If others drank this water, would there be similar effects?
That was not entirely improbable. But he felt that it was highly unlikely.
In a city like the Silver City, word would have gone around if someone with such power existed. Li Hao made a mental note of this.
He looked at his skin, there was no change. He didn't have boundless strength as he had imagined. Nor did his hair turn smooth and soft like Black Panther's.
'It only feels like I have spent my day in the hot spring. My stomach feels warm but otherwise, I don't feel anything at all,' thought Li Hao.
He sighed, dismayed. 'How is it that my transformation is worse than a dog's? Am I not even as good as Black Panther?'
'Maybe the change is not so much because it's my first time,' thought Li Hao, otherwise it meant he was worse than a dog.
'This won't do. The starlight energy seems to have been wasted. After it seeped out from my body, it quickly disappeared.' Li Hao frowned. He looked at the remaining water in his bowl and did not want to drink more. He was afraid of wasting the starlight energy.
'Can the Starry Sky Sword be soaked into the water all the time? Or is there a limit to it?' pondered Li Hao. There were too many unanswered questions but he didn't want to waste the power just because his body was unable to absorb it.
Li Hao suddenly thought of an explanation. 'Maybe I don't have a source in my body which can store the starlight…'
It was a very vague guess. 'I can't let it go to waste. I don't know how long this bowl of water will last…'
He stood up and paced around the room. "Maybe I can find something out from The Book of Five Beasts that Professor Yuan gave me," he muttered.
Professor Yuan's Book of Five Birds was about a simple technique that could maintain one's health. He had adapted it from the records of some ancient civilization. Professor Yuan was already over seventy years of age but he was very fit. He could even beat Li Hao while walking uphill.
The Book of Five Beasts did not involve specific moves or exercises. It talked about training the muscles and bones of the body to the maximum level. It had nothing to do with mysterious energies.
But Li Hao thought that the training in the book would help him retain the starlight energy. He would try it. As for it working or not, he would leave it to fate.
The Book of Five Beasts described the basic reactions of the five kinds of animals when they hunted or escaped. The Tiger was fierce, the deer was calm, the bear was steady, the ape was agile, and the bird was light.
Professor Yuan was particularly skilled in the techniques of apes and birds. Professor Yuan hoped that he could escape as nimbly as a monkey or as lightly as a bird if he was in danger. He wanted to be able to overcome all kinds of obstacles.
As for Li Hao, he had only learned the ape art from his teachers during his time at the Silver City Ancient Academy. He had only briefly touched on the other four arts and hadn't studied them in depth. It wasn't something that could be mastered in a day, after all. It needed years of perseverance and practice.
'Let's try!' he encouraged himself.
He warmed up a little and felt that it was easier for him to get into it than before. He picked up the bowl of water and drank a mouthful. Li Hao was as agile as an ape in the next moment. He raised his heels, kicked his feet, and jumped into the air. His hands were lithe, and he instantly grabbed the hanging ring in the middle of the living room like an ape.
Li Hao had installed the hanging rings for the purpose of learning the art of the bird from The Book of Five Beasts.
The art of ape was about agility. This was what Professor Yuan was an expert in. Li Hao's course of study was to make use of his environment to create a faster and the most energy-saving method of escape.
Li Hao entered that state of mind as his body glided across the room much more agile than before.
He grabbed the hanging ring and swung from it for a while. Then, he kicked the wall with both feet and used the force to jump into the air. He then bared his fangs and brandished his claws like an ape. He jumped into the air again and grabbed the back of the sofa. On his hands and feet, Li Hao continued to run around in the small living room.
The living room was not big enough but it didn't matter to Li Hao. He glided into the small space making use of every nook and cranny.
Li Hao wasn't very muscular. When compared to Zhang Yuan, Li Hao had looked more like a scholar while his friend had looked like a soldier.
Li Hao's body was a perfect match to practice the art of the ape. If he had been too big, it would have proved difficult to practice in this small space.
Li Hao panted. The seemingly agile art of the ape was extremely exhausting. He also needed to match his breathing to the art he was learning in order to be able to make full use of the technique.
The breathing techniques associated with each art was not some obscure martial arts secret. It was just a bunch of training strategies on how to adjust one's breathing, when to inhale and exhale, how to hold your breath without side effects…
Of course, it was easier said than done. Professor Yuan, who had written the book, had adapted the habits of the five animals into it. To tailor it into a book, he had put a massive amount of energy and time.
