The year "Qingyuan" was established in the same year Li Hao was born, showing how much Emperor Yu valued the Li family. This dynasty, standing for over three thousand years, is still like a mighty lion. Though it is aging, its influence is deep, protecting most of the land and keeping the monsters from the wild at bay, making sure they don't dare to invade. Even the vassal states that bow to it continue to pay tribute every year.
In this year, at the border of Yunzhou, the eighty-six-year-old general Jiang Tianshou set out amidst the cheers of the border herders, leading over thirty thousand royal cavalry. In just three days, he eliminated one hundred thousand tiger and leopard monsters that were invading, expanding the territory by a thousand miles, and his name spread across nineteen states!
In this same year, the twelve-year-old young genius Mingyue Jian broke through the nine gates of the Heavenly Gate and became a direct disciple at Qiandao Palace, listening to the teachings of the sages and making a name for himself across the land!
Also this year, the old master who had shut himself away on Mount Wanfeng for thirty years finally came down the mountain. He fought someone by the banks of Chishui Lake, attracting people from all over to watch. In the end, no one knew who won or lost.
Now, it was deep autumn in October. The dry yellow leaves covered the ground of Qingzhou. The holy place of cultivation in Qingzhou, known as Tangu Academy, opened its doors after being closed for six years.
As soon as the news spread, it swept across the states. Countless young talents, sons of nobles, and daughters of lords rushed in from all over the world, eager to compete for fame and opportunities.
Meanwhile, in a small courtyard not far from Tangu Academy, a young man sat leisurely. He listened to the sound of falling leaves, brewed a pot of green tea, and quietly played a game of chess. It seemed that the noise and chaos outside had nothing to do with him.
"Fifth Master, you lost again."
With a black piece placed down, it blocked the last retreat of the white pieces, sealing the game.
The young man picked up the tea cup beside him and took a gentle sip, smiling as he spoke. He had red lips and white teeth, eyes like shining stars, clear and deep. His youthful face had soft yet distinct features, and his fair skin seemed to have not seen the sun for a long time, giving off a cool, moonlit hue. His fingers, long and strong, held the chess piece with transparent nails, free of any impurities.
After he spoke, the old man sitting across from him twitched his lips, furrowing his brows as he carefully examined the board. Finally, unable to find a way out, he angrily tossed the white piece back into the box.
"You brat, your chess skills are getting better and better."
Fifth Master Li Qingzheng said, though he praised the young man, his eyes were filled with deep resentment. After dedicating most of his life to chess, his proud skills were now continuously defeated by this young man, and he could only win occasionally, leaving him frustrated.
"That's all thanks to you for practicing with me, Fifth Master," the young man, Li Hao, humbly chuckled.
"You little rascal!"
Li Qingzheng shot him a glare, wanting to play another round, but looking at the current game, he felt a bit deflated. He still couldn't figure out how he lost this round.
At that moment, the sound of dry leaves crunching underfoot was heard, and a snow-white figure quickly dashed over. Without saying a word, it jumped into the young man's arms—a white fox.
The white fox had ears of bright orange, adding a lively touch to its appearance.
Li Hao rubbed the fox that was snuggling in his arms and sniffed, frowning, "Why do you smell like medicine? Where did you sneak off to eat something?"
Hearing this, the white fox burrowed deeper into Li Hao's embrace, as if trying to avoid answering.
Just then, Li Hao heard footsteps and looked up to see a girl in a blue dress jogging over. She looked to be around sixteen or seventeen, with bright eyes and white teeth, quite beautiful.
She rushed to the pavilion, saw Li Qingzheng, quickly bowed and greeted him, then hurriedly turned to Li Hao, saying, "Young Master, Xiao Rou ran into the kitchen again and knocked over the beauty potion soup. Now the Longchun Courtyard is looking everywhere for the culprit..."
Li Hao was speechless. He pulled out the little head that had buried itself in his arms and said with annoyance, "I told you not to cause trouble everywhere. Do you want to be punished again?"
The little fox tried to turn its head away, not daring to meet Li Hao's eyes, as if it knew it had done something wrong.
"If you keep this up, I'll hand you over to the kitchen lady and let her give you a good lesson, even strip you of your fur!" Li Hao threatened.
The white fox seemed to imagine that scene and trembled in fear, turning its head to look at Li Hao with a pitiful expression.
"You say you're already at the Zhou Tian realm, but you still can't talk..." Li Hao looked at the fox's wronged eyes and felt quite helpless.
He turned to the maid Qingzhi and said, "Later, you go apologize to the kitchen lady for me and bring her a plate of the perilla cake I made. Also, did you buy the cotton oil pastry today?"
