Myriad Manifestations Attributes

Li Hao wondered what the result would be if he underwent Bone Measurement again.

But there was only one chance, and no one believed the old Daoist from Green Hill Mountain could have made a mistake.

Since the Bone Measurement that day, he had clearly felt Mountains and Rivers Courtyard grow quieter. In the past, the madams from the various courtyards often brought their children over to play, or invited him over for little pastries and fresh specialty fruits sent as tribute from the borderlands or vassal states. Then they would have their children play with Li Hao, hoping to cultivate close ties from childhood.

But in the two months since, only First Madam, Fifth Madam, and the young Ninth Madam had come to visit him.

Once they saw that he was all right, they stopped coming.

Still, pears and pastries occasionally arrived from Evergreen Courtyard.

Now that winter had come, he had also received two small sets of padded trousers and jackets sewn with fine beast fur, along with a scarf.

Li Hao wrapped the scarf around the little girl's neck.

The next day.

In the faint light of dawn, Lin Haixia was already practicing swordsmanship with Bian Ruxue in the courtyard.

Earlier, at the weapons rack, Lin Haixia had let the child choose different weapons and practice with each in turn to test her aptitude. In the end, Bian Ruxue had chosen the sword.

As they practiced, Lin Haixia discovered that she truly had a talent for the Sword Dao, so he taught her earnestly, occasionally with a stern hand.

It was noon before Li Hao leisurely woke up. He was not yet six, so he did not have to observe the family rule of going to Evergreen Courtyard every morning to pay his respects to First Madam. He could therefore sleep in comfortably.

Seeing the little figure diligently training in the courtyard, Li Hao shook his head slightly and silently pitied her. Then, attended by his personal maid, he took the water for washing, finished breakfast, and summoned the two servants who knew how to play chess as usual, having them set up the board in the pavilion.

Before long, a game ended, but Li Hao noticed that he had received no notification of increased experience. He froze.

Then he saw text appear before his eyes:

Chess Dao, third stage: a Chess Heart is required to advance further.

A Chess Heart?

Li Hao was puzzled.

As though sensing his thoughts, the text slowly faded, and another line appeared:

[To cultivate a Chess Heart, your heart must hold nothing but chess, and be devoted to chess alone.]

Very good. A very straightforward explanation.

Li Hao was somewhat surprised. He could actually interact with this text.

Hello?

The text disappeared.

Li Hao tried calling out a few more times, but there was no response. He immediately put that aside and pondered instead. Devoted to chess alone?

I have to form a Chess Heart before it'll give me experience?

At the Divine General Residence, Li Hao had heard of Sword Hearts, Spear Hearts, and people with a knife mouth and a tofu heart.

But he had never heard of a Chess Heart.

It made sense. Minor pursuits like chess were regarded as trifling diversions beneath notice in the Divine General Residence.

Still, a Chess Heart should be something similar to a Sword Heart, right?

He had heard the madams chatting while holding him, telling stories of some youth who had practiced with a sword every day since childhood, gripped it while eating, and hugged it while sleeping. Once he formed a Sword Heart, his progress in the Sword Dao raced a thousand miles a day, and so on.

So I have to do the same to form a Chess Heart?

But did Li Hao like the Chess Dao?

In his previous life, he had known a little about it, but truly only a little.

Chess... what normal person likes playing chess?

Even playing cards was more fun.

Work was exhausting enough. Who had the time for something that burned through brainpower like this?

Unless they wanted a change of pace and occasionally tried a different kind of entertainment.

Even with the panel letting him gain Chess Dao experience, Li Hao had only treated it as a tool for farming Art Skill Points. To truly fall in love with it and devote himself to it...

That was difficult.

Unwilling to believe it quite yet, Li Hao had a servant play another game with him.

Then he believed it.

This troubled Li Hao, and his little face scrunched up. I've only just tasted the sweetness of cultivation, and now you're telling me I can't gain experience by playing chess? How is that fair?

Do I really have to hug a chessboard every day?

