Star Gate

Chapter 28: To Be A Teacher (II)

“The treasures of the folk song share a common characteristic,” Yuan Shuo continued. “Outsiders are unable to use them. Zhang Yuan was burned alive possibly because his killer wanted to collect his bloodline, soul, or a mental attribute that would enable them to use the blade of the Zhangs!

“I also have a few thoughts about the time interval between cases. It’s very likely due to certain innate limitations of the supernatural methods employed by the killer. Each immolation to extract the victim’s bloodline or soul causes the killer to enter a state of hibernation!

“It’s plain to see that they’re improving though—or rather, the hibernation period is decreasing!”

Li Hao quickly bobbed his head in agreement, despite his teacher being unable to see his response. He was so thoroughly impressed beyond words. His teacher hadn’t known anything beforehand, but deduced so much after seeing the files only yesterday!

Of course, this also had to do with the depth and breadth of his teacher’s knowledge.

“Another thing—they only act on rainy days. This means their abilities are deployed only during rainy weather. They need more than a simple murder—they also need to collect or harvest something from your bodies after killing you.”

Yuan Shuo paused when he reached this point. “Don’t underestimate the one behind the cases. If the first one to die was a member of the Zhengs, this means these plans have been in motion for fifteen years!

“Keep in mind that it’s only been twenty years or so since occult powers have appeared among us. Do you know what this means if the enemy was one then? It means they are a veteran among supernaturals, not a rookie wet behind the ears!

“Of course, it may not be one singular person behind things. Perhaps the initial supernatural who started the cases has left and it’s their faction members or disciples overseeing the situation. It doesn’t seem likely that a powerhouse would remain in Silver City indefinitely.”

Li Hao took another deep breath. He’d already considered his teacher’s latest point, but not to this level of detail. Had Liu Long?

“You may not be able to use the blade of the Zhangs, but you will certainly be able to use the sword of the Lis! It likely laid inert before because the supernatural was yet to be found. This domain should’ve existed in ancient civilizations as well; this is just a reawakening as opposed to a sudden creation. If you are the heir to the sword of the Lis, you’ll be able to activate the sword if you have it.”

“Activate?” The young man finally opened his mouth. The sword of the Lis was both a secret and common knowledge. Anyone who heard the folk song would think of it, but no one knew what it actually was.

Had he activated it through steeping it with water?

“Yes, activate! How would it be easily utilized after lying unused for so many years? I know many ways to activate such treasures, but they’re all too hard for you. The easiest should be using your blood to bind it to you. Of course, the caveat is that the sword really belongs to your family and you didn’t seize it from another.”

“Teacher, I’ve tried that already,” Li Hao chuckled ruefully. “It doesn’t work!”

He’d dripped blood on the pendant before!

“Did you expect anything otherwise? A random drop of blood is useless—do you think randomly spraying blood around is what that method entails?”

“……”

It… isn’t? Li Hao had nothing to say.

“It’s not just any ole blood, especially from descendants like you who are unknown generations removed. Your bloodline changed long ago. For you, two kinds of blood can unseal the treasure. The first is your heart’s blood and a kind that I don’t particularly recommend. It’s too damaging, but if you run into life threatening danger and are about to die, you can stab the sword into your heart. Remember not to stab it too deeply and end up killing yourself!”

Li Hao cracked an awkward grin, just listen to what his teacher was saying! …okay, so this is a very dangerous way.

“The second is to practice the Five Styles, thereby enhancing your physique and bloodline. If you can reach my level, perhaps one drop of blood will be sufficient to activate it!”

Suddenly, the inert Stellaris that released mysterious power only when immersed in water sparkled with starlight. A dense current of energy flowed from the jade sword around the young man’s neck into his body.

If as before, it would’ve quickly flowed back out. Instead, he absorbed the vast sum of energy like every single one of his pores was breathing. Countless pores took in mysterious power at a faster rate and greater quantity than could be imagined!

When Yuan Shuo finished speaking and realized that his student was silent on the other end of the communicator, he shook his head.

“That’s a young’un for you, they’re so impatient. He started cultivating as he was listening, didn’t he?”

The little guy probably had obtained a portion of mysterious power! Yuan Shuo chuckled and hung up with a shake of his head. “He’s still too young. As shrewd as he looks, he’s quite naive! He slipped straight into cultivation without another word and is obviously already absorbing energy. Does this mean the sword of the Lis is on him or possibly next to him?

“It’d be too obvious if it’s next to him… so it’s on him?” Yuan Shuo thought for a moment and came to a surprising answer. “Attaboy, the sword of the Lis is more than I thought! I thought it would be a massive sword, but it’s that jade pendant!”

Li Hao’s scalp would crawl with horror if he was here!

The professor shook his head with amusement after recalling his student’s necklace. “Not bad, that sword is not bad at all! I never sensed anything different about it and since it’s so small… I wouldn’t guess it was the sword of the Lis if I’d never seen it before!

“I wonder how much the kid will glean with the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. The sword may not have much energy left after being sealed away for so many years. He’ll cross over if he’s lucky, but if he’s not, at least he’ll reach Slayer of Five… or Six?”

Yuan Shuo made some quick calculations based on his own experience—the degree of certainty was too low. Things were not as simple as they seemed here. A supernatural that existed fifteen years ago would at least be a Sunderer if they hadn’t improved at all during this time. They wouldn’t be a personage that any regular person could handle.

They might have even advanced beyond that to the equivalent of Dominator of Thousands!

If that was the case, hot weapons were nearly useless. Those powerful enough to kill the enemy would kill the wielder first.

……

Li Hao was preoccupied with absorbing energy from the sword while his teacher pondered. There was so much, this was much better than steeping the sword in water!

Fully conscious and aware of his surroundings, his heart pounded with shock as he laid on his back. His teacher’s breathing method was extraordinary! It really could take in mysterious power, and at an extremely fast pace!

His constitution seemed to be changing and he could vaguely sense the presence of various chains inside his body. They sealed off certain areas, preventing the mysterious power from entering certain core areas—his heart and brain.

“Supernatural locks… plural?” Was this what Liu Yan had mentioned before, the barrier that separated the mundane from the occult? “There’s too much!”

He didn’t have much time to think as he suddenly felt that he’d taken in so much that he was about to explode. This was more than ten cups of sword water!

“I gotta train!” Li Hao bounded up from the floor and smashed his head on the ceiling. Starlight wreathed his body!

Panther’s eyes were wide open next to the young man and it kept licking the air. It abruptly understood something and splayed its limbs upward, adjusting its breathing to be similar to Li Hao’s.

The young man hadn’t concealed the breathing method from the dog; it hadn’t occurred to him to avoid a dog’s gaze. The energy radiating from his body ceased diffusing outward and rushed toward the little black dog.

Panther’s limbs were turned upward as it adjusted its breathing; it began collecting a haze of resplendent light around it as it breathed in and out!

A young man jumped and leapt like a monkey inside the tiny room while a dog laid like a human being, breathing starlight in and out of its nose. The combination made for a terrifying sight!

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