Li Hao Drew His Sword

The swordplay that had still looked a little clumsy yesterday already carried the grace of a swordsman today.

Her posture was precise, her movements crisp and clean, with a nimble quality to them!

A Sword Dao genius!

At that moment, those were the only words in Lin Haixia's mind.

How many days had Bian Ruxue been learning this swordplay? Even grasping the basics in half a month would have been good.

Yet now she was already proficient, and her moves held a rare spark of inspiration. That was the key.

He had scolded the little girl yesterday, but only because he saw her talent for the Sword Dao and the promise of a future master of the sword. That was why he had been strict and demanding.

He had never expected Bian Ruxue's performance today to exceed his expectations so greatly. This was absolutely a Sword Dao genius, the kind rarely seen in this world!

"Good. Very good."

Lin Haixia smiled and nodded repeatedly. Once Bian Ruxue finished her demonstration, he asked, "Did you practice on your own last night?"

Bian Ruxue immediately thought of Brother Li Hao's guidance, but then remembered his stern little face as he gave her warnings and instructions. She nodded gently.

Lin Haixia was not surprised. Without putting in effort last night, she could not have performed like this today.

What delighted him was that she had improved so swiftly after just a single night's practice.

"This swordplay is a little too simple for you. Today, I'll teach you a Superior Sword Art!"

Lin Haixia said.

The previous one had only been a Low-Grade Sword Art. He had no right to enter the Li Family's Listening Rain Pavilion, nor was he qualified to teach the little girl its collection of Superior Sword Arts and even Transcendent Sword Arts on the Li Family's behalf.

Unless Li Hao's parents authorized it, even Li Hao himself had no such right at present.

He was still too young to run the household.

"Mm."

Bian Ruxue nodded.

The adult and the child began practicing a new swordplay in the courtyard.

One taught, the other learned.

Li Hao watched briefly, felt rather bored, and returned to pondering his Chess Heart.

He held a black stone and a white stone, turning them between his fingertips and gently rubbing them while his mind dwelled on those game records.

Time slipped silently through the courtyard without leaving a trace.

During the day, Li Hao stared at the board by himself, lost in thought.

At night, he occasionally gave Bian Ruxue pointers, correcting some of her minor flaws.

Bian Ruxue's swift progress in the Sword Dao left Lin Haixia endlessly delighted.

Several months later, in Snowdrift Courtyard.

Li Hao stood quietly among the crowd, watching an old man with the bearing of an immortal lead away the now eight-year-old Li Wushuang to cultivate.

Fifth Madam saw her off in tears, telling Shuang'er to eat well, behave herself, and sleep well.

Li Hao remembered that, back when he was still swaddled in blankets, this little girl had clutched her mother's trousers and studied him with bright little eyes.

Fifth Madam had three children, two daughters and a son. This was her eldest daughter.

At her Bone Measurement at age five, she had been found to possess a ninth grade battle body-another outstanding prodigy of the Li Family.

Now, word was that she had displayed exceptional cultivation talent and met a master who had taken her as his disciple.

Li Hao had witnessed this familiar scene two years earlier as well.

That time, Liu Yuerong's child had been taken away by a bald monk chanting the Buddha's name.

Clearly, that man had come from Boundless Mountain.

Most members of the Li Family with peerless talent joined Great Yu's top powers to cultivate. This was also one way those top powers extended their networks of connections.

Those with lesser talent, such as Second Madam's second son, who had only been found to possess a seventh grade battle body, were still considered geniuses but clearly fell short of those outstanding prodigies. He would eventually enter Tan Palace Academy in Qingzhou City to cultivate.

In contrast to Fifth Madam's maternal tenderness, Li Wushuang's little face looked utterly mature. Like a miniature adult, she merely nodded calmly and told her mother and father to take care of their health.

Then the little girl swept her gaze across the courtyard, looking over everyone.

When her eyes passed over Li Hao, she gave him only a brief glance. She had long since lost any real impression of him.

Among the residence's third-generation children, the ones her mother mentioned most often were only the few with peerless talent. Second Madam's child, Li Qianfeng, for instance, was the goal she was currently pursuing.

She no longer spared the others a thought.

Steeped in the great dye vat of the Martial Dao, she absorbed everything said around her by her mother, her martial instructor, the servants, and others. Despite her young age, her mind had already matured, and even her eyes held a certain sharpness. She already possessed the ambition and goal of pursuing the pinnacle of the Martial Dao.

