Chapter 69: Energy Core

Su Hao gazed at the enormous corpse of the giant eagle, his eyes gleaming with excitement. A grin crept onto his face as his pulse quickened. He could barely stop himself from drooling.

For two years, he had deliberately avoided grandmaster-level beasts, focusing his studies on master-level and elite-level ones. But now, with the corpse of a grandmaster-level beast right in front of him, how could he, a rune-obsessed researcher, resist the temptation?

For two years, he had deliberately avoided grandmaster-level beasts, focusing his studies on master-level and elite-level ones. But now, standing over the remains of this majestic grandmaster-level beast, how could he, a rune-obsessed researcher, resist the temptation?

Su Hao quickly retrieved his baggage and extended his "greedy" hands toward the eagle..

He dragged the corpse away to a hidden spot for a thorough dissection, curious to see the differences between a Grandmaster-level beast and the Master-level ones he had been studying.

As for his plans to return to Chashan Outpost... well, that could wait a couple of days.

Before long, Su Hao found a suitable location, a secluded alcove nestled beside a large boulder.

 The alcove had once been the lair of a yellow sand lizard, but now it would serve as his temporary base.

Without further ado, Su Hao skillfully pulled out his tools and began plucking the eagle's feathers.

Once the massive bird was plucked… its appearance was utterly pitiful. Who would have thought that this bald, featherless creature had once been the mighty ruler of the skies?

Su Hao meticulously dissected the creature, inch by inch, treating every part as if it were a rare and priceless artifact.

Before long, he found the beast vein.

It was a ‹Penetration› beast vein, one that Su Hao already possessed. What surprised him was that the vein found on the eagle was complete one.

This was the first time Su Hao had ever found a complete beast vein on a creature. Previously, every beast vein he had discovered was incomplete, requiring him to kill many similar beasts before he could piece together a full vein.

What shocked Su Hao the most was that this vein was engraved on a large, round mass of tissue.

"What is this thing? Could this be the secret of grandmaster-level beasts?" Su Hao pondered. He had dissected many master-level beasts before, but none had anything like this fleshy mass.

Curious, Su Hao cut the fleshy ball free and held it in his hand, examining it closely. He could only sense an enormous amount of blood Qi within.

After a thorough examination, he was still left with more questions than answers.

"Well, might as well dissect it." Su Hao promptly fetched his smallest tools and began skillfully dissecting the fleshy mass.

Inside the fleshy mass, he found a small pale-yellow bead, about the size of a fingertip. It felt like soft, springy jelly beneath his fingers.

In Su Hao's perception, the bead contained the majority of the eagle's blood Qi, far more than the rest of its massive body.

"Could this be an blood Qi storage core? Is this the key to advancing from master to grandmaster level?" Su Hao furrowed his brows, examining the strange bead closely.

After removing the bead from the tissue, Su Hao noticed that the blood Qi was slowly dissipating from it. In about two days, all the blood Qi in the bead would vanish.

"Well, if it's going to dissipate anyway, might as well dissect it now, right?"

With that thought, Su Hao grabbed his smallest scalpel.

What harm could come from dissecting it? At worst, he would lose nothing.

After cutting the yellow bead into pieces, Su Hao found nothing of significance inside, aside from accelerating the rate at which the blood Qi dissipated.

Before long, Su Hao was left holding a pile of inert, lifeless fragments. He muttered to himself, "Well… not a total loss, I guess."

After packing up his things, Su Hao set off once again, this time taking care to choose more concealed routes. While they might be slower, they were certainly safer.

The encounter with the giant eagle taught Su Hao a valuable lesson: even with his [Minimap], he wasn't entirely safe.

By the time he noticed an opponent, it could have already locked onto him, leaving him no chance of escape.

Still, the eagle had also shown Su Hao that grandmaster-level beasts weren't as invincible as he had imagined. With the right approach, they could be taken down.

Through dissecting the eagle, Su Hao began to form some theories about the grandmaster-level.

Advancing from elite to master level involved a breakthrough in "structuring" the body. Moving from master to grandmaster might involve a breakthrough in "energy".

Then, if he dared to speculate further, perhaps advancing from grandmaster to the legendary Mystical level involved a breakthrough in one's body and energy management or somehow combine the two.

