Chapter 76

Time passed day by day.

Silver City.

Li Hao had been immersed in martial arts, practicing tirelessly through the nights, rarely returning to the large courtyard. Most of his time was spent in the law enforcement building, practicing day and night.

Nine-Forged Strength, Five Animal Technique, Shadowless Sword.

He repeatedly practiced these three secret techniques. The Nine-Forged Strength had already reached the fifth layer, but it was still not enough. When Liu Long broke through to the Perfect Circle, he could even reach the ninth layer.

Liu Long's father could also achieve the ninth layer back in the day.

Li Hao felt it was far from enough; he was still far behind. The fifth layer was really too little.

Moreover, he was trying to figure out how to quickly switch between the Shadowless Sword, Nine-Forged Strength, and other secret techniques.

Especially the Nine-Forged Strength!

When using the Nine-Forged Strength, one needed to use the Nine-Forged Breathing Technique, which meant that the Five Animal Technique and the Shadowless Sword could only serve as secondary techniques and could not be used simultaneously.

This did not meet Li Hao's expectations.

For every move, Li Hao was very meticulous, carefully pondering how to use them together.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Hao thrust his sword and quickly retracted it.

In the next moment, he exhaled and transformed it into a sword, spitting out a puff of white smoke!

At the moment of spitting, Li Hao tried the Nine-Forged Strength method, hoping to spit out five layers of sword qi at once. The first breath of sword qi was successfully spit out, and Li Hao instantly switched the breathing technique, but the second breath of sword qi failed to materialize.

"It's still not working!"

Li Hao frowned. The key to transforming breath into a sword lay in the lungs.

The lungs belong to the Metal element. If the lungs were powerful enough, even unlocking the superpower lock, could they store more qi and connect the second sword?

Currently, after spitting out the sword qi once, it was difficult to continue.

The main issue was that the lungs were not strong enough.

"The teacher said, 'The lungs nourish the spirit, the bird spirit...'

In the Five Animal Technique, the bird stance corresponds to the lungs, which belong to the Metal element.

"The Five Animal Stances correspond to the five organs... It's not necessarily so, but since the teacher has mastered the Five Animal Technique, this is the best choice."

Li Hao thought about himself.

He had grasped a bit of the Earth element, which belongs to the Earth element, corresponding to the spleen, which strengthens blood and qi.

He was now hoping to master the sword stance, which belongs to the Metal element, corresponding to the lungs.

Could the sword stance replace the bird stance?

Although he thought about it, Li Hao did not dare to try it at the moment. The sword stance was too sharp, and any slight mistake could be fatal.

Moreover, he had not even entered the Doushan stage.

Currently, what he needed to do was to strengthen the Earth element and refine the sword stance. He did not aim to fuse all five stances like his teacher; he would be content if he could fuse the Earth element and the sword stance.

Fusing two stances would allow Li Hao to enter the Doushan stage, even surpassing Liu Long, who had only one stance.

Moreover, Li Hao's sword stance was extraordinary.

So far, he had only transformed his inner strength into a sword. The true sword stance had not yet been successfully refined. Li Hao was clear that the true sword stance might require real bloodshed to succeed!

What sword doesn't see blood?

So, this trip to the ruins offered hope for completing the refinement of the sword stance.

With many thoughts in his mind, Li Hao practiced for a while, then looked at the clock on the wall nearby. He tidied up briefly and stepped out of the basement.

Outside, it was already dark.

It was 12 o'clock.

Midnight.

The teacher had said to find him after five days. Today was the fifth day, and the time had already crossed into August 26th.

The exploration of the ruins was scheduled for August 28th.

...

The Yuan family.

Li Hao did not enter the house but waited in the courtyard.

Silently watching.

Five days!

Would the teacher, who was cultivating the Heart Fire Ape, be able to break out of seclusion today?

In the house, Wang Ming yawned and walked out. He had stayed here for the past few days, mainly to make the breathing technique instinctive, practicing it day and night without leaving.

Seeing Li Hao, Wang Ming wanted to speak, but Li Hao waved his hand, indicating he did not want to talk.

Wang Ming, seeing this, remained silent.

Over the past few days, he had learned some things. Yuan Shuo seemed to be in seclusion, not even eating, and had not come out of his study.

Li Hao had not come for several days, and his sudden appearance today might mean that the teacher was about to break out of seclusion.

The two of them sat in the courtyard, waiting silently.

The sky was still pitch black.

There was no movement inside the room, no fluctuations in inner strength, no signs of superpower, only silence.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky gradually began to brighten.

At this moment, Liu Long arrived.

He brought Liu Yan with him.

It was already the 26th, and the Hengduan Canyon was over a thousand miles from Silver City. They could not drive the entire way, and it would take at least a day to get there. If they did not leave now, they might miss the exploration of the ruins.

