Star Gate

Chapter 162: Secrets of the Eight Trigrams (I)

The Yuan residence.

Li Hao and Yuan Shuo stared fixedly at the two pills in front of them. The scarlet shadow energy they were familiar with had been shaped into the form of pills.

“Who would’ve thought that Hou Xiaochen would really send us some treasure?” Yuan Shuo was quite agitated. “He must’ve obtained this after killing Red Moon powerhouses. If origin weapons can extract them, I wonder if the stone blade can?”

This was his focus. He’d thought that only Li Hao could touch the scarlet shadows, so despite Yuan Shuo having some ideas or wanting to kill Red Moon members for their shadows, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t even see them, much less feel them. How could he extract their energy?

But if Hou Xiaochen could do it, why couldn’t he? Wasn’t the stone blade an origin weapon?

At the very least, Yuan Shuo felt it highly likely that the family weapons were also origin weapons. There must be something special about them that enabled them to extract blood pearls. His thoughts moved rapidly with this new possibility.

He wanted to kill people!

Kill who?

Red Moon, of course.

His desires hadn’t run so deeply before and he hadn’t been able to overcome Red Moon, so there was no need to seek revenge against the organization. He’d easily make a target out of himself instead.

But what if he could extract their scarlet shadows after killing their members? This energy was an ultimate treasure for martial masters!

Yuan Shuo was delighted not only because he’d obtained blood pearls, but also that it was better to teach someone how to fish rather than just give them fish. He wanted to learn from Hou Xiaochen how to extract Red Moon’s power.

With that, he would be able to hollow out the organization. Well, the caveat was that he survived his ambitions and wasn’t chased down by the organization’s powerhouses.

“This won’t do, I need to talk to Hou Xiaochen!” Rare excitement flickered across Yuan Shuo’s face. “After I get the method, I’ll make a clean sweep of them when the urge strikes me. Perhaps we’ll strike it rich! This and the sword energy means you’ll quickly set foot into Dominator.”

Li Hao also grinned broadly. What a happy occasion!

“Teacher, I feel that this Sunflare level blood pearl seems only a little weaker than the big shadow from last time. Was that shadow not a Solar?”

“Probably not. Brokensky was only initial Solar, so his shadow was possibly just peak Sunflare.” Yuan Shuo had absorbed most of the peak Sunflare shadow’s energy and left a small portion to his student. Li Hao had utilized it to progress to initial Sunderer. This time, he wanted Li Hao to absorb all of the Sunflare blood pearl. The young man should be able to project internal force from his torso after that. He might not be able to from his head—there was still danger in that, but he shouldn’t be too far off.

Combined with his preliminary understanding of the aura, that would place Li Hao at peak Sunderer. Once his grasp of the aura improved, he would successfully set foot into Dominator.

Having paved the road for his final disciple and plotted out his future, Yuan Shuo felt ever more certain that he could not remain in Silver City for long. He needed to leave and take everyone’s attention with him.

“We go to the ruins tonight!” The professor suddenly decided. “We need to do this quickly. If we can’t open them this time, we wait. I’ll think of a way to conceal the ruins and you’ll pretend they don’t exist. We’ll explore them again once we accumulate enough strength.”

He’d only needed to glance at the ruins to know they were more than met the eye. He’d given the door a try and punched it—it remained unmoving. If both Li Hao’s sword and his blade couldn’t budge it, they would have to wait for better timing.

“Understood!” Li Hao nodded, staring fixedly at the red pill. Anticipation grew in his eyes. He’d absorbed a decent amount from the scarlet shadow last time and dual cultivated with his teacher, giving most of it to his teacher. This time, they each had one. Perhaps the effects would be so much more than he expected.

Teacher and disciple said nothing more. They nursed their own thoughts and busily painted a wondrous future. Visiting the ruins was on the agenda for tonight. Hao Lianchuan had left and they called the shots in Silver City now. Any disturbance they kicked up would be easily quelled.

......

The sky slowly darkened. It was completely dark at 9pm.

The Yuan residence.

Teacher and disciple elected to walk on foot instead of taking the car. Two shadows leapt and bounded through the night. They moved exceedingly fast and were as light-footed as apes and monkeys. The two wore black outfits as they shifted soundlessly through the gloom.

Although Yuan Shuo’s injuries were yet to fully heal, he far outstripped his student. Li Hao began employing the ape style to compensate, but he couldn’t catch up with his teacher no matter how he tried.

The young man set aside the ape style once they left the city. He exuded a faint aura when he stomped his foot and borrowed the force of earth to further understand the aura of earth. The combination of blood qi and aura last time had been a great improvement as he’d deepened his understanding of the aura.

Now as he ran over the ground, he focused on satisfying feedback from the earth when his feet connected with it. Li Hao ran faster and faster as he increased his comprehension.

Up ahead, Yuan Shuo looked back with a smile and also increased his pace. How nice! The lad explored his own unique understanding of the aura and didn’t continue his teacher’s path. That wasn’t a bad thing. On the contrary, Yuan Shuo was gratified and proud of his disciple.

