Chapter 59: Rune Drawing
Most of the books rescued from the brazier were burned incompletely, but they still contained some information and valuable knowledge.
However, most of them belonged to the forbidden category.
What is forbidden knowledge?
It refers to knowledge that involves human experimentation and violates normal ethics.
Many of the books depicted anatomical studies of the human body, including the understanding of blood and qi from an anatomical perspective.
There were also descriptions of "extraction" of runes, which involved extracting the essence and qi from the bodies of living beings to form small crystallized clusters. These extracted blood and qi crystals could help martial artists break through the bottleneck of their qi strength.
Of course, the reason why it was forbidden knowledge was that once the blood and qi of a living being were "extracted," their life force would quickly deteriorate, leading to death.
Su Hao speculated that the reason the serial killer captured people in the city was to extract blood and qi crystals from them. After their deaths, the killer would plant the seeds of "control" on their corpses, turning them into puppets, killing two birds with one stone.
For Su Hao, whether these books contained forbidden knowledge or not, he still found them fascinating.
Since so many people sacrificed their lives to obtain this knowledge, he would study it thoroughly. However, he wouldn't conduct human experiments; he drew the line at using animals and other non-human creatures.
When it came to non-human creatures, he would not hesitate to deal with them. No matter how cute a bunny was, he would roast it without hesitation and devour it.
After eight days, Su Hao finished reading all the books, feeling a sense of satisfaction, but also a desire for more.
Next, Su Hao planned to focus on researching runes.
He took out two black stones and two bottles of liquid from his spoils.
The black stones were called Black Powder Stones, and the two bottles of liquid were called Harmonizing Fat. By grinding the Black Powder Stones into powder and mixing them with Harmonizing Fat, one could obtain the drawing ink used to draw runes.
This drawing ink had excellent storage capabilities, preventing qi from dissipating easily. It was the most commonly used material for rune drawing among runemasters.
However, Black Powder Stones and Harmonizing Fat were not easy to come by. Su Hao had stayed in Lingyun Town for so long and had never heard of these two items, indicating their rarity.
Su Hao chipped off a small piece of Black Powder Stone and ground it into powder. Then, he poured out a thick dollop of Harmonizing Fat, added a little water to dilute it, and mixed it together. The Black Powder Stone powder visibly lightened and gradually lost its black color, resulting in a colorless and viscous liquid.
This liquid was the drawing ink.
After observing it for a while, Su Hao commanded Xiaoguang, "Add a task: Draw a Bright Light Rune on the palm."
Based on the information about the serial killer, among the four animal-shaped runes, only Bright Light, Barrier, and Extraction could be simplified and directly drawn as runes. As for the "Control" rune, it couldn't be used directly like the other runes; it was mainly used for imprinting in the body to advance to a Master level.
A small dot of light appeared in Su Hao's palm.
He picked up a fine feathered brush, dipped it in the drawing ink, and began to draw along the path indicated by the small dot.
It seemed simple, but it was not. He not only had to use the drawing ink to draw a complete rune but also had to control the flow of qi along the brush, similar to the runes engraved in the bodies of elite martial artists when advancing to the Master level.
Successfully drawing a usable rune was a significant challenge.
No wonder there were so few runemasters. It was not easy to draw a complete rune with a brush, let alone simultaneously control the flow of qi. Those who could do it were exceptionally talented individuals.
Su Hao considered himself not highly talented, but at this moment, he was grateful for Xiaoguang's assistance. Otherwise, if he had to draw these runes by himself, he would have given up early.
Xiaoguang's help was not limited to this. If he hadn't successfully built the Xiaoguang information processing system in the previous life, he probably wouldn't have become a martial artist smoothly and survived the high-risk period of his childhood in this life.
Reaching this point, Su Hao finally felt a sense of security.
And this sense of security was obtained through countless reincarnations and countless periods of time. It was not an easy journey.
Soon, Su Hao successfully drew the "Bright Light" rune on his palm.
However, the rune was not complete; it was missing a small section at the end.
This small gap acted like a button. When the rune needed to be activated, he only needed to use qi to fill in the missing section, and it would immediately activate.
In other words, runemasters prepared a semi-finished product in advance by mixing drawing ink with qi. When needed, they could instantly complete and activate the rune.
"Quite convenient," Su Hao nodded as he looked at the rune in his palm.
He then controlled his qi to fill in the gap. In that instant, the rune on his palm activated, and a burst of strong light erupted from it.
It was like a camera flash.
Su Hao immediately analyzed the pros and cons of the rune.
The advantage was gaining special power and convenience of use.
However, the disadvantages were apparent. First, the difficulty of drawing the rune was too high, making it challenging for ordinary martial artists to accomplish. Second, even with qi to sustain it, the longest duration the rune could maintain its effect was only three days. After three days, the drawing ink would deteriorate, rendering the rune useless. Furthermore, only one of the same rune could exist at a time, as they would interfere with each other. Lastly, the cost-effectiveness was too low. It required a significant amount of time to research and develop the runes, but their actual effectiveness was not as high as imagined.
Therefore, runes were like a piece of chicken ribs.
Unless...
Su Hao thought of a possibility.
That was to use the most special rune in the set—Extraction—to break through the bottleneck of his qi strength as a martial artist!
"No, I thought the academy didn't have the 'Extraction' rune, but it's not that they don't have it; it's just not open to students. In other words, I can't let others know that I have the 'Extraction' rune."
Su Hao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately decided not to reveal the 'Extraction' rune easily.
By sacrificing other beasts or humans, he could extract the necessary blood and qi crystals to break through the bottleneck of his qi strength.
No wonder runemasters were considered taboo. Most of them used runes as aids to enhance the level of martial artists.
Su Hao understood this point. In this world, runes were only auxiliary. To utilize runes to achieve formidable combat power was extremely difficult.
Then he rubbed his chin and began analyzing seriously.
"Let's approach it from a different angle. If I can do something in this world that others can't easily accomplish, disregarding the disadvantages of runes, then runes can greatly enhance my actual strength."
It was a simple principle.
The function of drawing ink was to store runes for a long time.
Why did
they need to store runes for a long time? Because they couldn't afford to be distracted during battles; they had to prepare in advance and use them whenever needed.
What if Su Hao could draw runes on the spot during battles?
Then he wouldn't need drawing ink. He could draw them directly on-site when he needed them.
Was it difficult to draw runes during battles? It was difficult for others, but not necessarily for Su Hao.
He didn't need to think; he only needed to control his qi to follow Xiaoguang's guidance.
Through practice, he could shorten the time needed to draw runes.
A glint of determination flashed in Su Hao's eyes.
"So, let's practice!"
Two days later...
"I did it!" Su Hao didn't need drawing ink; he successfully drew a 'Bright Light' rune on the palm of his hand. As soon as he completed the drawing, it flashed brightly.
"It took ten seconds! But with more practice, I can get faster." Su Hao opened his hand and clenched it into a fist.
His idea was feasible.
...
Today, he planned to go out and collect materials.
After arriving in town, he heard a piece of news that stunned him.
The serial killer had reappeared three days ago and had been abducting a dozen people every day?
Su Hao's immediate reaction was that it was impossible. He had practically sliced open the killer's chest; it was highly unlikely that the killer survived, let alone returned to commit more crimes.
Or perhaps another person had taken on the title of the serial killer and resumed the killings?
Both possibilities were plausible.
He couldn't figure it out, so he dismissed it and started strolling through the streets, inquiring about materials related to his objectives.
As for the serial killer, if he encountered him again, he would personally decapitate him.
(translated by begs)