Chapter 328: A Bolt From The Blue (III)

Li Hao’s assessment of future strength was based on five separate auras, not a combination of them. If he was able to fuse them all, then he might be able to kill Novas outright... But that was all theoretical. Reality might prove differently.

The powerhouses of the martial world were yet to reach this stage. At the very least, he was yet to hear of anyone who could stand against Novas. Even his teacher thus far only demonstrated the strength to match peak Solar. Two of his spirits had emerged then!

However, his teacher was different in that he’d melded five auras together. His two spirits were different from Li Hao’s two spirits.

“I probably have to manifest three spirits to be on par with my teacher’s two spirits... But my final combination of five auras might be stronger than teacher’s...”

That was due to his sword aura being stronger than any single one of the auras of the Five Styles. Where he fell short compared to his teacher was experience, battle reaction, and lack of combination between auras. Otherwise, with Yuan Shuo’s experience and strength, he would’ve killed Huang Jie with Li Hao’s second stroke. The young man had to rely slightly on Hao Lianchuan—the deputy director’s sudden appearance had startled Huang Jie. That was how Li Hao had swiftly killed the other.

That summed up Li Hao’s self-assessment. He needed to review and appraise each battle once it was over. Identifying strengths and weaknesses would allow him to better improve himself.

When all was said and done, he started to miss the crotchety old man that was his teacher. If his teacher was here, he’d certainly help Li Hao locate a few more insufficiencies. He would then speak of his own experience and reflections, helping his student gain even more from the battles.

......

On the border of Near River province.

The sky was dark. A bonfire lit up the bleak wilderness. Yuan Shuo had hunted down a rabbit from somewhere and was roasting it.

“Stop training, Jadelight,” he chuckled. “Leisure and labor go hand in hand when it comes to cultivation, that’s how I attained new reflections over these years. Narrowing in on training may not bring you as many benefits as a well fought battle!”

Wu Hongshan cracked open an eye to look at the old man, but didn’t say anything.

“Why haven’t you accepted a disciple in all these years?” Yuan Shuo had nothing better to do, so he struck up a conversation.

“What’s the purpose of accepting a disciple?” Wu Hongshan said faintly. “You accepted quite a few, and what of them?”

“I’m doing quite well, what do you mean?” Yuan Shuo smiled. “Take my youngest disciple, if we set all the rest aside. He reached half step Dominator before I left and comprehended two auras. He’s paid a visit to an ancient ruin in the few days that I’ve been absent. With his skill in comprehension and good luck, he might already be a Dominator!

“Do you know how many years he’s cultivated?” the old man roared with laughter.

“Ten years?” Wu Hongshan raised an eyebrow.

“Hahaha, I knew you hadn’t seen much of the world! Three years... No, one year... No wait, two months!”

“......” Wu Hongshan looked down her nose at him like she was regarding a fool.

Go on, keep blowing hot air!

“Really!” Yuan Shuo laughed uproariously. “Wasn’t I injured before? I took him in three years ago and wanted to pass on my knowledge... And guess what happened? I didn’t teach him anything other than the Five Styles, not even the breathing method. But the kid did good for himself and said he needed self defense when Red Moon came after him in July. He started focusing on practicing martial dao and absorbing mysterious power. He reached Slayer of Tens in a few days!”

“That kind of Slayer is very flimsy!” Wu Hongshan said faintly.

“No shit, I know that!” Yuan Shuo laughed. “So I didn’t say anything. To be honest, I wouldn’t think much of him even if he swiftly became a late Sunderer. The times now are not what they were before. Sufficient absorption of mysterious power and a lack of crossing over means that one can easily reach late Sunderer.

“But you know what? He then comprehended the aura!” the old man sighed with emotion. “That was when I finally felt that he might be a genius, a martial dao genius! You know Silver Spear’s son, right? I was helping him grasp the aura that day—my disciple was watching by the side. And as he watched... he somehow grasped the aura himself! Damn, that was a shocker!

“He comprehended the aura of the earth in the blink of an eye!” Yuan Shuo couldn’t stop grinning merrily. “Not only that, but when he fought Sun Yifei’s disciple a while ago, he comprehended the sword aura during that fight! Jadelight, wouldn’t you say that he’s a genius?”

“That... does indeed make him a genius.” Wu Hongshan wouldn’t care about a regular half step Dominator, but inclined her head at Yuan Shuo’s words. “But the sword and earth aura... To be honest, they’re not a good match. He’s gathering a motley assortment of auras. It’s better to follow a prescribed order and walk the path of your Five Styles. Another option is to focus only on one aura after becoming a Dominator. The sword aura is good, but you’re not versed in it, so he might not have that many chances in the future...”

“Woman, just say it if you're jealous, don’t pretend like you’re not interested,” Yuan Shuo chuckled. “These are great achievements—and it’s only been how long? Not to mention, who says that they can’t be melded together? He still might be less than me when they’re combined, but he might be stronger than you guys!”

