an attempt to fight to the death!

One had to know that the breaking of the fire lock would extinguish the fire aura. Auras had their own spirits. Li Hao was extinguishing his fire aura, but his aura did not despair. Why was that?

Hong Yitang had no idea.

......

The power of fire illuminated the land. Panther continuously swallowed it, erupting with fire itself. Li Hao seemed bathed in flames as a tiger howled a challenge at the heavens. Tiger Roar Through Mountain and Woods! It seemed ready to break out of the cage.

But if it really did so, it would drift aimlessly through the world without a root. Dissipation would be its only fate before long.

The bridge of the five organs broke, permitting the energy of wind, thunder, and fire to consume the organs. Li Hao seemed about to go up in flames! There was an opening in his heart lock and a large quantity of fire energy surged out. His physical body did not seem fully up to the task of supporting three elements. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to break more supernatural locks, but that he could not endure the strain.

His heart was burning!

Such were the dangers of crossing into Arcanus for supernaturals who’d broken their locks of the five organs. The conflict between various elements could easily destroy the five organs.

Li Hao spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood, pain appearing in his eyes, but his expression remained as composed as could be. Blood congealed in the air as he operated the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. He followed the flow of momentum and directed fire energy into the blood so that he could trace the character...

He was particularly fond of writing because he wanted to imitate the ultimate art of Tranquil Star, but also because he had certain thoughts when it came to the modern education system. Its deficiencies had caused a chasm in culture, making it so that the people ignored the legacy of culture. They only cared about martial dao, only about becoming superhuman.