As Li Hao's swordsmanship improved, his mastery of the "Endless Sea: Tides" also advanced from perfect to supreme!
With his rich memories of sword techniques, Li Hao felt as if he had wielded a sword for decades. The tidal sword technique, which he had already perfected, now showed some flaws in his eyes. These were flaws in the technique itself, or rather, areas that this particular move could not reach. After all, no sword move can cover every aspect.
It's like a perfectly crafted stick; it can strike and smash but cannot cut. Now, with his understanding of the sword path, Li Hao was able to make up for that slight limitation in the technique. He remembered what the military sword instructor who taught Li Qianfeng had said: every technique has a fourth level beyond the three known realms. Now, Li Hao had reached that fourth level—supreme!
However, even though his swordsmanship had improved and the tidal technique had reached its peak, Li Hao had never actually used it. He had only imagined it in his mind to its fullest extent. Yet, he felt that as long as he had a sword in hand, he could execute it perfectly. The only thing he couldn't predict was how much strain it would put on his body.
His current childlike body was too fragile, and even if he grew up, he feared that an ordinary physique might not be able to bear the brilliance of that sword move. He needed a very strong body.
"No matter how exquisite the sword technique is, if it can't be executed, it's just a dream," he thought. "Maybe I should find a body-refining technique. I wonder if there’s any good one..."
The Li family's martial arts manuals were countless and varied. They were all stored in the Rain Listening Pavilion within the Divine General's Mansion. In Qingzhou City, there were three famous sacred grounds that countless martial artists dreamed of visiting. One was the Black and White Hall of the Tanguang Academy, another was the Hundred Sparrow Garden of the Rouge Pavilion, and the last was the Rain Listening Pavilion of the Li family.
Li Hao planned to find an opportunity to visit there. But before that, the special blood he had been prepared was ready. This year, he was still going through blood dissolution like Bian Ruxue. The blood used for the dissolution was of the highest quality, made from the bones of a thousand-year-old monster, a top-tier treasure.
Additionally, he heard that his adoptive father, who was on the front lines in Yanbei, had specially killed a three-thousand-year-old great monster and brought it back to the Divine General's Mansion, further enhancing the quality of this blood dissolution medicine. A three-thousand-year-old monster had a lifespan almost as long as the era of Dayu.
While Li Hao was amazed, he also felt a sense of the strength of his father. With Lin Haixia's help, the blood dissolution began. The crimson liquid, exuding a strange fragrance, covered Li Hao's body. He felt anxious.
Not long after, familiar characters jumped before his eyes.
{Unknown substance detected, beginning analysis...}
{Analysis failed, automatically isolated.}
"..."
Li Hao was left speechless. This time, he felt a bit heartbroken. After all, this was something that man had risked to prepare for him, and now it was wasted.
Lin Haixia felt equally heartbroken. When he saw that Li Hao's body showed no abnormal reactions, he trembled slightly, looking even more excited than Li Hao. But everything seemed to have a reason. Having experienced the failure of the foundation last time, he managed to keep calm this time, simply closing his eyes for a moment to suppress his disappointment and sadness.
"Uncle Lin, did I fail?"
"Um..."
Lin Haixia opened his eyes slightly, looking tired. He glanced at Li Hao's small face and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Despite being born into the rich Li family, this child seemed to have no luck in enjoying the countless top martial resources prepared for him.
Was this good fortune or bad?
"Uncle Lin, do you think I can give this special blood to that little girl?" Li Hao asked.
Lin Haixia nodded slightly. Since Li Hao had no fortune, it could only go to the little girl.
"That's great." Seeing nothing was wasted, Li Hao smiled.
Lin Haixia also managed a faint smile and said to Li Hao, "Young master, I'll help you scrape it off first, then you can go rest."
His smile was forced, hiding the sadness in his eyes.
"Okay." Li Hao nodded, not wanting to push the matter further.
...
News of Li Hao's failure in blood dissolution quickly spread to the ears of the ladies in the various courtyards. In the Water Flower Courtyard, Liu Yueren raised her eyebrows slightly when she heard her maid's whispered report, but her face showed little joy, just a slight shake of her head.
She had secretly inquired about the medicine from someone in Wuliang Mountain, and that medicine shouldn't have such side effects. This meant that the child was simply a natural waste, but he was fortunate to be born into the Li family, in the womb of Ji Qingqing.
Had she known this, she wouldn't even have needed that medicine.
A waste body, what good would divine blood do?
