Chapter 373: Mask of Pain (I)

As Golden Spear walked away, he regretted not voicing what was on his mind. He wanted to say that if there’d been the Seven Swords of Silver Moon twenty years ago, it would be the Eight Swords of Silver Moon today. Not only that, but Li Hao would rank number one or two among the eight.

In Golden Spear’s eyes, the young man was second to only Sky Sword. He might even rival Sky Sword. Perhaps there would be a seat for Li Hao among the Record of Thirty-Six Heroes, and it would be close to the front.

Did Sky Sword break Yuan Shuo’s suppression back in the day?

Golden Spear didn’t know.

Perhaps Sky Sword had, perhaps he hadn’t. The man had left, so no one knew if he’d smashed through it before he left. With Sky Sword’s personality, would he be willing to leave like that if he hadn’t thrown off Yuan Shuo’s will?

......

Back in the clearing, Li Hao laughed. He tottered to his feet with inexplicable glee. He suddenly raised his middle finger toward the south. That was all Ying Hongyue was good for!

The scarlet shadow is no longer my internal demon. In fact, it’s you, Ying Hongyue!

Neither would the move that Hou Xiaochen employed against the Nova stir up any more emotion in him.

“I have seen the sky beyond the sky, so how can I be kept under your heel...” Li Hao laughed and beckoned to the Flaming Phoenix Spear in the distance. “Come here, I won’t slash at you anymore. I’ll break you into two if you keep running though!”

The origin weapon was afraid, but still flew back into Li Hao’s hand after a slight struggle. The young man waved it around and suddenly smiled, infusing the last vestiges of his strength into the spear. He stabbed it forward with no hesitation whatsoever, breaking through the void and sending fire through the air!

If Manager Yu or the others were here, they would find it impossible to recover from their shock. Origin weapons only had one master. Unless their master lent the weapon out, no one else could bring the weapon’s ferocity to bear before the master died.

And yet, Li Hao only needed to simply wave it around for the Flaming Phoenix Spear to immediately erupt with its true force!

“The spear’s nice, it just doesn’t feel that smooth in the hand...” Li Hao shook his head, then smiled again. “The Broken Will Spear... So Director Hou’s spear is called Broken Will.”

Not the Flaming Phoenix Spear, but the spear method that Hou Xiaochen employed. The will was broken when the spear was deployed. He seemed to have read about this method in an ancient tome somewhere. The young man sank into thought as he walked. But right now, his brains didn’t seem up for the task. He felt rather muddle-headed.

Forget it, who cares. I’m not a spear user.

The Flaming Phoenix Spear was as gentle as a kitten and permitted Li Hao to wave it around as he would. It didn’t even stir when he used it as a walking staff. If it’d been Hao Lianchuan, the spear would’ve long immolated the man.

......

In this moment, Rift Canyon.

Hou Xiaochen abruptly paused and stared at White Moon City in the distance.

“Is it Li Hao?” he murmured. The kid that he valued only because of his bloodline seemed... a little different.

My spear intent has faded away at a faster speed than anticipated. Did a powerhouse break my spear intent or Li Hao?

It didn’t mean much if it was a powerhouse. That was just will he’d left behind, it didn’t mean that the other could defeat him. But if it was Li Hao who’d triumphed over his will... Did that mean the young man was stronger than those of his level?

“First Yuan Shuo, then Li Hao... Is this discipline really that strong?” Hou Xiaochen suddenly smiled, suddenly expectant. He hoped for the young man to grow into his own, to reach Hou Xiaochen’s level. Perhaps they could determine which of them was stronger then.

If it really was Li Hao who had broken his spear intent, then Silver Moon might soon see another premier martial master among its ranks, one that could rival Tyrant Blade and Sky Sword. Breathing out softly, Hou Xiaochen vanished on the spot. He would know if it was Li Hao as soon as he returned.

......

Li Hao stumbled his way back to his accommodations. He didn’t have time to see Liu Long and the others before toppling over to sleep like a log.

It was a particularly sound sleep with a beautiful dream. He dreamed of the old days when he and Zhang Yuan secretly roasted game in the latter’s backyard. The spits turned with such fragrant fare that Li Hao’s drool threatened to pool on his face.

He took a closer look and raised an eyebrow when he saw that they were roasting scarlet shadows. Some of them were fried to perfection!

They ate one delicious scarlet shadow after scarlet shadow, brimming with fiery light after they finished that Li Hao thought they were on fire. Upon further observation, it was an abundance of blood qi that made them glow with a bloody light.

......

Li Hao woke up, full from his dream. He’d eaten countless scarlet shadows with Zhang Yuan. They baked, stewed, and fried the shadows in all manner of scrumptious preparation. He’d eaten so much that he couldn’t anymore, so he awoke.

