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The congealed energy did indeed loosen after being pounded by a Dominator’s internal force. Ripples of power seeped from the young man; both Yuan Shuo and Li Hao began absorbing the energy in its milder form. Even the crouched Panther secretly deployed the breathing method and took in what it could.

“This dog of yours has a lot of thoughts rattling around its brain.” Yuan Shuo flicked a glance at the little black dog. “If you don’t feel comfortable with it, you might as well make some dog stew! But forget it if you think it’s fine.”

Li Hao also looked at Panther—it stared fearfully back at the duo. “Don’t worry.” The young man smiled. “Panth won’t hurt me even if it develops into more than a dog. It’ll plague others instead!”

Yuan Shuo chuckled and said no more, turning his mind back to stripping power from his student. He was ravenously hungry! Li Hao’s little sword wasn’t enough and whatever energy this was, it suited his purposes better.

“Damn, this is good!” he couldn’t help but exclaim after absorbing some energy. “It’s different from mysterious power and it’s more suited for martial masters! There’s an undercurrent of blood qi to it… What was the thing you killed?”

“A scarlet shadow!”

“A scarlet shadow?” Yuan Shuo sank into deep thought. “Never heard of it before—it might be something from Red Moon. There’s something strange about it! This energy may not be useful to supernaturals, but it’s highly nutritious for martial masters! Interesting… they have a lot of these, don’t they?”

Red Moon!

Yuan Shuo suddenly grinned, an expression echoed by Li Hao when he looked at his teacher. Their grins broadened as they looked at each other.

A knowing look stole into the young man’s eyes when Yuan Shuo raised an eyebrow. “Teacher… I can see them… Ordinary people can’t, so we have a chance…”

“Ahem!” coughed a cheery Yuan Shuo. “We eliminate evil and safeguard dao! We’re not in the business of pursuing scarlet or white shadows, so don’t run your mouth! And remember, don’t imitate Liu Long if you truly mean to uphold justice. We need good plans and preparations, and it’s best if we can kill two birds with one stone!

“The Night Watchers may not be as strong as the three supernatural organizations, but their advantage is that they are legitimate and official! They’re not short on the good stuff—I know of a lot of treasures myself. The three organizations have always stirred against them, but so has the agency gotten their blows in. It’s a shame I didn’t have time to accept some of their missions beforehand. The rewards for killing a Solar would be immense!”

Li Hao understood! Join the Night Watchers, take on their missions, and reap even more rewards for the same action!

“Teacher, the Night Watchers wouldn’t recruit us, would they?” They seemed to only take supernaturals.

“You don’t understand, but we can talk about this later. Anyhow, we’re on their list now. Didn’t you give the sword to Liu Long? It might be in Huang Yun’s hands as we speak—that’s a token of loyalty! Would they be so thick-skinned as to take the sword if they aren’t going to accept you?”

Yuan Shuo chuckled. “There’s plenty of ways! Regardless, the golden rule when roaming through the world is to first find a patron. Or at the very least, a scapegoat! As strong as I am, I am not a strong enough backer. The Night Watchers may not be the strongest in the supernatural domain, but they won’t lack for Solars. Also keep in mind that we’re in Silver Moon! Most of their strength is concentrated in the central region!

“Both you and I have to make our way into their ranks. We’ll hang with them until they can’t protect us!”

Li Hao listened intently—these were the ultimate truths of a veteran martial master, still alive after years of traveling through the jianghu!

Teacher and disciple absorbed energy. Li Hao could sense improvements in his constitution as he digested the energy. His blood grew stronger, as did his bones and muscles.

“You should be approaching Sunderer or reach it after you digest your share!” Yuan Shuo decided to turn this into a teaching moment. “But remember, physique is physique, speed is speed, and strength is strength. There’s also experience, techniques, and reaction time. These are the fundamentals for a martial master’s survival! Don’t be one of those whippersnappers in the Night Watchers. All they have is power without requisite character!

“You must work hard on practicing the Five Styles! It’ll last you until Dominator! It’s very well balanced—perhaps a little too mild. But you also have the Nine Forged Force. With this, you won’t lack for methods or energy. All you lack is proficiency!

“So you must practice often after we return to Silver City. Spar with Liu Long whenever you have nothing to do. He won’t have it in him to give you a real beating.”

“Teacher…” Li Hao interrupted. “I can practice with you…”

“Shut up!” Yuan Shuo interrupted even more forcefully. “Do I have the time to spare for a greenhorn like you? Plus, I know what the rest of your day looks like after you fart in the morning! What’s the point of sparring with me? Don’t you know how to utilize free labor? Why are you looking at me instead? Have you considered that I’m an old man over seventy years old?!”

What a joke! He was so busy, how could he be Li Hao’s training partner? Liu Long didn’t have much on his plate, so of course he’d be the one!

Li Hao was utterly speechless! Why did it seem like his teacher’s patience dwindled after he broke through? He would’ve agreed to be the young man’s training partner before!

The two fell silent. Li Hao concentrated on the breathing method and observing his surroundings. Where were they? He didn’t ask since his teacher was with him, but… why did this seem like the sewers? Which part of the pipes were they in?

