Star Gate

Chapter 341: Master and Disciple With One Heart (III)

Li Hao blinked. Did Hou Xiaochen and the others struggle with their condition because they’d converted back to martial masters, or because they’d broken the second lock of their organs?

“Are there existences beyond Nova in the central region?” the young man hastily asked.

“How do I know?” Hao Lianchuan responded with disbelief. “I barely know any Novas...”

“Are there any notable powerhouses in the central region that like to cough?” Li Hao changed tack.

“Do you mean our director?” Hao Lianchuan burst out laughing. “What, do we have to cough to be a powerhouse now?”

The young man sank into deep thought. If there were powerhouses beyond Nova in the central region, they would very likely be prone to coughing fits as well. Of course, coughing was just a symptom of damaged lungs. If the heart was damaged, perhaps the supernatural would have a sickly pallor since they lacked sufficient blood flow. If the kidneys were damaged, perhaps there would be an issue with sexual performance. That was a more private condition that regular people would be unaware of.

Therefore, coughing was a more directly perceived symptom. The other five organs wouldn’t be as readily observable if they were damaged. Kong Jie, for example, didn’t cough much. It was thus possible that it wasn’t his lungs that were damaged, but another organ. He was just as eye-piercing as the rest, so his strength should be on par with them. The others coughed, but he didn’t. Therefore, if everything was as Li Hao surmised, that meant that everyone in the conference room had broken the second lock of their visceral organs.

So that was greater than Nova? Li Hao finally understood. These people were either all above Nova or supernaturals converted to martial masters! Whatever the case was, there was an imbalance in their organs. Thus, there were many implications to Summoner of Spirit. Or rather, if his teacher really could modify the Breathing Method of the Five Styles so that it could strengthen the five organs...

Li Hao sucked in a breath. If that really happened, then both the supernatural and martial master domains would erupt with an accumulation of secret strength.

Teacher... is in danger!

No, teacher is safe!

Li Hao suddenly recalled what he’d said at the meeting of martial masters, that his teacher was attempting to modify the breathing method so that all five organs could be fortified at the same time. Some may not have paid attention to that, but powerhouses that had broken their second organ locks would certainly have taken notice.

They must be keeping tabs on his teacher and hoping that he could accomplish that feat! Why didn’t anyone else try?

Supernaturals had no way of attempting to modify a cultivation method and all martial masters walked different paths. Someone may be progressing down Yuan Shuo’s path of the five organs, but it was the renowned martial master who walked it the firmest and was the strongest!

Li Hao suddenly smiled in this moment; Hao Lianchuan found it strange. Why was the boy smiling so happily?

So as long as teacher’s breathing method isn’t fully modified, some powerhouses may actually protect him from the shadows instead. But once it’s finished, he could meet with horrifying danger. Certain powerhouses might choose to take it from him.

As for whether or not they would succeed... that was difficult to determine. It was harder than reaching the heavens if they wished for Yuan Shuo to share it of his own accord.

“Are you alright, Li Hao?” Hao Lianchuan asked with concern as the boy continued smiling.

“I’m fine, I just thought through some things. Interesting, Senior Southern Fist was right after all. Once you know a lot of things and follow them through, you’ll find that a lot of things are quite interesting.”

The hell? Hao Lianchuan was hardly interested in this.

“So does this mean I have a chance of seeing the fifth lock if I consume enough blood pearls?” he asked urgently.

“That’s right!”

Hao Lianchuan became agitated. As long as that’s the case!

Li Hao suddenly thought of Ying Hongyue. Scarlet shadows! What was the man doing with so many of them? The young man seemed to finally understand part of it. He was either converting supernaturals to martial masters or strengthening supernatural locks to balance the five organs. The scarlet shadows were not used to create a batch of powerful martial masters, but to eliminate supernatural drawbacks.

If Ying Hongyue had reached beyond Nova, then imbalance in his organs would start to become apparent. Perhaps he’d discovered this problem a long time ago and began preparing for it. If that was the case...

Li Hao sucked in another sharp breath. If there were sufficient scarlet shadows, they might resolve the problem of the five organs not being in balance. Had Ying Hongyue already resolved this problem and proceeded far down the path of the five organs?

The four locks of the limbs and one of the five organs made for five supernatural locks. Breaking all of them made one a Nova! One had to break a second lock of the organs to advance beyond that. As for the head... Li Hao believed that very few dared to do that. It was safer to try with the organs.

