Star Gate

Chapter 743: Supernatural Ability Character (I)

Martial cultivators train the heart. They read thousands of books and walked thousands of kilometers, cultivating a heart of great depth. In the modern age, there were few who focused on the heart among martial masters or supernaturals. The conclusion to be drawn was that they read too few books.

Perhaps when all martial techniques and supernatural abilities were words would people understand that a lack of literacy would mean that one would never reach the peak, regardless of supernatural or martial dao.

Mind intent, blood qi, and fire energy surged into the character. Panther had transformed to a golden color—a sign of activating its bloodline. It furiously swallowed energy that flowed in from all sides, not letting a single drop of Li Hao’s energy to seep out or a single drop of outside energy to disturb his cultivation. With the dog present, it prevented a lot of trouble for Li Hao.

A character gradually took form; Li Hao watched it silently. It didn’t seem to be a tiger character—it was a fire character. Indeed, a fire character slowly solidified. The power of the flames! However, it was dim and inert, appearing to be dead.

Bathed in flames, the ferocious tiger howled and padded out of Li Hao’s heart.

“ROAR!” The tiger howl could no longer be silenced! It roared with a resolute determination and knew that it would not return after setting foot out of the heart. Either it became part of the character and was its soul, or it dissipated upon the four winds and was no longer the aura of the ferocious tiger.

This was Li Hao’s intent as well. It was best if he succeeded. If not, the tiger aura of his five auras would completely melt away to nothing. The young man closed his eyes, suddenly pausing with indecision and hesitation.

That was only natural, given the enormity of what he faced.

He opened his eyes with newfound determination. Why was there a need to be sad when he’d reached this step? I have an daunted tiger in my heart, but right now it dwells inside a cage. A caged tiger aura is not what I seek. If my wish does not lie here, then what good is there in keeping the tiger where it is?

“Go on, then!” Li Hao didn’t know if he was speaking to the tiger or to himself. Go on! Although it might be a bottomless abyss in front of us, let’s go down together since we’ve reached this step!

The tiger padded forward without a look back. He headed toward the hovering character in the void. The character trembled, like it was about to break. Li Hao didn’t say much and directed the shattering lock from his heart to the character. A vast sum of fire energy started flowing into the character.

The word had replaced the supernatural lock and the aura was melded within!

This gesture didn’t seem that useful apart from turning the supernatural lock into a written character, but in actuality, it contained blood qi, mental strength, and life force. It fully combined the mysterious power of the supernatural lock with the rest of the body.

If this succeeded, he would be able to utilize the power within the lock anytime he wished! The two could not be mentioned in the same breath. The ancients did not have supernatural locks, just those of the three cavities. It also looked that modern humans may not need their supernatural locks. They just needed a medium of some sort to hold the excess energy.

Whether it was characters or supernatural locks, it was enough to have such an effect.

......

Skystar City.

Countless people looked to the north when they heard a tiger roar. Various powerhouses frowned. What manner of foolhardiness was Li Hao getting up to now?

“Does he want a third element?” someone muttered and promptly curled their lip. It was very possible. Li Hao had only broken the wind and thunder locks. His locks of the five organs were still intact. He could very possibly want a third element today and bring the silent tiger aura back to life. Did Li Hao wish to grasp a third element and dominate the four corners of the land?

Figured hovered over the nine ministries and broke through the air, heading north. One person stood in their way over the Night Watcher headquarters, spear in hand and presence soaring.

“I would request that the various ministers return to the nine ministries!” the figure said indifferently.

“Hou Xiaochen, do you think you’ll be able to conquer the world just because Li Hao commands a third element?” someone sneered.

“I don’t,” Hou Xiaochen responded evenly. “So what of a third element? Astounding existences abound in this world, can even four or five element wielders dare say they’ll reign supreme? If that is the case, why do all of you look to the north of the world?”

“Li Hao has just entered the Arcanus level, brashly setting foot into a third element will result in his body falling apart and his organs burning to ashes. This is a dao of death and we are just cautioning him!”

“Your attention is not needed!” Yao Si broke through the air from the Night Watcher side. The old man brooded. “Do you want another fight? Finding glory in obstructing others from ascending is the shame of the superhuman domain. If you lot are unwilling to accept the circumstances, then you can break through to three elements as well!”

Dao Sword also leisurely took to the air from the Night Watcher side. He didn’t say a word and simply smiled faintly at the various powerhouses.

The inspector general broke through the air from not too far away and frowned at the scene. “Whether it is three elements or two, it doesn’t change much,” he said faintly. “Arcanus spans a wide range—two elements is an Arcanus, five elements is still an Arcanus. It’s just taking another step within the cultivation realm and doesn’t change anything. Please be at peace, everyone.”

There was a large difference between metamorphosis and Arcanus, but not as much of one between an Arcanus of three elements and two. It was just another step forward in the Arcanus realm, not a leap to another level.

The powerhouses hovering in the air sank into contemplation. Moments later, a young man dressed in yellow robes strode through the air from the palace.

