Chapter 342: The Silver Moon Guards (I)
Fog Province.
Fog wreathed the land, blanketing the province with haze no matter day or night.
Inside a high-class hotel. New n0vel chapters are published on
Yuan Shuo chose to spend the night at a hotel this time instead of camping in the wilderness. He presented a genteel front as he wore a pair of glasses. Jadelight fidgeted uncomfortably next to him and stared at her outfit. She was wearing a suit jacket and short skirt. Having never worn this kind of clothing in her life, she glared furiously at Yuan Shuo.
“Don’t lose your temper now.” The old man lit a cigarette, the very picture of urbane sophistication. “You’re my assistant for the time being. I am a professor at the Near River Academy—and this is a real identity. I got it quite a few years ago, they won’t find anything wrong with my background. We’ve come to the three northern provinces to inspect the recent aberrations in the creatures living by the sea...”
“Why can’t we be more normal?!” Wu Hongshan snapped.
“Normal?” Yuan Shuo laughed. “Can’t, the three northern provinces are a mess right now. There’s no way to be normal. But it’s also good that they’re a mess. We can fish in troubled waters. We’ll take our time and stay here for a few days. My second spirit is about to emerge, the water tiger is going to come forth in full fury. My injuries weren’t fully healed before, but now that we’re near the North Sea, I can sense that they’re almost recovered...
“I’ve had some inspiration lately and further modified the Breathing Method of the Five Styles. An imbalance between the five organs due to differing strengths is the greatest disadvantage of Summoner of Spirit!”
Li Hao could avoid that downside thanks to sword energy; Yuan Shuo could not. Not to mention, the veteran martial master did not know that the young man could now use mysterious power stones to supplement the sword energy. Hence, he didn’t think to make continued use of the little sword to resolve his problem. He had to straighten it out himself.
Additionally, a method that could nurture all five visceral organs was crucial if the path of Summoner was to be popularized and officially accepted by all martial masters.
At the same time, Yuan Shuo was hardly a saint. Even if he was to teach others, he would wait for his own organs to fully nurture their spirits and even for his disciple to complete the process before teaching some more optimal candidates.
“You’ve adjusted it again?” Wu Hongshan stopped yanking at the uncomfortable clothes. “If memory serves, you started modifying it many years ago. It’s been many versions now, hasn’t it?”
“Yep, but constant improvement is in order for martial dao as we progress, attain new comprehension, and uncover new needs. Are we to always work off of our original foundation?” Yuan Shuo laughed. “The secret arts left by the ancients are not necessarily suited for us! We need to modify them according to our differing needs. I’ve lately grasped several key clues of how to proceed. If I succeed, Summoner of Spirit will no longer be my path alone. Everyone will be able to cultivate it, even if they lack five auras. One aura works all the same if the five organs are in balance. I was able to progress when my five auras were in balance only because that represented my five organs were in balance.”
“Will you teach me after you finish revising it?” Wu Hongshan asked after thinking the words over.
“Of course not!”
“......” What... the... This old guy is so annoying! Then what are you telling me all of this for?? You said you would help me reach Summoner! How am I supposed to do that if you don’t teach me the method?!
“Don’t be impatient,” Yuan Shuo chuckled. “Just nurture your organs for now. You can also change out your blood and strengthen your physical body. You can take it slow with your five organs. I’ll teach you the old version first when I’m done modifying the breathing method. It’s also pretty useful!”
The old version! What a stab to the heart.
“I need to tell my student when I’m done,” commented a merry Yuan Shuo. “Although he might not need it, he stands a chance of combining the five auras if he knows it!”
“When will you complete it?” asked a resigned Wu Hongshan.
Punch punch punch!
Li Hao punched steadily. Since he hadn’t reached the right level of comprehension yet, he would go at it with sheer persistence. Improvement was inevitable when he punched thirty to fifty thousand times.
Other people’s bodies wouldn’t be able to endure the strain, but Li Hao didn’t care in the slightest. Wind and thunder energy would be delivered to him soon, so he wasn’t afraid of suffering injuries! He’d reached only seven layers thus far—he might be able to reach nine layers if he punched one hundred thousand times. Liu Long had practiced martial dao for many years, but Li Hao felt that the captain may not have gone all out and punched one hundred thousand times!
If he had, his arms would be completely crippled.
When one did not possess sufficient potential or time, one had to fill in the gaps with hard work. Hard work and effort could supplement one’s deficiencies!
If anyone else knew of the young man’s thoughts, they might die of incredulity. Deficiencies? Was Li Hao dumb? If he was, he wouldn’t be able to quickly comprehend three auras.
A stronger opponent was never the greatest fear. The greatest fear was someone stronger and possessing more potential while also putting in more effort. That would only incite despair in the hearts of those striving beneath him.
Potential and intelligence were nothing to fear. If those who were naturally gifted didn’t bend their minds to improvement, they would be eclipsed sooner or later. But when these people worked ten times harder than the rest... then one would have absolutely no space on the path to walk.
Li Hao continued practicing; knocks sounded at his door. He'd sensed the disturbance a while ago, but assumed that Manager Yu was heading to the sixth floor. Hou Xiaochen’s out of seclusion. Why are you here for me instead of spending time with him?
“Come in!”
Manager Yu pushed the door open, frowning slightly when she saw that the young man was covered in sweat. She didn’t like it when martial masters were covered in grime and sweat. Director Hou set a good example. He quickly washed up whenever he finished training and smelled divine. While the young man didn’t stink, he... was really ugly as he exerted himself.
Li Hao naturally didn’t know her thoughts. If he did, he’d probably serve her with a slap—assuming that he could beat her in battle.
“What is the grand secretary doing here?” Li Hao smiled and wiped off his sweat with a towel.
Manager Yu avoided the sweat he was flinging around and said without a change in expression, “The director wishes for you to visit the Silver Moon Guards. You can stay there if you’re so interested. I’ll take you there for a look.”
“Now?”
“Yes!”
“But it’s dark out...” Li Hao looked outside the window and then at the clock he’d bought himself. “There’s five minutes until the work day is over.”
“......” A wordless Manager Yu’s frown deepened. “Li Hao, you are a martial master, not really an office worker!”
It was fine the first couple of days, but heavily annoying when he was like this everyday!
“That’s fine, but when will my position as a chief commissioner be announced?” Li Hao grinned. “I’ll naturally put in overtime when I’m promoted. I’ll be like Director Hao and work till daybreak everyday if I have to. As for an office worker... aren’t I that right now?”
Startled, Manager Yu looked more sharply at the young man. Li Hao seemed much bolder today. Or rather, his true self was appearing. He’d been cautious, circumspect, and unfailingly polite whenever he saw her before.