Chapter 55 – Report It

The next morning, Su Hao went into town to gather information.

As expected, a few more people had disappeared last night, their locations varied, but all were near the Warrior Academy. One of the missing was a student staying at the academy. It’s likely they met a grim fate when they went out.

Others were discussing the body with its smashed face at the Academy, all attributing it to the “Murder Demon.”

This confirmed to Su Hao that the missing persons were definitely related to yesterday’s attack.

Having confirmed his suspicions, Su Hao put the matter aside for the moment and went to the Library to look through some books.

As evening approached, he began to wander outside the Academy grounds, radar at maximum, seeking any other potential attackers.

After nearly a month of adaptation, his Blood Qi was replenished, and his Radar Perception range had reached 400 meters, stabilizing and no longer increasing rapidly.

With Blood Qi at full power, his Radar Perception range could reach over 1500 meters. Beyond that range, he could only vaguely perceive the direction, with greatly reduced effectiveness.

Running his radar at maximum would accelerate Blood Qi consumption, but with his vast reserves, he could essentially ignore such a cost.

Su Hao didn’t know if the attacker would strike students entering or leaving the Academy tonight. Perhaps after last night’s setback, the other party would change their “hunting” grounds and not dare to return.

So, he could only try his luck.

However, thinking from the attacker’s perspective, Su Hao believed the Academy or its surroundings were an excellent “hunting ground.”

The Academy was quiet, with few students. They were almost all twelve or thirteen-year-old warriors, their bodies full of vibrant Blood Qi, making them excellent material for whatever purpose the kidnapper had in mind. Furthermore, it was vacation, with no teachers staying behind, only an old man who stayed put year-round, posing little risk.

Where else could he find such a good spot?

After half an hour, a strange Blood Qi feedback appeared within Su Hao’s radar range.

“They’re here!” Su Hao immediately moved, running towards the direction of the strange Blood Qi, cautiously observing his surroundings.

Because of the “Murder Demon’s” actions, very few people were out wandering at night now; most were hiding in fear.

As he rapidly closed in, Su Hao perceived a second strange Blood Qi, feeling almost identical to the first. He frowned.

“Two? Maybe more than two! Did they send reinforcements after what happened last night?”

Su Hao cautiously approached within a hundred meters, then hid in the shadows to observe.

He didn’t plan to reveal himself and take them down immediately; that would be pointless. He wanted to figure out what they were trying to do.

Su Hao suspected the attacker was a Rune Master, and perhaps he could learn something from them. Of course, this would be after defeating them and acquiring their knowledge through their belongings.

For research, for human experimentation, Su Hao couldn’t definitively say if it was right or wrong, as it involved all sorts of ethical theories. But he simply found it unacceptable; it went against his sense of justice. So, as long as his strength matched his justice, he would uphold it. Anything he found displeasing would be cleared away from his path.

Su Hao remembered the “Three Strict, Four Diligent, Five Not” that his father Wu Cloud Tian had taught him.

Among them were “Do not argue needlessly; do not speak too much.”

His understanding was very shallow: there was nothing to argue about with people, and nothing much to say. If someone crossed his Yuan则Harmony bottom line, he would just deal with it. If he could win, his justice was right; if he couldn’t, his justice was wrong.

The countless deaths he had experienced before made him understand that no matter how correct his values were or how full of justice his heart was, accidents would happen, and he would still die. No one would understand his inner self, nor would anyone care.

Su Hao saw two sources of strange Blood Qi: one was a young woman, and the other was a burly man with a full beard. Both had blank expressions, vacant eyes, and slightly open mouths, appearing mindless and manipulated. However, their movements were agile and their coordination was excellent, reaching the level of a high-level Elite Martial Artist.

Furthermore, the purpose of these two manipulators was very clear: to cautiously roam outside the Academy and hunt for isolated students.

Indeed, although rumors were flying in the city and people were panicking, there were still those who were not afraid of death.

Thus, after a short while, the manipulators, each carrying a knocked-out teenager, silently moved away from the Academy.

Su Hao used his radar to follow them from a distance of 200 meters.

Soon, they arrived at the eastern part of Town.

Ling Cloud Town was built against the mountain. This was already the edge of Ling Cloud Town, right where the City Wall connected with the mountainside.

