Chapter 59 – Rune Crafting

Most of the books salvaged from the brazier were incomplete, but they still provided some information and contained a lot of valuable knowledge.

However, much of it was forbidden knowledge.

What is forbidden knowledge?

It is knowledge that involves human experimentation and violates normal human ethics.

Many books described research on human anatomy, understanding the form of Blood Qi from an anatomical perspective, and so on.

There were also descriptions of Rune ‘Extraction,’ which could extract the essence of Blood Qi from a creature’s body, forming a small Blood Qi crystal. This extracted Blood Qi crystal could help martial artists break through bottlenecks in Blood Qi intensity.

Of course, the reason it’s forbidden knowledge is that once a creature’s Blood Qi is ‘Extracted,’ its life force rapidly declines, leading to death.

Su Hao guessed that the reason the Murder Demon abducted people in the city was to extract Blood Qi crystals. Then, they would plant ‘Manipulation’ seeds on the corpses after death, turning them into puppets. It was a two-birds-one-stone approach.

For Su Hao, regardless of whether these books were forbidden knowledge or not, he still read them with great interest.

Since the knowledge was obtained through so many sacrifices, he should study it well and not let those sacrifices be in vain. However, Su Hao would not conduct human experiments on living people; he’d rather use animals like Ferocious Beasts or other races.

He wouldn’t hesitate when facing other races. No matter how cute a bunny was, he’d roast it with salt and pepper and eat it without a second thought.

Eight days later, Su Hao finished reading all the books. A sense of satisfaction arose within him, but he felt there was still more he wanted to learn.

Next, Su Hao planned to start researching Runes.

He first took out two black stones from his spoils of war and two bottles of Harmony Liquid.

The black stones were called Black Powder Stones, and the two bottles of liquid were called Harmony Paste. By grinding the Black Powder Stones into powder and mixing them with the Harmony Paste, one could obtain the crafting ink used for drawing Runes.

This ink had excellent Blood Qi storage capabilities, preventing the Blood Qi from easily dissipating. It was the most commonly used crafting material for Rune Masters.

However, Black Powder Stones and Harmony Paste were not easy to obtain. Su Hao had stayed in Lingyun Town for a long time but had never heard of these two items, making them seem very precious.

Su Hao chipped off a small piece of the Black Powder Stone and ground it into powder. He then poured out a bit of the thick Harmony Paste, diluted it with a little water, and mixed them together. The Black Powder Stone powder visibly lightened, eventually losing its black color entirely, resulting in a colorless, viscous liquid.

This liquid was the ink.

After observing it, Su Hao gave Little Light a command: ‘Add task: draw Strong Light Rune on palm.’

According to the information from the Murder Demon, among the four Beast Patterns, only Strong Light, Barrier, and Extraction had been simplified into Runes that could be directly drawn and used. The ‘Manipulation’ Beast Pattern, besides being imprinted within the body for Grandmaster advancement, could not be directly used like a Rune.

In his Perception, a small point of light appeared on his palm.

He picked up a fine quill, dipped it in Ink, and began to draw along the route marked by Little Light.

It looks simple, but it isn’t. Not only must Ink be used to draw the complete Rune, but Blood Qi must also be controlled to flow along the tip of the pen, just like the Runes engraved within the body by an elite advancing to Grandmaster.

The difficulty of successfully drawing a usable Rune is extraordinary.

No wonder there are so few Rune Masters. It’s not easy to draw them out completely with a pen, and they also have to divide their attention to control Blood Qi. Only those with exceptionally high talent can achieve this.

Su Hao considered his talent not to be high, and at this moment, he was very grateful for Little Light’s help. Otherwise, if he had to draw this thing himself, he would have given up long ago.

Little Light’s help was not limited to this. If he hadn’t successfully built the Little Light information processing system in his previous life, he probably wouldn’t have been able to smoothly become a martial artist and get through the high-risk period of his childhood in this life.

Only after reaching this point did Su Hao feel a sliver of security.

This sliver of security was something he had exchanged for countless cycles of reincarnation and countless hours of Harmony. It was not easy to think about.

