Chapter 45: Beast Veins
Su Hao's full-force strike had the strength of an initial-stage Master, and even Old Liu believed it.
Old Liu rubbed his smooth forehead and said speechlessly, "The sensation of your blood is indeed that of an Elite Warrior, but the quantity of your blood is a bit exaggerated. I haven't seen such explosive power in any high-ranking Elite Warrior."
Su Hao nodded and said, "My father said I have exceptional talent, slightly better than others, but still within the normal range."
Old Liu could only reluctantly accept Su Hao's explanation.
Su Hao continued, "There is indeed an insurmountable gap between Elite Warriors and Master Warriors. The punch I just threw was already my strongest, but I couldn't break through Mr. Liu's defense."
Old Liu nodded and said, "The power of a Master is not something that humans can possess naturally. It was derived from studying the characteristics of ferocious beasts. The reason why there is such a huge disparity in strength between humans and ferocious beasts is that humans lack a special structure."
Su Hao summarized, "Mr. Liu, are you saying that there is something inside ferocious beasts that humans don't have?"
Old Liu replied, "That's right. We refer to the special structure inside ferocious beasts as Beast Marks. Ferocious beasts are born with them, while humans are not."
"So, to advance to the Master level, all you need to do is add an artificial Beast Mark to your body."
Su Hao suddenly realized, "I see."
However, Old Liu said, "But adding a Beast Mark is not as simple as you imagine. There are two conditions that need to be met."
Su Hao asked, "What are the two conditions?"
"First, you need to obtain a complete Beast Mark. Second, you need to successfully imprint the Beast Mark onto your body."
Su Hao couldn't meet the first condition because he had never heard of the concept of "Beast Marks" before, let alone come into contact with them. He asked, "Mr. Liu, where can I find Beast Marks?"
Old Liu smiled and said, "There are four ways to obtain Beast Marks. First, someone can give it to you, like your father or someone else's inheritance. Second, you can buy them at a high price on the black market. Third, you can become a student of the academy and learn from it. Fourth, you can go to the wilderness and hunt ferocious beasts yourself. You can directly choose the third option and select a Beast Mark from the academy's collection, but it will cost you money."
Su Hao broke into a cold sweat. When poor people hear about spending money, their hearts start pounding. Su Hao asked cautiously, "How much money?"
Old Liu happily chuckled, "Don't worry, it's much cheaper than the black market. It only costs 5 gold yuan. Didn't you win ten gold yuan from Jin Yu and Jin Da Tong during the start of the school year? If you haven't spent it all, it's perfect for using now."
Su Hao breathed a sigh of relief. He had been focused on studying for the past half year and hadn't squandered much money, except for some small custom-made items. He still had 9 gold yuan left, which was enough. If buying a Beast Mark required spending twenty or thirty gold yuan, he would have been at a loss.
At this point, Old Liu added, "The lowest price on the black market is twenty gold yuan, and even then, you'll get a Beast Mark with relatively weak effects."
Su Hao took a sharp breath.
Old Liu continued seriously, "So, after you obtain a Beast Mark from the academy, you must not sell or disclose it to others without authorization. The academy reserves the right to take it back at any time."
Su Hao nodded and said, "Understood."
Su Hao then asked, "What about the second point? How do you imprint the Beast Mark onto the body?"
Old Liu rubbed his bald head and proudly said, "That's the difficult part. Even if you obtain a complete Beast Mark, it doesn't mean you can easily imprint it into your body."
"Because Beast Marks are originally meant for ferocious beasts. If they are directly imprinted into the human body as they are, it won't work."
You need to decipher the core, then make slight adjustments to the Beast Mark based on your individual body condition to achieve a result that matches your body, forming a new network of blood energy. Only then can it be considered a successful imprint."
Su Hao understood and said, "I see. It seems that it will take some time to advance to the Master level."
Old Liu said, "That's for sure. The time required for this process varies depending on each person's comprehension. It can take anywhere from one to five years, or even longer. Those with good comprehension and luck can succeed in about a year, while those with poor comprehension and luck may take much longer."
