A year had passed, and Su Hao was now twelve years old.
Having ventured deep into the wilderness alone, Su Hao had engaged in relentless slaughter, gathering a vast number of beast veins and shards from his kills.
After deciphering the rune segments [Force One] and [Force Two], Su Hao had clarified the direction for his research on runes. With these two essential rune segments, he had deciphered several foundational segments and accumulated a significant number of basic segments.
For the most important foundational segments, Su Hao formulated a basic theory for each one. Whether these theories were entirely correct wasn't crucial at this stage—he could always revise and adjust them later.
These foundational segments and their corresponding theory included:
Biological Force Field [Force One],Deflection Field [Force Two],Biological Radiation Source [Emitter],Biological Radiation Receiver [Receiver],Effect Amplification [Catalyst),Direction Control [Constraint Field],Frequency Control [Field Switch],Amplitude Control [Energy Baseline],Multiplication Factor [Replication],Oscillation Effect [Field Interaction],Particle Composition [Energy Intensity Modulation],Matter Lock [Recognition Pairing, Specific Signal],Special Matter Conversion [Inefficient Mass-Energy Conversion]
Su Hao meticulously categorized and recorded all these foundational rune segments.
By combining these different rune segments in various configurations, they could produce a wide range of effects.
Take Su Hao's most proficient rune, the ‹Barrier› rune, for example. He had gained a rough understanding of its underlying principle.
The principle behind the barrier was not that it generated an energy shield that enveloped the body, but rather, through the generation, of a special frequency—the rune caused a large amount of unique frequency to radiate from the surface of the body.
This frequency emitted a faint red glow. However, the red glow wasn't actually light—it was the frequency itself.
The barrier formed by this glowing frequency wasn't initially strong; on the contrary, it was quite soft and pliable.
However, when this soft barrier was struck with great force, the frequency would vibrate violently. The friction between the frequencies would suddenly increase dramatically, transforming the once gaseous red glow into an indestructible solid state
The stronger the force used to attack the barrier, the greater the friction within the barrier, and thus, the stronger the barrier became.
In short, the barrier became stronger the more force it was hit with, and weaker against lighter touches.
If Su Hao had gently inserted a knife into Jin Damo's throat back then, instead of attacking with a forceful blow, the barrier wouldn't have activated to protect him.
The principle behind this barrier was somewhat similar to the concept of non-Newtonian fluids.
However, accurately replicating the effect of the ‹Barrier› rune using scattered rune segments was incredibly difficult, as one might imagine.
Only through the endless evolutionary process of nature could such a perfect rune be naturally created.
Indeed, to Su Hao, blood Qi runes were nothing short of a natural miracle.
....
Inside his sixth base in the wilderness, Su Hao packed up his belongings and prepared to travel to a nearby town for some rest and supplies..
The nearest town wasn't Lingyun Town anymore, but a small city called Guyang Town, which was far from Lingyun Town. Su Hao estimated that traveling from Guyang Town back to Lingyun Town would take a master at least a month and a half.
Over the past year, Su Hao had traveled extensively, always heading toward areas teeming with fierce beasts. He hunted every elite and master-level beast he encountered. If he ran into beasts suspected of being Grandmaster-level, he swiftly retreated.
He remained incredibly cautious.
His perception range had increased once again. At full capacity, he could sense up to two kilometers (1.24 miles), and his regular perception range covered about 1,300 meters (0.8 miles). Any powerful creature that approached within this range would be detected early, giving him ample time to react.
This was why Su Hao had survived a year of living and studying in the wild, slaying countless fierce beasts, without encountering any major problems.
Aside from his progress with runes, Su Hao had also gained a clear understanding of his own combat abilities over the past year.
He had reached a point where he felt invincible at the Master level.
First, in terms of the quantity of his blood qi, it was several times greater than that of any master-level beast he had encountered—even those of the highest caliber.
Secondly, with his mastery of runes and the help of [Cosmic Light], he could inscribe any rune he desired with ease. In battle, he could apply a ‹barrier› rune to himself in five to ten seconds, even in the midst of fierce combat. With such a defense, how could any opponent challenge him?
Lastly, he had observed that his body was still growing, and his blood qi was growing along with it. By the time he reached full maturity, he wondered if he would be able to face off against Grandmaster-level warriors purely by relying on his immense blood qi reserves.
He didn't rule out the possibility. However, Su Hao wasn't one to recklessly challenge those above his level. Even if he had the power, he wouldn't engage in such risky behavior unless absolutely necessary.
Only reckless individuals seek out such challenges.
Su Hao had grown accustomed to living alone. After entering Guyang Town, he immediately headed for a tavern.
After cleaning himself thoroughly inside and out, he purchased the necessary supplies and rested for two days. Then, he set out again into the wilderness.. The mysterious beast veins within fierce beasts were still his greatest obsession
While town life was comfortable and relaxing, it lacked the quiet environment he needed for rune research. Nor could he easily obtain a large number of beast veins.
Of course, there were always some opportunists who, attracted by Su Hao's apparent wealth, would try to strike a "business deal" with him.
All of them ended up in the hospital.
Having dealt with such situations often, Su Hao had become proficient at handling them. He wasn't afraid of retaliation. As long as his [Minimap] could detect his opponents in advance, he could either fight or flee. The world was vast, and he could make his home anywhere.
Thus, every three months or so, Su Hao would clear out a large area of fierce beasts, change to a new base, and head to the nearest human settlement to rest and resupply, giving himself a few days of relaxation.
....
Another year passed, and Su Hao turned thirteen.
He had obtained many simplified rune segments and meticulously recorded and categorized their functions. The mysterious veil of blood qi runes was slowly lifting before his eyes.
In the time that followed, Su Hao continued to wander the wilderness, searching for suitable prey to collect beast veins, while also studying rune segments.
At the same time, he began experimenting with these rune segments to achieve specific effects. However, this endeavor was fraught with challenges from the start.
A complete beast vein was the result of countless years of evolution of live, almost perfect in its design.
Su Hao had shattered this near-perfect beast veins and was now trying to piece together fragments to create specific effects according to his own ideas. The difficulty of this endeavor was unimaginable.
The runes he assembled either didn't work at all or collapsed inexplicably.
After carefully analyzing the overall structure of complete beast veins, Su Hao realized the problem.
A complete beast vein wasn't simply a collection of rune segments arranged together. It also required harmony between the individual parts and the whole .
In other words, after arranging and connecting the rune segments into a cohesive structure, the entire structure still had to satisfy a certain condition.
With this in mind, Su Hao stopped trying to assemble custom runes.
He first designed standardized [Pin interfaces] for each rune segments, ensuring that any rune segments could be placed in locations without compatibility issues.
Next, he designed a Formation Disc for the runes to operate on.
The disc was circular, and Su Hao divided it into concentric rings along different radii. Each ring was subdivided into small blocks, and within each block, he designed the appropriate interfaces for embedding the rune segments.
It was like designing a circuit board—first, you set the pathways, then soldering in resistors and other components.
Through continued trial and error, Su Hao uncovered a secret hidden within Blood Qi runes.
This discovery excited him beyond measure.
It was this very discovery that led to the final solidification of his Formation Disc.