Chapter 139: A Spare Tire (I)
“Water is as fast as a blade and keen without edge!”
Bam! echoed from another one of Li Hao’s punches.
“Chief, these are just my own thoughts,” the young man panted. “Please don’t mind the unversed, rudimentary aspects of them.”
“Your teacher says...” Liu Long sighed after a long moment. “That you’ll be a stunning character one day!”
I believe it!
He truly did in this moment. So water could be this violent! It didn’t measure up to the majestic grandiosity of a tidal wave, but it felt that a single drop of water could break through the earth.
Liu Long abruptly punched forward.
BOOM!
An explosion ripped through the air like a bomb, a storm ripping through the firmament! This was water, the heartless element of fire and water. Liu Long closed his eyes to sense everything about it. He looked at the young man when he opened them again.
“It looks like Elder Yuan was right not to accept me.”
Compared to such a genius disciple like Li Hao, Yuan Shuo would likely suffer a heart attack from sheer frustration if Liu Long was also a disciple.
Idiot...
He hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but Liu Long had to today. He seemed to be too set in his ways.
Yuan Shuo stood with his arms crossed off to the side. His pride quickly transformed into approval. “You’re not bad yourself! Setting foot into Dominator through borrowed aura... while you lack your own distinction, you’re a Dominator nonetheless. You’ll be fine against regular Sunflare!”
“I didn’t understand before,” Liu Long chuckled ruefully. Simple respect had replaced his aloofness from earlier. “After sparring with Elder Yuan today, I can tell that your strength far eclipses mine despite advancing only a dozen days ago. Everyone attributes your Solar kill to luck, but in my eyes, you would be able to fight a Solar even without outside help!”
Such was a true walking god! As for himself, the conclusion he came to after prolonged thought was that he was just a Dominator. On his side stood a Dominator of Thousands, while on Yuan Shuo’s there was a god that roamed the land. There was no difference in their level, but a massive gap in strength.
“Congratulations chief, congratulations teacher!” Li Hao broke the atmosphere with a jolly shout. “Our plan is complete ahead of time. I’ll fetch food so you can celebrate with some wine!”
They really needed to stop, Liu Long was about to abandon himself to despair if they continued! He was a Dominator at the end of the day, but was being checked to a shadow of himself. That would be too much of a pity!
Liu Long started laughing when the young man left. “Elder Yuan... I quite envy you!”
“He’s my student. Don’t think he’s yours just because you taught him the Nine Forged Force,” Yuan Shuo said proudly. “You won’t do!”
“I understand.” Liu Long truly was envious. He looked at the dog waving its paws and sighed. Damn it, the dog’s not bad. How about I have a dog for a disciple?
......
Noon.
Liu Long stayed for lunch in a house that now seemed rather worse for the wear. Countless floor tiles were shattered and debris littered the ground. Normal people didn’t fight in their homes, so patently the three at the table weren’t normal.
Liu Long had a strong appetite after breaking through and ravenously tore through the food. He was a domineering man to outsiders, one with a high position and imposing authority. That was not in effect here. He’d been a child begging for tutelage when Yuan Shuo was in his prime. There was no place for him but humility in front of the professor.
Yuan Shuo sipped at a cup of wine—the only one to do so at the table. Liu Long may seem rough around the edges, but he didn’t drink. Intoxication easily bungled matters. Meanwhile, Yuan Shuo’s style corresponded to the old guard of martial masters. Food and drink passed through the man in a free and easy manner.
He drank wine with narrowed eyes, lost in thought and looking past Liu Long and Li Hao. He’d been worried about what would happen to his student once he left Silver City. The lad would be in constant danger if the matter of the eight families wasn’t resolved. But since Li Hao had comprehended an outline of the aura, he was suddenly more at ease. Could Li Hao set foot into the Dominator level before he left?
Indeed, Dominator of Thousands!
Once the aura was grasped and energy from the sword to supplement, Yuan Shuo would be able to shove Li Hao upward if the former could obtain some more mysterious power of the five elements and scarlet shadows!
Aura was the thorniest problem bottlenecking martial masters. Nothing else was an issue in Yuan Shuo’s eyes.
He’d obtained one thousand cubes of mysterious power after Red Moon attacked and constantly requested the Night Watchers to deliver them. The agency dragged its feet, impeding his own trades for the power of the five elements.
He hadn’t been in a hurry at first. What was the rush? As fast as Li Hao was improving, they could not overly insist on haste. But now, urgency licked at his heels. Those bastards! They were too slow! Now that the lad had a fledgling aura, he was in a state of high speed development. Each day of delay was a crime; it was torture!
Yuan Shuo didn’t consider the possibility of Li Hao devouring too much and causing experience to lag behind strength. The lad was different from other martial masters. The worst Dominator was still stronger than a Sunderer, no?
The lad could increase his cultivation level first, which would raise his strength accordingly. What was this talk of experience? Killing more people naturally brought about more battle experience; A martial master’s strength came from the self; there was no danger of losing control.