……

After roughly an hour of dual cultivation, Li Hao felt that half of the energy within his body had dissolved. His blood was no longer coagulated and began flowing vigorously through his veins again. It felt like… he could kill Liu Long with one punch!

Of course, the young man knew this to be a delusion.

“Nice!” Yuan Shuo breathed out with satisfaction and ease. “This energy is very nice! It contains some power on the mental level—it’s definitely prime sustenance for martial masters! My injuries are almost fully healed. If a Solar shows their face now, I’ll cut them down all the same!”

The caveat was that he called upon the Incantation of the Blade of Blood again and deployed it through the stone blade. A potential factor of concern was a lack of energy in the stone blade; Yuan Shuo wouldn’t be able to recover from a usage of the incantation without outside help.

The little sword was almost empty and the energy that Li Hao had absorbed was almost gone. What remained was for the lad himself. Thus, chances were small for Yuan Shuo to kill another Solar!

Of course, Solars might not dare cross his path right now.

Li Hao stood up and swiftly ran through the New Book of Five Styles. Much more strength powered his moves, to the point where it took some getting used to.

“Remember, a martial master’s strength comes from their own efforts.” Yuan Shuo gave pointers as he watched on the sideline. “Everything comes from the body! Therefore, acclimation never takes too long. We’re not like supernatural trash—their power is exceptionally hard to control because almost all of it comes from external sources! Trouble with control is nonexistent for us. It’s your first time experiencing this level of strength and you’re a novice… You’ll adapt after two more days and sleeping on it!

“Don’t listen to other people bullshit about one’s level not catching up to strength. You reach the relevant level when you have sufficient strength! Of course, you also need to familiarize yourself with the consciousness and how to utilize your aura at the Dominator level—that’s the real test! For Sunderer, all you need is adequate strength!”

Li Hao listened earnestly. His teacher voiced the truest wisdom!

Yuan Shuo stood up and kicked the little black dog that was busy playing dead. “Go out and scout for any potential danger. After that, head back to Silver City—see if there’s any powerful supernaturals present. Return with due haste if there’s none or we’ll make you into dog stew!”

Panther tucked its tail between its legs and pelted out of their hiding place. This old man was a bit scary! Life was more comfortable by Li Hao’s side. By this one… the old man stared at the dog and drooled when Li Hao was asleep, like it wanted to taste dog meat! So scary!

“That dog is more than it seems!” Yuan Shuo said thoughtfully after Panther left. “It can see the mental entity when even I can’t! That means it’s also a bit special! It might not be happenstance that it’s with you. There could be a connection to the bloodlines of the eight families! Is its ancestor connected to their ancestors?”

That was possible; he was just briefly analyzing the situation. It didn’t matter if there was a connection or not.

“Remember, kid, you can have a pet dog, but it cannot become the master! Keeping a dog spirit may be helpful, but you’re an idiot if you let it place itself over you!” Yuan Shuo repeatedly drew upon his life experiences to guide Li Hao. The young man drank in every word. He worshiped his teacher, so he took every sentence to heart.

“Let’s go back!” Yuan Shuo headed out. Li Hao looked around when they emerged from the dark passageway and discovered that they didn’t seem to be in Silver City!

“This is Fog City, we were taking shelter here. We’ll be in time for dinner if we go back now!” Yuan Shuo walked down the streets of Fog City with Li Hao by his side. His demeanor was quite natural, not jarring in the slightest.

“Remember, don’t say anything after we return. Give the sword to the Night Watchers, but don’t give it up too easily. Say that it’s in my care—they won’t dare to seize it from you then!”

Li Hao nodded docilely.

“And leave Silver City as soon as possible if you can!”

Li Hao nodded again, then thought for a bit. “I saw an eight trigram over Silver City last night, it should have something to do with the eight bloodlines. Seven out of eight lines lead to the distance, only mine is in Silver City!”

“Mmhmm, it’s either undone seals or something else. Perhaps the ancestors of the eight families laid their own plans! The supernaturals won’t easily move against you once you leave Silver City. City territory and blue rain might be required to activate your bloodline for that thread!” Yuan Shuo was so quick on the uptake that he easily came to some initial conjectures. “Therefore, you better leave Silver City. White Moon City is the safest in Silver Moon. The three great organizations won’t dare act so brazenly there.”

“The three great organizations?” Li Hao repeated blankly.

“Red Moon, Celestial, and Yama! The three great organizations appeared very early in our society—more than twenty years ago. Perhaps there were Heaven Favored then who established the three organizations. They predate the Night Watchers,” Yuan Shuo murmured. “They might’ve known that the supernatural was about to awaken and recruited a batch of Heaven Favored ahead of time. Since the Night Watchers hadn’t been founded, they naturally couldn’t respond. Once the agency came to be, a portion of the Heaven Favored were already spoken for.

“But, don’t think lightly of the Night Watchers. While they may not have been around for long, they can still hold back the supernatural organizations. They’re still very strong—after all, they are backed by the government!”

Li Hao nodded once more. Teacher and disciple walked out of Fog City and set course for Silver City. They were back for their loot!

Yuan Shuo was only in a moderate hurry. The Night Watchers wouldn’t arrive so quickly if they were to come. Solars were in high demand and it would take some time to temporarily requisition one.