Surprisingly, he did feel full when he woke up. Li Hao blinked.

I ate scarlet shadows in a dream... Did it actually have an effect? I feel a bit more internal force in me.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He was resigned to the situation when he made a closer exploration of his body. The little sword laid in a dull fashion next to his body, depleted of sword energy. The young man raised his head, at a loss for words. He’d probably operated the breathing method in his sleep. It wasn’t that he’d eaten his fill, but that he’d absorbed so much sword energy that he was full.

The little bit of sword energy in the sword had all gone to him because he needed energy supplements after his body was injured. Thus, he’d drained the little sword.

Li Hao looked around wordlessly.

And I really thought I killed people in my dream and ate scarlet shadows! I was devouring my own things and depleted the sword energy again.

However, the injuries on his arm were recovered. The injuries within his body after that stroke were also healed.

“I’m meant to be poor!” Li Hao shook his head with a sigh.

Forget it, let’s just pretend the meal in the dream was on me. Little Yuan ate half. I didn’t have money to treat him before, so I brought him a big meal today. He should be very satisfied. Ah, I’m such a generous person!

Li Hao smiled when his thoughts traveled here. He found his internal force to be stronger than before when he assessed his current condition. His blood qi was more abundant, his meridians thick, his bones durable. The knot in his heart loosened greatly.

When the young man took out three mysterious power stones and crushed them, the Flaming Phoenix Spear stirred, wanting to absorb them. Li Hao picked up the little sword instead, operating the breathing method. Stellaris took in the energy with some reluctance; the origin weapon immediately quieted down. If it didn’t, the hungry little sword might decide to take a bite out of phoenix leg instead.

Three mysterious power stones enabled a partial recovery for the little sword. Li Hao fretted as he looked at the five stones in his storage ring. He was spending them too quickly! How quickly had it taken for his stores to dwindle by so much? If it wasn’t for the earlier replenishment, he would’ve spent them all a long time ago. Were these ancient weapons all gluttons?

Li Hao took stock of his body again, focusing on the lungs. Something strange had newly appeared there. The young man sent his senses at it. It didn’t seem to be an aura, but what could it be if not?

His sword stroke had exploded with the extremity of speed. Li Hao felt that he should’ve comprehended the aura after that move—his third aura, the metal sword aura. And yet, the thing in his lungs didn’t seem to be an aura.

The young man poked at it with his consciousness, a strange look building in his eyes. It should be the aura, but his earth aura was a mountain, his fire aura a tiger. He thought his metal sword aura would be a phoenix or a bird. It came from the bird style, so creating a bird would be very normal.

Reality proved otherwise. Li Hao took a close look—it was just a dot. A dot that was a round ball, like a marble.

“Is it a ball? Or a dot?” Li Hao wondered blankly. Why did his metal sword aura look like this? That shouldn’t be. Auras were related to the underlying secret art or comprehension. No matter which it was, the metal sword aura shouldn’t just be a dot.

The young man frowned, had he failed to coalesce his aura? Was this a preliminary understanding and his aura too weak, thus creating this situation?

He thought about it and decided to give it a try. He shifted the little dot into the center of the lungs to be locked away. It was time to lock his third aura!

The metal sword aura was very docile when it entered the lungs; it appeared quite weak. Li Hao found it odd as it didn’t seem that the aura should be weak. Whether it was the mountain or tiger, all had struggled fiercely when they entered the five organs.

The metal sword aura didn’t shift at all.

Forget it, let’s give it a try.

A massive chain floated up from Li Hao’s lungs—his supernatural lock. It snaked toward the ball. This was when the tiger and mountain would struggle, but the ball was so still that it made Li Hao uneasy. The lock could approach as it would.

As the young man’s unease mounted, the dot in his lungs suddenly erupted. It was so fast that he didn’t have time to react. A crisp explosion rang in Li Hao’s mind.

“Pfft!” His newly recovered body was once more covered in injuries after the impact. Li Hao paled and continuously spat out blood. His expression changed drastically; the dot of light had vanished!

Enormous changes took place in his lungs as the metal dot of light returned to its original state. Still and unmoving. However, a noticeable crack appeared on the chain. Li Hao regarded it with horror!

He instantly sent his supernatural lock out of sight and transported the dot of light out of the lungs. Fear and shock were writ large over his face. Hot damn! That was an explosion of extremity! The thing played tricks and spontaneously erupted, nearly breaking his supernatural lock!

The consequences would be disastrous once the lock broke—he would instantly become a supernatural, a metal supernatural at that. But was this what Li Hao wanted? He’d finally made it to his point and comprehended three auras. Smooth sailing was ahead for his martial path. If his supernatural lock broke now, he might quickly become a powerhouse among supernaturals... but was that what he wanted?