In this regard, Li Hao wouldn’t be in much trouble after rising to Dominator, despite his lack of experience. He just needed to refrain from being an idiot and running off to pick fights with Sunflares and Solars. He would be absolutely fine against Sunderers or Darkmoons.
Yuan Shuo suddenly rose as he considered the situation. Li Hao looked up and reached to fill his teacher’s wine cup when the professor snatched up a nearby communicator. He thought for a bit and dialed a number.
“It’s me!”
“Elder Yuan...” A familiar voice traveled out of the communicator—Mu Sen.
Li Hao and Liu Long looked at each other with surprise. What did Yuan Shuo want with Mu Sen?
“I can’t get in touch with Hao Lianchuan, but I’m sure you can!” Yuan Shuo barked out coolly. “Tell him I want to see my mysterious power tonight, all of it! We can forget about the ruins if I don’t! Don’t give me any bullshit, delaying things won’t make the problem go away. Are they waiting to pay only after the ruins? Or do they want to burn the cubes to me when I’m dead??”
“Elder Yuan, I, ah, we can’t contact White Moon City either...”
“Mu Sen, are you sure you want me to go to your office and scream into your face?”
“......” Silence came from the other end of the communicator before Mu Sen spoke with resignation, “We use the emergency contact method only when something major has occurred. It consumes effort and resources each time it’s activated...”
“The major occurrence is that I’ll kill Inspector General Mu Sen if Hao Lianchuan doesn’t give me my stuff. Is that reason good enough?”
“......”
A silent Liu Long’s lips curved upwards. Li Hao held himself in with effort, deeply concerned that Mu Sen would hear something and identify who else was present.
“Very well, I’ll notify them right away,” Mu Sen capitulated with resignation. “But tonight... There’s quite a distance between us and them. Even if they’re ready, it will be very difficult to make a delivery tonight.”
“Hao Lianchuan can fly. It’s just one thousand kilometers, he can fly here! I don’t care about anything else, that’s all!” Yuan Shuo snapped the communicator shut and threw it to the side. He didn’t care how they arranged the matter. It was indeed difficult to communicate between cities, but if the most senior executive of the Inspectorate didn’t have a reliable manner to reach White Moon with, then the capital’s control over the province would instantly plunge.
Hao Lianchuan arrived so quickly the day that Red Moon attacked, a clear sign that they had their ways of communication. They just weren’t in use normally.
“Those fellows need a kick in the arse!” Yuan Shuo complained. “I know what they’re thinking! We’re headed to the ruins very soon and if I die there, they won’t have to pay me anything. If we survive, we do so with certain gains. A bit of mysterious power is nothing then! Li Hao, you already gave them your sword. It’s one thing to withhold treasures until after the expedition, but they want to hold back even the mysterious power from Brokensky...”
The professor worked himself up in a froth as he spoke!
“Teacher, it’s okay,” Li Hao placated. “We don’t have any use for it in the immediate future anyway.”
Bullshit! Yuan Shuo threw him a sidelong glance. Says who? You can use it right now, and you have great need for it!
Some more of the sword’s reserves had been depleted to heal Liu Long. There was less and less energy in the sword. If Li Hao didn’t increase his strength as quickly as possible, it would be very difficult to make swift progress once the sword was exhausted.
There was a limit to mysterious power absorption. One could not take in endless amounts. Li Hao could do so due to the sword neutralizing the energy for him. Otherwise, he would be only a little better off than the average person even if he possessed an excellent constitution. He wouldn’t be able to easily absorb thirty cubes in one go like he could now.
“Does Elder Yuan have immediate need of mysterious power?” Liu Long asked. “I have some...”
“Eat your food!” Yuan Shuo cut him off. He was well aware of the director’s tiny fortune. The man had received fifty cubes last time—a sizable amount. But what did that matter to Yuan Shuo?
Li Hao needed to train his organs and required the balanced power of the five elements. Liu Long’s wasn’t appropriate and there was very little of it. A regular Sunderer would find it sufficient, but it was far from enough for Li Hao.
Liu Long bent his head back to his bowl. He brought up business again when he was nearly full. “Elder Yuan, do you have more information about the three Sunflares?”
He only knew there were three Sunflares. Were they initial, mid, or latter? What kind of abilities did they have? He knew almost nothing about the enemy other than their level and number. Everything else was unknown. It was nigh impossible to prevent unexpected and possibly undesirable developments under these circumstances.
“No,” Yuan Shuo responded. “That’s why I want Hao Lianchuan to bring up the rear! We won’t notify him if there’s anything good to be had, but if things go south, we’ll have him show his face!”
Liu Long blinked.
“Besides, shouldn’t someone from upstairs come to honor the formation of a new branch?” Yuan Shuo continued. “Hao Lianchuan is the most suited person! He can come congratulate you as a sign of how important this branch is regarded, and to intimidate the supernaturals that will be present. They won’t dare involve themselves in our matter. And if anything really is overlooked, Hao Lianchuan can clean up after you.”
Such were Yuan Shuo’s plans. He made them deliver his mysterious power tonight because it would have to be none other than Hao Lianchuan who did so. No one else was capable of doing so!
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