“A motley assortment of knowledge doesn’t mean that he’s skilled at any of it!” Wu Hongshan was as remote as could be. So what if the boy fused two auras together? Would that be as strong as a singular sword aura? Being a jack of all trades and master of none was just wasting his potential.

“Go on, be jealous and envious!” Yuan Shuo concluded with a laugh. “It’s a pity that the kid’s wrapped up in trouble and the martial world is no longer what it once was. Otherwise I’d bring him around to all the old friends and have him increase his combat experience through challenging some geniuses.”

“Like you once did?”

“Was there anything bad about that?”

“Anything bad about becoming public enemy of the martial world?”

“What public enemy?” Yuan Shuo snorted. “I overcame you guys through my own strength, not my family background or cultivation level. I won through real skill, how does that make me a public enemy? You guys were just jealous and throwing dirty water on me!”

He normally couldn’t be bothered to respond to talk of being a public enemy, but the person in front of him was a martial master of the same era. He would defend himself with a few words.

It was you guys who couldn’t measure up, how are you still lying to yourself even now? Aren’t you embarrassed by this talk of being a public enemy of the martial world?

“I’ve heard rumors that you accepted some other disciples as well.” Wu Hongshan set the previous matter aside as she didn’t want to get bogged down in it. “That they’re all pretty strong with good potential. How come you don’t talk about them?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Yuan Shuo brushed her off. He was a doting old father who favored his youngest son. “My youngest disciple does everything I say and is sensible, clever, kind, and good looking. Too bad you don’t have a disciple or I’d introduce them!

“Right, he’s not a violent brute either. He’s a scholar like me, a class in himself when it comes to talent.”

Wu Hongshan kept quiet. Yuan Shuo very rarely gave out compliments, even to his disciples. He obviously had too much time on his hands tonight and had decided to praise this particular one. It was one thing if the conversation remained between the two of them. How many people would be startled if word got out that Old Demon Yuan actually knew how to compliment people?

“Damn it,” Yuan Shuo suddenly sighed. “Hou Xiaochen is such an asshole! He’s possibly mistreating the lad...”

“Hou Xiaochen...” Wu Hongshan remained silent for a moment. “Was he part of the Skystar Guards?”

“I don’t know, who cares!” Yuan Shuo didn’t mind. “It doesn’t matter if he was. It’s nothing to do with me even if he was. Though we loathe those people, they did indeed focus their attention on martial masters that didn’t follow the rules. I’m one who does—I haven’t gone on a killing spree, killed innocents, tortured the weak, bullied women, killed officials, or rebelled. Do you think the Guards will possibly want anything to do with me?”

“Don’t forget, you were once a wanted criminal!” Wu Hongshan suddenly smiled.

“That had to do with other things,” Yuan Shuo roared with laughter. “I got on their list because I barged into the military camp to fight Huang Yun. That ran afoul of their rules. They put me on there just for show. It was a warning to the martial world and nothing came of it!”

Wu Hongshan’s interest was piqued after he mentioned it. As a martial master, she was very interested in that battle’s outcome. “Who won between you and Huang Yun?”

The battle had been too mysterious as no one knew who’d won, just that Commander Yu walked away fine, as did Yuan Shuo.

Yuan Shuo took a walk down memory lane and struggled over how best to express himself. He shook his head after a while. “It’s hard to say! Perhaps I won... but I also lost.”

“What do you mean?”

“That old man might’ve made it to Dominator a long time ago!” Yuan Shuo mused. “He would be no match for me if we were both Sunderers—I was invincible in that level and among my peers! But that fellow... We were both Sunderers when we fought and I held a small advantage. When I closed in for the kill though, he suddenly jumped away and forfeited the match!

“Therefore,” the old man sighed. “He was probably a Dominator, one who’d ascended many years ago. So you tell me, do I count as having won?”

“A Dominator of the last era?” Wu Hongshan wasn’t surprised by the existence of Dominators back in their times. That was normal as Yuan Shuo had suppressed only those of his generation. There could’ve easily been Dominators surviving from a previous generation; they just didn’t appear in public much.

“Mmhmm.” Yuan Shuo nodded. “He most likely was, so I didn’t continue the match after thinking it over. There wasn’t much meaning to it.

“Speaking of the three commanders of the Skystar Guards, they were almost all gathered in Silver Moon then. Do you think that old man was one of them?”

“Hmm?” Wu Hongshan blinked. She thought Hou Xiaochen was one, but never thought Huang Yun might be another! He was a commander of the military!

“Cannibal, Laughter, and Sickly...” Yuan Shuo smirked. “They were all very mysterious. Almost no one ever saw them, but we all knew they existed. Their operations always lead to deaths and they were matched by no one. Things were different before. Being able to reach their heights meant that their sources of news, intelligence, methods, cleanup, and martial power were first class. Wouldn’t it make sense if Huang Yun was one of them? The intelligence network of the military has always been top notch.”