“Seniors and ministers,” he said with a smile. “How does everyone have the spare time to hover in the sky and admire the scenery today?”

“Eldest Prince!” Someone nodded smilingly. The newcomer wasn’t the ninth prince, but the eldest prince of nearly fifty years old. He appeared quite young and smiled radiantly, a few more hints of maturity and magnanimity to his bearing compared to the ninth prince.

The prince’s smile deepened and he looked at the crowd, then at the northern part of the city. A ferocious tiger’s roars shook the skies, as if on the verge of death and despair. A keen light glinted in the prince’s eyes before he returned to a picture of serenity. “The Skystar Marquis seems to be cultivating. Interruptions are most frowned upon at a time like this. Let’s go to the Nine Dragons Pavilion for some tea and conversation. I will be treating today, so please show me some face, seniors!”

Was Li Hao going to set foot into his third element? That was incredibly fast!

It was both a surprise and not a surprise. After all, the young man’s cultivation level had been stable when he ascended as an Arcanus. That he could kill Hu Xiao meant that his body, bones, and organs were tremendously powerful. In that case, further advancing to three elements seemed a reasonable foregone conclusion. Not to mention, the locks of his organs remained intact.

“The Skystar Marquis breaking a lock of the five organs means that he has no hope of converting back to a martial master,” the prince added meaningfully. “It would be... very unwise to disrupt the marquis now!”

His words gave the crowd new food for thought. When Li Hao still possessed his locks of the five organs, he stood a chance of returning to martial dao. But now that he’d chosen to break one of them, it represented that the crazed young man had completely given up the martial path. He chose to sacrifice his future in the pursuit of greater strength and to dominate all sides.

Was this a gain or a loss?

It was difficult for the powerhouses to determine as well, but they knew that if they didn’t stop him now, there might not be Demon Sword Li Hao in the future!

“Then we shall acquiesce to the eldest prince’s wishes and adjourn to the Nine Dragons Pavilion!” someone laughed. The potential brawl was defused by the prince’s words.

Very well then! Li Hao was permitted to ascend. There was no hope of him returning as a martial master once he did so. As good as supernaturals were, there were ultimately limits to this path. Li Hao had taken the most critical step of breaking the most important factor of martial masters—the aura. Silencing his aura would mean that the advantages he operated with from the beginning would soon dwindle to nothing.

The group laughed and chatted merrily. While they still paid attention to the disturbance coming from the north, they slowly settled down into ease. It was just an Arcanus commanding three elements! Not to mention, the kid might not succeed. And what did it matter even if he did?

The powerhouses calmed down and flew toward the Nine Dragons Pavilion. Hou Xiaochen was extraordinarily calm and stood in the air, looking at the north. He didn’t exhibit the same despair and dejection that he had that day, just some regret.

There was no return from this! Are you certain of your path, Li Hao? You will be very strong in the short run, but after that? What other locks can you break after breaking the ones of your organs and head? You relinquished your most important aura and chose stronger power...

Hou Xiaochen closed his eyes, now knowing if he was happy or sad. He represented the limits of martial masters, so there was no other option available to Li Hao. If he wanted to grow stronger and dominate the lands, this seemed... to be the only possible avenue at the moment.

Isn’t it all because that we are too weak? We are ultimately unable to break the limits of martial dao. If we are able to easily kill Arcanus as well, why would there be a need to do so?

Complicated emotions flashed across Yao Si’s face as well. He looked to the north, then at Hou Xiaochen. “Being supernatural is equally good,” he said slowly. “Dao Sword is a supernatural too...”

Hou Xiaochen opened his eyes and looked calmly at the Night Watcher director. “There is no wrong power, just a wrong heart! I am not morose because of his decision, I just don’t find it worth the sacrifice!”

“Not worth the sacrifice?”

“Is it worth the sacrifice?” Hou Xiaochen was very calm. “Is it? What do we gain for it? So what if we suppress the nine ministries or royal family? He was a carefree individual who only needed to focus on revenge and hunting down Ying Hongyue. Why did he need to offend so many powerhouses to the point where he had to cross over as an Arcanus and proceed in the direct opposite direction of martial dao?

“Is this his duty?” Hou Xiaochen demanded coldly. “I regret my actions!”

He regretted pulling the young man into the Night Watchers and wanting him to shoulder some of the responsibilities. Why did the younger generation need to shoulder what the older generation could not achieve? It wasn’t like there was no one left in the Silver Moon martial world! There were plenty who could break their locks, but why had only Li Hao, Hong Yitang, and a few others chosen to do so?

Hou Xiaochen stared at those from the nine ministries in the distance and suddenly sneered. “I’ll chop a few heads off if they dare show their faces around here today. I’ll let them know the meaning of pain!”

He didn’t keep his voice down—it traveled to the front. Someone turned back for a look, to which Hou Xiaochen snapped, “Just try taking another look!”

The listener shook. What did Hou Xiaochen mean by that?