But if there's no experience, why would I hug it?

Should I switch to practicing another art first?

Still, I don't know what a Chess Heart does. I'll think it over first.

Over the next few days, Li Hao moved the chessboard onto his bed, laid a blanket over it, and simply used it as a pillow.

When eating, he also placed the chessboard beside him, enshrining it like a Buddha statue.

But these empty formalities seemed to have no effect.

Li Hao stopped calling the servants over to play chess. When he had nothing to do, he watched the little girl practice her swordsmanship or went to Listening Rain Pavilion to browse various books.

One day, while leafing through books in Listening Rain Pavilion, Li Hao found several pages of a chess record in one of them and was surprised.

The book recorded anecdotes about a prominent figure who had risen to fame several hundred years earlier. That great figure had suffered humiliation in his youth, but when he later sought revenge, his enemy had abandoned martial arts to study chess.

The great figure had once declared that when he came to take revenge, he would crush his opponent in every respect and plunge him into utter despair before killing him.

As it turned out, his opponent had already studied chess for years.

He challenged the great figure to a chess match on the spot.

The great figure suffered a crushing defeat. Yet he was so stubbornly single-minded that he really did refrain from killing his enemy then and there.

However, he slaughtered the enemy's entire household, sparing neither women nor children. He left only his enemy alive, declaring that he would return another day.

But afterward, he never managed to solve that chess position, even by the day he died.

After reading it, Li Hao could not help wanting to laugh.

The enemy evidently knew that great figure very well. Though his Martial Dao talent fell short, he was clever enough to learn this trick and avoid death.

Suddenly, he felt that chess seemed rather interesting after all.

He could hardly blame the Li Family. Even he, living in this world of the Martial Dao, had felt deep down that chess was merely entertainment and had no real significance.

But now, that opinion shifted a little.

Chess record "Myriad Manifestations" detected. Would you like to add it to the collection?

Text suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Surprised, Li Hao suddenly remembered that his panel had a chess record catalog.

That showed just how little interest he had in the Chess Dao. He had treated it only as a tool for farming experience and had never collected a single chess record in five years.

Now he felt a little ashamed.

Li Hao immediately selected yes.

Soon, a chess record titled "Myriad Manifestations" appeared in the panel's collection.

At the same time, a prompt beside it read: available for embedding.

Puzzled, Li Hao tried selecting embed.

A line of text popped up:

Please select an embedding target: Path of the Physical Body, Sword Dao.

Li Hao was surprised. What does that mean?

After some thought, he selected the Path of the Physical Body.

Having just embarked on cultivation and experienced the feeling of his body's strength surging, he had gained a little more anticipation for the Path of the Physical Body.

[Embedding successful.]

At that moment, Li Hao suddenly felt a vast, complex flood of information rush into him.

He was extremely familiar with this sensation and finished digesting it moments later. Li Hao saw a new entry on his panel:

[Path of the Physical Body: first stage (Myriad Manifestations)]

The fragmented information in his mind told him exactly what had happened.

Myriad Manifestations: places the target amid the myriad manifestations of heaven and earth, rendering them inscrutable and concealing all traces of their aura.

Li Hao activated it slightly, and his entire aura immediately withdrew inward. The surging strength and qi within him seemed to contract into countless pores and cells, becoming undetectable.

"Special attributes?"

Li Hao was stunned. He had never expected a chess record to have such an effect. It was simply inconceivable.

With his second-stage Chess Dao, he could understand the record to some extent. Large mazes enclosed smaller mazes, with traps and dead ends at every step. No wonder that great figure had failed to solve it throughout his life.

Yet embedding this chess record into the Path of the Physical Body had actually produced a similar attribute.

If I'd chosen to embed it into the Sword Dao, would my swordsmanship have gained a deceptive effect that kept people from discerning the true killing move?

Paired with the dazzlingly magnificent moves of the Tidal Sword Art, it would probably be even more bewildering.

Li Hao glanced at the panel. The available-for-embedding prompt beside Myriad Manifestations had disappeared, meaning he could only choose one target.

