Star Gate

Chapter 306: Fishing With One’s Life (IV)

Hu Dingfang didn’t say anything. Meanwhile, his wife sighed softly and looked at her husband.

“Did you... use the Five Styles in front of him?”

The commander nodded.

Chen Yuhua stayed silent for a moment. “Try... not to use it next time. You are a supernatural now. As strong as the Five Styles is, there are abilities and techniques in the supernatural as well. Don’t use it unless you have to.”

“Mmhmm.” Hu Dingfang didn’t protest. Plainly, Li Hao’s words might be meant for his ears.

......

Within the hall.

Li Hao called on Southern Fist instead of continuing in the same vein. “Senior Southern Fist, you are a respected senior of the Silver Moon martial world. You can ask one question!”

He Yong roared with laughter and cut straight to the chase. “Does the method for Summoner of Spirit have to do with the five organs?”

Eyes widened among martial masters and they stared raptly at the stage. This was the heart of what they wanted to know!

“Yes, at least my teacher’s method is tied to the five organs.” Li Hao nodded. “I don’t know about anyone else’s method, but nurturing the five elements is the precursor to Summoner of Spirit. The strength of the five organs is the foundation to Summoner!”

He Yong wanted to follow up, but Li Hao called upon someone else.

“How do we strengthen the five organs?” the martial master called out excitedly.

“There’s two ways. One, use internal force to nurture them. That might take ten years, twenty years, or even a lifetime! Two, use a blood pearl. One Sunflare level blood pearl can save you five years. Two can save you ten years...”

The hall ignited with a dull roar. Some with hasty personalities wanted to yell their questions at the stage, but Li Hao quieted them down before they had a chance to.

“Don’t be in a rush, everyone. I’m sure you’ve all heard of the blood pearls. Does anyone have one on them?”

The hall immediately stilled. It was inappropriate to bring the treasure out like this whether or not they had one. There might be Red Moon representatives present.

“I have one!” He Yong hooted. “It’s a Sunflare level one. Do you have a special way for us to take it? I took one, and to great effect, but it wasn’t as wondrous as you say...”

“That’s because of a difference in breathing method!” Li Hao smiled. “It’s wonderful that you have one, senior. Everything looks to the results. There is no use in just talking about things all the time. Senior, could I have your blood pearl?”

He Yong threw the blood pearl on stage. Li Hao took a quick assessment. Good, it wasn’t weak. It was at least from a mid Sunflare scarlet shadow—probably a royal family creation.

So the royal family was also preparing these resources.

“I will not test it on you since you are a Dominator, senior. Are you willing to let me experiment with it?”

“Of course, do as you wish!” He Yong didn’t care. It was best if he could see some results with his own eyes.

Li Hao looked into the crowd and pointed at a young man. His target was roughly twenty years old and seemed to be peak Slayer, judging from his muscles, stride, and condition.

Of course, he couldn’t be certain.

“Please come up here, junior brother.”

The young man in question was a bit baffled, but also excited. He quickly made his way to the stage.

“Who... is he?” Whispers flurried through the crowd.

“Don’t know.”

“I know him, he’s the youngest disciple of the Iron Palm. He’s pretty young and already peak Slayer.”

“Oh, one of his!”

The young man was quickly identified; the discourse also traveled into Li Hao’s ears.

“You’re not a Sunderer yet, are you?” He smiled at the newcomer.

“No...”

“You’ll instantly break through after taking the blood pearl. Not only that, but it will strengthen your five visceral organs as well. You’ll be mid Sunderer or even late Sunderer soon, but it’s up to you to sense the aura if you want to make it to half step Dominator...”

“R-really?” Thrills ran through the young man.

“You’ll know when we give it a try!” Li Hao raised the Sunflare level blood pearl. “There’s too much energy in here for you, so you shouldn’t take it by yourself. Since I am a half step Dominator, I can use the Breathing Method of the Five Styles to help you digest it...”

Li Hao shoved the blood pearl into the other’s mouth and slammed his palm over when energy erupted. He operated the breathing method before the young man had a chance to react.

Not only that, but he utilized a tiny thread of sword energy as well. It wasn’t like the guy would know any different, he’d just think that the breathing method was marvelous.

A massive amount of blood-colored energy spread out in the air; the young disciple’s internal force surged and he flushed beet red. It didn’t take long before he roared and thrust out his own palm, projecting internal force with an explosive rush!

Jaws dropped in the meeting hall. He was a Sunderer now?? How was that possible?!

“Are there any initial Sunderers present who are willing to fight him?” Li Hao asked the assembly. “He’s still digesting the energy, but his organs and physical body have all been enhanced. He’ll be stronger than a typical Sunderer...”

“I am!” Someone quickly jumped out from the crowd.