The terrain here was complex and the location remote, with few inhabitants. Ordinary people would not come to this place.

It seemed that people who did bad things liked such secluded places.

Upon arriving here, Su Hao perceived three more strange Blood Qi signatures. Each of the three strange Blood Qi signatures was accompanied by a much weaker Blood Qi reaction, indicating that each manipulator had brought back a target.

Besides these, the radar also perceived a powerful Blood Qi reaction.

“High-level Grandmaster!” The intensity of the Blood Qi was similar to that of the instructors at the Academy, though slightly weaker. The Blood Qi had a mysterious quality and could be confirmed to originate from the same source as the manipulators’ Blood Qi, but it was more condensed and powerful.

“It seems I’ve found the target. This is a Grandmaster martial artist, and he’s also a Rune Master.”

After this, Su Hao became somewhat hesitant.

Rushing in like this was definitely not an option. The opponent was also a Grandmaster, not to be underestimated, and he had never fought a Grandmaster before, so he didn’t know what a real Grandmaster battle would be like.

Most crucially, the opponent had another identity: a Rune Master. He wasn’t sure if the opponent had any other strange abilities.

“Should I go report this to the Guard?”

Su Hao began to analyze the pros and cons. If he charged in directly, he could certainly gain all the benefits, but the risk would be too high, and his journey in this world might end right there.

If he reported it, his safety would greatly increase, but he might not get what he wanted.

“I need to think this through carefully.” Su Hao narrowed his eyes, watching as the manipulators, each with their prey, moved a stone aside, revealing a dark cave entrance. They then filed in one by one and sealed the cave entrance.

Su Hao thought for a moment, then got up and quietly scouted the surroundings before quickly retreating.

Report it! If done right, we might get what we want, and maybe even save the person who was abducted.

Su Hao quickly organized the three basic objectives: The most important first objective was to obtain the opponent’s information or materials. Second, find an opportunity to test the opponent’s strength and determine their combat power. Third, if possible, eliminate the opponent.

As for saving people, aren’t there the Guards for that!

…

Su Hao quickly formulated an action plan.

First, he determined the location of the Guard headquarters, then wrote about ten notes. They read, ‘Shocking! Grandmaster-level Murder Demon appears in Lingyun Town, committing such a heinous act!’ Below it, he included a simple map and a location description.

Then, he wrapped each note with a small stone, found a hidden spot, and threw them towards the Guard headquarters. Without looking back, he slipped away about five hundred meters and used his radar to observe the Guards’ reaction.

At the Guard headquarters, an elite team member, holding a stone wrapped in paper, knocked on the door of the Great Captain on duty.

‘Captain Luo, these notes were just thrown in from outside. The content is the same on all of them. Please take a look!’

Captain Luo was tall and burly, clad in shining armor, with a square face that was heroic and full of integrity.

He was a high-ranking official in the Guards, with combat power at the top, second only to the Grand Tutor-level Chief Captain. His position was Captain of the Guards’ Second Brigade, and he was only accountable to the Chief Captain.

Captain Luo took a note and unfolded it. After reading it, he frowned.

At this moment, the elite warrior carefully asked, ‘Captain Luo, could it be that someone is playing a joke?’

Captain Luo glanced at the elite warrior, immediately got up, took off his helmet, and said as he walked out, ‘Immediately assemble the Second Squadron at the front hall.’

The elite warrior immediately straightened up and said, ‘Yes, Great Captain.’

With that, he ran out.

Su Hao waited a moment in the distance and saw over twenty people gathering at the Guard headquarters. Among them were 20 Elite Martial Artists and 5 Grandmaster-level warriors. One of the Grandmaster-level warriors had vigorous and thick blood energy, far exceeding the ‘Murder Demon’ hiding in the cave conducting experiments. Su Hao knew his plan had begun.

He immediately led the way towards the Cave Entrance in the east of the city, but he didn’t go too fast, maintaining a position five hundred meters ahead of the Guards.

He planned to exploit the time difference!

Thank you to Feng Moon Shang 2012 and Book Friend 2012032319412697 for the rewards, and thank you to Zhu Meng Shi Mo, Da Luo Dao Ren, and Yun Feng for the monthly votes.

(End of Chapter)