Still, this had opened up a whole new world for him. So chess records are the true king's path!

If I collect all kinds of other chess records, won't I be able to add various special buffs to my attacks?

At that thought, Li Hao eagerly began searching throughout the pavilion.

But Listening Rain Pavilion was a sacred place for martial artists throughout the world, not for chess players. Li Hao spent several consecutive days there, yet found only three chess records in total. One of them had even been used to prop up a bookshelf.

"Flying Section," "Hidden Bow," and "Tiger Pressure."

With the three chess records in hand, Li Hao studied them for a while. Inferring their attributes from their characteristics, he embedded Flying Section and Hidden Bow into the Sword Dao.

Tiger Pressure went into the Path of the Physical Body.

Flying Section: doubles attack range, granting extended-range strikes.

Hidden Bow: conceals the killing move, delivering death in a single move.

Tiger Pressure: slightly increases strength and grants intimidation.

The three chess records brought Li Hao a tremendous improvement.

Unfortunately, although the Divine General Residence had everything one could need, it belonged to a Martial Dao aristocratic clan and had no tradition of collecting chess records.

After returning to the courtyard, Li Hao could only ask the servants around him to search outside for chess records. But they made every excuse to refuse. None dared help the young master stray ever farther down the path of "neglecting his proper duties."

With no other choice, Li Hao could only tempt them with generous rewards.

In the days that followed, besides waiting for chess records, Li Hao also began slowly contemplating the art of chess.

He removed the blanket from the chessboard at his bedside and put the board back where it belonged. He also removed the chessboard from the dining table. Aside from occasionally strolling around the courtyard, he watched the little girl practice her swordsmanship.

Perhaps because she had lost both parents and experienced a life of wandering from an early age, the little girl was exceptionally hardworking. Under Lin Haixia's instruction, her swordsmanship improved by the day.

"No, you're practicing this move incorrectly."

That day, while teaching swordsmanship, Lin Haixia displayed the stern side of a military officer. Though he was deeply pleased with Bian Ruxue's talent for the Sword Dao, he still rebuked her harshly whenever she made a mistake.

Holding back her tears, the little girl stubbornly practiced again and again.

Li Hao shook his head helplessly as he watched. Uncle Lin was a good man, but that did not necessarily mean he knew how to tailor his teaching to his pupil.

After a few harsh words, the little girl's sword moves were practically twisting out of shape.

That evening, seeing the little one still practicing on her own over and over in the courtyard, Li Hao called her over.

"Your posture is wrong. Bend your arm a little more. Yes, like that. Don't keep your waist so stiff..."

With no one else around, Li Hao gave the little girl a private lesson, guiding her hands himself.

Bian Ruxue was not stupid, and she truly had a talent for the Sword Dao. Under Li Hao's guidance, her posture soon became precise, carrying a distinct rhythm of the sword.

"Brother Hao, do you know swordsmanship too?" After getting the move right, the little girl looked eagerly at Li Hao. "Then can we practice together tomorrow?"

"Don't talk nonsense. I don't want to get up early."

Startled, Li Hao hurriedly replied.

"If Uncle Lin knew you could use a sword too, he'd definitely be happy," Bian Ruxue said hopefully. Though there were many things she still did not understand, she could tell that the adults around them seemed rather disappointed in Li Hao.

The little girl worked so diligently because she was quietly holding on to a stubborn determination. Everyone said Brother Hao was no good, but she felt that he was clearly very clever.

"I don't know swordsmanship. Don't go saying things like that," Li Hao said hastily. Little girl, don't repay kindness with betrayal and ruin my lovely mornings sleeping in. I'll cry myself to death.

Bian Ruxue was puzzled. "But you clearly..."

"Shoo, shoo. Go to sleep, go to sleep." Rolling his eyes, Li Hao chased the little girl away and reminded her not to say anything careless.

The next day.

In the courtyard, Lin Haixia watched Bian Ruxue perform her sword moves, his eyes slowly widening.

(End of chapter)