Chapter 57: The Calm Before the Storm (II)You can trace the roots of this content at n0v@lbin
Li Hao had already sensed that his heart, mind, and other major areas were sealed away. What if there were other locks in his body? The light of envy dawned in his eyes.
Inherent Starlight! How lucky, how nice that must be!
Although innate Starlight was just Slayer of Tens, they were still supernatural with limitless potential. Martial masters paled in comparison as they were capped at Dominator of Thousands in present day society.
“That’s enough, chief, what are you talking like that for? Are you trying to shatter Little Hao Hao’s confidence?” Liu Yan smiled radiantly. “Little Hao Hao is talented enough already—to think that the bait we dragged into our fold is a genius! Big sis isn’t willing to let you be bait anymore!”
Li Hao chuckled drily. Seriously, what could he do about this one? One did not hit a smiling face, not to mention that he wouldn’t win in a fight!
“Li Hao, although you seem to have improved again,” the quiet Yun Yao suddenly spoke up. “I have to remind you that your constitution is getting stronger and stronger. If this continues and you fail to become Starlight after a few more tries, you’ll end up following in Brother Liu and your teacher’s footsteps!”
Everyone blinked—the merry Liu Long snapped out of his joy and frowned at Li Hao.
“I forgot about this. Li Hao... you... should make the crossover as soon as possible! The end of the road is nigh for martial masters!”
He was reluctant, yet had to admit that there was no future for martial masters. Dominators hadn’t appeared for many years and there weren’t even many Sunderers in Silver Moon. Sunderers were only the equivalent of Darkmoon. How many of those existed?
While there wasn’t a specific number, they outnumbered martial masters by at least tenfold! Even he himself, the deputy chief of the Inspectorate, toiled to become supernatural and not a Dominator of Thousands.
There was no light at the end of the martial master tunnel. A practitioner of martial dao for decades, Liu Long regretted having to forsake his path. And yet, how many more years would it take to reach Dominator if he didn’t pursue the supernatural?
Ten or twenty years if all went well? What if it took the rest of his life?
If he ascended to the other side, he could instantly be Sunflare—the equivalent of a Dominator.
The man sighed again, suddenly finding Li Hao’s blood transfusion not necessarily a good thing. A stronger physique meant a more difficult crossover, such was the rule.
Li Hao, however, didn’t care. He didn’t feel kindly toward supernaturals and looked much more favorably upon martial masters. His teacher was a martial master and Captain Liu Long was a martial master. Although the latter wanted him to be bait, the man had also given him substantial presents. The deputy chief also protected him—martial masters were wonderful! The rest of the team were also martial masters—they were the best!
As for the dying path of martial cultivation, Dominator of Thousands was the limit. Having broken through to Slayer of Tens as soon as he set foot on the path, Li Hao didn’t think there was anything bad about it as he was far removed from Dominator. Neither did he feel that martial masters were any way worse than supernaturals.
He couldn’t empathize with Liu Long’s despair. The young man had also seen a true Dominator in action—that caliber of strength was incredible! Thus, his response demonstrated his youth.
“Chief, what’s so bad about martial masters? Is the supernatural really that strong? My teacher punched the lights out of two Darkmoon with one move!”
“Chief, do we have any plans for the killer behind the self-immolation cases?”
He would’ve never asked before and Liu Long wouldn’t have answered. But now, the team captain thought for a bit.
“The plan is simple—lure them out of hiding and make them suffer from their own scheme! Hot weapons will be the main offensive force. We’ll lay mines and spray a few rounds with machine guns. The enemy will outright die if they’re weak or be injured if they’re strong. That will create the perfect opening!”
“They can’t possibly be unaware of this possibility.” Li Hao frowned. “I even suspect that they have moles in the law enforcement team. They’ll understand the might of hot weapons and you’re already exposed, chief, because they followed me before! They likely know about the Demon Hunters and probably even how many supernaturals you’ve killed...”
Was Liu Long overconfident? Although Li Hao’s trump card was his teacher, he didn’t want massive casualties to result from the team’s carelessness. There were only so many of them left.
“I know.” A smiling Liu Long nodded. “There are some additional preparations in the works too, but it’s not good for you to know too much. Just know that there are other details in addition to this!
“Your mission is simple—find a way to lure them to our predesignated spot when the rains come. All you need to do afterward is wait for them to set foot into the trap!”
Li Hao started to speak, then stopped.
“Do you think it’s dangerous?” chuckled the deputy chief.
“A little.”
“Unfortunately, this is it,” Liu Long continued chuckling. “Do you have any better ideas? I’d love to suppress the enemy by force and kill them that way, but we lack sufficient strength. We can’t even pin down their movements for an ambush, so we might as well opt for a more straightforward way. If they want to kill you, they must step into a snare.”
He waved to the others. “You guys go first, I have some words for Li Hao.”
The rest of the team left without question.
“Liu Yan...” sighed the captain when the rest were far away. “You saw for yourself just now. She was once married—a supernatural killed her husband. There was no recourse for her as the murderer joined a supernatural organization. The Night Watchers could only pretend ignorance and drop the issue, which is why she was agitated.”
I see! No... wonder...
“I tell you this only to say that it’s against her will that she’s out of control and sometimes impossible to understand. She’s the most fearless of us in the field and even I pale in comparison when she goes berserk. She didn’t join the Demon Hunters with much thought other than to become supernatural and hunt down her husband’s murderer. Sadly, she is yet to succeed...”
Liu Long decided to give a brief overview of Liu Yan’s background because the madwoman had fixated on Li Hao. He didn’t wish the young man to form a bad impression.
“She hounds you not because she really wants to start anything with you,” Liu Long laughed. “She’s very enthusiastic to all newcomers because she hopes that they can make the crossover. To put things crudely, she might really be willing to do anything you want if you can ascend. Her only goal is revenge!
“I give the same talk to every newcomer so they won’t refuse to own their debt if they take advantage of her. She bears a blood feud on her shoulders and is a rose with thorns. She is not one for the fainthearted!”