Chapter 820: All in Readiness (II)

Chen Zhongtian pushed through the door. An old man with an ethereal appearance, he carried himself with a refined demeanor.

“Commander Li, we just saw each other yesterday, but here I am disturbing you again.” He smiled affably.

“Old Minister Chen is too polite, have a seat!” Li Hao pointed at a chair. Chen Zhongtian smiled and sat right down. The young man glanced at him, hesitated, then spoke frankly, “Old Minister Chen, I have a question that I hope you can answer for me. I happen to be uncertain...”

“A question? Please speak frankly, Commander Li!”

“Are you guys...” Li Hao thought for a bit. “Are you and Qi Pingjiang martial masters or supernaturals?”

Indeed, this was his question! Could martial masters attain the equivalent of six element Arcanus? The young man would be able to see it if they were supernaturals—they would be glittering with golden light. These people did not impart that sensation. They were too piercing to look at, but it wasn’t the supernatural sensation of hurting the eye.

Chen Zhongtian laughed at the question and looked deeply at Li Hao. “We were martial masters at first, then became supernaturals, but we’re not pure supernaturals.”

Li Hao blinked. Not pure supernaturals? What did that mean?

Seeing that Li Hao’s interest was piqued, Chen Zhongtian contemplated for a while and decided to tell the young man. There was someone in Silver Moon who knew the particulars anyhow, so there was no need to specifically hide it.

“The difference between supernaturals and martial masters lies in that one has broken their supernatural locks, the other hasn’t. One has released their potential and the other hasn’t. Then is there a way for a martial master to release their potential without having to snap their locks? They would be more powerful, yet still retain their identity as a martial master.”

Maintaining the identity of a martial master was important for holding onto Silver Moon’s legacies and treasures. However, one could not sustain that indefinitely as that would lead to eventual obsolescence in terms of battle strength. It was a common problem for many martial masters until Li Hao developed the supernatural characters.

Did this mean that Chen Zhongtian and the others had found another way? Then why didn’t they make it widely available?

“How?” Li Hao frowned.

“Regular people can’t use this method.” Chen Zhongtian smiled. “On Silver Moon’s side... your Director General Zhao might know it.”

“Please speak frankly, Director Chen!” What was the point in beating around the bush and leaving him hanging?

“It’s really hard—it’s the nurturing of weapons to act as a medium!”

“What do you mean by that?” Li Hao blinked.

“Regular weapons won’t do, you need a powerful one. Typically, a sky level one is required!” the old inspector general answered frankly. “That means to say, we nurture our supernatural locks through the origin weapons, confining the supernatural locks within. The origin weapons are used to release strength from the locks while keeping them intact.

“However, the demands are high as each lock requires its own weapon!” sighed the man. “That’s why this technique isn’t available to everyone. It necessitates at least six sky level weapons to reach Arcanus, seven for three elements, nine for five elements...

“It’s very difficult, so this technique hasn’t been able to be popularized. Only the leaders of the most premier factions that explored ruins early on can utilize this method. It’s no secret—a lot of people know of it. This is likely how Ying Hongyue increased his strength as well...

“But you tell me, what use is there for this method to be popularized? Creating one Arcanus requires six sky level origin weapons. How is that possible? Only people like us collected some back in the day. There are many origin weapons that are earth level and below, but how many sky level ones are there?”

Li Hao raised a brow. The nurturing of weapons to protect one’s meridians! So such a technique existed in the world! Granted, it was an endless pit that consumed too many resources.

“What are the benefits and drawbacks to this technique?” Li Hao furrowed his brows.

“The benefit is that it permits you to retain your martial master identity. Martial masters have bright prospects ahead of them. Supernaturals... are fine too, but their biggest problem is that their strength resides outside of them.

“The drawbacks are that firstly, the technique requires so many resources that no one can withstand this level of depletion. Each additional element requires another sky level organ weapon. Secondly, we still cannot bring our full strength to bear. Snapping the supernatural locks, for instance, fully releases the strength of that lock. We cannot reach the same level—but the gap is that big.

“Thirdly, origin weapons are hard to come by, particularly when you take into account that affinity also needs to be considered. It’s best if the origin weapon is a match for the element. For example, the lock of the heart should utilize a fire element weapon. The appropriate affinity between weapon and lock will lead to greater power!”

Li Hao nodded. Laying hands on several sky-level origin weapons was already hard enough. Needing ones of different elements was even harder, and for those to be a good fit for one’s needs? The difficulty level was astronomical!

To be honest, this technique... was pretty awful. One might as well directly ascend as a supernatural. But this was what they’d chosen to do in order to retain their identity as a martial master. It was because they were so wealthy that they could do so. The poor didn’t have the right to attempt such a technique!

Not even Li Hao could do so as he lacked sky-level origin weapons.

“Then why didn’t I get any when I killed Hu Xiao and Qian Wanhao...” he frowned.

