"Joking with you is fine, but I wouldn't dare joke with the ancestors," Li Muxiu said lightly.
The old man with long eyebrows frowned slightly, thinking that was true. Although his second brother often acted foolishly, he was always very proper in this ancestral hall.
He asked, "Could this child be small for his age? Is he not nine years old?"
"Eight years old."
"Eight years?!"
The old man was taken aback, and waves of surprise appeared in his eyes. "Are you saying he has already reached the peak of the Zhou Tian realm at eight?"
"Exactly."
After Li Muxiu said this, he walked over to the golden statue and knelt on the mat.
"Ha'er, come here."
After bowing three times, he softly called out.
Li Hao immediately walked to his side.
"Get down on your knees and bow to the ancestors."
Li Hao followed his instructions, kneeling on the mat and bowing to each ancestral tablet in turn.
Li Muxiu raised his head and said softly, "I, Li Muxiu, bring my junior here today to listen to the teachings of our ancestors. Please grant us your inheritance!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the many tablets above seemed to tremble slightly.
After Li Hao finished bowing, he looked up and saw shadows appearing in front of each tablet, sitting in the void. Some wore scholarly robes, some were in heavy armor, and others were missing half their bodies, wrapped only in a battle flag.
Clearly, these were the ancestors of the Li family.
"Wow, another good seedling has appeared."
"Reaching the peak of the Zhou Tian realm at such a young age, just over eight years old! He's even more impressive than that little guy from twenty years ago!"
"I didn't expect our Li family's fortune to be so prosperous in the last hundred years. We should warn those youngsters not to get too proud. Otherwise, that child will be a lesson for them."
The many ancestral shadows whispered to each other, each sharing their thoughts.
When entering the ancestral hall, Li Hao had temporarily concealed his myriad attributes. Although he wasn't sure if these ancestral spirits could ignore the concealment effect, it was better not to complicate things.
"This child has great talent; I won't interfere. You all take care of it."
"Such talent can only be bestowed by the ancestors and you few."
After a while of discussion, many ancestral shadows gradually faded back into the tablets, leaving four shadows still hovering above the tablets. They quietly observed Li Hao without speaking.
"I..." One of the shadows holding a spear was about to speak when suddenly, the golden statue in the center of the tablets emitted a brilliant light, as if it had come to life.
The other shadows couldn't help but look over and slightly bowed their heads.
The many tablets also trembled slightly, producing a nearly unified voice: "We pay our respects to the ancestors."
In front of the golden statue, a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man's shadow sat upright. Compared to the other shadows, his figure seemed more solid.
His appearance was identical to that of the golden statue.
"If you can uphold my oath, you will receive my inheritance," the middle-aged man said, looking down at Li Hao with a calm and gentle expression.
Li Hao could feel the old man beside him trembling slightly, seemingly quite excited. He recognized this shadow as Li Tianyuan, the first ancestor of the Li family!
"We pay our respects to the ancestor!"
Li Muxiu bowed his head.
Li Hao quickly followed suit, mimicking him.
"I once followed Emperor Dayu into battle, conquering the Eastern Wilderness and subduing countless monsters and tribes. I made two oaths to the former emperor, ensuring the Li family's glory for a thousand years."
The ancestor Li Tianyuan's spirit spoke slowly: "The first oath is that all members of the Li family must swear to protect the family with their lives, sharing life and death together!"
"The second oath is to defend the Dayu Dynasty with their lives, standing together with Dayu!"
"Can you uphold this?"
After speaking, Li Tianyuan fixed his gaze on Li Hao below.
Li Hao was momentarily stunned. Protecting the Li family? Did this refer to certain people or all of them?
The ancestral hall fell silent, all eyes seemingly focused on the child, waiting for him to speak.
After a long pause, Li Hao finally said softly, "Ancestor, forgive my ignorance; I don't quite understand."
"Speak," Li Tianyuan's spirit said calmly.
"Does protecting the Li family mean everyone, including the branches of the family?"
Li Hao asked cautiously, "Does this protection mean I can't harm them?"
"Only the direct bloodline is protected. Since it is protection, you naturally cannot harm them. Otherwise, if you were to cut off their limbs and leave them with just a breath, that could still be considered protection," Li Tianyuan said, clearly emphasizing the seriousness of the oath.
Li Hao asked, "Then... what if there are traitors among the direct bloodline, or if someone plots against me?"
"Such scum can be handed over to those who haven't entered the ancestral hall to deal with."
"But if such scum actively attacks or ambushes me, should I just hide?" Li Hao questioned.
"Among those who inherit my spirit, you should be invincible against anyone of the same realm, except for the royal family!" Li Tianyuan replied indifferently. "If you want to avoid confrontation, it's easy. If you encounter someone of a higher realm, you only need to escape; there's no need to try to retaliate."
"What if they die in front of me, and I just stand by?"
"You must intervene to save them, even if they are scum," Li Tianyuan said. "But when scum are being punished, you can choose not to be present, and that way, you won't break your oath."