After bidding her parents farewell, the little girl left with the Daoist amid everyone's send-off.

The next time they saw her would probably be years later, when she returned to the residence with a name renowned far and wide.

Life returned to tranquility.

In those quiet, peaceful days, Li Hao gradually went back to playing chess against himself.

Now, however, he did not do it for experience. He simply pondered each game.

He tried to defeat himself, switching his thinking to White when he held the white stones, and back to Black when he held the black stones. Although the process was somewhat difficult, it offered a sense of challenge.

There was endless joy in contending with oneself.

Entertainment was scarce in this world, and Li Hao gradually grew fond of the feeling of focusing on something, especially when it also held the pleasure of a challenge.

Thus, the maids occasionally saw their young master startling at nothing.

While quietly eating, for example, he would suddenly shout, "Ah! That move should have gone there!"

He would look utterly regretful.

Sometimes, he would point at a flower bed and ask the maid beside him, "Look at those flowers. Don't they look like a game of chess?"

The maids: ???

They did not understand. They did not understand at all.

But if the young master said so, then so it was.

He was their young master, after all. What else could they do but go along with him?

When Li Hao turned six, Lin Haixia came to him and said he would teach him martial techniques.

He brought over a weapon rack and had Li Hao choose weapons from it to try one by one, just as he had when selecting a weapon for Bian Ruxue.

Since Li Hao's bones were unlike Bian Ruxue's top-tier battle body, he had delayed it by a year, lest exercising too early interfere with his bone development.

Only then did Li Hao learn that this military expert had remained at the residence specifically to teach him martial techniques.

"But I can't cultivate, can I?" Dragged out of bed early that morning, Li Hao yawned, wanting only to crawl back under the covers.

"Learn the techniques first. If the commander finds a way to open your meridians someday, you'll be able to begin cultivating immediately, without falling behind in techniques," Lin Haixia said. That was his plan: practice first and be prepared.

What if he could cultivate someday? Then it would come in handy.

"And what if he can't?" Li Hao asked.

"You're doing nothing anyway," Lin Haixia said flatly.

Li Hao felt like coughing up blood. What kind of reasoning was that?

Doing nothing was better than exhausting himself!

But Lin Haixia had clearly made up his mind. Nothing Li Hao said could persuade him. Finally, his face hardened, and he sternly brought out a bamboo switch. If Li Hao kept disobeying, he would strike him.

Li Hao was not afraid of pain. With his current physique, unless Lin Haixia truly struck hard, it would barely tickle.

But seeing how seriously the man took it, he could only retreat before his edge for now.

Li Hao picked up the weapons and tried them one after another, wanting only to muddle through. His saber, spear, staff, and club work all looked utterly shapeless.

When he picked up the sword, the little girl stood nearby with an expectant face, clenching her little fists in encouragement. "Brother Hao, you can do it!"

Li Hao was rather speechless. He swung it casually a few times and hastily finished.

Lin Haixia's face darkened, as though he had seen through the little fellow's intentions. "Until you pick one of these weapons and practice it to my satisfaction today, you're not allowed to rest or touch that damned chessboard again!"

"Uncle Lin!" Li Hao wailed.

"Practice!" Lin Haixia gritted his teeth, ignoring Li Hao's pleas.

Li Hao could only pick up a saber and start swinging it, but his mind was not on training. Though he appeared serious, his movements had no structure at all.

Seeing that Li Hao was interested in the saber, Lin Haixia taught him move by move, starting with the simplest stances.

Seeing how seriously he took it, Li Hao felt even less willing to practice properly. If he let the man glimpse any promise or hope, would he not be whipping him into a frenzy every day? He would never have peace.

So, while Lin Haixia taught him, he nodded repeatedly and said, "Got it, got it."

Once the saber reached his hands, however, he swung it in complete confusion again.

It was as though his hands and feet were saying, Got it, my ass!

By the end of the afternoon, Lin Haixia wanted to curse someone's mother too.

He could not even manage the form of the lowest-grade saber technique. He had absolutely no aptitude for understanding the Martial Dao.

Lin Haixia could not help thinking of certain geniuses.

Some people possessed exceptional talent in one field, yet understood nothing whatsoever in others, and were even worse than ordinary people.

Li Hao seemed to be just that type.

Unfortunately, his talent had gone to the wrong place.

Chess... what kind of bullshit was that?!