“That’s why I say it has to be the leaders of the most premier factions,” Chen Zhongtian chuckled. “Those two... are slightly off the mark. They would do in the early years, but you need six origin weapons to make it to Arcanus and seven for three elements. Eight for four elements... do you think they can afford that?

“Over on the nine ministries side, less than half of them can do so.”

That meant only three or four of them could. It went without saying that Li Hao’s visitor was one of them, so that left only one more at most. The other two spots surely had to go to Minister Zhao from Administration and Qi Pingjiang.

A Zhao surname...

Li Hao suddenly realized.

Is he possibly related to Director General Zhao in Silver Moon?

“Nurturing weapons to protect the meridians... If the supernatural locks fully erupt while they’re in the origin weapons, does that mean they will not break completely?”

“Correct!” Chen Zhongtian nodded. “But the level of resource consumption is too great. Origin weapons need a vast sum of energy every time they are deployed. Requiring a pile of mysterious power stones each time they are used is also a drawback.”

“Origin weapons can hold the supernatural locks...” Li Hao thought of his supernatural characters. Wasn’t this also a form of them? His way was just slightly less finicky and didn’t require origin weapons.

The young man turned over various ideas in his mind, apologizing after a long while. “My apologies, I have shown inadequate hospitality to the old minister due to my preoccupation with certain matters. You came to me for a certain reason. I wonder...?”

“What I have on my mind is the Wind and Cloud Pavilion throwing the world into chaos. I see that Commander Li is determined to eliminate them. Although I am advanced in age, I am willing to put forth my efforts for the commander. The Inspectorate is meant to uphold peace, so we can never coexist with evil supernatural organizations!”

“......”

Keep bullshitting, why don’t you!

“Such was our mission statement when we were established eighty years ago,” Chen Zhongtian laughed as if he knew what Li Hao was thinking. “I personally wrote the oaths we had to take upon joining the Inspectorate.”

“It’s alright,” Li Hao laughed noncommittally. “We don’t need the old minister to worry about that...”

“There’s no need to stand on ceremony with me,” coughed Chen Zhongtian. “I come with utmost sincerity. And... to be honest, there are some matters developing at home that I cannot resolve. I am too embarrassed to speak of them, but I cannot set them aside! My thoughts are that if Commander Li is willing to sell me five hundred drops of Water of Life at a low price...”

“Have a nice day, sir!”

“......” Chen Zhongtian coughed. “Four hundred drops will do as well. I have too many children and as a father... although I am old... I must think of my children. Four hundred drops means that each child is getting less than ten drops. It’s not even enough for them to ascend to Arcanus...”

Less than ten drops each? Doesn’t that make for more than forty children? But I remember Chen Yao saying he only had thirty-something siblings. Why are there more now? How many children do you have?

Li Hao finally understood the connotations beneath Chen Zhongtian’s words. So the man was here to... take on a temporary gig?

That was incredible! A right and proper inspector general of the Inspectorate, the one who’d establish the ministry at that, was here to say that he wanted work to feed his kids? It was very strange!

Li Hao shook his head. Even if the inspector general was outright offering to buy four hundred drops at a low price, it was still too much. It took fifty drops for a two element Arcanus, one hundred for a three element, one hundred and fifty for a four element... Four hundred drops might create a five element Arcanus!

Why create trouble for himself? He could handle the Wind and Cloud Pavilion.

“I... still have some strength to my name and am skilled when it comes to defense and speed...”

Defense... speed...

A new thought struck Li Hao and he suddenly said, “That’s too much! And I don’t think I need help in that regard... But if the old minister is willing to bring your full force to bear for a single occasion and disregard the possibility of death, then... we might have something to talk about.”

“Full force? Of course!” Chen Zhongtian declared solemnly. “Does Commander Li think I’ll purposefully hold back on strength?”

“Peak six elements?”

“Commander Li overestimates me,” the man said without skipping a beat. “I only have the strength of five elements, which is quite impressive already.”

“Peak six elements!” repeated Li Hao. “I can sell at ten thousand pieces a drop for strength of that level and supply you with five hundred drops. If you are five elements... then twenty thousand pieces a drop and two hundred drops. That is my first and final offer.”

The first proposal was five million stones for five hundred drops, which made for profits of twenty million stones. The second was four million stones for two hundred drops, which made for profits of six million stones. The difference was fourteen million stones!

Chen Zhongtian clucked his tongue when he calculated the difference. Damn, the difference was huge!

“Also, you must obey all of my commands,” Li Hao continued as the man pondered his decision. “You attack in whatever direction I point at. You may not run off or do as you see fit! I’ll arrange an opponent stronger than you even if you say you’re a five element Arcanus. In the end, you’ll be bringing the strength of six elements to bear but getting paid as five elements...”

Chen Zhongtian cursed to himself. It was hard earning money these days! However, Li Hao’s price was also tempting enough, so he said probingly, “Then... five thousand pieces a drop...”