The Book of Five Beasts (2)

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.