The two Sunderers were quickly embroiled in a fight. The young man who’d taken the blood pearl urgently needed to vent the excess from the changes in his body. Emotions running high, he continuously slammed down instances of the Iron Palm.

However, his lack of experience showed and he suffered multiple kicks in a row. The assembly carefully observed the proceedings with strange looks in their eyes. The young disciple’s organs really did seem to be much stronger than before. The frenzied kicking only inflicted some bruises and scrapes. There was no resulting damage to his internal organs.

The group regarded blood pearls with new fervor. The two Sunderers were still fighting, but people couldn’t help but raise questions again.

“Is it... only the Breathing Method of the Five Styles that can digest the energy?”

“No, all breathing methods can do so, they just waste some more energy. The Breathing Method of the Five Styles is more efficient at this task.” Li Hao continued before the next question followed, “Blood pearls are actually wasted on Sunderers. They’re much more useful for Dominators as the large sums of energy can be incorporated into the five visceral organs used to fortify them. That will be very useful in helping everyone progress to Summoner of Spirit.”

“How do we break through after enhancing our organs?” A light danced in He Yong’s eyes.

“I’m not certain of the particulars either,” Li Hao chuckled. “But I know that after the five organs are fully nurtured, you can try melding your aura into the organs if it’s strong enough. However, that easily destroys the balance between the organs and causes death via their rupture!”

“That’s right, I’ve tried that before myself,” He Yong frowned and agreed after a while. “I can feel my organs threatening to explode as soon as my aura enters them!”

He’d tried before!

Or more accurately, many people had tried before. They weren’t fools and could hazard some guesses when they saw the fire heart ape. However, they couldn’t do it!

“I heard teacher mention it once,” Li Hao said after thinking it over. “There’s a key to this process, but he didn’t go into details. He only mentioned that the process requires this key to be successful!”

And that was to lock the aura with the supernatural locks!

No one knew about this and neither did they dare brashly experiment. Martial masters who needed to feel their way through to Summoner of Spirit were all of the Dominator level. It wasn’t hard for Dominators to cross over to the supernatural, but even if they didn’t, they didn’t dare lightly disturb their supernatural locks.

And yet, it was impossible to confine the aura without supernatural locks. This made it impossible for martial masters to summon and nurture their spirits, even if they knew the next step had to do with the five organs.

“There are five organs for five auras, must we have five auras to take the next step?” A voice traveled from the second floor.

The method for Summoner of Spirit was meaningless if that was the case.

“Not necessarily.” Li Hao shook his head. “If there’s only one aura... and I have to repeat myself and say that I’m not terribly familiar with my teacher’s research... But one thing I do know, and it’s that my teacher didn’t say anything even though I comprehended the sword aura. That means it’s not impossible to go at it with one aura alone! We can nurture one aura in five organs, but I’ll need my teacher to expand upon the particulars...”

“Is there no other way apart from the blood pearls?” asked the same speaker from the second floor. That was Red Moon exclusive knowledge. If this was the case, it’d be open warfare with Red Moon and they’d have to employ the use of origin weapons.

That would not be good!

“I don’t know, but my teacher is attempting to modify the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. If he succeeds, we might be able to directly nurture the five organs. It might be slower, but it’d be a viable path. Unfortunately, I find it impossible to answer these questions now that my teacher is absent.”

Eyes widened with surprise when the crowd heard the response. Modifying the Breathing Method of the Five Styles? Would it be freely shared if that was successful?

“Commissioner Inspector Li,” came another person’s voice from the second floor. “Did Professor Yuan specifically mention anything to be cautious of before he left?”

“Yes!” the young man answered frankly. “Teacher once mentioned that there are elements attributed to the five organs. They cannot be assimilated willy-nilly with random auras. The water aura corresponds to the kidneys and the fire aura to the heart. But the five visceral organs are fragile, so they need to be strong enough to not suffer damage or bleed when the aura is directed into the organ. That is the most basic requirement for the next level. If such signs appear when you attempt to meld the aura, you must stop immediately!”

Even He Yong frowned now. “The organs are hard to fortify. I’ve consumed countless treasures, but mine still bleed as soon as I try directing my aura into them. Can mysterious power stones enhance the five organs?”

“They can, but they’re not as effective as the blood pearls. The blood pearls are more suited to martial masters and the proper attribute is required for the mysterious power stone,” Li Hao replied. “Director Hao gave me a wood stone when I was injured by another before. I used it to repair my organs. The effects were decent. While they were less than blood pearls, they were much better than mysterious power.”

He Yong breathed out heavily. Damn, even mysterious power stones were less than blood pearls. What else could be said about that?

“......” Questions flew in a thick flurry and Li Hao answered all of them honestly. The assembly was too embarrassed to ask anymore after a blizzard of questioning. If they continued, they’d be asking about the Breathing Method of the Five Styles.

Mouth dry, Li Hao took a sip of water.