Of course, this was just a theory. Su Hao needed more information, but he wasn't sure where to find it, or who might have the answers.

....

Twenty days later, Su Hao finally returned to Chashan Outpost.

When he arrived, Wu Yuntian wasn't home.

Su Hao made himself comfortable in the courtyard, casually using Wu Yuntian's tea set to brew some tea as he waited for his father's return.

It wasn't until evening, as the sun dipped low on the horizon, that Wu Yuntian, covered in dust from his travels, finally returned.

When Wu Yuntian saw Su Hao, he froze. It took him a moment before he finally said, "Xiangwu, you're back."

Su Hao nodded, but after so long apart, he didn't know what to say next.

After a long silence, Su Hao finally broke the ice. "Father, I've made some tea. Come have a cup."

Wu Yuntian nodded, went inside to remove his Hunting armor, and then sat across from Su Hao.

It was only then that Su Hao got a close look at his father.

He looked much the same as before, but Su Hao noticed two new wrinkles at the corners of his father's eyes. There was also a new sense of weariness in his gaze—a calm resignation, as if he had come to terms with his fate.

Without realizing it, Su Hao had been in this world for twelve years now.

He could sense that his father's blood Qi had grown considerably stronger, likely indicating that he had broken through his bottleneck. Su Hao asked, "Father, did you find the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave]?"

Wu Yuntian nodded, "I found it a year ago. I can now control the conversion of my blood Qi at will, and my blood Qi has reached its peak at the elite-level."

Su Hao continued, "What about the beast vein engraving? Have you started inscribing one?"

Wu Yuntian fell silent. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about it.

Su Hao quickly understood. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Is it because the beast veins are too complex?"

Wu Yuntian took a sip of tea and slowly replied, "Yes,, they're too complicated to memorize."

It was clear that Wu Yuntian had encountered the same problem that most elite warriors faced.

Su Hao smiled. "Father, I've found a way to simplify veins. What kind of vein are you looking for?

Without waiting for a reply, Su Hao began listing all the beast veins abilities he had at his disposal.

Wu Yuntian gave Su Hao a strange look but wisely chose not to ask any questions.

Over the years, watching Su Hao grow up, Wu Yuntian had gradually come to realize something important: all the things he had thought were impossible, unachievable, or beyond imagination weren't necessarily true.

Perhaps the world he thought he knew wasn't at all like he had imagined.

So, nearing forty, Wu Yuntian had learned to stop asking questions. It wasn't worth the effort to understand things beyond his comprehension.

After looking over the list, Wu Yuntian picked one that seemed useful to him. "Let's go with ‹Hardening›."

Su Hao nodded. He quickly found a blank sheet of paper and inscribing the "Formation" form for ‹Hardening› on it. After confirming its viability, Su Hao handed the inscribing to Wu Yuntian and explained, "This is a simplified Formation based on the beast vein. You just need to engrave it following the lines on this diagram."

He pointed to the eight curved lines surrounding the Formation and added, "These are the eight nodes. They are used for adjusting the "vein" so they can align properly with your body."

Su Hao then explained the Formation's function in detail and briefly described how to memorize the sections of the Formation.

When he finished, Wu Yuntian frowned and asked, "Xiangwu, are you saying that this "Formation" diagram can actually replicate the effects of a beast veins?"

Su Hao nodded confidently, "Absolutely!"

Wu Yuntian sighed and said,"I don't know how you did it, but make sure no one else finds out about this. It could be dangerous."

Su Hao nodded seriously, "Father, I understand. I'll be careful."

Wu Yuntian sighed again. "There are power struggles within our race. I don't fully understand the details, but knowledge about anything above the Master level is tightly controlled by the ruling class. If they find out you've simplified beast veins into these "Formations", there's a good chance they'll take the knowledge and then kill you to keep it quiet."

Su Hao had considered this possibility before. He wanted to popularize his simplified veins for the benefit of humanity in this world, but doing so could disrupt the established order and put him in danger.

He had no illusions about being able to take on the entire human race by himself.

So, what should he do?

Su Hao wasn't sure yet. He didn't have enough information about the ruling class to make a decision.