He himself was strong and the professor also thought that his aura was very domineering. However, that didn’t mean he wished for Li Hao to be the same as him and walk the exact same path. He was foremost when it came to the aura of the Five Styles. It would be very hard for Li Hao to surpass him, which was not what Yuan Shuo wished to see.

As Yuan Shuo picked up the pace, so did Li Hao think furiously behind his teacher. Not fast enough! It was nice to plant his feet on solid ground, but his speed seemed a little too slow for his liking.

Of the Five Styles, both the ape and bird style could accelerate. Meanwhile, Li Hao rarely practiced the deer style. The tiger and bear styles were suited for attacking, the ape and bird styles for fleeing. Only the deer style was neither here nor there.

It couldn’t fly as high as the birds, be as nimble as the apes, or bring as much strength to bear as tigers and bears. According to the New Book of Five Styles, the deer style focused on being light on one’s feet.

But could it be as light as the birds?

A variety of thoughts ran through Li Hao’s mind. He thought back to what his teacher said of apes and monkeys darting nimbly through the mountain forests, of birds flying without restriction in the sky. The open plains, however, were the domain of the deer. Even ferocious tigers and leopards found it exceedingly difficult to capture deer. As light-footed as a deer wasn’t hyperbole—they were faster than some premier hunters when they erupted with full potential.

The deer style centered on being natural and flexible. It drew strength from the waist instead of the legs, a major difference from the other styles.

Logically speaking, shouldn’t speed come from the churning of legs? For deer, it came from their waist. They exerted themselves through the stomach to propel their legs.

How interesting! Li Hao suddenly thought through a lot and decided to deploy the style that he normally didn’t think much of. Activation through the stomach, lifting his waist, and lightening his body!

He suddenly felt lighter, similar to when he absorbed wind energy. The strength in his legs didn’t change, but he was much faster than before.

He sped over the ground like he was the wind. The earth seemed to be the grassy plains that he sped over. Li Hao ran faster and faster; he even wanted to throw his head back to the sky with a howl and vent the agitation clouding his heart!

He’d been subject to attention from all sides after the eight families were exposed, but this kind of life wasn’t the one he wanted. He didn’t like being followed with interest. He wished to live out his days in peace, not like the ones he experienced now.

His body rose and fell like a buck, gently undulating over the land. Li Hao accelerated the more he strode toward his destination.

Up ahead, Yuan Shuo couldn’t help but turn back for a look. Another peculiar expression crossed his face. Nice going, kid!

He’d thought that Li Hao only knew the ape style of the Five Styles and had decided to focus on teaching that style in the future. But judging from this demonstration, perhaps the lad just hadn’t been diligent before. He didn’t seem like a rookie and also utilized the deer style very well.

Yuan Shuo abruptly paused and waited for Li Hao to catch up to him. He gently bent over, curved his waist, and placed his feet apart from each other. The professor chuckled lowly, “Follow me!” He bounded forward like an elk on a grassy plain, covering more than ten meters in a free and easy manner.

Li Hao fixed his eyes on his teacher’s movement, detecting a hint of difference from his own. He slightly corrected his posture and swiftly caught up to his teacher.

An old man and a young man sprinted through the wilderness. Instead of a burning urgency, they exuded a simple effortlessness. They even forgot about the ruins!

“The ruins are just an external object. Martial masters need to rely on themselves!” Teacher and disciple had a pressing need for the ruins because they wished to enhance themselves. Running like this was also training. Whether it was Li Hao or Yuan Shuo, they both knew that this kind of comprehension was worth spending the time to experience.

......

Inside the mines.

Hu Hao jerked to alertness and scrambled to his feet. He darted out of a mine entrance and looked into the distance. Chen Jian was close behind and carried a rocket launcher in his hands.

The two had been chatting moments ago. Chen Jian had traveled back for the morning meeting and returned with some food, as well as his blood pearl. He was discussing with Hu Hao if he should take it or not when his supernatural comrade said that someone was coming.

Two black figures shot toward the mountain under the cover of night. They were like leopards on the hunt, their speed so quick that it made Hu Hao’s heart pound with alarm.

“Who is it?” he muttered.

Chen Jian looked on gravely. “I don’t know... Chief didn’t say that someone would be by.”

It wasn’t Liu Long.

Li Hao and Yuan Shuo originally planned to notify the watchers when they reached the foot of the mountain, but the two had long forgotten that in their focus on the deer style and sped toward their destination.

Hu Hao yanked Chen Jian into the air and hid themselves among a backdrop of the gloomy sky. As Chen Jian scanned the ground, he was stunned by what he saw.

“Martial masters!” he muttered. The two were martial masters, not supernaturals. He would think it was Li Hao and Yuan Shuo if one of them was slightly slower, but both were exceedingly fast. It skewed his judgment as he recalled that while Li Hao was ruthless, he was a martial dao rookie and a kid at Slayer of Tens.

Chief would say something if he was planning on swinging by, so who were these two?