Qingzhi pouted softly, "Why is it always me going? Every time it causes trouble, I’m the one who gets scolded."
"What?"
"Nothing, I'll go buy the cotton oil pastry now." Qingzhi quickly said and then dashed away like a wisp of cloud.
"This little girl is getting more and more unruly," Li Hao shook his head helplessly as he picked up his tea.
Li Qingzheng glanced at him, "How many of the people in your courtyard are proper?"
Li Hao almost spat out his tea, looking at the old man with disbelief, "Fifth Master, you can't just say things like that."
Li Qingzheng snorted, "The servants stand improperly, and the maids walk around like crazy. Go look at the other courtyards; aren't they all well-behaved? This little fox spirit is also causing trouble everywhere. Sooner or later, someone will catch it and stew it. This is all your fault. You had a bright future but insist on messing around. Our ancestors, can they not compare to a monster dragon?"
Saying this, he got angrier, his beard bristling as he glared.
Clearly, this matter still bothered him after several years.
When Li Hao was eight, he could have entered the Soul Inheritance realm but deliberately delayed for a year. When the ancestors in the ancestral hall couldn't hold back and asked about him, they sent someone to find him, only to discover that Li Hao had already entered the realm.
He had used body refining techniques to slay a dragon and inherit the monster's soul.
Though it was a dragon soul, how could a mere little dragon compare to the ancestors of the Li family?
Moreover, the nature of monster souls often led to violent and cruel personalities. Fortunately, in these years, Li Hao hadn't shown that side, likely due to his long hours of playing chess and being influenced by himself... stroking his beard in satisfaction.
However, that dragon soul lowered Li Hao's soul inheritance quality, meaning he could only be considered average in the Soul Inheritance realm.
Compared to most, he was still decent, but when compared to the top Soul Inheritance practitioners from various sects, he fell short.
After all, when their soul appearance appeared, they were ancestors of the four realms, while he was just a monster dragon.
And those ancestors had slain countless dragons in their lifetimes; just the dragon-slaying aura their soul appearance carried could probably scare Li Hao into submission.
Thinking of this, Li Qingzheng felt a surge of anger.
The ancestors in the ancestral hall were also furious.
As a son of the Li family, inheriting a dragon soul was a disgrace to their lineage.
Some ancestors even suggested punishing Li Hao severely, locking him in the family prison to teach him a lesson.
Even Li Mu Xiu, who had been by Li Hao's side for years, acting as a half caretaker, was scolded by the ancestors one by one...
But the second brother was also to blame!
It was because the second brother spoiled this kid too much, letting him run wild without discipline!
If it weren't for Li Hao's excellent chess skills, he would have taught this brat a proper lesson.
Thinking of this, looking at the chessboard before him, Li Qingzheng's anger flared even more.
How did he lose?
Since stepping out of the ancestral hall that year, he felt that the calm state he had maintained for decades was becoming increasingly turbulent.
"I feel pretty good. The servants are comfortable, and I'm comfortable too."
Li Hao smiled awkwardly at the old man.
"You’re so carefree, your servants are also carefree. When your father returns, let’s see how he deals with you," Li Qingzheng snorted coldly.
Li Hao said, "What if he doesn't let me play chess with you anymore?"
"He dares!"
Li Qingzheng's eyes widened immediately.
Li Hao chuckled, and just then, another set of footsteps approached. But the sound didn’t belong to Qingzhi.
He looked up in surprise and saw a familiar face, Xue Jian from Longchun Courtyard.
However, several years had passed, and the young girl from before now carried herself with more grace and poise.
Behind her were two little maids, their heads bowed, walking silently, clearly much more well-behaved than those in his courtyard... and working much harder too.
Seeing Fifth Master present, Xue Jian quickly bowed and greeted him. While surprised, she couldn't help but glance at Li Hao. It was well-known in the mansion that this young master from Shanhe Courtyard spent his days idling around, yet he got along well with the two old masters.
"Young Master, the Madam asked me to inform you that Tangu Academy is opening this year. This is the invitation sent from the academy to the mansion. The Madam asked me to bring you a copy."
Xue Jian respectfully lowered her head and handed Li Hao an invitation decorated with black and white fish.
Though she might not hold Li Hao in high regard, her attitude was impeccable.
Li Hao had long known this girl was very capable, smiling as he took it and casually tossed it aside onto the mat, saying, "Thank you, Xue Jian."
Xue Jian glanced down and saw the precious invitation, which martial artists from all over the world were scrambling for, just tossed aside carelessly. Thinking of this young master's personality, it was indeed just as the Madam had predicted.
(End of Chapter)