Soon, Su Hao successfully drew the “Strong Light” Rune in his palm.

However, this Rune was not complete. At the endpoint of the circuit, a small section was missing.

This small missing section was like a button. When the Rune needed to be activated, one only needed to use Blood Qi to fill in the missing section, and it could be activated immediately.

In other words, Rune Masters draw a semi-finished product in advance using ink mixed with Blood Qi, and then complete and activate it when needed.

“Quite convenient,” Su Hao nodded, looking at the Rune in his palm.

He then controlled his Blood Qi to fill the missing section. The moment it was filled, the Rune in his palm was immediately activated, and with the energy conversion, a Strong Light burst forth.

It was like a camera flash.

Su Hao immediately analyzed the Rune’s strengths and weaknesses.

The advantage was gaining special power and ease of use.

But the disadvantages were very obvious. Firstly, the drawing difficulty was too high, making it hard for ordinary martial artists to complete. Secondly, even with Blood Qi to maintain it at all times, the longest storage time for a drawn Rune was only three days. After three days, the Ink would spoil, and the Rune would lose its effect. Thirdly, only one of the same Rune could exist at a time, otherwise, they would interfere with each other. Lastly, the cost-effectiveness was too low. The effects of the Runes obtained after spending a lot of time researching were not as powerful as imagined.

Therefore, Runes were a useless thing.

Unless…

Su Hao thought of a possibility.

That was to use a particularly special Rune, “Extraction,” to break through the bottleneck of a martial artist’s Blood Qi!

“That’s not right! I thought the Academy didn’t have the ‘Extraction’ Beast Pattern before, but now it seems it does, they just don’t make it available to students. This means I can’t let anyone know that I have an ‘Extraction’.”

Su Hao’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately decided not to easily reveal the ‘Extraction’ Beast Pattern.

By sacrificing other Ferocious Beasts or people, the required Blood Qi crystals could be extracted to break through the Blood Qi bottleneck.

No wonder Rune Masters are considered taboo. Most Rune Masters use Runes as an aid to improve their martial arts level.

Su Hao understood this. In this world, Runes are merely supplementary. It’s too difficult to form powerful combat strength using Runes.

Then he stroked his chin and seriously analyzed.

“Let’s change direction. If I can do something that people in this world can’t easily do, making the disadvantage of Runes negligible, then Runes can greatly enhance my actual strength.”

It’s a very simple principle.

The purpose of drawing Night is to store Runes for a long time.

Why store Runes for a long time? Because you can’t afford to be distracted making them during combat, you can only prepare them in advance for immediate use.

What if Su Hao could draw them at any time during combat?

Then he wouldn’t need Ink. When he wants to use them, he can just draw them on the spot.

Is drawing during combat difficult? It’s difficult for others, but for Su Hao, it might not be.

He doesn’t need to think; he just needs to control his Blood Qi to follow Little Light’s navigation.

He can definitely shorten the time it takes to draw Runes through practice.

A sharp glint flashed in Su Hao’s eyes.

“Then, let’s try practicing!”

Two days later.

“Success!” Su Hao drew a ‘Strong Light’ Rune on his palm without needing Ink. The moment it was successfully drawn, it flashed with intense light.

“It took ten seconds! But with continued practice, I can get even faster.” Su Hao opened his hand and clenched it into a fist.

His idea was feasible.

…

Today, he planned to go out to collect materials and information.

Upon arriving in town, he heard news that stunned him.

The Murder Demon appeared again three days ago and abducted over a dozen people every day?

Su Hao’s first reaction was that it was impossible. The Murder Demon’s chest was almost cut open by him; he would have most likely died. If he miraculously survived, how long has it been? And he’s causing trouble again?

Or perhaps someone else inherited the title of Murder Demon and is out committing crimes?

is possible.

He couldn’t figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it and started wandering through the streets and alleys, asking about materials one by one.

As for Murder Demon, if he encountered him again, he would personally cut off the other party’s head.

(End of chapter)