Assassination

Seeing the notification, Li Hao felt little joy.

He had long since cast aside thoughts of personal gain and devoted himself wholeheartedly to chess. That was precisely why he had acquired a chess heart.

Using the Chess Dao to practice the Martial Dao, treating chess as a tool-he could no longer accept that former way of thinking.

He even felt an impulse to spend this Art Skill Point directly on the Chess Dao.

But that severed arm, that man drinking wine, made him rein in the thought.

Chess was certainly important. It was something he now loved.

But there were things he had to do, such as tearing the Tiger Robe Immortal into ten thousand pieces!

Still, that was a great demon of the fourth realm. Reaching the fourth realm himself was hardly something he could accomplish overnight.

The only thing he could do now was grow up as quickly as possible.

A chess heart was a frame of mind, a state of being.

After acquiring a chess heart, Li Hao once again spent his days busily playing chess in the little courtyard.

But now, he no longer played for the little bit of experience awarded at the end of a game. He truly enjoyed the entire process.

The subtlety of every move, the positioning, the deliberation-all of it fascinated him deeply. Like someone who had found a wonderful game, he was completely immersed and simply could not stop.

While eating, sleeping, or watching the little girl practice her swordsmanship, he would find himself thinking about chess.

It left Li Hao with little interest in anything else.

One day, Xue Jian from the Evergreen Courtyard brought news: the First Madam had invited Bian Ruxue to join the Divine General Residence's Martial Arts Arena.

That was where the Li Family's children trained.

After turning six, those who had not become disciples of renowned mountain sects would train at the Martial Arts Arena, receiving collective instruction from Li Family experts who had retired from military service.

Li Hao agreed. Although he could teach the little girl himself, swordsmanship was currently his only specialty. Besides sword practice, the Martial Arts Arena taught cultivation methods and all kinds of martial knowledge, including general knowledge of the outside world, providing a well-rounded education.

From that day onward, after paying their morning respects to the First Madam, Li Hao and the little girl parted ways at the Evergreen Courtyard. One returned to the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard, while the other was taken to the Martial Arts Arena.

Besides the Li Family's direct-line children, the Martial Arts Arena also had Concubine-born Disciples and children from branch families. There were several dozen altogether, but only five belonged to the direct line—the same few who paid their morning respects to the First Madam alongside Li Hao.

Bian Ruxue also received the treatment afforded to the Li Family's direct-line children at the Martial Arts Arena, since she was Li Hao's future fiancée and already half a member of the Li Family.

At the Martial Arts Arena, the direct-line children were like the moon surrounded by a host of stars, their status far above that of the concubine-born children. Even the cultivation resources they received during foundation establishment and blood fusion were at least a full tier better.

As a result, there was a considerable gap in martial aptitude between the direct-line and concubine-born children.

Consequently, aside from the few direct-line little ones who had only just reached the age of understanding, most of the Concubine-born Disciples at the Martial Arts Arena were teenagers. Their talents ranged from roughly the fourth to sixth grades, considered middling aptitude. If they rose to prominence in the future, they could still oversee a city's defenses.

Concubine-born Disciples who reached seventh-grade aptitude received special cultivation, enjoying resources nearly equal to those of the direct line.

After entering the Martial Arts Arena, Bian Ruxue had officially embarked on the path of cultivation.

That was when the terrifying potential of a ninth grade battle body revealed itself.

In just a few months, Li Hao saw that the little girl had already reached the fourth level of the power through realm.

She broke through a minor level almost every month. At such astonishing speed, it truly seemed as easy as eating and drinking.

Of course, this was inseparable from the Li Family's abundant cultivation resources, which they poured into her without reservation. But martial aptitude was like a sponge; being able to absorb so much was an ability in itself.

Meanwhile, the teenagers at the Martial Arts Arena were still hovering around the eighth and ninth levels of the power through realm. In another six months, the little girl would probably catch up to them.

Li Hao continued playing chess in his courtyard day after day, undisturbed. The First Madam had not asked him to attend the Martial Arts Arena either. He could see what she was thinking: she did not want him, a direct-line child, to suffer humiliation there.

Besides instruction, the Martial Arts Arena arranged sparring and competitions to stir the children's fighting spirit and encourage them to cultivate.

Someone without martial aptitude like Li Hao would inevitably suffer there. Some children spoke without restraint, and trouble was bound to arise. It might even reach the adults, which would be rather unseemly.

Acting as head of the Divine General Residence, the First Madam wanted only peace and quiet.

Li Hao was happy with that arrangement too. It spared him the trouble.

After all, practicing martial arts was nothing but a waste of time for him.

Nor did he have any desire to squabble with those youngsters. It was too dull.

"You've played so many games, yet you still haven't learned! The very same move has cost you three games already!"

Li Hao angrily scolded the servant playing chess across from him.

The servant jumped in fright and hurriedly stood, hands lowered at his sides. Trembling like a quail, he said, "Please calm yourself, young master."

Li Hao now carried the authority of a young master. They no longer dared treat him as a child or dismiss his words.

"Your mind isn't on the board at all. What are you thinking about?" Li Hao demanded angrily.

The servant inwardly lamented his plight. He had always played this way, but the young master had never minded before. In fact, whenever a game ended quickly, the young master had seemed quite pleased.

Recently, however, things had changed.

If he played too poorly, the young master's face darkened, leaving him inwardly groaning without end.

"The two of you play atrociously! You've been playing with me for so long, and neither of you has improved at all!" Li Hao said in frustration.

The servant hurriedly begged forgiveness. The other servant seemed to remember something and stole a glance at Li Hao. "Young master, I do know someone who supposedly plays chess. He's a third class servant the residence recently took on."

"Oh?" Li Hao raised an eyebrow. "Where is he?"