Seeing Li Hao and Wang Ming waiting in the courtyard, Liu Long nodded at them but did not speak, standing silently to wait.

Yuan Shuo had not appeared for several days, and Liu Long guessed that he might be seeking a breakthrough.

For this, Liu Long could only look up in admiration.

He had just entered the Doushan stage, and the next realm was still far away. Yuan Shuo, who had advanced a few days earlier, was already striving for the next realm.

An unknown realm!

The four people in the courtyard each had their own thoughts as they waited for Yuan Shuo to break out of seclusion.

...

Inside the room.

Yuan Shuo seemed to be in a furnace.

Faintly, a large ape appeared in his heart, extremely agitated and struggling wildly!

The Heart Fire Ape!

Using the heart as a furnace, fusing the ape from the Five Animal Technique, the ape was agile but also agitated.

The spirit and intention, representing the stance, already had some consciousness.

In this situation, subduing the ape and making it willing to root in the heart was very difficult.

Yuan Shuo's heart was pounding.

Beating faster and faster!

Whether he could subdue the Heart Fire Ape was crucial to the cultivation of the five organs and the next realm.

A powerful heart broke the balance of the five organs. Would it work?

Yuan Shuo did not know.

So, he could only try.

Cultivating all five organs at the same time was too late for him.

"Huff, huff..."

At this moment, the large ape in his heart emitted a series of huffs, as if struggling to escape, unwilling to be restrained.

It could not be contained!

Over the past five days, Yuan Shuo had exhausted all means but could not contain the large ape. Even though it was just his spirit, the spirit's unwillingness to stay in the heart made it difficult to control.

Five days!

Yuan Shuo could sense the passage of time, but he seemed unable to succeed.

Yuan Shuo was not disappointed or anxious.

Over the past five days, he had not been completely fruitless.

At this moment, he sighed, "You're forcing me!"

If you won't listen!

In the next moment, his heart throbbed, and gradually, a chain seemed to appear on the surface of his heart, the superpower lock of the superpower realm, which was also the heart lock.

Since you won't stay obediently... don't blame me for locking you up!

In the previous days, he had been reluctant to use this move, fearing that his Heart Fire Ape was too strong and might break the chain.

Would he forcibly enter the superpower realm?

Become a fire-type superpower user?

That was not a result he wanted to see.

But at this moment, Yuan Shuo had to take a chance, betting that the Heart Fire Ape would not break the heart lock. The heart lock was very strong, having absorbed a large amount of fire elements, strengthening the heart and, in turn, the heart lock.

For ordinary people, the superpower lock might be broken, but for martial artists, strengthening a part of the body also strengthened the superpower lock.

Thus, the Heart Fire Ape might not be able to break the heart lock.

If it did break... it might be the moment of his breakthrough.

At this moment, Yuan Shuo made up his mind, and the chain in his heart locked onto the large ape.

"Huff, huff..."

The huffing grew louder, deafening.

The large ape roared wildly, struggling, swinging its arms to strike the chain, unwilling to be restrained.

However, the chain fell resolutely onto it.

The heart lock, locking the heart.

Once it entered the heart, there was no escape.

Despite the Heart Fire Ape's immense strength, it was suppressed by the massive chain, the sound of the suppression echoing only in Yuan Shuo's mind.

A moment later, the Heart Fire Ape was suppressed under the massive chain in his heart.

This was Yuan Shuo's heart lock.

Incredibly powerful!

No matter how the Heart Fire Ape struggled, it was futile. The heart pounded violently, struggling, even rebelling.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

This was the sound of the heart beating, continuing for a long time. Blood trickled from the corner of Yuan Shuo's mouth, but a radiant smile appeared on his face.

It really worked!

"So, before advancing to the next realm, one must strengthen the five organs and the superpower lock..."

He recorded the entire process in his mind.

These things must be passed down.

He did not even have time to rejoice but focused intently on the next changes, paying attention to any subtle changes.

In the heart, when the Heart Fire Ape was thoroughly locked, the heart beat faster, and the other four organs trembled violently, becoming unstable.

The balance of the five organs was broken!

The lungs, spleen... these organs even bled slightly, as if the balance being broken and the heart becoming stronger accelerated blood flow, making these organs struggle to bear the strengthened heart.

"So, while subduing one organ, the other four organs must also be strengthened, otherwise, they might easily shatter..."

"The stronger the superpower lock, the better! If it's too weak, once the stance becomes too strong, it might break the lock. If lucky, one might become a superpower user. If unlucky, the organs might be shattered along with the lock..."

He comprehended all of this, and at this moment, the Heart Fire Ape had stopped struggling.

However, soon, Yuan Shuo noticed an unusual scene.

In the heart, the Heart Fire Ape stopped struggling, and the chain gradually calmed down. But soon, the Heart Fire Ape revived, now intertwined with the superpower lock.