"However, don't be too optimistic. Not everyone can find a structure that matches their own throughout their lives as Elite Warriors. They cannot successfully imprint the Beast Mark."
"So, whether or not you succeed in advancing to the Master level depends on yourself."
Su Hao nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Liu."
"Did you bring money?" Old Liu suddenly asked.
Su Hao nodded. He always carried his money with him; if it was stolen, he would be in trouble.
Old Liu patted his bald head, waved his hand, and walked straight out, saying, "Follow me. I'll take you to choose a Beast Mark."
...
Soon, Su Hao followed Old Liu to the third floor of the Lingyun Library, greeted the librarian, and entered a room.
Old Liu reached up and took down a large wooden box from the huge cabinet. When he opened it, there were many scrolls inside.
Old Liu casually took out a scroll and said, "This is a Beast Mark. Each scroll depicts a complete Beast Mark, and all the scrolls in the academy are here. You can choose one that you like. For example, this one in my hand has a label indicating its tendency: 'Giant Strength.'"
"It means that if you choose this Beast Mark and successfully imprint it, in addition to advancing to the Master level, your blood energy will gain the attribute of giant strength, giving your body immense power. Lifting a house will be a piece of cake in the later stages."
Old Liu took out another scroll and said, "This one has the label 'Bouncing,' which enhances your jumping ability. Later on, you might even be able to fly like a flea."
"This one is 'Hardness,' enhancing defense..."
"This one is 'Control,' increasing the manipulability of your blood energy..."
"This one is 'Plasticity,' increasing the malleability of your blood energy..."
"This one is 'Burst,' increasing the explosive strength of your blood energy..."
"This one is 'Phantom'..."
"Burning, erosion, freezing, color-changing, coordination, numbness, perception, attachment, recovery, healing, rotation, penetration, giant..."
There were a total of thirty-three different Beast Marks.
The numerous choices left Su Hao momentarily undecided. He asked, "Mr. Liu, what is your Beast Mark?"
Su Hao didn't know that normally he couldn't ask other Master Warriors about the effects of their Beast Marks, but Old Liu didn't plan to hide
it from him. He directly answered, "Mine is 'Rotation,' and I learned it from here as well. However, in the future, don't casually ask others about their Beast Marks. Besides your future teammates whom you can rely on, don't easily reveal your own Beast Mark. Having one more trump card means having one more layer of safety."
"I understand, Mr. Liu." Su Hao immediately nodded and asked, "Can I choose two or three Beast Marks?"
Old Liu shook his head and said, "No, having more will cause conflicts. Our bodies can't bear it."
Su Hao understood and sat cross-legged on the ground, carefully examining the labels on the scrolls. Whenever he had doubts, he would directly ask.
After contemplating for a while, Su Hao selected one of the Beast Marks and said to Old Liu, "Mr. Liu, I've made my choice. This is the Beast Mark I want."
Old Liu had been guessing all along what Beast Mark Su Hao would eventually choose. When he heard Su Hao's words, he immediately took it over to check.
He was surprised when he saw it and confirmed with Su Hao once again, "Are you sure about this? This Beast Mark is too complex, and very, very few people can successfully imprint it. Moreover, it doesn't have strong attacking power. According to those who have succeeded, it can only sense a range of about twenty meters, almost useless. Please think about it again."
Su Hao earnestly nodded and said, "I'm sure! It's the most suitable one for me."
Old Liu nodded and said nothing more. He had given his advice, but the final decision had to be made by the individual. Whether or not he succeeded was not important to Old Liu. It would be best if he succeeded, but it didn't matter if he didn't.
He handed the scroll to Su Hao and said, "Now, you need to pay 5 gold yuan. Within the next year, you can come to the third floor to rent scrolls and attempt to imprint the Beast Mark. After one year, you will need to pay a rental fee of 1 gold yuan per year."
Su Hao's eyelids twitched, thinking to himself, "He's really good at making money."
Su Hao took the scroll and slowly opened it. The label on the scroll read: 'Perception!'
translated by begs