Li Hao thought for a moment; this did seem like a solution.
"But this seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?"
As a talented individual, facing someone of the same realm in the Li family, he would have to hide. Even if he saw the other party in trouble, he would have to help? That seemed unreasonable.
"Don't talk nonsense."
The old man Li Muxiu's expression changed slightly, and he immediately whispered to Li Hao.
However, Li Tianyuan's spirit was not angry; instead, he calmly looked at Li Hao and slowly said, "It may not be fair, but do you know why I make talented individuals who qualify to enter the ancestral hall bear such burdens and take such oaths?"
Though the Li family has an ancestral hall and many ancestral spirits, not every descendant of the Li family is qualified to come here to inherit the spirit. The ancestors' standards are very high.
Li Hao shook his head. "I don't know."
"It is for continuity."
Li Tianyuan said slowly: "The first oath is to prevent talented members of the family from becoming arrogant and disregarding the lives of ordinary members of the clan. Even after gaining family resources and rising to prominence, they shouldn't abandon the family and act recklessly."
"Thus, this restriction may not seem fair to the talented, but at most, they will only suffer a little. The benefit is that it ensures the family's continuity, passed down from generation to generation!"
Li Hao thought for a moment; from the ancestor's perspective, this did make sense.
"And the reason the Li family has lasted for a thousand years without being feared by the royal family is because of the second oath!"
Li Tianyuan said calmly: "Back then, there were twelve divine generals who followed the former emperor into battle. Now, in the Dayu Divine General's Mansion, there are only five remaining, two of which are descendants of those who rose to prominence in recent centuries. The old comrades have long since perished, and the rest have gone into hiding, their whereabouts unknown."
"These two oaths may seem like restrictions, chains, but they are actually meant for the continuation of our bloodline!"
"Otherwise, how could the Li family, with a thousand years of achievements, connections, and military prestige, not be easily undermined by the royal family? How could they not use imperial tactics to weaken and harm us?"
Hearing this, Li Hao was stunned.
From this ancestor's perspective, it truly was achieved.
The benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
A thousand years of divine generals continuing to exist is a light statement, but the difficulty is something most people can't imagine.
Perhaps the royal family knows that the most outstanding talents of the Li family will inherit the ancestral spirit in the hall, and because of these two oaths, it has allowed the Li family to achieve its current glory.
"Now that you understand everything, are you willing to take the oath?" Li Tianyuan asked calmly.
Li Hao pondered, still unable to make a decision.
He felt that these two oaths were like a curse for the Li family.
While they ensured a thousand years of glory, weren't they also a tight confinement?
The achievements of countless generations, the spirits of heroes filling the hall, six of the nine sons from the last generation died in battle; how many in each generation died of old age?
On the contrary, the ordinary descendants of the family mostly enjoyed protection and could live out their old age in peace.
For the talented... it seemed they were the unlucky ones in the Li family.
Because they had to support the entire Li family!
In that case, it might be better to seek inheritance from the Martial Temple, at least it would be easier.
Li Tianyuan seemed to see Li Hao's hesitation, and a hint of indifference flashed in his eyes. Soon, his figure began to fade away, leaving only his voice lingering:
"This child has rare talent, but his resolve is weak. Let him think it over."
The other tablets trembled slightly, as if to bid farewell to the ancestor, and then all fell silent.
Li Muxiu was taken aback and looked at Li Hao helplessly. He didn't say much in front of the ancestor's tablet but instead stood up and bowed deeply, then led Li Hao out of the ancestral hall.
Seeing this, Li Hao felt an inexplicable sense of relief as he followed the old man outside.
Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance at the chessboard. This wasn't his fault; with a heart for chess, just like Jian Wudao said, a lover of swords would spot a sword among a thousand weapons at first glance.
That was just the stage of love; not to mention going deeper.
Among ten thousand things, Li Hao could easily notice the chessboard.
"Old man, Black's move at seven-thirteen can win."
After saying this, Li Hao followed the second elder out of the ancestral hall.
Outside, it seemed to start drizzling, with fine rain falling steadily.
Li Muxiu sighed; this was the best time for fishing. The lake was mixing with fresh water, and fish demons liked to come out for air, but at that moment, he had no mood for it.
"You, don't think too much. Just ponder it yourself," Li Muxiu said, knowing that Li Hao had a playful nature and didn't want to be constrained, so he couldn't persuade him.
The child was too young and inevitably would be a bit willful at times.
Li Hao nodded.
The old man also inherited the spirit in the ancestral hall, so while he appeared carefree, he was indeed concerned about the Li family.
In the ancestral hall, the old man with long eyebrows withdrew his gaze. He wasn't familiar with Li Hao and didn't care how the boy felt. After all, he would return sooner or later.
His gaze returned to the chessboard, and as he was about to make a move, he suddenly let out a soft "Oh."
(End of Chapter)