The giant ape, holding the chain, suddenly roared in the heart.

Fire!

Flames appeared in its eyes, and the entire Heart Fire Ape instantly transformed into a true fire monkey.

Yuan Shuo's heart stirred, and in the next moment, the Five Animal Stances erupted.

The tiger, deer, bear, and bird stances were the same as before, but the ape stance appeared instantly, isolating itself from the other four stances. The powerful fire ape seemed to materialize out of nowhere, still wrapped in the chain.

Rustle!

The sound of the chain echoed.

In the next moment, the Heart Fire Ape became agitated and suddenly struck the air with the chain.

This strike seemed to penetrate matter!

...

In the courtyard.

Liu Long and the others also sensed something unusual. As they waited, Li Hao's eyes changed. He saw a fiery red chain shoot out from the house!

With immense power!

This was not due to his special vision, as everyone could see it.

In an instant, Li Hao and Liu Long jumped and rolled to avoid the chain.

Wang Ming, who had entered the Sunlight stage, looked at the chain, unsure whether to dodge or if it was unnecessary. Seeing the chain coming, he seemed excited.

Perhaps he thought Yuan Shuo was testing them!

Without a word, a golden long sword condensed, and he slashed at the chain!

Clang!

A clear sound echoed, and in the next moment, Yuan Shuo shouted from inside the house, "Come back!"

With a bang, the golden long sword shattered instantly.

The chain continued to advance, and Wang Ming's face changed dramatically. Blood gushed from his mouth as the chain was about to pierce his head. Suddenly, the chain seemed to be controlled and pulled back!

In the next moment, the door opened.

Yuan Shuo, with a slightly flushed face, walked out, looked at Wang Ming, and said after a while, "What are you doing?"

Wang Ming was still a bit scared and fearful, swallowing hard, "Teacher... weren't you testing us?"

"..."

Yuan Shuo was speechless.

Testing what?

Just a moment ago, the Heart Fire Ape had still been rebellious and had uncontrollably struck out. Of course, the Heart Fire Ape, which was locked, was still controlled and suppressed by Yuan Shuo.

But he did not expect Wang Ming to be so naive... so foolish!

Testing what?

What was there to test?

"Congratulations, Teacher!"

At this moment, Li Hao stood up from his roll, casually dusting off his clothes, a smile of joy on his face.

Did it succeed?

And what was that chain just now?

Doushan was just a martial artist, but that chain appeared out of nowhere and instantly shattered the Sunlight stage's golden sword, which had a bit of a superpower feel.

The fiery red chain, was it related to the heart spirit?

Li Hao thought, and Yuan Shuo looked at him, then at Liu Long, who was bowing to him, and smiled faintly, "It's just the beginning, nothing to congratulate!"

After saying that, he looked outside; the sky was already bright.

As for Wang Ming, he had also recovered, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, looking at Yuan Shuo in a daze, "Teacher... what was that just now?"

Yuan Shuo was a martial artist!

Martial artists often represented one thing: invincible in close combat, weak in long-range attacks.

Yuan Shuo knew some of the Doushan stances.

But that chain just now did not feel like a stance.

Long-range attack!

A Doushan martial artist, using a long-range attack, instantly shattered his superpower sword!

Unbelievable!

At this moment, Wang Ming could not understand.

Yuan Shuo glanced at him and said, "Who said martial artists can only fight in close combat? Do you think you're safe because you're far away?"

"No... that's not what I meant..."

Yuan Shuo smiled, "That's exactly what you meant!"

Wang Ming was embarrassed.

He thought that even if he met Yuan Shuo, he might not be able to match him, but at least he could escape if he was far enough away.

But... that strike just now left him dazed.

"Alright, come in!"

Yuan Shuo said nothing more and turned back into the house.

Li Hao and the others followed him in.

At this moment, Yuan Shuo's hair was a bit messy. He did not greet anyone and went to the bathroom to clean himself.

...

After Yuan Shuo left, Wang Ming became active, somewhat shocked, "That strike just now was amazing... how did the teacher do it?"

A strike from a distance, leaving him helpless.

That was too terrifying!

Li Hao did not speak, and Liu Long was also thinking, still recalling that strike.

What secret technique was that?

He had never seen it before!

It was not a weapon. If it were a weapon, it would not be so shocking.

It felt like a superpower ability!

Did Yuan Shuo become a superpower user?

Did he advance from Doushan to the superpower realm, becoming a Three Yang powerhouse?

Various thoughts arose.

Everyone was silent for a while. After about seven or eight minutes, Yuan Shuo came out, dressed.

He sat directly in a chair, his hair still damp, and seeing the others looking at him, he smiled, "What are you looking at? Still thinking? It's not a superpower, it's a martial artist's ability! I've always said that martial artists are not inferior