Chapter 100: Sunderer of Hundreds (I)
“I hear that you made quite the contribution this time. Liu Long mentioned you’ll be receiving thirty-two cubes. What a sight to behold!” This was simply pleasantry from Inspector General Mu—he’d also been allotted some mysterious power. He led men against the earth bending supernatural in the city, so he’d unceremoniously reserved his share from the very beginning. He smiled at the young man. “Shall I take you inside? Will you be absorbing some today?”
Li Hao nodded. Lights switched on when Mu Sen opened the door, revealing an expanse of ice crystal covers. However, there didn’t seem to be enough for one thousand cubes! Where was the rest?
The inspector general brought up the rear. His smile deepened when he saw Li Hao looking around. “Are you wondering why there doesn’t seem to be that much mysterious power here?”
The young man nodded again.
“Mysterious power doesn’t necessarily need to be preserved in ice crystal covers. The covers do indeed prevent the energy from dissipating, but their biggest drawback is that they require too much space! Can you use an ice crystal cover to preserve mysterious power from a supernatural that you kill when traveling? Impossible!”
Li Hao continued to nod. That was very true! A dead Solar produced roughly one thousand cubes, but who carried around sufficient ice crystal covers for that amount?
“It is the same when you guys extract mysterious power,” Mu Sen continued explaining. “For instance, you have been allotted thirty-two cubes of power, but must you absorb them here? No martial master or supernatural wishes other people to witness their cultivation process. Therefore, there’s a way to make mysterious energy portable!”
That piqued Li Hao’s interest. “Inspector General, how do they do it? What kind of item is needed to prevent the power from fading away?”
There truly was a lack of privacy to absorbing his share in the treasury. There were so many people outside. Wouldn’t he be a walking billboard afterward announcing that he was different from everyone?
“You’ll find out in a bit!” Mu Sen answered merrily with a meaningful smile. “We didn’t have this option before in Silver City, but now... we do!”
The two entered the range of the ice crystal covers; there were one hundred cubes of varying attributes scattered among them. Some were unattributed mysterious power!
“You can choose thirty-two cubes of whatever attributes you want. You can also pick unattributed ones! They’re roughly the same value—unattributed is easier to absorb while attributed ones are more explosive, but they more easily break supernatural locks.”
Li Hao was here for power of the five elements. The ball of earth energy had transformed his spleen and he had samples of every element other than fire. No fire supernaturals had come on this operation—double their effort was required for half the result on a rainy night. Their battle strength was diminished, making it inconvenient to attack in such wet weather.
The other available attributes were wind and thunder; flight was also part of wind.
I need fire... According to the five elements of metal, wood, water, earth and fire, it corresponds to the heart. If mysterious power strengthens my organs again this time, my heart will be left behind.
“Inspector General,” Li Hao requested after a quick glance. “I would like eight cubes of metal, wood, and water, as well as six cubes of earth.”
He felt the need to balance the equation after previously absorbing two cubes of earth. Since there was no fire to select from, there were two more that he could select. “I would like one each of thunder and wind please.”
Revulsion and aversion crept into Li Hao’s expression. He turned slightly pale.
Mu Sen chuckled when he looked at the young man. “Are you afraid?”
“No, not afraid,” Li Hao answered haltingly. “It’s just... it’s just a bit... Inspector General, is this all we have?”
“We can use other tools, such as supernatural objects. Do you have any?” Mu Sen continued chuckling. “With the state of Silver City, it’s already grand that we have objects to store mysterious power in. Look at you being picky! Your teacher’s mysterious power is held in an even more ludicrous container—the Solar’s head!”
Color drained from Li Hao’s face and he set his jaw, looking like he was marching to his death. Mu Sen sighed inwardly to see the young man’s reaction. Too young!
He was just like the Night Watcher youngsters—inexperienced in the ways of the world. Li Hao was even less in the know. Although he was Yuan Shuo’s student, he hadn’t practiced martial dao before. As expected, he shied away from blood and gore.
The inspector general said nothing further and fulfilled Li Hao’s request. Eight cubes of metal, wood, and water, six of earth, and one each of wind and thunder. He used six separate bones to hold the young man’s mysterious power. Mu Sen placed them in a little black bag and handed it to Li Hao.
“Take your time after you go back! Don’t be in a rush! Send these back when you’re done, they can be reused! Silver City’s too lacking in mysterious power containers!
“Only a few people know of this, so don’t tell anyone. Wealth stirs the heart and attracts trouble. Thirty-two mysterious cubes can be sold for tens of millions in the black market. That amount of money is sufficient for many people to forget everything!”
“Thank you for your reminder, Inspector General!” A pale Li Hao walked out with the little black bag.
......
Liu Yan arrived a bit after Li Hao left the treasury. She nodded at Mu Sen, who smiled upon thinking of recent events.
“Little fellow Li Hao just collected his portion. The Demon Hunters should take him through appropriate tempering when you have time! He needs to expand his worldview since he’s been dragged into this domain. He’s so timid that he looked like he’d seen a ghost after looking at a human bone. He would’ve wet his pants if I didn’t let him go!”
A very strange look entered Liu Yan’s eyes. She nodded with difficulty after a long pause. “Alright, will do! He’s a cultured lad, a scholarly sort. It’s normal that he’s never seen blood before!”
What the hell? The kid’s nothing good! He lied again! Almost wet his pants after seeing a bone?? It’s more like he almost made me pee my pants when he killed the water supernatural. His methods... I have no words.
And now this? Weak-kneed at the sight of a human bone? Who’s he trying to fool?
She hadn’t seen it before, but Liu Yan now knew this was Li Hao’s disguise. The kid was rotten, bold, and ruthless. And perverted! Whoever believed him died a grisly death!
She said none of this to Mu Sen. This was good, the fewer people who knew, the better! If everyone knew how evil and perverted the kid was, none of the team might’ve made it back alive from the mission. The damned kid hid behind a good boy act, which had proven to be the deaths of those two powerhouses.Trace the roots of this material to n0v★lbin