Star Gate

Chapter 45: Supernatural Levels, Teacher and Disciple Scheme (II)

So what level was the scarlet shadow at?

Thinking back on it, Li Hao didn’t recall any mysterious power emanating from the shadow. Did that mean it had no level? That only its master possessed a supernatural level? But I didn’t see anyone with it!

No, wait, what about Wang Ming? That one’s mysterious power was very bright, brighter than Liu Long’s. Could Wang Ming be a Darkmoon? He shouldn’t be a Sunflare…

According to what his teacher said, there weren’t that many Sunflares in the province. There might be only one in each city, and that didn’t include minor ones like Silver City. Sunflares were on the same level as Dominators; he’d just been given a taste of how strong his teacher was. Wang Ming was noticeably weaker.

Wang Ming might be similar to the two outside, a Darkmoon…

So three Darkmoon Night Watchers had come to Silver City. Two stood guard over his teacher and one stayed in the shadows. The organization plainly valued their honorable guest. When his thoughts traveled here, Li Hao quickly raised, “Teacher, a supernatural’s arrived in Classified Affairs and he might be a Darkmoon!”

“Eh?” Yuan Shuo blinked. Instead of asking his student how he knew or determined the supernatural’s strength, he smiled. “Interesting. Looks like Zhang Yuan’s death is a complicated affair. The Night Watchers must be proceeding with such caution because they know that or have even guessed the killer’s identity…”

“Teacher, what if my new colleague is one of the people behind Zhang Yuan’s death?”

“They shouldn’t be!” Yuan Shuo immediately shook his head. “Do you think just anyone can walk into the Inspectorate? The Inspectorate is able to identify whether or not someone is supernatural. Therefore, at the very least, your inspector general knows about the newcomer. He’s definitely aware! Unless he’s a co-conspirator, the new guy is one hundred percent a Night Watcher!”

Li Hao heaved a slight sigh of relief. That was good. He really was concerned that Wang Ming was from the scarlet shadow faction.

Teacher and disciple chatted for a while longer before Li Hao prepared to leave.

“Make sure to keep the sword safe, if nothing else.” Yuan Shuo solemnly returned the jade sword. It still had reserves of energy after he absorbed so much and broke through Dominator of Thousands—that was incredible. It was a cornucopia!

“Mmhmm.” Li Hao nodded. He fully understood the jade sword’s value now. Actually, he’d known when he absorbed the energy from the Demon Hunters.

“And another thing,” Yuan Shuo said after some thought. “Though I am a Dominator, it remains difficult for me to step into the otherworldly. I lack supernatural energy, and not the kind that you have. Yours isn’t used to enhance battle strength. What you have reinforces the foundations and is a hundred times more precious than the kind I speak of!

“At my level of strength, I need a few hundred, if not one thousand cubes of mysterious energy!”

Li Hao rapidly ran through some calculations. One cube went for a million coins on the black market. If his teacher needed one thousand cubes, how much would that cost?

…one BILLION?!

The young man swallowed hard. Holy shit, that was crazy! And his teacher didn’t have that kind of money, did he? Even though it seemed like he was rich?

A matter that could be resolved with money was easily handled for Yuan Shuo. The crux of the issue was that the Night Watchers would absolutely be aware of such a large transaction, as would all other supernatural organizations.

This was not a feasible path!

The professor looked at Li Hao and intoned, “It’s not the right time for me to show myself. I still have rivals out there and though they’re not in Silver Moon, they’re a force to be reckoned with! We need to keep a low profile for the moment…”

Didn’t you just say we’d sweep the land? Li Hao grinned wryly. His teacher’s words could never be taken for face value.

“Of course, I’ll really be unstoppable if I cross over. You can do whatever you want then! So we just need to stay quiet for a little bit, don’t rush!” Yuan Shuo grinned. “Let me take a close look at the crisis at hand. I’ll kill them if they’re weak, and if they’re too strong…”

“You’ve never experienced true combat and everything I taught you before was to improve general health. It’s not very useful in fighting, so I’ll shore up your knowledge after this incident!”

There wasn’t enough time to teach the lad anything comprehensive right now. The professor thought for a bit before coming to a decision.

“I’ll teach you a somewhat underhanded offensive technique! It’s easy enough and not part of the Five Styles, but it’ll be useful for ensuring survival!”

Li Hao lit up! Underhanded? Didn’t hear that part! I don’t care, I just want to stay alive.

Yuan Shuo stayed indoors and struck a stance in the hall, presenting a very prim and proper image.

“Martial masters need to draw in close when facing opponents, particularly third rate martial masters like you! You don’t need to learn any strong attack methods because you might not have a chance to use them. If you have the ability to, then you won’t need them. So today, I’ll teach you the Hand That Brings Back Life! It’s a technique that I found in some ancient tomes.”

The Hand That Brings Back Life!

What an upright and honest name—it sounded like a doctor’s skill. But when Yuan Shuo deployed it, Li Hao gained a full understanding of its true meaning. The professor waved his fists around in a mad caper. He only had two hands, yet somehow, a third popped up in the next second!

Yes, three hands!

The third one snatched at Li Hao’s crotch the second it appeared. He didn’t have time to react!

Monkey Stealing Peaches was a move in the ape style, but it wasn’t nearly as bewildering as this one. The opponent sometimes knew that it was meant to attack the private parts as soon as it was deployed. Meanwhile, this one manifested a third hand!

Li Hao paled with horror.

“The key to the Hand That Brings Back Life is in the hand that catches one off guard!” Yuan Shuo grinned broadly and stepped back. “This is a skill of robbers as recorded in bygone records. Unsavory characters also existed in ancient civilizations and they used this technique to steal! I modified it slightly to be one suited for direct ambush!”

Who could guard against an extra hand that suddenly appeared in combat?

“Where did the extra hand come from, teacher?” A baffled Li Hao considered the seemingly simple technique. His teacher only had two hands, how had there been a third one?

“That’s the core of the technique. We only have two hands, the third one is fake!” Yuan Shuo explained the need for confounding falsehood for truth; a game of misdirection with the body was the most difficult part of this technique.

The two made a thorough study, stopping only when Li Hao more or less mastered the move and grasped its core essence.

……

When the young man departed the residence, the middle-aged scout who’d stopped him before was no longer present. Li Hao didn’t feel eyes on him until he was a bit of a distance away, and he only sensed it because he vaguely caught sight of sparkles of starlight. Supernaturals!

It must be the man on the rooftop from before. The woman was gravely injured after their encounter and wouldn’t recover for a while.

Not a flicker of change crossed Li Hao’s face; it was as if he hadn’t discovered anything. He swiftly vanished into the distance on his bike.

……

Hu Hao revealed himself after Li Hao departed. He looked at the young man’s back and then at the residence. What had Yuan Shuo taught Li Hao that they’d stayed in there for multiple hours?

“I wonder how Elder Yuan’s injuries are doing…” he sighed softly, helplessly. Please don’t die, or he and Li Meng would be in for it.

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