Therefore, 'The Book of Five Beasts' was infamous in the Silver City Ancient Academy. Many people knew and practiced it. What Yuan Shuo had hidden away were the breathing techniques. He passed this down to only a few of his selected students. Li Hao was one of them.
Li Hao's breathing came rapidly as he began to adjust his breathing to the art of the ape. The entire exercise was not that long. It took only about three minutes. But those intense three minutes were enough to exhaust anyone.
Li Hao had practiced this particular exercise for two years and still, he could barely complete it twice. After six minutes, he was so exhausted that he was almost unable to get up from the floor.
His professor who was over seventy years old could do this exercise for fifteen minutes at a stretch.
Li Hao had always found it hard to believe that such high-intensity, high-speed, and extremely exhaustive exercise could be maintained for fifteen minutes!
It meant that Professor Yuan could probably run like a monkey for fifteen minutes in the face of danger without compromising his strength.
Li Hao did not have time to think about that. Under Black Panther's confused gaze, Li Hao moved quickly.
The tables, chairs, sofas, and walls in the house all became Li Hao's stepping stones. In the entire room, there was only Li Hao's sweaty figure moving swiftly.
He returned to the starting point. His breathing became unsteady. However, he felt that he still had a little bit of energy left to do this. He didn't know what other benefits the starlight had but it definitely made him stronger and lighter for now.
In the past, Li Hao had always felt a little uncomfortable when he was acting like an ape. His body had felt heavy and every jump had tired him. He could not believe that this exercise was meant to increase his physical strength when it made him this tired.
But today, he felt more relaxed. 'Maybe I can do it again!' thought Li Hao.
Li Hao looked at his belly. The starlight seemed to have dissipated but a thin layer of it appeared on the surface of his skin. Of course, most of it had disappeared, but Li Hao felt that he was able to absorb some of it this time.
Li Hao's heart raced. 'What exactly was this mysterious power?' he wondered. 'Why were the Night Patrollers so mysterious?'
Li Hao pondered whether the Night Patrollers were really that good at fighting or if they had some special power like the jade pendant or the red shadow that was invisible to others but useful to them.
Li Hao didn't think that it was just skill.
'Continue!' he urged himself.
Li Hao didn't have time to dwell on those things for now. He was very excited by the prospect that he had already finished the exercise twice and still felt like he could continue.
Li Hao took a big gulp of the water in the bowl and leaped again.
…...
"Upstairs, again!" An old neighbor, from the second floor, cursed.
Li Hao liked to exercise frequently at home. Usually, the neighbors didn't mind it all that much because it only lasted a few minutes at most. But today…
'Did Li Hao take some kind of drug?' thought the neighbor.
The thumping and the banging had gone on for almost half an hour now. The soundproofing in the building was not very effective. Even if that kid was the Patrol Officer, the aunties from the second floor would have to scold him if he didn't stop soon.
...
"Bang!"
After a few rounds of practice, he took a break and drank some more water. He then continued with his exercise.
This time, Li Hao didn't stop after two tries. He persisted.
When the water from the bowl was gone, Li Hao fell to the ground, exhausted. He didn't think he could ever get up from the floor again.
It wasn't good to take in large mouthfuls of air right after training. So, he tried to adjust his breathing slowly. If he breathed in too fast, all the benefits from the last exercises would be wasted.
"Phew…" Li Hao lay there trying to calm his breathing. His eyes lit up with joy. 'Nine times!' His heart soared.
It was not nine consecutive times. There had been breaks in between. The five times that his professor had accomplished had been done nonstop. So, Li Hao did not really break his teacher's record.
But Li Hao was nonetheless happy because he had done a triple combo at one point which had lasted nine minutes! And, he still had the energy to do it again after that! That was scary.
"This water is…Holy Water!"
Li Hao gasped. 'Is it possible that both the Night Patrollers and the red shadow used something like this to strengthen themselves?'
It was the first time he had done something like this but he felt that the effect of the water was far better than he had imagined. His physical strength had increased significantly.
'If those people were to train like this persistently, their strength would be terrifying by normal standards!' thought Li Hao. 'I … might have underestimated the Night Patrollers. If these people exercised like this every day without fail, could they even be hit by the Vortex Mk III?'