Therefore, most reached beyond Nova if they shattered the second supernatural lock of the organs. These people might possess two types of elemental attributes. The young man had unwittingly discovered some secrets after helping Hao Lianchuan locate his supernatural lock! The secrets of the scarlet shadows!

His teacher had said that the scarlet shadows were puppets of the ancient civilization. Whoever devoured the shadows strengthened their bodies. It was highly likely that Ying Hongyue had used the scarlet shadow to fortify his supernatural locks and maintain the balance of his organs!

“Li Hao!” Hao Lianchuan couldn’t bear it anymore. Why was the boy grinning like a fox?

“Nothing, it’s nothing!” Li Hao rose with a smile and handed over two storage rings. “Director, just deliver the mysterious power to my office after you swap it for me. And I’ll have to trouble you for something else. Please look into all of my teacher’s former students for me.”

“Huh?” Hao Lianchuan blinked. Why?

“I just want to understand how many senior brothers and sisters I have,” chuckled the young man.

Why do I want to know? Because I’m thinking that the breathing method might have elicited interest from countless powerhouses, just not from those below Nova. If I was a powerhouse of the central region and unable to obtain it by force, what would I do next?

I can target Yuan Shuo’s disciples! Teacher is typically very mean to regular people, but dotes on his disciples.

Many martial masters exhibited such behavior. Yuan Shuo didn’t have any children and only a few disciples. Someone like Li Hao had only needed to say that he could absorb mysterious power for the man to immediately pass on the breathing method. His previous final disciple had taught the breathing method to an outsider, but Yuan Shuo never mentioned it and tacitly allowed it in the end.

Therefore, everyone knew that Yuan Shuo treated his disciples very well. Even if he appeared to be quite intimidating, he was softhearted. Would he teach the modified breathing method to his disciples?

Most likely!

Li Hao would absolutely learn it, while the others... including the previous final disciple, might obtain it too. But that could not be allowed to happen!

Li Hao was fully aware that once others learned of the modified breathing method, that would be the start of enormous trouble. It would help certain powerhouses reach beyond Nova, so it was a given that some might kill his teacher after obtaining the method to prevent more from learning it!

Hao Lianchuan looked strangely at Li Hao, but ultimately nodded. “Alright, I’ll help you look into it. I won’t have a detailed report for a few days. We looked into it before, but focused on your teacher. Some of the particulars won’t be fleshed out.”

“Mmhmm, thank you for the effort!”

“You’re... not thinking of throwing yourself on their mercy, are you?” Hao Lianchuan couldn’t help but ask.

“How could I!” Li Hao burst out laughing. “It’s so nice in the Night Watchers, why would I leave?” He hesitated and continued, “Look into the Bai family for me as well, the Bai family of White Moon City! And not just them, but all powerhouses having to do with Hu Dingfang. Novas warrant special attention, and also Commander Huang Yun!”

Hao Lianchuan took a deep breath. The hell? What are you trying to do? The Bais, Huang Yun... What are you planning?

Li Hao didn’t say a word. What do I want to do? I want to see if someone’s going to use my senior sister to obtain the modified version of the breathing method.

Even though Yuan Shuo was yet to find any success, Li Hao and some other premier powerhouses were fully confident that he could do it. The old man’s potential was very strong, to say nothing of everything else. And not to mention, the breathing method was something he’d always been working on. He held vast sums of knowledge from ancient books, was an archaeology expert—or rather, a tomb raider!

He was honestly a grave robber. Why else would a martial master run off to study archaeology? Did they have too much time on their hands? It was to better excavate the old ruins, of course!

Yuan Shuo had uncovered many Silver Moon ruins over the years of his dominance; there was a large amount of highly important ruins in the province and he’d destroyed most of the important records of knowledge. He either destroyed or burned the books after glancing through them.

He could be labeled as one of the villains responsible for a gap in ancient civilization knowledge. While he’d excavated the sites himself, destroying the knowledge he found put him in the wrong all the same.

Li Hao’s thoughts turned to his senior sister, Hu Dingfang, the Bais, Huang Yun, and a complicated web of relationships. If the modified breathing method was finalized, his teacher could not randomly teach it to his disciples! That would easily give rise to trouble!

He wanted to contact his teacher, but the man seemed to be at Near River. Perhaps he’d entered the three northern provinces, so there was no way for the young man to reach Yuan Shuo.