Lin Haixia even began to hate it. Why had anyone in the world been so bored that they invented such a thing? Damn them!

But after that hatred passed, sorrow rose in his heart again. Could he truly do nothing to help the young master?

He hated his own helplessness, hated being unable to repay the commander's kindness.

After forcing Li Hao to practice for another half month, Lin Haixia finally despaired and gave up.

He told Li Hao that developments had occurred recently in the war in Northern Yan, and he would be leaving before long.

Li Hao looked at the man, knowing that his heart had already given up.

During these days, seeing the man's grief had left him both moved and ashamed.

The man had hated the chessboard and hated his own inability to teach, but he had never hated Li Hao.

"Uncle Lin, tell me. If someone who can't cultivate the Martial Dao follows the path of Body Refining and combines it with martial techniques, can he become an expert?"

Sitting in the courtyard, Li Hao looked at the man drinking beside him again and asked.

Lin Haixia set his wine down beside him, thought for a moment, and said with absolute certainty, "Yes!"

He then added, "I've seen experts in the army with powerful physiques and spear techniques that bordered on the divine. They counted as formidable fighters too."

He turned to Li Hao, but his eyes soon dimmed again. "Young master, I know you're clever and can endure hardship. If you followed the path of Body Refining, you could certainly bear it, but your comprehension..."

He did not continue. His heart was bleak. He had harbored this very idea when he first had Li Hao practice martial techniques.

Li Hao looked at him in considerable surprise. "I sleep until the sun is three poles high every day, and you say I can endure hardship?"

Lin Haixia shook his head slightly, a bitter smile touching his lips. "I've seen you play chess. I know you can endure hardship. You simply don't like doing it."

In Li Hao, he had seen the potential to become a top-tier expert.

Intelligence, temperament, and diligence.

Yet he lacked precisely Martial Dao aptitude and comprehension.

Those two things were the entrance ticket to the Martial Dao.

If one could not even enter the door, how could one speak of taking a seat of honor?

Thus, even if the Divine General Residence's vast cultivation resources were piled before Li Hao, they would amount to nothing but an empty mountain.

Hearing Lin Haixia's words, Li Hao felt a little surprised. He glanced sideways at the man, then fell silent again.

The night wind swept in. One continued drinking, while the other silently watched the night sky. A shooting star seemed to streak past. Whose star of command had fallen this time?

Two months later.

Lin Haixia was leaving, and came to bid Li Hao a formal farewell.

Li Hao waited for him in the inner courtyard. The enormous courtyard stood empty; he had sent all its servants to the outer courtyard, leaving himself alone to see him off.

"Will you find it too quiet, Uncle Lin?" Li Hao asked with a smile, his little hands clasped behind his back.

Lin Haixia sighed softly. "I don't care about such empty formalities. But you-I'm leaving Xue'er in your care. That girl has exceptional talent in the Sword Dao and will certainly achieve great things. Treat her well, and she'll protect you in the future."

At that moment, his eyes held complicated feelings, along with wistfulness and acceptance.

By now, he had completely given up on Li Hao learning martial arts.

He had come to the Divine General Residence full of hope and burning enthusiasm, intending to do everything he could and pour all his effort into nurturing the commander's young son, repaying his kindness.

Now, however, he was leaving in dejection, his heart filled with regret. He felt sorrowful.

Li Hao smiled faintly. "Uncle Lin, I had nothing to give you when we met. Since you're leaving today, let me give you a small gift."

"I don't want any gift, nor do I have the face to accept one. Just take good care of yourself." Lin Haixia felt somewhat comforted, but had little interest in the gift Li Hao mentioned. He lacked nothing.

Li Hao said nothing, merely walking slowly toward the weapon rack.

Lin Haixia froze and looked at him in puzzlement.

Then he saw Li Hao slowly draw a sword from the rack.

"This sword stroke is for you, Uncle Lin."

"Your pupil thanks you for your teaching!"

Li Hao spoke softly.

Then the sword rose.

His bearing was as graceful as drifting snow. The sword light in his hand surged like mighty ocean waves, flashing into countless sword blossoms in an instant, intricate and exquisite, magnificent to the utmost.

Supreme perfection, Boundless Sea, Tidal Swordplay!

At that moment, the brilliant, dazzling sword light illuminated the entire empty inner courtyard.

It also shone into Lin Haixia's eyes, turning his dark, contracted pupils a gleaming snowy white.

(End of chapter)