"In the Firewood Room. He's responsible for chopping firewood."

"What are you waiting for, then? Bring him here and let me test him," Li Hao said at once.

"Right away, young master." Delighted, the servant immediately excused himself.

Before long, a gaunt young man in a servant's uniform was brought before Li Hao.

"What are you standing there for? Pay your respects to the young master."

"Ah, yes. Good health to you, young master." The gaunt young man hurriedly knelt.

Li Hao waved lightly for him to rise and speak, then pointed at the chessboard. "I hear you can play chess. Play a game with me and let me see. If you play well, you'll stay in the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard from now on. I'll make you a first class servant and keep you at my side."

"Ah?" The gaunt young man clearly had not expected such good fortune to fall from the sky. He froze, then exclaimed delightedly, "Thank you, young master! Thank you!"

With that, he wiped his hands on his clothes and sat down before the chessboard.

Soon, the game began, with Li Hao taking the white pieces.

After seven or eight exchanges, Li Hao felt a surge of delight. This gaunt young man truly knew how to play, and he was quite skilled.

Li Hao began taking the game a little more seriously, showing no mercy with his moves.

In barely half a quarter of an hour, the gaunt young man's face turned pale. Beads of cold sweat covered his forehead, and fear appeared in his eyes.

At last, his hand trembling faintly, he stared dejectedly at the board, then looked at Li Hao across from him. He could hardly believe that such a young child had studied the Chess Dao so deeply.

"I lost." The gaunt young man stood with a complicated expression, his eyes betraying unwillingness to accept defeat and a faint trace of viciousness.

Li Hao, however, was lost in a daze.

Only when he heard the gaunt young man's words did he come back to himself. He immediately smiled. "Good. Very good. From now on, you're a first class servant in my courtyard. Stay with me, and all you need to do is play chess with me every day."

The gaunt young man froze, looking at Li Hao in astonishment. "But... but I lost."

Li Hao smiled. When the game ended just now, the notification had told him he had gained a full twenty experience points!

Playing with the two fellows at his side usually gave him no more than three points. The difference was simply enormous.

Clearly, the stronger his opponent, the more experience he gained. It was not simply a matter of grinding through game after game on sheer quantity alone.

If every game gives twenty points, ten games will give two hundred. Reaching five thousand points will take only two hundred and fifty games. Even at ten games a day, it'll take only a month.

The more Li Hao thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more pleased he was with the gaunt young man before him.

"If you can beat me, I'll reward you with ten thousand taels of gold!" Li Hao encouraged him with a smile.

The gaunt young man stared, his body shaking like chaff in a sieve with excitement.

Li Hao told him to stop standing around and sit down to continue. At the same time, he instructed the two servants beside him to register the young man and arrange his transfer to the courtyard.

And so, Li Hao and the gaunt young man played game after game in the courtyard.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

One night, after dinner, Li Hao called the gaunt young man over to continue their matches.

In the bedroom, beneath the lamplight, two figures, one large and one small, battled over the chessboard.

"Young master."

As Li Hao concentrated on considering his next move, he suddenly heard the gaunt young man call to him.

But the tone lacked its usual faint flattery and respect. Instead, it carried a strange calm.

Li Hao looked over in puzzlement, only to see a cold gleam suddenly hurtling straight toward his face!

His pupils contracted. Instinctively, he kicked off and retreated like lightning.

At the chess table, the gaunt young man had one hand braced against the board while his other remained extended in a dagger thrust. A trace of astonishment appeared on his face. He clearly had not expected the young master to evade his attack.

"Hm? You..."

Li Hao came to his senses. Everything had happened too suddenly, without the slightest warning.

Even as shock coursed through him, his eyes swiftly turned cold and clear. "An assassination? Who sent you?" he demanded icily.

The woman in the Water Bloom Courtyard flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He was already considered a cripple and posed no threat. No one in the residence should have any reason to assassinate him.

"How did you..." The gaunt young man's mind was in even greater turmoil than Li Hao's, his shock even deeper. Wasn't this child supposed to be a useless cripple incapable of cultivating the Martial Dao? He had spent every day with Li Hao in the courtyard lately and truly had never seen him cultivate-not even once!

After all, the Li Family's children were already expected to train hard at the Martial Arts Arena by the age of six.

Yet the supposed cripple before him spent every day playing chess in his own courtyard, with no one paying him any attention.

The intelligence was correct, yet somehow... it was also outrageously wrong!

The gaunt young man quickly recovered. His body abruptly sprang into motion, unleashing a terrifying burst of speed as he lunged straight at Li Hao.

I mustn't let this child cry out. His eyes were vicious, filled with murderous intent.

But on the other side, Li Hao was thinking exactly the same thing.

An assassin. I mustn't let him cry out, or he'll alert too many people.

Kill!

Seeing the figure hurtling toward him, Li Hao did not dodge. Instead, he pushed hard off the floor, his small figure shooting forward like thunder, a faint whistle of wind accompanying his movement. The instant he closed in, he tilted his head slightly, watching the dagger sweep past his eyes as he drove a fist into his opponent's stomach.

Since embarking on cultivation, Li Hao had never fought anyone.

This time, he unleashed almost his full strength.

A heavy thud rang out, like a sandbag hitting the ground. The gaunt young man's eyes widened until they nearly bulged from their sockets. His body bent like a shrimp as the blow sent him staggering backward into the chess table.

Li Hao did not know how much force his punch carried. But since he could lift a twenty-thousand-jin artificial hill, a punch thrown with all his might should carry at least several tens of thousands of jin of force.

As the gaunt young man was knocked backward, Li Hao swiftly leaped after him. His small hand clamped around the man's throat like an eagle's talons, and he said coldly, "Don't make a sound!"

The gaunt young man: "???"

(End of chapter)