Instead, it would only highlight her own son Qianfeng even more. After all, both would be from the Li family’s third generation, both possessing divine blood; one a waste, the other a true dragon among men. Everyone would know how that old lady would choose.
After Li Hao's failure in blood dissolution, the little girl's situation was exceptionally good. Absorbing the special blood prepared for Li Hao, Bian Ruxue's martial talent received a significant boost. In the days to come, she just needed to nurture herself slowly and wait for her bone measurement at age five to see the specific results.
Li Hao was happy for the little girl when he heard this news, but he himself was facing a troubling situation. He could no longer gain experience from playing chess alone, so he had to find a maid to play chess with him.
Though these maids dared not defy the young master’s usual requests, they were hesitant to agree to this. They knew that Li Hao had failed in blood dissolution and had no martial talent, yet he still wanted to play chess...
While they knew the young master had always played with the chessboard since he was little, seemingly born with a talent for chess, in a family of military generals, such talent was not valued at all...
In fact, it could be seen as a waste of time!
If the madams found out that they were accompanying Li Hao in such "unproductive" activities, they might very well vent their anger about Li Hao's inability to practice martial arts on them.
The servants in the Divine General's Mansion were quite clever; who would dare touch this bad luck?
So, left with no choice, Li Hao could only turn to Lin Haixia.
When Lin Haixia learned that Li Hao wanted him to play chess with him, he was speechless. He didn't understand such things and felt a bit helpless about the young master's optimistic ignorance.
However, he didn't directly refuse.
"Perhaps this last year before the bone measurement is the child's last happy time..." Lin Haixia thought to himself.
He agreed to Li Hao's request and, after handling matters with Bian Ruxue, accompanied Li Hao to play chess.
From then on, a scene often appeared in the courtyard: a large and a small figure playing chess in the pavilion, with a little maid standing on tiptoe beside them, watching.
And occasionally, one could hear the child leaning over the chess table shouting:
"That's not right! You have to put it on the intersection, not inside the box!"
"That's not a foul; that's called capturing!"
"This is already surrounded; you can't place it inside anymore!"
"You're so dumb; I’ve said it three times!"
After one game, Li Hao was exhausted, gaining just one point of experience.
This was much more tiring than playing against himself.
If the opponent made a mistake, the game would be void, so he had to teach them the rules while playing.
Lin Haixia thought he was just playing with the child, but he didn't expect there to be so many rules; he was starting to struggle to keep his composure.
After several days of playing, Lin Haixia disappeared, and Li Hao was so angry that he stomped his little feet. Left with no choice, he could only go to the Rain Listening Pavilion to have a look.
...
The Rain Listening Pavilion stood on the northern side of the Divine General's Mansion, nestled against the mountain.
The Divine General's Mansion covered a vast area, and one could even drive a cart inside.
Aside from the various madams' courtyards, there were also scenic mountains and lakes.
Despite the passage of time, the Rain Listening Pavilion looked like an old building built on the mountainside, plain and unremarkable.
Yet, countless people longed to catch a glimpse of its true appearance.
However, these gazes did not dare to cross the golden high wall.
Accompanied by the old steward Zhao Bo, Li Hao arrived in front of the pavilion. Zhao Bo set Li Hao down and earnestly advised, "Young master, this is the Li family's important place. Even the madams need to ask the eldest madam for permission to come here. We should go back."
Only two madams could freely enter the Rain Listening Pavilion besides the direct descendants of the Li family, one being the eldest madam.
"Didn't I ask you to send someone to report? I'm just here to take a look; it should be fine, right?" Li Hao said casually, hands behind his back.
Zhao Bo had long been accustomed to the young master’s mature demeanor, not knowing where he learned it from, and could only frown and say, "But there's been no reply yet. The eldest madam may not agree. Although you have the right to enter, you are still too young..."
"So what if I'm young? Do you look down on me?" Li Hao pouted.
"I wouldn't dare, young master," Zhao Bo quickly replied.
Li Hao found it boring and quietly examined the Rain Listening Pavilion before him. The old building had seven floors. It was said that after Li Qianfeng's bone measurement reached the ninth level of battle body, that woman asked the eldest madam for permission to find a martial art for her child, which led to the "Endless Sea" being placed on the roof.
"Endless Sea" had a total of four forms.
Each form was extremely difficult, and it was said that only the third uncle had mastered the last form, nearly splitting half of Jingzhou in one strike.
...
(End of this chapter)